Issues With the Early Succession

1. Yazid was wicked as a caliph

Mu’awiyah could not have known about it. Mu’awiyah’s probity and virtue were too great. While he lived, he censured Yazid for listening to music and forbade him to do it, and (listening to music) is a lesser sin than (Yazid’s later wickedness) and is judged differently by the different schools.

When Yazid’s well-known wickedness showed itself, the men around Muhammad disagreed about what to do with him. Some were of the opinion that they should revolt against him and declare the oath of allegiance that had been rendered to him invalid on account of (his wickedness).

This was the attitude taken by al-Husayn, ‘Abdallah b. az-Zubayr, and others. Others rejected that (course of action), because it threatened to stir up a revolt and to cause much bloodshed. In addition, they knew that they would be too weak to achieve success.

Yazid’s strength at that time lay in the Umayyad group feeling and in the Qurashite majority who exercised all executive authority. It was they who controlled the group feeling of all the Mudar.

Thus, they had more strength than anyone else. No resistance to them was possible.

Therefore, the above-mentioned persons knew that they were not in a position to do anything against Yazid.

They prayed that he might find guidance or that they might be relieved of him. This was the course the majority of the Muslims followed.

Both parties of the opposition to Yazid used their independent judgment. Neither of them may be considered at fault. It is well known that all their intentions were determined by piety and championship of the truth.

2. There is the matter of the appointment of a successor by the Prophet.

The Shi’ah claim that Muhammad appointed ‘Ali his heir. This is not correct.

No leading transmitter of traditions has reported such a thing. It is stated in (the sound tradition of) the Sahih that Muhammad asked for ink and paper in order to write his will, and that ‘Umar prevented it. 334 This clearly shows that (the appointment of ‘Ali as successor) did not take place.

There also is the following statement by ‘Umar, made after he had been stabbed and when he was asked about appointing a successor= “Were I to appoint a successor, it would be because someone who is better than I appointed a successor”- meaning Abu Bakr-“and were I not to appoint a successor, it would be because someone who is better than I did not” -meaning the Prophet.

The men around Muhammad were present and agreed with him that the Prophet had not appointed a successor.

There is also the statement of ‘Ali to al-‘Abbas.

Al’Abbas invited ‘All to go to the Prophet with him. They both were to ask the Prophet how they stood with regard to being appointed as his successor.

Ali, however, refused and said:

“If he keeps us from the caliphate, we cannot hope ever to get it.”

This shows that ‘All knew that Muhammad had not made a will and had not appointed anyone his successor.

The doubt of the Imamiyah in this matter is caused by the fact that they assume the imamate to be one of the pillars of the faith.

This is not so.

It is one of the public interests.

The people are delegated to take care of it. If it were one of the pillars of the faith, it would be something like prayer, and Muhammad would have appointed a representative caliph, exactly as he appointed Abu Bakr to represent him at prayer.

Had he done so, it would have become generally known, as was the case with the matter of prayer.

The men around Muhammad considered the caliphate as something analogous to prayer. And so they argued in favor of Abu Bakr’s caliphate, saying, “The Messenger of God found him acceptable for our religion. So, why should we not accept him for our worldly affairs?”

This is another proof that no appointment of an heir had taken place.

It also shows that the question of the imamate and succession to it was not as important then as it is today.

Group feeling determines unity and disunity in the customary course of affairs. This feeling was not of the same significance then as it was later on.

At that time, Islam was winning the hearts of the people and causing them to be willing to die for it in a way that disrupted the customary course of affairs.

That happened because people observed with their own eyes the presence of angels to help them, the repeated appearance of heavenly messages among them.

The constant Qur’anic recitation of divine pronouncements to them in connection with every happening.

Thus, it was unnecessary to pay any attention to group feeling.

Men generally had the coloring of submissiveness and obedience.

They were thoroughly frightened and perturbed by a sequence of extraordinary miracles and other divine happenings, and by frequent visitations of angels.

Such questions as that of the caliphate, of royal authority, succession, group feeling, and other such matters, were submerged in this turmoil the way it happened.

These helpful circumstances passed with the disappearance of miracles and the death of the generations that had witnessed them with their own eyes. The coloring mentioned changed little by little. The impression the wonders had made passed, and affairs took again their ordinary course.

The influence of group feeling and of the ordinary course of affairs manifested itself in the resulting good and bad institutions.

The questions of caliphate and royal authority and that of the succession to both became very important affairs in the opinion of the people.

It had not been this way before. The caliphate was unimportant in the time of the Prophet. It was so unimportant that he did not appoint a successor to it.

Its importance then increased somewhat during the time of the early caliphs because there arose certain needs in connection with:

• military protection
• the holy war
• the apostasy of Arab tribes after Muhammad’s death
• the conquests

The first caliphs could decide whether they would appoint successors or not.

We mentioned this on the authority of ‘Umar.

Subsequently, as at the present time, the matter has become most important in connection with harmony in (military) protection and the administration of public interests.

Group feeling has come to play a role in it.

Group feeling is the secret divine factor that restrains people from splitting up and abandoning each other.

• It is the source of unity and agreement, and the guarantor of the intentions and laws of Islam.

3. Wars happened among the men around Muhammad and the men of the second generation

Their differences concerned religious matters only, and arose from independent interpretation of proper arguments and considered insights.

Differences may well arise among people who use independent judgment.

In the case of problems that are open to independent judgment, the truth can lie only on one side, and that he who does not hit upon it is in error.

But, since it has not been clearly indicated by general consensus on which side (the truth lies), every side may be assumed to be right. The side that is in error is not clearly indicated, either.

To declare all sides to be at fault is not acceptable according to the general consensus.

Again, we may say that all sides have the true answer and that “everybody who uses independent judgment is right.” 342 Then, it is all the more necessary to deny that any one side was in error or ought to be considered at fault.

The differences between the men around Muhammad and the men of the second generation were no more than differences in the independent interpretation of equivocal religious problems, and they have to be considered in this light.