Hadhrat Umar and Battle of Hunayn
Assalamu alaikum.
With a great deal of sadness I offer my thoughts here on the recent
re-introduction of negative discussion on Hadhrat Umar (r). I don't
know who on NABIC-L believes that the companions of the Prophets are
error-free or above our scrutiny, but Br. Y continues to make
his baseless assertions that we glorify the personalities - disregarding
facts about these personalities. If facts were that much important to
Br. Y then it would have been an entirely different matter.
Because in that case, he would have done his own fact-finding before engaging
in fault-finding with not just any other person, but Hadhrat Umar (r).
Muslims often are polarized by extremism. One type of extremism is
what Br. Y correctly referred to as the tendency to glorify our great
personalities so much so that that we must not pay any attention to
their mistakes or shortcomings. Yes, it is a form of extremism and has
no basis in Islam. Unfortunately, the other extremism is being
represented by Br. Y himself and that is deliberate attempts at
fault-finding to belittle and malign these great personalities and
doing so with negligent or inadequate homework.
1. The very approach and attitude of Br. Y are problematic. While
we ourselves are not addressing (and do not address) each other by
first name due to mutual respect, now we have brought people like Hadhrat
Umar on a first-name basis. Even if one would recognize the "facts"
presented by Br. Y - which are not even facts - since when we have come
down to first name basis with these personalities?
2. Br. Y claims Hadhrat Umar (r) fled from the battle-front of Uhud. He did so without offering any evidence. Many would like to know
the source of his information. If he cannot corroborate, one can only
say that instead of engaging in such fault-finding ventures, he should
rather be careful about his accountability before Allah.
3. Br. Y claimed that Hadhrat Umar (r) fled from the Battle of Hunayn. If he did flee, he did. That would be a fact, no one would be
able to deny it. The fact of the matter is: If he is basing his claims
based on Sahih Bukhari's Vol. 5, #610 and #611, then he is drawing
conclusions from the Hadiths that do not say one way or other that
Hadhrat Umar (r) was fleeing. This is particularly clear in light of
the difference in the two Hadith about the circumstances in which the
narrator and Hadhrat Umar (r) came across each other at the battle
front.
Anyone interested should read these Hadith themselves and verify that
those two Hadith do not offer any specific information that Hadhrat
Umar (r) was fleeing. They can also determine for themselves that
those Hadith do not offer definitive information either that he was NOT
fleeing. However, had Br. Y been truly interested in fact-finding,
rather than fault-finding, and if he wanted to be careful so that he
does not jump to negative conclusions hastily without considering all
facts, then the result would have been different.
In Ibn Sad's Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir, Vol. II (english, pp.
186-187), one of the most reliable works of Islamic history, it is reported: "On
that day (Battle of Hunayn) those (few) who remained firm were al-Abbas, Ali ibn Abi Talib, ... Abu Bakr, Umar, ..."
There are other pertinent aspects from the same two Hadith in Bukhari
#610-611. It is important to us how the Prophet (s) himself looked at
the matter. Interestingly, the same narrator of these two Hadith,
Hadhrat Abu Qatada (r), who in his own words confirmed his own
retreat, also reports that while he was retreating, he helped a Muslim brother
who was about to be killed by a non-muslim. The incident hardly
appears to be a cowardly retreat. More interestingly, later this "fleeing
person" is described by another companion as "Lion of Allah." Even
more interestingly, the Prophet (s) concurs and rewards this "fleeing
person". Subhanallah, if this is true, and you can read the Hadith #611 yourself, then one can't avoid thinking that a person must have deep prejudice to draw such negative conclusions about one of the
greatest companions of the Prophet (s), Hadhrat Umar (r).
Therefore, when all the information are gathered and placed in
perspective, there is only one conclusion: the accusation that Hadhrat
Umar (r) fled from the Battle of Hunayn is baseless. This is also
consistent with the overwhelming facts about the personality of
Hadhrat Umar (r). This is the same Umar (r) who was feared by the community
before he became a Muslim. And, when he did become a Muslim, for the
first time, Muslims started offering prayers in public. And, yes, this
is the same Umar (r) whose acceptance of Islam was in explicit
response to a special supplication of none other than the Prophet (s) himself.
Are we not talking about the same Umar (r) who, moved by his fear of
Allah, carried provisions for a deprived family on his own shoulder?
Is it not the same Umar (r) who was having his servant on the horse and
he was pulling the string when entering Jerusalem? All of those incidents
were reflections of his most acute consciousness of Allah. Subhanallah!
When we need to inspire ourselves with the valor, sacrifice and Taqwa
of these people, such misdirected and irresponsible fault-finding venture
is not only counterproductive, but there is stern warning from the
Prophet (s) himself about such ventures.
Let me add that any mistake Hadhrat Umar (r) did, it would be a
mistake and there is no way to gloss over it. However, what Br. Y has
been doing - at least, what I have seen since I joined NABIC-L, is
indefensible at best.
4. The accusation against Hadhrat Umar (r) that he asserted that "the
Prophet (s) is uttering non-sense" is also similar as the one that he
fled from the battle field. This is so because the word that is used
in the Hadith is "hajara", which does not mean talking non-sense. The 4th
form of the same Arabic root is "Ahjara" and that is what means
talking non-sense. Check any standard dictionary such as Hans-Wehr
Arabic-English Dictionary under the entry root: ha-jim-ra. The
Qur'anic reference where talking non-sense has been used is "Ahjara" - the 4th
form, not "hajara" - the 1st form. In the Hadith, the same word has
not been used. The word that has been is used is "hajara" and it does not
mean talking non-sense. What does the word "hajara" mean with the interrogative
form "A-hajara?" as it appears in the Hadith? It means
"(has he or has his consciousness) departed?". To put it another way,
is he out of consciousness? Actually, there is more to it than this to
understand the context of that event.
But if anyone becomes used to fault-finding with these personalities,
or if someone has developed a bias/prejudice against Hadhrat Umar (r),
then "facts" are irrelevant.
Just like glorifying any human being is wrong and unislamic, it is
equally unislamic - if not worse - is to attack such personalities
without doing the necessary homework. Furthermore, when people so
liberally and relaxedly attack such personalities - without adequate
homework and do so insistently defying "facts" when presented - others
should be very careful.
Just like Islamic history is like an open book, the life of Hadhrat
Umar (r) is also an open book. There were mistakes in his life. His refusal
to accept that the Prophet (s) has died; his attempt to limit the Mahr
brides could set - are just a few. But just like everyone else, he
should be evaluated on the basis of his totality, not individual
incidents. To deny such incidents of error or mistake is unislamic. To
use these incidents to malign him is only more unIslamic.
Please consider just one such evaluation of Hadhrat Umar (r).
Narrated Ibn Abbas: "When (dead body of ) Umar was put on his
deathbed, the people gathered around him and invoked (Allah) and prayed for him
before the body was taken away and I was amongst them. Suddenly I felt
somebody taking hold of my shoulder and found out that he was Ali bin
Abi Talib. Ali invoked Allah's mercy for Umar and said, 'O Umar! You
have not left behind you a person whose deeds I like to imitate and
meet Allah with more than I like your deeds. By Allah! I always thought
that Allah would keep you with your two companions, for very often I used
to hear the Prophet (s) saying, 'I, Abu Bakr and Umar entered
(somewhere); and I, Abu Bakr and Umar went out." [Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol. 5, #34]
May Allah protect us from the extremism of glorifying people such as
Hadhrat Umar (r) or from the extremism of maligning and belittling
them.
Fi amanillah.
Farooq
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