مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بِشْرٍ ، نا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عُمَرَ ، حَدَّثَنَا زَيْدُ بْنُ أَسْلَمَ ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ أَسْلَمَ أَنَّهُ حِينَ بُويِعَ لِأَبِي بَكْرٍ بَعْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ عَلِيٌّ وَالزُّبَيْرُ يَدْخُلَانِ عَلَى فَاطِمَةَ بِنْتِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَيُشَاوِرُونَهَا وَيَرْتَجِعُونَ فِي أَمْرِهِمْ ، فَلَما بلغ ذلك عمر بن الخطاب خرج حتى دخل على فاطمة فقال: «يا بنت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ، والله ما من أحد أحب إلينا من أبيك ، وما من أحد أحب إلينا بعد أبيك منك ، وايم الله ما ذاك بمانعي إن اجتمع هؤلاء النفر عندك ; أن أمرتهم أن يحرق عليهم البيت» ، قال: فلما خرج عمر جاءوها فقالت: تعلمون أن عمر قد جاءني وقد حلف بالله لئن عدتم ليحرقن عليكم البيت وايم الله ليمضين لما حلف عليه ، فانصرفوا راشدين ، فروا رأيكم ولا ترجعوا إلي ، فانصرفوا عنها فلم يرجعوا إليها حتى بايعوا لأبي بكر
“Narrated Muhammad b. Bashir from Ubaydillah b. Umar from Zayd b. Aslam that his father Aslam said: ‘When the homage (baya) went to Abu Bakr after the Messenger of Allah, Ali and Zubayr were entering into the house of Fatima to consult her and revise their issue, so when Umar came to know about that, he went to Fatima and said: ‘Oh daughter of Messenger of Allah, no one is dearest to us more than your father and no one dearest to us after your father than you, I swear by Allah, if these people gathered in your house then nothing will prevent me from giving order to burn the house and those who are inside.’
So when Umar left, they (Ali and Zubayr) came, so she (Fatima) said to them: ‘Do you know that Umar came here and swear by Allah to burn the house if you gather here, I swear by God that he (Umar) will execute his oath, so please leave wisely and take a decision and don’t gather here again.’ So they left her and didn’t gather there till they gave bay'ah to Abu Bakr.’”
Analyzing the chain
All the narrators are authentic as they are the narrators of Sahih Bukhari & Sahih Muslim.
Muhammad b. Bishr:
Imam al-Dhahabi said: ‘Thabt’ (Al-Kaashif, Vol 2 pg. 159, Bio # 4742).
Imam Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani said: ‘Thiqa’ (Taqrib al-Tahdhib, pg. 828, Bio # 5793).
‘Ubaydillah b. Umar:
Al-Dhahabi said: ‘Thabt’ (Al-Kaashif, Vol 1 pg. 685, Bio # 3576)
Ibn Hajar Asqalani said: ‘Thiqa Thabt’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, pg. 643, Bio # 4353).
Zayd b. Aslam:
Al-Dhahabi said: ‘Hujja’ (Siyar A’lam al-Nubala, Vol 5 pg. 316),
Imam Ibn Hajar Asqalani said: ‘Thiqa’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, pg. 350, Bio # 2129).
Aslam al-Qurashi (the slave of Umar):
Al-Dhahabi said: ‘Faqih, Imam’ (Siyar a’lam al-Nubala, Vol 4 pg. 98)
Ibn Hajar Asqalani said: ‘Thiqa’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, pg. 135 Bio # 410).
Scholars authenticating the report
The names of some of those who authenticated the chain of Umar threatening to burn the house of Fatima from the way of Zayd from his father are:
Sa’ad b. Nasir: Muhaqiq of Musannaf Abi Shayba.
Dr. Bashar ‘Awad Ma’ruf: Muhaqiq of Tarikh Medinat as-Salam, Vol. 6, pg. 75.
‘Amru b. Abdul-Mun’im: Muhaqiq of Al-Madhkur wal-Tadhkir, pg. 41.
Khalid b. Qasim: Al-Mudhakkar wal-Tadhkir, Dar al-Manar print.
