ISLAMIAT LECTURE 9

RIGHTLY GUIDED CALIPHS (1)

1)  Hazrat Abu Bakr:

v Election:

-       After the Prophet’s death, Ansar gathered at the place of Saqifah-i-bani Saad to discuss the appointment of caliph

-       On hearing this, Hazrat Abu Bakr, Umar and Ubaidah Bin Jarrah rushed to the scene

-       The ansar wanted the caliph from amongst themselves due to their contribution to Islam

-       Hazrat Abu Bakr argued that the Arabs would not accept a caliph from outside the Quraish

-       It was then suggested that there be two caliphs

-       Hazrat Umar said that this would affect the unity of Islamic empire

-       Hazrat Abu Ubaidah Bin Jarrah requested the Ansar not to push hard for the sake of Islam; they agreed

-       Hazrat Umar said that Hazrat Abu Bakr is the most suitable person and swore allegiance to him

-       Gradually all people started swearing allegiance to him and he was selected caliph

v Expedition to Syria:

-       The Prophet had ordered and expedition to Syria under the leadership of Usamah bin Zayd to avenge the killing of Usamah’s father, Zayd

-       However, when the expedition was on its way, news of the Prophets death came and they returned

-       After taking charge as caliph, Hazrat Abu Bakr gave utmost priority to resend his army

-       Many companions advised him not to do so at such a crucial stage

-       Some suggested to change the leader as Usamah was inexperienced

-       Hazrat Abu Bakr did not agree to any of the suggestions because he believed that he could not end something which the Prophet had ordered

-       He said: “who am I to withhold an army which the Prophet had allowed to proceed. Come what may. Let medina stand of fall, the khilafat live or perish, the command of the Prophet will be carried out

-       The army went in 11 AH and was successful

v Refusal to pay Zakat:

-       After the conquest of Mecca, some tribes surrounding Medina namely Banu Asad, Banu Ghatafan, Banu Abbas had accepted Islam more because of diplomacy rather than purity of faith

-       They sent a deputation to the caliph saying that with the death of the Prophet, their agreement with Islam ended and so they be exempted from paying Zakat.

-       The caliph responded very strictly to this. He said: “ with reference to Zakat, if you withhold as much as a string to tie to a camel, as the Khalifa of the prophet, it is my duty to fight for it, whatever the consequences”

-       The tribes decided to forego Islam

-       They decided to attack Medina while the main Muslim army was at Syria

-       When they advanced on Medina, the caliph himself led an army and defeated them

-       Many tribesmen died, the rest fled in chaos

-       Many other states accepted Islam after this incident

v Apostasy Movement:

-       Some tribes apostatized after the Prophet’s death

-       Some refused to accept the rule of Caliph and send taxes to Medina

-       Some gave allegiance to false Prophets

-       Some rebelling tribes threatened to attack Medina

-       Hazrat Abu Bakr methodically dealt with all of them

-       He divided his army into 11 battalions

-       He placed each battalion under an experienced leader

-       All armies were sent to different parts

-       Commanders were instructed to first call all those tribes to Islam, and if they refuse, then fight

-       Some tribes accepted Islam, others were defeated at war

v False Prophets:

-       After Prophet’s death, some people claimed to be prophets and gathered followers around them,

-       They included:

-       Aswad Ansi

-       Tulayah

-       Sajjah

-       Musailma

-       Hazart Abu Bakr fought against all of them and suppressed them. (to read about them in detail, refer to Farkhanda Noor Muhammad, page 182)

v Compilation of Quran:

At the time of the Prophet’s death, there was no official copy of the Quran and no one possessed a complete written text. However, after the death of many of the memorizers of Quran in the battle of Yamana, Hazrat Umar realized that those who had memorized the Quran would gradually die and this might challenge the preservation of the word of Allah. Therefore, Hazrat Umar suggested to the caliph, Hazrat Abu Bakr that he order a written copy of the Quran to be made. At first Hazrat Abu Bakr hesitated because he did not want to take on a task which the Prophet himself had left undone. However, Hazrat Umar went on insisting him until he finally agreed. Hazrkat Abu Bakr then directed Zaid Bin Sabit, Prophet’s chief scribe, to undertake this task. Zain Bin Sabit is reported to have said: “had I been asked to carry a mountain on my head, it would have been a much easy task than to shoulder this responsibility.  A commission was appointed, headed by Zaid Bin Sabit. It traced out and collected the chapters of Quran from every person who had it in their possession. Zaid Bin Sabit even collected verses of the Quran written on stones, bones and palm leaves. Yet, he was not content and verified all what they collected from other memorizers of the Quran to ensure that the copy they made was flawless and Allah’s word was preserved in its truest form. The copy which this commission prepared was given to the caliph who then gave it to his predecessor, Hazrat Umar. After Hazrat Umar’s death the copy was given to Hazrat Hafsa, a widow of the Prophet, and likewise it came to be known as Mushaf-e-Hufsa.

v Administration:

-       Consulted his companions in matters

-       Divided the empire into provinces

-       Each province had a governor to super intend the army, collect taxes etc

-       Amils were appointed who collected revenues]

-       Qazis administered justice

-       Established military cantonments

-       Maintained a reserve force

-       Safe guarded the rights of non Muslims

-       Gave proper shape to treasury