Chapter Two – Section One: The Station of Judge and Mufti

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Chapter Two

We now begin chapter two, and all praise belongs to Allah. This chapter will be divided into four sections.

• Section One: The Station of judge and mufti
• Section Two: Consultation in shar’i masa’il
• Section Three: Consultations regarding issues of the state and incidents of compassion
• Section four: Consideration for monetary rights, inclusion in distribution of booty, participation in collecting allowance and gifts.

 

Section One: The Station of Judge and Mufti

It is necessary to delegate the various governmental tasks to competent individuals for the smooth running of the state. There are a number of administrative departments of the state, e.g. education, law and order, defence, finance, etc. Accordingly, there were many departments during the eras of the Khulafa’ Rashidin on the strength of which the khilafah was run. This issue of departments is mentioned in many narrations.

1. Sayyidina ‘Umar’s radiya Llahu ‘anhu one sermon which he delivered at Jabiyah (in the land of Sham) is recorded in Sunan Sa’id ibn Mansur and al Baihaqi’s al Sunan al Kubra. The report is:

 

خطب الناس بالجابية فقال في خطبته من جاء يسأل عن القرآن فليأت أبي بن كعب و من جاء يسأل عن الحلال و الحرام فليأت معاذ بن جبل و من جاء يسأل عن الفرائض فليأت زيد بن ثابت و من جاء يسأل عن المال فليأتني فإن الله جعلني خازنا فإني باد بأزواج النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم فمعطيهن ثم بالمهاجرين الذين أخرجوا من ديارهم و أموالهم ثم بالأنصار

‘Umar addressed the people at Jabiyah and said during his address, “Whoever comes to ask concerning the Qur’an should approach Ubay ibn Ka’b. Whoever wants to ask about permissible and impermissible should go to Muaz ibn Jabal. Whoever’s question is regarding inheritance should approach Zaid ibn Thabit. And whoever is seeking money should come to me because Allah has made me the treasurer. I am going to begin giving stipends to the wives of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, then the Muhajirin who were expelled from their houses and wealth, and then the Ansar.”^[1]

 

In this narration, the division of the education department has been elucidated upon coupled with clarification that the financial department will be directly under the control of the khalifah of the time.

 

2. The report of Tabaqat Ibn Sa’d makes mention of the ifta and judicial department. This narration has been quoted in the Siddiqi section with more detail. A portion of the narration is quoted hereunder:

 

ثم ولي عمر فكان يدعو هؤلاء النفر

Then ‘Umar became khalifah (after Abu Bakr al Siddiq radiya Llahu ‘anhu). He would call these men (viz. ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan, ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, ‘Abdul Rahman ibn ‘Awf, Muaz ibn Jabal, Ubay ibn Ka’b, and Zaid ibn Thabit radiya Llahu ‘anhum) to pass verdicts.^[2]

 

This shows that some of the Muhajirin as well as some of the senior Ansar were muftis and judges. There was no distinction between these two parties, nor preferential treatment. These departments ran with unity and agreement.

 

‘Ali is the Mufti

Sayyidina ‘Umar al Faruq radiya Llahu ‘anhu clarified this matter during his reign and made many emphatic declarations in this regard. This will be reproduced for the benefit of the readers. Wherever the ifta or judicial issue comes up, it throws light upon the strong connection and harmonious relationship between those distinguished men.

Six narrations will be transmitted for substantiation:

 

First Narration

عن سعيد بن جبير عن ابن عباس قال خطبنا عمر فقال علي أقضانا و أبي أقرأنا

Sa’id ibn Jubair reports that―Ibn ‘Abbas related:

‘Umar addressed us and stated, “‘Ali is our best judge and Ubay is our best qari’.”^[3]

 

Second Narration

عن عبد الرحمن بن هرمز الأعرج عن أبي هريرة قال قال عمر بن الخطاب علي أقضانا

From ‘Abdul Rahman ibn Hurmuz al A’raj―from Abu Hurairah who relates that―’Umar ibn al Khattab stated:

‘Ali is the best judge among us.^[4]

 

Third Narration

عن أبي مليكة عن ابن عباس عن عمر قال أقضانا علي و أقرأنا أبي

From Abu Mulaykah―from Ibn ‘Abbas―from ‘Umar who announced:

