A question has been directed to many scholars, both ancient and modern, regarding the claim of the apostasy of the companions after the Prophet's (PBUH) departure. The questioner wonders if it is reasonable to say that all the companions turned away from the truth regarding the leadership of Amir al-Mu'minin Ali (AS).
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1 Answer
Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.
This question has been addressed by many scholars throughout history. However, we want to clarify that the term 'apostasy' can have multiple meanings depending on the context and the field of study. Therefore, it does not have a single meaning, and in this context, it does not refer to disbelief but rather to a return, as will be explained.
The term 'apostasy' in jurisprudence refers to disbelief, as noted by the late Sayyid al-Khoei (may his soul rest in peace) in his book 'Minhaj al-Salihin':
Apostasy is defined as someone who has left the religion of Islam, and it is of two types:
1. (Fitrah) - The natural apostate, who was born into Islam from Muslim parents or one Muslim parent. He must be killed, and his wife is to be separated from him, and her waiting period is that of a widow, and his wealth is to be divided among his heirs upon his apostasy.
2. (Mili) - The apostate who converted from disbelief to Islam and then returned to disbelief. He is to be given a chance to repent; if he repents within three days, he is forgiven; otherwise, he is to be killed on the fourth day. His possessions do not disappear, and the marriage contract with his wife is annulled, and she must observe the waiting period if she was consummated with.
The term 'apostasy' [which is the subject of our discussion and the answer to your question] can also mean return, as mentioned by language scholars. This is clearly illustrated in many verses of the Holy Quran, such as: ﴿So when the bearer of good tidings came, he placed it on his face, and he returned with sight. He said, 'Did I not tell you that I know from Allah what you do not know?'﴾ (2). If the Quran intended to refer to the first meaning of apostasy, it would specify it with the term 'religion' {O you who have believed, whoever of you should revert from his religion - Allah will bring forth [for] a people He will love and who will love Him} (3) and His saying: ﴿And whoever reverts among you from his religion and dies while he is a disbeliever - those are the ones whose works have become worthless in this world and the Hereafter﴾ (4).
Thus, the meaning of 'return' in the narrations regarding the apostasy of the companions refers to the people turning away after the Prophet (PBUH) from what they had committed to during his lifetime (PBUH) regarding the allegiance to our master Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) as the Imam of the believers after our noble Prophet, as they pledged allegiance to someone else.
They turned away and deviated from a significant religious obligation and from the truth that Allah mandated upon them after believing and affirming the Prophethood of the Prophet (PBUH), which is the Imamate of our master Ali (AS). The apostasy here refers to the failure to uphold the commitment regarding the allegiance to the Imam on the day of Ghadir Khumm. This meaning of apostasy has been interpreted by Ibn al-Athir and Ibn Manzur in the context of the narrations about the pond.
Upon examining the narrations that we will present, one can see that the issue of apostasy from the Prophet's (PBUH) will regarding the allegiance to Ali (AS) was not uniform among the people; rather, it varied among them in terms of conditions and ranks. The first to submit to our Imam Ali (AS) after the Prophet were Salman, Abu Dharr, and Al-Miqdad, in the highest possible state of submission and compliance with the Prophet's (PBUH) command to pledge allegiance to Ali (AS) after him. They had the right to precedence and leadership in this matter.
Indeed, the wheel of fate turned upon them, as will be mentioned in the narration from Al-Kafi.
Then some of the companions followed them, and the narrations will inform us of their names.
We will now present the narrations we referred to during the discussion:
[First narration] What was mentioned in 'Ikhtiyar Ma'rifat al-Rijal': 11
Abu Ja'far (AS) said: The people turned away except for three: Salman, Abu Dharr, and Al-Miqdad. Others followed later, the first of whom was Abu Sasan [Husayn ibn Mundhir al-Waqashi, the standard bearer of Ali (AS)], and Ammar, Abu Urwah, and Shatirah, making seven. Only these seven recognized the right of Amir al-Mu'minin (AS).
[Second narration]: From the trustworthy scholar Sheikh Al-Kulayni (may his soul rest in peace) in 'Rawdat al-Kafi': 213-214:
From Abu Ja'far (AS), he said: The people were of the people of apostasy after the Prophet (PBUH) except for three. I asked: Who are the three? He said: Al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad, Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, and Salman al-Farsi, may God's mercy and blessings be upon them. Then some people recognized the truth after a while. He said: These are the ones upon whom the wheel of fate turned, and they refused to pledge allegiance until they brought Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) reluctantly, and he pledged allegiance. This is in accordance with the verse: {And Muhammad is not but a messenger; [other] messengers have passed on before him. So if he were to die or be killed, would you turn back on your heels? And whoever turns back on his heels will not harm Allah at all; and Allah will reward the grateful.}
[Third narration]: From Sheikh Al-Mufid in 'Al-Ihtisab': p. 6:
From Abu Ja'far (AS), he said: The people turned away after the Prophet (PBUH) except for three: Al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad, Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, and Salman al-Farsi. Then the people recognized the truth and followed later.
In conclusion, we refer to what the late scholar Sayyid Ja'far Murtada mentioned, as he discussed this matter repeatedly. He said first: The Shi'a do not declare the companions to be disbelievers; therefore, this question is not relevant at all. Rather, they say that they disobeyed Allah and the Messenger and opposed him regarding the issue of leadership and the events that occurred because of it afterward.
Secondly, he (may his soul rest in peace) stated: The meaning of the hadiths regarding the apostasy of the companions is not disbelief and polytheism, but rather it refers to the apostasy from obedience and the failure to fulfill their commitments. It is akin to the disbelief that Allah attributed to those who are able to perform Hajj but do not do so; it refers merely to disobedience.
Thirdly, he (may his soul rest in peace) reiterated: We have said repeatedly, and we continue to say: The Shi'a say about the companions what the Quran and the Messenger said, which is that there are hypocrites among the companions. As for the others, the Shi'a do not declare the companions to be disbelievers or judge them to have apostatized from Islam; rather, they say that many of them turned away from obedience and from fulfilling their commitments.
They also say that the meaning of the noble verse: ﴿... So if he were to die or be killed, would you turn back on your heels...﴾, and the narrations you have narrated in your authentic books: Bukhari, Muslim, and others, which discussed the apostasy of the companions, do not refer to apostasy from religion, but rather to apostasy from obedience and from fulfilling what they committed to.
May you be successful in all good.