A Sahabi rejected the khilafat of Abu Bakr and Umar and accepted Ali(a.s)

The core of the Salafi doctrine is the much-mouthed claim that we must always follow the so-called "righteous Salaf". By that term, they mean "all the Sahabah", and they believe that all the Sahabah were on right guidance. Sunnis too to a great extent follow them in these claims. We therefore invite them to read the story of how one of these "righteous Salaf" converted to Shi'ism, and even became a Rafidi, literally!
This should do a lot to open some cracks, that could lead to an unstoppable flow of honesty.

We read:

عن أبي الطفيل (عامر بن واثلة) قال: «جمع علي رضي الله تعالى عنه الناس في الرحبة ثم قال لهم: أنشد الله كل امرئ مسلم سمع رسول الله صلّى الله عليه وسلم يقول يوم غديرخم ما سمع لما قام، فقام ثلاثون من الناس (وفي رواية: فقام ناس كثير) فشهدوا حين أخذ بيده فقال للناس أتعلمون أني أولى بالمؤمنين من أنفسهم قالوا نعم يا رسول الله، قال: من كنت مولاه فهذا مولاه، اللّهم وال من والاه وعاد من عاداه، قال [يعني الصحابي أبا الطفيل] فخرجت وكأنّ في نفسي شيئاً، فلقيت زيد بن أرقم، فقلت له: إني سمعت علياً رضي الله عنه يقول كذا وكذا، قال: فما تنكر، قد سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول ذلك له


Narrated Abu al-Tufayl:

Ali gathered people at the Rahbah, then he said to them, "I adjure in the name of Allah every Muslim who heard what the Messenger of Allah had said on the Day of Ghadir to state his testimony".

Thirty persons stood up (according to another narration, several people stood up). They testified how the Holy Prophet held the hand of Ali and asked the people, "Do you know that I have more authority over the believers than they themselves do?". The people answered, "We do, O messenger of Allah!". Then he said, "Whomsoever I am his mawla, this Ali is also his mawla. O Allah! Be the friend of whoever befriends him, and be the enemy of whosoever is hostile to him".

(Abu al-Tufayl continued) Then, I left the place. However, there was something troubling my mind about this incident. Then, I met Zayd ibn Arqam and said to him, "I heard Ali saying such and such". Zayd replied, "So, do not deny it, for I myself heard the Messenger of Allah say so about him".

References:

Musnad Ahmad 4/370
Sahih Ibn Hibban 15/376, No. 2205
Al-Sunnah, Ibn Abu Asim, Nos. 1367 and 1368
Mu'jam al-Kabir, Imam al-Tabarani, No. 4968
Al-Mukhtaraat, Imam al-Diya, No. 527 (tahqiq of al-Albani)
Majma' al-Zawaid, Imam al-Haythami, 9/104 (declares all its narrators trustworthy)
Khasais Amir al-Muminin, Imam al-Nisai, 82 (Aal Zahwi, its annotator, declares its chain sahih)
Silisilah al-Ahadith al-Sahihah, al-Albani, 4/331, No. 1750 (declares the chain sahih on the conditions of al-Bukhari)

Abu al-Tufayl (ra) was a Sahabi. However, he was not present at Ghadir Khumm, and never heard of the event until the caliphate of Imam Ali (as)! This shows some signs of state censorship! Otherwise, why would the Companions just keep quiet about the incident?

Anyway, he was present when Imam Ali (as) called upon eye witnesses, more than three decades after the incident, to teach the people about his Divine Imamate. This is what confused Abu al-Tufayl (ra). Contrary to what Sunnis now say, he knew that the meaning of mawla in that hadith is NOT friend, but master! After all, anyone who has a higher authority over another than the latter over himself is literally the mawla of the latter in Arabic. And the Holy Prophet first defined the kind of mawla he was to the believers, and then declared Imam Ali (as) the same kind of mawla. This is the only rational explanation of the event, and the only rational explanation why Abu al-Tufayl (ra) was terribly confused after hearing the hadith.

