(1)

Abu Bakr in the views of Umar

The narrator states with authenticity from Saeed bin Jabeer, that: when I was near Abdullah bin Umar and we were talking about his father Umar and Abu Bakr, a man said “By God! These two were the stars of the nation”.

Abdullah replied, “Is it true! On the contrary, he was against Abu Bakr. On one day, I was with my father Umar and he said, “do not allow anyone to enter without permission: Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr asked for the permission to enter?

Umar said, “«دويبة سوء ولهو خير من أبيه»; that Abdur Rahman is a hideous four-legged (animal), although he is better than his father Abu Bakr.

Abdullah ibne Umar said, “I was terrified and asked my father that: is it possible that Abdur Rahman could be better than his father?

«فقال: ومن ليس بخير من أبيه لا امّ لك».

Umar said: May your mother cry on your grave! None is there who’s is not better than Abu Bakr is. Thereafter, Abdur Rahman entered; at that time, Umar had imprisoned a poet named Hutaiah, he was there to ask for the forgiveness of Hutaiah but Umar refused him and he returned with disappointment. Then he said to me, “O dear son! You still do not know what injustice have this idiot of Bani Taim had done to me and went ahead of me to acquire the Khilafat. I replied, “I did not knew it” he said, “Did you had the courage to listen to it?” I replied, “By god! People love him more than the brightness of their own eyes”.

He said, “This is also because of your father”.

I replied, “What will happen if you denunciate him and drag him down from his position?”

He said, “O dear son! You yourself has said that people love him more than the brightness of their eyes, what can I do?” He continued, “even though my words are true, they will stone your father to death”.

Others have also mentioned from an authenticated source that when Abu Musa Ashari and Mughairah bin Shobeh was travelling to Mecca to meet Umar ibne Khattab, during their journey Abu Musa said to Mughairah, “Umar got this Khilafat from Abu Bakr although he has faced many difficulties in his reign”.

Mughairah said, “No, it is not true, he was forcibly supporting him and if possibilities were there he would have left him but he did not knew that, if you divide the jealousy into ten parts the Quraish will have nine of it and one will be left for rest of the people”. They had similar conversation until they reached the house of Umar and went with him for the circumambulation of the Holy Kaaba. Umar joined the conversation and relied upon Mughairah, and shared greetings. Eventually the conversation reached that the Quraish owns nine part of jealousy and the rest of them will share in one part, and if it had been in the hands of Abu Bakr, he would not have allowed Umar to become a Khalifah.

When Umar heard this took a sigh,

)ثمّ قال: ثكلتك اُمّك يا مغيرة وما تسعة اعشار الحسد وتسعة اعشار العشروفي الناس كلّهم عشر العشر بل وقريش شركاؤها أيضا(

Said, “O Mughairah, May your mother cry on your grave! What kind of division have you done, like all the jealousy is for Quraish and they also share the tenth part which is for the rest of the people”.

He said this and awaited for a moment silently, then said, “If you want, I will inform you about such a person who had more jealousy than the Quraish” the conversation went on like this and then he recited these verses of the poet Ka’b bin Zaheer for us,

“لاتفش سرّك إلاّ عند ذي ثقة             أولى وأفضل ما استودعت اسراراً
صدراً رحيباً وقلباً واسعاً قمناً               أن لاتخاف متى أودعت اظهاراً”

Then said, “Now what I am going to say should not be told to any one specially to those of the clan of Bani Hashim until I am alive” he paused for a moment took a sigh and said, “By God! Abu Bakr had more jealousy in him than all the Quraish collectively”. Then he became silent and we remained silent as well for some moment.

“ «ثمّ قال: والهفاه على ضئيل بنى تيم بن مرّة لقد تقدّمنى ظالماً وخرج إلى منها آثماً» ”

Then he continued, “Alas, an ignoble from the Bani Taim surpassed me to take the Khilafat by injustice and is performing misdeeds and transgression”.

Mughairah said, “If this was the case, why did you rejected it, when he stretched his hands towards you to pay the allegiance in Saqeefah?”

Umar said, “O Mughairah! I count you amongst the intellectuals of Arab; he reached out to me, when everyone was saying that we do not want anyone but Abu Bakr. He knew that he was not proficient to perform this task; he just wanted to know my intentions. And if would have accepted it, his enmity towards me would become more intensified and today I wouldn’t be the Khalifah”. (25)

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(25) Nasekh At-Tawareekh e Khulafah: 1/127

 

 Source: Mua’wiyah vol. … page …