11. The Martyrdom of ‘Umar and ‘Uthmān
Abu Mūsā al-Ash‘ari (rA) said, “I was with the Prophet ﷺ in one of the gardens in Madinah, then a man came and requested that the door be opened. The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘Open [it] for him, and give him the glad tidings of Paradise.’ I opened [it] for him, and it turned out to be Abu Bakr, so I gave him the glad tidings of what the Prophet ﷺ had said. He praised Allah, and later another man came and requested that the door be opened. The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘Open [it] for him, and give him the glad tidings of Paradise.’ I opened [the door] for him, and it turned out to be ‘Umar, so I gave him the glad tidings of what the Prophet ﷺ had said. He praised Allah, and later another man came and requested that the door be opened. He ﷺ said, ‘Open [it] for him, and give him the glad tidings of Paradise due to a calamity that befalls him.’ It turned out to be ‘Uthmān, so I informed him of what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had said. He praised Allah, and then he said, ‘Allah is sought for help.’”[19] In another narration, Anas b. Mālik (rA) reported that when the Prophet ﷺ ascended Mount Uḥud along with Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, and ‘Uthmān, the mountain shook beneath them. So the Prophet ﷺ tapped it with his foot and said, “Be firm, Uḥud, for upon you are none other than a Prophet, a Ṣiddīq, and two martyrs.”[20] Both ‘Umar and ‘Uthmān attained martyrdom by being assassinated during their respective caliphates. With ‘Uthmān in particular, the Prophet ﷺ gave further details: “O ‘Uthmān, Allah—the Mighty and Majestic—may garb you in a shirt. If the hypocrites demand that you remove it, do not remove it until you meet me.”[21] It was this very accusation, that ‘Uthmān was unfit to “wear that shirt” (i.e., to be the caliph), which the mobs repeated before laying siege to and then storming his house and killing him.
12. Inevitable Infighting
Sa‘d b. Abi Waqqâṣ (rA) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ once visited the mosque of Banu Mu‘âwiya. “He ﷺ entered, performed two units of prayer, which we prayed with him, and then he invoked his Lord for a long time. Then, he ﷺ turned to us and said, ‘I asked my Lord for three things; He granted me two and withheld one. I asked my Lord not to destroy my nation with a widespread famine, and He granted me that, and I asked Him that He not exterminate my nation by drowning, and He granted me that. And I asked Him that He not let their aggression be against one another, but He withheld that from me.’”[22] In another narration, “Indeed, Allah has gathered the earth for me until I saw its east and its west, and the kingdom of my nation will reach whatever has been gathered for me of it. And I have been given the two treasures; the red and white (gold and silver). And I asked my Lord that He not destroy it with a widespread famine, and that He not empower against them an external enemy that will annihilate them. My Lord said, ‘O Muhammad, when I decree a matter, it cannot be repelled. I have granted you, for your nation, that I not destroy them with a widespread famine, and that I not empower against them an external enemy that annihilates them—even if those from its (the earth’s) every corner unite against them, but they will ultimately kill one another, and enslave one another. Once the sword is drawn within my nation, it will not be removed from them until the Day of Resurrection.’”[23]
13. Tensions Among The Prophet’s Household
Abu Rafi‘ (rA) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said to ‘Ali, “There will be an issue between you and ‘Aisha.” He said, “Me, O Messenger of Allah?!” He said, “Yes.” He said, “Me?!” He said, “Yes.” He said, “Then [in that case] I would be the worst of them (all people).” He said, “No, but when this occurs, return her to her safe quarters.”[24] Just prior to her clash with ‘Ali (rA), when ‘Aisha (rA) heard dogs barking near Basra at a place called Haw’ab, she said, “Perhaps I must return home, for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to us (his wives), ‘Which one of you will be barked at by the dogs of Haw’ab?’”[25] Hopeful that her presence would effect a resolution, and that this was only a prophecy and not a prohibition, ‘Aisha (rA) decided not to abort her journey.
