Ṭalḥah b. ʿUbaydillāh al-Taymī holds a significant position among the Companions of the Holy Prophet (saw) in Sunni tradition. He is recognized as one of the ten individuals who were promised Paradise and is also a relative of the first caliph, Abū Bakr. However, within the perspective of the followers of Ahl al-Bayt, Ṭalḥah is viewed critically due to his well-documented opposition to Imām ʿAlī. An often overlooked aspect of Ṭalḥah’s life is that the Holy Prophet (saw) reportedly passed away while still displeased with him. This lesser-known detail raises several questions: Why did the Holy Prophet (saw) pass away with unresolved anger towards Ṭalḥah? What evidence supports this claim? In order to address these inquiries, a thorough analysis of the historical sources is necessary.
The verse of Umm al-Muʾminīn
The Holy Qurʾān clarifies that the wives of the Holy Prophet (saw) are considered the mothers of the believers, and it is strictly prohibited to marry them, even after the passing of the Prophet (saw). But which verses underscore this ruling, and what were the circumstances behind their revelation?
ٱلنَّبِىُّ أَوْلَىٰ بِٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ ۖ وَأَزْوَٰجُهُۥٓ أُمَّهَـٰتُهُمْ ۗ وَأُو۟لُوا۟
The Prophet has a stronger affinity to the believers than they do themselves. And his wives are their mothers. [33:6]
وَمَا كَانَ لَكُمْ أَن تُؤْذُوا۟ رَسُولَ ٱللَّهِ وَلَآ أَن تَنكِحُوٓا۟ أَزْوَٰجَهُۥ مِنۢ بَعْدِهِۦٓ أَبَدًا ۚ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكُمْ كَانَ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ عَظِيمًا
And it is not right for you to annoy the Messenger of Allah, nor ever marry his wives after him. This would certainly be a major offense in the sight of Allah. [33:53]
These two verses were revealed together in response to an incident where a companion of the Holy Prophet (saw) publicly declared his intention to marry one of the Prophet’s wives if he were to pass away. This statement caused distress and concern, prompting a revelation to affirm the unique status of the Prophet’s wives as the "mothers of the believers", to explicitly forbid their marriage to anyone after the Prophet’s (saw) passing. This prohibition served to uphold the honor and sanctity of the Prophet’s household, distinguishing their status from that of other Muslim women.
For reference to this incident, we will cite several sources, including the famous compilation of hadith, Sunan al-Bayhaqī (vol. 7, pg. 110, H #13418):
بَابُ مَا خُصَّ بِهِ مِنْ أَنَّ أَزْوَاجَهُ أُمَّهَاتُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، وَأَنَّهُ يَحْرُمُ نِكَاحُهُنَّ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ عَلَى جَمِيعِ الْعَالَمِينَ.
أَخْبَرَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ عَبْدَانَ، أنبأ سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ أَحْمَدَ اللَّخْمِيُّ، ثنا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ الْعَبَّاسِ الرَّازِيُّ، ثنا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ حُمَيْدٍ، ثنا مِهْرَانُ بْنُ أَبِي عُمَرَ، ثنا سُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِيُّ، عَنْ دَاوُدَ بْنِ أَبِي هِنْدٍ، عَنْ عِكْرِمَةَ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: قَالَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَوْ قَدْ مَاتَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَتَزَوَّجْتُ عَائِشَةَ أَوْ أُمَّ سَلَمَةَ، فَأَنْزَلَ اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: {وَمَا كَانَ لَكُمْ أَنْ تُؤْذُوا رَسُولَ اللهِ، وَلَا أَنْ تَنْكِحُوا أَزْوَاجَهُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ أَبَدًا إِنَّ ذَلِكُمْ كَانَ عِنْدَ اللهِ عَظِيمًا} [الأحزاب: 53] " قَالَ سُلَيْمَانُ: لَمْ يَرْوِهِ عَنْ سُفْيَانَ إِلَّا مِهْرَانُ
The Chapter on what the Prophet has confirmed regarding that his wives are the mothers of the believers and that marrying them after him is prohibited for all creation
We were told by ʿAlī b. Aḥmad b. ʿAbdān, that Sulaymān b. Aḥmad al-Lakhmī said that Ḥassān b. ʿAbbās al-Rāzī reported from Muḥammad b. Ḥamīd, from Mihrān b. Abī ʿUmar, from Sufyān al-Thawrī, who narrated from Dāwūd b. Abī Hind, who narrated from ʿIkrimah on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said:
“A man from the Companions of the Holy Prophet (saw) said, ‘If the Messenger of Allah (saw) were to pass away, I would marry ʿĀʾishah or Umm Salamah.’ Then Allah the Exalted revealed the verse: ‘And it is not for you to harm the Messenger of Allah (saw), nor to marry his wives after him ever. Truly, that is, in the sight of Allah (swt), an enormity.’”
