Did Prophet Muhammed leave a Will?

1. Prophet Muhammed wanted to write a statement after which we will never go astray
According to muslim books (in both sunni and shia), Prophet Muhammed (pbuhaf) wanted to write down a statement for the guidance of all muslims just before he passed away this means he wanted to leave a Will. It is universally agreed that he was prevented from writing it down at that moment when surrounded by his companions. Here is one hadith account of what had happened: Ibn 'Abbas narrates: When God's messenger was on his death-bed and in the house there were some people among whom was 'Umar bin Al-Khattab, the Prophet said, "Come, let me write a statement for you after which you will not go astray." 'Umar said, "The Prophet has been overcome with sickness and you have the Qur'an; so the Book of Allah is enough for us." The people present in the house differed and quarrelled. Some said "Go near so that the Prophet may write for you a statement after which you will never go astray," while others said as Umar said. When they caused a hue and cry before the Prophet, Gods messenger said, "Go away!" Narrated 'Ubaidullah: Ibn 'Abbas used to say, "It was very unfortunate that Gods messenger was prevented from writing that statement for them because of their disagreement and noise." Sahih Bukhari, 70.573

The Prophet wanted to write a statement after which you will never go astray meaning, he wanted to leave for the Muslims something which would be a safeguard against misguidance and a source of guidance till the Day the Judgement. However despite the Prophet giving extreme importance to this piece of writing, Muslims today know little about this event and even fewer know what happened afterwards.

2. Every Muslim must leave a Will

According to Quran verses and prophetic hadiths all Muslims must write a Will. {It is decreed upon you if any of you feels death approaching and if he leaves any good (khayran), that a Will should be written equitably for the parents and the close ones. This is a haqqan (decreed obligation) on the God-fearing.} Quran 2:180

{O you who have believed! When death approaches any of you (then take) the testimony of two just men of your own at the time of (writing) the Will, or two from outside if you are travelling through the land when the misfortune of death befalls you.} Quran 5:106 Narrated from Ibn Abbas, the Prophet (pbuhap) said: "Abandoning the Will is a shame in this worldly life, and it is hellfire and disgrace in the hereafter." Majma' alZawa'idf, volume 4, p209

Therefore according to the above, all Muslims should write a Will when they find out that death is near (if any of you feel death approaching). Since the Prophet is the first Muslim then he should have written a Will. We will look into hadiths from the family of Muhammed to see further evidence that he must have written one.

3. Did the Prophet have to write a Will?

Ibn Abbas narrated that: After returning from the farewell Hajj, Gods Messenger (pbuhaf) said: O people! Jibraeel, the Trustworthy Spirit, came to me from Allah and said: O Mohammad! Allah says that he misses seeing you. So prepare a good Will and finish what you have to do. O people! My time has come to an end and I can see us leaving one another. So if your bodies have left me, do not allow your souls to do the same. O people! Allah has never created an immortal Prophet and I am not immortal. Allah has said in this verse in the Quran: {We have not granted to any man before you eternal life. What! If you die, will they live forever? Every soul shall taste of death} Quran 21:34-35 Understand that my Lord has ordered me to leave a Will for you. Understand that my Lord has ordered me to show you to the ark of salvation and the door of sustenance. Those of you who want to survive after me and be safe from the disastrous temptations should hold firmly to the Allegiance of Ali ibn Abi Talib. He is Siddiq al-Akbar (most trustworthy) and Farooq al-Azam (The great divider between truth and falsehood). He is the Imam of all Muslims after me. Fuzail Ameerul Momineen lilKazmi p19. Ghayat alMaram p45. Ehaqa alHaq v4, p331

The Prophet said: Understand that my Lord has ordered me to leave a Will for you. This shows clearly that the Prophet was ordered by God to leave a Will. Further, it states the purpose of the Will: for you, meaning for the Muslims. This is in accordance with the saheeh hadiths where he wanted to write a statement after which you will never go astray. He then describes it as an Ark of salvation for whoever wants to be safe after him.

So if he was commanded to write a Will but was prevented at the time he was surrounded by companions, did he ever write the Will after they all left the house?

3. Ali says that Prophet Muhammed dictated a Will to him

Ali said: "O Talha, were you present when the Prophet (pbuhaf) asked for a paper so that he could write what would allow the Ummah (Islamic nation) to never go astray? But then your companion said Allahs Messenger is delirious. The Prophet became angry and left it. Talha said: Yes, I was present. Ali said: When you all left, the Prophet (pbuhaf) told me what he wanted to write and he wanted the general public to witness it. Archangel Gabriel informed him that Allah (swt) knew what disagreement and separation the Ummah will have. Then he asked for a paper and dictated to me what he wanted to write on the paper. He made three people witness it - Salman, Abu Dhar and Miqdad. He named those who are the Imams of Guidance, whose obedience Allah has commanded till the Day of Judgment. Ihtijaaj page 233. Sulaym ibn Qais page 212.

In this narration, Ali (pbuh) recalls the Calamity of Thursday event as it is widely narrated in hadith books; this includes the Prophet requesting them to witness what he will write which will prevent Muslims (ie, Islamic nation) from going astray and being misguided. An objection is then raised by one of the companions which angers him and he orders them all to leave. Thus although they did not witness what is in the Will, they witnessed that he wanted to leave a statement after which you will never go astray. Thus this event is present in the hadith books of all muslim sects, as Ali had said he wanted the general public to witness it. Ali states that in the Will, the Prophet (pbuhaf) names the Imams (leaders) of guidance whom God commanded to be obeyed till the Day of Judgement. So in this present world the people named in that Will have the duty of leading the Muslims and they would be guided as long as they hold onto the Will, thus the Prophet said after which you will never go astray. Next we will see not only does the Will name the Imams of guidance, but it is actually one of the best ways to recognise and follow those Imams.

