Qur’an 4:137 — Doubt, Repentance and the Unbroken Certainty of Imam Ali
Allah says:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ثُمَّ كَفَرُوا ثُمَّ آمَنُوا ثُمَّ كَفَرُوا ثُمَّ ازْدَادُوا كُفْرًا لَّمْ يَكُنِ اللَّهُ لِيَغْفِرَ لَهُمْ وَلَا لِيَهْدِيَهُمْ سَبِيلًا
“Indeed, those who have believed, then disbelieved, then believed, then disbelieved, and then increased in disbelief — Allah will never forgive them, nor will He guide them to a way.”
Qur’an, al-Nisāʾ 4:137
The Qur’an presents fluctuation in faith as a matter of the highest spiritual seriousness. In the Sunni historical record, the Ḥudaybiyyah episode preserves an extraordinary account of Umar ibn al-Khattab himself: he questioned the Prophet’s status and decision, challenged the treaty, repeated the same objections to Abu Bakr, and later performed good deeds as expiation for what he had said and done.
Umar at Ḥudaybiyyah — Questioning the Prophet
The incident occurred when the Prophet ﷺ and the Muslims were prevented by Quraysh from entering Makkah for ʿUmrah. A treaty was being negotiated, and among its difficult terms was that the Muslims would return without performing Ṭawāf that year.
When Abu Jandal, a Muslim suffering under Quraysh persecution, appeared in chains and was demanded back under the treaty terms, Umar approached the Prophet ﷺ.
He asked:
أَلَسْتَ نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ حَقًّا؟
“Are you not truly the Prophet of Allah?”
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
بَلَى
“Yes, indeed.”
Umar then asked:
أَلَسْنَا عَلَى الْحَقِّ وَعَدُوُّنَا عَلَى الْبَاطِلِ؟
“Are we not upon the truth and is our enemy not upon falsehood?”
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
بَلَى
“Yes, indeed.”
Umar then challenged the decision:
فَلِمَ نُعْطِي الدَّنِيَّةَ فِي دِينِنَا؟
“Then why should we accept this humiliation or concession in our religion?”
The Prophet ﷺ answered:
إِنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ، وَلَسْتُ أَعْصِيهِ، وَهُوَ نَاصِرِي
“I am the Messenger of Allah; I do not disobey Him, and He is my Helper.”
The answer was therefore explicit: the Messenger ﷺ was acting while remaining obedient to Allah.
Yet Umar continued his objection.
Umar Questions the Prophet’s Promise of the Kaʿbah
Umar then asked:
أَوَلَيْسَ كُنْتَ تُحَدِّثُنَا أَنَّا سَنَأْتِي الْبَيْتَ فَنَطَّوَّفَ بِهِ؟
“Did you not tell us that we would come to the House and perform Ṭawāf around it?”
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
بَلَى
“Yes, indeed.”
Then He asked:
أَفَأَخْبَرْتُكَ أَنَّكَ تَأْتِيهِ الْعَامَ؟
“Did I tell you that you would come to it this year?”
Umar answered:
لَا
“No.”
The Prophet ﷺ then said:
فَإِنَّكَ آتِيهِ وَمُطَّوِّفٌ بِهِ
“Then you will indeed come to it and perform Ṭawāf around it.”
The Prophet ﷺ had therefore clarified the issue: the promised visit had not been promised for that specific year.
Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, 2731.
Sahih al-Bukhari 2731
Umar Then Repeated the Same Objections to Abu Bakr
The matter did not end after the Prophet ﷺ answered him.
Bukhārī records:
فَأَتَيْتُ أَبَا بَكْرٍ
“So I went to Abu Bakr.”
Umar said:
يَا أَبَا بَكْرٍ، أَلَيْسَ هَذَا نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ حَقًّا؟
“O Abu Bakr, is he not truly the Prophet of Allah?”
Abu Bakr replied:
بَلَى
“Yes, indeed.”
Umar then repeated:
فَلِمَ نُعْطِي الدَّنِيَّةَ فِي دِينِنَا؟
“Then why should we accept this concession in our religion?”
Abu Bakr answered:
إِنَّهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ، وَلَيْسَ يَعْصِي رَبَّهُ، وَهُوَ نَاصِرُهُ، فَاسْتَمْسِكْ بِغَرْزِهِ، فَوَاللَّهِ إِنَّهُ عَلَى الْحَقِّ
“He is the Messenger of Allah. He does not disobey his Lord, and He is his Helper. Hold firmly to him; by Allah, he is upon the truth.”
Umar again raised the issue of the Kaʿbah:
أَلَيْسَ كَانَ يُحَدِّثُنَا أَنَّا سَنَأْتِي الْبَيْتَ وَنَطُوفَ بِهِ؟
“Did he not tell us that we would come to the House and perform Ṭawāf around it?”
Abu Bakr replied:
بَلَى
“Yes, indeed.”
Then he asked:
أَفَأَخْبَرَكَ أَنَّكَ تَأْتِيهِ الْعَامَ؟
“Did he tell you that you would come to it this year?”
