Allah has promised to those among you who believe and do good works that
He will, surely, make them SUCCESSORS in the earth, as He made Successors from
among those who were before them; and that He will, surely establish for them
their religion which He has chosen for them; and exchange security and peace
after their fear; They will worship Me, and they will not associate anything
with Me. Then whoso disbelieves after that, they will be the rebellious. (Chapter
24 Verse 55)
The following
excerpt from the Quran, known as the “The Istikhlaf verse”, forms the basis of
the Quranic concept of Islamic Khilafat, and includes the caliphate of Allah
(Khalifatullah). A Khalifatullah
govern between the people by that which Allah the Almighty has revealed to him,
and follow not their vain desires. The Khalifatullah must beware in case the
opponent seduce him from just some part of that which Allah the Almighty has
revealed to him.
Let me say a Hadith
and this Hadith from Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal prophesies two eras of caliphate
(both on the lines/precepts of prophethood). Hazrat Huzaifa (May
Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah said:“Prophethood
will remain among you as long as Allah wills. Then caliphate (Khilafat) on the
lines of Prophethood shall commence, and remain as long as Allah wills. Then
corrupt/erosive monarchy would take place, and it will remain as long as Allah
wills. After that, despotic kingship would emerge, and it will remain as long
as Allah wills. Then, the caliphate (Khilafat) shall come once again, based on
the precept of prophethood.”
In this Hadith the
first era of caliphate is commonly accepted by the Muslims as that of the Rashidun.
The era after the Promised Messiah, there has been the Khalifat’ul Massih, a
caliphate that the Ahmadiyya Jamaat has elected which would implement the
injunctions of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat, and this has remained as long as Allah
willed. Then corruption took place and the teachings of Islam and the Promised
Messiah (on him be peace) were trampled to dust, and the Ahmadis gave Khilafat
more importance than Quran, Sunnah and teachings of the Promised Messiah. And
especially when they have said “Khilafat is our life”, Allah has removed His
Divine Light, favour and raised this humble one as His Khalifatullah, and this
humble one has not been elected by men, but, Allah has chosen His beloved one
to continue the work of Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the Promised
Messiah (on him be peace).
The coming of a Khalifatullah is based only on the
precept of prophethood. It is very important to note that the prophethood is
chosen by Allah, not by men, and he is working according to the instruction of
his Creator only and he gets inspirations, revelations, and instructions only
from Allah the Almighty. And whoever takes away his hand when the Khalifatullah
makes his proclamation and gives Bai’at (allegiance to God) will meet Him
(Allah) on the Day of Resurrection without having any proof for him, and
whoever dies whilst there was no Bai’at on his neck (to a Khalifatullah), he
dies a death in the days of ignorance (Jahilliya). In this era, it is
an obligation upon all the Muslims and humanity in general to accept the coming
of a Khalifatullah and the Khalifatullah is the pillar upon which other pillars
rest. The Ahkam (laws) of the Khalifatullah are implemented through him, and
there is no difference regarding the obligation of that between the Ummah
(Ulemas, scholars, mullahs, etc).
Like the other
Muslim brothers and their Ulemahs said that, after the Holy Prophet (peace be
upon him) there will no prophet who will come. For them (like the so-called
Mawlana Anas said), the door of prophethood has been closed. These so-called
Mullahs have not realized the potential consequences of losing the blessings of
prophethood; the judges will be suspended, the wilayaat (provinces) will be
nullified … the decrees of those in authority will not be executed and all the
people will be on the verge of Haraam. So, the coming of a
Khalifatullah in this era is one of the greatest obligations of Islam. In fact,
there is no establishment of the Sahih Al Islam except with the coming of a
Khalifatullah.
Ideas of 'Khilafat' among the general Muslims
Once, the subject
of intense conflict and rivalry amongst Muslim rulers, the caliphate has lain
dormant and largely unclaimed since for a long time. In recent years though,
interest among Muslims in international unity and the caliphate has grown. For
many ordinary Muslim the caliph as leader of the community of believers “is
cherished both as memory and ideal” as a time when Muslim “enjoyed scientific
and military superiority globally”, though “not an urgent concern” compared to
issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Tight restrictions
on political activity in many Muslim countries, coupled with the obstacles to
uniting over 50 nations-states under a single institution, have prevented
efforts to revive the caliphate. Popular apolitical Islamic movement such as
the other Jamaat identify a lack of spirituality and decline in personal
religious observance as the root cause of the Muslim world’s problems, and
claim that the caliphate cannot be successfully revived until these
deficiencies are addressed.
The Muslim
brotherhood advocates Pan-Islamic unity and implementing Islamic law. It is the
largest and most influential Islamic group in the world, and its offshoots form
the largest opposition parties in most Arab governments. One founder in the
Arab governments restoration of the caliphate, but officially sanctioned
Islamic institutions in the Muslim World generally do not consider the
caliphate a top priority and have instead focused on other issues. Islamists
argue it is because they are tied to the current Muslim regimes.
The Sunni and other
Muslims believe that immediately following the death of Muhammad (peace be upon
him), a secret meeting took place at Saqifah, of which Ali, who was appointed
by Muhammad (peace be upon him) as his successor at Ghadir Khumm, had no knowledge.
At that meeting Abu Bakr was elected caliph by chiefs of Arab clans.
