Allah has no beginning and no end. He has been in existence from infinity and will remain so for ever and ever. He is neither masculine nor feminine. He has no father nor mother nor husband nor wife nor brothers nor sisters nor sons nor daughters nor any other forms of equals. He is the Alone. He is the Creator of the unfathomable universe. He is fully aware of every minute detail of each of His creation. He is not in need of anything but everyone is dependent upon Him for each little thing. He is the Master of the entire universe. There is none to question Him. He has no shape or form because He is a spirit or light. He has no bounds or limits rather He is present everywhere and always. He is beyond human imagination, which can at best think of those things which have a beginning, a boundary, a shape and an end. He cannot be seen by human eyes. Nevertheless He is making His presence felt and realised by each one of His uncountable deeds by creating everything as an individual to such an extent that every thumb impression, every leaf on the same branch of a tree, every petal of the same rose are individual and different from each other. This proves Allah has given His personal attention to create each and everything as an individual just because He is an individual. That is His seal or trademark by which He makes His presence felt all the time in every person, place or thing if we have the intelligence to realise the same.
2. MUHAMMAD – SOUL OF – FIRST CREATION, WORSHIPPER AND MUSLIM
Here is a quotation from page 89 of "Gospel of Barnabas" translated by Lonsdale and Laura Ragg from the Italian MS in the Imperial Library of Vienna published by Clarendon Press of Oxford University, England in 1907 :
"God gave His soul to men, while all the holy angles sang :
'Blessed be Thy Holy Name O God our Lord'
"Adam having sprung up upon his feet, saw in the air a writing that shone like the sun, which said :
'There is only one God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God'
"Whereupon Adam opened his mouth and said : 'I thank Thee, O Lord my God, that Thou hast deigned to create me, but tell me, I pray Thee, what meaneth the message of these words :
"Muhammad is the messenger of God"
"Have there been other men before me?"
"Then said God : 'Be thou welcome, O My servant Adam, I tell you that thou art the first man whom I have created (on earth). And he whom thou hast seen (mentioned) is (from) thy son (descendants) who shall come into the world many years hence, and shall be My messenger, for whom I have created all things, who shall give light to the world when he shall come; whose soul was set in a celestial splendour sixty thousand years before I made any thing."
These informations reveal :
a) That the first thing created by Allah was the soul of Muhammad.
b) This soul was kept in celestial splendour for a period of 60000 years of Allah before He made anything.
c) From long before the creation of Adam there was the declaration written across the sky in letters shining like the sun that said :
"Muhammad is the messenger of God"
d) In this manner Muhammad was a witness to all the creations of Allah So he had full knowledge of the wonders of Allah and what He created which none ether created being can ever have.
e) Because every thing was created in front of him. But that does not make him in any way a partner or a relation of Allah. He still continued to be a "Bashr" or a created being.
Sura 43 – Zukhruf : Ayat 81 insists :
"Say (O Muhammad) The Beneficent has no son. I (Muhammad) am 'awwalul abideen' i.e. the first worshipper (of Allah)."
During this infinitely long period of 60000 years of Allah this soul worshipped Allah all the time. Accordingly he became the first and the longest worshipper of Allah.
f) This soul upon creation surrendered itself to Allah to become the first Muslim for an infinite period before Allah created anything. The Holy Qur'an confirms in Sura 6 – Al Anam : Ayats 163 & 164 as under :
a. 163 – "Say (O Muhammad) : My worship and my sacrifices and my life and my death are dedicated to the Lord of the universe.
a. 164 – "No associate has He (Allah). And I am commanded (to inform) I am 'awwalul Muslimeen' i.e. the first Muslim or the first creation who has surrendered to the will of Allah from long before anything was created."
3. MUHAMMAD GRANTED HIDDEN KNOWLEDGE OF FUTURE
The Holy Qur'an informs about "Ilm-e-Gaib" or hidden knowledge granted by Allah to the Prophet as mentioned in Sura 3 – Al Imran : Ayat 179 :
"Allah will not leave the believers in the condition in which they are until He separates the evil from the good. Nor is Allah going to make you acquainted with what is to happen in the future. But Allah chooses from His Messengers whom He pleases (to inform what is to happen in the future). So believe in Allah and His Messengers. And if you believe (in Allah and His Messenger) and keep your duty, you will have a great reward".
4. MUHAMMAD OBLIGED TO REVEAL CERTAIN KNOWLEDGE CONVEYED TO HIM ABOUT THE FUTURE
Sura 72 – Al Jinn : Ayats 26-28 inform :
a. 26 – "(Allah is) the Knower of the unseen, so He makes His secrets known to none,
a. 27 – "Except to a messenger, whom He chooses (for this purpose). For such He makes a guard to go before him and (a guard to go) behind him.
a. 28 – "That He (Allah) may know that they have truly delivered the messages of their Lord ; and He encompasses what is with them and He keeps accounts of all things".
Under these orders of Allah, the Holy Prophet had no option but to faithfully convey certain Ilm-e-gaib or hidden knowledge about the future to the public so as to guide people on the right path after his departure from earthly life.