Ali Muhammad as-Salaabi: Author of Asma’ al-Mutalib Fi Sirat Ali b. Abi Talib, vol. 1, pg. 202.
Hasan Husayni in his book Al-Hassan wal-Husayn pg. 162, where he cuts off the narration.
Al-Hakim in Mustadrak ‘ala al-Sahihayn, Vol. 3, pg. 168, Hadith # 4736.
Wasiullah b. Muhammad Abbas: Muhaqiq of Fadha’il al-Sahaba, vol. 1, pg. 364.
Shah Waliyullah Dehlavi in Izalat al-Khafa, Vol. 4, pg. 118 - 119.
Hasan b. Farhan: Author of Qir’at Fi Kutub al-Aqa’id, pg. 46. He further says in the footnote:
قال: وإن أبا بكر رضي الله عنه تفقد قوما تخلفوا عن بيعته عند علي كرم الله وجهه، فبعث إليهم عمر، فجاء فناداهم وهم في دار علي، فأبوا أن يخرجوا فدعا بالحطب وقال: والذي نفس عمر بيده. لتخرجن أو لأحرقنها على من فيها، فقيل له: يا أبا حفص، إن فيها فاطمة؟
كنت أظن المداهمة مكذوبة لا تصح حتى وجدت لها أسانيد قوية منها ما أخرجه ابن أبي شيبة في المصنف بسند صحيح عن أسلم مولى عمر وغير ذلك، لكن ليس كما يبالغ غلاة الشيعة وليس كما ينفي غلاة الحنابلة
However Ali’s party was smaller (in number) during the reign of Umar than the reign of Abu Bakr al-Sidiq due to his abandoning Ali on account of his breaking into Fatima’s home during Abu Bakr’s reign, and forcing some sahaba that were with Ali to give bay'ah to Abu Bakr, thus the memory of this dispute – that is proven via authentic chains – was deemed a painful memory which they did not like to recollect.
I used to assume that this attack is a lie, and is not correct, until I found strong chains for that, one of them is what ibn Abi Shaybah has reported in Al-Musannaf through an authentic chain from Aslam slave of Umar and others.
Is the report disconnected?
The same chain exists in Sahih al-Bukhari 5012:
عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ أَسْلَمَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم…
…from Zayd b. Aslam, from his father, that Rasulullah (s)...
The rule when it comes to Sahih al-Bukhari is that being mentioned within it is proof for a narrator’s tawtheeq and that the hadith is sahih (i.e free of defects). This is well-known as Shy’ayb al-Arna'ut mentions in his tahqiq of Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Vol. 1, pg. 138:
وإذا كان بعضهم من رجال البخاري، وبعضهم من رجال مسلم، قلنا : إسناده صحيح ، رجاله ثقات، رجال الصحيح ، وإنما فعلنا هذا لبيان أن هذا الإسناد في أعلى درجات الصحة، فقد أطبقت الأمة على تسمية الكتابين بالصحيحين، والرجوع إلى حكم الشيخين بالصحة، وأن من احتج به الشيخان أو أحدهما، فقد جاز القنطرة، فإن تخريج حديث الراوي في «الصحيحين» أو أحدهما محتجين به هو بمنزلة التصريح بتوثيقه
If some of narrations are through the narrators of Al-Bukhari, and some from the narrators of Muslim, we have said: Its chain is authentic, its narrators are trustworthy, of the narrators of Sahih’s (i.e. Bukhari or Muslim), we have done that to make it clear that this chain is at the highest levels of authenticity, as the Ummah has called these two books as Sahihayn (i.e. the Two Sahih books) and are referring to the judgment of Shaikhain (i.e. Al-Bukhari and Muslim) about authenticity. And whenever the Shaykhain or one of them (Al-Bukhari & Muslim) have taken hadith from a narrator, that narrator is beyond investigation, because when the Shaikhayn (Al-Bukhari & Muslim) or one of them accept narration from a narrator, it is same is deeming those narrator to be trustworthy explicitly.
Al-Albani also authenticates a narration where Zayd b. Aslam narrates from his father from the Prophet (s) in Sahih Sunan at-Tirmidhi, Vol. 2, pg. 318, Hadith # 1851. Also, another scholar of rijal says in Jami’ Tirmidhi 466:
قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى وَهَذَا أَصَحُّ مِنَ الْحَدِيثِ الأَوَّلِ .