14. The Fate of ‘Ammār
Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (rA) narrated that, as the Muslims were building the mosque in Madinah, ‘Ammār b. Yāsir (rA) would carry two bricks at a time while others lifted one. When the Prophet ﷺ saw him, he began removing the dust [from ‘Ammār] with his hands and said, “Woe to ‘Ammār! He will be killed by the transgressing party; he will be inviting them to Paradise and they will be inviting him to the Fire.” To that, ‘Ammār replied, “We seek refuge with Allah from the trials.”[26] When the Battle of Ṣiffīn took place, three decades after that prophecy, ‘Ammār was killed by the army of Shām who transgressed against the Muslim ruler (‘Ali) while seeking to avenge the murdered caliph (‘Uthmān). Interestingly, the army of Shām did not claim that this hadith had been fabricated (which proves that forging hadith was unfathomable by the Companions), but rather argued that those who called him to fight were the “transgressing party” ultimately responsible for his death. Thus, there was no question about the authenticity of the prophecy; they differed only in how to interpret it.
Finally, moments before the Battle of Ṣiffīn, as a glass of milk was passed to ‘Ammār (rA), he smiled and said, “The Prophet ﷺ told me that the last thing I would drink before dying would be some milk.”[27] Then he rose to meet the promise of his Prophet ﷺ and fought until his death.
15. ‘Ali Suppressing the Khārijites
In another foretelling of this turbulent period, Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (rA) narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said, “A dissenting faction will splinter at a time of disunity between the Muslims, and they will be fought by the more correct of the two parties.”[28] Again, it was the army of Kūfa (led by ‘Ali), not Shām (led by Mu‘āwiya), who fought the Khārijite rebels in the Battle of Nahrawān in the year 37H, making them the “more correct” and non-transgressing party. Regarding the roots of the Khārijites, the Prophet ﷺ was once accused by a hypocrite known as Dhul Khuwayṣira of inequity. The Prophet ﷺ told those seeking to punish this man for his insult, “Leave him be. He will certainly have companions (progeny) whom one of you would belittle his own prayer [when compared] to their prayer, and his fasting [compared] to their fasting. They will recite the Qur’an, but it will not pass beyond their throats [to their hearts]. They will exit the religion as an arrow passes through a game animal, whereby one would look at the arrowhead and not see any traces [of blood] on it; one would look at the binding which fastens the arrowhead to the rod and not see any traces on it; one would look at the rod and not see any traces on it; one would look at the feathers and not see any traces on them. It would go straight through the bowels and the blood. Their sign will be a black man whose limbs will appear like a woman’s breasts, or like a disfigured lump of flesh. They will emerge at a time when the people are disunited.” The narrator, Abu Sa‘īd (rA), adds, “I testify that I certainly heard this hadith from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and I testify that ‘Ali b. Abi Ṭālib fought them, and that I was with him. He instructed that we search for this man. He was eventually found and brought to ‘Ali, and I saw that that man [appeared] exactly as the Prophet ﷺ had described him.”[29]
16. Repairing the Rift
Abu Bakra ath-Thaqafi (rA) narrated that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ brought his grandson, al-Ḥasan (rA), out one day and ascended with him to the pulpit. Then, he ﷺ said, “This son of mine is a chief, and perhaps Allah will use him to reconcile between two [disputing] factions of Muslims.”[30] In truth, al-Ḥasan singlehandedly mended a long and tragic split between the Muslims of Kūfa and those of Shām upon becoming caliph, by abdicating his caliphate to Mu‘āwiya b. Abi Sufyān (rA). By doing so, he unified two great factions of believers and allowed the progress of Islam to regain its momentum for decades. The Prophet ﷺ also foretold that at this precise point the Muslim nation would transition from a caliphate to a kingdom; “The caliphate will be for thirty years, then there will be a kingship after that.”[31] Abu Bakr ruled for approximately two years, then ‘Umar for ten, then ‘Uthmān for twelve, then ‘Ali for five, before al-Ḥasan within months abdicated it to Mu‘āwiya who founded the Omayyad dynasty. Ibn al-‘Arabi (d. 1148) says, “And the promise of the Truthful ﷺ came to pass… [the period of the caliphate] neither exceeded nor fell short a day, so glory be to the All-Encompassing; there is no other Lord but He.”[32]