Like anyone who has just heard such a big hadith would do, Abu al-Tufayl (ra) wanted to believe that the hadith was not true! So, when he met Zayd ibn Arqam, and inquired about it, the latter noticed that he simply did not want to believe the hadith! In spite that thirty of the Sahabah testified to its truth in his presence. In other words, he himself saw that the hadith was mutawatir, but still did not want it to be true. Zayd noticed this, and advised him against denying the hadith. The hadith is true, and there is nothing anyone could do about that fact!

Naturally, Abu al-Tufayl (ra) went into a period of deep reflections. He used to believe that Abubakr was the rightful caliph, then Umar, then Uthman, then Imam Ali (as). Obviously, that would have to change!

In the long run, he converted to Shi'ism, and moved closer to Imam Ali (as), who taught him the basics of Shi'ism, including the doctrines of Imamate and Raj'ah. Imam Ibn Qutaybah, while mentioning him, states:

أبو الطفيل عامر بن واثلة رأى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وكان آخر من رآه موتا ومات بعد سنة مائة وشهد مع علي المشاهد كلها وكان مع المختار صاحب رايته وكان يؤمن بالرجعة

“Abul Tufayl Aamir bin Wathla (ra) saw the Prophet . He was the last person among those who saw the Holy Prophet to die, when he left this world in the year 100 A.H. He participated in all the wars with Ali, he was the standard bearer in Mukhtar’s army, and believed in Raj'ah.”

References: 

Kitab Al-Ma’arif, page 149, published in Egypt

In his book al-Kashif, Volume 1 page 527, Imam al-Dhahabi states:

“He was the seal of Sahabah”

Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani states in Taqrib al-Tahdhib, Volume 1 page 464:

“He was the last one of Sahabah to die”

Imam Jalaluddin al-Suyuti records in Isaf al-Mubata, page 52:

“He is the last Sahabi to die”

Ibn Hajar in his book Tajeel al-Manf'a, page 160 and Ibn Kathir in Al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah, Volume 9 page 215 record him as a Sahabi while Imam Ibn Hazm records in al-Muhala, Volume 3 page 174:

أن أبا الطفيل صاحب راية المختار وذكر أنه كان يقول بالرجعة

“Abu al-Tufayl was the standard bearer in Mukhtar's army, it has been said that he believed in Raj'ah”

Whilst writing about this Sahabi, Imam Dhahabi once again writes:

واسم أبي الطفيل عامر بن واثلة بن عبد الله بن عمرو الليثي الكناني الحجازي الشيعي. كان من شيعة الإمام علي.

“Abul Tufayl’s name is ‘Aamir bin Wathla bin Abdullah bin Umar Ishi Kinani Hijazi, who is a Shi'a. He was one of the Shi'a of Imam Ali.

Siyar Alam al-Nubala, volume 3 page 468

In Majma' al-Zawaid 9/146 (al-Dar al-Dayan lil Turath, Cairo , and Dar al-Kitab al-Arabi, Beirut), we read:

عن أبي الطفيل قال خطبنا الحسن بن علي بن أبي طالب فحمد الله وأثنى عليه وذكر أمير المؤمنين عليا رضي الله عنه خاتم الأوصياء ووصي الأنبياء وأمين الصديقين والشهداء

Narrated Abu al-Tufayl:

Al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Abu Talib delivered a sermon to us. He thanked Allah, and then mentioned Amir al-Muminin Ali (ra), the best of the Awsiya (plural of Wasi, meaning heir of the mission and qualities of a prophet), and the Wasi of all the prophets, and the amnesty of the truthful ones and the martyrs.

Look at the words which Abu al-Tufayl (ra) has used to describe Imam Ali (as)! The best of the Awsiyah, the Wasi of all the prophets, the amnesty of the truthfuls and martyrs. These are classic Shi'a doctrines, which he must have learnt from Imam Ali (as). Also, as we can see, he accepted Imam al-Hasan (as) as his Imam after Imam Ali (as), and used to attend his lectures.

