Khilafat Keeps Prophethood Alive — Page 6
‑ 6 ‑ commandment is taken literally it cannot be put into practice. On the contrary, it would open up the door to conflict and disorder and indeed this issue has, in the past, already led to a person being killed in Mecca. Accordingly, this verse cannot be taken literally. Instead, as I have already explained, here Allah the Exalted is referring to leadership and directs people to elect an imam so that the practice of Abraham as can be kept alive. In truth the following verse refers to two types of leadership: َلاَق اَل ُلاَنَي ١ؕ َلاَق َو ْنِم ْيِتَّيِّرُذ ١ؕ ْيِّنِا َكُلِعاَج ِساَّنلِل اًماَمِا َو ١ؕ َو ْذِا اَنْلَعَج َتْيَبْلا ًةَباَثَم ِساَّنلِّل َو اًنْمَا ۰۰۱۲۴ يِدْهَع َنْيِمِلّٰظلا 2 ١ؕ اْوُذِخَّتا ْنِم ِماَقَّم َمٖهٰرْبِا ىًّلَصُم First, God says to Abraham ْيِّنِا َكُلِعاَج ِساَّنلِل اًماَمِا. That is: ‘I am about to raise you as an imam, meaning to say a prophet. ’ To this the patriarch 2 Surah Al-Baqarah , 2:125-126 [Publishers]