Malfuzat – Volume X — Page 285
11 April 1908 285 sinful would have been the first to join the Prophet s as. 1 There would remain no way to distinguish between the truthful and the imposter, or between the sincere and the hypocrite. In that case, there would be—God forbid—no assurance. Look, Hazrat Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, recognised the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, due to his sound judgement and light of faith. Did he ask for a Sign? Of course not! He accepted the truth of the claim of the Holy Prophet s as with great conviction and steadfastness simply on the basis of the initial events of the life of the Holy Prophet s as. It is the Prerogative of God Almighty to Make a Khalifah after a Prophet Sufis have written that, before all others, truth is instilled by God in the heart of the person who is to become the Khalifah [Successor] of a saintly person, a Messenger, or a Prophet of God. There is a quake that rattles the world at the death of a Messenger or spiritual leader, and that time is extremely per- ilous. And God effaces it through a Khalifah and the work is stabilized and realigned through that Khalifah. Why did the Holy Prophet s as not appoint a Khalifah after him? The secret behind this was this very point that he knew full well that Allah the Exalted would Himself appoint a Khalifah, as this, indeed, is the prerogative of God Himself and that there is no error in the choice of God. Accordingly, Allah the Exalted 1. From Badr: If all Signs were equally bright, unequivocal, and corresponding to the wishes [of the detractors], even Abu Jahl would have come to believe. But he was evil spirited and Allah did not desire that he should join such a pure group ( Badr, vol. 7 , no. 16, p. 4, dated 23 April 1908).