An Exposition of Some Criticisms Against Khilafat-e-Rashida — Page 9
9 I. Is Khil afat Individua l The Holy Quran Promises Collective Khilafat Rather Than Individual Khilafat The first criticism of Khilafat is that the relevant verse in the Holy Quran uses plural nouns e. g. “Allah has promised to those among you who believe” is plural, “That He will surely make them successor s ” is also plural and so are the rest of the, preposi tions used in the verse, indicating that Khilafat is a collective institution rather than an office for an individual. This misconception arises out of ignorance about the Quranic usage and actual illustrations of God’s practice in the past which show that quite often promises uttered for a nation are accomplished through individuals. For instance: And remember when Moses said to his people. O my people, Call to mind Allah’s favour upon you when He raised prophets among you and made you kings, and gave you what He gave not to any other among the peoples. (Ch. 5: 21). Here the address is made to the people as a whole who are reminded of the blessings of having been made kings and prophets, yet it is known that not all the people had been so exalted and there had always been a large populace of ordinary working people. I t proves therefore that promises made in a