The Reality of Khilafah — Page 136
SIRRUL-KHILAFAH— 136 The Turmoil of Apostasy following the Death of the Best of Messengers & the Leader of the Righteous s as When the Messenger of Allah, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, passed away, the Arabs apostatized as whole tribes or factions of them, and hypocrisy resurfaced. On account of their small numbers and the large numbers of enemies, and also because of their grief and sadness on account of the passing away of the Holy Prophet s as , the Muslims were like sheep out on a rainy night. ( History of Ibn Khald u n, Part II, p. 65) Ibn Khald u n also wrote— ‘The common and elite of Arabs apostatized. The public of Ta yi’ and Asad gathered around T ulay h ah. Gha t f a n apostatized, and Haw a zin withheld the pay- ment of alms. The elite of Ban u Sulaim renounced Islam and peo- ple everywhere did likewise. ’ ([ History of Ibn Khald u n, Part II,] p. 65) Ibn Ath i r writes in his chronicles: ‘When the news of the demise of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, reached Makkah, its Governor, ‘It a b ibn Usaid, went into hiding and Makkah was shaken to the core, and it seemed imminent that its people would renounce Islam. ’ ([ al-K a mil fit- T a r i kh, T a r i kh ibn al-Ath i r, ] Part I, p. 134) He also records— The common and elite of every tribe apos- tatized. Hypocrisy came out in the open, and Jews and Christians started looking for favourable opportunities. Muslims were like sheep on a rainy night due to the loss of their Prophet, their small number and the multitude of their enemy. It was at such a time that the people said to Hadrat Ab u Bakr: ‘These people