Khilafat-e-Rashidah — Page 46
46 KHILAFAT-E-R A SHIDAH major argument of the apostates was that: “Only the Prophet sa —and no one else—was authorized to collect Zakat”. This was the cause of their going astray. They thought that the commands related to the organization were not forever, but that they were concerned only with the life of the Prophet sa. As I have proven, this idea is wrong. The fact is that just as the commands of S al a t and Fasting have not come to an end after the Prophet sa , so the commands related to a nation’s and country’s organization would not come to an end after his death. Like the assembly of S al a t , which is a collective act of worship, other commands should also remain in practice through deputies among the Muslims. The Details of Issue of Khilafat After this discussion of basic principles, I now address the details of the issue of Khilafat. One should remember that a Prophet has a very close relationship with God Almighty. It is so intense that some people make the mistake of thinking that he himself is God, a type of mistake which the Christians made. Those who do not make this mistake consider a Prophet to be a human being. Due to the intensity of the attachment of a Prophet with God and the manifestations of His love, it never occurs to the followers that he will eventually die. It is not that they consider the Prophet immortal, but due to the intensity of their love, they presume that they will die first and