Introduction: A Vision Concerning the Plotting of Abou Sufyan:

 Omar was domineering over Abou Bakr, and in his turn, Omar was controlled by Abou Sufyan the evil plotter. The execution of the plan began once Muhammad died, and Ali and his family prepared for his burial. Abou Sufyan planned and executed the renegades' wars to distract Muslims, shortly after Omar and Abou Sufyan paved the way for Abou Bakr to become the ruler of all Arabia in the Thaqeefah council, where he received fealty and pacts of allegiance from others, BEFORE the burial of Muhammad took place! Abou Sufyan tried to gather protestors against a caliph who came from a poor faction of Qorayish, calling for appointing Ali or Abbas as a caliph. Such an 'act' or 'scene' created the desired effect; Omar managed to convince Abou Bakr to appoint Yazeed Ibn Abou Sufyan as one of the leaders of the military troops fighting against the renegades who declared their rejection of Islam. Such wars and battles metamorphosed into the Arab conquests by both Omar and Abou Sufyan who exerted their influence over Abou Bakr, the caliph. Such conquests bore fruit only to Mu'aweiya Ibn Abou Sufyan later on. It is noteworthy that the Thaqeefah council resulted in the marginalization of Yathreb dwellers to allow caliphs to emerge solely an exclusively from Qorayish in Mecca. Another result was the marginalization of Ali Ibn Abou Talib and the relatives and in-laws of Muhammad, by forcing Ali to swear fealty and allegiance to Abou Bakr, who was controlled and manipulated by Omar overtly, and by Qorayish covertly, and the tribe was represented by Abou Sufyan. Hence, we conclude that the caliphate of Abou Bakr was akin to a short transitional period to pave the way for Omar to become a caliph and allow more room and space for the hegemony and control of affairs to Abou Sufyan. Such a room and space grew larger within the caliphate of Othman, who was one of the Umayyads, who succeeded Omar and allowed Mu'aweiya Ibn Abou Sufyan to become the strongest and most powerful governor within his caliphate. Later on, Othman was sacrificed by being killed to pave the way for Ali, whom Mu'aweiya fought fiercely against to reach the throne of caliphate and establish the Umayyad Dynasty, thus achieving the dream of his father Abou Sufyan. We give more details of this below.

Firstly: Omar Was the Orchestrator of Appointing Abou Bakr as Caliph and Marginalizing of Yathreb Dwellers, and How Omar Killed Saad Ibn Eibada:

1- The historian Ibn Al-Atheer in his book of history summarizes the history written by Al-Tabary, while choosing what he deemed right and true. We quote from his book the historical account concerning the beginning of the caliphate of Abou Bakr and the Thaqeefah council: (… When the Prophet died, Yathreb dwellers who were in Mecca at the time gathered in Thaqeefah to proclaim Saad Ibn Eibada as caliph/ruler, but news of that reached Abou Bakr who hurried there along with Omar and others, and they questioned such hasty procedures. Hot debates ensued about appointing a ruler and viziers from which faction or tribe. Some insisted on choosing Ali Ibn Abou Talib as caliph, while others insisted about Abou Bakr, excluding Saad altogether because his tribe was poor and weak. Some adamantly refused to obey Omar in swearing fealty to Abou Bakr, such as the Hashemites, Ali, Talha, and Al-Zubayr, with the latter brandishing his sword to threaten anyone who would not swear fealty to Ali. Yet, Omar coerced them into being disarmed and forced them to swear fealty and allegiance to Abou Bakr…). Here, we perceive that the tyrannical nature of Omar emerged suddenly; such demeanor does not match his hypocrisy and flattery to Muhammad and his relatives and household, like Abbas.

