KHILAFAT KHULAFA-E-RASHIDEEN

(The Caliphate of the Rightly Guided Caliphs)

PRESENTING ARGUMENTS FROM THE HOLY QURAN TO THE SHIAS
[Notes prepared by Furhan A. H. Qureshi based on the Urdu notes of Mubashar A. Kahlon Sahib]

Introduction:
First, ask the Shias if the Holy Quran mentions the establishment of Khilafat (if not, this
debate is useless)
If they answer yes, then ask which verse?
If they quote 24:56, prove that khilafat is intended here otherwise, from any other verse.

Argument 1:

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And those who hearken to their Lord, and observe Prayer, and whose affairs are decided by mutual
consultation (42:39)
except for three or four companions (according to Shias), all companions accepted the caliphs
numbering in thousands

Argument 2:
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Verily, Allah commands you to make over the trusts to those entitled to them, and that, when you judge
between men, you judge with justice. (4:59)
if the caliphs were not entitled to their posts, they shouldnt have been entrusted them
o the companions who elected them/agreed to their caliphate were all God-fearing they
wouldnt have contradicted such a clear commandment of God

Argument 3:

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If thou hadst expended all that is in the earth, thou couldst not have put affection between their hearts, but
Allah has put affection between them. (8:64)
only God could join the companions in unity under the shade of Khilafat (

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o no worldly greed/wealth could have incited them

Argument 4:
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And as to him who opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him, and follows a way other
than that of the believers, We shall let him pursue the way he is pursuing and shall cast him into Hell; and an
evil destination it is. (4:116)
whichever path the believers undertake is correct and straight
o and they all accepted the first three caliphs as rightly guided
whoever opposes their adopted ways is of the Hell-goers (

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Argument 5:
About the Muhajireen, Allah the Almighty says:

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These it is who are true in their faith. (59:9)
these men, true in their faith, accepted the caliphs as rightful

Then, the Quran also commands that one should follow the ways of the righteous and adopt their
chosen paths:

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be with the truthful. (9:119)

Argument 6:
About the Ansar, Allah the Almighty says:

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it is these who will be successful. (59:10)
all Ansar accepted the caliphs and they were successful

Who are the successful according to the Quran?

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Verily, he truly prospers who purifies himself, (87:15)
therefore, these people were pure of heart and mind; they could not have committed a felony or
anything against the will of Allah
o thus, they are correct in their acceptance of the caliphs

Argument 7:

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And thou seest men entering the religion of Allah in troops, (110:3)
this prophecy is only fulfilled if the Khilafat of Hazrat Abu Bakr is considered valid
o otherwise, the Shias believe only 3 or 4 people were truthful (in not accepting him) and
the rest of the Muslims were hypocrites
o Can 3 or 4 people be considered troops? they cant even be considered one troop
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If all those who accepted Hazrat Abu Bakr werent sincere/true, where are the armies mentioned
here?
o therefore, in order to understand/accept the truth of the Holy Prophet, and validate this
prophecy, its necessary to accept the caliphate of Hazrat Abu Bakr

Argument 8:
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Those who, if We establish them in the earth, will observe Prayer and pay the Zakat and enjoin good and
forbid evil. (22:42)
It was prophesied that those who migrate before the Battle of Badr, would be given authority
and power in the land
o four of these immigrants were made caliphs
o therefore, they all possessed these attributes (they enjoined prayer, zakat, goodness and
forbade evil) and thus, are truthful
apart from them, no other migrant companion was granted such a post

Argument 9:
About those who did not participate in the Ghazwa of Tabuk, Allah the Almighty said:

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Say to the desert Arabs who were left behind, You shall be called to fight against a people of mighty valour;
you shall fight them until they surrender. Then, if you obey, Allah will give you a good reward, but if you
turn your backs, as you turned your backs before, He will punish you with a painful punishment. (48:17)
here, a reward has been promised on obeying Allah and a punishment has been set for
disobedience
o directed towards either the Holy Prophet
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or the caliphs
but in the lifetime of the Holy Prophet
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, no such battle was fought again it only occurred
during the time of the three caliphs
o when they called the desert Arabs against Caesar and the Sassanid King (Kisra)

Argument 10:

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Verily, We Ourself have sent down this Exhortation, and most surely We will be its Guardian. (15:10)

