The Holy Will

The holy will of prophet mohammed (PBUH & His Family)

“O Father of Al-Hassan, bring me a pen and a paper’, so the Messenger of Allah (pbuhahf) dictated his Will until he came to this position where he said:

‘O Ali, there will be twelve Imams after me and after them there will be twelve Mahdis. So you, O Ali, are the first of the twelve Imams, Allah The Exalted has named you in His heavens Ali Al-Mortadha (Ali the Content), Amirul Mo’mineen (the Commander of the Believers), Al-Siddiq Al-Akbar (the Greater Truthful), Al-Farouq Al-A’tham (the Greater Judge and Differentiator between truth and falsehood), Al-Ma’moun (the Trusted), and the Mahdi (the Rightly Guided). These names may not be attributed to other than you. O Ali, you are my Vicegerent/Guardian on my own family, their living and their dead, and upon my women: Whomever I kept, she shall find me tomorrow, and whomever I divorced, I am innocent of her, I will not see her and she will not see me on the Day of Resurrection. And you are my Successor (Khalifa) on my nation after me. If death comes to you, hand it over to my son Al-Hassan, the Righteous and Benevolent. Then if death comes to him, let him hand it over to my son Al-Hussein, the Martyr, the Pure and Murdered. If death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, the Master of Worshippers, Dhul Thafant (the one with hard skin on his knees) Ali. If death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, Mohammed Al-Baqir (the Revealer of Knowledge). If death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, Ja’far Al-Sadiq (the Truthful). If death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, Musa Al-Kadhim (the Patient). If death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, Ali Al-Ridha. If death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, Mohammed Al-Thiqa Al-Taqqi (the Trustworthy, the God-Fearing). If death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, Ali Al-Nasih (the Advisor). If death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, Al-Hassan Al-Fadhil (the Meritorious). If death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, Mohammed the Safeguarded of the Family of Mohammed, peace be upon them. Those are the twelve Imams. Then there will be twelve Mahdis after him, so if death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, the first of the close ones, he has three names, one like mine and my father’s and it is Abdullah (Servant of God), and Ahmed (the Praised), and the third name is Al-Mahdi (the Guided) and he is the first of the believers.” – Al-Ghayba, Mohammed ibn Al-Hassan ‘Al-Toosi’, 3rd ed., p. 150, hadith 111 – Bihar Al-Anwar, Mohammed Baqir Al-Majlisi, 3rd ed., v.36, p.260-261, hadith 81 and v.53, p.147-148, hadith 6

THE CALAMITY OF THURSDAY

On a Thursday, just three days before the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH & His Family) passed away, he requested a pen and paper to write down his last will and formally designate his successor for the Muslim community (Ummah). However, according to major Sunni sources such as Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, a group of companions, led by Umar, opposed the Prophet’s request, they accused him of speaking deliriously and questioned the wisdom of recording his will. This tragic episode highlights a significant disagreement among the companions regarding the Prophet’s final wishes and it was at this moment that disunity began within Islam.

Sahih Muslim, hadith 1637b

Ibn Abbas said:

“Thursday, and what a day was Thursday! Then tears began to flow until I saw them on his cheeks as if they were the strings of pearls. He (the narrator) said that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: Bring me a tablet and ink-pot, so that I write for you a document after which you would never go astray. They said: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) is in a state of unconsciousness.” (In Arabic: يهجر meaning delirious not unconscious)

Sahih Bukhari, hadith 7366

Ibn Abbas reported: When the time of the death of the Prophet (PBUH & His Family) approached while there were some men in the house, and among them was Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, the Prophet (PBUH & His Family) said, “Come near let me write for you a writing after which you will never go astray." Umar said, "The Prophet (PBUH & His Family) is seriously ill, and you have the Qur'an, so Allah's Book is sufficient for us." The people in the house differed and disputed. Some of them said, "Come near so that Allah's Messenger (PBUH & His Family) may write for you a writing after which you will not go astray," while some of them said what Umar said. When they made much noise and differed greatly before the Prophet, he said to them, "Go away and leave me." Ibn Abbas used to say, It was a great disaster (a great calamity) that their dispute and noise prevented Allah's Messenger (PBUH & His Family) from writing that writing for them.

