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Safar 10, 1330 Those who follow the Sunnah and consensus deny this
will simply because of what alBukhari has narrated in his Sahih where he quotes
alAswad saying, "It was said once to `Ayesha, may Allah be pleased with her, that
the Prophet (pbuh) had made a will regarding `Ali,[1]
and she responded: `Who said so? I have seen the Prophet, while I was reclining him to my
chest, when he ordered a washbowl to be brought to him; I hardly noticed how fast he
collapsed and died; so, how could he have made a will to `Ali?"[2] In the same reference, the author quotes other sources citing
`Ayesha saying, "The Messenger of Allah breathed his last while being between my
stomach and under my chin," and she is often quoted saying, "He died reclining
on my chest," and she may have said: "He died while his head was on my
thigh."[3] So, had there been any will, she
would have come to know about it. In Muslim's Sahih, in a treatise on the subject of wills
on page 14, Vol. 2, the author quotes `Ayesha saying, "The Messenger of Allah (pbuh)
left neither a dinar nor a dirham, nor a male nor a female camel, nor did he leave any
will." In both sahihs, in a treatise on wills, Talhah ibn Masrif is quoted saying,
"I asked `Abdullah ibn Abu `Awfah: `Did the Prophet leave any will at all?' He
answered: `No.' I asked him: `How did he enjoin people to write their wills while he
himself did not do so?' He answered: `His will is the Book of Allah.'" Since these
ahadith are more authentic than the ones which you have cited, and are included in both
sahihs, while the ones you have cited are not, they can be brought forth as irrefutable
arguments, Wassalam. Yours, S [2] You
probably already know that both shaykhs have intentionally narrated this hadith while
discussing the Prophet's will to `Ali, for those who stated at that time that the Prophet
had left a will to `Ali had not yet split from the ranks of the nation. They were either
among the sahabah or the tabi`in who had the courage to reveal what would make the mother
of believers unhappy and would oppose the politics of the time; for this reason, she, may
Allah be pleased with her, was shaken a great deal when she heard their hadith. Such a
reaction is seen in her own statement in response to it, a statement which is one of the
most feeble of answers. Imam al-Sindi, in his comment on this hadith in al-Nisai's Sunan,
as indicated on page 241, Vol. 6 (the Egyptian Press at al-Azhar), said: "It is quite
obvious that such hadith [by the mother of the believers `Ayesha] does not rule out the
existence of the will prior to her statement, nor does it prove that he (pbuh) had died
suddenly without being able to leave a will or could have thought of doing so, since he
came to know that his end was approaching even before falling sick, then he remained sick
for days...," up to the conclusion of his statement. If you scrutinize this
statement, you will find it quite strong. [3] Her statements "He died on my chest," and "He died between my belly and chin," are recorded in a chapter dealing with his sickness and demise (pbuh) in Bukhari's Sahih. As regarding her statement "He died while his head was on my thigh," this exists in another chapter in which the author discusses his sickness and demise without an intervening chapter.
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