Obey the Khulafa with True Sincerity — Page 9
anyone who issues verdicts on the basis of so- cial rank and status, is both wicked and cor- rupt, let alone worthy of being addressed as the khalifa. Have you not witnessed that I do not concern myself with people, who in my opinion, are opponents of the community, even if this means that all of them desert me. It is God, Who has appointed me the khalifa, and not any individual. A person appointed by people cannot be protected by them. For example, if God caused such a person to die from a [fatal] disease, there is nothing that his selectors could do about it. I consider any khilafat which does not emanate from God, a curse. Similarly, I have no desire whatsoever for being addressed as Khalifatul-Masih. I affirm my belief in di- vinely established khilafat, and disregard all forms of khilafat instituted by human beings. It is alleged [in the same letter] that I fail to dispense justice or aid the poor. If I am -9-