Hadith No. 19

“After the Prophet , there are rightly guided caliphs, and adhering to their way is obligatory.”

رَوَى أَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ [ت241هـ] فِي «مُسْنَدِهِ»[1]، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا الْوَلِيدُ بْنُ مُسْلِمٍ، حَدَّثَنَا ثَوْرُ بْنُ يَزِيدَ، حَدَّثَنَا خَالِدُ بْنُ مَعْدَانَ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ عَمْرٍو السُّلَمِيُّ، وَحُجْرُ بْنُ حُجْرٍ، قَالَا: أَتَيْنَا الْعِرْبَاضَ بْنَ سَارِيَةَ وَهُوَ مِمَّنْ نَزَلَ فِيهِ ﴿وَلَا عَلَى الَّذِينَ إِذَا مَا أَتَوْكَ لِتَحْمِلَهُمْ قُلْتَ لَا أَجِدُ مَا أَحْمِلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ﴾[2]، فَسَلَّمْنَا وَقُلْنَا: أَتَيْنَاكَ زَائِرِينَ وَعَائِدِينَ وَمُقْتَبِسِينَ، فَقَالَ عِرْبَاضٌ:

صَلَّى بِنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ الصُّبْحَ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ، ثُمَّ أَقْبَلَ عَلَيْنَا، فَوَعَظَنَا مَوْعِظَةً بَلِيغَةً، ذَرَفَتْ مِنْهَا الْعُيُونُ، وَوَجِلَتْ مِنْهَا الْقُلُوبُ، فَقَالَ قَائِلٌ: «يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، كَأَنَّ هَذِهِ مَوْعِظَةُ مُوَدِّعٍ، فَمَاذَا تَعْهَدُ إِلَيْنَا؟» فَقَالَ: «أُوصِيكُمْ بِتَقْوَى اللَّهِ، وَالسَّمْعِ وَالطَّاعَةِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ عَبْدًا حَبَشِيًّا، فَإِنَّهُ مَنْ يَعِشْ مِنْكُمْ بَعْدِي فَسَيَرَى اخْتِلَافًا كَثِيرًا، فَعَلَيْكُمْ بِسُنَّتِي وَسُنَّةِ الْخُلَفَاءِ الرَّاشِدِينَ الْمَهْدِيِّينَ، تَمَسَّكُوا بِهَا وَعَضُّوا عَلَيْهَا بِالنَّوَاجِذِ، وَإِيَّاكُمْ وَمُحْدَثَاتِ الْأُمُورِ، فَإِنَّ كُلَّ مُحْدَثَةٍ بِدْعَةٌ، وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ».

Translation:

Ahmad ibn Hanbal [d. 241 AH] has narrated in his Musnad, (in this manner that) he has said: Walid ibn Muslim narrated to us, (he said:) Thawr ibn Yazid narrated to us, (he said:) Khalid ibn Ma‘dan narrated to us, he said: Abd al-Rahman ibn Amr al-Sulami and Hujr ibn Hujr narrated to us, they said: We went to Irbad ibn Sariyah, and he was among those about whom this verse was revealed: “Nor (is there blame) upon those who came to you, requesting that you provide them with mounts (for going to the battlefield). You said to them: ‘I cannot find anything to mount you on.’” Then we greeted him and said: “We have come to visit you, inquire about your well-being, and benefit from your presence.” So Irbad said:

One day, the Messenger of Allah led us in the morning prayer. Then he turned toward us and delivered an eloquent sermon that caused eyes to weep and hearts to tremble. Someone then said: “O Messenger of Allah! This appears to be the sermon of one who intends to bid farewell. So what do you enjoin upon us?” So he said: “I enjoin you to fear Allah and to hear and obey, even if it be an Abyssinian slave; for whoever among you lives after me will see much discord. So adhere to my Sunnah and to the way of the rightly guided caliphs; hold firmly to it and cling to it with your molars. And avoid newly-invented matters, for every newly-invented matter is an innovation, and every innovation is misguidance.”

Attestation No. 1

وَرَوَى أَبُو عُبَيْدٍ [ت224هـ] فِي «الْخُطَبِ وَالْمَوَاعِظِ»[3]، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ صَالِحٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا مُعَاوِيَةُ بْنُ صَالِحٍ أَنَّ ضَمْرَةَ بْنَ حَبِيبٍ حَدَّثَهُ أَنَّ عَبْدَ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنَ عَمْرٍو السُّلَمِيَّ حَدَّثَهُ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ الْعِرْبَاضَ بْنَ سَارِيَةَ يَقُولُ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «لَقَدْ تَرَكْتُكُمْ عَلَى الْبَيْضَاءِ لَيْلُهَا كَنَهَارِهَا، فَلَا يَزِيغُ عَنْهَا بَعْدِي إِلَّا هَالِكٌ، وَمَنْ يَعِشْ مِنْكُمْ فَسَيَرَى اخْتِلَافًا كَثِيرًا، فَعَلَيْكُمْ بِمَا عَرَفْتُمْ مِنْ سُنَّتِي وَسُنَّةِ الْخُلَفَاءِ الرَّاشِدِينَ الْمَهْدِيِّينَ، وَعَضُّوا عَلَيْهَا بِالنَّوَاجِذِ».

