The Reality of Khilafah — Page xi
Foreword Sirrul-Khil a fah is an Arabic treatise penned by the Promised Messiah as— Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian—and published in July 1894. The book unveils the mystery surround- ing Khil a fah as the means by which the hidden hand of God dis- pels the darkness of an era and replaces fear with security for the Ummah. In such trying times, Allah raises a Khalifah and breathes into him the spirit to revive a nation against the impending threat of spiritual death. The book illustrates this through the example of Hadrat Ab u Bakr ra, who the Promised Messiah as refers to as the second Adam of Islam. After the demise of the Holy Prophet s as , when the darkness of dissension, hypocrisy and rebellion reared its ugly head, Allah placed the mantle of Khil a fah upon Ab u Bakr ra. He rose to the occasion and re-established the unity of the fledgling Muslim nation by reaffirming the commandments of the Holy Quran and the teachings of the Holy Prophet s as. He defended Madinah against the attacks of the hypocrites and rebels, and pursued an offensive to eradicate the false prophets who had recently emerged in Arabia. A parallel is drawn for the darkness of the Latter Days. The Promised Messiah as would be crowned with Khil a fah as the last Adam for the last age. He would fight the forces of dissen- sion and reunite the Muslim Ummah under the banner of Islam.