Sahih Muslim, hadith 1637c

Ibn 'Abbas narrated: When Allah’s Apostle was on his death-bed and in the house there were some people among whom was Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, the Prophet said, “Come, let me write for you a statement after which you will not go astray.” Umar said, “The Prophet is seriously ill and you have the Qur’an; so the Book of Allah is enough for us.” The people present in the house differed and quarreled. Some said: “Go near so that the Prophet may write for you a statement after which you will not go astray,” while the others said as Umar said. When they caused a hue and cry before the Prophet, Allah’s Apostle said, “Go away!” ‘Ubaidullah said: Ibn ‘Abbas used to say, “It was very unfortunate that Allah’s Apostle was prevented from writing that statement for them because of their disagreement and noise.” - Sahih Al-Bukhari, Al-Bukhari, Book of Patients, Hadith No. 5669

All these narrations prove that the Prophet wanted to write his Will. He wanted to write a statement for the Ummah in order to hold on tight to, so that they WILL NEVER GO ASTRAY AFTER HIS PASSING. However, some of the Companions tried to prevent the Prophet from writing his Will on that day, giving excuses that he (PBUH & His Family) was in pain and was delirious! Doesn’t the Quran say that “Your companion (meaning Mohammad)” is neither misguided nor astray and that he does not speak of his own mind and opinion, but everything he speaks is a revelation?

So When Umar said: “The book of Allah is sufficient for us”, was that actually a righteous thing to do? The Prophet is asking them to bring to him writing tools to write a statement and Umar replies “the Prophet is delirious”. When the Prophet commands something, it is an order and an obligation for those so-called “Companions” to submit and follow the order instantly.

In fact, let us see what the Quran tells us about this. Does the Prophet truly speak of his own mind? Was this act of Umar truly righteous? Has he followed what the Quran commanded the believers to do?

1- An-Najm verses 1-4: {By the star when it descends Your companion [i.e., Moḥammed] is neither misguided nor has strayed, Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. It is not but a revelation revealed}

2- Al-Hashr verse 7: {Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it. And whatever he forbids you from, leave it. And fear Allah. Surely Allah is severe in punishment.}

3- An-Nisa verse 59: {O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you.}

4- Aal-Imran verse 31: {Say, (O Prophet) “If you ‘sincerely’ love Allah, then follow me; Allah will love you and forgive your sins. For Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.}

5- Al-Anfal verse 20: {O you who have believed, obey Allah and His Messenger and do not turn from him while you hear [his order]} (20)

5- Al-Anfal verse 24: {O you who have believed, respond to Allah and to the Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life…} (24)

All these verses show that the Companions have wronged themselves when they did not obey the Prophet. It was certainly unrighteous of Umar to object to the Prophet and to try to prevent him from writing that day. This verse clearly states how he had certainly erred:

As-Selsela As-Sahiha, hadith 2866

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH & His Family) said: “There is nothing that brings you closer to paradise except that I have commanded you to do it, and nothing that brings you closer to hellfire except that I forbade you from it.”

So the question here is, didn’t the Prophet describe the statement that he wanted to write as a ‘protection from misguidance’, when he said: “let me write to you a statement after which you will never go astray?” Isn’t that statement, that is a protection from misguidance, bringing the people closer to paradise?

So the prophet was commanding them to what will bring them closer to paradise, while Umar was calling the people to what will bring them closer to hellfire.

The Will is Divinely Protected

What is the proof that “Ahmed” mentioned in the Will is the Mahdi?

The teachings of the Ahlulbayt (From Them is Peace) already clarifies that divine appointment can not be claimed except by its rightful owner. However, the Sunni non-working scholars concealed the truth about divine successorship and divine appointment, and about the Supremacy of Allah.

From a logical point of view, since God the Almighty appoints caliphs on earth (“Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority.” Al-Baqara verse 30), then this process of divine successorship must depend on a divine appointment and a Will. Therefore, it makes sense that God the Almighty protects the divine Will, otherwise people will not be able to recognize the true caliphs of God from the false claimants.

This is why the Prophet (PBUH & His Family) described his Will as being “a protection of misguidance” in both Sahih books.

