As for the claim that Umar was very strict in religion
It is clear that being powerful in religion is not only harshness and stoneheartedness; on the contrary making effort to remain attached to the two ropes of
Quran and Sunnah, and acting according to the two, and taking and establishing
limits mentioned in those two.
How often this fellow opposed those two and how he disregarded them
completely, and acted according to his personal viewpoint, which was diverged
from those two. And leave aside Quran and Sunnah about which he was ignorant!
What is the value of harshness without knowledge? And harshness in spite of
keeping away from principles of religion and going out of Islamic customs and
manners and getting attached to personal whims, what value does it have?
It was mentioned in the discussion about the academic masterpieces of
Umar, which you may refer.1 Indeed, there you would find strong evidences for
this quality. So refer to them and get informed.
As for the claim of Uthman’s modesty
Volume eight and nine of Al-Ghadeer2 are sufficient to prove this. And
every page of these two volumes is a sign of this quality of Uthman. Moreover,
the special discussion of his modesty, which was mentioned in this book.
As for the remaining three persons
We will not argue regarding what is mentioned about them as it would be a
waste of time and keeping away from more important discussions. And whoever
studies our book carefully would come to know, who was the most intelligent
person of the Ummah and the most knowledgeable of them about obligatory acts
and inheritance and its trustee.
He would understand that he is other than these three persons and he will not
sully the honor of the Ummah with these three and there is no occasion of
anxiety: the same anxiety and fear, which Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) had for his
Ummah, when he said:
“After me, I fear for the Ummah against deviation and following of base
desires and neglect after recognition.”3
2. In the book of Manaqib from Sahih Bukhari4 it is narrated from
Muhammad bin Hanafiyyah that: I asked my father: who is the best person after
Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.)? He replied: Abu Bakr. I asked: Who after him? He
replied: Umar. I feared that he would say ‘Uthman’ if I asked him further. So I said: Then you are the best of men. He said: I am, not but a man from Muslims.
In the quotation of Khatib in his Tarikh,5 it is mentioned: I said: Father dear,
who is the best of people after Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.)? He replied: Dear
son, do you not know that? No, I said. He said: It is Abu Bakr. I asked: Who after
him? He said: Dear son, do you not know that? He said: It is Umar. Muhammad
Hanafiyyah said: Then I took precedence and said: Father dear, then you are the
third best person. He said to me: Dear son, your father is a man from Muslims,
whatever is in their benefit is for his benefit and whatever is in their harm is
harmful for him as well.
Allamah Amini says: This is not the first mistake of Bukhari. One, who is
aware of the view of Ali (a.s.) regarding his predecessors, and aware of the
conduct of His Eminence, would clearly realize that this is a false tradition
attributed to him. Ibne Hanafiyyah is not one that after all this he would be
unaware of the viewpoint of his father that he should have to ask him about it.
Then he fears that he would name Uthman in the third place, and he
definitely recognized Uthman with all his inner and apparent defects and he knew
that Uthman was one of the thirty descendants of Abu Aas, who are cursed in a
tradition of Prophet that:
“When the descendants of Abu Aas reach thirty, they would take over the
property of Allah, enslave the servants of Allah and make the religion of Allah as
a source of deception.”6
Why Ameerul Momineen (a.s.) concealed this viewpoint on the day of the
killing of Uthman when Imam (a.s.) wanted to go to that man and help him, but
Ibne Hanafiyyah held his arms, or his shoulders or his sides and restrained him
from this?7
Ibne Hanafiyyah was away from ignorance of what Messenger of Allah
(s.a.w.a.) said regarding his purified father that:
“Indeed, he is the best of creatures and best of humans, and best of those I
leave behind. He is the best of men and one of the selected ones.”8
Muhammad Ibne Hanafiyyah was as such that the poet composed the
following couplet:
“You are the sons of the best of men after the Prophet. O son of Ali, march
forward; and one, who is like Ali.”9