دَاوُدَ بْنِ فَرْقَدٍ عَنْ اَبِي عَبْدِ اللهِؑ قَالَ اَتَى اَعْرَابِيٌّ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ فَقَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ بَايِعْنِي عَلَى الْاِسْلَامِ فَقَالَ عَلَى اَنْ تَقْتُلَ اَبَاكَ فَكَفَّ الْاَعْرَابِيُّ يَدَهُ وَ اَقْبَلَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ عَلَى الْقَوْمِ يُحَدِّثُهُمْ فَقَالَ الْاَعْرَابِيُّ يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ بَايِعْنِي عَلَى الْاِسْلَامِ فَقَالَ عَلَى اَنْ تَقْتُلَ اَبَاكَ قَالَ نَعَمْ فَبَايَعَهُ رَسُولُ اللهِ ثُمَّ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ الْآنَ لَمْ تَتَّخِذْ مِنْ دُونِ اللهِ وَ لَا رَسُولِهِ وَ لَا الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلِيجَةً اِنِّي لَا آمُرُكَ بِعُقُوقِ الْوَالِدَيْنِ وَ لٰكِنْ صاحِبْهُما فِيْ الدُّنْيا مَعْرُوفًا
Dawood Ibn Farqad chronicles that Imam Sadeq (peace be upon him) said, “A Bedouin came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny)! Accept my allegiance on Islam’. He (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) replied, ‘On the condition that you will kill your father.’ The Bedouin withdrew his hand and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) started looking at the people, talking to them. The Bedouin asked again, ‘O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny)! Accept my allegiance on Islam’. He (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) replied, ‘On the condition that you will kill your father.’ The Bedouin replied in the affirmative and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) accepted his allegiance that ‘you will kill your father’. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) said, ‘Now, you will not take any confidante other than Allah, His Messenger and the believers. Surely, I will not order you to disobey your parents but stay with them in this world with kindness.”
Note:
The above tradition (as also the verse with the same words) clearly says that once a person accepts Islam, he should not take anybody as confidantes (ولائج) other than Allah, Messenger (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) and Imam (peace be upon him). That is, whenever there is a contradiction between divine and devilish forces, a person should be very clear in his mind that he should opt for divine forces, notwithstanding his proximity or relation to the devilish forces. Hence, the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) has gone for an extreme example of killing one’s father.
A person’s devotion and dedication to the cause of Imams (peace be upon him) should be like that of Malik Ashtar al-Nakhaee (r.a.). Ali (peace be upon him) said about him, لقد كان لي كما كنت للرسول صلى الله عليه و آله و سلم “He was unto me like I was to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny).” (Rejaal Ibn Daawood, p. 283, No. 1232). This statement is sufficient to show his position and honour. On hearing the demise of Maalik, Ameerul Momineen (peace be upon him) recited the following elegy:
رَحِمَ اللهُ مَالِكًا وَ مَا مَالِكٌ عَزَّ عَلَيَّ بِهِ هَالِكًا لَوْ كَانَ صَخْرًا لَكَانَ صَلْدًا وَ لَوْ كَانَ جَبَلًا لَكَانَ فِنْدًا وَ كَاَنَّهُ قُدَّ مِنِّي قَدًّا
“If he was a boulder, he was solid; and if he was a mountain, he was its impregnable part. As if I was cut into strips from me.” (Rejaal al-Kashi, p. 66)
Yet, Maalik was not among the closest companions (حواريون) of Ameerul Momineen (peace be upon him) but Muhammad Ibn Abi Bakr (a.r.) was amongst them.
The real reason is known to Allah the Omniscient but apparently, it refers to the level of submission.
References:
1. Behaar al-Anwaar, vol. 67, p. 177, Chapter 52, H. 36
2. Al-Mahaasin, vol.1, p. 248