# Does Abu Bakr's war on Musaylima justify killing someone who claims prophethood?

*Musaylima and Abu Bakr's wars: political, not a precedent for killing claimants*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/tr4-gh0qez4/s/22/
- Date: 2020-08-04 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth #176 *Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted!* 🤣 (1:47:49–1:55:05)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR4-gh0qEZ4&t=6469s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/tr4-gh0qez4/

**Topics:** Succession and the first civil wars; Apostasy and blasphemy

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Mufti Abu Layth says Abu Bakr's wars were political and the Prophet never ordered Musaylima killed, so they cannot justify killing a claimant.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says Abu Bakr's campaign against the tribes was a political decision.

**Evidence, his words at 1:50:16:** “So the point was this was a political decision that Abu Bakr made” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR4-gh0qEZ4&t=6616s)

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth says that many battle narratives are dramatised hearsay, citing Imam Ahmad, and turns to those who justify the killing by appeal to Musaylima [?]. Mufti says Musaylima met the Prophet during his lifetime and offered to negotiate, and the Prophet never ruled that he be executed but smiled at the suggestion. Mufti says Abu Bakr's iron-fist campaign, which even Umar questioned, was a political decision about full subordination of the tribes through zakah, which only began a few months before the Prophet died, and not about a claim to prophethood. Mufti adds that the killer's claim that the Prophet gave him the gun is itself never seen as blasphemy, and says he hardly knows where to begin with the mullas, the social narratives and the insecurity.

## Sources and names cited

- Abu Bakr
- Umar ibn al-Khattab
- Ahmad ibn Hanbal
- the Ridda wars
- zakah

## Transcript (machine tier, 1:47:49–1:55:05)

[1:47:23] If a person came today and said, you know, I realized that God has chosen me to be another prophet. How you know like why are are we getting so rattled? Is our iman that weak that when we hear somebody say, "Oh, he's a Kadani or he's a this or he's that." Oh my god. Oh my god. I mean, Islam has stood the test of time. Why are you so scared?

[1:47:49] You know, let and and people say here, well, they use the uh this is another problem with uh some of a lot of our histories. This is huge problem with the Mazi culture. You know, our history full of battles and this, you know, when they sat down, this is what I im Ahmed Ham said that this all it's all nonsense. You know when they asked Im Ahmed he said he said this all these battles and everything a lot of it is just hearsay.

[1:48:20] It's like maybe there's some fundamental kind of truth but it's fictionalized. It's dramatized kind of like oral narratives but people say oh you know but alab they killed him. Look, Mama Alad was there in the lifetime of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. Was he not? Was Musama not? Did he not come up to the prophet and have a conversation with him?

[1:48:47] He did. Did he not even say to the prophet, you know what, I'll become a Muslim, but you follow me and try to negotiate with the prophet. He did. Did the prophet say execute him? No. There was never a ruling to execute Musama of Yama. Never.

[1:49:13] He was not a threat as far as I was concerned. He was not a Muslims weren't insecure of him. Yes. In Abu Bakr's time to do with controlling the state. It was political. It was to do with do it was a make orb breakak situation with the tribes were not some were giving some allegiance not complete allegiance. So Abu Bakr took an iron fist approach that look it we are he felt that we are at a crossroad it is make or break.

[1:49:49] So I don't want 99% subservience or subordination. I want 100% subordination and he did he went with an iron fist. I accept that. And even you know even people like Omar Kab and other people felt a bit you know who's some Omar is portrayed as a very fierce kind of uh personality within the Sunni tradition.

[1:50:16] Yet even he was like you know to Abu Bakr that wa I don't I don't know you know you're really going in here and and and you know Abu Bakr is transmitted said to him what's wrong with you you know no we need you know uh and you know you know you become a coward all of a sudden weren't you you know uh somebody that used to be of you know such courageous proportions So the point was this was a political decision that Abu Bakr made it was not to do with he did not just target Mama

[1:50:56] you know he didn't say okay guys we're going to go for because he claims to be a a prophet he went for the whole of Arabia anybody who refused zakat because the state needed funding one two, he felt that you see if you submit to the zakat system because for the zakat you have to send a you send someone that comes and he can just walk you lose a a right to privacy of assets because that person can come in and assess your assets.

[1:51:32] You get no say in stopping that. So it was the ultimate subordination. This is why the Arabs, you know, they resisted. They didn't have a problem with Islam, but they had a problem with that level of subordination. Because even in the prophet's time, you have to remember the prophet did not compel everybody to give zakat. And this zakat thing only began a few years before the prophet, sorry, a few months before the prophet passed away.

[1:51:59] Amu, the tribes came. And we're not sure, first of all, not all the tribes came, only certain amount. And we're not sure how many of them gave what and whether it was out of compulsion or a goodwill gesture because they came as a delegation. But we know within a few months the prophet passes away and then Abu Bakr takes this stance. Now fair enough it was his choice and it worked.

[1:52:26] You know may Allah be pleased with him but it worked. Uh it was a very ironfist approach and it was a very kind of like uh almost not like one would assume it was not like the character of who's generally quite mellow but he took this approach but it was nothing to do with Musama. Mama was just saying to people as well in Yama and around him that you don't need to pay zakat follow me I don't even ask you for zakat.

[1:52:56] So this is what it was to use this. The reason some people are using this to justify this khalid going and killing saying that well mus that is utter BS utter the prophet never he was alive he met musama in fact the prophet laughed at his suggestion that people is how you handle such claims you smile at it doesn't make you insecure that is how the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam responded to him when he made an offer to the prophet, he just

[1:53:33] smiled at him like like are you you know this is amusing at best. But yeah, so this so this is my first huge point and as a little second point an addage to that I would say look what about this person saying the prophet gave me a gun is that not blasphemy but nobody will see the the blasphemy in that he will be hailed a hero of Islam.

[1:54:06] So this is why you know we but I don't know you know countries like there's just so much you know it's like one of those memes where they say you know they show you a picture and they say well there's just so much wrong in this picture I don't know what to where to even begin and it's like that there's just so much wrong there like I don't know where would a person begin with the with the with the moolas with the narratives with the social narratives with the awam who glorify this with uh uh with how do you deal with insecurities?

[1:54:39] How do you I wouldn't even know where to begin honestly with certain parts of the world. I just hope that their impact is is really you know an absolute minimum to this part of the world and Muslims in the west and even Muslims over there. I hope they can see through this kind of BS. But I felt that was uh so important to really highlight.

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment TR4-gh0qEZ4/s/22. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/tr4-gh0qez4/s/22/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.