Khilafat-e-Rashidah — Page 56
56 KHILAFAT-E-R A SHIDAH Prophet sa was suffering severely in his final illness, he asked the Companions ra to bring a folio, a pen, and inkpot, so that he might dictate for them something which would keep them rightly guided. The Shias assert that the Holy Prophet sa wanted to dictate that Hadrat Ali ra would be the Khalifah after him, and that he should be honoured as their Imam. They say that Hadrat Umar ra did not let him dictate, and asked the people to leave the matter, saying that the Holy Prophet sa was in great suffering, and it was not advisable to trouble him, and that the Holy Quran being sufficient as guidance, nothing else was required. The Shias call this the connivance of Hadrat Umar ra , that in order to usurp sovereignty from Hadrat Ali ra , he did not let the Holy Prophet sa dictate a will. They say that if he had let the Holy Prophet sa dictate a will, he would have dictated in favour of Hadrat Ali ra. There are many answers to this objection, but I will give only two at this time. First, if the Holy Prophet sa wanted to dictate a will of Khilafat in favour of Hadrat Ali ra , then why, on the intervention of Hadrat Umar ra , did he not ask again for the pen and inkpot? He, after all, should know that the attempt of Hadrat Umar ra , being an enemy of Hadrat Ali ra (God forbid), could not benefit Hadrat Ali ra in any way. In such a situation, the Holy Prophet sa would have surely asked of Hadrat Umar ra the reason for his conduct. He, no doubt, was suffering, but he did not take any notice of it. He could have ordered that the