The Reality of Khilafah — Page 36
SIRRUL-KHILAFAH— 36 He [Ab u Bakr] found Islam like a wall that was on the verge of collapse due to the onslaught of saboteurs, but through his hand Allah made it into an impregnable fortress built of iron walls and guarded by a dutiful army. Do you find any element of doubt in this? Can you point to anyone else to whom this prophecy could apply? I know that some Shiites argue with the Sunnis regarding this matter and that this dispute has been going on for a very long time. At times, this argument goes beyond verbal alterca- tion and ends up in physical fighting and even in court cases. I am surprised at the lack of understanding demonstrated by the Shiites and their giving in to conjecture. Many signs have been made manifest for them and conclusive evidence has been brought to light, but they turn away and flee and do not reflect in a fair and unprejudiced manner. Let me now call them to a method which will open their eyes; a method which is fair to us and to them. Let us all assemble in an open space and supplicate before our Supreme Lord and invoke His curse upon the liars. If the effect of my prayer is not evident within a year, I shall accept for myself every penalty and shall admit that they are the truthful ones. Apart from this, I shall also give them 5000 rupees in cash. If I fail in this, may the curse of Allah descend on me till the Day of Judgement. If the other party so prefers, I can deposit in advance the stipulated sum in the British Government Treasury or entrust it to some trustworthy person. Bear in mind, however, that I do not here address the laity. I only address those who can produce a work like this one. I have chosen this criterion to be certain that whoever challenges me