ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Biography of Imam Hussain Bin Ali (as) The Succession To an Apostle of God To know as to who is that, with whom rests the authority to appoint a successor to an Apostle of God, God or man? One should first know who actually is God's apostle. The first apostle Adam, is titled by God Himself as his 'KHALIF' or Vicegerent. Thus, it becomes clear that an apostle of God is a 'KHALIFATULLAH' i.e., the Vicegerent of God on earth.

WHO APPOINTS A 'KHALIFATULLAH' To know as to who appoints a 'KHALIFATULLAH', i.e., the Vicegerent of God? God Himself or man? Or to know as to how the appointment is effected, by God's independent decree or by any election among men by themselves, or by the nomination of a man by another man, we need refer to any authority of any priest or consult any philosopher, for the holy QUR'AN is too plain and too aloud about the matter.

In the very second chapter of the holy Book, is there that God did not consult even the sinless and the faithful specie of the angles, but only informed them of His decided will, to appoint Adam as His Vicegerent of earth: "When said thy Lord unto the angels, Verily I am appointing a 'KHALIFA' (A Vicegerent) in the earth.." [2:30].

Hearing the announcement of the will of the Lord, the angels submitted their knowledge about the character and the conduct of the people who then inhabited the earth, saying: "What! Wilt Thou appoint the one who maketh mischief in it and sheddeth blood? And we celebrate Thy praise and extol Thy holiness" [2:30].

The absolute independence of the Lord did not tolerate even the enquiry on the part of the angels who submitted only a truth, and immediately the Lord remarked: "Verily I know what ye know not" [2:30]. The above one verse of the holy QUR'AN gives out many important factors about the Vicegerency of the Lord, the mode of the appointment of a Vicegerent, his duties, and his position among the creation as a whole.

The verse gives out: 1- The 'KHALIFATULLAH', or the Vicegerent of God on earth, is appointed by God Himself. 2- The personal qualities of the 'KHALIFATULLAH' are inconceivable by, or unknown even to the angels. 3- The personal excellence of the 'KHALIFATULLAH' is known only to God, and God dies not deem even the angels as fit to bear the knowledge of it, hence He did not give it out to them. The angels were only told what God knoweth about his 'KHALIFA' even they knew out.