Umar replied:
لَا
“No.”
Abu Bakr then said:
فَإِنَّكَ آتِيهِ وَمُطَّوِّفٌ بِهِ
“Then you will indeed come to it and perform Ṭawāf around it.”
Thus Umar had received the Prophet’s answer and then repeated the same dispute to Abu Bakr.
Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 2731. Sahih al-Bukhari 2731
Umar’s Later Regret — Expiation for What He Had Done
The same Bukhārī report then preserves Umar’s later reaction:
فَعَمِلْتُ لِذَلِكَ أَعْمَالًا
“So I performed good deeds because of that.”
And the report explains these deeds as:
أَعْمَالًا كَفَّارَةً لِسُوءِ مَا سَأَلْتُهُمْ
“Good deeds as expiation for the improper questions I had asked them.”
This is a crucial part of the episode. Umar himself is reported to have treated his conduct as something requiring kaffārah — expiation.
The fuller historical transmission records:
مَا زِلْتُ أَتَصَدَّقُ وَأَصُومُ وَأُصَلِّي وَأَعْتِقُ مِنَ الَّذِي صَنَعْتُ يَوْمَئِذٍ، مَخَافَةَ كَلَامِيَ الَّذِي تَكَلَّمْتُ بِهِ
“I continued giving charity, fasting, praying and freeing slaves because of what I had done that day, out of fear because of the words I had spoken.”
The reported acts are therefore explicit:
أَتَصَدَّقُ
“I give charity.”
أَصُومُ
“I fast.”
أُصَلِّي
“I pray.”
أَعْتِقُ
“I free slaves.”
The sequence preserved in the sources is therefore:
questioning → objection → repeated questioning → regret → expiation through worship and good deeds.
References: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 2731; Musannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq 9720; Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān 4872; related historical transmissions.
Musannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq — Arabic text
Umar’s Explicit Statement: “I Never Doubted Except That Day”
The longer Ḥudaybiyyah transmission preserves an even more striking statement attributed directly to Umar:
وَاللَّهِ مَا شَكِكْتُ مُنْذُ أَسْلَمْتُ إِلَّا يَوْمَئِذٍ
“By Allah, I had never doubted since I became a Muslim except on that day.”
This wording is preserved in the Ḥudaybiyyah narration transmitted by ʿAbd al-Razzāq 9720 and Ibn Ḥibbān 4872.
Reference: Musannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq, 9720; Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān, 4872.
The significance of the statement is unmistakable: Umar himself singles out that day as an exceptional moment of doubt.
Umar’s Other Admission — Opposing the Messenger Through His Own Judgment
A separate Sunni report attributed to Umar gives an even more explicit admission:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ: اتَّهِمُوا الرَّأْيَ عَلَى الدِّينِ، فَلَقَدْ رَأَيْتُنِي أَرُدُّ أَمْرَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِرَأْيِي اجْتِهَادًا، فَوَاللَّهِ مَا آلُو عَنِ الْحَقِّ، وَذَلِكَ يَوْمُ أَبِي جَنْدَلٍ
“O people, distrust personal opinion in matters of religion. I remember myself opposing the command of the Messenger of Allah through my own judgment. By Allah, I was not falling short of seeking the truth. That was the day of Abu Jandal.”
The same report describes the Prophet ﷺ dictating:
اكتبوا بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
“Write: In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful.”
Suhayl ibn ʿAmr objected to the wording, demanding:
ولكنك تكتب باسمك اللهم
“Rather, write: In Your name, O Allah.”
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ accepted the wording.
The report then says:
فَرَضِيَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَأَبَيْتُ
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ accepted it, but I refused.”
The Prophet ﷺ then said to Umar:
تَرَانِي أَرْضَى وَتَأْبَى أَنْتَ؟
“Do you see that I am satisfied while you refuse?”
Umar replied:
فَرَضِيتُ
“So I accepted.”
This report is preserved in:
Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, Faḍāʾil al-Ṣaḥābah, no. 558
al-Ṭabarānī, al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr, no. 82, 1/72
al-Bazzār, al-Baḥr al-Zakhkhār, no. 148, 1/253
The Arabic digital text of al-Ṭabarānī records this wording directly.
Al-Ṭabarānī — al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr, no. 82
Aḥmad — Faḍāʾil al-Ṣaḥābah, no. 558
This is especially important because Umar's own attributed wording is:
أَرُدُّ أَمْرَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ... بِرَأْيِي اجْتِهَادًا
“I opposed the command of the Messenger of Allah through my own judgment.”
The statement therefore moves beyond merely saying that Umar was emotionally distressed: he explicitly describes himself as opposing the Messenger’s command through his own judgment.
The Contrast With Imam Ali
Now compare this with Imam Ali’s statement:
مَا شَكَكْتُ فِي الْحَقِّ مُذْ أُرِيتُهُ
“I have never doubted the truth since it was shown to me.”
Reference: Nahj al-Balāghah, Saying 184.
