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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Self-knowledge The Representative of Allah on Earth We mentioned previously that one of the good attributes and values of human beings is the possibility of being caliph or representative of Allah on His earth. This is the highest value or perfection that one may reach. Because of the importance of this subject we should speak about it more. The term khalffah literally means that which comes after another a successor.

For example, a new generation is khalffah of the old one. “But there came after them an evil generation, who wasted the prayer, and followed lusts; so they shall encounter error” (19:59) Those people who were rulers after the Prophet (S) were called 'khalffat al-raslll', meaning successor of-the Prophet, such as Imam ‘Ali (a.s.). So what does 'Graiffat Allah' mean? Every person chosen by Allah to be His representative on earth is called Caliph.

They are chosen by Allah to lead people, to judge between them and to guide them, because it is not possible for all people to receive Divine laws by themselves or to judge. One of the verses in the Glorious Qur'an about this position is the following verse. “O Dawud!

Surely we have made you a viceroy (khaflfah) in the land; so judge between men with justice and do not follow desire, lest it should lead you astray from the path of Allah; (as for) those who go astray from the path ofAllah, they shall surely have a severe punishment because they forgot the day of reckoning.” (3&26) This verse was revealed after a certain event. God wanted to test Dawned. The story is expressed in the previous verses, i.e., 21-25.

Finally Allah made him His representative on earth and then a judge. According to the monotheistic view of the Glorious Qur'an no one has authority over people and the fight to judge among people, unless assigned or approved by Allah. If someone is knowledgeable, it does not mean he can judge. Allah has the fight to judge and He appoints prophets. Prophets can also appoint others.

There are many traditions of our Imams in which they explain that a person who has some qualities such as justice and ability to understand Islamic laws directly (ijtihad) can also judge as they are appointed by the Imams. So, there are two types of appointment: General appointment which is due to the possession of certain qualities, and special appointment in which some particular person is appointed and his name is mentioned.