5. MUHAMMAD – GIVEN KNOWLEDGE OF PROGRESS OF ISLAM
During the first thirteen years of his preachings, from the age of 40 to 53 years or the best part of his youth, the number of converts were only a few hundred. This was in spite of the most wonderful patience he had shown of putting up with the continuous tortures of the disbelievers and his returning home bleeding almost daily, during this Meccan period. He did not make a single complaint to his Creator and did not curse the mischief-makers. All the time he kept on praying to Allah to put Iman or faith into the hearts of the disbelievers so that they may become worshippers of Allah. This shows how great was the love of Muhammad (peace be on him) for the upliftment of humanity so as to make such unimaginable sacrifices for the sake of Allah and to spread His religion Islam.
The position at Madinah until the capture of Mecca in 8 A.H. was certainly much better. The number of followers had multiplied to about ten thousand men This is indeed a very-great achievement when compared to only 120 converts by Esa i.e. Jesus son of Virgin Mary (peace be on them) had been successful in obtaining according to St Peter :
"And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty)" (Acts of the Apostles 1:15).
Under orders of Allah a ban was placed during the Haj season of 9 A.H. that with effect from 10 A.H. no disbelievers would be allowed to disgrace the Kaabah, the House of Allah built by Prophets Ibrahim and Ismail (peace be on them), from the worship of the one and only Allah. The only temporary exception granted was to those few tribes who had treaties of friendship with the Muslims and had not broken them. Such would be allowed to visit the Kaabah for the balance period of their treaty. This Divine order established that worship of Allah will be without any idols but according to Islamic rights at the Kaabah.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad departed from earthly life at the beginning of 11 A.H. During this short period of a little more than one year the number of believers suddenly shot up from ten thousand to a million souls.
Islam was no longer confined to just two cities i.e. Mecca, where it originated and Madinah, from where it spread suddenly during the last year to the whole of Arabia.
6. SUDDEN EXPANSION OF ISLAM AND ITS PROBLEMS
These new converts were from the lowest levels of humanity. They had no education. They were living as semi-wild people in the vast desert of Arabia, without any connection with the civilised world. For centuries they had practiced full freedom to do just as each one liked. Right or wrong was nobody’s business. None had any right to interfere in another man's affairs, irrespective of whether it was murder or rape or robbery or any other crime. Such things have started happening every day in North America under their laws of "Liberty" with even children often shooting their school mates and teachers besides killing innocent people for no legal reason or logic, so much so that armed soldiers have been posted with metal detectors not to allow armed children to enter the public schools for the safety of the other innocent children. Under these circumstances such people would require to learn a lot before the next generation is civilised. Accordingly the following steps had to be taken to meet this situation :
a) Education to learn self-control. So that you may lead a civilised life.
b) To become law-abiding people. To concede the rights of equality to all others so that you do to others what you would like others to do unto you.
c) To learn the Qur'an to be able to guide their lives on these Divine laws.
d) After attaining these preliminary principles the question arises of how to attain perfection and love of Allah or spiritual elevation of the believers.
7. NECESSITY TO MAKE KNOWN WHO WOULD BE BEST SUITED TO CONTROL ISLAM AFTER THE PROPHET
Indeed a very big responsibility was to be faced for such a large number of human beings and this too so suddenly within the short period of about a year. This was unknown to the general public when the Prophet arrived at Madinah.
To successfully cope with such an enormous task, Allah revealed to the Prophet what was going to happen from the moment he decided to come to Madinah and how these situations would have to be tackled. Especially as it was Allah's will to lift the Prophet from earthly life shortly thereafter i.e. on 12th Rabi-ul-Awwal in 11 A.H.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) took the earliest opportunity to build his mosque at Madinah in 1 A.H. He invited all to this public function. They comprised of Jews of the tribes of Bani Nadir and Bani Quraizah, the local tribes of Aws and Khasraj in addition to the two groups of Muslims i.e. the Muhajirs (the Muslims from Mecca) and the Ansars, the Muslim converts of Madinah.
At this public function Muhammad minced no words in making Allah's emphatic decision well known to the public.
The Holy Prophet personally laid the foundation stone of this mosque known as Masjid-e-Nabavi. Beside it he instructed Abu Bakr to place a stone and affix the same. When this was done, he commanded Omar to place a stone beside Abu Bakr's and to affix it. After that he ordered Osman to place a stone besides Omar's stone and to affix it. Thereupon the Holy Prophet Muhammad announced publicly before the entire gathering :
a) Abu Bakr would be the first Khalifa of Islam
b) Omar would be the second Khalifa of Islam
c) Osman would be the third Khalifa of Islam
The people present there asked who would be the next Khalifa ? The Prophet replied that it would be Ali the leader of the Saints (p. l16, Vol. 2, Tafrihul Azkia Fil Ahwal Ul Anbia, also p. 12 of Mojezat-e-Muhammadia by Mufti EnAyatullah published by Hajee Malik Din Muhammad & Sons, Lahore, 1939).
