The Martyrdom of Sayyiduna `Ammar ibn Yasir and the role of the Saba’iyyah
History also bears witness to the killers of `Uthman being the rebels
February 23, 2015
The Martyrdom of Sayyiduna `Ammar ibn Yasir and the role of the Saba’iyyah
February 23, 2015BACK⇒ Return to Table of contents
The Martyrdom of Sayyidina ‘Ammar ibn Yasir and the role of the Saba’iyyah
O ‘Ammar! My companions will not kill you. You will be murdered by a Fi’at al Baghiyyah (group of rebels). (hadith)
Sayyidina ‘Ammar ibn Yasir radiya Llahu ‘anhu was an illustrious Sahabi. He was amongst the first few to embrace Islam and is counted amongst the senior Muhajirin. His entire household underwent great suffering for the cause of Islam. When Sayyidina Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam would see their suffering, he would say:
صبرا آل ياسر موعدكم الجنة
Exercise patience, O family of Yasir! Your abode will be Jannat.
First his father, Yasir radiya Llahu ‘anhu, was martyred. Thereafter his mother, Sumayyah radiya Llahu ‘anha, was martyred at the hands of Abu Jahl, who thrust his spear in the most private parts of her body. They were from a poor family, and the other Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhu were weak and few in number, therefore they too could not defend them.
Once the disbelievers cornered Sayyidina ‘Ammar ibn Yasir radiya Llahu ‘anhu and threatened to kill him if he does not renounce Islam. In order to save his life, he uttered these words, but immediately thereafter regretted and came before Sayyidina Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam in tears: “Iman is firmly embedded in my heart but I was forced to utter those words, what will happen to me?” These verses were then revealed:
مَنْ كَفَرَ بِاللهِ مِنْ ۢ بَعْدِ إِيْمَانِه إِلَّا مَنْ أُكْرِهَ وَقَلْبُه مُطْمَئِنٌّ ۢ بِالْإِيْمَانِ
He who becomes a disbeliever after having accepted iman (will be severely punished) except for those who are compelled to do so and their hearts are content with iman.[1]
Virtues of Sayyidina ‘Ammar ibn Yasir radiya Llahu ‘anhu
- Sayyidina Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam addressed him on the above occasion saying: “O ‘Ammar! Glad tidings for the likes of you, Allah has made matters easy for you.”
- Sayyidina Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam loved ‘Ammar radiya Llahu ‘anhu dearly. ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu narrates that ‘Ammar requested permission to meet Sayyidina Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, upon which Sayyidina Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: “Allow this tayyib mutayyab (one who himself is pure and his deeds and actions are also pure) to enter”[2]
- ‘Aisha radiya Llahu ‘anha narrates that Sayyidina Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: “‘Ammar chose the best of the two options placed before him.”[3]
- A person from Iraq came to Sayyidina Abu al Darda radiya Llahu ‘anhu in Syria to ask him a certain Islamic regulation, upon which he told him: “Is there not amongst you ibn Umm ‘Abd (‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ud) and ‘Ammar ibn Yasir whom Allah has protected from shaitan, according to the testimony given by Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam? And Hudhayfah radiya Llahu ‘anhu who was the confidant of Sayyidina Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam?”[4]
- During the construction of al Masjid al Nabawi, the Sahabah were carrying large rocks, one at a time. They jokingly gave ‘Ammar radiya Llahu ‘anhu two to carry on which ‘Ammar radiya Llahu ‘anhu said to Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam: “Your companions have killed me!” Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam replied: “O son of Sumayyah! My companions will not kill you rather you will be killed by a group of rebels.”[5]
This hadith appears in the Sihah Sittah, but certain narrators did not make mention of the construction of al Masjid al Nabawi and the phrase “my companions will not kill you”; they mentioned “he will invite them to Jannat and they will invite him to Jahannam.”
Virtues of Sayyidina ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu
The virtues of ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu are being mentioned since ‘Ammar radiya Llahu ‘anhu had great love for him.
- Sayyidina Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: “Whoever is my close friend, ‘Ali will also be his close friend.”[6]
- “O ‘Ali! You are of me and I am of you (an indication of the close relationship they had)”
- ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu says: “When I would ask then Sayyidina Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam would answer; and when I would be silent, then Sayyidina Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam himself would strike up a conversation.”
- “May Allah have mercy upon ‘Ali, just as He has had mercy on Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthman. O Allah! Let haqq (truth) follow them wherever they move.”[7]
- “O ‘Ali! You are my brother in this world and the next.”
- “Allah has instructed me to love four Sahabah, and they in turn also love me: Abu Dhar, Miqdad, Salman and ‘Ali”
- Once Sayyidina Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam summoned ‘Ali, Fatimah, Hassan and Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhum and said: “These are from my household. O Allah! Whoever loves me, these two (children) and their parents, will be together with me in Jannat.”
This is the reason why ‘Ammar radiya Llahu ‘anhu stood alongside ‘Ali during the Battle of Siffin and was also martyred therein.
Many people claim that he was killed by Muawiyah radiya Llahu ‘anhu and his supporters, in a misconstrued sense of love for Sayyidina ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu, whereas love for ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu should be based upon his own inner perfections and virtues, regardless of whether he has enemies or not.
Such love which is dependent upon the concept of ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ is the product of the followers of ‘Abdullah ibn Saba’ and his followers, who in actual fact were his true enemies.
In light of the above narrations you might have also gauged the extent of misunderstanding that has arisen on account of the narrator not reporting the words in full, as well as not mentioning the circumstances in which the statement was made. The actual criminals responsible for this heinous crime escape scot-free, while the innocent have to bear the brunt of it.
‘Ammars murderers are none other than the Saba’iyyah rebels
In this treatise, we wish to expose, in light of historic narrations, who the true murderers of ‘Uthman, ‘Ali, and ‘Ammar radiya Llahu ‘anhum are. We will prove that this authentic hadith (which states that ‘Ammar radiya Llahu ‘anhu will be killed by a group of rebels) does not refer to any of the two groups of Sahabah who were present at Siffin, but rather to the Saba’iyyah rebels.
In Arabic, the word Baghiyyah (rebel) is the sifat (adjective) of the noun Fiʼat (group). This noun along with its adjective become the faʼil (active participle, the one performing the action) of the verb “Killed”, and the fa’il has to be in existence before the action occurs. In other words, the doer of the action (i.e. the killer) will be a rebel group, who will already be established as rebels before the actual killing takes place. It does not mean that they will be declared to be rebels on account of them murdering ‘Ammar radiya Llahu ‘anhu.
This group’s first act of rebellion took place against the Khalifah ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu, and the meaning of fiʼat baghiyyah, according to the dictionary, is explained as “The group which revolts against a just ruler.”[8]
The Saba’ites are the ones who murdered ‘Uthman and thereby earned for themselves the title of “rebels”.
Virtues of Sayyidina ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu
1. Murrah ibn Ka’b narrates:
Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was mentioning the trials which were soon to come, when a person wrapped in a sheet passed that way. Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam then remarked: “At that time this person will be on the truth and upon guidance.” I jumped up and went to see who the person wrapped in the sheet was. It was ‘Uthman. I approached Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, faced him directly, and asked: “Is it this one?” Sayyidina Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam replied: “Yes, it is him.” He also mentioned that the murderers will be rebels, astray and on falsehood.
2. Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu narrates that Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: “Soon you will be faced with a trial and with differences.” One of the Sahabah asked: “Who will be our leader at that time or who do you command us to follow?” Sayyidina Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam replied: “Hold on to and obey your leader” gesturing towards ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu”[9]
If obedience to ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu was necessary, then without a doubt his murderers and mischief mongers will be classified as insurgents and rebels.
3. Once Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam addressed ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu saying: “Allah will honour you with a mantle (of Caliphate). If the hypocrites desire that you remove that mantle, do not remove it! Do not remove it!”
4. ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu narrated that Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: “‘Uthman will be martyred in a strife or trial which will take place. He will be the oppressed one.”[10]
From these narrations we clearly understand that the killers of ‘Uthman were the true mischief mongers and oppressors, as well as hypocrites and rebels, since their intention was to remove the mantle of Caliphate from ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu, which Sayyidina Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam instructed not to remove or hand over.
‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu also declared these people to be rebels and compared them to the disbelievers of jahiliyyah (the pre-Islamic period of ignorance)
The following sermon of ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu has been recorded in Tarikh al Tabri (vol. 3 pg. 507), Sirat al Khulafaʼ of al Khudri (pg. 78) and other books as well:
After praising Allah, ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu said: “After experiencing the misfortunes and wretchedness of jahiliyyah, Allah has honoured us with the fortune of Islam. After the demise of Sayyidina Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, Allah kept the entire ummah united behind the three khalifas. Today the situation we are facing has been brought upon the ummah by those who are seekers of the dunya (world). These people look at the favours bestowed upon this ummah with jealousy, and they are bent on destroying and annihilating Islam. They wish to bring back the days of jahiliyyah. Listen attentively! Tomorrow I am returning to Madinah. Everyone is to join me, with the exception of those who had raised objections against ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu or anyone who had assisted in killing him. Such foolish ones should only curse themselves.”
When the followers of ‘Abdullah ibn Saba’, such as ‘Albaʼ ibn Haytham, Salim ibn Tha’labah ‘Absi, Ashtar Nakha’i, etc., heard this announcement, they were convinced that if this reconciliation were to go ahead then it would result in them facing the death penalty. They therefore secretly instigated the fight that very night.[11]
NEXT⇒ History also bears witness to the killers of `Uthman being the rebels
[1] Surah al Nahl
[2] Tirmidhi
[3] ibid
[4] Bukhari
[5] Wording from Sirah ibn Hisham vol. pg. 497; also in Al ’iqd al Farid of ibn ‘Abd Rabbihi (d. 328 A.H), Wafaʼ al Wafa of Samhudi (d. 911 A.H. vol. 1 pg. 235
[6] Tirmidhi
[7] Tirmidhi 2/213
[8] Misbah al lughat pg. 67
[9] al Bayhaqi in Dala’il al Nubuwwah– as reported in Mishkat pg.563
[10] Tirmidhi
[11] Ibn Khaldun