The Fitnah: Introduction and Overview

Outline

• Introduction
• Sayyidunā Abū Bakr’s Caliphate
• Sayyidunā ‘Umar’s Caliphate
• The Only Fitnah So Far
• This Series
• Objectives of the Series
• Approach of the Series
• Characters and Places to Remember

Bismillah… in the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Beneficent

Introduction

Alhamdulillah… infinite thanks and praises are due to the Almighty Allah, who created us and the worlds, and subjected us to various forms of fitnah, so to test us physically, emotionally, spiritually, socially, and whatnot. Complete peace and blessings are upon His most beloved, Habibi Muhammad, his household, his companions and all those who follow his guided path.

This is Part One of The Fitnah series of articles covering the greatest fitnah that Ummah had to embrace 14 centuries ago, the impact of which continues to  tear the fabric of the Ummah all this while.

The part is an introduction, that outlines an overview for this series. In this part, you’ll also read the objectives and my approach in the series. This part ends with a mention of main characters and places to remember, due to their key relevance to the main events of the series.

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Sayyidunā Abū Bakr’s Caliphate

After the passing of the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ’alayhi wa sallam, some people who outwardly declared Islam in his life; Arabs and non-Arabs denounced Islam. Note that I didn’t say ‘companions’. I rather said, ‘some who, outwardly declared Islam.’

There were two types of these people: (1) those who denounced Islam at individual level, and (2) those who denounced Islam collectively within their tribes.

While those who denounced Islam at the individual level run away, to faraway places to start “new lives” outside the Islamic Caliphate, tribes that refused to pay their zakāh had to face the consequences.

Sayyidunā Abū Bakr raḍiya Allāhu ’anhu, with the best of the companions of the Prophet by his side, handled the wave of what was known in Arabic as ‘riddah’ effectively. It seems Sayyidunā Abū Bakr was divinely destined to accomplish just that, as the first Caliph of the Ummah after the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ’alayhi wa sallam. This is because the other projects he started, i.e., spreading Islam and expanding the Islamic State, were ongoing at the point of his passing.

Two years and a few months into his caliphate, Sayyidunā Abū Bakr raḍiya Allāhu ’anhu passed on. The  only nominated one for his succession was Sayyidunā ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb raḍiya Allāhu ’anhu.

This was the form of Fitnah he had to deal with. And he had handled it diligently and succeeded by the will of Allah to overcome it.

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Sayyidunā ‘Umar’s Caliphate

Sayyidunā ‘Umar was unarguably a man with a fierce personality. He was fierce to the extent that even the Devil was afraid of him and would take a path different from which ‘Umar would come from. This is as said by the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ’alayhi wa sallam in a ḥadīth reported by Imām al-Bukhārī and Muslim. In addition to that, he was firm in executing his policies. Despite that, he was a person of extreme justice observation.

This means, troublemakers of any nature hardly had the guts to provoke him or challenge his decisions. It was also difficult for them to execute any of their conspiracies.

Anyone who challenged Sayyidunā ‘Umar could do so basing on strong opinions, supported by the Qur’an and the acts and sayings of the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ’alayhi wa sallam. In other words, despite his fierceness and firmness, he was humbly submissive when faced with convincing evidence from the Qur’an or the Sunnah.

Thus, his period of caliphate witnessed stability. And this, in return, helped in completing the projects started by his predecessor, Sayyidunā Abū Bakr, and then initiate new ones. All in the form of expanding the Islamic Caliphate beyond what the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam left it.

Under his Caliphate, Sayyidunā ‘Umar succeeded in expanding the Islamic Caliphate to include the Sasanian Empire and more than two-thirds of the Byzantine Empire. He also conquered Persia, Khurāsān, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Sajestan to north-east, and Egypt, Libya, and Africa in the West.

This means, the number of the Muslim population has multiplied. In fact, it’s reported that the majority of the Muslims at that time were non-Arabs.

While this is good news for Islam and Muslims, it wasn’t the same for the enemies of Islam.  And this is where and when conspiracies started to crawl in.  In other words, troublemakers couldn’t cause trouble because they didn’t have the chance to. Meanwhile they were seriously working behind the scenes. And when they stroke… they stroke hard. And that led to the assassination of Sayyidunā ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb raḍiya Allāhu ’anhu.  This served as the second fitnah the Ummah was slapped with, since the passing of the Prophet, ṣallā Allāhu ’alayhi wa sallam.

That was 10 years after he took over the Caliphate, 13 years after the passing of the Prophet and 23 years after the hijrah of the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ’alayhi wa sallam.

Before his death, Sayyidunā ‘Umar left a few notes. Two of which were as follows:

The first was that he appointed 6-member team, and tasked them to select one among them to be his successor. The main reasoning behind this nomination was that he was certain the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ’alayhi wa sallam was pleased with them at the time of his passing, at least five of them. This committee consisted of:

1. ‘Uthmān ibn ‘Affān
2. ‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn ‘Awf
3. ‘Ali ibn Abī Tālib
4. Al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwām
5. Sa’d ibn Abī Waqqāṣ
6. Ṭalḥah ibn ‘Ubayd Allāh.

The six-member committee eventually elected Sayyidunā ‘Uthmān to be successor of ‘Umar and the third caliph of Islam, after the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ’alayhi wa sallam.

The other note was a suggestion to his successor, to maintain his (‘Umar’s) political appointees in the various regions in the Caliphate, at least for a year. This, according to the note would help keep stability so the next Caliph will have some time to put things under his full control before deciding to replace them. Clearly, he knew troublemakers were working hard in secret.