While this narration does not explicitly name the companion who had his eye on the Prophet’s wife, other narrations provide clarification. The identity of this companion is confirmed by both Muʿāmar and al-Suddī, recorded in the important work of Tafsīr ʿAbd al-Razzāq (vol 3, pg. 50):
عَنْ مَعْمَرٍ ، عَنْ قَتَادَةَ ، أَنَّ رَجُلًا قَالَ: لَوْ قُبِضَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، لَتَزَوَّجْتُ فُلَانَةَ يَعْنِي عَائِشَةَ: " فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: {وَمَا كَانَ لَكُمْ أَنْ تُؤْذُوا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَلَا أَنْ تَنْكِحُوا أَزْوَاجَهُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ أَبَدًا} [الأحزاب: 53] نا عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ. قَال مَعْمَرٌ: سَمِعْتُ أَنَّ هَذَا الرَّجُلَ طَلْحَةُ بْنُ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ
From Maʿmar, from Qatādah, that a man said: "If the Prophet (saw) were to pass away, I would marry so-and-so," meaning ʿĀʾishah. Then Allah, the Exalted, revealed: "And it is not for you to harm the Messenger of Allah (saw), nor to marry his wives after him ever" (33:53). Abd al-Razzaq said, Maʿmar narrated: "I heard that this man was Ṭalḥah b. ʿUbaydillāh."
Another famous commentary of the entire Qurʾān, Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī (vol 17, pg. 209), repeats the same:
رَوَى إِسْمَاعِيل بْن إِسْحَاق قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّد بْن عُبَيْد قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّد بْن ثَوْر عَنْ مَعْمَر عَنْ قَتَادَة أَنَّ رَجُلًا قَالَ : لَوْ قُبِضَ رَسُول اللَّه صَلَّى اللَّه عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ تَزَوَّجْت عَائِشَة , فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّه تَعَالَى : وَمَا كَانَ لَكُمْ أَنْ تُؤْذُوا رَسُول اللَّه الْآيَة . وَنَزَلَتْ: ”وَأَزْوَاجه أُمَّهَاتهمْ
Ismāʿīl b. Isḥāq narrated that Muḥammad b. ʿUbayd said, "Muḥammad b. Thawr narrated from Maʿmar from Qatādah that a man said:
'If the Messenger of Allah (saw) were to pass away, I would marry ʿĀʾishah.' Then Allah, the Exalted, revealed: 'And it is not for you to harm the Messenger of Allah (saw)' (the verse). And the verse was revealed: 'And his wives are their mothers.'"
Likewise, we read from Tafsīr Ibn Abī Ḥātim (vol. 9, pg. 3150):
عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ، عَنْهُمَا فِي قَوْلِهِ: وَمَا كَانَ لَكُمْ أَنْ تُؤْذُوا رسول الله … قال: نزلت في رَجُلٍ هَمَّ أَنْ يَتَزَوَّجَ بَعْضَ نِسَاءِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بَعْدَهُ، قَالَ سُفْيَانُ: ذَكَرُوا أَنَّهَا عَائِشَةُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ، عَنْهَا .
عَنْ عَبْدَ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنَ زَيْدِ بْنِ أَسْلَمَ قَالَ: بَلَغَ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّ رَجُلًا يَقُولُ: إِنْ تُوُفِّيَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ تَزَوَّجْتُ فُلانَةَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ، فَكَانَ ذَلِكَ يُؤْذِي النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَنَزَلَ الْقُرْآنُ وَمَا كَانَ لَكُمْ أَنْ تُؤْذُوا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ … .
عَنِ السُّدِّيِّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ، عَنْهُ قَالَ: بَلَغَنَا أَنَّ طَلْحَةَ بْنَ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ قَالَ: أَيَحْجُبُنَا مُحَمَّدٌ، عَنْ بَنَاتِ عَمِّنَا، وَيَتَزَوَّجُ نِسَاءَنَا مِنْ بَعْدِنَا لَئِنْ حَدَثَ بِهِ حَدَثٌ لَنَتَزَوَّجَنَّ نِسَاءَهُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ. فَنَزَلَتْ هَذِهِ الْآيَةُ .
حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ الْحُسَيْنِ حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ أَبِي حَمَّادٍ حَدَّثَنَا مِهْرَانُ، عَنْ سُفْيَانَ، عَنْ دَاوُدَ بْنِ أَبِي هِنْدَ، عَنْ عِكْرِمَةَ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: وَمَا كَانَ لَكُمْ أَنْ تؤذوا رسول الله قال: نزلت في رجل هم أَنْ يَتَزَوَّجَ بَعْضَ نِسَاءِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، قَالَ رَجُلٌ لِسُفْيَانَ: أَهِيَ عَائِشَةُ؟ قَالَ: قَدْ ذَكَرُوا ذَاكَ
Ibn ʿAbbās (ra) said regarding the verse: "And it is not for you to harm the Messenger of Allah…" that it was revealed about a man who intended to marry some of the Prophet's (saw) wives after his passing. Sufyān said: "They mentioned that it was ʿĀʾishah (ra)."
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Zayd b. Aslam said: The Prophet (saw) was informed that a man was saying, "If the Messenger of Allah (saw) were to pass away, I would marry so-and-so after him." This caused distress to the Prophet (saw), and then the Qurʾān was revealed: "And it is not for you to harm the Messenger of Allah…"
Al-Suddī said: "It was reported to us that Ṭalḥah b. ʿUbaydillāh said: 'Will Muḥammad (saw) forbid us from marrying the daughters of our uncles, and then marry our wives after us? If something were to happen to him, we would certainly marry his wives after him.'" Then this verse was revealed.a
ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn narrated to us, Muhammad b. Abī Ḥammād narrated to us, Mihrān narrated to us, from Sufyān, from Dāwūd b. Abī Hind, from ʿIkrimah, from Ibn ʿAbbās regarding the verse: "And it is not for you to harm the Messenger of Allah," he said: "It was revealed about a man who intended to marry some of the Prophet’s (saw) wives. A man asked Sufyān: 'Was it ʿĀʾishah?' He said: 'They have mentioned that.'
Both Ibn Kathīr and al-Suyūṭī quoted Ibn Abī Ḥātim's account in their respective Tafsīrs, affirming that the man in question was indeed Ṭalḥah b. ʿUbaydillāh.
The Prophet's Gheerah and Anger Towards Ṭalḥah b. ʿUbaydillāh
Today, any Muslim man with a sense of ghira would be angry or upset if he heard someone say they would marry their wife after his death. The Prophet (saw) was known alone as a man with the most ghira, as much so that it is recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari 6846:
Sa`d b. Ubada said, "If I found a man with my wife, I would kill him with the sharp side of my sword." When the Prophet (ﷺ) heard that he said, "Do you wonder at Sa`d's sense of ghira? Verily, I have more sense of ghira than Sa`d, and Allah has more sense of ghira than I."
We have already shown that Ṭalḥah b. ʿUbaydillāh made such a statement, but now the question arises: Did the Prophet (saw) ever forgive Ṭalḥah? We will address this question with a few reports.
Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī recorded in Sharḥ Mushkil al-Āthār (vol. 12, pg. 477 - 478):
حَدَّثَنَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ أَبِي دَاوُدَ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ شَبِيبِ بْنِ سَعِيدٍ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي ، عَنْ يُونُسَ بْنِ يَزِيدَ ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ قَالَ: كَانَ عَبْدُ الْمَلِكِ بْنُ مَرْوَانَ يُحَدِّثُ عَنْ أَبِي بَحْرِيَّةَ أَنَّ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ خَرَجَ عَلَى مَجْلِسٍ فِيهِ عُثْمَانُ، وَعَلِيُّ، وَطَلْحَةُ وَالزُّبَيْرُ، وَعَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ عَوْفٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمْ، فَقَالَ لَهُمْ عُمَرُ: كُلُّكُمْ يُحَدِّثُ نَفْسَهُ بِالْإِمَارَةِ بَعْدِي؟ فَسَكَتُوا فَقَالَ لَهُمْ عُمَرُ: أكُلُّكُمْ يُحَدِّثُ نَفْسَهُ بِالْإِمَارَةِ بَعْدِي؟ فَقَالَ الزُّبَيْرُ: نَعَمْ، وَيَرَاهَا لَهُ أَهْلًا قَالَ: أَفَلَا أُحَدِّثُكُمْ عَنْكُمْ؟ فَقَالَ الزُّبَيْرُ: حَدِّثْنَا، وَلَوْ سَكَتْنَا لَحَدَّثْتَنَا قَالَ: " أَمَّا أَنْتَ يَا زُبَيْرُ، فَإِنَّكَ مُؤْمِنُ الرِّضَا، كَافِرُ الْغَضَبِ، تَكُونُ يَوْمًا شَيْطَانًا، وَيَوْمًا إِنْسَانًا، أَفَرَأَيْتَ يَوْمًا تَكُونُ شَيْطَانًا؟ فَمَنْ يَكُونُ الْخَلِيفَةَ يَوْمَئِذٍ؟ وَأَمَّا أَنْتَ يَا طَلْحَةُ، فَوَاللهِ لَقَدْ تُوُفِّيَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَهُوَ عَلَيْكَ عَاتِبٌ، وَأَمَّا أَنْتَ يَا عَلِيُّ، فَإِنَّكَ صُلْبٌ مَزَّاحٌ، وَأَمَّا أَنْتَ يَا عَبْدَ الرَّحْمَنِ فَوَاللهِ إِنَّكَ لَمَّا آتَاكَ اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مِنْ خَيْرٍ لَأَهْلٌ، وَإِنَّ مِنْكُمْ لَرُجَلًا لَوْ قُسِمَ إِيمَانُهُ عَلَى جُنْدٍ مِنَ الْأَجْنَادِ لَوَسِعَهُمْ " وَقَدْ رَوَى الزُّبَيْدِيُّ هَذَا الْحَدِيثَ عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، فَأَدْخَلَ فِي إِسْنَادِهِ بَيْنَ الزُّهْرِيِّ، وَبَيْنَ عَبْدِ الْمَلِكِ بْنِ مَرْوَانَ عَمْرَو بْنَ الْحَارِثِ الْفَهْمِيَّ
Ibrāhīm b. Abī Dāwūd narrated to us, saying: Aḥmad b. Shabīb b. Saʿīd narrated to us, from his father, from Yūnus b. Yazīd, from Ibn Shihāb, who said: ʿAbd al-Malik b. Marwān used to narrate from Abū Baḥriyyah that:
ʿUmar (ra) came upon a gathering in which were ʿUthmān, ʿAlī, Ṭalḥah, al-Zubayr, and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. ʿAwf (ra). ʿUmar said to them, "Do each of you imagine himself to be the ruler after me?" They remained silent, so he repeated, "Does each of you imagine himself to be the ruler after me?" Al-Zubayr responded, "Yes, and he deems himself worthy of it." Then ʿUmar said, "Shall I inform you about yourselves?" Al-Zubayr replied, "Go ahead; even if we remain silent, you would still tell us." ʿUmar said: "As for you, O Zubayr, you are a believer when pleased but become a disbeliever when angry; one day you are a human, and another day you become a devil. But on the day you turn into a devil, who will be the caliph then? As for you, O Ṭalḥah, by Allah, the Messenger of Allah (saw) passed away while he was displeased with you. As for you, O ʿAlī, you are stern yet playful. And as for you, O ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, by Allah, whatever Allah (swt) has granted you in goodness, you are deserving of it. Indeed, among you is a man whose faith, if distributed among a whole army, would be sufficient for them."
