YouBy now you have read how Ashraf Ulema and intellectuals have tried to promote casteism and racism through Quranic interpretations and hadiths, while the life of Prophet Muhammad clearly shows that he was against birth-based discrimination . In the third article of the series, I will discuss Ashra-e-Mubashshira and the principle of giving preference to a particular caste/caste in the selection of the Caliph.
Ashra-e-Mubashshira
Ashra means number ‘ten’. mubashira It means that which has been informed about Basharat (joy or joy). There are ten people in Islamic history who license (guaranteed) by the Prophet Muhammad that they will enjoy heaven hereafter Ashra-e-Mubashshira, They all also belong to Qureshi only (Syed, Sheikh) tribe. There is no place for people from any other tribe, not even Owais and Khajraj, who were designated by Prophet Muhammad as ‘Ansar’ (helpers).
Before proceeding, it is important to recall a historical fact about the first battle of Islam, which is called ‘Badar’. The three Quraysh tribes of Mecca challenged the Muslims. Responding to this, three people of Ansar tribe (Owais, Khajraj) also came forward to accept this challenge. But Quraish refuses to fight them, saying that Ansar is not kufu (equal). After this, the Prophet Muhammad sent three others from the Quraysh tribe to fight the Quraysh of Mecca, who had come to fight the Prophet.
It was the first battle of Islam, but it is not discussed like the battle of Muharram/Karbala. Perhaps because the majority of those who opposed Islam in the Battle of Badr were Quraysh, while a larger number fought on the Ansar side and attained martyrdom. Discussing this fight will tarnish Quraysh’s image and glorify Ansar’s contribution. On the other hand, the battle of Karbala only speaks of the superiority of the Sayyid caste.
Read also: There is no place for casteism in Quran but Ashraf Muslims interpret it differently
Qureshi’s ‘superiority’
It is written in Bukhari Hadith ‘Al-e-Im-mat ul Main-al Quraysh’ That is, the leader (leader, emir, caliph) is from the Qureshi tribe (sayyid, sheikh). This hadeeth came to light when two Ansaris sir (Muhammad’s companions) competed for the post of Caliph after his departure. One of them, Sa’ad ibn Ubadah, was almost elected Caliph. When this information reached Abu Bakr, he reached with Umar Farooq and Abu Ubaidah of the other two Quraysh tribes and citing the above hadith asked how an Ansari could be chosen as caliph. “It is only the birthright of the Quraysh and you should choose either Umar or Abu Ubaydah as your new caliph.”
Responding to this, Umar immediately came forward and said, “O Abu Bakr, how can I be the Caliph. I choose you as my Caliph.” Thus Abu Bakr became the first Caliph of Islam, while the other two Ansaris did not agree and left the assembly.
Furthermore, the logic behind a group of Muslims (from the Shia sect) who consider Ali to be the first caliph is also racial. They say that Ali is closest to the Prophet Muhammad’s lineage (Hashmi) in the Quraysh tribe, so the caliphate is a right that belongs only to him and therefore injustice has been done to him.
Surprisingly, in this whole debate about Ansari Sahiba’s point of view, the Caliph, Saad ibn Ubadah has been completely ignored.
With regard to this hadith, Ashraf Ali Thanvi says: “The caliphate is only for the Qureshi. A non-Qureshi King (king) will be called sultanBut ita (obedience) will also reasonable (mandatory) for them.
The argument that a non-Quraish can also be a Caliph is against snuff (Quran / Hadith), as it was acknowledged by Hazrat Ansar. Thus, it became a ijma (an opinion that is accepted as the law of Islam) Sahabis (companions of Muhammad). And so, if the people holding the sultanate do not make a competent Quraysh caliph, they will be treated as criminals of the law.
(Page No. 52, Malfuzat Hakimul Ummat Part-26, Mufti Mohammad Hasan Amritsari, Idara Talifat-e-Ashrafia, Salamat Iqbal Press, Chowk Fountain, Multan, Pakistan)
There is another hadith in which Ibn Umar (Umar’s son) states that “the leadership in the Quraysh caste will last as long as there are two men left between them.” (Sahih Muslim, Kitabul Imrat p. 109)
Read also: How Ashraf Ulema use confusion about Prophet’s last speech to promote casteism in Islam?
Only Quraysh can be Caliph
All the early caliphs come from the Quraysh tribe. The Owais and Khajraj tribesmen sacrificed much more for Islam than the Quraysh (which led the Prophet Muhammad to call them Ansar, meaning helper). The first four caliphs were followed by the Umayyas (Banu Umayyas, a sub-caste of the Quraysh) and the Abbasi (Banu-Abbas, another sub-caste of the Quraysh), who are close to Muhammad’s lineage, who lay claim to the Caliphate. stronger than others.
After that, the Ottomans, who came to be known as the Sultan, claimed the Caliphate by receiving their three symbols—the ring, the stick, and the cloak, and were now called the Ottoman caliphs.
Far from being a Quraysh, this new caliph of the Turkic tribe was not even an Arab. Therefore the natives of Arabia did not consider the Turks as their Caliph at heart. And as soon as he got a chance, he got rid of the Turkish caliphate by supporting the British and the Americans. Even today the government and people of Arab countries do not like Turkey much.
Even the salary/reward of the Caliph was determined on the basis of caste and region. This was because the people of the Quraysh tribe had left their homeland in Mecca and settled in Yathrib (Medina, Medina-tun-Nabi = City of the Prophet) and Islam spread from here to other parts of the world. However, when determining the compensation of a caliph, an amount equal to the expenses and maintenance required by the chieftain of the Quraysh tribe of Mecca was fixed. This means that both region and caste were taken into account. (Page No. 0198, Vol.-3, Tabaqat Ibn Saeed, Page No. 9 Nihyatul Areb fi Gaytoon Nasab, Mufti Shafi Usmani, Jamiatul Muslimeen Saharanpur.)
Thus a cursory look at Islamic history reveals that since the departure of the Prophet Muhammad, the superiority of the Quraysh tribe was made part of the Islamic faith based on law.
Fayaz Ahmed Faizi @FayazAhmadFyzie is a writer and social worker, and a doctor by profession. Thoughts are personal.
this is the third of one four part series In ThePrint-Islam Divided.
(Translated from original by Ram Lal Khanna and edited by Prashant)