‘Ali is our best judge and Ubay is our best qari’.^[5]

 

Fourth Narration

عن عطاء قال كان عمر يقول علي أقضانا للقضاء و أبي أقرأنا للقرآن

‘Ata’ reports:

‘Umar would declare, “‘Ali is the best judge and Ubay is the best reciter of Qur’an from us.”^[6]

 

Fifth Narration

عن شعيب عن إبراهيم النخعي قال لما ولي عمر قال لعلي رضي الله عنهما اقض بين الناس و نجرد للحرب

From Shu’ayb―from Ibrahim al Nakha’i who reports:

When ‘Umar assumed the post of khalifah, he told ‘Ali, “Judge between the people and remain detached from matters of war.”^[7]

 

Sixth Narration

 

فيها ولي عمر بن الخطاب يوم الثلثاء لثمان بقين من جمادى الآخرة منها فولى قضاء المدينة علي بن أبي طالب و استناب على الشام أبا عبيدة عامر بن عبد الله بن الجراح الفهري إلخ

In that year (13 A.H.), ‘Umar ibn al Khattab became khalifah on Tuesday, with 8 days left of Jumada al Akhirah. He handed over the judicial affairs of Madinah to ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib and appointed Abu ‘Ubaidah ‘Amir ibn ‘Abdullah ibn al Jarrah al Fihri his representative in Sham.^[8]

 

Summary

1. In the Faruqi government, there were many muftis and judges but according to Sayyidina ‘Umar, Sayyidina ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhuma was the best judge and had a special rank in the field of ifta and judiciary. In a like manner, Sayyidina Ubay ibn Ka’b radiya Llahu ‘anhu enjoyed a lofty pedestal in the science of qira’ah.
2. Sayyidina ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu had a special connection to the ifta and judiciary department. Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam supplicated in his favour when he despatched him to Yemen

 

اللهم ثبت لسانه و اهد قلبه

O Allah, make his tongue steadfast and inspire his heart with guidance.^[9]

 

3. It has become vividly clear that there existed absolutely no hatred, enmity, animosity, malice, or rancour between Sayyidina ‘Umar and Sayyidina ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhuma, neither prior to nor after the Faruqi reign. Otherwise, those whose hearts conceal hatred and whose chests are filled with rancour cannot bear to see each other and do not want to be close to one another. Sitting together becomes difficult for them. The progress and joy of the other is distasteful to them. Here, the relationship is totally opposite. All the tales the Shia and haters of the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum narrate of enmity and dissension are in total polarity with the above.

 

Finally, we implore those with sound and fair temperaments to read the above and contemplate deeply, maintaining truth and impartiality, and support what they regard as true. Hopefully, the truth will not be concealed.

 

Taking Cases to the Faruqi Judiciary

We have mentioned above that judiciary matters were taken to Sayyidina ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu and settled by him during the Faruqi khilafah. It is as if he acted as the chief judge. When Sayyidina ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu needed to settle a dispute, he would approach Sayyidina ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu and seek judgement from him. Incidents of such a nature are found in the books of hadith. We will present a few of them here.

 

Case 1

This report is recorded in the Sihah Sittah. (It will be briefly quoted here).

Sayyidina ‘Abbas ibn ‘Abdul Muttalib and Sayyidina ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhuma took their dispute over the wealth of the Banu Nadir and the Fay’ to the court of Sayyidina ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu. (Their dispute was over authority, administration, and supervision.) Sayyidina ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu told them that he will not divide the properties among them, giving them ownership rights over them. However, the produce will be distributed among them in the manner it was distributed during the lifetime of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and this will continue. He said to them, “If you are disputing over supervision of those lands, then return them to me, I will supervise and administer them myself. You will continue receiving the produce as per the rule.”^[10]

 

Case 2

This case is documented in Kitab al Athar of both Imam Abu Yusuf and Imam Muhammad:

 

عن أبي يوسف عن أبي حنيفة عن حماد عن إبراهيم أن علي بن أبي طالب و الزبير بن العوام رضي الله عنهما اختصما إلى عمر رضي الله عنه في مولى لصفية بنت عبد المطلب رضي الله عنها فقال علي أنا عصبة عمتي و أنا أعقل عن مولاها و أرثه ثم قال الزبير أمي و أنا أرث مولاها فقضى عمر رضي الله عنه للزبير بالميراث و قضى بالعقل على علي بن أبي طالب

