Abubakr

A: Things mentioned in Sunni sources are not evidence on us unless their authenticity is proven sepشrately by the verification process which we use for our Hadeeths. Therefore, things such as this which is mentioned in Sahih Muslim or other books is not to be taken as fact but as one historical account which can be true or false depending on the people of the Hadeeth and also the other evidences available.

 

The key fact to take note of here is that the Imam did not approve of or accept Abu Bakr as a Leader. If he had accepted him as a leader, he would have done so right away, why resist and wait for six months? The very fact that Imam waited shows the lack of approval/acceptance. Now assuming that this historical account is true, which is only an assumption, it does not mean anything. The historical account says that the Imam “baya'” which is an act signifying “paying allegiance”, that does not mean that he approved of the position for the man because his resistance was already known.

 

The Imam said: “At every stage I kept myself aloof from that struggle of supremacy and power-politics till I found the heretics had openly taken to heresy and schism and were trying to undermine and ruin the religion preached by our Holy Prophet (s). I felt afraid that, even after seeing and recognizing the evil, if I did not stand up to help Islam and the Muslims it would be a worse calamity to me than my losing [political] authority and power over you, which was only a transient and short-lived affair. Therefore, when I stood up amidst the sweeping surge of innovations and schism the dark clouds of heresy dispersed, falsehood and schism were crushed and the religion was saved.” (Peak of Eloquence, Letter 162)

 

We see that some of the great people in Sunni school have given allegiance to bad governess for other reasons (such as the companions of the Prophet who paid allegiance to Yazeed to stay alive). It is not a sign of approval, acceptance nor that the person is worthy of the position he has taken. 

 

In the same speech mentioned above the Imam says his disapproval and disbelief in the actions of the people: “When the Holy Prophet (s) passed away, the Muslims started a tug-of-war for the caliphate. I swear by Allah that at that juncture it could not even be imagined that the Arabs would snatch the seat of the caliphate from the family and descendants of the Holy Prophet (s) and that they would be swearing the oath of allegiance for the caliphate to a different person.”