Leadership In Islam The Selection of the Four Caliphs Minggu 3 Lampiran 1

1.0 Introduction The method of selecting leaders varies throughout the history of the Islamic empire. The Qur’an does not specifically mention how a leader shall be appointed As such even the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) did not appoint a successor prior to his death or leave any will.

Thus, when the shari’ah is silent on the appointment of the leader, it was left to the Muslims to decide the most suitable candidate to be the leader as the method of selection is immaterial compared to the quality of the incumbent leader. All four khalifah were appointed to the post in a different way

2.0 Caliph Abu Bakar (ra) The first Khalifah, Saidina Abu Bakar As Siddiq, was appointed after several considerations by the Muslims Since Saidina Abu Bakar’s nomination was not unanimous, however taking the queue from the Prophet (pbuh), first when the Prophet (pbuh) was sick, Saidina Abu Bakar was appointed by him to lead the prayers.

The indecisiveness in the beginning was due to the fact that the Al Ansar had nominated Saad bin Ubadah but had accepted Saidina Abu Bakar and Umar Al Khattab’s explanation that the Khalifah shall be elected from among the Quraish. Also, the Prophet (pbuh) had ever mentioned that the Al Ansar were helpers

There was also the third not so popular view that Khalifah should be appointed from the Bani Hashim tribe and Saidina Ali Ibn Abi Talib should be appointed.

3.0 Caliph Umar ibn Khattab (ra) The second Khalifah, Saidina Umar Al Khattab was directly nominated by Saidina Abu Bakar when he was about to die after a fortnight of high fever. His nomination of Umar was agreed by all Muslims, who gave their bai’ah in Masjid Nabawi. This direct nomination of a successor by the predecessor was the second type of election of a Khalifah.

4.0 Caliph Uthman bin Affan (ra) The third Khalifah, Saidina Uthman bin Affan was appointed by a syura of six persons appointed by Saidina Umar and among them they would elect a successor. This nomination was made after Saidina Umar was struck by a poisonous dagger while he was about to lead the Fajar prayer

Actually, according to analysis, Saidina Umar’s choice of successor would have been Abu Ubaidah Al Jarrah, had Abu Ubaidah not died earlier. The nomination of the six persons to sit in the syura showed that Saidina Umar could not decide on the most suitable candidate to succeed him with the demised of Abu Ubaidah Al Jarrah

Interestingly, Uthman from Bani Umayyah and Ali from Bani Hashim, voted for each other, enforcing our earlier statement that leadership in Islam is not an appointment dreamt by any Muslim who understood its accountability to Allah.

5.0 Caliph Ali bin Abi Talib (ra) The forth Khalifah, Saidina Ali was appointed after rebels martyred Saidina Uthman. After Saidina Uthman’s death, the rebels offered the Khilafah to several prominent persons like Zubair, Sa’ad and Ali but all rejected it.

Malik Ashtar the rebel, then forced Saidina Ali to accept the appointment of Khalifah or be killed. When Saidina Ali accepted, unlike the previous Khalifah, he did not receive a full bai’ah from all Muslims. Companions like Sa’ad bin Abi Waqqas, Talhah, Aishah and Muawiyah, would not pledge the bai’ah unless Saidina Ali took revenge on the death of Saidina Uthman.

6.0 Conclusion There were several criteria viewed by the Muslims in deciding the legitimacy of the successions in Khulafa Al-Rashidin. According to Najeebabadi (2000), selection of Khalifah is decided by Allah the Al Mighty. The Khalifah is Allah’s choice among the virtuous and pious Muslims. There is thus no question about its legitimacy as it is a divine legitimacy

This makes the Islamic concept of legitimacy in particular of choosing a leader different from other systems which only based on popularity of the leader – legitimacy through mandate given by the majority irregardless of the quality of the leader. Islam utilises both types of system to support the legitimacies of its leader. If we look at the history on the successions of Khulafa Al-Rashidin, the first three khalifah had no problem with their successions to the Khilafah, as they were generally accepted by the Muslims.

But for Saidina Ali r.a., there was conflict because the Muslims were divided due to the issue of revenge of Saidina Uthman’s death. Interesting the legitimacy of the succession of the Khulafa Al-Rashidin was not an issue to the Muslims at that time as they all knew that the four were held highly by Rasulullah (pbuh) and his companions.

They were among the ten guaranteed of heaven. Rasulullah (pbuh) and even in the Quran did not mention the method of selecting a leader but Rasulullah pbuh did mention the criteria of a leader. So in this sense the Muslims then were not duly worried about the process but rather who was to be the caliph.

Unlike the Western democracy, Muslims in the period of the four rightly-guided caliphs and the successive Islamic caliphates did not go through an open election to select their leaders. However, once their leader had been appointed, Muslims gave their allegiance in the form of a bai’ah, which forms the mandate given by the citizens.

This differentiates the populace legitimacy in Islam from the Western system. It can be analysed that the Muslims chose a successor for the leadership from among them with noble characters and also later on by the selection of a syura called the ahlul hilli wal ‘iqdi (those who loosen and bind). The syura which decided on the nomination and appointment of the leader consisted of the elders and elites of the society with exemplary qualities and personalities known to the public.

As compared to the Western democracy where leadership is decided by the general public through an open election. The system is prone to manipulation of public opinion and interest groups. The Islamic system ensures the best person for the job gets the position

As for the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphate, appointment of leaders was mainly hereditary like monarchy. Islamic scholars have rejected hereditary appointment of a successor, hence the legitimacy of the caliphate that practiced this method of succession was questionable.

7.0 Q & A Thank You! Be an ALIM Leader! Abdan Syakura! Vicegerent of Allah!