The Twelve Persons Who Opposed the Rule of Abu Bakr Before Ali Ibn Abi Talib (as)

“Those who were opposed to the rule of Abu Bakr before Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) were twelve persons from the Emigrants (Muhajirin) and the Helpers (Ansar). The ones from amongst the Emigrants were Sa’id ibn Al-As; al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad; Abi ibn Ka’ab; Ammar ibn Yasir; Abuzar al-Qaffari; Salman al-Farsi; Abdullah ibn Mas’ood; and Baridat al-Aslami. And those who were from the Helpers were Khazimat ibn Sabit Zulshahadatein; Sahl ibn Hanif; Abu Ayoob Al-Ansari; Abul Haysam ibn al-Tayhan and others.
When Abu Bakr sat on God’s Prophet’s (sw) pulpit as the Caliph they consulted with each other in this regard. Some of them said, ‘Let us go and force him down from the pulpit.’ The others said, ‘This would be like contributing to our own destruction and the Honorable the Exalted God has said, ‘And make not your own hands contribute to (your) destruction;’ It is better that we all go to see Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) and consult with him to see what he says.’ Then they all went to see Ali (AS) and said, ‘O Commander of the Faithful! You have given up your position and your due right. We do not want to take Abu Bakr down from the pulpit without consulting with you.’ Ali (AS) told them, ‘A war would break out if you do so. You are nothing when compared with them in terms of force. The people have agreed to his Caliphate now and have not acted according to what the Prophet (sw) said. They have denied their Lord! I consulted with my family on this issue. They believe that there is no solution except being silent since these people hate the Honorable the Exalted God and the Prophet’s Household. They want to retaliate for the blood shed in the Age of Ignorance. I swear by God that if you do so, they will unsheathe their swords and become ready for a battle as they quarreled with me so much that they defeated me; dominated over me; surrounded me and said, ‘Either you pledge allegiance or we will kill you.’ I had no way except to protect myself since I remembered the words of God’s Prophet (sw) who told me, ‘O Ali! If these people did not let you become the Caliph; disagreed with you and disobeyed my orders regarding you, you must be patient until God descends an order for you. Beware that they will certainly deceive you. You should not give them any excuses, since then they will belittle you and shed your blood. Gabriel has informed me on the authority of the Blessed the Sublime God that the nation will break their pledge of allegiance after me.’ You should all go to that man and tell him what you have heard from your Prophet (sw), so that he may have no doubts in what he is doing. It would be best to give him an ultimatum so that he deserves a greater punishment from his Lord, since he has disobeyed God’s Prophet (sw) and has acted against his orders.’
Then they all waited until Friday when they surrounded the pulpit of God’s Prophet (sw). The Helpers told the Emigrants, ‘Indeed the Honorable the Exalted God has preferred you to the Helpers and said, ‘Allah turned with favor to the Prophet, the Muhajers and the Ansar …’ Therefore, you may speak first. Because of this the first one who stood up and started to speak was Khalid ibn Saeed ibn Aas with the support of the Umayyads.
He said, ‘O Abu Bakr! I admonish you to fear God. You well know what God’s Prophet (sw) has said about Ali (AS). Don’t you know that on the day of the Battle of the Qariza clan, (when we were all around him) faced the noble ones of us - and said, ‘O Emigrants and Helpers! I have a recommendation to you which you must honor. I have an order which you must obey. Beware that Ali (AS) is your Commander and my Trustee after me. My Lord advised me so. If you do not respect my will in this regard, and do not support and assist him, you will fall into disunion regarding your decrees. Your religious affairs will be in a mess, and the most wicked ones amongst you will take charge of your affairs. The members of my Household are in charge of the affairs after me. They are to run the affairs of my nation after me. O my Lord! Please include anyone who honors my will regarding Ali (AS) to be amongst those who are resurrected along with me. Also grant them some of my Friendship with which they can become prosperous in the Hereafter. O my God! Please forbid Paradise which is wider than the heavens and the Earth for whoever mistreats my Household.’
When Khalid said this Umar ibn al-Khattab yelled and said, ‘O Khalid! Shut up. You are not one of the members of the council or the ones on whose sayings we could rely.’ Then Khalid said, ‘O Ibn al-Khat’tab! You should shut up. I swear by God that you well know that you are not just saying what you yourself think. Rather, you are defending other people’s interests. I swear by God that all of the Quraysh know that my lineage is nobler than everyone else. I am the most literate, the most well-known one and expect the least from God and His Prophet (sw), but you are of the worst lineage, the most infamous one that is much more distant from the Honorable the Exalted God and His Prophet (sw). Indeed you are a coward in fighting, stingy at times of drought, and of a base lineage. You have nothing to be proud of amongst the Quraysh.’ Thus, Khalid silenced him and sat down.
Then Abuzar (ra) stood up, praised God, expressed God’s glorifications and said, ‘O group of the Emigrants and the Helpers! You and the good ones amongst you all know well that God’s Prophet (sw) said, ‘The Rule over the affairs belongs to Ali (AS) after me. After him, it belongs to Al-Hassan (AS) and al-Hussein (AS). Then after them it belongs to the members of my Holy Household from the progeny of Al-Hussein (AS). You have ignored what God’s Prophet (sw) said. You have become materialists and have forgotten what God’s Prophet (sw) said. You have forsaken the permanent blessings of the Hereafter which is everlasting and never ends or gets ruined where the residents neither grieve nor die. You have become just like the deviated nations who changed the orders of their Prophets after them. Soon you will be bitterly punished for your deeds. God doesn’t oppress His servants.’