2- The strong side of the argument of Omar and Abou Bakr in the Thaqeefah council was that Arabs never submit except to Qorayish, and never to tribes of Yathreb, who originally came from Yemen. Such argument for Qorayish and its hegemony entailed that the supreme leader of the tribe, Abou Sufyan, had to be present. Another narrative conveyed by Ibn Abbas about Omar goes as follows: (… when Muhammad died, Ali and Al-Zubayr along with other Yathreb dwellers who were in Mecca at the time and other immigrants were inside the house of Fatimah and Ali, and they refused to swear fealty to Abou Bakr, as they insisted on Saad Ibn Eibada who represented Yathreb believers who thought of themselves as protectors of Islam, unlike the Meccan believers who resisted Islam for a long time before the conquest of Mecca. Hot debates and arguments ensued when the gathering went to the Thaqeefah council. Abou Bakr told the people present, especially addressing the Yathreb dwellers, that Arabs would never accept rulers outside Qorayish the most powerful and wealthy tribe of Arabia. People who were convinced swore fealty to Abou Bakr, while Saad Ibn Eibada was ignored, feeling indignant, he went home without swearing fealty to Abou Bakr, and the latter cursed Saad in public…). We understand here that Abou Bakr was the one who proposed the utmost importance to the hegemony of Qorayish in deciding a caliph from Qorayish, not from among the Yathreb dwellers.

3- Omar had killed Saad Ibn Eibada: Feeling indignant and because of his being politically defeated, Saad remained at his house, keeping away from people, and adamantly refusing to swear fealty to Abou Bakr. When people appealed to him to comply and relent regarding this stance, he declared in public that he would never swear fealty to Abou Bakr until his death, and if forced by anyone, he would defend himself with his sword and spear along with his tribal faction. Omar insisted that Abou Bakr should force Saad to swear fealty and loyalty to him. Basheer Ibn Saad told them that his father was adamant in his refusal and would stick to his stance to death, and that his tribesmen feel the danger to them in such a situation, and advised Omar and Abou Bakr to leave his father alone, as he was quite harmless and did not pose a threat to them. Soon enough, Saad went into a self-exile in the Levant, seeking safety as he felt he would be murdered. Within days, Omar sent after him an assassin who got rid of him in the Levant. This is how Saad was killed: the assassin talked to him into swearing fealty to Abou Bakr, so that he could return home to Mecca, and when Saad refused, both men fought, and the assassin moved away, only to return and to shoot an arrow at Saad, who fell down dead. Another version of the story asserts that Saad was killed by an arrow shot at his heart while he was bathing in a public bath in the Levant. The masses and the narrators and the storytellers chanted poems and verses asserting that the Jinn and spirits killed Saad!

Secondly: Omar and the Marginalization of Ali and the Hashemites:

1- Al-Tabary mentions another version of the story of Al-Thaqeefah council, asserting that Omar was the one who stressed the vital importance of a caliph coming solely from Qorayish, and addressed the gathered people concerning this topic, as Muhammad himself was from Qorayish and Mecca. So many people were convinced by the argument of Omar and swore fealty to Abou Bakr, but Saad Ibn Eibada shouted that this was the beginning of the downfall of Arabia, by showing weakness. At the same time, Abou Bakr delivered a speech to all the gathering, stressing that everyone among Yathreb dwellers should be consulted by the caliph in all matters and affairs of rule, and that no differences should be allowed to create rifts and conflicts that would threaten peace in Arabia. Omar delivered his speech, asserting the contrary; no rulers or consultants should come out of Qorayish, the tribe of Muhammad. Eventually, after silencing protesters, almost everyone present swore fealty and loyalty to Abou Bakr, with a few exceptions. One of the Yathreb dwellers delivered a speech stressing the avoidance of the danger of fissures and disagreements that would threaten the peace of Arabia, and that the Yathreb dwellers supported Muhammad for the sake of God, not for ruling over Arabia or for any material gains. Meanwhile, the body of Muhammad has not been buried yet! The reason: for three days, people came and go to swear fealty to Abou Bakr! Eventually, after the three days ended, Abbas and his sons and Ali Ibn Abou Talib performed all rituals of burial!     

Thirdly: Omar Threatened to Burn down the House of Ali and his wife Fatima:

1- Omar was shrewd and cunning enough to stress in his speech the hegemony of Qorayish and the fact that Muhammad was from Qorayish to proclaim Abou Bakr as caliph. Yet, if his words would be applied as true, then Ali or Abbas were the ones to be chosen as they came from the household and family of Muhammad! Let us remember that Ali refused, at first, to swear fealty to Abou Bakr, as he coveted being a ruler himself, and he kept to his house with a gathering of his supporters, and Omar had to do something to stop such a threat and to force such a group of supporters to swear fealty to Abou Bakr. A historical narrative says that Ali, Al-Zubayr, and all the Hashemites refused to swear fealty to Abou Bakr for six months, i.e., until Fatimah died. Other accounts and narratives mention other longer periods of adamant refusal to swear fealty to Abou Bakr. Most of such narratives assert that the refusal of Ali ended because he had to relent eventually because he feared the wrath of Omar.

