Glimpses of Shi'ism in the Musnad of Ibn Hanbal

Chapter 3 : Abu- Bakr’s Dismissal From Leading the Hajj and the Entrustment To Imam ‘ali- (‘a) To Convey Surah Al-bara-’ah

Ibn Hanbal says of the event which occurred in the month of Dhi- al-Hijjah, 9 AH:

Waki-‘ has related to us from Isra-’i-l from Abi- Isha-q from Zayd bin Yuthay‘ from Abu- Bakr:

The Prophet sent him (Abu- Bakr) with Surah al-Bara-’ah to the people of Mecca (to proclaim) that after this year no polytheist will be allowed at the Hajj, neither should the nude circumambulate the Ka‘bah, none will enter paradise except the person who has become Muslim, whoever has a pact between him and the Messenger of Allah it is valid until the specified period, and Allah and His Messenger are free from any obligation to the polytheists. After a while, he told (Imam) ‘Ali- [(‘a)], may Allah be pleased with him:

Overtake Abu- Bakr and send him back to me and you proclaim (the Surah to the Meccans).

(Imam) ‘Ali- [(‘a)] acted as per the instructions and when Abu- Bakr returned to the Prophet he cried and said:

O Messenger of Allah, did anything happen?

He replied:

Nothing has happened concerning you except good, but I have been commanded (by Allah) that these (commandments) should either be conveyed by my or by a man who is from me.[^30]

Ahmad Sha-kir, the annotator of the Musnad has considered the isna-d of this hadi-th as sahi-h (authoritative) and has said that Zayd bin Yuthay‘ was a trustworthy person of the first generation of Muslims after the Prophet and the name of his father has also been mentioned as Uthay‘.

Habashi- bin Juna-dah al-Suluki- who took part in the Farewell Pilgrimage of the Prophet, has recorded four hadi-th with a similiar text in his own Musnad which confirms Ibn Hanbal’s narration of the above hadi-th. Habashi- quotes Abu- Bakr that the Messenger of Allah (S) said:

‘Ali- is from me and I am from him. My words will not be conveyed except by me or by ‘Ali-.[^31]

Notes:

[^30] Al-Musnad, hadith no. 4. [^31] Ibn Hanbal’s Musnad published in 6 volumes by Matba‘ah al-Maymaniyyah, vol. 4, pp. 164-165, 1st edition, Egypt, 1313 AH.