This famous Hadith of Masjid-e-Navabi has made it absolutely clear as to who would be the temporal heads of the State of Islam founded by Holy Prophet Muhammad. This Khalifat would last for 30 years after his departure from earthly life (p. 13, Mojezat-e-Muhammadia). After that it would become a kingship under the control of worldly rulers. The spiritual religious heads would however continue from Ali.
In this manner Muhammad (peace be on him) never left anything to chance. Because he was blessed by Allah with knowledge of the future, which he was forced to reveal to the public and which he did repeatedly.
8. PROPHET'S DECISION ON HIS FOUR KHALIFAS WELL KNOWN
Similar Hadiths were recited by the Holy Prophet on several occasions. One of them which was identical to above was quoted by the Arab Shia scholar Muhammad Ali Al Haj Salmin (p .78 of "Ali the Caliph" published in Bangalore).
9. NOT ONLY HUMAN BEINGS BUT EVEN INANIMATE THINGS LIKE EARTH KNEW ALSO
One afternoon the Holy Prophet was sitting on the verandah of Masjid-e-Nabavi. Abu Zar Gaffari, Ali, Osman, Omar, Abu Bakr and several of the Ashab-us-Saffa were present. The Prophet picked up a few pebbles from the ground. These pieces of stones miraculously started reciting the first Kalma i.e. :
"There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah".
Everyone present clearly heard it. This was the Kalma seen by Prophet Adam, the first man created by Allah. It was written across the sky in letters shining like the Sun. The Prophet placed these stones on the floor. Nobody could hear their continuous day and night recitation any more because our human ears do not have the capacity to hear the Zikr or the worship of the numerous things created by Allah.
Then he asked Abu Bakr to lift these stones. Again all heard the recitation of the Kalma. When Abu Bakr replaced them to the ground, nobody could hear anything. Thereafter the Prophet asked Omar to lift them and again all heard the recitation of the Kalma by the pebbles. After that Osman was requested to lift them followed by Maula Ali. On both these occasions all heard the recitation of the Kalma or the Zikr of these particular pieces of the earth.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) immediately announced that these four would be my Khalifa-e-Rashideen in this order. After such repeated public announcements of Allah's will there was no necessity to appoint them as his four Khalifa-e-Rashideen. Thereafter out of curiosity many present lifted these stones but nothing happened. These miracles brought out for those who have knowledge that not only stones but every part of this earth as also the universe is doing continuous "Zikr" i.e. remembrance of Allah Subhanatala and His Prophet (peace be on him) all the time even through humanity does not have the capacity to hear and realise the same. The Holy Qur'an confirms thus repeatedly. As an example let us look at Ayat 1 Sura 59 – Al Hashr ; Ayat 1 Sura 61 – As Saff ; Ayat 1 Sura 57 – Al Hadid. All of them are identical as can be read hereunder :
"All that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth hymn the praises of Allah and He is the Mighty, the Wise".
When the people asked who would be his Khalifa-e-Rashideen (i.e. true religious leaders and guides of Islam) after these four, he replied : Islam would be turned into a kingship thirty years after his departure from earthly life. It would no longer remain the religious kingdom he was leaving behind him. But the religion of Islam would be guided by the Ahle baits i.e. his children and the Khalifas of Hadrat Panjatan Pak Maula Ali, the leader of the Saints (pp 371-372, Vol.1, Minahejun Nabuwat).
This miraculous incident showed to the world :
a) That every part of the earth is doing continuously "Zikr" of Allah and Muhammad, the messenger of Allah but we are not able to hear and so cannot appreciate the same.
b) This incident brings out that none of these stones, which do not have life according to human standards, became gods or equals or partners of Allah just because they are doing continuous Zikr all the time that they are in existence. There will come a time when everything in the whole of the universe is going to fade away into nothingness. Allah alone is going to remain as mentioned in the Qur'an.
c) Further Abu Bakr would be the administrator to bring the huge kingdom of Islam under civilised control upon the departure of the Holy Prophet from apparent earthly life.
d) He would be followed by Omar to enforce law and order.
e) Thereafter Osman would educate the basic knowledge of Arabic Alphabets and how to read and follow the Qur'an.
f) Only after these stages have been completed then only the Arabs would become capable to understand and learn the higher knowledge of spiritualism and love of Allah and how to attain "taqwa" or perfection which would enable people to achieve "Akimus Salat" or establish the five times of daily contact with the Creator during their worship of Allah in which one could realise Him and be able to model our lives in the service of humanity and thereby establish nearness with our Maker.
10. MAN'S GREED FOR POWER AND POSITION CAUSES CONFUSION
In spite of the above repeated informations given by Allah as to who would be the first four Khalifa-e-Rashideen, a group of Ansars wanted to make their leader as the first Khalifa. They ignored the repeated teachings of the Prophet as to who would be the Khalifas of the Prophet according to his repeated announcements They gathered at Thaqifah Bani Saad about 6 miles from Madinah. The situation became so serious that the elders of the family of the Prophet had to rush to quieten them instead of starting a fight even before the body of the Prophet was buried. By general agreement amongst the male members of the family of the Prophet the three eldest were deputed to try and quell the trouble. These three seniors comprised of :
a) Hadrat Abu Bakr, the father-in-law of the Prophet.
b) Hadrat Omar also the father-in-law of the Prophet.
c) Hadrat Osman the son-in-law of the Prophet by being married to two of the elder daughters of the Prophet.
