ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Leading The Ummah Chapter 15: The Caliphs’ Ignorance of Divine Commands The previous chapters proved the fact that a comprehensive, all-inclusive religious leadership is solely based on a thorough knowledge of both principles and practical laws of Islam and a complete awareness of the needs of the Islamic community. This is because the creation of man is nothing more than his perfection in light of his carrying out divine requirements.

The appointment of the prophets too, is to avoid man's fall in the depths of wrongdoing and to show him the way to attain virtues. But man's perfection in the light of his acting out the divine laws is only possible if all these laws are available to man so that there would be no obstacles in the way of his perfection.

Man's access to all the divine commands however is only possible if there were among Muslims an individual aware of all the religious needs of the Islamic community and who could show people the straight path to perfection: in this way the purpose of man’s creation of man would be fulfilled. A review of the life-pattern of the three caliphs will reveal to us that none of them had full knowledge of the needs of the Islamic community.

Second to the Holy Quran, is a thorough knowledge of the Islamic traditions whose validity is so obvious to all Muslims. And many verses of the Holy Quran emphasize their acceptance by Muslims: ﴿ ما آتاكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَ ما نَهاكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانْتَهُوا ﴾ “And whatever the Apostle gives you accept it and from whatever forbids you, keep away”. [^1] .

However, the knowledge of the caliphs concerning Islamic commands, was too limited and it could not be used to lead the Islamic community to its perfection. The number of all the narrations that Ahmad Ibn Hanbal has narrated from Abu Bakr is not more then 80[^2]. Ÿalâlid Dîn Suîûtî was able to raise this number to 104[^3] with great struggle. And finally, in accordance with the latest statistics, the number of narrations by Abu Bakr is 142[^4].

Most of them, however are not narrations, but some statements. For instance, among those 142 narrations by Abu Bakr is the following sentence: “إن رسول الله اهدی جَمَلاً لابي جهل” “The Prophet gave Abu Jahl a camel as a gift”. Furthermore some narrations from him are against wisdom and the divine book.

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