Justice Abu Bakr ibn Al-Arabi says: “When Uthman was assassinated, there was no one on the face of the earth more deserving of being caliph than Ali. Thus, the post was his at the right time and place. Through him, God explained a number of rules and questions which were not known to many. Umar had earlier said about Ali’s knowledge: “Had it not been for Ali, Umar would have been doomed.” His exceptional knowledge of Islam was most clearly demonstrated when he faced the trying prospect of fighting against fellow Muslims. He invited them for discussion, disputed their case and put to them his case, and he stopped short of initiating a fight. He then announced to his army: “We will not be the ones to start fighting. Should there be a battle, none should chase any of their soldiers who runs away. No injured fighter should be killed. No woman should be frightened, and we take no booty.” He further ordered that they were acceptable as witnesses, and that prayer behind an imam from among them is valid. None of these rules was known at the time, because there was no precedent to suggest it. Hence scholars says: “Had it not been for those events, we would not have been aware of how to fight rebels against the Muslim state.”
Those who press the claim of Ali being more entitled to succeed the Prophet (peace be upon him) also accuse their opponents of being unbelievers. Ibn Al-Arabi replies that it is the one who makes such a claim is an unbeliever. His argument is based on the Prophet’s Hadith which states that when a Muslim describes another as unbeliever, then this description is true of one of them. This means that if the accused was truly a Muslim, then the one who accuses him is an unbeliever.
Another claim concerns the Prophet’s inheritance and the dispute which Al-Abbas and Ali referred to Umar, when Al-Abbas used some abusive words against Ali, his nephew, asking Umar to judge between them. The people present, all of whom were among the elite of the Prophet’s companions, said to Umar: “Judge between them and settle the matter.”
Addressing those companions, Umar said: “I appeal to you all by God who controls the heavens and earth: do you know that, referring to himself, the Prophet said: ‘We do not leave any inheritance. What we leave behind is charity’? They answered: “He indeed said that.” Turning to Al-Abbas and Ali, Umar said: “I appeal to you by God, do you know that the Prophet said that?” They answered in the affirmative. Umar then said: “With regard to the booty gained without fighting, God has given His Messenger something special that He has not given to anyone else. The Prophet handled this during his lifetime in a certain way. After he passed away, Abu Bakr said, ‘I am responsible for what belonged to the Prophet.’ For his reign of two years, he handled that in the same way as the Prophet did. The two of you might think that Abu Bakr was not up to it, when God knows that he was true, faithful to his trust, honest, wise and he acted only on the basis of what is right...”
Continuing his discussion, Justice Ibn Al-Arabi says: “The abusive words used by Al-Abbas against Ali, his nephew, should be taken in the same way as something a father says to his son. If these express an opinion, this is acceptable. They are easily overlooked by the offended party in order to gain God’s words. When such words are said by an elder person to a younger one, let alone by a father to a son, they are easily forgiven and forgotten. As for Umar saying that both of them thought Abu Bakr was unjust in the way he handled the matter, this is merely a question of difference of views on a particular matter, with each party taking a view contrary to that of the other. Abu Bakr and Umar ruled on it according to their view, while Al-Abbas and Ali thought differently. However, when they referred the matter for judgment, they accepted the ruling made in the same way as a disputant submits to the ruling of a judge. When the ruling went against them, Al-Abbas and Ali accepted the ruling even though they might have thought it was wrong.
It may be argued that this could be acceptable at the beginning when the ruling was made on the basis of discretion. However, Al-Abbas and Ali might have thought that a report by one person could not be taken up in preference to what is stated in the Qur’an and the well-known principle applicable to all, until the matter has been thoroughly considered. This refers to the Qur’anic ruling on how to divide a person’s inheritance among his heirs. Hence, when thorough consideration was made, both Al-Abbas and Ali accepted the final judgment as detailed in the authentic Hadith we quoted.
Having said that, we should also add that it may be correctly said that there is no definitive statement on the matter. The Prophet’s statement, “We do not leave any inheritance. What we leave behind is charity,” could be interpreted in different ways, such as: “It is not right that we should be inherited. I am not one to leave any inheritance, because I do not have any property in this world that might be transferred from me to someone else.” Another possible reading of the Prophet’s statement makes each of its two sentences a separate ruling. Thus, the first sentence establishes a ruling: “No inheritance is passed from me to anyone whomsoever.” The second sentence would then be a statement making clear that the Prophet put into effect God’s order that whatever booty he had without a fight should go to charity. It was made his by God’s ruling, applicable to anything gained without a fight. Should something of this be left in his hand at the point of his death, it should go to charity.
We should differentiate here between what the Prophet received of booty gained without a fight and his share of booty gained after a battle. Of the latter type the Prophet, as the ruler of the Islamic state, receives a share of one-fifth of the booty, so that he ensures that it goes to those who are deserving, as stated in the Qur’anic verse: “Know that one-fifth of whatever booty you may acquire in war is for God and the Messenger, and for the near of kin, the orphans, the needy and the traveler in need.” (8: 41)