The Arabic text of Nahj al-Balāghah preserves the exact wording:
مَا شَكَكْتُ فِي الْحَقِّ مُذْ أُرِيتُهُ
“I have never entertained doubt about the truth since it was shown to me.”
Imam Ali is also famously reported to have said:
لَوْ كُشِفَ الْغِطَاءُ مَا ازْدَدْتُ يَقِينًا
“Were the veil to be removed, I would not increase in certainty.”
This statement expresses a level of certainty so complete that unveiling the unseen would add nothing to it. It is preserved in numerous later sources concerning the virtues and spiritual knowledge of Imam Ali.
Ghurar al-Hikam wa Durar al-Kalam, Volume 5, Page 108, Hadith No. 7569
Sharh Nahj al-Balagha (by Ibn Abi al-Hadid) Volume 7, Chapter 113, Page 253
Manaqib Al Abi Talib (by Ibn Shahr Ashub) Volume 2, Page 38
Umar and Imam Ali — The Direct Contrast
The contrast is not manufactured by later polemic. The words attributed to the two men themselves establish it.
Umar:
وَاللَّهِ مَا شَكِكْتُ مُنْذُ أَسْلَمْتُ إِلَّا يَوْمَئِذٍ
“By Allah, I never doubted after becoming Muslim except on that day.”
Then:
فَعَمِلْتُ لِذَلِكَ أَعْمَالًا
“So I performed good deeds because of that.”
And in the fuller report:
مَا زِلْتُ أَتَصَدَّقُ وَأَصُومُ وَأُصَلِّي وَأَعْتِقُ
“I continued giving charity, fasting, praying and freeing slaves.”
And in the other report:
أَرُدُّ أَمْرَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ... بِرَأْيِي اجْتِهَادًا
“I opposed the command of the Messenger of Allah through my own judgment.”
Imam Ali:
مَا شَكَكْتُ فِي الْحَقِّ مُذْ أُرِيتُهُ
“I have never doubted the truth since it was shown to me.”
And:
لَوْ كُشِفَ الْغِطَاءُ مَا ازْدَدْتُ يَقِينًا
“Were the veil to be removed, I would not increase in certainty.”
The contrast could hardly be more direct:
Umar — a recorded moment of doubt, objection, resistance, regret and expiation.
Imam Ali — a recorded testimony of unbroken certainty once truth was recognized.
The Critical Question of Superiority
The issue is not whether Umar eventually accepted the Prophet’s decision. He did.
The issue is not whether Umar later performed righteous deeds. He did.
The issue is what the reports reveal about certainty, obedience and recognition of truth at the moment of crisis.
At Ḥudaybiyyah:
Umar questioned the Prophet ﷺ.
أَلَسْتَ نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ حَقًّا؟
“Are you not truly the Prophet of Allah?”
He questioned whether the Muslims were upon the truth:
أَلَسْنَا عَلَى الْحَقِّ؟
“Are we not upon the truth?”
He challenged the Prophet’s decision:
فَلِمَ نُعْطِي الدَّنِيَّةَ فِي دِينِنَا؟
“Then why should we accept this concession in our religion?”
The Prophet ﷺ answered him.
Umar then went to Abu Bakr and repeated the dispute.
Later, he described that day as the one day after becoming Muslim when he had doubted.
Then he performed charity, fasting, prayer and freeing slaves as expiation for what he had done.
And Umar himself later described the incident as:
أَرُدُّ أَمْرَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ... بِرَأْيِي
“Opposing the command of the Messenger of Allah through my own judgment.”
Against this stands Imam Ali:
مَا شَكَكْتُ فِي الْحَقِّ مُذْ أُرِيتُهُ
“I have never doubted the truth since it was shown to me.”
This is not a comparison between two ordinary acts of personal reasoning. It is a comparison between doubt and certainty, hesitation and unwavering recognition, opposition and complete confidence in truth.
Conclusion — How Did Imam Ali Become Inferior?
If Umar is declared superior to Imam Ali, then the question becomes unavoidable:
How does the man who is reported to have said:
مَا شَكَكْتُ فِي الْحَقِّ مُذْ أُرِيتُهُ
“I have never doubted the truth since it was shown to me”
become inferior to the man who is reported to have said:
وَاللَّهِ مَا شَكِكْتُ مُنْذُ أَسْلَمْتُ إِلَّا يَوْمَئِذٍ
“By Allah, I never doubted since becoming Muslim except on that day”
and who subsequently performed:
charity, fasting, prayer and freeing slaves
as expiation for what he had done?
The historical record presents the contrast plainly:
Umar is remembered in these reports for a moment of doubt, resistance to the Prophet’s decision, repeated questioning, regret and expiation.
Imam Ali is remembered in his own attributed words for never doubting the truth once it was shown to him.
So the question remains:
If unwavering certainty is a mark of spiritual superiority, how did the Ali who never doubted the truth become inferior to the Umar who himself testified that he doubted on that day and then spent the rest of his life seeking expiation for what he had said and done?
The evidence speaks for itself.
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