An Exposition of Some Criticisms Against Khilafat-e-Rashida — Page 37
37 V. Can Khilafat Exist Without Clear Auth ority? The fifth and final criticism is that an approved Khilafat or Imamat cannot exist without the support of a Nasse Sarih i. e. an authority directly derived from the Holy Quran or the sayings of the Holy Prophet. In consequence, unless the Quran or the Holy Prophet hav e mentioned by names the Khalifas who were to follow, they do not have the support of Nasse Sarih. This is a self - contrived argument which is not supported by any authoritative injunction. Khilafat falls in the same category of offices as Prophethood and is therefore bound by the same criteria. Real faith consists of believing in the unseen; even prophe ts and messengers of Allah have rarely been mentioned by name in any ancient scriptures for the simple reason that believers should make use of their own powers of understanding and reasoning to seek them and thus earn the rewards of their labour. The reas on for not nominating a Khalifa is therefore strictly because the appointment has to be made by God. The Founder of Ahmadiyyat has stated: “The reason why the Holy Prophet of Islam did not nominate his successor was because he knew that God would Himself appoint a Khalifa as it was strictly His function” (Al - Hakam 14. 4. 1905)