A DISCOURSE IN ISLAMIC STATE part 44

Assaolamualaikum,


..............continued from part 43


THE ISLAMIC STATE

The Legacy

Tabataba'e (op.cit. pp.35) in his Shiite perspective, wrote that 'Ali was khalifah of the Muslim ummah after the Prophet s.a.w., and after him the imamah was in the hands of twelve of his descendants. When Khomeini was wali e faqih of the Iranian Republic not only did he not offer to take bai'a from the ummah (Siddiqui, 1986; pp.12), but he also refused it.


What transpires here is surely there is clear distinction between khilafah and imamah; between a khalifah and an imam. The Al Qur'an says:

وَإِذۡ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةِ إِنِّى جَاعِلٌ۬ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ خَلِيفَةً۬

Behold, thy Lord said to the
angles:"I will create
a khalifah on earth

Al Baqarah 2:30

In an another verse Allah says:

يَـٰدَاوُ ۥدُ إِنَّا جَعَلۡنَـٰكَ خَلِيفَةً۬ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ فَٱحۡكُم بَيۡنَ ٱلنَّاسِ بِٱلۡحَقِّ

O Daud! We did indeed

Make thee a khlaifah
on earth. So judge thou

Between men in truth and justice

Shad 38:26

What is extricated from these two verses is that the realm of jurisdiction of the khilafah is the world.


On the other hand, the Al Qur'an says:

وَإِذِ ٱبۡتَلَىٰٓ إِبۡرَٲهِـۧمَ رَبُّهُ ۥ بِكَلِمَـٰتٍ۬ فَأَتَمَّهُنَّ‌ۖ قَالَ إِنِّى جَاعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَامً۬ا‌ۖ


And remember that Ibrahim
Was tried by his Lord
With certain Commands
Which he fulfilled.
He said: I will make thee
An Imam to the Nations

Al Baqarah 2:124

The office of Daud was certainly of greater magnitude as compared to that of Ibrahim since Daud's office is on the same term as the ofice revealed by Allah to the Angles in the verse 2:30


..............to be continued