This left the youngest male member i.e. Hadrat Maula Ali, who was almost half their age. He was entrusted to perform all the formalities of preparing the body of the Prophet for burial. Indeed a very great honour, which he rightly deserved.
After a lot of arguments and explanations by general consensus Hadrat Abu Bakr was duly elected the first Khalifa of Islam as foretold by the Holy Prophet. This fitted in with Allah's decision repeatedly announced by the Holy Prophet (peace be on him). In any case it could not be otherwise as none can change the decisions of Allah.
11. ABU BAKR VERY AFRAID TO ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY
Abu Bakr, however, was very much afraid to assume this high office of Khalifa, because of the very onerous responsibilities of guidance of a million people spread all over Arabia, most of whom were illiterate. Therefore, for three days continuously Abu Bakr, even though elected Khalifa unanimously, hesitated to take up the assignment and offered it to anyone who was willing to accept it.
12. ABU BAKR OFFERS KHILAFAT TO MAULA ALI THRICE !
Shia research scholar Allama Jarullah Zamukhshari in his book "Al-Mawafekatoe-Baina Ahlal-Bait was Shaba'' has recorded that Abu Bakr offered the Khilafat on three separate occasions to Ali within this period of three days, because Ali had been appointed Maula or Spiritual Guide of all Muslims at Ghadir-e-Khum, but Ali himself declined it on each of the three times saying that the Holy Prophet had not only appointed Abu Bakr to lead the daily prayers during his lifetime but also had prayed behind Hadrat Abu Bakr during his last days of his sickness before he departed from apparent earthly life. This clearly showed that the Holy Prophet according to the wish of Allah continued to maintain Abu Bakr as the first Khalifa after his death in accordance with the declarations of the Prophet made at the laying of the foundation of "Masjid-e-Nabavi" and repeated several times. In the end it was Ali, who, according to this learned Shia scholar, reasoned and prevailed upon Abu Bakr to take up this responsible assignment in the best interest of Islam.
13. ALI INDUCED ABU BAKR TO BECOME FIRST KHALIFA
These facts recorded by Shia scholar Allama Jarullah Zamakhshari shows that Abu Bakr became the first Khalifa after the Prophet owing to the persuasions and desires of Maula Ali. When the Prophet passed away many tribes refused to pay the Zakat of 2.5%. These included the tribes of Asad, Gafaar, Tay, and Banu Khazira. Musailamah Liqit bin Malek revolted. Stern military action had to be taken to bring them under control. Abu Bakr had to work very hard to set up a good administrative and fair to all government. Whenever he had any problems, he always consulted Hadrat Ali and acted upon his advice. In this way he made the kingdom of Islam a well-administered organisation. This is the first requirement of any large kingdom. His strictness was absolutely required to bring the unruly Arabs under control. A kind and soft-hearted forgiving person like Ali would not be able control such unruly Arabs who treated it to be their right of freedom to do what they pleased. Such right of liberty of the Americans is today the cause of much confusion the world over.
14. A STRICT DISCIPLINARIAN REQUIRED TO ENFORCE LAW AND ORDER – OMAR SUITED THAT RESPONSIBILITY WONDERFULLY
Abu Bakr, on his deathbed, consulted Ali as to who should be appointed as the next Khalifa. According to the ruling of the Prophet they both agreed to nominate Omar, the younger father-in-law of the Prophet, as his successor in the best interest of Islam, which at that time required a very hard hearted person to enforce law and order without concessions to anybody including the tribal kings and rulers who were all treated alike as any other citizen of the empire without any favours because they are rulers and tribal chiefs. Omar did not spare his own son, whom he whipped till death.
15. ALI INDUCES OMAR TO ACCEPT THE SECOND KHILAFAT
Omar was also very much afraid of the onerous responsibilities of the office of Khalifa. So he personally approached Ali and offered the Khilafat to Ali, because Ali had been appointed Maula or Spiritual Guide of all Muslims by the Prophet at Ghadir-e-Khum. Ali declined the offer. He eventually succeeded in inducing Omar to accept the same by reminding him of the declaration the Holy Prophet at the laying of the foundation of Masjid-e-Nabavi. The incident of Omar offering the Khilafat to Ali and Ali declining it finds mention even in numerous Shia books (p 224, Vol. 2, Riaz-Un-Nazarah and p 13, Khair-Ul-Bareeyah).
Omar made the foundation of the empire strong and permanent by destroying the Empires of two powerful enemies of Islam along its borders viz : The Roman Empire on the Western side and the Persian Empire on the Eastern side. They were both out to destroy and obliterate Islam. He spread the influence of Islam along the Northern African coast of the Mediterranean on the one side and up to India and China on the other. His achievements were the greatest during his ten-year tenure. He was the best and strictest person to educate and enforce law and order in such a strict manner that none could dare to go against the teachings of the Qur'an.