Abuzar finished his speech and then Salman al-Farsi (ra) stood up and said, ‘O Abu Bakr! Who do you cite when you issue your judgements and to whom do you seek refuge when you are asked things which you do not know? Who is more knowledgeable in the nation than you are? Who is closer to God’s Prophet (sw) than you are? Who has a more extensive background with God’s Prophet (sw) than you do? You have ignored the Prophet’s orders which he issued when he was alive. You have forgotten the Prophet’s (sw) will. Soon everythingwill become very clear for you when you die and enter the graveyard with a heavy load of sins and wicked deeds. When you enter your grave you will find exactly what you sent ahead of yourself. If you pay attention to the truth and be fair and acknowledge the right of the just ones, it will save you on a Day on which you will be in need of your own deeds and when you will be left alone in your grave with your (own) deeds. You have heard what we have heard and you have seen what we have seen. Why do these remarks not prevent you from doing what you are doing? I beseech you by God to consider God. Whoever ponders over things in advance would act according to what is right.’
Then Al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad (ra) stood up and said, ‘O Abu Bakr! First measure yourself and see how much you measure up to. Sit in your own house and cry over your sins, since that would be better for you in this life and after your death. Return the position of the Caliphate to the one whom God and His Prophet (sw) have already determined. Do not rely on this world as your supporter and do not let these lowly people deceive you. Soon the world will end for you and you will be taken to your Lord to be rewarded for what you have done. You know well that the position of the Caliphate belongs to Ali (AS). He (MGB) is the one to whom it belongs to after God’s Prophet (sw). I have only advised you. You may accept it or not as you please.’Then Barideh Aslami stood up and said, ‘O Abu Bakr! Have you really forgotten things or do you pretend to have forgotten? Are you deceiving yourself? Don’t you remember that God’s Prophet (sw) ordered us to greet Ali (AS) as the Commander of the Faithful during his lifetime. Fear God and get a grip on yourself before it gets too late. Save yourself from destruction! Leave the position of Caliphate and entrust it to the one who deserves it. Do not go astray. Return while you still can. I have only advised you and did my best. You may accept it or not as you please. You will become triumphant and prosper if you accept it.’
Then Abdullah ibn Mas’ood stood up and said, ‘O the Quraysh clan! You and all the good ones amongst you well know that the members of the Household of your Prophet are closer to God’s Prophet (sw) than you are. If you claim the position of the Caliphate to be for the relatives of God’s Prophet (sw) and say you have a background in Islam, then the members of the Household of God’s Prophet (sw) are closer to him than you are. They are closer to God’s Prophet (sw) and have a more extensive background with him. Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) is in charge of this after your Prophet (sw). Therefore, entrust to him what God has already entrusted him with and do not step backwards, since then you may experience a detrimental ending.’
Then, Ammar ibn Yasir stood up and said, ‘O Abu Bakr! Do not grasp by force the right which God has granted to someone else. Do not be the first one to disobey God’s Prophet (sw) and oppose him regarding his Household. Return the right to its owner. Lighten the load and burden on your back and meet God’s Prophet in such a manner that he may be pleased with you. Then you may go to the Merciful God for the Reckoning of your deeds and asking you about what you have done.’
Then Khuzayma ibn Sabit Zul-Shuhadatayn stood up and said, ‘O Abu Bakr! Don’t you know that God’s Prophet accepted my testimony alone and did not ask for anyone else’s testimony?’ Abu Bakr replied, ‘Yes.’ Khuzayma said, ‘I swear by God and bear witness that I heard God’s Prophet (sw) say, ‘The members of my Household are the ones who distinguish the difference between right and wrong. In fact, they are the Divine Leaders whom you must follow.’’
Then Abul Haysam ibn al-Teehan stood up and said, ‘O Abu Bakr! I bear witness to the Prophet (sw) and his Holy Household that God’s Prophet (sw) raised up Ali (AS) by his arm.’Then the Helpers said, ‘The Prophet (sw) indeed raised him up by his arm for the position of Trusteeship.’ Others said, ‘The Prophet (sw) raised him up so that the people could know who is the Master of whomever the Prophet (sw) is the master of and that the Prophet (sw) had said, ‘Beware that the members of my Household are the stars on the Earth! Honor them and do not surpass them.’’Then Sahl ibn Hanif stood up and said, ‘I bear witness that I have heard God’s Prophet (sw) say the following from the pulpit, ‘Your Divine Leader after me will be Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS). He is the one person who is the most caring of the nation!’’
Then Abu Ayoob al-Ansari stood up and said, ‘Fear God regarding the members of the Holy Household of your Prophet and return this Rule to them. You should listen and obey as we did from the Prophet (sw) in one position after another as they are more deserving for that rank than you are.’ Then he sat down.
Then Zayd ibn Wahab stood up and spoke. Then a group of people stood up after him and spoke likewise saying similar things. It has been reported on the authority of one of the trustworthy companions of God’s Prophet that after this session Abu Bakr stayed in his house for three days.
On the third day Umar ibn al-Khat’tab, Talha, Zubayr, Uthman ibn Affan, Abdul Rahman ibn Oaf, Sa’id ibn Abi Waqqas, Abu Ubaydat ibn al-Jarah each accompanied with ten men armed with swords went to his house and took him to the pulpit. One of them announced, ‘Should any of you say what he said before, we shall tear him into pieces with our swords.’ Thus, they stayed home and did not say anything any more.