This excerpt is taken from A Research Review of Mirza Muhammad Ali Engineer's Objections and Issues, authored by Haroon bin Shabbir Ahmad, may Allah preserve him, and revised by Fazilat al-Sheikh Maulana Muhammad Rafiq Tahir, may Allah preserve him.
Connecting this narration with the near-death speech of Sayyiduna Umar, may Allah be pleased with him:
Along with the same Hadith number 4108 of Sahih Bukhari, Mirza Sahib pairs this Hadith from Sahih Muslim to fulfill his filthy objectives:
عَنْ مَعْدَانَ بْنِ أَبِي طَلْحَةَ، أَنَّ عُمَرَ بْنَ الْخَطَّابِ، خَطَبَ يَوْمَ الْجُمُعَةِ، فَذَكَرَ نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَذَكَرَ أَبَا بَكْرٍ قَالَ: إِنِّي رَأَيْتُ كَأَنَّ دِيكًا نَقَرَنِي ثَلَاثَ نَقَرَاتٍ، وَإِنِّي لَا أُرَاهُ إِلَّا حُضُورَ أَجَلِي، وَإِنَّ أَقْوَامًا يَأْمُرُونَنِي أَنْ أَسْتَخْلِفَ، وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمْ يَكُنْ لِيُضَيِّعَ دِينَهُ، وَلَا خِلَافَتَهُ، وَلَا الَّذِي بَعَثَ بِهِ نَبِيَّهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَإِنْ عَجِلَ بِي أَمْرٌ، فَالْخِلَافَةُ شُورَى بَيْنَ هَؤُلَاءِ السِّتَّةِ، الَّذِينَ تُوُفِّيَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَهُوَ عَنْهُمْ رَاضٍ، وَإِنِّي قَدْ عَلِمْتُ أَنَّ أَقْوَامًا يَطْعَنُونَ فِي هَذَا الْأَمْرِ، أَنَا ضَرَبْتُهُمْ بِيَدِي هَذِهِ عَلَى الْإِسْلَامِ، فَإِنْ فَعَلُوا ذَلِكَ فَأُولَئِكَ أَعْدَاءُ اللَّهِ، الْكَفَرَةُ الضُّلَّالُ..............
“Madan bin Abu Talha, may Allah have mercy on him, narrates that Hazrat Umar bin Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, delivered a sermon on Friday and mentioned the Prophet, peace be upon him, and Hazrat Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, and said: I have seen (in a dream) as if a bird has pecked me three times. And I interpret this to mean that my time has come. Some people are demanding that I appoint someone as my successor. Indeed, Allah will not let His religion be lost, nor His caliphate system, nor the thing with which He sent His Prophet, peace be upon him. If I die, then the matter of caliphate should be settled by mutual consultation among these six men, and the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was pleased with them at the time of his death. And I know that some people will criticize this matter; I have struck them with my own hands for Islam. So if they do so, they are enemies of Allah, disbelievers, and misguided!”
Reference: (Sahih Muslim:567)
And who were those six companions, for which Mirza Sahib often cites Hadith number 3700 of Sahih Bukhari.
The Hadith states that when a person loses modesty, he does whatever he wishes.
Reference: (Sahih Bukhari:6120)
And Mirza Sahib is afflicted with this disease of shamelessness. His argument is that Hazrat Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, had forewarned about those who would criticize the caliphate matter, calling them enemies of Allah and misguided, and said that he had struck them with his own hands. Here, Hazrat Muawiya, may Allah be pleased with him, is criticizing the caliphate matter, claiming he has more right to it than Hazrat Umar, may Allah be pleased with him. And Ibn Umar’s response was that the one who fought for Islam has more right to the caliphate than you. They combine these two statements.
We have already proven from earlier evidence that Hazrat Muawiya, may Allah be pleased with him, did not criticize or insult anyone; rather, it has been clarified how he viewed the governments of Sayyidna Umar and Ali, may Allah be pleased with them. As for the deception regarding Sayyidna Umar’s name, Sayyidna Umar himself informed us that those disbelievers, enemies of Allah, and critics of the caliphate matter he was referring to did not include Muawiya, may Allah be pleased with him, at all!
How so? Tell me, did Sayyidna Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, not appoint Hazrat Muawiya, may Allah be pleased with him, as the governor of Syria during his caliphate? So did you, God forbid, appoint a disbeliever and enemy of Allah as a governor in your rightly guided caliphate? And the one who tomorrow will criticize the caliphate? Sayyidna Umar’s appointment of Hazrat Muawiya to such a high position itself confirms and answers all objections and nonsense against Hazrat Muawiya.
