Umar commanded six men to form the shura (committee) [al shura al sudasiyyah]
Umar commanded six men to form the shura (committee) [al shura al sudasiyyah]
إن عمر أمر ستة على الشورى
‘Umar commanded six men to form the shura (committee).
It appears in a narration:
فإن خالف واحد فتضرب عنقه
If anyone opposes, smite his neck.
I say: How can this ever be reconciled with Allah’s description of the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum of His Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam:
رُحَمَاءُ بَيْنَهُمْ
Merciful among themselves.[1]
Al Tabari reported this in his Tarikh from Abu Mikhnaf Lut ibn Yahya who is a extremist Shi’i, Rafidi, Kadhab
With regards to his instruction to kill the six if four of them agree on one person, this is also a narration of Abu Mikhnaf.
Abu Mikhnaf
- Ibn ‘Adi comments, “Extremist Shi’i. He has such narrations which I do not like mentioning.”
- Ibn Hajar remarks, “A ruined historian. Unreliable.”
- Abu Hatim al Razi says in al Jarh wa al Ta’dil, “ Matruk al hadith (suspected of forgery).”[2]
The other narration which Ibn Sa’d records in his al Tabaqat is munqati’. Simak ibn Harb al Hudhali al Bakri reported it. He was truthful but changed towards the end of his life, thus he would rarely narrate.[3]
[1] Surah al Fath: 29.
[2] Al Kamil fi al Du’afa’ vol. 6 pg. 93; Mizan al I’tidal vol. 3 pg. 419; Lisan al Mizan vol. 4 pg. 584; al Jarh wa al Ta’dil vol. 7 pg. 182; Siyar A’lam al Nubala’ vol. 7 pg. 301, 302.
[3] Taqrib al Tahdhib Biography: 2624. See the narrations of Abu Mikhnaf in Tarikh al Tabari 175.