Abu ‘Isa said: This hadith is more authentic than the previous one.
Aslam is narrating from Umar, not from himself.
This chain of the hadith appears as though Aslam himself is directly narrating the incident, and so it would lead people to assume that this is disconnected as he was not present nor bought by Umar until Abu Bakr’s hajj campaign. However, what’s happening here is that he is narrating from Umar, in these reports the عن just isn’t stated. In alternative sources it is found however.
For example, al-Hakim records this in Mustadrak ‘ala al-Sahihayn, Vol. 3, pg. 168, Hadith # 4736:
حدثنا : مكرم بن أحمد القاضي ، ثنا : أحمد بن يوسف الهمداني ، ثنا : عبد المؤمن بن علي الزعفراني ، ثنا : عبد السلام بن حرب ، عن عبيد الله بن عمر ، عن زيد بن أسلم ، عن أبيه ، عن عمر (ر) : أنه دخل على فاطمة بنت رسول الله (ص) ، فقال : يا فاطمة والله ما رأيت أحدا أحب إلى رسول الله (ص) منك ، والله ما كان أحد من الناس بعد أبيك (ص) أحب إلي منك ، هذا حديث صحيح الإسناد على شرط الشيخين ، ولم يخرجاه.
Narrated to us Makrem b. Ahmad al-Qadhi, from Ahmad b. Yusuf al-Hamdani, from Abd al-Mu’min b. Ali, from Abd al-Salam b. Harb, from Ubaydillah b. Umar, from Zayd b. Aslam, from Aslam, from Umar that he entered into the house of Fatima (as) and said: ‘Oh daughter of the Messenger of Allah, no one is dearest to us more than your father and no one dearest to us after your father than you.
As we can see, al-Hakim offers a different path to the same hadith, however censors the other part of the hadith where Umar threatens al-Zahraa (as). In this narration, Aslam is recorded to directly narrate from Umar, thus proving that this report he narrates he got it from Umar b. al-Khattab.
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani makes the same point regarding the narration in Bukhari in the Muqadima of Fath al-Bari, pg. 392:
قال الدارقطني: أخرج البخاري عن القعنبي وعبد الله بن يوسف وغيرهما عن مالك عن زيد بن أسلم عن أبيه أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يسير وعمر معه الحديث في نزول سورة الفتح مرسلا وقد وصله قراد وغيره عن مالك ". فعقب عليه ابن حجر العسقلاني قائلا: " قلت: بل ظاهر رواية البخاري الوصل، فإن أوله وإن كان صورته صورة المرسل فإن بعده ما يصرح بأن الحديث لأسلم عن عمر، ففيه بعد قوله فسأله عمر عن شئ فلم يجبه. فقال عمر نزرت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ثلاث مرات كل ذلك لا يجيبك قال عمر فحركت بعيري ثم تقدمت امام الناس وخشيت أن ينزل في قرآن. وساق الحديث على هذه الصورة حاكيا لمعظم القصة عن عمر فكيف يكون مرسلا هذا من العجب والله أعلم ".
Al-Daraqutni said: Al-Bukhari reported from Al-Qa'nabi, Abdullah bin Yusuf, and others, from Malik, from Zaid bin Aslam, from his father, that the Prophet (s) was walking, and Umar was with him, discussing the descent of Surah Al-Fath. It was transmitted in a Mursal form, but Qaradah and others reported it from Malik. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani commented on it, saying: "I say, rather, the apparent narration in Al-Bukhari is the connected one. Even though its initial part appears in the form of a Mursal narration, what follows clearly indicates that the hadith is from Aslam through Umar. In it, Umar asked him about something, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not respond. Umar said, 'I sought a vow from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) three times, and he did not respond. Umar then moved his camel, advanced in front of the people, and feared that a revelation might be sent down in the Quran.' The narration proceeds in this manner, narrating from Umar. How can this be Mursal? Allah knows best."
Is Umar narrating the whole hadith?
