Ali Ibn Abi Talib - Volume 1 of 2

292 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib at the time of the Rightly Guided Caliphs
that has been quoted above of the status of the Rightly Guided
Caliphs in the opinion of Amir al-Mu'miueen 'Ali (&).
3.6.1. The leader of the mature people
and youth of paradise
It was narrated that 'Ah (&) said: "I was with the Prophet
(&), and Abu Bakr and 'Umar came. He said: '0 'Ali, these two are
the leaders of the mature people and youth of paradise, after the
prophets and messengers. zrr276
3.6.2. I only think of them
in the way I hope to be
It was narrated that Suwayd ibn Ghaflah said: "I passed by a
group of the Shia who were reviling Abu Bakr and 'Umar, then I
entered upon 'Ali (&) and said: '0 Amir al-Mu'mineen, I passed by
a group of your companions just now who were reviling Abu Balir
and 'Umar in a way that is not befitting to their stahls in the Ummah.
Were it not for the fact that you think of them (Abu Bakr and 'Umar)
privately as these men said publicly, they would not have dared to
speak like that.' 'Ali (&) said: 'I only think of them in the way I
hope to be. May Allah curse those who think of them in any except
the best of terms.'
"Then he got up with tears running down his cheeks, and he
held my hand until he entered the mosque. He ascended the minbar
and sat on it, holding onto his beard and looking at it - and it was
white - until the people gathered. Tnen he stood up and delivered an
eloquent and moving speech, and he said: 'What is the matter with
people who mention the two leaders of Quraysh and the two leading
figures of the Muslims? I disavow what they say, and I shall punish
them for it. By the One Who causes the seed to split and sprout and
the One Who created the soul, no one loves them (Abu Bakr and