Then, Abu al-Tufayl continues:

ثم قال يا أيها الناس لقد فارقكم رجل ما سبقه الأولون ولا يدركه الآخرون لقد كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يعطيه الراية فيقاتل جبريل عن يمينه وميكائيل عن يساره فما يرجع حتى يفتح الله عليه

Then, al-Hasan said:

O people, certainly you have lost a person (i.e. Imam Ali) who NONE has ever surpassed (in merits) and whom none among the latter generations will ever know (i.e. none among them will ever know the true worth of Imam Ali, no matter how hard they try). Certainly, the Messenger of Allah gave him the flag, and Jibril fought on his right side, while Mikail fought on his left side, and he did not withdraw from fighting until Allah (swt) gave him victory.

This, no doubt, was the aqeedah of Imam al-Hasan (as), that nobody has ever surpassed Imam Ali (as) in virtues, and that both Jibril (as) and Mikail (as) used to fight on his sides. Obviously, similar things cannot be said about any other of the Sahabah! Take it or leave it. Imam Ali (as) is the Name of Allah (swt) among us.

Imam al-Hasan (as) continued:

من عرفني فقد عرفني ومن لم يعرفني فأنا الحسن بن محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم

Whoever knows me, knows me. And whoever does not know me, I am al-Hasan, son of Muhammad .

This confirms the fact that the children of Bibi Fatima al-Zahra (as) are also the children of Muhammad, Messenger of Allah .

Then, Imam al-Hasan (as) continued:

أنا ابن البشير أنا ابن النذير وأنا ابن النبي أنا ابن الداعي إلى الله بإذنه وأنا ابن السراج المنير وأنا ابن الذي أرسل رحمة للعالمين وأنا من أهل البيت الذين أذهب الله عنهم الرجس وطهرهم تطهيرا أنا من أهل البيت الذين افترض الله عز وجل مودتهم وولايتهم فقال فيما أنزل على محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم قل لا أسألكم عليه أجرا إلا المودة في القربى


I am the son of the giver of glad tidings (i.e. Muhammad). And, I am the son of the warner (i.e. Muhammad). I am the son of the caller to Allah, who called with His permission (i.e. Muhammad). And, I am the son of the lamp that gives light (i.e. Muhammad). I am the son of the one sent to all of creation as Mercy (i.e. Muhammad).

I am from the Ahl al-Bayt whom Allah (swt) has kept off away from sin, and purified absolutely. I am from the Ahl al-Bayt whose love and wilayah (leadership) Allah (swt) has made compulsory upon all believers. It was about us that Allah (swt) revealed to Muhammad "Say: I ask of you no reward for it except love of my near kindred".

This is the end of the hadith, and al-Haythami states:

ورواه أحمد باختصار كثير وإسناد أحمد وبعض طرق البزار والطبراني في الكبير حسان

Ahmad has narrated it in a very summarized form, and the chain of Ahmad, and many of the chains of al-Bazzar and al-Tabarani in (Mu'jam) al-Kabir are hasan.

In short, the hadith has come through many hasan chains. That makes it exceedingly sahih!

And this is Abu al-Tufayl's (ra) journey into the light of the Ahl al-Bayt (as). And he proved to be a complete Rafidi, one who rejected Abubakr, Umar and Uthman totally. In fact, he has been declared to be an extremist Rafidi, raising the possibility that he used to curse the three.

Ibn Qutaybah in his al-Ma'arif, p. 340, gives a heading:

أسماء الغالية من الرافضة

Names of the Rafidi Extremists

Under the heading, he gives a list of the names as follows:

أبو الطفيل صاحب راية المختار، وكان آخر من رأى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم موتاً.
والمختار ،
وأبو عبد الله الجدلي ،
وزرارة بن أعين ،
وجابر الجعفي.)

The names are:

1. Abu Tufayl, Mukhtar's flagbearer. He was the last of those who saw the Messenger of Allah to die
2. Mukhtar
3. Abu Abdullah al-Jadali
3. Zurarah ibn Awn
4. Jabir al-Ju'fi

See how Ibn Qutaybah has grouped him with people like Zurarah and Jabir al-Ju'fi, may Allah (swt) be pleased with them both. That shows the level of Rafidi he indeed was.

And may the eternal peace and mercy of Allah (swt) be upon Abu al-Tufayl (ra). Amin.