Sirat Ibn Hisham 1652
ʿUmar’s sermon at the pledge of allegiance to Abū Bakr
[ خُطْبَةُ عُمَرَ عِنْدَ بَيْعَةِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ ] قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ: فَقَدِمْنَا الْمَدِينَةَ فِي عَقِبِ ذِي الْحَجَّةِ، فَلَمَّا كَانَ يَوْمُ الْجُمُعَةِ عَجَّلْتُ الرَّوَاحَ حِينَ زَالَتْ الشَّمْسُ، فَأَجِدُ سَعِيدَ بْنَ زَيْدِ بْنِ عَمْرِو بْنِ نُفَيْلٍ جَالِسًا إلَى رُكْنِ الْمِنْبَرِ فَجَلَسْتُ حَذْوَهُ تَمَسُّ رُكْبَتَيْ رُكْبَتَهُ، فَلَمْ أَنْشَبْ أَنْ خَرَجَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ، فَلَمَّا رَأَيْتُهُ مُقْبِلًا، قُلْتُ لِسَعِيدِ بْنِ زَيْدٍ: لَيَقُولُنَّ الْعَشِيَّةَ عَلَى هَذَا الْمِنْبَرِ مَقَالَةً لَمْ يَقُلْهَا مُنْذُ اسْتَخْلَفَ؛ قَالَ: فَأَنْكَرَ عَلَيَّ سَعِيدُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ ذَلِكَ، وَقَالَ: مَا عَسَى أَنْ يَقُولَ مِمَّا لَمْ يَقُلْ قَبْلَهُ، فَجَلَسَ عُمَرُ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ، فَلَمَّا سَكَتَ الْمُؤَذِّنُونَ، قَامَ فَأَثْنَى عَلَى اللَّهِ بِمَا هُوَ أَهْلٌ لَهُ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَإِنِّي قَائِلٌ لَكُمْ الْيَوْمَ مَقَالَةً قَدْ قُدِّرَ لِي أَنْ أَقُولَهَا، وَلَا أَدْرِي لَعَلَّهَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْ أَجَلِي، فَمَنْ عَقَلَهَا وَوَعَاهَا فَيَأْخُذَ بِهَا حَيْثُ انْتَهَتْ بِهِ رَاحِلَتُهُ، وَمَنْ خَشِيَ أَنْ لَا يَعِيَهَا فَلَا يَحِلُّ لِأَحَدِ أَنْ يَكْذِبَ عَلَيَّ؛ إنَّ اللَّهَ بَعَثَ مُحَمَّدًا، وَأَنْزَلَ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابَ، فَكَانَ مِمَّا أَنَزَلَ عَلَيْهِ آيَةَ الرَّجْمِ، فَقَرَأْنَاهَا وَعُلِّمْنَاهَا وَوَعَيْنَاهَا، وَرَجَمَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَرَجَمْنَا بَعْدَهُ، فَأَخْشَى إنْ طَالَ بِالنَّاسِ زَمَانٌ أَنْ يَقُولَ قَائِلٌ: وَاَللَّهِ مَا نَجِدُ الرَّجْمَ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ، فَيَضِلُّوا بِتَرْكِ فَرِيضَةٍ أَنَزَلَهَا اللَّهُ وَإِنَّ الرَّجْمَ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ عَلَى مَنْ زَنَى إذَا أُحْصِنَ مِنْ الرِّجَالِ وَالنِّسَاءِ، وَإِذَا قَامَتْ الْبَيِّنَةُ، أَوْ كَانَ الْحَبْلُ أَوْ الِاعْتِرَافُ؛ ثُمَّ إنَّا قَدْ كُنَّا نَقْرَأُ فِيمَا نَقْرَأُ مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ: لَا تَرْغَبُوا عَنْ آبَائِكُمْ فَإِنَّهُ كُفْرٌ بِكُمْ أَنْ تَرْغَبُوا عَنْ آبَائِكُمْ أَلَا إنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَالَ: لَا تُطْرُونِي كَمَا أُطْرِيَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ، وَقُولُوا: عَبْدُ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولُهُ، ثُمَّ إنَّهُ قَدْ بَلَغَنِي أَنَّ فُلَانًا قَالَ: وَاَللَّهِ لَوْ قَدْ مَاتَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ لَقَدْ بَايَعْتُ فُلَانًا، فَلَا يَغُرَّنَّ امْرَأً أَنْ يَقُولُ: إنَّ بَيْعَةَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ كَانَتْ فَلْتَةً فَتَمَّتْ، وَإِنَّهَا قَدْ كَانَتْ كَذَلِكَ إلَّا أَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ وَقَى شَرَّهَا، وَلَيْسَ فِيكُمْ مَنْ تَنْقَطِعُ الْأَعْنَاقُ إلَيْهِ مِثْلَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ، فَمَنْ بَايَعَ رَجُلًا عَنْ غَيْرِ مَشُورَةٍ مِنْ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، فَإِنَّهُ لَا بَيْعَةَ لَهُ هُوَ وَلَا الَّذِي بَايَعَهُ تَغِرَّةً أَنْ يَقْتُلَا، إنَّهُ كَانَ مِنْ خَبَرِنَا حِينَ تَوَفَّى اللَّهُ نَبِيَّهُ ﷺ أَنَّ الْأَنْصَارَ خَالَفُونَا، فَاجْتَمَعُوا بِأَشْرَافِهِمْ فِي سَقِيفَةِ بَنِي سَاعِدَةَ، وَتَخَلَّفَ عَنَّا عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَبِي طَالِبٍ وَالزَّبِيرُ بْنُ الْعَوَّامِ وَمَنْ مَعَهُمَا، وَاجْتَمَعَ الْمُهَاجِرُونَ إلَى أَبِي بَكْرٍ، فَقُلْتُ لِأَبِي بَكْرٍ: انْطَلِقْ بِنَا إلَى إخْوَانِنَا هَؤُلَاءِ مِنْ الْأَنْصَارِ، فَانْطَلَقْنَا نَؤُمُّهُمْ حَتَّى لَقِيَنَا مِنْهُمْ رَجُلَانِ صَالِحَانِ، فَذَكَرَا لَنَا مَا تَمَالَأَ عَلَيْهِ الْقَوْمُ، وَقَالَ: أَيْنَ تُرِيدُونَ يَا مَعْشَرَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ ؟ قُلْنَا: نُرِيدُ إخْوَانَنَا هَؤُلَاءِ مِنْ الْأَنْصَارِ، قَالَا: فَلَا عَلَيْكُمْ أَنْ لَا تَقْرَبُوهُمْ يَا مَعْشَرَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ، اقْضُوا أَمْرَكُمْ. قَالَ: قُلْتُ: وَاَللَّهِ لَنَأْتِيَهُمْ. فَانْطَلَقْنَا حَتَّى أَتَيْنَاهُمْ فِي سَقِيفَةِ بَنِي سَاعِدَةَ، فَإِذَا بَيْنَ ظَهْرَانَيْهِمْ رَجُلٌ مُزَمَّلٌ فَقُلْتُ: مَنْ هَذَا ؟ فَقَالُوا: سَعْدُ بْنُ عُبَادَةَ، فَقُلْتُ: مَا لَهُ ؟ فَقَالُوا: وَجِعَ. فَلَمَّا جَلَسْنَا تَشَهَّدَ خَطِيبُهُمْ، فَأَثْنَى عَلَى اللَّهِ بِمَا هُوَ لَهُ أَهْلٌ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَنَحْنُ أَنْصَارُ اللَّهِ وَكَتِيبَةُ الْإِسْلَامِ، وَأَنْتُمْ يَا مَعْشَرَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ رَهْطٌ مِنَّا، وَقَدْ دَفَّتْ دَافَّةٌ مِنْ قَوْمِكُمْ، قَالَ: وَإِذَا هُمْ يُرِيدُونَ أَنْ يَحْتَازُونَا مِنْ أَصْلِنَا، وَيَغْصِبُونَا الْأَمْرَ، فَلَمَّا سَكَتَ أَرَدْتُ أَنْ أَتَكَلَّمَ، وَقَدْ زَوَّرَتْ فِي نَفْسِي مَقَالَةٌ قَدْ أَعْجَبَتْنِي، أُرِيدُ أَنْ أُقَدِّمَهَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْ أَبِي بَكْرٍ، وَكُنْتُ أَدَارِي مِنْهُ بَعْضَ الْحَدِّ، فَقَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ: عَلَى رِسْلِكَ يَا عُمَرَ، فَكَرِهْتُ أَنْ أُغْضِبَهُ، فَتَكَلَّمَ، وَهُوَ كَانَ أَعْلَمَ مِنِّي وَأَوْقَرَ، فَوَاَللَّهِ مَا تَرَكَ مِنْ كَلِمَةٍ أَعْجَبَتْنِي مِنْ تَزْوِيرِي إلَّا قَالَهَا فِي بَدِيهَتِهِ، أَوْ مِثْلَهَا أَوْ أَفْضَلَ، حَتَّى سَكَتَ؛ قَالَ: أَمَّا مَا ذَكَرْتُمْ فِيكُمْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ، فَأَنْتُمْ لَهُ أَهْلٌ، وَلَنْ تَعْرِفَ الْعَرَبُ هَذَا الْأَمْرَ إلَّا لِهَذَا الْحَيِّ مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ، هُمْ أَوْسَطُ الْعَرَبِ نَسَبًا وَدَارًا، وَقَدْ رَضِيتُ لَكُمْ أَحَدَ هَذَيْنِ الرَّجُلَيْنِ، فَبَايِعُوا أَيَّهمَا شِئْتُمْ، وَأَخَذَ بِيَدَيْ وَبِيَدِ أَبِي عُبَيْدَةَ بْنِ الْجَرَّاحِ، وَهُوَ جَالِسٌ بَيْنَنَا، وَلَمْ أَكْرَهْ شَيْئًا مِمَّا قَالَهُ غَيْرُهَا، كَانَ وَاَللَّهِ أَنْ أُقَدَّمَ فَتُضْرَبُ عُنُقِي، لَا يُقَرِّبُنِي ذَلِكَ إلَى إثْمٍ، أَحَبُّ إلَيَّ مِنْ أَنْ أَتَأَمَّرَ عَلَى قَوْمٍ فِيهِمْ أَبُو بَكْرٍ. قَالَ قَائِلٌ مِنْ الْأَنْصَارِ: أَنَا جُذَيْلُهَا الْمُحَكَّكُ وَعُذَيْقُهَا الْمُرَجَّبُ، مِنَّا أَمِيرٌ وَمِنْكُمْ أَمِيرٌ يَا مَعْشَرَ قُرَيْشٍ. قَالَ: فَكَثُرَ اللَّغَطُ، وَارْتَفَعَتْ الْأَصْوَاتُ، حَتَّى تَخَوَّفْتُ الِاخْتِلَافَ، فَقُلْتُ: اُبْسُطْ يَدَكَ يَا أَبَا بَكْرٍ، فَبَسَطَ يَدَهُ، فَبَايَعْتُهُ، ثُمَّ بَايَعَهُ الْمُهَاجِرُونَ، ثُمَّ بَايَعَهُ الْأَنْصَارُ، وَنَزَوْنَا عَلَى سَعْدِ بْنِ عُبَادَةَ، فَقَالَ قَائِلٌ مِنْهُمْ: قَتَلْتُمْ سَعْدَ بْنَ عُبَادَةَ. قَالَ: فَقُلْتُ: قَتَلَ اللَّهُ سَعْدَ بْنَ عُبَادَةَ