Sahih Muslim, hadith 1637

Sa'id b. Jubair reported from Ibn Abbas that he said: “Thursday, and what about Thursday? Then tears began to flow until I saw them on his cheeks as if they were the strings of pearls. He (the narrator) said that Allah's Messenger (PBUH & His Family) said: Bring me a shoulder blade and ink-pot (or tablet and inkpot), so that I write for you a document (by following which) you would never go astray. They said: Allah's Messenger (PBUH & His Family) is in the state of unconsciousness.

Sahih Bukhari, hadith 4431

Narrated Ibn Abbas: Thursday! And how great that Thursday was! The ailment of Allah's Messenger (PBUH & His Family) became worse (on Thursday) and he said, fetch me something so that I may write to you something after which you will never go astray." The people (present there) differed in this matter, and it was not right to differ before a prophet. Some said, "What is wrong with him ? (Do you think ) he is delirious (seriously ill)? Ask him ( to understand his state )." So they went to the Prophet (PBUH & His Family) and asked him again. The Prophet (PBUH & His Family) said, "Leave me, for my present state is better than what you call me for." Then he ordered them to do three things. He said, "Turn the pagans out of the Arabian Peninsula; respect and give gifts to the foreign delegations as you have seen me dealing with them." (Saeed Ibn Jubair, the sub-narrator said that Ibn Abbas kept quiet as rewards the third order, or he said, "I forgot it.")

Therefore the Will of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH & His Family) is protected from being claimed by false claimants, otherwise it won’t be a ‘protection from misguidance’. The Prophet described it as such and therefore, only the truthful companion will claim it.

If we research what the Caliphs of Allah claimed to prove that they were the true caliphs we will find that they all claimed to be divinely appointed. Let’s see the following examples:

1- Jesus (PBUH) claimed to be the one that Moses (PBUH) prophesied about:

39 You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47 But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?” (John 5: verses 39, 46-47)

Jesus (PBUH) also claimed to be the one prophesied by Isaiah (PBUH):

6 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read... 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4: verses 6, 17-21)

2- Prophet Mohammed (PBUH & His Family) also claimed to be the one who was prophesied to come by Jesus (PBUH):

And [mention] when Jesus, the son of Mary, said, “O Children of Israel, indeed I am the messenger of Allāh to you confirming what came before me of the Torah and bringing good tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name is Aḥmed." But when he came to them with clear evidences, they said, “This is obvious magic." (As-Saff, verse 6)

If anyone can simply come and claim the divine Will, then what makes us so sure that Prophet Mohammed or Jesus were truly from God? The only guarantee that they are true, is that the divine Will is protected and CAN ONLY BE CLAIMED BY ITS COMPANION.

We therefore proved that the Will must be protected and only its rightful claimant will claim it. Thus, when Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan claimed to be ‘Ahmed’ mentioned in the Will of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH & His Family), he MUST BE THE TRUTHFUL CLAIMANT as the Will is a protection of misguidance.

Additional verses to contemplate over:

And if he [i.e., Moḥammed] had made up about Us some [false] sayings, We would have seized him by the right hand; Then We would have cut from him the aorta. And there is no one of you who could prevent [Us] from him. (Al-Haqqa, verses 44-47)

All Sunni scholars interpreted this verse saying that if the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH & His Family) made up lies about God, then God will punish him and cut off his life. Let’s see Tafsir Ibn Katheer and Tafsir Al-Baghawi as two examples:

The Almighty says: {And if he had made up about Us some sayings}, ie: Mohammed (PBUH & His Family) if he had been, as they claim, fabricating lies about us, so he added to or omitted from the message, or said something of his own mind and attributed it to us, and it is not like that, we would have hastened to punish him. That is why he said {We would have seized him by the right hand}. It was said: It means that we would take revenge on him with the right hand; as it is more severe in killing, and it was said: We would have seized him with his right hand. {Then We would have cut from him the aorta} Ibn Abbas said: It is the blood vessel connecting the heart, and it is the vessel in which the heart is suspended. The same was said by Ikrimah, Saeed Ibn Jubair, Al-Hakam, Qatadah, Ad-Dahhak, Muslim Al-Bateen, and Abu Sakhr Hameed Ibn Ziyad. (Tafsir Ibn Katheer, page 218)