16. COMMITTEE TO SELECT THE NEXT KHALIFA
Upon the death of Omar a committee of leading Muslims again approached Ali with the request that he becomes the next Khalifa because he had been appointed Maula or Spiritual Guide of the Muslims by the Prophet at Ghadir-e-Khum on 18th of Muharram in 11 A.H. Immediately after that the last Ayat was revealed by Allah completing the Qur'an and his favours upon the Prophet and selecting Islam as the "Deen" or religion for humanity in the middle of Ayat 3 of Sura 5 – Al Maidah. Ali again declined the offer of being made a Khalifa for the third time and passed it on to Osman, who was the elder son-in-law having been married to Ruquiah, the second daughter of the Prophet and upon her death to Umme Kulsum the third daughter of the Prophet. Hence the Prophet gave Osman the title of "Zun-Nurain" or one who combined two lights of the Prophet in himself. When the committee approached Osman to become the Khalifa, he became frightened of the responsibility. He personally approached Ali along with all the members of the committee to point out to Ali that since he had been appointed Maula at Ghadir-e-Khum, he should accept the nomination of Khalifa. Ali declined again and induced Osman to accept (p 387, Vol 2, Tafrihul Azkia Fil Ahwal Ul Anbia) reminding him of the declaration of the Holy Prophet at the laying of the foundation of Masjid-e-Nabavi and his announcements thereafter were all the decisions of Allah.
17. MAULA ALI’S THIRD REFUSAL TO BECOME KHALIFA RECORDED BY SHIA SCHOLARS
Ali's refusal to become the Khalifa is confirmed by several Shia scholars e.g. :-
"After the death of Caliph Omar, when people in thousands gathered round Hadrat Ali requesting him to assume the Caliphate and beseeched him to accept their rulership, Hadrat Ali delivered the following Khutba (sermon) :-
"Let me alone. You go in search of somebody else."
"If you leave me alone, I shall be like you – just a citizen of the Islamic state, and in that case if the ruler selected by you governs and acts honestly and piously I shall in worldly affairs be more obedient to him than any of you. As a matter of fact I like more to guide and advise you than to rule over you" (Khutba No. 95, p. 66, Najhul Balagha by Syed Mohammad Askari Jafery). After that what right has anyone to even think that Hadrat Maula Ali should have been the first and only Khalifa of the Prophet ?
18. OSMAN – THE EDUCATIONALIST OF QUR'AN
Osman spread the book knowledge of the Qur'an or "Ilm-e-Safina" starting from the Arabic alphabets till the reading and understanding of the Orders of Allah Subhanatala in the Qur'an. He was responsible for spreading of the written knowledge to all the new converts throughout the Muslim Empire from North Africa to India and China, as he was an educationalist. He also acted continuously upon the advice of Hadrat Maula Ali.
19. ALI – THE MAKER OF EARLIER KHALIFAS AND KHATIMUL KHILAFAT OF RASUL
It will thus be seen that Ali not only avoided the nomination of Khalifa of Islam repeatedly on each of the above mentioned three occasions, but he also induced and / or recommended those whom the Holy Prophet had mentioned as suitable for the tasks they would be faced with in respect of the empire of Islam, viz : Administration with Abu Bakr, Law and Order with Omar, Education of Qur'an to Osman and finally spiritual advancement and making the religion of Islam strong to stand the attacks on Islam by the worldly rulers after 30 years. He was the spiritual force behind the earlier three Khalifas of the Prophet with his advices.
Hence Ali was in fact not only the maker of the Khalifas but also their guide in all important matters. Only after the three preliminary stages of administration, consolidation of Islam including establishment of rule of law and the spreading of the elementary knowledge of the Qur'an had been completed did the necessity arise for the spiritual upliftment of the people for which Ali was the only guide. Hence Ali was the "Khatimul Khalifat" of the Rasul or the Seal or Essence of the righteous Khalifas of the Prophet.
20. RESPECT OF ALI BY EARLIER KHALIFAS
It is very important to record here what was the respect of Hadrat Maula Ali. A few savings of Omar are quoted from leading Shia sources :
a) "I seek refuge in Allah from living with people amongst whom there is no Ali" (p. 197, Vol. 2, Riaz-Un-Nazarah).
b) Whenever Omar had a problem he would ask the advice of Ali and when Ali solved the same, Omar would say :
"O Ali ! Allah forbid that I survive you !" (p. 197, Vol. 2, Riaz-Un-Nazarah).
c) Omar used to pray : "O Allah ! Please do not send down on me any calamity when Ali is not with me to solve my difficulty" (p. 194, Vol. 2, Riaz-Un-Nazarah).
After this can there be any doubt about the importance of Hadrat Maula Ali and why Allah chose him to be the seal of the righteous Khalifas of the Prophet ?
