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Documents of the Right Word

A collection of small books written by Sunni scholars for answering Shi'a claims.

A collection of small books written by Sunni scholars for answering Shi'a claims.

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is harâm for him to do Taqiyya. It was for this reason that hadrat<br />

Huseyn did not do Taqiyya.” To say that hadrat Alî did Taqiyya<br />

during his caliphate would mean to say that he committed harâm.<br />

Ibni Mutahhir Hullî, a Shiite scholar, states in his book<br />

Menhej-ul-kerâmâ, “When Fâtima said to Abû Bekr that Fedek<br />

had been bequea<strong>the</strong>d to her, Abû Bekr wrote an answer asking for<br />

witnesses. When no witnesses were produced he dismissed <strong>the</strong><br />

case.” If this report is correct, <strong>the</strong> case <strong>of</strong> Fedek, like any o<strong>the</strong>r<br />

case pertaining to inheritance, gifting or bequeathing, lapses from<br />

hadrat Abû Bekr ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’. So <strong>the</strong>re is no reason for<br />

blaming hadrat Abû Bekr. At this point two questions occur:<br />

A- The cases <strong>of</strong> inheritance, gift and will pleaded by hadrat<br />

Fâtima were found wrong by hadrat Abû Bekr, but why did he not<br />

prefer to please her by giving her <strong>the</strong> orchard she demanded? Thus<br />

<strong>the</strong> problem would have been settled by mutual concession, she<br />

would not have been <strong>of</strong>fended, and <strong>the</strong>re would not have been so<br />

many rumours.<br />

This matter cost hadrat Abû Bekr very much hard thought and<br />

heavy excruciation, and he really did want to solve it in <strong>the</strong> manner<br />

suggested above. If he had chosen to appease hadrat Fâtima’s<br />

blessed heart by this way, two grave wounds would have gaped in<br />

Islam: people would have gossipped about him, saying, for<br />

instance, that “The Khalîfa shows favouritism in religious affairs.<br />

He prefers pleasing his acquaintances to doing justice. He fulfils<br />

his friends’ wishes in a case that has been lost. When it comes to<br />

workers and peasants, he makes all sorts <strong>of</strong> difficulty with respect<br />

to documents and witnesses before <strong>the</strong>y win a case.” Such gossips,<br />

when widespread, would have caused tumults that would last till<br />

<strong>the</strong> end <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> world. Moreover, judges and qâdîs would have<br />

followed <strong>the</strong> Khalîfa’s example, showing indulgence and partiality<br />

in <strong>the</strong>ir decisions. As for <strong>the</strong> second wound; if he had donated <strong>the</strong><br />

orchard <strong>of</strong> Fedek to hadrat Fâtima, he would have made her<br />

repossess something <strong>of</strong> which <strong>the</strong> Messenger <strong>of</strong> Allah had<br />

dispossessed his inheritors <strong>of</strong> by saying that property left from<br />

Prophets is alms. He did not do so because he knew about <strong>the</strong><br />

hadîth-i-sherîf that warned, “A person who takes <strong>the</strong> alms (he has<br />

given before) back is like a dog eating its tale.” He would not<br />

commit such a dreadful act deliberately. Aside from <strong>the</strong>se two<br />

wounds which <strong>the</strong> Islamic religion would have suffered, a number<br />

<strong>of</strong> worldly problems would have emerged, too. Hadrat Abbâs and<br />

Rasûlullah’s blessed wives would have sued for <strong>the</strong>ir rights, too,<br />

each demanding a similar orchard or farm. All <strong>the</strong>se problems<br />

– 219 –

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