Translation:

Also, Abu Ubaid [d. 224 AH] has narrated in the book al-Khutab Wa al-Mawa‘iz and said: Abdullah ibn Salih narrated to us, he said: Mu‘awiyah ibn Salih narrated to us that Damrah ibn Habib narrated to him that Abd al-Rahman ibn Amr al-Sulami narrated to him that he heard Irbad ibn Sariyah say: The Messenger of Allah said: “Indeed, I left you upon something bright whose night is (bright) like its day. So no one deviates from it after me except the doomed. And whoever among you lives after me will see much discord. So adhere to what you have known from my Sunnah and the way of the rightly guided caliphs, and cling to it with your molars.”

Consideration

قَالَ الْمَنْصُورُ حَفِظَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: هَذَا حَدِيثٌ ثَابِتٌ عَنِ الْعِرْبَاضِ بْنِ سَارِيَةَ، فَقَدْ رَوَاهُ عَنْهُ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ عَمْرٍو، وَحُجْرُ بْنُ حُجْرٍ، وَيَحْيَى بْنُ أَبِي الْمُطَاعِ، وَعَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ أَبِي بِلَالٍ، وَالْمُهَاصِرُ بْنُ حَبِيبٍ، وَجُبَيْرُ بْنُ نُفَيْرٍ، وَعَمُّ خَالِدِ بْنِ مَعْدَانَ، وَهُوَ يَدُلُّ عَلَى أَنَّهُ يَكُونُ بَعْدَ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ خُلَفَاءُ رَاشِدُونَ مَهْدِيُّونَ يَجِبُ التَّمَسُّكُ بِسُنَّتِهِمْ كَمَا يَجِبُ التَّمَسُّكُ بِسُنَّةِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَذَلِكَ غَيْرُ جَائِزٍ إِلَّا إِذَا كَانَتْ سُنَّتُهُمْ مُطَابِقَةً لِسُنَّتِهِ؛ إِذْ لَوْ كَانَ بَيْنَهُمَا اخْتِلَافٌ لَكَانَ التَّمَسُّكُ بِسُنَّتِهِمْ تَرْكَ التَّمَسُّكِ بِسُنَّتِهِ، وَلَمَا أَمْكَنَ التَّمَسُّكُ بِهِمَا جَمِيعًا، وَفِي هَذَا دَلَالَةٌ عَلَى أَنَّهُمْ مُطَهَّرُونَ مِنَ الرِّجْسِ، وَلَا يُعْرَفُ ذَلِكَ إِلَّا فِي أَهْلِ بَيْتِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ؛ لِقَوْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنْكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا﴾[4]، وَلِذَلِكَ فَإِنَّ الْخُلَفَاءَ الرَّاشِدِينَ الْمَهْدِيِّينَ الَّذِينَ يَجِبُ التَّمَسُّكُ بِسُنَّتِهِمْ هُمْ مِنْ أَهْلِ بَيْتِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ؛ كَمَا أَخْبَرَ عَنْ ذَلِكَ بِصَرَاحَةٍ فَقَالَ: «إِنِّي تَارِكٌ فِيكُمْ خَلِيفَتَيْنِ: كِتَابَ اللَّهِ وَعِتْرَتِي أَهْلَ بَيْتِي، إِنْ تَمَسَّكْتُمْ بِهِمَا لَنْ تَضِلُّوا بَعْدِي، وَإِنَّهُمَا لَنْ يَفْتَرِقَا حَتَّى يَرِدَا عَلَيَّ الْحَوْضَ»، فَلَا يُعْتَنَى بِقَوْلِ الضَّالِّينَ الَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ لِرِجَالٍ مِنْ دُونِهِمْ أَنَّهُمْ مِنْهُمْ، ﴿مَا لَهُمْ بِذَلِكَ مِنْ عِلْمٍ ۖ إِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَخْرُصُونَ﴾[5]، وَأَمَّا الْأَمْرُ بِالسَّمْعِ وَالطَّاعَةِ وَإِنْ كَانَ عَبْدًا حَبَشِيًّا فَصَحِيحٌ، وَلَا يُعَارِضُ مَا قُلْنَا؛ لِأَنَّ الْمُرَادَ بِهِ مَنْ أَمَّرَهُ أَحَدُ الْخُلَفَاءِ الرَّاشِدِينَ الْمَهْدِيِّينَ عَلَى مَدِينَةٍ أَوْ جَيْشٍ.