In the narration, we read:
قال: فلما خرج عمر جاءوها فقالت: تعلمون أن عمر قد جاءني وقد حلف بالله لئن عدتم ليحرقن عليكم البيت وايم الله لأمضين لما حلف عليه ، فانصرفوا راشدين ، فروا رأيكم ولا ترجعوا إلي ، فانصرفوا عنها فلم يرجعوا إليها حتى بايعوا لأبي بكر
So when Umar left, they (Ali and Zubayr) came, so she (Fatima) said to them: ‘Do you know that Umar came here and swear by Allah to burn the house if you gather here, I swear by God that he (Umar) will execute his oath, so please leave wisely and take a decision and don’t gather here again.’ So they left her and didn’t gather there till they gave bay'ah to Abu Bakr
We say: This is still Umar narrating to Aslam what occurred, the last part of this report is something Umar made up and is evident by the fact it contradicts other reports which confirm Ali (as) didn’t give bay’ah until Fatima (as) died. This can be found in Sahih al-Bukhari 4240:
وَكَانَ لِعَلِيٍّ مِنَ النَّاسِ وَجْهٌ حَيَاةَ فَاطِمَةَ، فَلَمَّا تُوُفِّيَتِ اسْتَنْكَرَ عَلِيٌّ وُجُوهَ النَّاسِ، فَالْتَمَسَ مُصَالَحَةَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَمُبَايَعَتَهُ، وَلَمْ يَكُنْ يُبَايِعُ تِلْكَ الأَشْهُرَ
When Fatima was alive, the people used to respect `Ali much, but after her death, `Ali noticed a change in the people's attitude towards him. So `Ali sought reconciliation with Abu Bakr and gave him an oath of allegiance. `Ali had not given the oath of allegiance during those months (i.e. the period between the Prophet's death and Fatima's death).
The contradiction in these narrations do not disprove the report in Musannaf Ibn Abi Shayba, all it proves is that Umar b. al-Khattab lied about when the bay’ah occurred and the last part of this narration.
Umar loves Fatima?
Some say: Umar expressed his love to Fatima (as) as being 2nd to only her father (s), so if anything this would be a virtue of Umar. This is ridiculous, for if he loved her so much he wouldn’t threaten to burn down her house and frighten her as he himself narrates. Even if we say for argument's sake, that he did not want to burn/harm her, he was willing to do so if she remained within the house.
In the hadith of Sunan Abi Dawud 5004:
لاَ يَحِلُّ لِمُسْلِمٍ أَنْ يُرَوِّعَ مُسْلِمًا
The Prophet (s) said: It is not lawful for a Muslim that he frightens a Muslim.
Is it so that the akhlaq of a muslim, and his love is professed through disobeying the Prophet (s) and frightening his daughter? What right does he have to even burn her house down to begin with?
Furthermore, Umar b. al-Khattab was willing to burn down the house with Ali (as) (and az-Zubayr) inside of it as stated in Sahih al-Bukhari 6830:
وَإِنَّهُ قَدْ كَانَ مِنْ خَبَرِنَا حِينَ تَوَفَّى اللَّهُ نَبِيَّهُ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِلاَّ أَنَّ الأَنْصَارَ خَالَفُونَا وَاجْتَمَعُوا بِأَسْرِهِمْ فِي سَقِيفَةِ بَنِي سَاعِدَةَ، وَخَالَفَ عَنَّا عَلِيٌّ وَالزُّبَيْرُ وَمَنْ مَعَهُمَا، وَاجْتَمَعَ الْمُهَاجِرُونَ إِلَى أَبِي بَكْرٍ
And no doubt after the death of the Prophet (s) we were informed that the Ansar disagreed with us and gathered in the shed of Bani Sa'idah. Ali (as) and Zubayr and whoever was with them, opposed us, while the emigrants gathered with Abu Bakr
Ibn Hajar mentions in his Fath al-Bari, vol. 15, pg. 654:
قوله : (وخالف عنا علي والزبير ومن معهما في رواية مالك ومعمر : «وأن عليا والزبير و من كان معهما تخلفوا في بيت فاطمة بنت رسول الله ﷺ ، وكذا في رواية سفيان لكن قال : «العباس» بدل «الزبير» .
