Khilafat-e-Rashidah — Page 62
62 KHILAFAT-E-R A SHIDAH of Arabia honoured the nobility and greatness of the Meccans. The Muh a jir i n thought that if the Khalifah were from the An sa r , the Arabs would be put to a great crisis and there might be many who would not be able to preserve their faith in the face of such a crisis. Consequently, all of the Muh a jir i n went there, and among them were Hadrat Abu Bakr ra , Hadrat Umar ra , and Hadrat Abu Ubaidah ra. Hadrat Umar ra later recalled: “I had prepared an eloquent speech for this occasion. I had planned to deliver it immediately upon arrival so that it would convince all of the An sa r , and they would have no alternative but to elect a Khalifah from the Muh a jir i n rather than An sa r. When we arrived, Hadrat Abu Bakr ra stood up to make an address, and I did not expect anything exceptional from him, but by God, he presented all the points that I myself had thought of. In addition, he put forth more of his own arguments. Then I understood that I was no match to Hadrat Abu Bakr ra. ” 11 The Muh a jir i n pointed out the necessity of an Am i r from the Quraish, and quoted a saying of the Holy Prophet sa , “The Am i rs should be from Quraish”. 12 They also pointed out that they 11 Al-K a mil fit T a r i kh , Vol. 2, pp. 328, 329, by ‘Izzuddin Abul Hasan Ali bin Abul Karam Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Abdul Kar i m bin Abdul W ah id Ash-sh i b a n i , known as Ibnil Ath i r, publisher D a ru Sa dir, D a r Beirut, AH 1385, AD 1965. 12 Musnad Ahmad bin Hambal, Vol. 3, p. 129, Hadith No. 12332, by Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Hambal bin Hil a l bin Asad, Published by Baitul Afk a r Ad-Dauliyya, Al-Ri ad , AH 1419, AD 1998. Note: Volume and page No. are according to Nuskha Maimaniyyah.