ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A Restatement of the History of Islam and Muslims Saqifa and the Logic of History In the introduction to this book, I had called attention of the reader to the tendency and the readiness of most of the Orientalists, to accept, at face value, many of the false statements and spurious claims which were put into circulation, long ago, by the historians who were on the “payroll” of the governments of Damascus and Baghdad – both heirs to the government of Saqifa.

There is, for example, a consensus among them that Muhammad Mustafa, the Messenger of God, did not appoint his own successor nor did he tell the Muslims how they ought to select their leaders for the government which he had founded; and he died leaving everything, apparently, to their resources and discretion. Some examples of the uncritical acceptance by Orientalists of this claim, were given in Chapter 45.

Following is one more example: “Mohammed died at Medina on June 8, 632, without leaving any instructions for the future government of the Muslim community...” This statement occurs in the article captioned Caliphate , on page 643, volume 4, 14th edition (1973) of the Encyclopedia Britannia. It is a patent piece of propaganda but the Encyclopedia Britannia, that great disseminator of knowledge, has swallowed the line.

It is the most divisive historical canard in Islam, but surprisingly, it goes unchallenged, century after century. The Orientalists may not challenge this time-honored falsehood but it nevertheless raises some fundamental questions. These questions which relate to the ethos of Islam and the political philosophy of Muhammad, the Apostle of God, are listed below.

All of them rest on the premise that Muhammad did not (repeat not) appoint his own successor nor did he give any instructions to his companions for the future government of the Muslim community. Therefore, when he died, his umma (people) found itself in a state of utter bewilderment. 1. Did Muhammad, the Messenger of God, and the Founder of the Government of Medina, consider himself qualified to appoint his own successor or not? 2.

What could be the possible, hypothetical reason(s) for Muhammad's failure to appoint his own successor? 3. Since Muhammad did not appoint his own successor, did he charge the Muslim community with the task of electing or selecting its own leader? 4.