As for the saying: “And Ali (as), al-Zubayr and those who were with them refrained from us” in the narration of Malik and Ma'mar that Ali (as) and al-Zubayr and those who were with them gathered at the house of Fatima (sa), and such-and-such in the report of Sufyan said: ‘Al-Abbas’ was switched for ‘Al-Zubayr’.
So are we just going to ignore the fact that Umar was willing to burn down the house wherein Fatima (as) and Ali (as) resided?
Censorship of the report
Lastly, if this isn’t problematic, why did so many scholars censor the hadith? We see that:
Al-Hakim censored it in al-Mustadrak ‘ala al-Sahihain, Vol 3 pg. 168, Hadith # 4736.
Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi censored it in Tarikh Medinat al-Salam Vol 6 pg. 75.
Ali Muhammad as-Salaabi censored it in Asma’ al-Mutalib Fi Sirat Ali b. Abi Talib, Vol. 1 pg. 202.
Ahmad b. Hanbal censored it in Fadha'il al-Sahaba, Vol 1, pg. 364.
Ibn Abdul Barr censored it in his Isti'ab Fi Ma’rifat al-Ashab pg. 378.
Ibn Abi ‘Asim censored it in his Al-Madhkur wal-Tadhkir pg. 41.
Al-Khawarizmi censored it in his Maqtal, pg. 95.
Would Umar ever do this?
Is Umar a woman abuser to do such a thing? Let us see his history with women. We read in Tabaqat Ibn Sa’ad Vol 3, pg. 156:
قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا عُثْمَانُ بْنُ عُمَرَ قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا يُونُسُ بْنُ يَزِيدَ عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ عَن سَعِيدِ بْنِ الْمُسَيِّبِ قَالَ: لَمَّا تُوُفِّي أَبُو بَكْرٍ أَقَامَتْ عَلَيْهِ عَائِشَةُ النَّوْحَ فَبَلَغَ عُمَرَ فَجَاءَ فَنَهَاهُنَّ عَن النّوْحِ عَلَى أَبِي بَكْرٍ. فَأَبَيْنَ أَنْ يَنْتهِينَ. فَقَالَ لِهِشَامِ بْنِ الْوَلِيدِ: أَخْرِجْ إِلَيَّ ابْنَةَ أَبي قحافة. فعلاها بالدرة ضربات فتفرق النوائح حين سمعن ذلك. وقال: تردن أن يعذب أبو بكر ببكائكن؟ إن رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم -[قال إن الميت يعذب ببكاء أهله عليه]
Narrated Yunis from ibn Wahab from Yunis ibn Yazid from Al-Zuhri from Sa’id ibn Musayyib who said: 'When Abu Bakr died, A'isha held a mourning gathering for him in which eulogies had been read, Umar was informed of it, so he came to her door and forbade them from mourning on Abu Bakr. They (the women) refused, so he (Umar) said to Hisham Ibn Al-Walid: "Enter and bring out for me the daughter of Abi Quhafa sister of Abi Bakr," when A'isha heard this she said to Hisham: "I forbid you from entering into my house!" Umar said to Hisham: "Enter, I allow you to do that!" So Hisham entered and brought out Umm Farwa sister of Abi Bakr to Umar, whereupon Umar started beating her with his whip for a while, when the mourners heard this they escaped. Then he said 'Do you want Abu Bakr to be punished because of your crying? I heard the prophet say that the person in the grave is punished due to the weeping of his family near his grave."
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani authenticates it in Fath al-Bari, Vol. 6, Pg. 225.
Here Umar takes the mourners outside the house forcefully without permission and begins to whip them. This happened during the Prophet’s time too and Umar was criticized for such in Sunan Ibn Majah 1985:
It was narrated that Iyas bin 'Abdullah bin Abu Dhubab said: "The Prophet said: 'Do not beat the female slaves of Allah.' Then Umar came to the Prophet and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, the woman have become bold towards their husbands? So order the beating of them,' and they were beaten. Then many women went around to the family of Muhammad,. The next day he said: 'Last night seventy women came to the family of Muhammad, each woman complaining about her husband. You will not find that those are the best of you.'"
ahsant