17. Cycling Back to Virtue is Promised
In an explicit hadith about the forms of governance the Muslim nation would experience, Ḥudhayfa b. al-Yamān (rA) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, “Prophethood will remain amongst you for as long as Allah wishes. Then Allah will remove it whenever He wishes to remove it, and there will be a caliphate upon the prophetic methodology. It will last for as long as Allah wishes it to last, then Allah will remove it whenever He wishes to remove it. Then there will be an abiding dynasty, and it will remain for as long as Allah wishes it to remain. Then Allah will remove it whenever He wishes to remove it. Then there will be tyrannical (forceful) kingship, and it will remain for as long as Allah wishes it to remain. Then He will remove it whenever He wishes to remove it, and then there will be a caliphate upon the prophetic methodology.”[33]
18. Asmā’ Sends A Tyrant Home
For confronting the tyranny of al-Ḥajjāj b. Yūsuf, ‘Abdullāh b. az-Zubayr (rA) was crucified in front of the Sacred House in Mecca, and his body was thrown into the graveyard of the Jews. Then al-Ḥajjāj marched to his mother’s house, ‘Asmā’ b. Abi Bakr (rA), the Prophet’s ﷺ sister-in-law. He said to her, “What do you think of what I have just done to the enemy of Allah?” referring to her son, ‘Abdullāh b. az-Zubayr. Though al-Ḥajjāj was trying to strike fear in her heart, lest a person of her position inspire more rebellion, this was a woman strengthened by a prophecy she had heard directly from the Prophet’s ﷺ lips. Her response was, “I think you have destroyed his worldly life by destroying your own afterlife… The Messenger of Allah ﷺ has certainly told us that emerging from Thaqīf would be a liar and a murderer; the liar we have seen, and as far as the murderer is concerned, I have no doubt that you are him.” Without saying a single word, al-Ḥajjāj rose and exited in disgrace.[34] Hadith commentators agree that the liar from Thaqīf was al-Mukhtār b. Abi ‘Ubayd, who claimed prophethood.
19. Um Ḥarām’s Date with Destiny
Um Ḥarām b. Malḥān (rA) heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, “The first army from my nation to ride the sea have guaranteed themselves [Paradise].” Um Ḥarām said, “O Messenger of Allah, will I be among them?” He said, “You will be among them.” Later, he ﷺ said, “The first army from my nation to march in battle to the City of Caesar (Constantinople) will be forgiven.” She said, “Will I be among them, O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “No.”[35] During the reign of Mu‘āwiya (rA), Um Ḥarām b. Malḥān rode in the first Muslim naval fleet, accompanying her husband, and died upon falling off her mount in enemy lands.[36] Imam aṭ-Ṭabarāni and others report that the whereabouts of her gravesite on Cyprus Island were known.[37] Ibn Ḥajar said, “This contains multiple prophecies by the Prophet ﷺ of what would take place, and it all occurred just as he said, and hence is considered among the signs of his prophethood. Of them is that his nation would remain after him, and that among them are those who would be strong, formidable, and a consequential force against the enemy, and that they would conquer territories until the army rides the sea, and that Um Ḥarām would live until that time, and that she would be with that army who rides the sea, and that she would not live to see the second military campaign [to Constantinople].”[38]
20. Preempting the Questioner
Just as the Qur’an cites Jesus telling others about the secrets they concealed in the depths of their homes [3: 49], it was common for the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to address the inner thoughts of those he interacted with. For instance, Wābiṣa b. Ma‘bad (rA) narrated: I came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he said, “You came to ask about righteousness and sin?” I said, “Yes.” He ﷺ closed his hand, tapped on my chest, and said, “Consult your heart. Consult your heart. Consult your heart. Sin is what discomforts your soul and wavers in your chest, even if the people continue to advise you [otherwise].”[39] Similarly, ‘Aisha (rA), the Prophet’s wife, reports that he ﷺ once told her, “You will either tell me, or the Most Subtle, the Most Acquainted, will inform me… Did you think that Allah and His Messenger would shortchange you?” She responded, “Whatever people conceal, Allah knows… Yes, indeed.”[40] Imam an-Nawawi comments that all the manuscripts attribute “Yes, indeed” to ‘Aisha (it was not an inquiry which the Prophet responded to in the affirmative), so it was as if she was agreeing with herself about the reality she had just attested to.[41]
Thank you so much