Was Ameerul Momineen (as) in good terms with the three caliphs?

A section of the society maintains that Ameerul Momineen – Hazrat Ali ibn AbiTalib (as) had good and courteous relations with each of the three caliphs during their respective reigns. In support of this opinion they bring instances and examples where apparently there have been consultations between Ameerul Momineen (as) and the three deviant caliphs on various topics.

We find claims such as these :

“He¹ sought answers to his difficulties in Ali’s company. Ali (as) explained to him issues not clear to him. And he executed Ali’s (as) judicial decrees. Ali (as) too like a kind lover used to guide his beloved. He did not keep anything short from him. We shall deal with Ali’s (as) practical conduct with Umar. This will show good relations between these two great historical persons.”!²

Let us examine the truth behind this claim and examine whether the consultations of Ameerul Momineen(as) with the caliphs are a sign of good terms amongst them or something else? Were they really consultations in the true sense in the first place or

¹[Umar]

²Muhammad Barfi: Seemai Ali Az Manzar Ahle Sunnat (Portrait of Ali from the Sunni point of view), [1st Edition 1380], Pg. 95

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Ameerul Momineen (as) had to step in for some other reasons. The reasons have been well summarised in this way :

“It must be acknowledged that had not the Imam gone to help the Caliphs, Muslims would have been involved in a great chaos. It was likely that Muslims could have even apostised. Or when they did not receive an answer, Islam itself would have fallen into suspicion and it was likely they would have denounced Islam as a false religion.”³

After the martyrdom of Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) his companions choose to give preference to selecting a caliph over the very burial of their beloved Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a) by gathering in a notorious place called Saqifa. They elected Abu Bakr as the caliph of Muslims in 11 AH and he ruled as caliph for nearly two years before finally dying in 13 AH. Umar ibn Khattab followed him to usurp caliphate and he ruled as a caliph for ten years and was finally murdered in 23 AH. He was followed by Usman who

ruled as caliph for twelve years and was also murdered in 35 AH. Total period of caliphate between the three of them is a noteworthy period of approximately twenty four years.

Now, if Ameerul Momineen (as) really had good relations with each of these three caliphs, one would have witnessed frequent and regular interactions and consultation between them. Especially considering that most of the Muslims were such who had recently accepted Islam and were new Muslims, the physical boundaries of Islam were spreading to other parts of the world, the beloved Prophet of Islam (s.a.w.a.) had just passed away and Muslims in general had a lot of queries, doubts not only related to Shariat (Haraam and Halaal) but towards religion, ethics and beliefs overall. Also the interest of other kingdoms towards Islam and their scientific and intellectual questions directed towards the Caliphs of the Muslims would have added to the numerous challenges and questions which the caliphs and Muslims came across. As a result of which one would assume there should have ideally been a lot of discussions and consultations between the caliph and the companions and especially between Ameerul Momineen (as) and the caliphs.

Surprisingly, if we dig deep into this twenty four year period of caliphate between the three caliphs we will see that there were only one hundred and seven (107) consultations between Ameerul Momineen (as) and the three caliphs. Contemporary scholar, Shaykh Najmuddin Askari in his book Min Noor-e-Ali, Part Two, Ali wa Khulafa,⁴ has mentioned these instances. They have been tabulated and statistically analysed in the book A Victim Lost in Saqifah by Ali Labbaf page 218

We present the summary of all instances mentioned above. The table below gives us an account of the number of theses consultations during the rule of each caliph.

³Ali Muhammad Meer Jalili: Imam Ali (a.s.) wa Zamaamdaaraan (Imam Ali and the Rulers), Pgs. 175 ⁴Dar az-Zahra, Beirut, 1st Edition, 1414

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		Period   of
Name	of	Caliphate	No.	of
Caliph		(Years)	Consultations
Abu Bakr		2	14
Umar		10	85
Usman		12	8
Total		24	107

It is noteworthy from the above table, in a long period of 24 years which means 288 months and 8,640 days of the caliphate, a meagre 107 consultations happened between Ameerul Momineen (as) and the three caliphs. Please note there must have been a gap of around 3 months on an average between two consultations !!!. If you ponder over this fact and try to understand what it means, you would cry over it for a long time and understand the patience of Ameerul Momineen (as). This clearly removes the curtains from the notion that all was good between Ameerul Momineen (as) and the three caliphs.

