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Islamiyat IGCSEPDF 175
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The caliphs were chosen by ShuraandgeneralconsensusoftheMuslims.Theydidnotthink
of themselves above a commonman.Itimmediatelyestablisheddemocracyandprovesthat
there is no place for dictatorshipinMuslimcountries.AbuBakrwaselectedbytheconsensus
of the majority of Muslims firstatSaqifabaniSaidaanslaterinMasjidNabwi.Afterbeing
elected he addressed the peopleinthesewords:“Opeople!Ihavebeenelectedasyour
Trustee, although I am no betterthananyoneofyou.helpme,IfIamright.IfIam
misguided, set me right. Obey measlongasIobeyAllahandHisProphet;WhenIdisobey
Him and His Prophet, then obeymenot.Theweakestamongyouispowerfulinmyeyes,
until I do not get him his due. Themostpowerfulamongyouistheweakestinmyeyes,until
I do not make him pay due rightstoothers”.
• Before his death, he nominated‘Umarandastherewasnooppositiontohimhewas
elected. Before his death, Umar(R.A)appointedapanelofsixmentoselectaCaliphfrom
amongst themselves. Uthman was electedbythispanelafterageneralBai’t(Pledgeof
loyalty) took place in the mosque. Ali (R.A)wasapproachedbytherebelstobetheCaliph.At
The two oaths and Hazrat Ali’s R.A martyrdom:Inyear660,ayearoftwooaths:
first, A Muslim army from the Syrian garrison touredtheArabianPeninsula,forcingthe
inhabitants of Makkah and Madina and the people ofYementoswearloyaltytoMuawiyaat
the point of the sword. This was 7 speedily followed byacountermarchbythemenfromthe
garrison of Kufawho though unable to intercept Muawiya’sarmysupervisedanotheroathof
allegiance to the legitimate Caliph, Hazrat Ali. Eventually,theIslamicstatewassplitas
Muawiya established his rule over Syria, Egypt, andPalestinewhereasHazratAliR.Aas
Caliph ruled Iraq, Arabia, Persia and Central Asia.Theincidentofthetwooathsofloyalty
being imposed upon the Muslims disgusted manybelieversandalsoarousedanangry
reaction from three Kharijis, who at the conclusionofHajjthatyear,metandvowedthat
they would act against this. In 661AD, on the fortiethanniversaryoftheProphet’s(P.B.U.H)
migration to Madina, they would strike simultaneouslyandfreeIslambyremovingHazrat
Ali R.A Muawiya and Amr ibn al-Aas. The attacks wereplannedforRamadaninthethree
great mosques of Fustat, Damascus and Kufawhere theywereassuredthatAmrdidnotlead
the prayers, but the mosque’s Imam was martyred by onepowerfulblowoftheassassin’s
sword. In Damascus Muawiya’s alert bodyguard observedunusualmovementamongthe
crowd and saved Muawiya R.A as he was in prayer. TheFourthCaliphofIslamHazratAli
R.A however, suffered a mortal blow by Abdur RehmanibnMuljim’sswordwhileinprayer
at the mosque of Kufa, and died two days later at the ageof63HeisburiedinNajaf,inIraq.
Administration: The whole period of Hazrat Ali’s R.AKhilafatpassedincivilwars,sohe
had no time or chance to pay proper attention to administrationorconquest.Hehowever,
deserves credit for whatever he was able to achieve during his shortKhilafat.HazratAli
Administrated the state on the lines laid down by the pervious Khalifaswithoutmakingany
amendments to the rule and regulations. For example, when the Jewswhohadbeen
banished from Hijaz to Najran by Hazrat Umar wanted to come back,hedidnotallowthem
and said, “Whose decision can be better than Umar”. The division oftheprovincesremained
the same as during the time of Hazrat Umar, with few expectations.First,thecapitalwas
changed from Madinah to Kufah. Secondly, the officersandgovernorswerechanged.Hazrat
Ali paid special attention to army requirements. Manycantonmentsandfortresseswerebuilt
during his Khilafat. He was very strict in safeguardingthestatetreasury.HazratAlikepta
strict watch on his officers who administrated justice.Hewouldcheckthegoodstobesold
and their price in the market. He was very particularintakingcareofnon-Muslims.
Caliphs as Rolemodels