The Companions Clashed With Palm Fronds, Hands, and Sandals
Reconciliation 2494 Sahih AlBukhari
Anas said : It was said to the Prophet, “Why don’t you go to Abdullah bin Ubayy?” So the Prophet went to him and rode a donkey, and the Muslims set off walking with him. It was a salty land. When the Prophet came to him, he said, “Go away from me. By God, the stench of your donkey has bothered me. ” A man from the Ansar among them said, ” By God, the donkey of the Messenger of God has a better smell than you.” So a man from his people became angry with Abdullah and cursed him, and each of them had his companions angry, and there was a clash between them with palm branches, hands, and sandals.
** Distorting the concept of the hadith about the Muslims’ fistfight with the followers of Ibn Abi bin Salul, “the leader of the hypocrites in Medina.”**
First: When mentioning a hadith, it must be completed in order to know the reason for citing the incident. If this hadith was brought to us to indicate that the Companions would fight and he would approve of that, then the mudallis would be allowed to claim that. However, the incident was brought in this context, which was narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim, to indicate that Allah, the Most High, does not approve of such differences that occur between people. The rest of the hadith that the mudallis did not mention is as follows:
We have been informed that it was revealed about them : {And if two parties among the believers should fight, then make peace between them} [Surat al-Hujurat: 59].
The mudallis mentioned the hadith in its entirety in the last narration only, in an attempt to hide the reason for citing this incident, and that Allah did not approve of them for it.
Second: Muslim mentioned this incident in Jihad and Seerah, in the chapter on the supplication of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his patience in the face of the harm of the hypocrites. It is known that Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul was the leader of the hypocrites in Medina, with a group who were Shiites and affiliated with him, and they were harming the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the Muslim community in word and deed, to the point that they were inciting their enemies against the Muslims. Despite that, Allah taught us that we should not judge people by their intentions, because no one knows them except Allah. He called them believers because they uttered the Shahada with their tongues. The truth is that the Companions only clashed with these hypocrites with their hands, and despite that, Allah commanded us to reconcile between the two groups because they were showing Islam, and so that the disbelievers would not claim that the Muslims were fighting among themselves.
Third: In our view, the Companions are not infallible. Rather, most of the incidents that were mistakes and were corrected for us by Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, through the Qur’an or Sunnah occurred with the Companions. Allah taught them that they had made mistakes and guided them to what pleases Allah.
Fourth: The incident proves that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and his Companions were keen to call these people and guide them. Ibn Salul began by assaulting and cursing them. When Muslim responded to him, another man from the followers of Ibn Salul, the leader of the hypocrites, cursed him. There is no mind, logic, or religion that orders people to humiliate their symbols, reformers, and prophets without getting angry.
Fifth: Not a single Muslim said that the Companions were similar in their reactions, nor did anyone say that people in general were similar in their reactions. In every society there are the forbearing, the angry, and so on. If they were on the same level of emotion and interaction, people would not have differed in their assessment of such incidents that occur daily. We should not forget Peter’s emotion when he drew a sword and struck the servant of the high priest (cutting off his right ear) John 18:10, which is something that Jesus Christ did not approve of and ordered him to put his sword in its sheath (John 18:11).
Sixth: The Companions differed in receiving knowledge and the degree of their closeness or distance from the gatherings of the Prophet (peace and blessings of God be upon him). Therefore, their reactions differed according to their knowledge of the prophetic directives. Rather, the matter was returned to the ruling that God Almighty decreed in such an incident, as the fact that these people were Companions did not prevent the ruling that a peace treaty be made between the two parties.