Truth Prevails — Page 136
( 136 ) difficulties by the people of his time. Muslim community was split into sections and the doors of bickering and unrest were opened. Therefore, Hazrat Ali was, no doubt, a Khalifa , but it could not be according to the verse of ‘Succession’. Since the selection of Khalifa could not be attributed to God, therefore the question that he cannot be deposed, does not arise. ” (Truth Triumphs, page 43). It should be remembered that the underlined portion of the above quotation from “Truth Triumps” does not correspond to the full context of Sirrul Khilafa. It is merely a wrong inferrence by Mr. Faruqi. No doubt all the four Khalifas after the Holy Prophet were from Allah. So the question of deposing any of them does not arise. The Promised Messiah wrote his Sirrul Khilafa to remove certain misunderstandings prevailing among the Shias ; and in this study he has proved that Hazrat Abu Bakr was, in truth, the immediate Khalifa, after the demise of the Holy Prophet; and pre-eminent in comparison with the other Khalifas. It was not the aim to establish that the Khilafat of the other Khalifas was not entirely under the intention, and conditions, of the verse pertaining to the question of the making of Khalifas. On page 18 of Sirrul Khilafa , the Promised Messiah writes, by way of a statement of the proposition under dispute: “In the entire number of the Companions, the position of grandeur of Hazrat Abu Bakr was greater and higher. Without doubt, he is the first Khalifa; and it was in regard to him that the verses in respect of Khilafat came down. If you consider that there is someone other than him, after his time, to whom these verses apply, then bring a clear prophecy to that effect, if indeed you are right in holding such a view. ” Now if we take this passage to mean that, apart from him, in the subsequent days, there is no one to whom the promised Khilafat applies, then this view lies in conflict with other writings of the Promised Messiah. In Shahadatul Quran , after quoting this verse, the Promised Messiah writes: “This verse, in fact, lies as an exposition of the other verse, namely, ‘Indeed, We Ourselves have sent down this Zikr ; and We Ourselves shall guard it’; and it supplies an answer to how and in what manner shall the Quran be guarded. So Allah gives the assurance that from time to time He would be sending Khalifas of this Prophet” (Page 43) Then, after quoting two more verses, he writes: “If anyone gives due thought to these verses, I cannot imagine how he could fail to understand that Allah, here, is giving a clear promise of an ever-abiding Khilafat to this Ummat. If the Khilafat was not ever-abiding, then what was the meaning of making a comparison