From Abu Yusuf―from Abu Hanifah―from Hammad―from Ibrahim:

‘Ali ibn Abi Talib and Zubair ibn al ‘Awwam radiya Llahu ‘anhuma took their case to ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu regarding (the estate of) the freed-slave of Safiyyah bint ‘Abdul Muttalib radiya Llahu ‘anha. ‘Ali said, “I am the ‘asabah (heir) of my paternal aunt and I am responsible to settle his debts and blood money, hence I will inherit from him.”

Zubair then said, “(Safiyyah is) my mother and I will inherit from her freed slave.”

‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu passed judgement of the inheritance in favour of Zubair and decided that ‘Ali will not inherit.^[11]

 

This incident is documented in Musannaf ‘Abdul Razzaq and Sunan Sa’id ibn Mansur as follows:

 

سعيد قال نا أبو معاوية قال نا عبيدة الضبي عن إبراهيم قال اختصم علي و الزبير إلى عمر في مولى صفية فقال علي مولى عمتي و أنا أعقل عنه و قال الزبير مولى أمي و أنا أرثه فقضى عمر للزبير بالميراث و قضى على علي بالميراث

Sa’id says―Abu Muawiyah narrated to us saying―Abu ‘Ubaidah al Dabbi narrated to us―from Ibrahim who reports:

‘Ali and Zubair took their dispute to ‘Umar over Safiyyah’s freed slave. ‘Ali said, “He is the freed slave of my paternal aunt and I am responsible to pay his blood money.”

Zubair said, “He is the freed slave of my mother and I will inherit from him.”

‘Umar passed judgement of the inheritance in favour of Zubair and against ‘Ali.^[12]

 

(A ruling is learnt from here that a close heir is given precedence over a distant heir.)

 

Deductions

1. Sayyidina ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu was the judge and mufti of the people but Sayyidina ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu was his judge. He was the judge of the judges. He assigned passing verdicts of the public to Sayyidina ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu but would himself pass judgment on the disputes of Sayyidina ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu. In this manner, he had established a beautiful system.
2. It is established that Sayyidina ‘Umar’s radiya Llahu ‘anhu court was based on justice. That is why Sayyidina ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu would refer to him in times of dispute. Otherwise, he could not refer to a false court when he is practicing on the Qur’an and Sunnah, nor could he seek judgement from an oppressor and tyrant. (Just as explained in al Furu’ min al Kafi, vol. 3 pg. 225, book on judgements and laws, chapter on the reprehensibility of taking a dispute to tyrannical judges, Lucknow print.)
3. When Sayyidina ‘Umar’s radiya Llahu ‘anhu judiciary system was correct, then there remains no doubt in the correctness of his khilafah.
4. All these narrations and incidents are pronouncing that there existed love and not animosity, compassion and not hatred, friendship and not enmity between these two righteous men. They enjoyed a pleasant relationship and there existed no unpleasant feelings between them.
5. The ‘narrations’ of mutual enmity and dispute are nothing more than unfounded fabrications. Let the readers make a mental note of this fact.

 

NB: At the end of this section, we would like to mention Sayyidina ‘Ali’s radiya Llahu ‘anhu methodology during his khilafah, which will bring this section to a close.

Let the readers be aware that the buying and selling of an umm al walad (that slave girl who bears children for her master) was considered unlawful by both Sayyidina ‘Umar and Sayyidina ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhuma. However, Sayyidina ‘Ali’s radiya Llahu ‘anhu view changed afterwards and he then considered it permissible. When he assumed the position of khilafah, one of his judges ‘Ubaidah al Salmani approached him when this case arose and enquired for him what verdict should be passed in such a case. It was at this time that Sayyidina ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu made the following declaration. This narration appears in Sahih al Bukhari:

 

عن أيوب عن ابن سيرين عن عبيدة السلماني عن علي قال اقضوا كما تقضون فإني أكره الاختلاف حتى يكون الناس جماعة أو أموت كما مات أصحابي

Ayub―from Ibn Sirin―from ‘Ubaidah al Salmani―from ‘Ali who declared:

Continue passing judgement as you were for I dislike dissent, so that either the people will be united or I will pass away just as my companions passed away (without dissent).