5. One of the main methods to recognise an Imam is: the Will

Someone asked Abu Abdullah (pbuh): What things is the Imam known with? He (pbuh) said, "[The Imam is known] with an apparent Will, and with excellence in virtues. Verily no one can [truly] speak evil of the Imam concerning his speech, eating or private relations; such as the saying 'he is a liar and steals the people's money', and what

resembles that." alKafi vol1, page 284, hadith3. Imam Jaafer (pbuh) was asked: How will the Companion of the Matter (Sahib Al-Amr) be known? He (pbuh) said: "with peacefulness, dignity, knowledge and the Will." Khisal lilSadooq page 200. Imam Jaafer (pbuh) said: "The companion of this matter will be known with three qualities which will not occur in anyone else. He is the foremost of people to those (Imams) that were before him. He is his successor. And he will have the Weapon of the Messenger of God Muhammad (pbuhaf) and his Will. It(the Will) is with me and I do not separate myself from it." I then asked: "Is it kept secret for fear from the rulers?" He (pbuh) said: "It is not kept secret unless there is clear evidence for it." alKafi vol1, page379, hadith2.

In the above the Will is said to be one of the main ways of knowing or recognising an Imam, especially the Companion of the matter who is to come in the end times. To summarise: the Will was ordered to be written for Muslims, it was written and dictated to Ali, and it is an important way to know an Imam. Since its for Muslims it should be available at each time to guide them. So, is it available for us today? Of all hadith books present today, there is only one Hadith/narration of the Will that was written down. It is first narrated in the book Ghaibat alToosi and other books have included the hadith from this source. This Will was presented by Ahmed Alhasan as a proof of his claim to be the First Mahdi along with other proofs like knowledge and raising the Banner of the Supremacy of God (Hakimiyat Allah). The Will of Prophet Muhammed (pbuhaf) has not been revealed for over 1000 years. Although the Will was narrated by Imam Sadiq to one of his followers and eventually ended up in the book Ghaiba by Sheikh Toosi, the shia narrators and scholars did not fully understand it or its importance. This is because it is one of the main evidences to be presented by the Companion of the matter as in many narrations. Since the Companion of the matter appears in the End Times, God concealed it to be passed down unnoticed till its rightful companion would claim. The question arises, if it was intended only at the End Times but its a source of Guidance of Muslims then what about the Muslims before the End Times? This question has been answered from the above hadith: I then asked: "Is it kept secret for fear from the rulers?" He (pbuh) said: "It is not kept secret unless there is clear evidence for it." The Will was kept secret for it to be used in the End Times. As for Muslims before then, they did not need it directly because there was plenty of clear evidence for the guiding Imams they should follow in their time. Of the famous evidences are: Quranic verses and narrations referring to the Ahlulbait (family) of the Prophet and who they are, the Hadith of Two Weighty things, and many narrations about the closeness and status of Ali to Prophet Muhammed (pbuhahf).

6. the Will as dictated to Ali

The Prophet Muhammad (may peace be upon him and his family) said to Ali ibn Abi Taleb during the night of his death: "O Father of Al Hassan, bring a paper and an inkstand". And he dictated his will until he came to this position where he said: "O Ali, there will be twelve Imams after me and after them there will be twelve Mahdi's. You, O Ali, are the first of the twelve Imams. God has named you in his heavens Ali AlMortada, The Prince of the believers, Grand truthful, the great differentiator (between truth and falsehood), the trusted, and the Mahdi (rightly guided). These names may not be truly attributed to anyone else. O Ali, you are my guardian over my family (ahlulbait), their living and their dead, and [the guardian] over my women. So whoever you maintain shall find me tomorrow, and whom you reject I am acquitted of her. I will not see her and she will not see me on the courtyard of Judgement day. And you are the successor (Khalifa) over my nation after me. If the day of death comes to you, hand it over to my son Hassan the very beneficial. Then if the day of death comes to him, let him hand it over to my son Al Hussein, the Martyr, the Pure and the Assassinated. If the day of death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, the master the worshippers Ali. If the day of death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, Muhammed Al Baqir. If the day of death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, Jaafar Al Sadiq (the honest). If the day of death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, Musa Al Kadhim (The Patient). If the day of death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, Ali Al Ridha. If the day of death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, Muhammed Al Thiqa (The Trustworthy). If the day of death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, Ali Al Nasih (The Adviser). If the day death of comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, Al Hassan Al Fadil. If the day of death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, Muhammed the Preserver of the Holy Family of Muhammed Peace be upon them all. These are the twelve Imams. Then there will be twelve Mahdi's after them. If the day of death comes to him (the 12th Imam), let him hand it over to his son, the first of the close ones. He has three names, one like mine and my Father's: Abdullah (Servant of God), Ahmad and the third name is The Mahdi (the guided). He is the first Believer." Ghaibat alTusi page 150. Bihar alAnwar vol36, page260; and vol53, page147. Ghayat Maram vol1 p370.