2- Al-Tabary in his book mentions this account when Omar threatened to burn down the house of Ali, after locking his household in it: (… Omar stood before the gate of Ali's house, where was his wife and children, Talha, Al-Zubayr, and other men who were among the immigrants to Yathreb previously, and Omar shouted to them that if they would not get out to swear fealty to Abou Bakr, he would lock them all up and burn their house to ashes… When Al-Zubayr got out brandishing a sword against Omar, they fought and Omar managed to make him drop his sword and took him captive…). Another narrative of Al-Tabary asserts that Abou Bakr felt guilty and sorry for such a scene of threatening to burn down the house of Fatimah and Ali, as he wished it would never have occurred even if war would have broken out to make Ali caliph.

3- Apart from the history book of Al-Tabary, narratives and accounts in other Sunnite history books assert the story that Omar was threatening to burn down the house of Ali and his household, with differences in some details. Al-Blathery, the historian, mentions the same story with an additional detail of Fatimah who opened the door for Omar to ask him indignantly if he meant to burn her house down, and he angrily told her that he was more powerful than what her father (i.e., Muhammad) came with! And he forced the gathered men inside to get out in order to swear fealty to Abou Bakr. Another historian, Ibn Qotayba, mentions that Omar gathered indeed some firewood and carried them to burn Ali's house, and when people told him that Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad, was inside with her children, the grandchildren of Muhammad, Omar said that he did not care that they were inside! Another historian, Abou Al-Feda, mentions that Omar carried a torch of flames to burn the house, and Fatimah stood at the gate asking him indignantly about what he was going to do, and Omar told him that he was not jesting; he would burn it down along with her guests, husband, and children if they would not swear fealty to Abou Bakr!     

Fourthly: When Did Ali Swore Allegiance and Fealty to Abou Bakr?

1- There is another narrative asserts that Ali refused to swear fealty to Abou Bakr for the rest of the lifetime of Fatimah, with whom people sympathized, and once she died, Meccan people ignored Ali altogether, and that was why he had to swear fealty to Abou Bakr eventually.

2- Al-Tabary writes the following account: (…Ali remained popular with people of Mecca until his wife died. Once she died six months after the death of Muhammad, people seemed to be no longer interested in Ali, and he had eventually to swear fealty to Abou Bakr to make up with him, and he sent for Abou Bakr to come to his house alone, as Ali feared Omar. Omar advised Abou Bakr not to go there alone, but Abou Bakr went anyway, assuring Omar that Ali meant no harm at all. Ali had gathered beforehand the Hashemites inside his house. Ali made a speech to Abou Bakr asserting that they never bore any personal grudge against him, but the Hashemites though earlier that they had the right to choose a caliph from amongst themselves, as they are the nearest relatives of Muhammad. Abou Bakr wept, and when Ali finished his speech, Abou Bakr said that the Muhammad and the relatives of Muhammad are nearer and dearer to him that his own faction and family, but he heard that Muhammad said that prophets never bequeathed any possessions; they leave it as charity, and hence, no one would inherit anything, even leadership, from Muhammad. And then, Abou Bakr reminded Ali to swear fealty at dusk, and then all gathered men prayed congregational prayer, and after that, Ali delivered a speech in favor of Abou Bakr, swearing fealty to him, with all men blessing such reconciliation…). It is noteworthy that this reconciliation was done in the absence of Omar.

Fifthly: Depriving Fatima, Daughter of Muhammad the Prophet, from her Inheritance:

1- In the above-mentioned account, Abou Bakr apologized for having deprived Fatimah from her inheritance of any possessions left by Muhammad. Abou Bakr invented and fabricated a saying, i.e., hadith, to support this view. This was the beginning of the bad habit of falsely ascribing deeds and sayings to Muhammad, a habit that remained for centuries.  