21. WHY ALI COULD NOT BE FIRST KHALIFA OF PROPHET ?
If the argument of those who say that Ali should have been the "First Khalifa of Islam" was correct then on that basis the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) should have been the First Prophet on planet Earth ? Did Allah do so ?
a) If such a thing had happened then the position of honour which Holy Prophet Muhammad now enjoys as the greatest prophet would have been lost completely.
b) If Muhammad was to be the first Prophet then there would be no necessity whatsoever for any of the thousands of prophets that came from Adam till Esa (Jesus, son of Virgin Mary – peace be on them) ! Thus Muhammad's position would be reduced from "The Greatest Prophet" to that of a "mere" Prophet ! As there would be no other prophets with whom he could be compared to give him the honoured position of the greatest prophet.
c) If Prophet Muhammad had been the first prophet at the time of Adam then he would have had to communicate with the primitive people by signs of the hands and sounds from the mouth instead of words. The primitive people would require over 4,000 years of time to learn to speak fluently, read, write and understand what he was teaching.
d) Then the important question arises : Would any purpose be served by the greatest Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) becoming the first Messenger ? Who knows better ? Allah or those who want to make Ali the first Khalifa ?
e) Similarly Hadrat Maula Ali would have lost his position of the maker of the first three earlier Khalifas.
f) Also Hadrat Ali's position of seal of the rightful Khalifas of the Rasul would be lost.
g) Then the honoured position Maula or spiritual guide of the first three Khalifa-e-Rashideen would also have been lost.
h) If Hadrat Ali was the first Khalifa then besides losing his honoured position he would have to give up his spiritual position in religion and waste his precious time to become a manager, a police officer and a maulvi instead of a Pir or Maula to guide the world on how to attain to Allah. Would that be the right thing to do ?
22. WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO EDUCATE YOUR CHILD?
It is the duty of every parent to give the best possible education to their children. The most learned person in the area is the "Dean" or the person in charge of the university in the area. Because the Dean is the most learned person is it right to take the children to him to teach them "A, B, C" ? Would it not be completely wrong on the part of the parents, in spite of the fact that the "Dean" is the most learned person in the area ? Is it right to reduce him from the honoured position of a Dean to that of a primary teacher just because he is the most learned person ?
The child has to be taken first of all to a Montessori or kindergarten, then to the primary school teacher, after that to a high school master to be followed by the teachings of a professor in the college. When all these have been completed comes the question of the dean to educate how to attain Ph.D. Is not that the right thing to do ?
These principles apply to everyday life of human beings. Similar were the necessities of Islam on the departure of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him). Just because Hadrat Maula Ali was the most learned and had the best spiritual knowledge he could not be expected to waste his time to teach the elementary requirements of the mass of people, who had suddenly accepted Islam and who were illiterate, many of them not knowing even the Arabic alphabets.
23. IMPORTANCE OF MUHAMMAD ACCORDING TO ESA
The teachings of Prophet Esa (peace be on him) is quoted hereunder :
"Then Jesus answered :... 'Believe me that I have seen him (Muhammad the Messenger of God) and have done him reverence, even as every prophet hath seen him : Seeing that of his spirit, God giveth to them prophecy (prophethood). And when I saw him, my soul was filled with consolation, Saying : "'0 Muhammad, God be with thee, and may He make me worthy to untie thy shoe latchet, for obtaining this (honour to untie your shoe lace) I shall be a great prophet and holy one of God' " (p. 105, The Gospel of Barnabas).
This statement of Prophet Esa (Jesus son of Virgin Mary) brings out vividly that about 124,000 who became prophets of Allah got this honour because they showed respect to the spirit of Muhammad or Noor-e-Muhammadi before his arrival on Earth.
If there were no other prophets then Muhammad would have lost all this honour of being the maker of Prophets just like Ali was the maker of not only the first three Khalifa-e-Rashideen but also of all the saints that have come on earth from the time of Adam, the first man and he will continue to be in this position of honour till the end of the planet Earth.
24. NO MORE PROPHETS AFTER MUHAMMAD
Prophet Esa has confirmed as follows on page 225 of "The Gospel of Barnabas" :
"The Priest enquired : 'After the coming of the Messenger of God, shall other prophets come?'
"Jesus answered : 'There shall not come after him true prophets sent by God, but there shall come a great number of false prophets, whereat I sorrow' ".
25. PROPHET MUHAMMAD IS KHATIMUN NABIEEN
The Holy Qur'an has also confirmed in Sura 33 – Al Ahzab : Ayat 40 as under :
"Muhammad is not the father of any of you, O men. But he is the Rasul (Messenger) of Allah and Khatimun Nabieen i.e. the seal of the Prophets. And Allah is Knower of all what he (Muhammad) is".
Thus the highest honour of being the "Seal of Prophethood" has been blessed upon the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him).
Therefore anybody suggesting that Muhammad should have been the "First Prophet" because he is the greatest of all prophets is therefore totally in the wrong and is conjecturing quite contrary to the rules of the Divine Creator and His Qur'an.
26. THE COMPLETER OF RELIGION OF ALLAH
Muhammad being admittedly the greatest Prophet the world has ever seen, naturally had to come last of all to get the honour to complete the religion of Allah which was incomplete from the time of Adam till Esa (Jesus) as confirmed in St. John 14:26 :
"But the Comforter which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you".
