Published on Books on Islam and Muslims | Al-Islam.org (https://www.al-islam.org) Home > Black Thursday Black Thursday رزﻳﺔ ﻳﻮم اﻟﺨﻤﻴﺲ English Translation of Raziyyat Yawm al-Khamees Author(s): Muhammad al-Tijani al-Samawi [3] Publisher(s): Ansariyan Publications - Qum [4] The text authored by Muhammad Al Tijani Al Samawi presents an english translation of the famous event of Raziyyat Yawm al-Khamees, known as Black Thursday which took place in the last days before the Holy Prophet's demise. It concerns an incident during the Prophet's illness when he asked for writing materials to dictate a will, but the people present around him said that he was talking nonsense. This event is a point of controversy between the two largest sects of Islam. This book presents the reality of what happened and who was the person involved who had the audacity to cast such aspersion on the Messenger of Allah (S). Translator(s): Sayyid Maqsood Athar [5] Category: Sunni & Shi’a [6] Early Islamic History [7] Prophet Muhammad [8] Miscellaneous information: Editor: Sayyid Athar Husain S. H. Rizvi First Edition: 2009-1388-1430 ISBN: 978-964-219-089-8 Featured Category: Debates & discussions [9] Translator’s Foreword In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds and benedictions be upon Prophet Muhammad and his Purified Progeny. The Important role that translation plays in propagation of religion is known to all. Since most Islamic texts are in Arabic or Persian, it is only through translating them into English can we make them popular among the literate Muslim youth of today. It was with this aim in mind that we established this bureau and praise be to Allah, we have completed twenty years serving the Shia Muslim world. The present book was written by Dr. Muhammad Tijani as-Samawi, the famed author of Then I was Guided. Those who have read other books of this author will know that he has a special style of writing, which is well arranged and lucid at the same time. The subject of this book, as usual is a point of controversy between the two largest sects of Islam. It concerns an incident at the end of the life of the Prophet, when he asked for writing materials to dictate a will, but the people present around him said that he was talking nonsense. According to Shia people, it was a very serious matter, whereas the majority of Muslims try to justify such things, as per their habit. In this book, you will know who that person was, who had the audacity to cast such aspersion on the Messenger of Allah (S). It is really a matter of great astonishment that millions among the Muslim nation consider him to be a leader of Islam, eligible to be followed by others! I leave it for the readers to find out for themselves who this person is and decide if they consider him worthy of any leadership. I thank Agha Ansariyan of Ansariyan Publications, Qom, for undertaking to publish and print this important book. As we all know, today, Ansariyan Publication is the largest publisher of Shia Islamic books in English and other foreign languages and all credit goes to the director Agha Muhammad Taqi Ansariyan for undertaking this noble task. May the Almighty Allah give him more divine opportunity and good sense (Taufeeq) and very long life to serve the faith as much as possible. I thank the Almighty and His Proofs, especially the Last Proof and the Twelfth Imam on the eve of whose birthday the translation of this book was completed. Wassalaam Sayyid Maqsood Athar Al-Qalam Translators & Writers Bureau Email: [email protected] [10] Dated: 14th Shaban 1430 A.H./7th August 2009 Preface Respected Readers, Scholars have compiled books on the subject of Imamate and Caliphate in every age and articles have been written like seasons of a year, one after another. Shahristani has rightly mentioned in Al-Milal wan Nahl that the conflict in Muslim nation (Ummah) regarding the matter of Caliphate exceeds those on any other issue. I have discussed a lot about issues, which are causes of misfortune of Muslims in my previous books and by the grace of Allah, a group of Muslims has benefited much by these books. One of the reasons of their satisfaction is that I myself followed blind faith for a long period of my life and I was not able to speak out the questions in my mind. Then Almighty Allah showered His mercy on me and took me out of the trap of blind faith and granted me recognition of truth. He eliminated barriers from my path and removed curtains from my eyes, so that I could see the truth. Therefore it becomes my duty to safeguard this truth as a part of thanksgiving and that I should make maximum use of my pen, tongue and hands in this matter. Hence this book is written by way of thanksgiving for this bounty. As you have waited for this book for a long time, I thank you for the same. Many people were upset with me for writing this book but those who love justice have always encouraged me in this pursuit. The people who are angry with me did not even refrain from accusing me of being a foreign agent. But inspite of discouraging conditions, I busied myself in writing and made up my mind that every accusation can be borne, but truth cannot be denied. The book, Black Thursday is a story of a grievous incident that occurred hundreds of years ago. However, the Islamic Ummah (nation) feels the pain of this incident even today and it will continue to do so forever. You are requested to recollect that horrible incident when the last prophet Muhammad (S) was in the final days of his worldly life. The Prophet appointed Usamah ibn Zaid as the commander of his army and ordered Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and other Companions to join the army, but the three delayed the departure of army saying that the Prophet was not keeping well. The mother of faithful, Ayesha, was giving them reports from time to time. She kept her father informed of every event, because she wanted him to lead the congregational prayer in Medina so that the foundation of his Caliphate may be laid. The Prophet was in severe pain and when he saw people making a commotion, he inquired about the matter. He was told that Abu Bakr is leading the congregation. When he heard this, he forgot all his pains and taking support of Imam ‘Ali (a) and Abbas, went to the mosque and moved Abu Bakr behind and led the prayer himself. By leading the prayer himself, the Prophet completely destroyed the foundation of Abu Bakr’s Caliphate. The chief of the prophets expressed his anger over delay in the departure of Usamah’s army. A grievous incident occurred during those days in Medina. It was Thursday. The Prophet was in severe pain and the people who had stopped the departure of Usamah’s army were present in his house and they visited him during his sickness. Umar was in the forefront of this group. The Prophet asked for pen and paper, so that he could write something whereby the community may be saved from misguidance after him. He said: I leave behind among you two heavy things – the book of Allah and my Ahl al-Bayt. If you hold onto them, you would not get deviated after me. The two will not separate from each another till they meet me at the cistern of Kauthar. Umar disobeyed the Prophet’s order, saying that the Book of Allah (Quran) was enough for them. He also said that Muhammad was talking ‘rubbish’. The Prophet got angry at this and ordered them to leave the place. The Prophet’s order was disobeyed in his life itself. What have been done to his sayings after he passed away? Umar’s statements cannot be proved as good intention or personal exertion (Ijtihaad) in any manner. The description of this incident and justifications by Ahl al-Sunnah scholars are very weak. To prove their weakness, I would like to put forward excerpts from Allamah Sayyid Abdul Husain Sharafuddin’s books, An-Nass wal Ijtihaad and Al-Murajaat. Tradition of Pen and Paper (Qirtaas) Compilers of traditions and historians have recorded the incident as follows: Let us start the discussion with Bukhari’s version: Bukhari has narrated through his chain of narrators that Abdullah ibn Masood narrated from Ibn Abbas that the Prophet was in his last moments and many people had gathered in his house at that time. The Prophet said, “I want to write a will for you so that you will never go astray after me.” Umar said, “The Prophet is affected by pain. We have the Quran with us and the Book of Allah is sufficient for us.” The people objected to Umar. Some of them demanded that pen and paper be given to the Prophet so that he may write the will, which would save people from going astray, while others supported Umar. When the noise increased, the Prophet ordered the people to leave him alone. Abdullah ibn Masood narrates that Ibn Abbas used to say: The greatest catastrophe was that the people didn’t allow the Prophet to write the will by opposing one another and shouting loudly. This tradition is also recorded by Imam Muslim Nishapuri in his Sahih Muslim at the end of ‘the book of Testaments’.