The Deceptions of Engineer Sahib Regarding the Killing of Hujr bin Adi (may Allah have mercy on him)
Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza describes himself as an honest, truthful, fair-minded and scholarly man of books, and he also often claims: “I do not criticise the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them); I only mention their mistake.” But as is his habit, here too Mirza Sahib has fully displayed his fair-mindedness, honesty and truthfulness: in this regard he has levelled extremely vile and false accusations against Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), and, as always, in the name of books and references he has thrown dust in the eyes of his blind followers.
Mirza Sahib’s video lecture / the central idea of an Iranian film:
Our researcher, who puts on a show of authentic narrations, says in one of his videos:
“Hujr ibn Adi was among the Shi’ah of Ali, among the early Muslims. Muawiyah had him martyred unjustly. The complete details are in Mustadrak lil-Hakim, where there is an entire chapter on Hujr ibn Adi. Imam al-Hakim did not write it after watching my videos, sir; it predates my birth, by a thousand years. Read those thirteen hadiths and your tears will not stop, at what cruelty Hujr ibn Adi was killed with. Only because he would delay the Friday prayer, and from the pulpits they would curse Ali, and this one (Hujr bin Adi) would oppose them. And that man’s grave was dug in the very region that Hujr ibn Adi had conquered in the time of Umar, oh, alas, alas, alas. And at the last moment it was said that there is one way to be saved: curse Ali and they will let you go. He said: I loved Ali all my life, and now, seeing death, should I start cursing Ali? And he asked for permission to pray two rak’ahs, and he prayed them quickly and said: I prayed them quickly so that you would not think I am praying like this to delay death; I have never in my life prayed so quickly. And then he said, he made a will to the people – the people of Iran, whom you say do not accept the Companions, have made an entire film about Hujr ibn Adi, it is on YouTube with Urdu dubbing – so there he made a will to the public: that I am to be buried in these same shackles and these same blood-stained clothes, and on the Day of Resurrection, on the Sirat, I will seize Muawiyah by the collar. His companions were also killed, merely over a quarrel, because they were supporters of Ali.”
Hujar Ibne Adi | Final Part, Lecture by Ustaad Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza
That is, the basic claim is that Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) had Hujr bin Adi killed wrongfully and unjustly. And the reason was only that Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) and his governors would lead the Friday prayer late and would abuse Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) in the sermon, while Hujr would condemn them.
So in this statement our Engineer Sahib cited the book “Mustadrak lil-Hakim”, saying that the details are present in those thirteen narrations. And those thirteen narrations were even specifically pointed out on the screen. And how could it be that a researcher and scholarly man of books like Mirza Engineer would say something without giving a reference? But remember, not everything that glitters is gold! By Allah, according to Mirza Sahib’s claim, not a single word of it exists in the reference given; rather, all of this is lies and nonsense, whose source is the Iranian film, not al-Mustadrak.
The Disagreement of the Hadith Scholars on Whether Hujr bin Adi Was a Companion:
Although some scholars have declared Hujr ibn Adi a Companion, remember that the hadith scholars differed on this, and some leading imams did not consider his being a Companion correct, and instead counted him among the Tabi’in. Imam al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) is among them.
Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
أما البخاريّ وابن أبي حاتم عن أبيه وخليفة بن خياط وابن حبان فذكروه في التابعين۔
“Imam al-Bukhari, Imam Abu Hatim al-Razi, Imam Khalifa ibn Khayyat and Imam Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on them) counted him among the Tabi’in.”
Imam Ibn al-Jawzi (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote in clear words that Hujr ibn Adi’s being a Companion is not established.
Therefore, when there is a disagreement about his Companionship itself, it is not right to insult Sayyiduna Mu’awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) by exaggerating Hujr’s status, to stain the personality of Sayyiduna Mu’awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) by invoking Hujr’s name, and to slander him, when his Companionship is accepted. Sayyiduna Mu’awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) remained in the service of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for a long period, heard hadiths from him ﷺ, was a special scribe of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and by his command used to write down the revelation that was sent down to him. He fought in jihad together with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. His sister Sayyidah Umm Habibah (may Allah be pleased with her) was married to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and in this way he (may Allah be pleased with him) also has the honour of kinship with the Prophet ﷺ. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ made many supplications for him. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was very pleased to see him (may Allah be pleased with him) and his army of jihad in a dream, and gave them the glad tidings of Paradise. And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ described his (may Allah be pleased with him) rule as a merciful kingship. As can be seen in the chapter on the virtues of Mu’awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) and the mention of his good deeds.
Therefore, even if Hujr ibn Adi is accepted as a Companion, he would be counted among the junior Companions, and Sayyiduna Mu’awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) would undoubtedly be superior to him and closer to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. But these Shia, and in agreement with them Engineer Mirza, give Hujr ibn Adi the full protocol of a Companion and speak of him with exaggeration, while they slander and revile Mu’awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him). From this it should be understood that their lamenting in the name of Hujr ibn Adi is not out of love for the Companions; rather, it is material for their conspiracies against Sayyiduna Mu’awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), as they invoke Hujr’s name to level false accusations against him (may Allah be pleased with him). Otherwise, before this, the rightly-guided caliph Sayyiduna Uthman ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) was also martyred unjustly, yet you do not lament over his martyrdom; rather, on the contrary, objections are raised against him (may Allah be pleased with him) and accusations are made, and it is said with complete shamelessness and insolence that he (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred because of his own wrong policies.
Now look at those thirteen narrations of Mustadrak al-Hakim by citing which Mirza has presented his claim.
