Misconceptions: Khilafa

For many centuries, Shi'as have been stereotyped as worshippers of stones and graves. They have also been attacked for believing in the Imamate of Imam Ali, alayhi as-salam. Join Rebecca Masterton in a series as she explores and sheds some light on the major misconceptions surrounding various topics in the Shi'a school of thought.

According to the majority of Sunni scholars, it is agreed upon that the Ummah, the Muslim nation should have an imam or have a leader. And one of the qualifications for this leader is that he has to be just.

Now we can see some narrations in Sahih Al-Bukhari that actually contradict the stipulations of the qualifications of the imam. It is narrated in Bukhari, in Kitab-ul-Imarah (The Book on Government), that the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, said: "After me, there will be rulers, some of them you will find are good and some of them will be corrupt. You Muslims have to listen to both of them. Whoever breaks the unity of the Jama'ah (community) will be considered outside the religion of Islam."

Now, looking at another contradiction in the qualifications for the Imam in the Sunni collections we can see that it is narrated that Mu'awiyah said: "Allah's Apostle has said that this matter of caliphate will remain with Quraysh; and none will rebel against them, except that Allah will throw him down upon his face." So Mu'awiyah has said that the caliphate should remain with Quraysh. When we look into the history books of Tabari and Baladhuri, we can see that it was actually Mu'awiyah himself when he conquered Mecca, who overthrew Quraysh.

This matter aside, there is another hadith, very famous, in Bukhari, where the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, is saying to the Muslims that they should follow anybody; even if he happens to be an Ethiopian slave. It is narrated by Anas ibn Malik that the Apostle said, "You should listen and obey your ruler even if he is an Ethiopian slave, with a head like a raisin." Aside from the fact of this insulting and racially prejudiced narration, we can see how it contradicts with other stipulations that the rulers should be only from Quraysh.

And we can also see that the narration by the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, says that Muslims should follow even an unjust leader. This contradicts with the stipulation in so many sources that the Imam should be just. We can see the position of the Khalifa in the Holy Qur'an, when we see in Chapter 7, Verse 142 where prophets Musa, alayhi as-salam, goes up the mountain and he leaves behind him Harun to be his representative among the people.

We can see that the root words of leaving Harun among the people is related to Khalifa. It says, Bismil-Lah, Al-Rahman, Al-Rahim, "Wa qaala Musa li akhihi Harun ukhlufni fi qawmi"(7:142). 'I leave you as my Khalifa among my people'. And the famous Saudi Arabian translator, Mohsin Khan, who has translated the entire collection of Sahih Bukhari, translates this into English as: Musa says to his brother, Harun, "Replace me among my people". So it is clear that the Khalifa is seen here as a replacement among the people in the absence of the prophet.

And we know in the famous collections, for example, in Sahih Muslim, it is narrated by Saad ibn abi Waqas that when the Holy Prophet was going on the expedition of Tabuk and Imam Ali, alayhi as-salam, was said to be a bit worried or upset as to why he had been left behind, that the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, said to Imam Ali, "Are you not satisfied that you are to me, as Harun was to Musa, except that there will be no prophet after me?"

It has also been narrated in Sahih Muslim and many other collections that there will be 12 leaders following the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him and his family. In Sahih Muslim, it is narrated by Jabar ibn Samra who said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him say: Islam will continue to be triumphant as long as there are 12 caliphs." He said, "and then the Holy Prophet said something that I couldn't understand. I asked my father, what did he say?" And his father replied, "He said that all of them will be from Quraysh."

It is also narrated in Al-Hakim Al-Tirmidhi, Vol. 5, Hadith no. 3788, that the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, said to his Ummah, "I leave for you two precious and weighty things that, if you adhere to both of them, you shall never go astray. They are the Book of Allah and Itrati Ahl ul-Bayt, my progeny and Ahl ul-Bayt. The Merciful, al-Rahman has informed me that these two shall not separate from each other until they come to me at the Hawdh, or the pool, of Kawthar."

When we look at the Shi'i sources with regards to Imamate, we can see the logical definition of the qualifications for the Imam. Looking at the teachings of Imam al-Ridha', alayhi as-salam, it can be seen how he has elaborated in detail the qualifications of the Imam, but that can be summed up as follows: It has been narrated in Usul Al-Kafi Vol. 1, that Imamate is religious leadership, and it entails the management of the affairs of the Muslim society, and improving and exalting the position of the Muslims. It is therefore completely the opposite from oppressing the Muslims and the Muslims having to tolerate their oppressive ruler.

On the contrary, the Imam liberates and raises up the position of the Muslims, and Imam protects the divine bounds. He defends the divine religion and invites the people to Allah, by means of logic, argument and good advice. Even though the Imam has been selected by Allah, Subhana wa Ta'ala, to rule over the people, the people are not expected merely to obey him based on the belief that Allah has appointed him, rather, the Imam is open to being questioned and to answering those questions in order to explain the logic for his Imamate.

An Imam is a trustee of the people appointed by Allah. He is a sign of Allah and His vicegerent on earth. He is immune from all sins and free from all defects. He is peerless in his time. No one can attain his position. And we have seen even in the Sunni collections, for example, where Ahmad ibn Hanbal has said that Imam Ali, alayhi as-salam, was peerless in his time.