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The Only Fitnah So Far

So, the only fitnah that happened since the passing of the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ’alayhi wa sallam 13 years ago were two, and the Ummah managed to move on past both. The first was the wave of riddah that hit the companions, and the second was the assassination of Sayyidunā ‘Umar raḍiya Allāhu ’anhu.

After Sayyidunā ‘Uthmān took over as the third Caliph of the Muslim Ummah, and after waiting for a year before replacing the political appointees of his predecessor, Sayyidunā ‘Umar, the real fitnah that has been cooked for ‘God knows how long,’  started to show up in the horizon.

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This Series

This series of articles is an attempt to present a comprehensive look at the biggest fitnah that the Ummah of the Prophet has been facing so far. Perhaps, the Ummah is destined to face it till end of time. And this should explain why the impact and effects of the very fitnah have survived 14 centuries.

This series is about the fitnah, which even the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ’alayhi wa sallam had indicated it happening. In fact, he pointed out some of the characters involved and the places where some events would take place.

In an attempt to present what happened, this series of articles is divided into the following parts of articles:

• Part 1: Introduction (this article)
• Part 2: Fitnah and Its Definition
• Part 3: Ahadīth on Fitnah in the Horizon
• Part 4: Events Before the Fitnah
• Part 5-9: The Events of the Fitnah (5 Articles)
• Part 10: Companions who Avoided the Fitnah
• Part 11: The Implications of the Fitnah
• Part 12: Points for Reflection

Just in case you’re wondering, when you saw the title of this article (Fitnah) or when reading, allow me to share with you the motives behind and the objectives of the series.

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Objectives of the Series

If you have been following The Shining Stars Series (TSSS), you might have noticed the frequent reference to the fitnah that occurred and led to the killing of Sayyidunā ‘Uthmān raḍiya Allāhu ’anhu. Because The Shining Stars Series is not about the fitnah, it’s mentioned passively and sometimes subtly.

As the episodes of TSSS build up, I realized the need to have the fitnah documented in a way that will be easy for the good readers and followers of TSSS today and tomorrow, insha Allah.

With this series, it’s hoped that you won’t have to scratch your head whenever the fitnah is mentioned passively or subtly anymore. I’m sure you know what to do. Don’t you?

Furthermore, a significant number of The Shining Stars in the TSSS had first-hand participation in the fitnah or had lived and witnessed it. This article will save us the time (not trouble) of repeating about the events at each individual Shining Star.

Thus, the series aims to serve as a reference, which readers and viewers of TSSS can easily refer to, to refresh their memory and make more sense of the relation of a given Shing Star to events and incidents of the fitnah.

It’s worth indicating, that the series is not about highlighting the virtues of the companions, nor does it talk about the hypocrites who lived among the Muslims (but were not Muslims). The virtues of individual companions are highlighted for each in the TSSS if a companion is featured in the series.

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Approach of the Series

What I’m sharing in this series is a presentation of what is in the Islamic history. It’s not, by any means, an unprecedented work. While some facts may be arguable, the underlying factors remain factual points. For instance, the characters and the roles (political posts) are facts. And that make the relevant narrations closer to the truth.

I only mention incidents that have the likelihood to have happened. Not necessarily that which is famous or palatable. I avoid content from non-Muslim sources as possible. I will not abstain from mentioning undesired facts. However, that doesn’t reflect, by any means, an intention to demean or undermine the rank, status or virtues of any of the companions of the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ’alayhi wa sallam. Who is that who can demean, defame or undermine whom Allah has forgiven and raised their ranks in this life and the next? Who’s that who has the heart to develop enmity or express hatred towards those who were sincerely pleased with Allah, and in return, He bestowed His pleasure upon them?

In other words, as this series aims to present the events of the fitnah (before, factors, contributors, characters involved and aftereffects)  in its raw narrations, I do this with certainty back in my mind, of the nobility of the companions. However, I also know that none of them was perfect or free from mistakes.

After all, they are our role models. They’re our Shining Stars, the ones the Prophet lived to nurture and love. If with that status, they had to embrace fitnah to the extent, which we’re about to learn in this series, it will happen to us even in harsher and more painful ways. May Allah safeguard us!

I learnt from my teachers when I was in primary school, that we’re discouraged from talking about the fitnah. After more than two decades, I realised that, we need to know how the fitnah unfolded, and then learn how to live to safeguard ourselves as well as our loved ones from its effects. The effects, that extends to us from 14 centuries.

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Characters and Places to Remember

Likewise any human activity, fitnah needs things to take place. It needs a stage (place or places) and characters (performers). And role players in major events usually gather under influential figures. To make things clear, the reader should take note of the following names

• ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab
• ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affān
• ‘Ali ibn Abī Ṭalib
• ‘Ā’ishah bint Abī Bakr
• Al-Zubayr ibn al-‘Awwām
• Ṭalḥah ibn ‘Ubaydillah
• Mu’āwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān
• Al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali

As for the stage, the main geographical locations to keep in mind are the following:

• Hijāz (Makkah and Madinah)
• Shām (Damascus – Homs – Jordan – Palestine)
• Iraq (Kūfah – Baghdad – Baṣrah)
• Egypt

The next article will focus on the definition of Fitnah.

Until then, I leave you in Allah’s protection.

Allah knows best.
Allahu Hafiz 🙂

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