Imamate and Leadership

The Position of the Messenger of God With Respect To the Future of Islam

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Lesson Two

The Most Noble Messenger peace and blessings be upon him
and his family was well aware that after he had departed for
the proximity of his Exalted Lord the community would lose
its unifying foundation fall into a whirlpool of division and
dissent and be full of struggle and disorder.

The newly established Islamic community was composed
of the migrants - including the Bani Hashim die Bani
Umayyah 'Adiyy and Taym - on the one hand and the
Helpers (ansar)-subdivided into the Aws and Khazraj tribes-
on the other. Once the matchless leader that was the Prophet
had departed ambitions arose on every hand and instead of
being concerned with the interests of Islam men sought to
capture leadership and rule for themselves wishing to
transform divine leadership into tribal rule. The varying
aspirations and tendencies that arose left no firm unifying
bond in place among people a profound tragedy that the
Prophet had foreseen and to which he had alerted his
followers: "My ummali will divide into seventy three factions
only one of which will attain salvation the other factions being
destined for hellfire."( 1 )

The greatest blow that was struck against the unity of
Islam after the death of its founder sowing the seeds of
dissension among Muslims was the difference of opinion
relating to the question of rule and leadership. It led to wars
rebellions and bloody struggles sundering the unity of the

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Muslims and scattering their unified ranks.

If indeed the Prophet had not made some provision for
the painful situation - a situation he foresaw -; if he had not
attempted to prevent the emergence of the vacuum that would
have threatened the very existence of Islamic society quitting
this worldly stage without any plan for safeguarding his
ummah from misguidance would this not have created great
problems with respect to government and the administration of
affairs? The gravity of future problems was moreover
apparent even without the receipt of communication from the
Origin of Revelation and unseen agents.

How is it possible to imagine that Most Noble Prophet
peace and blessings be upon him and his family should have
neglected nothing in the proclamation of his message but paid
no attention to the future course of Islam and its culture to the
guardianship of the truth and the preservation of both religion
and society entrusting all this simply to the hand of fate and
whatever circumstances might later arise? Was it possible that
he should not select a captain to steer the ship of the
ummah away from the dangerous waves of dissension that he
expected it to encounter?

Those who say that the Prophet did not delineate any
form of government to succeed him remaining silent on the
subject and leaving his crisis-stricken ummah at a loss what to
do - how can they attribute such inappropriate silence and
such irresponsible laxity to one whom we know as the
Universal Intelligence? It must also be borne in mind that his
death did not come suddenly; he realized in advance that he
was about to leave the world. In his sermon of the Farewell
Pilgrimage (hijjatu 'l-wada') lie had proclaimed to the people
that he was about to depart from their midst and that he
would not be standing with them at the same place the
following year.

Islam was then young and a long path lay ahead of it if it
was to come to fruition. The standard bearer of its movement
had committed himself to uprooting all traces of the Jahiliyyah
and to erasing from the hearts and souls of the people any of its

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residue that might persist. He was threatened on two fronts.

Internally he was threatened by the Hypocrites who had
penetrated the ranks of the Muslims through outwardly
ranging themselves beneath the banner of prophethood and
were striving repeatedly to defeat the Prophet. In the ninth
year of the Hijrah when he had departed on the Tabuk
campaign he became anxious on account of their intrigues and
plotting and in order to prevent the occurrence of any
untoward event he named 'Ali peace be upon him as his
deputy in Madinah. Externally he was threatened by the two
great empires Byzantium and Persia and there was the
constant fear that at any moment either of those great powers
might attack the center of the Islamic movement.

It is evident that confronted with such grave problems the
Prophet was bound to place responsibility for the preservation
of the ummah in the hands of a person or persons who had the
capacity for it in order that the Islamic call might remain firm
and protected.

The first caliph felt a sense of responsibility for the future
of the Islamic state and was unwilling for it to be threatened by
a vaccum in the leadership. He did not leave the ummali to its
own devices and while on his deathbed instructed the people
as follows: "I appoint 'Umar b. al-Khattab as commander and
ruler over you; pay heed to his words and obey him."( 2 ) The
caliph thus regarded it as his right to designate his own
successor and to enjoin obedience to him on the people.