In comparison to Abu Bakr and Umar, the Shi'i position on the logic of Imamate and of the position of the Imam is that he is not someone who has subdued the Muslims by force. As according to the 'Ashary aqidah where it is permissible for someone to be called Imam if he has succeeded in rising up and compelling the Muslims to give allegiance. This is outside the idea of justice in the teachings of the Imams.

Rather, the Imam must be free from any oppressive qualities. He doesn't force or compel anyone to give their allegiance. And he is perfect in his fulfilling of the Shari'a because he has to be a guide and there have been plenty of evidence and stories in Islamic history of the disasters that have risen when a leader does not have correct understanding of Shari'a.

No scholar can equal the Imam. We saw this even in the time of Imam Ja'far Al-Sadiq, alayhi as-salam, where we know that Imam Malik and Abu Hanifa studied under Imam Ja'far, alayhi as-salam. And it has even been said that Abu Hanifa said that if it were not for the 18 months to 2 years that he spent with Imam Ja'far Al-Sadiq, alayhi as-salam, he would have been lost.

All virtues are manifested in the Imam. He has many kinds of knowledge which cannot be polluted by ignorance. He is a guardian of the Ummah. In fact, he is a tireless guardian of the Ummah. He is the source of purity, piety, knowledge and devotion. He is fit to be a leader because he has an understanding of the intricacies of politics. He enjoys divine support and is free of every fault and slip. Allah has given him such a position that he is assigned to the people and a model of virtue of excellence.

These are summing up from the teachings of Imam al-Ridha', alayhi as-salam, the qualifications of the Imam. We can see in the narrations from both Sunni and Shi'i hadith why Imam Ali, alayhi as-salam, is considered to be the rightful Imam and successor and leader after Holy Prophet, peace be upon him and his family.

We know the famous narration of Ghadir, where, as everybody was heading back from the Hajj, the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, gathered those by the pool of Ghadir, and he instructed the people who were gathered there to take the message back to their towns after they had heard it. The narration of Ghadir is recorded in 89 Sunni chains of transmission and 43 Shi'i chains of transmission. And we know that the key part of this narration is where the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him his family, says to the people gathered, "Do I not have a greater right over your own souls, your own selves than you do?" And they said yes. And then he said, "For whosever Mawla I am, then Ali is his Mawla. Oh God, be friends with the one who befriends Ali and be enemies with his enemies."

This is a very conditional and categorical du'a. That whoever is the friend and companion and supporter of Imam Ali, alayhi as-salam, and whoever is sharing in the Wilayah of Imam Ali, as in acknowledging his Wilayah, and being the friend to him, then he is the friend of Allah, Subhana wa Ta'ala. But whoever is an enemy to Imam Ali is an enemy to Allah, Subhana wa Ta'ala. And after this had been stated, Umar ibn al-Khattab came up to Imam Ali and said, "Congratulations, may this position be pleasing to you. You are now my Maula and the Maula of all believers."

We also have the Hadith al-Haqq where Umm Salama said that she heard narrated from the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, that: 'Ali is with the truth and the Qur'an, and the truth and the Qur'an are with Ali, and they will never separate, till they reach me at the pool of Kawthar'. And this is narrated in 15, Sunni sources and 11 Shi'i sources.

We also have the famous Hadith da'wat al-'Ashira, where the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, called his near relatives to a meal, to convey the message of Islam, and this is narrated in both Sunni and Shi'i collections. And the key part of this meal is where he said, "Who is there from among you who will assist me with this matter and be my brother, my inheritor, my Wasi, and my Khalifa among you?" And everyone was silent, except for Imam Ali, alayhi as-salam, who stood up and said, "I will." And then we know that the group who were gathered there laughed, and they laughed at Abu Talib and they said Muhammad has ordered you to obey your son. From the very earliest days Imam Ali, alayhi as-salam, was designated as the brother, the Wasi, and the Khalifa of the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him and his family.

We also have another narration in the collection Hilliyat al-Awliya by Abu Na'im Isfahani in a Cairo edition, where it is narrated that the companion Hudhaifa said that the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, said, "If you make Ali my vicegerent and Khalifa, which I do not think you will, you will find him a perspicacious guide who will lead you to the straight path." We can see from here that the Holy Prophet knew early on, when we read more deeply into the historical sources, he knew that the people were not going to be satisfied with Imam Ali, alayhi as-salam, as the successor of the Holy Prophet, even though the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, had selected Imam Ali, alayhi as-salam.

And finally, we have a narration in Ahmad ibn Hanbal's Mustadrak, where the Holy Prophet was sitting with some of his companions and he said, "Among you is a man who will fight for the implementation of the Qur'an, just as I have fought for its revelation". Abu Bakr spoke up and said, "Is it me?" The Holy Prophet said, "No." Umar spoke up and said, "Is it me?" The Holy Prophet said, "No. It is the man inside who is mending the sandal." And just at that moment, Imam Ali, alayhi as-salam, came out from a room in the Holy Prophet's house, having just finished mending his sandal. And this is narrated by Ahmad ibn Hanbal.

We can see from just a few of the sources that there was consistency in the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, selecting Imam Ali as his Khalifa. But this was not a personal choice of the Holy Prophet. He was implementing the commands of Allah, Subhana wa Ta'ala, as is revealed in the Holy Qur'an [Ref. Today, I have perfected your religion for you, and have completed My blessing upon you, and chosen Islam as Din (religion and a way of life) for you. (5:3]