27. BEFORE THE TIME OF MUHAMMAD THE KNOWLEDGE OF PEOPLE WAS NOT ADVANCED ENOUGH TO APPRECIATE THE QUR'AN
The teachings of Jesus was not complete and the people of that time were not sufficiently advanced spiritually to be able to understand and appreciate the divine teachings as is brought out in St. John 16 :12 & 13 :
"I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of Truth, is come, he will guide you unto all truth : for he shall not speak of himself ; but whatsoever he shall hear (from God in a state of trance i.e. the Qur'an) that shall he speak : he will shew (reveal to) you things to come".
28. EVEN SCIENTISTS CONFIRM LAST CREATION IS THE BEST
This is also supported vividly by the findings of scientists that human beings, the highest form of creation on earth has also come last i.e. after the other creations so that humanity may be able to realise how very great is the difference between the intelligence of animals and us. It is Allah's rule to send the highest and the best of His creations at the end.
So Ali had to come as the last of the Khalifa-e-Rashideen or the Rightful Khalifas of the Prophet to get all the honour and respect that was rightly due to him as the appointor, the guide and the greatest Khalifa. All those who follow the Sunnah or teachings of the Prophet accept Ali as Khatimul Khilafat or Seal of the Rightful Khalifas of the Holy Prophet (p. 10 of Nafahat-ul-Uns by Nooruddin Muhammad Abdur Rahman Jami Nakshbandhi).
29. CONCLUSION
One day Abu Bakr, during his period of Khilafat, smiled when he saw Ali come into Masjid-e-Nabavi. So Ali enquired for the reason. Abu Bakr replied :
"I had heard the Holy Prophet (may Allah bless him) say : 'No one shall cross "Pul Sarat" i.e. the bridge to heaven across Hell without the permission of Ali' ".
At this remark Ali smiled. So Abu Bakr asked out of curiosity for the cause. Ali replied :
"I shall not permit any one to cross Pul Sarat who does not love and respect you, O Abu Bakr".
This is in the knowledge of Shias is confirmed by the Shia Scholar Allama Jaurullah Zamakhshari in his research "Al - Mawafekatoe-Baina Ahlal-Bait was Sahaba".
The Arab Shia scholar Muhammad Ali Al-Haj Salmin in his Preface to "Ali the Caliph" has recorded :
"Ali has set the best example in this respect. He accepted Caliphate when many years had elapsed and already three Caliphs had finished with their administration. He never spoke a word against them.
"If we call ourselves lovers of Ali, we must follow in his way.
"Ali never spoke ill of anyone, then why should the admirers of Ali cross his path in this respect".
Before closing the chapter on Hadrat Maula Ali, it is important to realise who has been trying to destroy the good relations between the Khalifa-e-Rashideen and break up the unity of Islam and by what means. Abdullah ibne Saba was a very cunning Jew with the convincing power of oratory. He was a native of Saana, the capital of Yemen. When he realised that Islam could not be destroyed by remaining outside he approached Abu Bakr, the first Khalifa during his last months in office. He offered to become a Muslim. Abu Bakr by his power of reading the minds of others realised that this cunning Jew had come out of hatred with the only object of how to destroy the unity of Islam. So he refused to convert him. Shortly afterwards Omar became the Khalifa. Abdullah ibne Saba approached him offering to become a Muslim. Omar, realising by his spiritual powers this man's hatred for Islam, refused to convert him. This caused great hatred in him against Abu Bakr and Omar. He thus became the inventor of such false preachings that the earlier Khalifas of Islam were wicked people who had robbed Hadrat Bibi Fatemah of her inherited properties, broke down the door of her house and deprived Ali of his Khilafat. Next he came to Osman, who was an educationalist. Osman thought no great harm could be done by one person and perhaps his evil intentions might change when he understood the Qur'an. Accordingly he converted Abdullah ibne Saba but made him promise on oath to Allah that he would abide by and follow the Qur'anic Laws of Shariat and the Sunnah and would not cause mischief to break up the unity of the Muslims (pp 5-6 of "Taufa Isnaeashria" by Shah Abdul Aziz Mohaddis Dehlavi).
This precaution was taken by Osman in the light of the following warning contained in Sura 6 – Al Anam : Ayat 160 :
"Without doubt those who "Shia-an" i.e. break up the religion (of Islam) and become sects, no concern at all will you (O Muhammad) have with them. Their case will go only to Allah, Who will tell them what (mischief) they had done (during their lives on earth)".
Abdullah ibne Saba in spite of the above oath on Allah to Hadrat Osman tried his mischief in Madinah and Mecca. He found that nobody was even prepared to listen to him, because they personally knew how pious and good both Abu Bakr and Omar were. As such he had to move out to the newly conquered peoples like Kufa, the seat of the ancient pagan Persian Empire and other such places in Northern Arabia including Iraq, Syria and Egypt, where the people were not personally aware of the noble qualities of the first three Khalifa-e-Rasideen. (p.6, Taufa Isnaeasharia).