Al-Zubaydī narrated this ḥadīth from al-Zuhrī, inserting between al-Zuhrī and ʿAbd al-Malik b. Marwān, ʿAmr b. al-Ḥārith al-Fahmī.
We see clearly in this narration that ʿUmar swears by Allah that the Prophet (saw) died angry with Ṭalḥah. The reader may object and say that the editor, Shuʿayb al-Arnaʾūṭ, weakened the narration, but the editor's argument is unacceptable, and we shall break down why.
He attempts to weaken the chain by arguing that two of the narrators are weak, namely Yūnus b. Yazīd al-Aylī and ʿAbd al-Malik b. Marwān, are flawed. This is especially surprising considering that Arnaʾūṭ himself authenticated both these narrators in his other works.
As for Yūnus b. Yazīd, Arnaʾūṭ accepted him as a thiqah (reliable) narrator, noting in a footnote in Musnad Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal (vol 15, pg. 113), that the chain including him is ṣaḥīḥ.
Regarding ʿAbd al-Malik b. Marwān, the Umayyad caliph, Arnaʾūṭ also authenticated him in another work where he served as the editor (see Sunan Abu Dawud Vol 4, pg. 684 - 685). Moreover, Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī also authenticated ʿAbd al-Malik, in Al-Dirāyah fī Aḥādīth al-Hidāyah (vol 2, pg. 244).
On top of this, the fact that ʿUmar said this about Ṭalḥah is confirmed in another source. We read in ʿAbdallāh b. Wahb b. Muslim’s Tafsīr al-Qurʾān (vol. 2, pg. 164 - 165):
أَخْبَرَنَا ابْنُ وَهْبٍ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي اللَّيْثُ بْنُ سَعْدٍ أَنَّ طَلْحَةَ بْنَ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ قَالَ: لَئِنْ قُبِضَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ تَزَوَّجْتُ عَائِشَةَ؛ قَالَ: فَنَزَلَ الْقُرْآنُ: {وَمَا كَانَ لَكُمْ أَنْ تُؤْذُوا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَلا أَنْ تَنْكِحُوا أَزْوَاجَهُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ أَبَدًا إِنَّ ذَلِكُمْ كَانَ عند الله عظيماً}؛ قَالَ اللَّيْثُ: عَائِشَةُ بِنْتُ عَمِّهِ لأَنَّهُ مِنْ قَوْمِهَا؛ قَالَ: وَظَنَنْتُ أَنَّ عُمَرَ بْنَ الْخَطَّابِ حِينَ قَالَ: لَقَدْ تُوُفِّيَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ [السلام]، وأنه عَلَى طَلْحَةَ لعاقبٌ لِهَذَا الأَمْرِ
Ibn Wahb narrated: Al-Layth b. Saʿd reported that Ṭalḥah b. ʿUbaydillāh said, “If the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, were to die, I would marry ʿĀ’ishah.” Then the Qur’ān was revealed: “It is not for you to harm the Messenger of Allah, nor to marry his wives after him, ever. Truly that, in Allah’s sight, is a grave offense.” Al-Layth added: ʿĀ’ishah was his cousin because she was from his tribe. He also said: I believe that when ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb said, “Indeed, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, passed away while he was angry with Ṭalḥah,” it was in reference to this matter.
The Conclusion
In conclusion, it is evident that the Holy Prophet (saw) passed away angry with Ṭalḥah due to his blatant disrespect towards the Messenger and the sanctity of his household. This incident is not surprising, as the Prophet (saw) possessed a heightened sense of ghīrah (protective jealousy) greater than that of his noble ancestor Ibrāhīm. By declaring his intent to marry the Prophet’s wife after his death, Ṭalḥah showed great disregard for the Messenger’s honor and the dignity of his family. His tragic end at the Battle of Jamal at the hands of Marwān b. al-Ḥakam is a testament to divine justice. It is telling that Imām ʿAlī did not seek retribution against Marwān for killing a man whom the Prophet (saw) had passed away in displeasure with. And Allah knows best.
תגובות