Khilafat-e-Rashidah — Page 64
64 KHILAFAT-E-R A SHIDAH true that the help and support that we offered and the services we rendered to the Holy Prophet sa were not for any worldly gains or to attain sovereignty after him. They were only for the sake of God. The main concern now is not about the right to Khilafat but about the obligation to Islam. From this perspective, the Am i r should be from the Muh a jir i n , for they were blessed with the company of the Holy Prophet sa for a long time. ” The debate continued for some time, and within half an hour or so, the people came around to the view that the Khalifah should be from the Muh a jir i n. Then Hadrat Abu Bakr ra nominated Hadrat Umar ra and Hadrat Abu Ubaida ra for this post, and asked everyone to enter into the Bai‘at (allegiance) of any one of them, but both declined the proposition and said that they would pledge allegiance to the person whom the Holy Prophet sa made the Imam of S al a t , and who was the best among the Muh a jir i n. In other words, there was no one better suited to Khilafat than Hadrat Abu Bakr ra. On this, the people started taking the pledge of Bai‘at at the hand of Hadrat Abu Bakr ra. Hadrat Umar ra was the first to take the Bai‘at , then Hadrat Abu Ubaida ra and after him, Bashir bin Sa‘d Khazraji ra. After them, the tribe of Aus and the people of Khazraj started taking Bai‘at. The people were so enthusiastic, that in their eagerness, they nearly trampled Sa‘d, who was ill and was unable to get up. Within a short time, all except Sa‘d and Hadrat Ali ra took the Bai‘at. Sa‘d’s son also took the Bai‘at.