Question:

Did Ibn Taymiyyah claim that he who hates Umar hates Imam Ali (a.)?

Answer:

Ahmad Ibn Taymiyyah writes: ,,The love of the rejecters (Rafidah) for Ali belongs to this kind: They love someone who does not exist, namely, the infallible Imam who was appointed to be the leader, and except for him, none of the Imams after the Prophet Muhammad (s.) are the Imams, and consider Abu Bakr and Umar as oppressors, tyrants or infidels. When it becomes clear to them on Judgment Day that Ali was no better than Abu Bakr or Umar and he would wish to come near to either of them and considered their leadership to be legitimate and preferred them and neither he nor they were infallible and he was not appointed to leadership, then it also becomes clear to them that they have never loved Ali and in reality they actually hate Ali the most of all people, for they hate him who is described with the qualities that were more perfect in Ali than in anyone else, and among them is the confirmation of the leadership of the three (Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman) and their preference, for Ali used to prefer them and consider their leadership as legitimate. So they realize that they hate Ali from the bottom of their hearts.” [Minhaj-us-Sunnah, Volume 4 Pages 295 – 296]

قال أحمد بن تيمية: ومحبة الرافضة لعلي رضي الله عنه من هذا الباب فإنهم يحبون ما لم يوجد وهو الإمام المعصوم المنصوص على إمامته الذي لا إمام بعد النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم إلا هو الذي كان يعتقد أن أبا بكر وعمر رضي الله عنهما ظالمين معتديان أو كافران فإذا تبين لهم يوم القيامة أن عليا لم يكن افضل من واحد من هؤلاء وإنما غايته أن يكون قريبا من أحمدهم وأنه كان مقرا بإمامتهم وفضلهم ولم يكن معصوما لا هو ولا هم ولا كان منصوصا على إمامته تبين لهم أنهم لم يكونوا يحبون عليا بل هم من أعظم الناس بغضا لعلي رضي الله عنه في الحقيقة فإنهم يبغضون من اتصف بالصفات التي كانت في علي أكمل منها في غيره من إثبات إمامة الثلاثة وتفضيلهم فإن عليا رضي الله عنه كان يفضلهم ويقر بإمامتهم فتبين أنهم مبغضون لعلي قطعا

Ahmad Ibn Taymiyyah writes: ,,To hate Abu Bakr is one of the most powerful signs of hypocrisy, and therefore you will not find in any group more powerful hypocrites by hating him than the Nusairians and Ismailites and others besides them and should anyone say, that those rejecters (Rafidah) who hate Abu Bakr, believe, that he is an enemy of the Prophet Muhammad (s. ) because they have reports that he hated the Messenger (s.) and the people of his house and they hate him because of that, then they will answer: If this is an excuse for them not to describe with hypocrisy those who ignorantly and interpretatively hate Abu Bakr, then those who hate Ali and believe that he is an apostate unbeliever or a wicked tyrant are also excused, because they would hate Ali because of his hatred for the religion of Islam or because of what God loves and decreed in justice and because of their belief that Ali killed the believers wrongfully and desired power and disaster on earth and was like Pharaoh and what was like him. Then those would be more likely to be excused with ignorance than those who believe that Umar is like Pharaoh of this congregation. So if the hatred of those who hate Abu Bakr and Umar is not hypocrisy because of their ignorance and interpretation, then the hatred of Ali is not hypocrisy either in the first way or in the other way, and if the hatred of Ali is hypocrisy even if the one who hates him is ignorant and interpretive, then the hatred of Abu Bakr and Umar is even more justified to be hypocrisy even if the one who hates them is ignorant and interpretive.” [Minhaj-us-Sunnah, Volume 4 Page 300 – 301]

قال أحمد بن تيمية: فبغضه من أعظم آيات النفاق ولهذا لا يوجد المنافقون في ‏طائفة أعظم منها في مبغضه كالنصيرية والإسماعيلية وغيرهم وإن قال قائل فالرافضة الذين يبغضونه يظنون أنه كان عدوا للنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم لما يذكر لهم من الأخبار التي تقتضى أنه كان يبغض النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وأهل بيته فأبغضوه لذلك قيل إن كان هذا عذرا يمنع نفاق الذين يبغضونه جهلا وتأويلا فكذلك المبغضون لعلي الذين اعتقدوا أنه كافر مرتد أو ظالم فاسق فأبغضوه لبعضه لدين الإسلام أو لما أحبه الله وأمر به من العدل ولاعتقادهم أنه قتل المؤمنين بغير حق وأراد علوا في الأرض وفسادا وكان كفرعون ونحوه فإن هؤلاء وإن كانوا جهالا فليسوا بأجهل ممن اعتقد في عمر أنه فرعون هذه الأمة فإن لم يكن بغض أولائك لابي بكر وعمر نفاقا لجهلهم وتأويلهم فكذلك بغض هؤلاء لعلي بطريق الأولى والأخرى وإن كان بغض علي نفاقا وإن كان المبغض جاهلا متأولا فبغض أبي بكر وعمر أولى أن يكون نفاقا حينئذ وإن كان المبغض جاهلا متأولا