ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Hidden Truth about Karbala Preface to the First Edition All praise belongs to Allah, the Sublime, the Merciful, Who provides guidance through His Chosen Ones (a.s.), who are Immaculate[^1] and therefore Infallible. As the Vicegerents of Allah on earth, they wished, said or did only that which Allah pleased,[^2] and in turn in His Majesty, Allah declared their words, deeds and wishes to be His Will.

When the question of succession to the Holy Prophet (S) arose, the Divine Will was forsaken, as if Allah and His Prophet (S) had left the matter of guidance in the hands of those who were themselves in need of guidance. The word Khalifa (caliph) was sought to be interpreted in several ways only to accommodate those who occupied that seat.

At-Tabari, ibn Khaldun and a majority of the Sunni Ulema interpreted the word ‘ Khalifa ’ as ‘one who came after’ or ‘those who succeeded one another after the predecessor’s death’.

In this sense, the Qur’anic verse[^3] was sought to be explained by saying that Adam was the Khalifa [successor] of his predecessors, the Jinn or the Angels.[^4] The implication of such an interpretation is that, to be the immediate successor, the Khalifa need not be of the same kind or class as his predecessor, the Holy Prophet (S). In other words, the Khalifa need not be Immaculate and Infallible and can be anyone from the Umma (nation).

To bolster this argument, the famous Hadith that states: “There shall be no prophet after me”, is pressed into service. The above line of thought led Abu Bakr to declare, immediately on his ascension to the Caliphate, in his opening speech from on the pulpit, “ O People, I may fall into grievous error or I may not make any mistake. If you see me deviating from the right path, prevail upon me to return to it. The Holy Prophet (S) was infallible, but I am not.

There is a Satan riding over me, ever drawing me towards error .”[^5] One of the earliest arguments put forth was that one could only be a vicegerent of an absentee and not of one who is present. The question of vicegerancy or succession, it was said, arises only after the demise of the predecessor. In this sense of the matter, it is argued, there can be no Vicegerancy of God who is Omnipresent. Subscribing to the above view, Abu Bakr declared that he was not the divinely appointed Khalifa .