 

This declaration of Sayyidina ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu is recorded in Musannaf ‘Abdul Razzaq^[13] with his sanad.

 

Conclusions

• This declaration is concerning buying and selling of an umm al walad, not any other issue (as the Shia are claiming).
• This declaration cannot be the product of Taqiyyah since he is the khalifah and it is his reign and this is his judge.
• These men had pure souls, clean hearts, and sound temperaments. They were exonerated from dissent, fanaticism, and doggedness.
• Sayyidina ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu was not ashamed from retracting any of his verdicts. He did not take it as distasteful.
• Those men maintained unity to the best of their ability at every juncture. They loathed discord and despised the spread of conflict.
• Just as my companions (Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, and ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhum) passed away. These words are a strong support to back the theme under discussion. These religious seniors appreciated and respected the verdicts and judgements of each other. They understood it reprehensible to pass contradictory verdicts. They were compassionate and loving to each other. They were not enemies and opposition to each other.
• In the face of such glaring realities, the claim that Sayyidina ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu responded in this manner only to avoid clashes and anarchy is incorrect. Sayyidina ‘Ali’s radiya Llahu ‘anhu external and internal were not different. His tongue and heart could not be in conflict. He was not two faced and hypocritical. The truth is that the Lion of Allah Sayyidina ‘Ali’s bravery, truthfulness, and honesty are in contrast with this. His statements and actions are totally correct. They are not the product of two-facedness.

 

NEXT⇒ Section Two

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[1] Sunan Sa’id ibn Mansur, vol. 2 pg. 132, 133, Majlis ‘Ilmi publication, Dabhel and Karachi; Kitab al Amwal, pg. 223 – 224, chapter on allocation of the stipends from the Fay’; al Sunan al Kubra, vol. 6 pg. 210, chapter on the book of inheritance; Kanz al ‘Ummal, vol. 2 pg. 314, Hadith: 6487, book of jihad, discussion on sustenance and stipends, first edition, Dakkan.

[2] Tabaqat Ibn Sa’d, vol. 2 pg. 109, chapter on the scholars and muftis from the Sahabah of the Nabi salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, second part, old Leiden print.

[3] Tabaqat Ibn Sa’d, vol. 2 pg. 109, second part, under ‘Ali al Murtada; Sahih al Bukhari, vol. 2 pg. 644, book on tafsir, the verse: We do not abrogate any verse …; Sheikh al Tusi: al Amali, vol. 1 pg. 256, new print, Najaf Ashraf.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Al Isti’ab, vol. 3 pg. 41, discussion on ‘Ali al Murtada, with al Isabah.

[6] Tabaqat Ibn Sa’d, vol. 2 pg. 102, second part, old print.

[7] Sirat ‘Umar ibn al Khattab, pg. 63, chapter 33, Egypt print.

[8] Al Bidayah wa al Nihayah, vol. 7 pg. 31, year 13 A.H.

[9] Al Bidayah wa al Nihayah, vol. 5 pg. 107, with reference to Musnad Ahmed.

[10] Sahih al Bukhari, vol. 1 pg. 435 – 436; chapter on the share of the khums; Sahih al Bukhari, vol. 2 pg. 806 – 807, chapter on a man keeping sustenance of a year for his family; Sahih Muslim, vol. 2 pg. 81, chapter on the ruling of Fay’.

[11] Imam Abu Yusuf: Kitab al Athar, pg. 170, Hadith: 775, chapter on inheritance, Hyderabad Dakkan print; Imam Muhammad: Kitab al Athar, pg. 120, chapter on the inheritance of freed slaves, Anwar Muhammadi print, Lucknow.

[12] Musannaf ‘Abdul Razzaq, vol. 9 pg. 35 – 45, chapter on a woman’s inheritance; Sunan Sa’id ibn Mansur, vol. 3 pg. 74, Hadith: 274, section one, chapter on a man being freed and subsequently passing away leaving behind inheritance, Majlis ‘Ilmi Karachi, Dabhel, Kanz al ‘Ummal, vol. 6 pg. 7, book on inheritance from the section on booty.

[13] Musannaf ‘Abdul Razzaq, vol. 11 pg. 329.