Nubuwwat & Khilafat Prophethood & its Successorship — Page 40
N UBUWWAT AND K HIL A FAT 40 Prophet sa deemed it obligatory to take the pledge at the hand of the khal i fah before burying the body of the Holy Prophet sa. ( Badr , March 3, 1911, p. 9) This makes it clear that taking the pledge with every khal i fah is obligatory. The previous statements make it clear that Allah appoints whomsoever He wills as khal i fah. After the Promised Messiah as , Allah will appoint whom He wills. The obedience to all the khulaf a’ will be obligatory just as the obedience of the righteous khulaf a’ was obligatory after the demise of the Holy Prophet sa. Hadrat Khalifatul Masih I ra considered himself to be the righteous khal i fah just like Hadrat Ab u Bakr ra , Hadrat ‘Umar ra and other khulaf a’. 9) Another one of his statements is worthy of note: A point I wish to make is worth remembering. Despite deliberate attempts, I cannot resist saying so. I have noticed that Hadrat Khw a j a Suleim a n (mercy of Allah be upon him) was utterly devoted to the Holy Qur’ a n. I love him dearly. He served as khal i fah for seventy-eight years and he was appointed when he was twenty-two. Remember this matter; I have stated it for a special reason and purely for your benefit. ( Badr, July 27, 1910) 10) In 1911 when he fell ill, he wrote a testament and handed it over to one of his pupils. He wrote: Khalifah: Ma h m u d Upon recovery he tore this paper up, which had been sealed. 11) On March 4, 1914, Hadrat Khalifatul Masih I ra felt very weak. He asked for a pen and ink and wrote the following testament for his successor: