The refusal of ‘Umar and those who were with him to bring writing materials to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) during his illness

Question

Praise be to Allah.

Firstly:

It
is not permissible for you to make friends with any one from this group who
claim to be Muslim, then they cast aspersions on the basic teachings of
Islam and on those who conveyed the religion to people (i.e., the Sahaabah),
and who believe that the Qur’an has been distorted, and that people can be
infallible, and they regard the Sahaabah as apostates, apart from a few of
them.

What you must do with regard to these people and others like them is shun
them, and warn others about their evil and misguidance.

Please see also the answers to questions no. 91665,
96231 and 126041

Secondly:

The wording of the hadith which speaks of the story which that Raafidi
mentioned to you is as follows:

It
was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas said: When the Messenger of Allah (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) was dying, there were men in the house among
whom was ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) said: “Come, let me write for you a document after which you will
not go astray.” ‘Umar said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) is overcome with pain, and you have the Qur’an; the Book
of Allah is sufficient for us. The people in the house disagreed, and they
argued. Some of them said: Come close and let the Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) write for you a document after
which you will not go astray. Others agreed with what ‘Umar said. When their
debating and argument in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) became too much, the Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Get up and leave.”

‘Ubayd-Allah said: Ibn ‘Abbaas used to say: What a calamity it was when the
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was prevented
from writing that document for them because of their disagreement and
arguing.

Narrated by al-Bukhaari (6932) and Muslim (1637)

-1-

the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) instructed his
companions who were present with him during his illness to bring a piece of
paper and a pen, so that he could dictate to them something that had nothing
to do with a new revelation that he had not yet conveyed to the people, or
with any shar‘i instruction that the people needed that had to do with their
religion. Then he decided not to tell them about that matter, because of
what happened. The evidence for that is as follows:

(a)This incident
happened on a Thursday, and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) died on the following Monday, i.e., four days later. He could have
asked others to write that document, but because he (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) did not do that, we know that it was not revelation that
he could have concealed.

(b)Allah, may He be
exalted, praised His Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) for
having conveyed what He revealed to him, and Allah, may He be exalted,
reminded this ummah of the blessing that He had bestowed upon them by
perfecting their religion and completing His favour upon them. The idea that
what the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not write
was part of the religion that all of the ummah needs is tantamount to
accusing the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) of not
conveying the message, and it constitutes disbelief in what the Lord, may He
be exalted, said about the religion being perfected and His blessing being
completed upon His slaves.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

The writing of this document is not something that Allah enjoined upon him
to write or convey at that time. If that had been the case, he (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) would not have failed to do what Allah
instructed him to do.

Minhaaj as-Sunnah an-Nabawiyyah
(6/315, 316)

And he (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

It
was not permissible for him to abandon writing the document because of the
doubts that some had about (its importance). If what he intended to write in
the document was something that he was obliged to convey and disclose, then
the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) would have disclosed
it and written it in a document, and he would not have paid any attention to
the view of anybody, for he was the most obedient of creation to Allah. Thus
it is known that when he decided not to write the document, the document was
not obligatory and it would not have contained anything of religious matters
that he was obliged to write at that time, because if that had been
necessary, he would have done it.

Minhaaj as-Sunnah an-Nabawiyyah
(6/12)

(c)What we have
mentioned is supported by the fact that the Sahaabah who were with the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) differed with regard to
their understanding of his instruction to bring writing materials and what
he really intended. Otherwise they would all have hastened to fulfil his
instructions. It was proven from them that they took off their shoes during
the prayer because of merely seeing the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) take off his shoes during the prayer, without him
instructing them to do that, so would such people have gone against an
instruction if they believed it to be part of the revelation? They are far
above doing such a thing. Therefore, some of them got up to bring a piece of
paper and a pen, as the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
had asked them to do, and others refrained, thinking that he (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) may have been overwhelmed with pain, or that his
instruction was meant as a recommendation only.

Abu’l-‘Abbaas al-Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

With regard to the words “Come, let me write for you a document after which
you will not go astray”, this is a command and a request that was addressed
to everyone present. Hence it was the duty of everyone who was present to
hasten to obey this command, especially when it was followed by the words
“after which you will not go astray”. But ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with
him) and others thought that this command was not by way of obligation;
rather it was by way of recommendation. Moreover, in the Book of Allah there
is guidance to everything that the Muslim needs, as Allah, may He be
exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “And We have sent down to
you the Book (the Quran) as an exposition of everything” [an-Nahl 16:89].
In addition to that, the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) was suffering pain, so ‘Umar did not want him to have to do
something that may be very difficult for him in that situation. Therefore
they decided that it was more appropriate for him not to write anything. But
the other group wanted him to write the document, following the apparent
meaning of the command and out of eagerness for more clarification and to
remove any ambiguity. Would that that had happened! But that is what Allah
decreed, and whatever He wills happens. But there should be no blame or
criticism of the first group, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) did not rebuke them or tell them off; rather he said to
all of them: “Let me be, for I am fine.”

Al-Mufhim lima Ashkala min Talkhees Kitaab Muslim
(15/18)

Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

Al-Maaziri (may Allah have mercy on him) said: It was permissible for the
Sahaabah to differ concerning this document, despite the clear instructions
given to them concerning that, because instructions may be accompanied by
indications that make them less than obligatory. It is as if there was
something to indicate that the matter was not obligatory; rather it was
optional. Therefore they had different views, and ‘Umar insisted on his view
for which he had circumstantial evidence that the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) had said that without insisting on it.

Fath
al-Baari (8/133, 134)

-2-

The Prophet’s decision to write a document was either based on revelation
that came then was abrogated, or it was something that he thought would
serve some interest, then he changed his mind.

An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) thought about writing
the document when he thought that it would serve some interest, or it may be
that he received some revelation concerning that, then it appeared that best
interests would be served by refraining from writing it, or he received
revelation to abrogate the initial command.

Sharh Muslim
(11/90). A similar report was narrated by al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar from al-Maaziri.
See: Fath al-Baari (8/134).

-3-

The Raafidis claim that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) gave instructions that ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allah be pleased with
him) should become caliph after he died, but what does this incident have to
do with them? Why do they have to tamper with it and misinterpret it,
claiming that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) wanted
to write down instructions that ‘Ali should become the caliph after him? Why
couldn’t the instructions that he wanted to write in this document be
instructions for Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) to become caliph
after he died?

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

Whoever imagines that this document would have been about the appointment of
‘Ali to the caliphate is misguided, according to the consensus of the
Muslims, including the scholars of both the Sunnis and the Shi‘ah. As for
the Sunnis, they are unanimously agreed that Abu Bakr is superior and is to
be given precedence. As for the Shi‘ah who say that ‘Ali was the one who
deserved to be the imam (caliph), they say that ‘Ali had been named as the
imam (caliph) before that, in clear and unambiguous wording that was widely
known. In that case, there was no need for any document.

Minhaaj as-Sunnah an-Nabawiyyah
(6/11)

-4-

It
is proven via the soundest isnaad that the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) wanted to give instructions that Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq (may
Allah be pleased with him) should be appointed caliph after he died, then he
decided not to do that, and he said that the believers would not accept
anyone other than him as caliph. It was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah
be pleased with her) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) said to me during his illness: “I was thinking – or I
wanted – to send for Abu Bakr and his son and appoint him as my successor,
lest people say (that the caliphate should be for So and so) or lest anyone
should hope for it for themselves. Then I thought: Allah and the believers
would reject anyone who is less qualified than Abu Bakr.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari
(5342). Also narrated by Muslim (2387) with the words: “when Allah and the
believers insist on Abu Bakr.”

We
(as Sunnis) are not concerned about that issue, because Allah and the
believers decided that the successor (caliph) of the Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) should be no one but Abu Bakr.

-5-

What occurred of some of the Sahaabah questioning the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) about some issues does not undermine the fact
that they would hasten to follow his instructions and do what Islam
required, because they would discuss things with him (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) until the revelation came confirming what the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) told them, whereupon they would
hasten to obey the command.

An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

Al-Khattaabi said: The companions of the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) would discuss some issues with him before he gave them
definitive and binding instructions, as when they discussed the terms of the
treaty between him and Quraysh with him on the day of al-Hudaybiyah. But
once he issued definitive instructions, none of them would discuss it with
him.

