نحمده ونصلى ونسلم
على رسوله الكريم
والعاقبة للمتّقين
In a previous entry we looked at the election of sayyidina
Abu Bakr al-SiddiqRA as the Prophet’s first khalifa (successor). I
put forward the notion that while outwardly Abu BakrRA was elected
through means of consultation and discussion among the Prophet’s senior
companions, in reality, it was Allah Most High who inspired the hearts of those
companions to gather around Abu BakrRA and recognize him as the Prophet’s
rightful successor.
In this entry I would like to present an explicit proof
for this doctrine from the mouth of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ himself. In
fact, I had already presented it as a footnote to another previous entry on
this blog of mine concerning the divine wrath and destruction that visited the
opponents of the Prophet ﷺ, namely, Amir b. Tufail and
Arbad b. Qays:
“It is reported that when Aamir b. al-Tufail asked the
Prophet ﷺ
to make him his successor, the Prophet said:
لا, ليس ذلك إليَّ إنما
ذلك إلى الله تعالى يجعله حيث يشاء
"No, that is not up to me; that is up to Allah,
exalted is He, and He appoints whoever He wills" (Asbab-al-Nuzul of
Wahidi; Sura 13:13) Contrary to the view of the Shi'a, this demonstrates that
the Prophet ﷺ did not appoint anyone to succeed him but rather left the
matter to Allah, knowing that Allah would make, from whomsoever He desired, one
to succeed him, and that person ended up being the Prophet's most senior
disciple Abu Bakr. At the same time, this saying establishes the fact that the
matter of Khilafa is ultimately given by Allah Himself, but through the agency
of the elders and learned ones of the community who consult among themselves
but reach their decision through guidance from the Holy Spirit. Therefore,
while apparently it seems that the Khalifa is appointed through consultation, the
reality is that Allah Himself makes the Khalifa through the agency of those who
are consulted.”
Now in this entry I shall merely paste the scanned page
from al-Wahidi’s Asbab-al-Nuzul p.278:
Ibn 'Abbas said: “This verse and the verse before it (Sura
13:12-13) were revealed about 'Amir ibn al-Tufayl and Arbad ibn Rabi'ah. These
two men went to see the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace,
and, as they were coming, one of the prophetic Companions said: 'O Messenger of
Allah, here is 'Amir ibn al-Tufayl coming toward you'. He said: 'Leave him,
Allah will guide him if He wants good for him'. He proceeded along until he
stood in front of the Prophet and said: 'O Muhammad, what do I get if I become
Muslim?' He said: 'You get what the Muslims get and you suffer what they
suffer'. He said: 'In that case put me in charge after you die'. He said: 'No,
that is not up to me; that is up to Allah, exalted is He, and He appoints
whoever He wills'.
In summary, the Prophet ﷺ explicitly stated that it was
not his prerogative to designate his own successor for after his death – a manifest repudiation of the Shi’ite
doctrine – but rather
Allah Himself would appoint whomsoever He wishes as the Prophet’s successor.
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*Note: If the Imamaiya Shi'a argue that based on this tradition Imamate is something established by Nass, but not from the Prophet's ﷺ self, who does not convey anything on his own accord, rather through divine revelation from Allah; the answer to this objection is that in this specific tradition the Prophet ﷺ did not inform Amir b. Tufail that he could not be his successor because Allah had designated Ali b. Abi Talib as the Prophet's successor. Rather, the Prophet ﷺ merely stated that he could not appoint Amir as his successor because that was not for him to do, he had faith that Allah would bring about his successor as and when He wills.
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