A Sunni-Shia divide: Hadith-e-Qirtas

Hazrat Mir Muhammad Ishaq^ra

عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، قَالَ لَمَّا اشْتَدَّ بِالنَّبِیِّ صلّی اللہ علیہ وسلم وَجَعُہُ قَالَ ائْتُونِی بِکِتَابٍ اَکْتُب لَکُمْ کِتَاباً لَا تَضِلُّوْا بَعْدَہُ۔ قَالَ عُمَرُ اِنَّ النَّبِیَّ صلّی اللہ علیہ وسلم غَلَبَہُ الْوَجَعُ وَعِنْدَنَا کِتَابُ اللہِ حَسْبُنَا فَاخْتَلَفُوْا وَکَثُرَ اللَّغَطُ قَالَ قُوْمُوْا عَنِّی، وَلَا یَنْبَغِیْ عِنْدِی التَّنَازُعُ

[Translation] [Hazrat Ibn Abbas^ra narrated “When the ailment of the Prophet^sa became worse, he said, ‘Bring for me (writing) paper and I will write for you a statement after which you will not go astray.’ But Umar^ra said, ‘The Prophet is seriously ill, and we have got Allah’s Book with us and that is sufficient for us.’ But the companions of the Prophet^sa differed about this and there was a hue and cry.

On that, the Prophet^sa said to them, ‘Get up (and leave me alone). It is not right that you should quarrel in front of me.”] (Sahih al-Bukhari)

[Referring to this famous Hadith-e-Qirtas, Hazrat Mir Muhammad Ishaq^ra said the following:]

It is mentioned in a hadith that during the final illness of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, some people were arguing over whether to bring a pen and paper [for the Holy Prophet^sa] during which the Prophet^sa said to them “Get up and leave me alone”.

This hadith, in its entirety, is known as “Hadith-e-Qirtas” [hadith of the pen and paper] and is a famous disputed hadith amongst the Ahl-e-Sunnah wal-Jamaat [Sunnis] and the Shiites.

Shiites argue that the Holy Prophet^sa asked for a pen and paper as he wanted to write a will in favour of Hazrat Ali^ra, that he would be the khalifa after his demise. However, [they allege] Hazrat Umar^ra stopped people from bringing a pen and paper so that the Holy Prophet^sa would not be able to write such a will.

On the other hand, the Sunnis say that Hazrat Umar^ra was actually concerned and worried about the Prophet’s^sa agony, due to his illness. That is why he stopped others from bringing a pen and paper, as he did not want the Prophet^sa to undergo more suffering. Sunnis maintain that such a thought [to conceal a will in favour of Hazrat Ali^ra] could never have crossed the mind of Hazrat Umar^ra.

As this is a very famous hadith that is disputed and we Ahmadis also have to face Shiites from time to time, I wish to detail the reality of the hadith.

1. The hadith is narrated by Hazrat Ibn Abbas^ra

2. The Holy Prophet^sa said اَکْتُب لَکُمْ کِتَاباً لَا تَضِلُّوْا بَعْدَہُ which means, “I will write something which, if followed to the letter, will make sure you never fall astray”

3. At the time, lots of people were present at the Holy Prophet’s^sa house

4. Hazrat Umar^ra said:

اِنَّ رَسُولَ اللہِ صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم قَدْ غَلَبَہُ الْوَجَعُ وَعِنْدَکُمُ الْقُرْآنُ، حَسْبُنَا کِتَابُ اللہِ

meaning that the Prophet^sa was in great pain and they had the Quran with them which is a complete guidance and would serve every possible need

5. No one from among those present rejected the claim by Hazrat Umar^ra, that the Holy Prophet^sa was experiencing great pain at the time

6. فَاخْتَلَفَ اَھْلُ الْبَیْتِ [mentioned in other narrations] indicates the fact that the Holy Prophet’s^sa family were also divided in opinion. Some agreed with Hazrat Umar^ra while others differed

7. Those present disagreed to such an extent that they began to argue loudly

8. As a result, the Holy Prophet^sa told everyone to leave and said that arguing in front of the Prophet of God is not agreeable.

Apart from this the Holy Prophet^sa did not say anything. He never insisted on bringing the pen and paper. Firstly, the narrator of this hadith is Hazrat Ibn Abbas^ra. His age at the time would have been 11 years at most. For this reason, we simply cannot give such importance to a narration by someone of that age and as a result, label the very pillars of Islam [the Khulafa] as misguided and disbelievers. God forbid.

If we attest to the notion that Hazrat Ali^ra was meant to be the Khalifa immediately after the Holy Prophet^sa and it was this that the Holy Prophet^sa wanted to write down and the Companions^ra deliberately did not listen to the Holy Prophet^sa, then we will have to accept that the Companions knowingly disobeyed the command of the Holy Prophet^sa and disobeying the Holy Prophet^sa is known as kufr.

We will also have to agree that the Companions^ra would (God forbid), as a result, have to be labelled as liars and transgressors. This is because they purposefully blocked the right of Hazrat Ali^ra as the first Khalifa after the Prophet’s^sa demise and did this by devising a deceitful plan.

In fact, accordingly to Shiites, the Companions^ra forcefully took away this honour from Hazrat Ali^ra. If we verify and accept these accusations against the Companions^ra, then the entire list of Islamic victories, advancements and the services to establish Khilafat that were achieved by the Khulafa must be rejected and deemed un-Islamic.

If we do so, nothing will be left of Islam. The beautiful and elegant edifice of Islam that the Khulafa toiled night and day for would be destroyed and flattened in an instance.

Secondly, if the Holy Prophet’s^sa message, which he wanted to write down and that would have ensured Muslims would not go astray, was that Hazrat Ali^ra would be the next khalifa, then why, despite knowing this, did Shia Muslims go astray? They should have stayed on the right path and not have been divided.

The reality is that Shias themselves were divided into many sects, going so far as to label one another as hell-bound. A sect of Shiites called the Ghalis go as far as to label Hazrat Ali^ra as God… The third point to consider is that others were also present with the Holy Prophet^sa. Apart from them, the Ahl-e-Bait (family of the Holy Prophet^sa) was also present. Hazrat Ali^ra himself was also there and amongst everyone.

Now, if Hazrat Umar^ra is to be labelled as someone who disobeyed the Holy Prophet^sa, then Hazrat Ali^ra and, in fact, all the Ahl-e-Bait and Companions^ra who were present are also guilty of disobedience to the Prophet^sa (God forbid).

Further, those who knew that the Holy Prophet^sa was about to write a will to make Hazrat Ali^ra the khalifa are more blameworthy for not bringing the pen and paper.

(Originally published in Al Fazl on 17 January 1940 in the form of notes taken by Mahmood Ahmad Khalil Sahib from the lectures on hadith by Hazrat Mir Muhammad Ishaq^ra, a scholar of hadith and brother-in-law of the Promised Messiah^as)