Now, let us further analyse the nature of the 107 consultations. Were these consultations in the true sense, where the caliphs came to Ameerul Momineen (as) to seek his respected opinion on a matter or was it AmeerulMomimeen (as) who had to initiate or rather interfere in the matters of caliphate to make his opinion prominent so that Islam, the values of Islam and the religion of the Prophet of Islam is not trampled upon.

Let us have a look at the below table too

Total Consultations	107
Questioner directly referred to Imam	17
(as)
Questioner  referred  to  Imam  (as)
after   consultation   amongst   the	28
companions
Imam (as) intervened in a particular
matter after the news reached him
or  that  he  was  present  there  by	62
chance  or  that  the  matter  was
presented to him directly

Of these 107 consultations– on only 17 occasions was the questioner directly referred to Ameerul Momineen (as) and on another 28 occasions the questioner was referred to Ameerul Momineen (as) after consultation with the companions but on the majority of the remaining 62 occasions Ameerul Momineen (as) had to interfere in a particular matter. Interested readers can refer to the above link for further analysis of topic wise questions referred by each caliph.

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Thus, this leaves no ambiguity that Ameerul Momineen (as) was not consulted by the three caliphs but it was rather Ameerul Momineen (as) who had to interfere in matters of religious significance for the sake of love which he had for the religion of Allah, the Almighty and for the sake of love that he had for the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) so that the great religion of Islam does not fall prey to heresy.

We should understand that these statements quoted to show good relationships are far from truth :

“And in this way, Abu Bakr, the First Caliph, has benefited from Imam Ali (a.s.) in difficult issues.”⁵

“Ali (a.s.) had a prominent presence during the Caliphate of Umar, and had a position of presidentship among the companions.”!⁶

“Circumstances during the Caliphate of Uthman bin Affan were also like the tenures of the previous Caliphs and he in numerous instances consulted His Eminence in problems connected to faith and jurisprudence as mentioned in books of traditions, jurisprudence and History.”!⁷

Infact, we get this fact mentioned in history - Umar was asked about marriage and divorce and Umar answered. Regarding this Amirul Momineen (a.s.) has said:

“He wrote down while I was present there. But he did not ask me nor did he refer to me as though his knowledge had enriched him beyond me. I wanted to correct him. But I preferred to be silent because he will be vilified by God. But no one censured him. On the contrary, they appreciated him. They made it a tradition. Even if a mad man would have passed judgment it would have been better⁸”⁹

Let us have a look at one such incident which indicates the state of affairs.

Umar who said that he was once petrolling at night in Medina when he saw a couple in a half demolished house engaged in the act of adultery. Next morning, he asked the people if the Caliph sees some body committing adultery, could he punish the culprit at his own accord, i.e., would that one eye witness of the Caliph himself be sufficient for framing the charge of adultery against the culprit and punish on that account.

All the people present in the court of the Caliph including his advisers and some of the senior companions of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) said with one voice:

“What more witness than the eyewitness of the Caliph himself is required for punishing the culprit in a case of adultery.”

⁵Abdul Kareem Bi-Aazaar Shirazi: Seemai Imam-e-Muttaqeen, (Portrait of the Imam of the Pious), Vol. 6, Pg. 14

⁶Ibrahim Baizoon (Translated by Ali Asghar Muhammadi Seejaani): Rafataar Shinashi Imam Ali (a.s.) Dar Aaina-e-Tareekh (Understanding the stand of Imam Ali in the Mirror of History) (1st Edition), 1379], Pg. 42

⁷Muhammad Ali Taskhiri: Article quoted in Kayhan Farhangi, Issue No. 184, Bahman 80, Pg. 32

⁸In another version it is mentioned: While it was such a judgment that if a mad manhad judged this matter he would have said more than this. ⁹Refer: Muhammad Ismail Ansari Zanjani: Translation of Asraar Aale Muhammad, Pg. 340

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Ameerul Momineen (as) when heard the above unanimous advice of all the people present in the court of Umar he said to him - in that case you would yourself be punished for false imputation, for a full evidence required in each case of adultery under the religious law is equal to four witnesses without any exemption whatsoever.

May Allah protect us from misunderstanding and false propagation. May Allah help us realise the pains borne by Ahle Bait (a.s.) and also understand the enmity displayed by their enemies.