“And if he made up lies, or made up {on us}, Mohammed, {some sayings}, and he brought something of his own. {We would have seized him by the right hand}, it was said meaning metaphorically: We would have seized him and took revenge from him by the right hand, i.e. by the truth. (Tafsir Al-Baghawi page 214)

Even if we take their interpretation, it proves that Mohammed cannot claim anything from his own mind and that he was the rightful claimant after Jesus. Otherwise, God would have cut off his life.

When Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan (From Him is Peace) came to us, he brought to us

the apparent will.

It was narrated from Abd Al A’ala that he said, I said to Abi Abdillah (PBUH):

‘The one who claims this matter, what is his proof?', he said: ‘He is asked about the halal and haram'. He said, then Ali came and said: ‘Three proofs do not gather in a person except that he is the companion of this matter: That he be the most deserving [of the right] of the one who was before him, that he has the weapon, and that he be the owner of the apparent will'. (Al-Kaﬁ by Al-Kulaini, vol. 1, p. 284)

Apparent means that it is something evident amongst the people, it is known and accepted and it is not something that somebody just came up with.

And Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan (from him is peace) claimed to be “Ahmed” in the will of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH & His Family) and that he is the vicegerent of Imam Mahdi (peace be upon him and his family).

Thus it says in the holy Qur’an:

“The one who claims this matter, what is his proof?", he said: “He is asked about the halal and haram". He said, then Ali came and said: “Three proofs do not gather in a person except that he is the companion of this matter: That he be the most deserving [of the right] of the one who was before him, that he has the weapon, and that he be the owner of the apparent will". (Al-Kaﬁ by Al-Kulaini, vol. 1, p. 284)

Apparent means that it is something evident amongst the people, it is known and accepted and it is not something that somebody just came up with.

And Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan (From Him is Peace) claimed to be “Ahmed” in the will of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH & His Family) and that he is the vicegerent of Imam Mahdi (peace be upon him and his family).

Thus it says in the holy Qur’an:

“And if he had made up concerning Us some [false] sayings. We would have seized him by the right hand. Then We would have cut from him the aorta”. (Holy Qu'ran, Al-Haqqah Verse 44-46)

And Imam Al-Sadiq (From Him is Peace) said:

“This is a matter that can not be claimed except by its companion, otherwise Allah would destroy the age of the one who falsely claims it”. (Al-Kaﬁ by Al-Kuleini volume 1 page 372)

And we know that the Mahdi is the one who comes with the Will.

And from it, from Moalla Ibn Mohammed, from Mohammed Ibn Jamhour, from Musa, from Al Hannan, from Al Hars Ibn Al Mugheira who said,

‘I said to Abu Abdullah (PBUH), ‘By what is the Master of this command recognised?’ He said: ‘By the tranquillity, and the dignity, and the knowledge, and the Will’’. - Basaair Al Darajaat – P 10 Ch 13 H 2

It was narrated from Abd Al A’ala that he said, I said to Abi Abdillah (PBUH):

Al-Mufadhal Ibn Umar had said:

I heard Abu Abdullah Al-Sadiq (PBUH) saying: “The companion of this matter has two absences. After one of them he comes back to his family and regarding the other one it is said: “He has perished , which valley he has followed?” I said: “If that takes place, then what will we do?” He said: “If a claimant claims it (that he is Al-Qaim), you are to ask him about the great matters, which no one will answer except him (Al-Qaim)”. (Al-Kaﬁ, vol.1 p.340, Ithbat al-Hudat, vol.3 p.445, Biharul Anwar, vol.52 p.157, Mo’jam Ahadeeth al-Imam al-Mahdi, vol.3 p.364)

Thus, the divine Will is protected by God and He the Almighty will cut off the life of anyone who claims it falsely.

Therefore, Ahmed Al-Hassan and Abdullah Aba Al-Sadiq both claimed the Will and are therefore the rightful companions of the Will. They are the successors whom we should hold tight to in this day and age…Peace and mercy is from them.