Surah al-Baqarah. (30)

Surah al-Baqarah. (30)

30. And remember when your Lord said to the angels: ‘verily, I am going to place a successor on the earth.’ They said: ‘will you place therein those who will make mischief therein and shed blood, - while we glorify You with praises and thanks and sanctify You?’ He said: ‘I know that which you do not know’"

His saying, ‘successor (Khaleefah)’: The scholars have explained this in two ways,
That the khaleefah refers to our father Adam, upon him and our Prophet be peace and blessings, because he was the khaleefah of Allaah on His earth appointed to implement His laws. And it is said: that Adam was the khaleefah because he succeeded the Jinn that used to live on the earth before him, so upon this understanding (the grammatical construction of khaleefah built upon the form of) fa’eela is taken with the meaning of faa’il (the subject). It is also said: that Adam was the khaleefah because when he died, he would be succeeded by those that came after him, so upon this understanding (the grammatical construction built upon the form of) fa’eela is taken with the meaning of maf’ool (the object). And Adam being referred to as the khaleefah is the clear understanding derived from the context of this verse.
That His saying, ‘khaleefah’ is singular but intending the plural i.e. successors{1} - this being the preferred opinion of ibn Katheer. The singular, if it is a generic noun, is commonly employed in the language of the Arabs to refer to the plural such as in His saying, "indeed the pious are in Gardens and river (nahr)" (54:54) meaning rivers (Anhaar) with the evidence of His saying, "in it are rivers of water, the taste and smell of which are not changed" (47:15), and in His saying, "and make us leaders (imaamah) for the pious" (25:74), and in His saying, "but if they, of their own good pleasure, remit (tibna) any part of it." (4:4)
So, if this noble verse is open to these two interpretations that have just been mentioned, then know that other verses lend weight to the second explanation, i.e. that the meaning of successor (khaleefah) is the successors to Adam and his sons, not just Adam himself. For example His saying,
"Will you place therein those who will make mischief therein and shed blood?" (2:30)
And it is known that Adam, upon him and our Prophet be peace and blessings, is not from those that made mischief therein and shed blood. And His sayings,
"It is He Who has made you successors, generation after generation, in the earth" (35:39)
"And He made you generations coming after generations, succeeding each other in the earth" (6:165)
And other similar verses.
It is possible to reply to the evidences of this opinion by saying that the khaleefah refers to Adam, and that Allaah taught the Angels that there would be from his progeny those that would make mischief and shed blood, and therefore the Angels said what they said. And that the meaning of the khilaafah of Adam was the khilaafah as understood in the Sharee’ah (i.e. the Leader of the Islamic State), but the khilaafah of his progeny was something more general than this i.e. that generations would succeed other generations{2}.
Addendum: al-Qurtobee said in his commentary to this noble verse,
‘This verse comprises the foundational proof for appointing an Imaam and Khaleefah who is to be heard and obeyed, so that through him the voices become united and the laws are implemented. There is no difference amongst the Muslim nation with respect to the obligation of this, and neither amongst the Imaams, except for what is reported from al-Asam due his being ignorant of the Sharee’ah,’
Going on to say,
‘And our evidence for this lies in the saying of Allaah, "verily, I am going to place a khaleefah on the earth" and His saying, "O Daawood, indeed We have made you a khaleefah in the earth" and He said, "Allaah has promised those who believe from amongst you and do righteous deeds, that He shall certainly grant them succession in the earth" meaning he will make some of them to be khaleefahs, and other such verses.
And the Companions agreed to giving precedence to (Abu Bakr) as-Siddeeq after the difference that occurred between the Muhaajiroon and the Ansaar in the shelter of Banee Saa’ida over who should be appointed as the Khaleefah - to the point that the Ansaar said, ‘appoint a leader from us and a leader from you’ but this was opposed and restrained by Abu Bakr, Umar and the Muhaajiroon who said, ‘the Arabs will only follow this tribe of the Qur’aysh’ and they reported the narration concerning this so the Ansaar retracted what they said and gave their obedience to the Qur’aysh. So if the designation of a leader was not obligatory, neither from amongst the Qur’aysh or from other than them, then why did this debate and dialogue take place? And if one were to say: "appointing a leader, from the Qur’aysh or other than them, is not obligatory" then there would be no reason for this debate, and neither would there be any benefit in such a debate over an issue that was not obligatory.
