The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 540
Seal of the Prophets - Volume II 540 actuality, the Khilāfat of Ḥaḍrat ‘Umar ra is also proven to have been established according to the principle of consultation and election. The Khilāfat of Ḥaḍrat ‘Umar ra was settled when Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr ra , who was himself an elected Khalīfah , was about to pass away. At the time, the effects of the rebellion of apostasy had not yet faded away and the system of Khilāfat was also in its early stages. Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr ra felt that Ḥaḍrat ‘Umar ra was the most appropriate and worthy individual for Khilāfat in the future, but if the election of the Khalīfah was left to the public vote, it was possible that due to the apparently stern disposition of Ḥaḍrat ‘Umar ra , his name may not be presented in the election. This could have opened the door to further unrest in the community of the Holy Prophet sa. For this reason, Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr ra called upon the learned Companions and sought their counsel. After this consultation, Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr ra appointed Ḥaḍrat ‘Umar ra as his successor, who was not a relative, nor was he from the same tribe, 1 even though at the time, the very son and other near relatives of Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr ra were also present in great number. Now, every individual can understand that this method cannot be considered as being opposed to the system of consultation and election at all. The reason being that firstly, Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr ra did not make this decision by himself, rather, he did so after consulting various learned Companions. Secondly, Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr ra was himself an elected Khalīfah , due to which his verdict represented the voice of the people in one respect. Furthermore, he did not appoint any of his own relatives as the Khalīfah , rather, he elected a completely unrelated person and in this way it could not be presumed that the people would provide biased advice with the thought that the person in consideration was a close relative of the Khalīfah of the time. In this case, it cannot be assumed in the least that a way of consultation and election was not employed; rather, this shall also be considered a form of consultation. In addition to this, there was also a clear prophecy of the Holy Prophet sa with relation to the Khilāfat of Ḥaḍrat ‘Umar ra , 2 and for this reason, no Muslim could have held an 1 * Tārīkhur-Rusuli Wal-Mulūk (Tārīkhuṭ-Ṭabarī), By Abū Ja‘far Muḥammad bin Jarīr Aṭ-Ṭabarī, Volume 4, p. 78, Thumma Dakhalat Sanatu Thalātha ‘Ashara / Dhikru Istikhlāfihī ‘Umarabnil- Khaṭṭāb, Dārul-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon, Second Edition (2002) * Al-Kāmilu Fit-Tārīkh (Tārīkhu Ibnil-Athīr), By ‘Izzuddīn Abul-Ḥasan ‘Alī bin Muḥammad Ibnul- Athīr, Volume 2, pp. 272-273, Sanatu 13, Dhikru Istikhlāfihī ‘Umarabnil-Khaṭṭāb, Dārul-Kutubil- ‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon (2006) 2 * Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābu Faḍā’ili Aṣḥābin-Nabiyyi sa , Bābu Manāqibi ‘Umarabnil-Khaṭṭāb, Ḥadīth No. 3682 * Ṣaḥīḥu Muslim, Kitābu Faḍā’iliṣ-Ṣaḥābah, Bābu Min-Faḍā’ili ‘Umara, Ḥadīth No. 6192