2- Al-Tabary writes this account conveyed by Aisha, the widow of Prophet Muhammad: (… Fatimah and Abbas went to Abou Bakr asking for all belongings and possessions of Muhammad as such things were lawfully their inheritance, but Abou Bakr insisted that such possessions must be given for charity to the poor and that prophets were not to be inherited. Fatimah never talked about this matter again and never talked to Abou Bakr again until she died, and Ali buried her at night, without the presence of Abou Bakr…). Of course, Abou Bakr was a liar; there is nothing in the Quran to support his erroneous view about prophets; Muhammad's possessions ought to have been distributed to his only surviving relatives: Abbas, his paternal uncle, and his daughter. Hence, Abou Bakr disregarded Quranic legislations of inheritance on purpose! Shame on him!

3- This occurred so as to assert the marginalization of the Hashemites within the caliphate of Abou Bakr to confirm his authority as a ruler and in order to allow more room for Omar to get more influence in ruling affairs by controlling Abou Bakr. This was done to prepare Omar to succeed Abou Bakr upon his death. Qorayish knew very well that if a caliph/ruler of Arabia would come from the Hashemites, caliphate would never leave their family at all, and this would have crushed all hopes and ambitions of Abou Sufyan and his progeny to become kings. Thus, rulers had to be outside the Hashemites, especially Ali, so as the caliphate would be eventually passed to the Umayyads, who represent the Qorayish hegemony. Thus, we conclude that the caliphate of Abou Bakr was just like a bridge to allow Omar to become the next caliph.

Sixthly: Omar Was the De Facto Ruler during the Caliphate of Abou Bakr and to the Benefit of Abou Sufyan:

1- Because Omar aided Abou Bakr to become caliph, to the extent that Omar threatened to burn down the house of Ali and his household and to stir the ire and enmity of the Hashemites and Yathreb dwellers and several others, Omar became the first man in the ruling regime after the caliph, as assort of deputy or a consultant whose orders were absolute and control beyond measure. Ibn Abd-Rabou, the historian, mentions an account that asserts the control of Abou Bakr by Omar: after the end of the renegades wars, a peace treaty was signed by several parties who urged Abou Bakr to give his consent and agree, but the latter consulted Omar, who in a fit of fury cut the treaty into pieces and refused to sign it and advised Abou Bakr never to sign it unless the treaty items changed. The mediator of this peace treaty, Talha, asked angrily Abou Bakr about who was the real caliph: Abou Bakr or Omar, and Abou Bakr answered that the de facto ruler was Omar, but obedience was due to Abou Bakr! And Talha remained silent in indignation and surprise.

2- Of course, we conclude that Omar overtly controlled Abou Bakr, but the real controller of events here was Abou Sufyan, the devilish cunning plotter who planned things for Omar to execute. We recapitulate here that Abou Sufyan gathered people in arms; threatening Abou Bakr that caliphate was a right only for the Hashemites, not poor factions of Mecca like the one to which Abou Bakr belonged. Ibn Abd-Rabou narrates the account that Abou Sufyan felt indignant as Ali and Abbas, both from the Hashemites of course, let caliphate go to Abou Bakr, and he recited poetry to urge the Hashemites to fight for their stolen right to rule Arabia! What is new to this story here is that Omar was the one to advise Abou Bakr to bribe Abou Sufyan to avoid his fury. This bribe was that Abou Bakr appointed Yazeed Ibn Abou Sufyan as the governor of the Levant, and with this promise, Abou Sufyan swore fealty and loyalty to Abou Bakr, and another bribe was a large sum of money that was supposed to be given as charity alms! We notice here that with Abou Sufyan threatening Abou Bakr at first, Omar never threatened to burn down the house of Abou Sufyan as did with Ali and Fatimah!

Lastly:

1- Because Omar was a hypocrite adamant in hypocrisy, he showed his true colors once Muhammad died and changed his stances; is true character appeared. He was so demonstrative and exaggerating in flattering and hypocritically talking to Muhammad and the Hashemites, in general, and so extremist in showing feigned feelings of hatred and animosity toward Abou Sufyan. The opposite happened once Muhammad died; Omar showed extremist feelings of animosity towards the Hashemites and became the best friend and ally of Abou Sufyan, while controlling About Bakr during his short period of caliphate.

2- When Abou Bakr tried to rebel against Omar and Abou Sufyan who practically controlled all affairs during his caliphate, Omar readily murdered Abou Bakr by poisoning.