Sharh Muslim
(11/91)

Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

The Sahaabah used to discuss some issues with him, so long as he had not
issued definitive instructions; once he did that, however, they would comply
with them.

Fath al-Baari
(1/209)

-6-

The words of ‘Umar, “the Book of Allah is sufficient for us”, were not
addressed to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), for
‘Umar was too respectful to have done that. Rather these words were
addressed to those who objected to him not bringing writing materials.

An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

The words of ‘Umar, “the Book of Allah is sufficient for us”, were answering
back those who disagreed with him; it was not a counter-argument to the
instruction of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).

Sharh Muslim (11/93).

-7-

The scholars gave the following reasons to explain why ‘Umar thought it
better not to bring materials with which to write the document for the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him):

(a)His compassion for
the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), because he did not
want to burden him in that situation with having to dictate the document,
because that might be too difficult for him, as he said: The Messenger of
Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is overcome with pain.

(b)He was worried
lest the hypocrites and those in whose hearts was sickness would cast
aspersions on this document and express their doubts about those who
transmitted it, and cast aspersions on them and their good character.

(c)He was worried
that he may write some instructions that they would not be able to comply
with, and thus they would incur sin by not complying, and he thought it was
kinder to the ummah, with regard to these issues, to leave them as a matter
of ijtihaad, to be subject to examination and looking for the right answer,
so that both the one who gets it right and the one who gets it wrong would
be rewarded.

See: Dalaa’il an-Nubuwwah (7/184); ash-Shifa bi Ta‘reef Huqooq
al-Mustafa by al-Qaadi ‘Iyaad (2/194); Sharh Muslim by an-Nawawi
(11/91); Fath al-Baari (1/209)

-8-

With regard to the words of Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him),
there is nothing in them to suggest that he was casting aspersions on the
Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them). He was among those who swore
allegiance to Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq, and to ‘Umar al-Faarooq after him. What
he meant was that the thing that prevented writing down the document (i.e.,
the Prophet’s sickness) was itself a calamity, because turmoil emerged after
that and aspersions were cast on those prominent Sahaabah.

Shaykh
al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

The words of Ibn ‘Abbaas, “What a calamity it was when the Messenger of
Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was prevented from writing
that document” mean that the thing that prevented it happening was a
calamity; it was a calamity for those who doubted the legitimacy of Abu
Bakr’s caliphate, or were not certain about the matter, because if there had
been a document, there would have been no doubt. As for those who knew that
his caliphate was legitimate, it was not a calamity for them, praise be to
Allah.

Minhaaj as-Sunnah an-Nabawiyyah
(6/11)

-10-

These words of Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) were based on his
own ijtihaad. No doubt ‘Umar was more knowledgeable and was senior to Ibn
‘Abbaas. Some of the scholars are of the view that the fact that the
document was not written, and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) did not object to what ‘Umar said, suggests that the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) adopted ‘Umar’s opinion and
thought that that was the correct thing to do.

An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

Therefore ‘Umar was more knowledgeable than Ibn ‘Abbaas and the people who
agreed with him.

Sharh Muslim
(11/90)

Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

The fact that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not
object to ‘Umar indicates that he thought his view was correct. When ‘Umar
said, “the Book of Allah is sufficient for us”, he was referring to the
verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning): “We have neglected nothing in the Book” [al-An‘aam 6:38].
It may be that the aim was to make things easier for the Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), when ‘Umar saw that he was in
great distress. Thus he sensed that what he wanted to write was not
something they could not do without. If that had been the case, the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) would not have refrained from
writing it because of their differences.

This view cannot be undermined by what Ibn ‘Abbaas said, “What a calamity it
was…”, because ‘Umar was definitely more knowledgeable than him.

Fath al-Baari
(8/134).

Thus it becomes clear that the claims of the Raafidis, casting aspersions on
the Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them) – and especially ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab
(may Allah be pleased with him) – are false. It also becomes clear that what
the early generations said about them being the most mendacious of the
groups that claim to be Muslims is true. So beware of them for the sake of
your religious commitment. We ask Allah to make you steadfast in adhering to
Islam and the Sunnah.

For more information on the beliefs of the Raafidis, please see the answers
to questions no. 113676, 4569,
1148 and 21500

And Allah knows best.