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Answer:
al salam
alaykum wa rahmat Allah wa barakatuh,
Thank you for raising such an important question.
As a matter of fact, the answer to this question is easy although the
question is important, especially if we observe the life of the Prophet
peace be upon him and his relationship with the Companions.
If the Prophet peace be upon him had placed a Companion as an heir
apparent, with an obvious statement, then politics would be limited to few
men. On the contrary, Islam had granted lots of space for politics to
change as time changes. Islam gave the people the freedom in choosing
their leader. However, the chosen leader must posses some important
qualifications to be a candidate at first. The candidate should be error
free from any disgrace that is usually not found in a qualified leader.
One of other characteristics, the candidate should have a great sum of
knowledge in Islam. Hence, the political system would be based on an
Islamic one.
The Messenger of Allah had reported that however the Muslims disagreed, in
the end, they would agree on Abu Bakr as the caliph.
'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, reported: Allah's Messenger (may
peace be upon him) in his (last) illness said to me: Call Abu Bakr, your
father, and your brother too, so that he might write a document, for he
feared that someone else might be desirous (of succeeding him) and that
some claimant may say: I have better claim to it, whereas Allah and the
Faithful do not substantiate the claim of anyone but that of Abu Bakr.
A woman came and asked the Prophet peace be upon him to who should she go
for help if she did not find him. The Prophet peace be upon him instructed
her to go to Abu Bakr.
Jubair bin Mut'im's Hadith, may Allah be pleased with him.
Muhammad bin Jubair bin Mut'im narrated after his father that a woman
asked Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) about something, but he
told her to come to him on some other occasion, whereupon she said: What
in your opinion (should I do) if I come to you but do not find you, and it
seemed as if she meant that he might die. Thereupon he said: If you do not
find me, then come to Abu Bakr.
The Prophet did not confine the Companions to a specific person nor did he
present an obvious statement in declaring someone as an heir apparent.
However, he hinted that Abu Bakr should be Muslims’ leader in case he
dies. That is very apparent when the Prophet ordered Abu Bakr to be the
leader in the prayers when the Prophet was ill. He also instructed the
woman to go to Abu Bakr for help in case she did not find him.
The Prophet peace be upon him wanted his Ummah to go through this
situation. He was confidant that the Companions, however they disagreed,
would reach to the correct end safely and that they would learn from this
important lesson. The Companions would then learn that politics need
consultation and taking of the allegiance from Ahl Al-Hil wa Al-Aqd, the
people who bind and loose. The existence of an opposition party is a
natural thing in the Islamic community. However, the opposition party and
the ruling party should not exceed the limits of Shariah.
Therefore, we saw how people gave the allegiance to Abu Bakr at the
Saqeefa after a discussion between the Ansar and three of the Muhajireen.
The opposition party, which was represented by Ali bin Abi Talib, went to
talk to Abu Bakr. Ali explained why he was better suited as a Caliph, but
he did not deny the virtue of Abu Bakr and his position in Islam. Needless
to say, Ali in the end gave the allegiance to Abu Bakr with a sincere
heart, and then the whole Ummah agreed to the caliphate of Abu Bakr. Abu
Bakr and Ali constructed a great example to show the relationship between
the opposition and the ruling parties. It was very remarkable how everyone
stood as a single man in the face of the apostates like Musaylimah
Al-Kaththab, Sajjah, Al-Aswad Al-ensi, and Tulayhah bin Khuwaylid.
Grand Shia scholars like Al-Mufeed, Al-Tubrusi, and others, report the
good level of understanding that was between Abu Bakr and Ali and how Ali
was a vizier to Abu Bakr.
We would like to say something that relates to our time. Although the Shia
stick to the clear statements of the 12 Imams as leaders, in Iran they
accept a doctrine that clearly contradicts one of their tenets of faith.
Fairly, it is as if the Shia are revolting against the belief of
Al-Imamah.
In Iran, Khamen’ei, the supreme ruler of Iran, is imposed on the people of
Iran. Therefore, we saw lots of clashes between the people of Iran and the
regime. However, when we reflect on the phenomenon of Khatami, the elected
President of Iran, we see how the people of Iran love and respect him.
This is a clear indication that the Shia in Iran are realizing the bad
effects of imposing rulers without the consent of the people.
wa alaykum al salam wa rahmat Allah wa barakatuh,
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