When Hadrat Maula Ali arrived at Kufa as Khalifa he went straight to the Mosque. There the people greeted him with due respect and honour. One of his close friend questioned if it was true that he had been deprived of the position of Khalifa by the first three Khalifa-e-Rashideen. When Maula Ali heard this he started crying publicly in the Mosque at Kufa in front of the gathering. He questioned who was spreading such falsehood. The people replied Abdullah ibne Saba. He ordered Ibne Saba to be brought to the Mosque at Kufa. Ibne Saba confessed that all the stories, about hatred for Abu Bakr and Omar were falsehood created by him in his efforts to praise Hadrat Ali as he was appointed Maula. Hadrat Maula Ali threatened to behead him if he did not stop such false preachings. Abdullah ibne Saba asked for forgiveness in order to save himself. As soon as he got out of the mosque of Kufa he fled to Damascus which was under the control of the dismissed governor of Syria i.e Muaviyah, the rebel against the legal government of Islam under Khalifa-e-Rasideen Hadrat Maula Ali (pp l8l & 182 Taufa Isnaeashria which has quoted from Atwaq fi Mutahas al Amama by the Shia Scholar Imam Mayad Billah Yahya ibne Hamza Zaidi).
Here are some quotations about Abdullah ibne Saba from different reliable sources :
a) "He went from place to place seeking to lead Muslims into errors" (Tabari, i. 2942,2).
b) He preached : "Indeed know well that Ali is God and there is no other god than Ali" (p. 107, Firdaus Asiya).
c) The English Orientalist Professor Reynold A. Nicholson on pages 215-216 of "A Literary History of the Arabs" (published by Cambridge, 1956) has recorded about the teachings of Abdullah ibne Saba as follows :
"He went from place to place, seeking to lead the Muslims into error. We hear of him in the Hijaz, then in Basra and Kufa, then in Syria. Finally he settled in Egypt, where he preached the doctrine of paligenesis (raya), that any one should believe in the return of Jesus and deny the return of Muhammad (as Imam Mehdi)... Further more, there are a thousand (Jewish) Prophets, every one of whom has an executor (wasi) and the executor of Muhammad is Ali... Ibne Saba, therefore regarded Abu Bakr, Omar and Osman as usurpers. He set on foot a widespread conspiracy in favour of Ali, and carried on secret correspondence with the disaffected in various provinces of the Empire. According to Shahrastani he was banished by Ali for saying 'Thou art Thou', (Anta, Anta) i.e. 'Thou art God'. This refers to the doctrine taught by Ibne Saba."
Hadrat Ali has quoted the following Hadith which is applicable to Abdullah ibne Saba and his believers :
"The Holy Prophet (peace of Allah be on him) had told me, said Ali : Oh Ali ! although you are already one blessed with heaven, but I tell you that you will become further blessed in heaven if you will kill those persons who will be coming soon after me, who will claim themselves to be lovers of you but in actual fact they are enemies of Islam. Such people shall be easily recognised because they would speak against Abu Bakr and Omar. Such people are not yours but they are "Mushrik" and should be put to death whenever you meet them" (page 314, Vol.XI, Kanzul Ummal by Ali Al Muttaqi-Al-Hindi). This once again shows that there could be no misunderstanding between Ali and the first three Khalifas of the Prophet. They were all best of friends and on very cordial terms and there was no disputes whatsoever amongst them.
In these circumstances every Muslim has to love and respect all four Khalifa-e-Rashideen or the Rightful Khalifas of the Prophet without any questions or arguments.
From the above research it will be clear that nobody is permitted to say anything against anyone of the four Khalifa-e-Rashideen otherwise they stand to be condemned.
Sura 4 – An Nisa : Ayat 80 warns :
"Whosover obeys the messenger 'faqad' i.e. indeed only obeys Allah and whosoever turns away, We (Allah) have not sent you (O Muhammad) as a 'hafiza' (i.e. protector on the Day of Judgment) for them".
In the beginning of the Qur'an in Sura 2 – Al Baqarah : Ayats 4-9 bring out :
a. 4 – "And those who believe in that which is revealed unto you (O Muhammad)...
a. 5 – "These depend on guidance from their Lord. These are the successful.
a. 6 – "As for those who "Kafaru" i.e. refuse to obey, whether you warn them or you do not, it is all the same, they will not believe.
a. 7 – "Allah has sealed their hearts and hearing and has placed a covering on their eyes. Theirs will be an awful doom.
a. 8 – "And amongst humanity are some who say : We believe in Allah and the Last Day, when in reality they believe not.
a. 9 – "They think to deceive Allah and those who believe and they misguide none except themselves, but they perceive not".
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EDITOR'S NOTE:
The book was written to establish among the Shia community that Hadrat Abu Bakr, Hadrat Omar and Hadrat Osman were the first three Khalifa-e-Rashideen of the Holy Prophet (SAW). Maula Ali Mushkil Khusha was the maker of the first threee Khalifas, their Maula or spiritual guide, and the seal of the rightful Khalifas of the Rasul, and hence was without doubt the greatest of the four Khalifa-e-Rashideen. This book draws heavily from the sayings of reputed Shia scholars and from authentic Shia writings. The objective of this book is to create bridges between the Sunni and the Shia communities and thereby promote unity among all Muslims worldwide.