Then when death came to as-Siddeeq, he appointed Umar to be the leader and not one person said to him, "this is not obligatory upon you or us". So this indicates that it is obligatory, and a pillar from amongst the pillars of the Religion by which the Muslims are kept safeguarded.’ End of the words of al-Qurtobee.
He (ash-Shanqeetee) said, may Allaah forgive him: from the matters that are clearly known in the religion by necessity is that it is obligatory upon the Muslims to appoint an Imaam through whom the words would be united and the laws of Allaah be implemented in His earth, no one has differed over this except for those who are not depended upon like Abu Bakr al-Asam the Mu’tazili whose mention has preceded in the words of al-Qurtobee, and like ad-Diraar and Hishaam al-Qutee and their likes.
The majority of the scholars are of the opinion that the obligation of the Great Imaam has come to be known via the route of the Sharee’ah, as is indicated by the verses that have preceded and the consensus of the Companions, may Allaah be pleased with them, and because Allaah has curbed by means of the Imaam what he has not curbed by means of the Qur’aan as the Exalted said,
"Indeed We have sent Our Messengers with clear proofs, and revealed with them the Scripture and the Balance that mankind uphold justice. And We have brought forth iron wherein is mighty power (in matters of war), as well as many benefits for mankind." (57:25)
Because His saying, "and We have brought forth iron wherein is mighty power" contains an indication towards employing the sword at the time of dissidence after the proof has been established upon the dissidents.
The Imaamiyyah said: the appointing of an Imaam is known to be obligatory through the intellect not the Sharee’ah. And it is reported from al-Hasan al-Basree and al-Haafidh al-Balkhee that: the appointing of an Imaam is known to be obligatory by way of both the Sharee’ah and the intellect.
Know that what the Imaamiyyah ignorantly speak of with respect to their lies against Abu Bakr and Umar and their likes from the Sahaabah, and what they ignorantly speak of with respect to the ‘12 Imaams’ and the ‘The Awaited Sinless Imaam’, and other such cases of their lies and distortions, are all false having no basis.
And if you wish to find out the truth of this then I enjoin you to the book, ‘Minhaaj al-Sunnah an-Nabawiyyah fee Naqd Kalaam ash-Shee’ah wa al-Qadariyyah’ by the Unique Scholar Shaykh Taqee ad-Deen Abu al-Abbaas ibn Taymiyyah, may Allaah cover him with His Mercy, for he has brought forward in it that which requires no increase from the decisive evidences, and radiant proofs falsifying all of these concocted distortions.
So when you come to realise the obligations of appointing the Great Imaam over the Muslims then know that the Imaam is to be designated by one of a number of ways:
1) Anyone who the Messenger (SAW) has textually stated to be an Imaam, so he is given the duty due to this.
Some of the scholars said: the appointment of Abu Bakr as Imaam is from this category because in the Prophet (SAW) giving him precedence over being the imaam of the congregational prayer, and this is the most important of matters, lies an indication in his having precedence in being the Great Imaam - and this is obvious.
The agreement of the people holding influence and authority in granting him the pledge of allegiance.
Some of the scholars said: the appointment of Abu Bakr as Imaam falls under this category due to the agreement of the people of influence and authority from amongst the Muhaajiroon and the Ansaar in giving him the pledge of allegiance after differing over this. And no consideration is given to the lack of acceptance on the part of some of them as happened with Sa’d bin Ubaadah, may Allaah be pleased with him, in his not giving his pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr.
That he be appointed by the Khaleefah who came before him, as occurred in the case of Abu Bakr and Umar, may Allaah be pleased with them.
From this category is Umar’s establishing a consultative committee to decide between six Companions of the Messenger of Allaah (SAW) with whom he was pleased with when he died.