عَنْ عَامِرِ بْنِ وَاثِلَةَ أَنَّ نَافِعَ بْنَ عَبْدِ الْحَارِثِ لَقِيَ عُمَرَ بِعُسْفَانَ وَكَانَ عُمَرُ يَسْتَعْمِلُهُ عَلَى مَكَّةَ فَقَالَ مَنْ اسْتَعْمَلْتَ عَلَى أَهْلِ الْوَادِي فَقَالَ ابْنَ أَبْزَى قَالَ وَمَنْ ابْنُ أَبْزَى قَالَ مَوْلًى مِنْ مَوَالِينَا قَالَ فَاسْتَخْلَفْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ مَوْلًى قَالَ إِنَّهُ قَارِئٌ لِكِتَابِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَإِنَّهُ عَالِمٌ بِالْفَرَائِضِ قَالَ عُمَرُ أَمَا إِنَّ نَبِيَّكُمْ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَدْ قَالَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَرْفَعُ بِهَذَا الْكِتَابِ أَقْوَامًا وَيَضَعُ بِهِ آخَرِينَ۔
“Aamir bin Wathila narrates that Hazrat Nafi’ bin Abdul Harith, may Allah be pleased with him, met Hazrat Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, at the place Asfan, and Sayyidna Umar had appointed him as the governor of Mecca. Hazrat Umar asked him whom he had appointed as his deputy over the people of the valley, i.e., Mecca. Nafi’ replied: Ibn Abziya. Hazrat Umar asked: Who is Ibn Abziya? He said: He is one of our freed slaves. Upon this, Hazrat Umar said: You have appointed a slave as your successor? Then Hazrat Nafi’ replied: He is a reciter of Allah’s Book and well-versed in rulings and issues. Then Sayyidna Umar said: Indeed, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: ‘Allah elevates many people through this Book (Quran) and lowers many through it (meaning those who reject it).’”
Reference: (Sahih Muslim:1897)
What is your attitude, O Umar, towards the deputy of a governor? Was that slave a disbeliever whom Hazrat Umar considered objectionable? No! He thought it was inappropriate to appoint a slave who was not qualified to such an important and high position! When he learned that he was not an ordinary slave but one knowledgeable in Allah’s religion, then Hazrat Umar was satisfied. So what do you think about the one whom Governor Umar himself appointed? Did Umar appoint such a person to a high position who, in his view, would tomorrow criticize the caliphate, and who is considered a disbeliever and enemy of Allah (God forbid)? This clearly shows that fitting Sayyidna Umar’s near-death statement to Sayyidna Muawiya is not only wrong but a hundred thousand percent incorrect, and this slap was delivered by Umar himself on the face of Rafidism. We do not even need to refute or respond. At the same time, it also shows that in Sayyidna Umar’s view, Sayyidna Muawiya was a religious, intelligent, trustworthy, knowledgeable, and capable person to bear the burden of Islamic authority.
Imam Dhahabi, may Allah have mercy on him, has beautifully written:
وَقَالَ خَلِيفَةُ: ثُمَّ جَمَعَ عُمَرُ الشَّامَ كُلَّهَا لِمُعَاوِيَةَ، وَأَقَرَّهُ عُثْمَانُ۔ قُلْتُ: حَسْبُكَ بِمَنْ يُؤَمِّرُهُ عُمَرُ......
“Imam Khalifa bin Khayyat, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Then Hazrat Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, gathered all of Syria for Hazrat Muawiya, may Allah be pleased with him, and Sayyidna Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, also maintained it.”
I (Dhahabi) say: “For your (Hazrat Muawiya’s) endorsement, Sayyidna Umar’s appointment of him to power is sufficient.”
Reference: (Siyar A’lam al-Nubala:132/3)
But Sayyidna Umar’s prophecy is also based on truth; then who are the people he meant? They became openly visible to us after Sayyidna Umar’s death during Sayyidna Uthman’s era. But Mirza Sahib, while protecting his spiritual relatives, directs us towards Muawiya, may Allah be pleased with him. Spiritual relatives in the sense that they also criticized Hazrat Uthman’s caliphate, and today Engineer Sahib also supports these rebels. The details and evidence regarding Mirza Sahib’s objections to Sayyidna Uthman will come, God willing, in the chapter on objections to Sayyidna Uthman. Here, we only point out that Imam Qurtubi, may Allah have mercy on him, says about those who criticized Sayyidna Uthman’s martyrdom and caliphate:
وجملة الأمر أن قومًا من أهل مصر وغيرهم غلب عليهم الجهل، والهوى، والتعصب، فنقموا عليه أمورًا أكثرها كذب، وسائرها له فيها أوجه من المعاذير، وليس فيها شيء يوجب خلعه، ولا قتله، فتحزّبوا، واجتمعوا بالمدينة، وحاصروه في داره۔
“In summary, some people from Egypt and other regions, overwhelmed by ignorance, desire, and prejudice, made objections/accusations against Sayyidna Uthman, many of which were false, and for the remaining matters, Sayyidna Uthman had clear excuses. None of these justified his removal or killing. So they formed a group, gathered in Medina, and besieged Hazrat Uthman’s house.”
Reference: (Al-Mufhim:226/6)
Therefore, these were the killers and rebels of Sayyidna Uthman who criticized his caliphate, and these are the very people Sayyidna Umar meant.
