Shi'a View of Abu Bakr - Abu Bakr and Ali's Family Ties

Abu Bakr and Ali's Family Ties

Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr (Arabic: محمد بن أبي بكر‎) (631–658) was the son of Abu Bakr. After the death of Abu Bakr he was adopted by Ali ibn Abi Talib and was raised with Hasan ibn Ali and Hussein ibn Ali. He was killed by Muawiyah I's army in Egypt. Both Ali ibn Abi Talib and Aisha cried for him when he was killed.

Hussein ibn Ali left Medina and went to Mecca with his sisters, daughters, sons, brothers, and the sons of Hasan. Once in Mecca Husayn stayed in the house of ‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib and remained there for four months.

While in Mecca Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, Abdullah ibn Umar and Abdullah ibn Abbas advised Husayn bin Ali to make Mecca his base and fight against Yazid from Mecca. Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr advised Husayn bin Ali to make Makkah his base and fight against Yazid from Makkah. When Hussein ibn Ali was killed in Karbala, Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr collected the people of Makkah and made the following speech:

"O people! No other people are worse than Iraqis and among the Iraqis, the people of Kufa are the worst. They repeatedly wrote letters and called Imam Husayn to them and took bay'at (allegiance) for his caliphate. But when Ibn Zeyad arrived in Kufa, they rallied around him and killed Imam Husayn who was pious, observed the fast, read the Quran and deserved the caliphate in all respects

After his speech, the people of Makkah also joined Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr to take on Yazid. When he heard about this, Yazid had a silver chain made and sent to Makkah with the intention of having Walid ibn Utbah arrest Ibn al-Zubair with it.

On his last hour Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr asked his mother Asmā' bint Abu Bakr what he should do. Asmā' bint Abu Bakr the daughter of Abu Bakr replied to her son, she said:

"You know better in your own self that if you are upon the truth and you are calling towards the truth go forth for people more honourable than you were killed and have been killed and if you are not upon the truth, then what an evil son you are, you have destroyed yourself and those who are with you. If you say what you say, that if you are upon the truth and you will be killed at the hands of others then you will not truly be free, for this is not the statement of someone who is free".

Then Asmā' bint Abu Bakr said to her son, this is the statement of the mother to her son,

"how long will you live in this world, death is more beloved to me than this state you are on/ this state of weakness."

Then this conversation between Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr and his mother continued.

Then Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr said to his mother after she had told him to go forth and fight.

He said, "I am afraid I will be mutilated by the people of Sham, I am afraid that they will cut up my body after they have killed me"

So she said to her son,"after someone has died it won't make any difference what they do to you if you have been killed."

Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr then said to his mother,"I did not come to you except to increase myself in knowledge."

He said to her, "I did not come to you except to increase me in knowledge, look and pay attention to this day for verily I am a dead man, your son never drank wine, nor was he fornicator, nor did he wrong any Muslim or Non Muslim, nor was he unjust, I am not saying this to you to show off or show how pure I am but rather as an honour to you."

So then Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr left by himself on his horse to take on Hajjaj and he was killed by the Army of Hajjaj and when he was killed by the Army of Hajjaj.

Then Hajjaj crucified him and said," No one must put down his body except Asma, she must come to me and ask permission of me and only then will his body be put down".

Asma refused to go and ask permission to put down her sons body and it was said to her,

"if you don't go his body will remain like that. So she said let it be then."

Until eventually, Hajjaj came to her and said,

"what do you say about this matter " and she said,

"Verily you have destroyed him you have ruined his life and with that you have ruined your hereafter."

Asmā' bint Abu Bakr advice to her son just shows now much she cared for Husayn bin Ali.

A few years later the people of Kufa called Zayd ibn Ali the grandson of Husayns over to Kufa. Zaydis believe that on the last hour of Zayd ibn Ali, Zayd ibn Ali was also betrayed by the people in Kufa who said to him: "May God have mercy on you! What do you have to say on the matter of Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattab?" Zayd ibn Ali said, "I have not heard anyone in my family renouncing them both nor saying anything but good about them...when they were entrusted with government they behaved justly with the people and acted according to the Qur'an and the Sunnah"