That he conquer the people by his sword and forcefully attain the Khilaafah to the extent that the affairs become stabilised under his rule. So the people should then follow him due to the harm that lies in revolting against him such as the breaking up of the Muslim community and the shedding of the Muslim’s blood.
Some of the scholars said: in this category falls the stance of Abdul Malik bin Marwaan against Abdullaah ibn Zubair and his fighting him at the hands of Hajjaaj bin Yusuf in Makkah, and so the affairs became stabilised under him. This was stated by ibn Qudaamah in his ‘Mughnee.’
Some of the scholars said that he can be appointed as an Imaam by the pledge of allegiance of only one person, and they made the pledge of allegiance of Umar to Abu Bakr in the enclosure of Banee Saqeefah of this category. Al-Qurtobee leaned towards this opinion and Imaam al-Haramayn (al-Juwaynee) relates a consensus over this.
It is also said: he has to be appointed as an Imaam by the pledge of allegiance of four people, and opinions other than this have also been stated.
This is a summary of the words of the scholars concerning those who can be given the authority of being the Imaam, and the words of Shaykh Taqee ad-Deen Abu al-Abbaas ibn Taymiyyah, may Allaah have Mercy on him, in ‘al-Minhaaj,’ dictate that an Imaam is to be designated by the pledge of allegiance of those that would strengthen his valor and power and would enable him to implement the laws of Islaam, because the one who is not able to do this, such as any ordinary Muslim, then he is not to be the Imaam.
Know that the Great Imaam has to fulfill a number of conditions:
That he be from the tribe of Quraysh. The Quraysh are the offspring of Fahr bin Maalik, and it is said: the offspring of Nadr bin Kanaanah but the Fahree is from the tribe of Quraysh without any contention and their is a difference of opinion concerning those that are from the offspring of Maalik bin an-Nadr or (his father) Nadr bin al-Kanaanah - are they to be considered from the Quraysh or not? As for those who are the offspring of Kanaanah through other than Nadr then they are not considered to be from the Quraysh without any contention.
Al-Qurtobee said, during the course of his commentary to this verse, while mentioning the conditions of the Imaam,
‘First: that he be from the Quraysh proper due to his (SAW) saying, "the Imaams are from the Quraysh" and there is a difference of opinion over this.’
He (ash-Shanqeetee) said, may Allaah forgive him: the difference of opinion that al-Qurtobee mentioned over the condition of the Imaam being from the Quraysh is weak for the authentic ahaadeeth prove that the Quraysh are given precedence in being the Imaams over other than them, and the majority of the Muslims are agreed to this.
More than one (scholar) has related a consensus on this but the claim of consensus is need of an explanation to what Imaam Ahmad reports from Umar via a chain of narration consisting of trustworthy and precise narrators, "if my time comes and Abu Ubaidah is alive, I would pass the Khilaafah to him" and he mentioned the hadeeth and in it occurs, "and if my time comes and Abu Ubaidah has died, then I would pass the Khilaafah to Mu’aadh bin Jabal." And it is known that Mu’aadh is not from the Quraysh.
It’s explanation lies in the claim that the consensus over this occurred after the passing away of Umar, or that his opinion later changed to agree with the majority. So the condition that he should be from the Quraysh is the truth - but the texts of the Sharee’ah prove that this precedence given them in being appointed as Imaams is conditional upon their establishing the Religion and their obeying Allaah and His Messenger. So if they oppose the Order of Allaah, then those other than them who do obey Allaah and implement His Laws have greater precedence in being appointed as Imaams.