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Surely upon Us rests its collection and its recital. (75:18)
the practical measures taken to safeguard the Quran in book form were started by the first three
caliphs
o during the time of Hazrat Abu Bakr, it was combined in one volume
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o Hazrat Umar was the head of the collection of the Quran committee
o Hazrat Uthman standardized the Holy Quran to the proper pronunciation of the
Quraish and sent copies to various parts of the empire
the standardized Quran was copied and reproduced to such an extent that when Hazrat Ali and
Amir Muawiyya fought, it is said that the soldiers of Amir Muawiyya had copies of the Quran
tied to their spears
o thus, the Quran spread so far and wide that it became impossible for anyone to change it
or destroy any part of it
So the preservation of the Quran which Allah Himself promised to take care of was done
through the first three caliphs
o this was their greatest achievement
o and this proves that they were representatives of God on earth their actions were the
actions of God (metaphorically)
the Quran that was spread around the world was the one collected and combined by the caliphs
had there been any problem, Hazrat Ali should have fixed/amended it
o and if Hazrat Alis copy of the Quran was the correct one, why isnt it available now?
o this shows that that copy was not Divinely approved
the Quran would have been safeguarded anyway but God chose the caliphs to do this
monumental task:

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on honoured sheets. Exalted, purified, in the hands of writers, noble and virtuous. (80:14-17)

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O ye who believe! whoso among you turns back from his religion, then let it be known that in his stead Allah
will soon bring a people whom He will love and who will love Him, and who will be kind and humble
towards believers, hard and firm against disbelievers. They will strive in the cause of Allah and will not fear
the reproach of a faultfinder. That is Allahs grace; He bestows it upon whomsoever He pleases; and Allah is
Bountiful, All- Knowing. (5:55)
this verse means: whenever apostasy will occur in the Muslims, a God-loving community will
arise and do Jihad (with the sword/with the Quran)
at the demise of the Holy Prophet, apostasy occurred and God appointed Hazrat Abu Bakr and
his followers as the God-loving community promised in this verse
o and because Abu Bakr
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was the beloved of God, he was a true caliph
It would be strange if apostasy occurred in the time of Abu Bakr, but its eradication occurred in
the time of Ali 25 years later!
o treatment for an ailment is done immediately not years later
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Grammatical Clarification:
the word

is also a synonym for (see: 4:153, 163 both have been used in the exact
same meanings)
here,

does not point to the distant future its extra (see 84:8-12)

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Allah has promised to those among you who believe and do good works that He will surely make them
Successors in the earth, as He made Successors from among those who were before them; and that He will
surely establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them; and that He will surely give them in
exchange security and peace after their fear: They will worship Me, and they will not associate anything with
Me. Then whoso is ungrateful after that, they will be the rebellious. (24:56)

Election of Caliphs was according to the Will of God
The election of the caliphs was according to the will of God because:
o God never told anyone directly (through revelation) that he is the Khalifa
o the Holy Prophet didnt tell anyone directly that hes the Khalifa
o the election took place through Shura under the command (4:59):
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election is a valid form of appointing caliphs:
o God attributes some actions of men to Himself; like the growing of crops: (56:65)

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o He grants sons and daughters to whom He wills (shows that although marriage is done
by humans, and conception and birth are prompted by male & female copulation, God
grants children): (42:50)

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Fulfillment of this verse through Khilafat
Hazrat Abu Bakr:
o in the beginning, very dire times apostasy, weak forces, false prophets, rebels, no hard
copy of the Quran
o but through him, apostates & false prophets were wiped out, rebels defeated and Quran
collection committee was formed to safeguard it
o defeated superpowers: Rome and Persia
Hazrat Umar:
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o more powerful forces and fought Romans and Iranians at the same time
both were defeated and many people accepted Islam
Hazrat Uthman:
o the rest of the remaining areas were conquered
o Quran was standardized to the recitation style of the Quraish
from this standardized version, the Quran spread all around the world and
became safeguarded till the end of time
In general,
o the schemes of these caliphs were successful
o their Quran (i.e. prepared hard copy) was published and spread abroad
o their decisions are still acted upon to this day
o through them, Islam was firmly established on the earth it spread all over
o through them, fear of the believers changed to peace and tranquility
o God Himself bore witness to their great achievements and tasks (22:42)

Shiahs: this promise was for the entire nation not only a few people from it
Our Answer:
a) There are British kings but are all Brits kings?
b) About the Jews, God says: .

,(He made you kings 5:21)

but were all Jews kings?
c) The Jews said, ,

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but the Torah was only revealed to Moses
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not all Jews
d) God told Abraham
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Abraham asked about his progeny (whether they would be leaders as well) God
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(My covenant does not embrace the wrongdoers ibid.)

Were all of Abrahams children made leaders? No some were.
therefore, when particular people receive any favour from God, their nations also benefit