Translation:

Mansoor said: This is a well-established Hadith from Irbad ibn Sariyah; because Abd al-Rahman ibn Amr, Hujr ibn Hujr, Yahya ibn Abi al-Muta‘, Abdullah ibn Abi Bilal, Muhasir ibn Habib, Jubayr ibn Nufayr, and the paternal uncle of Khalid ibn Ma‘dan have narrated it from him. And it indicates that after the Prophet , there are rightly guided caliphs, and adhering to their way is obligatory, just like adhering to the Sunnah of the Prophet . And this is not permissible unless their way aligns with his Sunnah; because if there is a contradiction between their way and his Sunnah, adhering to their way would mean abandoning his Sunnah, and it would be impossible to adhere to both at the same time. And this indicates that they are pure from any impurity, and such an attribute is not known except in the Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet ; because Allah has said: “Allah wants to remove any impurity from you, O Ahl al-Bayt, and make you completely pure.” Based on this, the rightly guided caliphs whose way must be adhered to are from the Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet ; as he has explicitly informed of this and said: “I leave among you two caliphs: the Book of Allah and my Itrah, (who are) my Ahl al-Bayt. If you hold firmly to these two, you will never go astray after me. And indeed, these two will never be separated until they come to me by the Pond.” So one should not pay attention to the words of the misguided who include others among these caliphs. “They have no knowledge of that and only make a guess.” As for the command to hear and obey, even if it be an Abyssinian slave, it is also correct and does not contradict what we said; because what is meant by him is someone whom one of the rightly guided caliphs has put in charge of a city or an army.

Attestation No. 2

وَرَوَى أَبُو نُعَيْمٍ [ت430هـ] فِي «أَخْبَارِ أَصْبَهَانَ»[6]، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا الطَّلْحِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو حُصَيْنٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الطَّاهِرِ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عِيسَى، حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ أَبِي فُدَيْكٍ، عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ سَعْدٍ، عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ أَسْلَمَ، عَنْ عَطَاءِ بْنِ يَسَارٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، سَمِعْتُ عَلِيَّ بْنَ أَبِي طَالِبٍ يَقُولُ: خَرَجَ عَلَيْنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ: «اللَّهُمَّ ارْحَمْ خُلَفَائِي»، قُلْنَا: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، وَمَنْ خُلَفَاؤُكَ؟ قَالَ: «الَّذِينَ يَأْتُونَ مِنْ بَعْدِي، يَرْوُونَ أَحَادِيثِي وَسُنَّتِي، وَيُعَلِّمُونَهَا النَّاسَ».

Translation:

Also, Abu Nu‘aym [d. 430 AH] has narrated in the book Akhbar Asbahan and said: Al-Talhi narrated to us, (he said): Abu Husayn narrated to us, (he said): Abu Tahir Ahmad ibn Isa narrated to us, (he said): Ibn Abi Fudayk narrated to us, from Hisham ibn Sa‘d, from Zayd ibn Aslam, from Ata’ ibn Yasar, from ibn Abbas, (who said): I heard Ali ibn Abi Talib say: “The Messenger of Allah came out to us and said: ‘O Allah! Have mercy on my caliphs.’ We said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! Who are your caliphs?’ He said: ‘Those who come after me, narrate my Hadiths and Sunnah, and teach them to people.’”

Consideration

قَالَ الْمَنْصُورُ حَفِظَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عِيسَى مُتَّهَمٌ عِنْدَهُمْ، لَكِنَّهُ لَمْ يَنْفَرِدْ بِهِ، وَلِلْحَدِيثِ طُرُقٌ أُخْرَى تُقَوِّيهِ، وَهُوَ لَا يَعْنِي أَنَّ كُلَّ مَنْ يَرْوِي شَيْئًا مِنْ أَحَادِيثِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَسُنَّتِهِ وَيُعَلِّمُهُ النَّاسَ فَهُوَ مِنْ خُلَفَائِهِ، بَلْ يَعْنِي أَنَّ خُلَفَاءَهُ الَّذِينَ يَأْتُونَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ هُمْ يَرْوُونَ أَحَادِيثَهُ وَسُنَّتَهُ كَامِلَةً، وَيُعَلِّمُونَهَا النَّاسَ.

Translation:

Mansoor said: Ahmad ibn Isa is accused in their view, but he is not alone in narrating this Hadith. And there are other chains of transmission for it that strengthen it. And it does not mean that whoever narrates something from the Hadiths and the Sunnah of the Prophet and teaches it to people is one of his caliphs; rather, it means that his caliphs, who come after him, are those who perfectly narrate his Hadiths and Sunnah and teach them to people.