The second caliph likewise realized the need to act quickly
once he had been fatally stabbed. He ordered a six-man council
to be convened which implies that he did not grant the
Muslims the right of appointing the caliph themselves
otherwise he would not have assigned the task to this council.

The Commander of the Faithful 'Ali peace be upon him accepted the responsibility of the caliphate under extraordinarily complicated and disturbed circumstances for he was fearful that popular disorder might lead to a wholesale relapse into Jahiliyyah.

Taking all this into consideration is it at all possible that

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the Messenger of God peace and blessings be upon him and
his family should have overlooked the depth of the danger or
the sensetiveness of the situation despite the fact that society
had only just emerged from Jahiliyyah and that he should not
have drawn up a plan to confront the dangers he anticipated
after his death?

It would indeed be impossible to find any acceptable
explanation for a failure on the part of the Prophet to concern
himself with this matter. Likewise it is unimaginable that he
should have shown no concern for the future of the summons
he had launched not caring what might become of it after his
death.

On the contrary even on his deathbed and while sorely
vexed by the pains of sickness the Prophet was concerned for
the ummah and full of anxiety for its future to the degree that it
completely preoccupied his whole being.

During those sensitive and critical moments when
everyone was in a state of shock and bewilderment and some
of the Companions (Sahabah) including 'Umar b. al-Khattab
were gathered around his bed the Prophet said: "Bring me
paper and an inkpot; I wish to write instructions for you so
that you never go astray ."( 3 )

This effort of the Prophet peace and blessings be upon
him and his family preserved in a tradition on the authenticity
of which all are agreed is clear testimony to the fact that the
Messenger of God precisely at the time that he was spending
the last moments of his luminous life was concerned for the
future of Islam and was giving thought to the dangers that
would arise after his death. He wished to lay down a path for
the future in order to preserve the ummah from deviation and
society from degeneration for he understood these matters
better and more profoundly than anyone.

A matter that deserves particular attention is the question
of successor ship in heavenly religions and laws for all the
prophets of God selected deputies and successors in
accordance with revelation. For example Adam Ibrahim
(Abraham) Ya'qub (Jacob) Musa (Moses) and 'Isa (Jesus)

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peace be on them all selected their successors all of whom are known to us by name.( 4 )

The Most Noble Messenger peace and blessings be upon him and his family said: "Every prophet has a legatee (wasiyy) and an heir (warith) and 'Ali is my legatee and heir."( 5 )

Since according to the Qur'an the norms of God are fixed
and unchanging it follows that the Prophet of Islam must also
act in accordance with this immutable divine norm by
presenting his own deputy and successor to the Islamic ummah.

This indeed is what happened. In conformity with God's
command and as required by prophethood and the need to
perpetuate the message of Islam and implement its goals he
selected his legatee thus making its duty clear to the ummah.

All of this represents a belief that originates in the Book of God.

Muslims are unanimous in believing that the Prophet of Islam peace and blessings be upon him and his family never made any mention of Abu Bakr or the two caliphs that followed Abu Bakr as his caliphs and successors nor is there any indication of their caliphate in the Qur'an and the Sunnah.

The caliphate of Abu Bakr is thus a simple historical event not an indisputable religious belief so that every Muslim has the right to express an opinion on the matter in accordance with his own understanding as simple logic requires.

( 1 ) Ibn Majah al-Sunan "Bab al-Fitan." ( 2 ) al-Ya'qubi al-Tarikh Vol.11 pp. 126-7. ( 3 ) Ahmad b. Hanbal al-Musnad Vol. I p.344; Ibn Sa'd al-Tabaqat Vol.11 p.242; al-Bukhari al-Sahih Vol.1 p.22; al-Tabari Tarikh Vol.11 p.436. ( 4 ) al-Mas'udi Ithbat al-Wasiyyah; al-Ya'qubi al-Tarikh. ( 5 ) Ibn 'Asakir al-Tarikh Vol.111 p.5; Riyad al-Nadirah Vol.11 p.178.