Translation
✧ Ibn ʿAbbās said: We arrived in Madinah at the end of Dhū al-Ḥijjah. When Friday came, I hastened to go out as soon as the sun declined, and I found Saʿīd b. Zayd b. ʿAmr b. Nufayl sitting by the corner of the pulpit. I sat down beside him, my knee touching his knee, and it was not long before ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb came out. When I saw him approaching, I said to Saʿīd b. Zayd, “This evening he will certainly say from this pulpit something he has not said since he became caliph.” He said: Saʿīd b. Zayd denied that and said, “What could he say that he has not said before?” Then ʿUmar sat on the pulpit, and when the muezzins fell silent, he stood up, praised God as He deserves, and then said: Now then, I am going to say to you today something that it has been decreed for me to say, and I do not know—perhaps it is before my appointed time. Whoever understands it and retains it, let him follow it wherever his mount brings him. And whoever fears that he will not retain it, it is not lawful for anyone to attribute a lie to me. God sent Muḥammad ﷺ and sent down the Book to him. Among what He sent down to him was the verse of stoning. We read it, learned it, and retained it. The Messenger of God ﷺ stoned and we stoned after him. I fear that if a long time passes over the people, someone will say, “By God, we do not find stoning in the Book of God,” and they will go astray by abandoning an obligation that God sent down. Stoning in the Book of God is a true duty upon the one who commits fornication when he or she is muḥṣan, among men and women, when clear proof is established, or there is pregnancy or confession. Then, among what we used to read from the Book of God was: Do not turn away from your fathers, for that is disbelief on your part—that you turn away from your fathers. Indeed, the Messenger of God ﷺ said: “Do not extol me as ʿĪsā b. Maryam was extolled. Say: Servant of God and His Messenger.” Then it has reached me that a certain man said, “By God, if ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb should die, I would certainly pledge allegiance to so-and-so.” Let no man be deceived by saying that the pledge of allegiance to Abū Bakr was a sudden affair and it was completed. It was indeed like that, except that God warded off its evil. There is none among you to whom necks would turn as they do to Abū Bakr. Whoever pledges allegiance to a man without consultation among the Muslims, neither he nor the one to whom he pledged allegiance has any pledge of allegiance—beware lest they be killed. It was part of our affair when God took His Prophet ﷺ that the Anṣār opposed us and gathered with their nobles in the Saqīfah of Banū Sāʿidah. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib and al-Zubayr b. al-ʿAwwām and those with them stayed behind from us, while the Muhājirūn gathered around Abū Bakr. I said to Abū Bakr, “Come with us to these brothers of ours from the Anṣār.” So we went toward them until two righteous men from among them met us and told us what the people had agreed upon. They said, “Where are you heading, O company of Muhājirūn?” We said, “We are seeking these brothers of ours from the Anṣār.” They said, “You should not approach them, O company of Muhājirūn. Settle your affair.” He said: I said, “By God, we will go to them.” So we went until we came to them in the Saqīfah of Banū Sāʿidah, and there among them was a man wrapped up. I said, “Who is this?” They said, “Saʿd b. ʿUbādah.” I said, “What is wrong with him?” They said, “He is ill.” When we sat down, their speaker pronounced the testimony of faith, praised God as He deserves, and then said: Now then, we are the supporters of God and the battalion of Islam. You, O company of Muhājirūn, are a small group from us. A band of your people has come. He said: And they were intending to cut us off from our root and to seize the affair from us. When he fell silent, I wanted to speak, and I had composed in my mind a speech that pleased me, which I intended to deliver before Abū Bakr. I was holding back some of my sharpness toward him. But Abū Bakr said, “Gently, ʿUmar.” I disliked angering him, so he spoke. He was more knowledgeable and more dignified than I. By God, he did not leave out a single word that had pleased me in my composition but said it extemporaneously, or the like of it or better, until he fell silent. He said: As for the good you have mentioned about yourselves, you are worthy of it. But the Arabs will not recognize this affair except for this clan of Quraysh. They are the middle of the Arabs in lineage and abode. I am pleased for you with one of these two men. Pledge allegiance to whichever of them you wish. And he took hold of my hand and the hand of Abū ʿUbaydah b. al-Jarrāḥ, who was sitting between us. I did not dislike anything he said except that. By God, that I should be brought forward and have my neck struck, without that bringing me near to sin, was dearer to me than to rule over a people among whom was Abū Bakr. A man from the Anṣār said: “I am its little sturdy post that is rubbed and its little palm tree loaded with fruit. From us an amīr and from you an amīr, O Quraysh.” He said: Then clamor increased and voices rose, until I feared discord. I said, “Stretch out your hand, Abū Bakr.” He stretched out his hand, and I pledged allegiance to him. Then the Muhājirūn pledged allegiance to him, then the Anṣār pledged allegiance to him. And we leapt upon Saʿd b. ʿUbādah. One of them said, “You have killed Saʿd b. ʿUbādah.” He said: I said, “May God kill Saʿd b. ʿUbādah.”
Grades by grader
No grade is recorded for this wording.