Ali Ibn Abi Talib - Volume 1 of 2

illi ibn Abi Tilib 175
Allah (s) ., to enter Makkah and not go hack to Madinah, because he
thought that would offer support to the religion of Allah (&) and
annoy the polytheists.432
An-Nawawi said: "Umar's question and the words mentioned
do not represent doubt; rather it was a request to explain what he was
not aware of and an eagerness to humiliate the disbelievers and to see
Islam prevail, as is known of his attitude and his enthusiasm to
support the faith and to see the misguided humiliated."433 'Umar
(&) was acting on the basis of what he thought was right and on his
understanding of the situation, motivated by his strict adherence to
the truth, his strong support for the religion of Allah (B) and his
deep love for it, in addition to what the Messenger of Allah (&) had
trained them to do in terns of offering advice and expressing their
views, which he (B) did in obedience to the command of Allah: $so
pass over [their faults], and ask [Allah's] forgiveness for them; and
consult them in the affairs) (Qur2an 3: 159). The Prophet (g) often
consulted them and followed their suggestions. He consulted them on
the day of Badr about going to intercept the caravan, and he followed
their advice. He consulted them on the day of Uhud about whether to
stay in Madinah or go out to fight the enemy; most of them advised
going out to fight the enemy, so he did that. He consulted them on the
day of the battle of the trench about making a peace deal with the
confederates by offering them one-third of the crops of Madinah that
year; the two Sa'ds (Sa'd ibn Mu'idh and Sa'd ibn 'UbZdah) refused,
so he gave up that idea. He consulted them on the day of Hudayhiyah
as to whether or not to attack the polytheists; Abu Bakr (&) said:
"We did not come to fight; rather we came to do 'umrah," and the
Prophet (@) accepted what he said?34 There are many other similar
occasions, which would take too long to list here. 'Umar (&) was
,.
keen for the Messenger of Allah (g) to follow his advice and
confront Quraysh and fight them, so he kept raising the issue with
him. He also raised the issue with Abu Bakr (&), but when he saw