From amongst the proofs for this lies in what al-Bukhaaree reports in his ‘Saheeh’ from Mu’aawiyah, may Allaah be pleased with him, when he said,
‘Chapter: The Leaders are from the Quraysh
Abu al-Yamaan reported to us that Shu’ayb related to him from az-Zuhree who said, ‘Muhammad bin Jubair al-Mut’am used to tell us that it reached Mu’aawiya, while he was staying with him amongst a delegation of the Quraysh, that Abdullaah bin Amr had said that there would be leader from Qahtaan. So Mu’aawiyah became angry and stood up, praised Allaah as He deserved and said, "to proceed, I have come to know that there are people amongst you narrating things that are not in the Book of Allaah and neither are reported from the Messenger of Allaah (SAW). Such people are the your ignorant ones, beware of vain desires that would misguide those that possess them. I have heard the Messenger of Allaah (SAW) saying, ‘the affair shall remain with the Quraysh, and none will rebel against them except that Allaah will throw them down on their faces, as long as they establish the religion.’"’ End of what is in Saheeh al-Bukhaaree. {3}
And the place of evidence lies in his saying, "as long as they establish the religion" meaning that if they do not establish the religion then they are not to be from the Imaams. This is what is correct, having no doubt in it concerning the meaning of this hadeeth. Ibn Hajr said in ‘Fath al-Baaree’ during the course of his discussion over this hadeeth of Mu’aawiyah,
"the hadeeth of Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq contains something similar to what occurs in the hadeeth of Mu’aawiyah, this was mentioned by Muhammad bin Ishaaq in ‘al-Kitaab al-Kabeer’ and he mentioned the story pertaining to the enclosure of Banee Saqeefah and the pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr in it and that Abu Bakr said, "indeed this matter is to remain amongst the Quraysh as long as they obey Allaah and remain firm upon His Command.
The ahaadeeth that occur pertaining to this are of three types:
1) Those threatening them with a curse if they do not preserve and upkeep what they have been commanded, as occurs in the ahaadeeth that have been mentioned in the previous chapter where he (SAW) said, "the leaders are from the Quraysh as longs as they do three things: when they rule they are just...," and in it occurs, "and whosoever does not do this then the Curse of Allaah is upon him." But this does not contain anything that would necessitate revolting against them.
2) Those threatening that Allaah will be severe against those that go to extremes in harming (the Muslims), so in Ahmad and Abu Ya’laa is the hadeeth reported by ibn Mas’ud from the Prophet (SAW) that he said, "indeed you are the rightful claimants to this matter (of leadership) as long as you do innovate, but when you change Allaah will send against you those who will sever you just as this tree stump has been severed."
It’s narrators are trustworthy and precise except that it is from the narration of Ubaidullaah bin Abdullaah bin Utbah bin Mas’ud from the uncle of his father Abdullaah bin Mas’ud but he did not meet him. This is the narration of Saalih bin Qaisaan from Ubaidullaah, but he was contradicted by Habeeb ibn Abee Thaabit who reported it from al-Qaasim bin Muhammad bin Abdurrahmaan from Ubaidullaah bin Abdullaah ibn Utbah from Abu Mas’ud al-Ansaaree and it’s wording is, "this matter (of leadership) will always remain amongst you, and you are it’s rightful claimants."
There is a question over the hearing of Ubaidullaah from Abu Mas’ud built upon the difference concerning what year he died in but there is a support for this hadeeth in the mursal of Ataa bin Yasaar reported by ash-Shaafi’ee and al-Bayhaqee with an authentic chain up to Ataa with the wording that he (SAW) said to the Quraysh, "you have precedence in this matter as long as you remain upon the truth and do not divert from it and thereby get stripped (of authority) as this branch has been stripped of leaves."
There is no categorical statement in this hadeeth to revolt against the rulers even though it may contain an indication towards this.
3) Those containing permission to take a stance against them, kill them and revolt against them as is reported by at-Tayaalisee and at-Tabaraanee from the hadeeth of Thawbaan from the Messenger (SAW), "stand firm for the Quraysh as long as they stand firm for you, and if they do not stand firm then place your swords upon your backs and destroy their green pastures. If you cannot do this then be unhappy farmers." [da'eef as in ad-Da'eefah no. 1643]
It’s narrators are trustworthy and precise but the hadeeth contains a missing link because it’s reporter Saalim bin Abee al-Ja’d did not hear from Thawbaan but the hadeeth has a support in the hadeeth reported by at-Tabaraanee from the hadeeth of Nu’maan bin Basheer with the same meaning.
Imaam Ahmad reports from the hadeeth of Dhee Mikhbar, the son of the brother of an-