The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 557
XII - First Era of Life in Madīnah Comes to an End and the Islāmic System of Government 557 ٍ عَن ْ اَبِی ْ ھُرَیْرَة َ قَال َ قَال َ رَسُوْل ُ اللّٰه ِ صَلَّی اللّٰه ُ عَلَیْه ِ وَسَلَّم َ ھَلَكَة ُ اُمَّتِی ْ عَلی ٰ یَدَی ْ غِلْمَة ٍ مِن ْ قُرَیْش “ Abū Hurairah ra relates that the Holy Prophet sa would state, ‘My community would ultimately be destroyed by the young men of the Quraish. ’” 1 In other words, when the state of the Quraish would deteriorate, and they would no longer be worthy of government, it would be a source of evil instead of being a source of mercy for leadership to remain in their hands; ultimately, the Islāmic government would crumble at the hands of the Quraish. Therefore, this is what actually occurred. Then, there are various narrations where the Holy Prophet sa has also mentioned that the leadership of the Quraish would continue until the resurrection. This also implies that the Quraish would remain in government until the downfall 2 of the Islāmic community. Finally, the seed of destruction would be sown by their very own hands, and then, a new era would dawn upon Islām. In summary, a collective study of the Qur’ān and Aḥādīth evidently proves that the statement of the Holy Prophet sa regarding the leadership and Khilāfat of the Quraish merely alluded to a prophecy. This did not imply an order or recommendation. Moreover, this prophecy was limited to a specific time frame, in that it particularly referred to the first era of Islām. The intent of the Holy Prophet sa was that since the Quraish were most worthy of leadership at the time, for this reason, it was they who would continue to rule and stay in power. However, after the passage of time, they would lose this ability and the community of the Holy Prophet sa would undergo a revolution, after which the landmarks of a new era would be chalked out. Hence, it is not correct to assert that Islām has limited the right of leadership to a specific dynasty or people. Rather, the truth is that in Islām, leadership is established by election, and in this election, the door has been left open for every individual. This is a brief outline of the method of governance presented by Islām. Every sensible and unprejudiced individual can appreciate that this is the best possible guidance which could have been given in this respect. Aside from being perfect in terms of political philosophy, this teaching is so 1 Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābul-Fitan, Bābu Qaulin-Nabiyyi sa Halāku Ummati ‘Alā Yadai Ughailimatin Sufaḥā’a, Ḥadīth No. 7058 2 In Islāmic terminology the word ‘Qiyāmat,’ or ‘resurrection’ also refers to a massive revolution.