Khilafat Centenary Souvenir 1908-2008 — Page 43
Khilafat Centenary claimants to prophethood, most of who submitted and again professed Islam. After successfully dealing with the internal disorder, Hadhrat Abu Bakr ra , turned to the external enemies threatening the security of the Islamic State. The Muslim arm y, under the leadership of Khalid Bin Waleed ra , crushed a rebellion in Bahrain. Then the Persians, who had supported the rebels of Bahrain, were defeated,. The Muslim arm y also defeated the Roman army in the battles of Ajnadan and Yarmuk, and thus the whole of Syria fell under the control of the Islamic state. Another great achievement of his Khilafat was the collection of the Holy Qur 'an in one place. Although the writing and arrangement of the Hol y Qur'an was done under the supervision of the Holy Propher aw , himself, yet it was written on various pieces of skin, leaves and slate. Hadhrat Abu Bakr ra , collected all these pieces of writing in one place, and re-organized the Hufaaz (plural of hafiz) , or those who committed it to memor y, in a systematic wa y, for the preservation of the Qur'an. Hadhrat Abu Bakr ra , passed away on August 2 3, 634 AD, after remaining ill for fifteen days. He remained Khalifa for a little ov er two years. During his Khilafa t, Hadhrat Abu Bakr ra, successfully secured the integrity of the Islamic state against all internal disorders and external enemies. Also, he successfully united the Muslims under the system of Khilafat. The final instructions he ga ve to U sama prescribed a code of conduct in war which remains unsurpassed to this day. Part of his instructions to the Muslim arm y were: Do not be des e rters , nor be guilty of disob e di e nc e. Do n ot kill an old man, a w oman or a child. Do not injure dat e palms and do not cut down fruit tre e s. Do not slaug ht er any sheep or cows or cam e ls exc ept fo r food. You will encounter persons who sp end th eir li ve s in monast er i es. Leave them alone and do not mol e st th em. Hadhrat Umar bin Khattab ra was the second successor of the Holy Prophetsaw. During the ten years of his Khilafat, the Islamic state expanded and progressed extensively. Peace and prosperity prevailed everywhere in the state. He was born in 5 81 AD in Mecca, and belonged to a noble family of the Quraish. He was a renowned businessman and used to lead trade delegations to Syria and Iraq. Hadhrat Umar '\ was a pious, kind and farsighted man. He possessed the fine qualities of bravery, honesty and simplicity. He was so anxious about the welfare of his people that he used to go around in disguise, in the city of Madinah at night, to see for himself if anyone was in need of help. During the period of his Khilafat, the Muslims fought a number of battles against Iran, Iraq, Syria and Egypt. Immense areas of these countries came under the Muslim rule, as a result. When the city of Jerusalem in Palestine was conquered by the Muslims in 640 AD, Hadhrat Umar 'a himself visited the ci ty on the request of the Romans, and signed a trea ty between the Muslims and the people of Jerusalem. He was able to establish a splendid system of administration for the Islamic State and his Khilafat marked a golden period in the history of Islam. Some of his main achievements in this field are: establishment of Baitul Mal or public treasury; establishment of Majlis-e-Shura, a consultative bod y of advisors to the Khalifa; establishment of courts of justice and appointment of judges; the determination of the Hijra calendar which continues to this da y; building of canals; organization of the War Department; division of conquered countries into provinces; the ruling that Arabs, whether Muslims or non -Muslims, could not be made slaves; establishment of a finance department, and building of schools and mosques in different parts of the state; establishment of the Land Re venue Department; establishment of Census; stipends for the poor among the Jews and the Christians; per suading Hadhrat Abu Bakr ra to collect the H oly Qur 'an and execution of the work under his own care; and founding of the cities of Kufa, Basra, al:J azira, Fustat, and Musal. Hadhrat U mar ra p as sed away in 644 AD. He truly w as a great Khalifa whose period of Khilafat was undoubtedly a golden period in the history of Islam. Hadhrat Uthman Ghani'\ was elected as the third Khalifa by the council appointed by Hadhrat Umar '\ shortly before his death. He belonged to the renowned family, Banu Uma yya of the Quraish. During the Khilafat of Hadhrat Uthman 'a, the characteristics of Hadhrat Abu Bakr ra 's and Hadhrat Umar ra 's Khilafat - impartial justice for all, mild and humane policies, striving in the path of God , and the expansion of Islam - continued. The territorial expansion during Hadhrat Uthman 'a 's khilafat extended in the west to Morocco, in the east to Afghanistan, and in the north to Armenia