Incident of Shura
What do you know about the story of Shura? Ask about it from the sword of
Abdur Rahman Ibne Auf; as on that day there was no sword other than that. And
recall his statement to Ali (a.s.):
“Pay allegiance, otherwise I would strike off your head.”
Or said: “Do not compel us to act against you,” as Bukhari and Tabari and others have mentioned.1
Mention the statement of members of Shura, when Ali was excluded through
prejudice, they came to him and said: “Pay allegiance, or we would fight you.”2
Or the statement of Ameerul Momineen (a.s.): “When was I equal to the first
of your person in Caliphate that today I should be equated with members of
Shura; that even know they regard me as equal?”
And they placed me at par with them? I am compelled to come short and
made to stand in their row, one of them (Saad bin Abi Waqqas), due to malice he
opposed me, and the other (Abdur Rahman bin Auf, brother in law of Uthman)
gave precedence to his relative, and those two others (Talha and Zubair) that is
bad to mention their name…3
But Ibne Umar – according to Ibne Hajar – did not see dispute in his
Caliphate, and also did not see dispute in Caliphate of Muawiyah, who came to
power through force after Ameerul Momineen (a.s.), and God knows what all
occurred in that Caliphate! Till Muawiyah died.
This, Saad bin Abi Waqqas is one of the ten persons given glad tidings of
Paradise and is from the members of Shura, who refrained from paying allegiance
to him.4 And this is Ibne Abbas, who confronts evil and makes his reasoning
invalid.5 And Ayesha objected against Caliphate of Muawiyah and she denied it
to him; when this was reported to Muawiyah, he said:
“I am astonished at Ayesha, she thinks I am on a position for which I am
unworthy and it is not my right; what does she have to do with this; may God
forgive her, indeed the father of the person seated here disputed with me in this
matter and God killed him.”
Hasan bin Ali (a.s.) said: “O Muawiyah, are you astonished?”
He replied: “Yes, by God.”
He said: “Shall I not inform you about something more astonishing than this?”
He replied: “What is that?”
Imam Hasan (a.s.) said: “It is that you are sitting at the head of the gathering and I am seated lower than you.”6
In this way elder companions were inimical to him and they conveyed to him their anger and they heard evil and frivolous statements from him and bore negative conduct from him and saw from him heresies in the upright religion, which will remain forever and his crimes against the Islamic Ummah and
righteous member of the community.