Sunni and
other Muslims developed the belief that the caliph is a temporal political
ruler, appointed to rule within the bounds of Islamic Law (Shariah), and not
necessarily qualified in Islamic Law. The job of adjudicating orthodoxy and
Islamic lawyers, judiciary, or specialists individually termed as Mujtahids and
collectively named the Ulema. The first four caliphs are called the Rashidun meaning
the Rightly Guided Caliphs, because they are believed to have followed the
Quran and the sunnah (example) of Muhammad (peace be upon him) in all things.
The Shi’a belief –
Shi’a Muslim believe in the Imamate in which the rulers are selected from the
prophet’s Ahlul Bayt. They believe that before his death, Muhammad (peace be
upon him) had given many indications, in Ghadir Khumm particularly, that he
considered Ali Ibn Abu Talib, his cousin and son-in-law, as his divinely chosen
successor. They say that Abu Bakr had seized power by threatening and using
force against Ali, and so Shia Muslims consider the three caliphs before Ali as
usurpers. Ali and his descendants, the twelve Imams are believed to have been
the only proper leaders. (Inset: The Investiture of Ali at Ghadir Khumm (AD 1309/8 Ilkhanid manuscript
illustration). So, when you study
the point of view of every group of Muslims about caliphate, each of them has
different point of view and if there is an electing or appointing caliph in the
Sunni groups, the Wahabi, Hanafi, Shia etc. will not accept him as their
caliph.
If
the Shia Muslims electing or appointing a caliph in the Shia group, the Sunni
and other Muslims will not believe in him; always there will be conflict. For
example, Some Shia Muslims believe that the system of Islamic government based
on Vilayat-e-Faqih, where an Islamic jurist or Faqih rules Muslims, suffices.
However this idea, developed and established in Iran, is not universally
accepted among Shias.
Sunni believe that
a capable man who would lead well were preferred over an ineffectual direct
heir, as there was no basis in the majority Sunni view that the head of state
or governor should be chosen based on lineage alone. They further argue
that a caliph is ideally chosen by election or community consensus, even though
the caliphate soon became a hereditary office or the prize of the strongest
general and according to them the caliph must come from the majority.
So, if each Muslim
group has their own caliph, this will create big fitna (chaos). My own opinion
on this subject, as a Khalifatullah (the Caliph of Allah the Almighty), it is
forbidden for Muslims to have two elected or appointed caliphs for this would
cause differences in their affairs and concepts, their unity would be divided
and disputes would break out amongst them. The Shariah and Sunnah would then be
abandoned, the bida’h (innovations) would spread and fitna would grow, and that
is in no one’s interests.
So, let me come
again to what the Promised Messiah Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (on him be peace),
the founder of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat has said. He explained about
Qudrat-e-Saniyah, what is Qudrat-e-Saniyah (the second power)?
Ideas of 'Khilafat' among the Ahmadis
In his will, Hazrat
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (on him be peace) has elaborated that after his death his
community would be assisted by a second manifestation of divine power and
support, just as it was assisted by a first manifestation during his life. The
Ahmadi brothers have interpreted this ‘second power’ to mean the establishment
of their Khilafat.
My reply to this,
the Promised Messiah (on him be peace) has come to continue the work of Hazrat
Muhammad (peace be upon him) – work which has been trampled by the so-called
Muslim scholars or Ulemas. Then, in order to accomplish that work, the
manifestation of the power of God takes place, as it says in the Holy Quran:
“This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favour
upon you.”
Its manifestation
took place in the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). But
after him, this continued in the times of his caliphs (four right-guided
caliphs), revivers of faith, or Mujjadidin. They were all the ‘second power’.
The ‘second power’ cannot be limited to a particular form.
Whenever any nation
or community becomes weak, then Allah the Most High, out of His Wisdom, sends
the ‘second power’ in order to strengthen it. It does not mean
that there is a chain of caliphs after Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (on him be
peace) in the Ahmadiyya Movement who are the manifestation of the second power
and I am the first one of these. This is Divine support for the cause of truth
in a general sense. Therefore, it is
the divine support that this movement receives in various forms which is the
Qudrat-e-Saniyah.
I would like to ask a question to Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad
Saheb and to our Ahmadi brothers also:- Do they believe
that the ‘second power’ to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is
still being manifested and shall exist forever, or do they believe that it has
been replaced and superseded by a new second power which came after Hazrat
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (on him be peace)? This is my question to them, I hope, soon
I will get a reply from them, Insha-Allah.
Role of the Khalifatullah
To explain to all
of you, what is a Khalifatullah? A Khalifatullah is not elected or appointed by
some groups of people. He is the Caliph of Allah, where only Allah chooses him
as His Vicegerent (Khalifatullah). Khalifatullah means
the Representative of Allah (God), and according to Islam he comes from Allah
to guide mankind towards the Creator, thus by this means becomes the
representative of the people spiritual and mundane welfare. He is God’s
vicegerent, that is to say, by virtue of the powers delegated to him, and within
the limits prescribed by the Quran and the teaching of the Holy Prophet (peace
be upon him). The Khalifatullah is required to exercise divine authority, he is
not just an individual ruler who has to be restored, but is man’s
representation of God’s authority on earth, and also by uniting Muslim nations
through divine instructions and peaceful political action.
I hope by the grace
of Allah, all of you have understood my message in this sermon, and may Allah
bless all of you, and give you the blessings to accept the truth in this era. Ameen.
-Extracts from the Friday Sermon of 29 May 2009 delivered by Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim (atba) of Mauritius.
-Extracts from the Friday Sermon of 29 May 2009 delivered by Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim (atba) of Mauritius.