The Early Caliphate. Maulana Muhammad Ali

      

      THE

      EARLY

      CALIPHATE

      Maulana Muhammad Ali

      THE EARLY CALIPHATE

      by

      Maulana Muhammad Ali

      The Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha‘at Islam, Lahore, USA

       www.muslim.org

      APPROVAL CERTIFICATE

      This book has been reviewed and approved by Al-Azhar Al-Sharif of the Islamic Research Academy, General Department for Research, Writing and Translation.

      Bismillah ir Rahman ir Raheem

      December 1st, 2002

      Al-Azhar Al-Sharif

      Islamic Research Academy

      General Department for

      Writing and Translation

      Mrs. Samina Malik

      P.O. Box 3370

      Dublin Oh 43016

      Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu

      Book Review

      Referring to your request submitted to the Department of Research, Writing and Translation at the Islamic Research Academy Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in regard to reviewing, evaluating and providing the opinion of Al-Azhar regarding the following books:

      1) The Early Caliphate

      2) Introduction to the Study of the Holy Quran

      3) The New World Order

      4) A Manual of Hadith

      5) Muhammad the Prophet

      written in English language by Maulana Muhammad Ali.

      The Department hereby confirms that the above mentioned books contains useful knowledge and do not include anything that contradicts the Religion of Islam

      Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu

      General Director

      of the Department of Research,

      Writing and Translation

      Ali Abdel Baky

      © Copyright

      Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha‘at Islam, Lahore, USA

      First Edition — 1932

      USA Edition — 1985

      E-book Edition — 2011

      ISBN # 13: 978-1-934271-25-4

      AHMADIYYA ANJUMAN ISHA‘AT ISLAM, LAHORE, U.S.A.

      P.O. Box 3370

      Dublin, Ohio, 43016 USA

       www.muslim.org

      E-mail: [email protected]

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      Fax: [phone]

      Published in eBook format by Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam Lahore USA

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      Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha‘at Islam Lahore Inc. (U.S.A.)

      P.O. Box 3370, Dublin, Ohio, 43016 U.S.A.

      The Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha‘at Islam (Ahmadiyya Society for the propagation of Islam), based in Lahore, Pakistan, is an international Muslim body devoted to the presentation of Islam through literary and missionary work. Since its inception in 1914, it has produced a range of highly acclaimed, standard books on all aspects of Islam, and has run Muslim missions in many parts of the world, establishing the first ever Islamic centres in England (at Woking) and Germany (Berlin). The literature produced by the Anjuman, largely written by Maulana Muhammad Ali, is deep research work of the highest quality, based purely on the original sources of Islam. It has corrected many wrong notions about the religion of Islam, and has received world wide acclaim for its authenticity, scholarship and service of the faith.

      Continuing the mission of Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the mujaddid of the 14th century Hijra, the Ahmadiyya Anjuman seeks to revive the original liberal, tolerant and rational spirit of Islam. It presents Islam as a great spiritual force for bringing about the moral reform of mankind, and shows that this religion has never advocated coercion, the use of physical force or the pursuit of political power in its support.

      Information, books and free literature on Islam may be obtained by contacting The Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha‘at Islam Lahore (or A.A.I.I.L.) at PO Box 3370 Dublin, Ohio 43016, U.S.A. email: [email protected] Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone].

      PREFACE

      The Early Caliphate, which is a record of thirty years of ideal Islamic rule, is a natural sequel to Muhammad the Prophet, in which I offered a picture of the life of that great benefactor of humanity, the Prophet Muhammad, who of all of the world’s great men is the most misunderstood. Two reasons have prompted me to undertake this task. The first is that, just as the Holy Prophet brought about a transformation which is unparalleled in the history of the world, to his immediate followers it was vouchsafed to contribute not only “the most amazing story of conquest in the whole history of our race’ [A Short History of the World by H.G. Wells.] but also wonderful moral and spiritual uplift of humanity. The second reason is that in all histories of this period written by either Muslim or non-Muslim writers, there exist many misunderstandings about the great and noble deeds of the most righteous monarchs that the world has ever produced.

      In the Early Caliphate I have dealt with the period of thirty years that followed the death of the Holy Prophet. In Islamic history this period is known as Khilafah Rashidah or the rightly directed Caliphate, the underlying significance being that the men who were chosen to steer the temporal bark of Islam during this period were also models of righteousness and that they led the Muslim nation onward both temporally and spiritually. In a hadith of the Holy Prophet, this period of thirty years is specially called Khilafah or Successorship to the Holy Prophet as distinguished from Mulk or the Kingdom of Islam which came after it. In the last phase of the Holy Prophet’s life he was both prophet and king, a spiritual guide of his people as well as their temporal head, and therefore the later phase of the kingdom of Islam in which the king was only the temporal head does not fully represent the idea of successorship. The Khilafah Rashidah or the Early Caliphate, however, is in both aspects fully representative of successorship to the Prophet, and it is for this reason that I have included in the history of the Caliphate an account of the lives of the four Caliphs whose reigns constitute the Early Caliphate, viz., Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman and ‘Ali.

      I would draw attention to two salient points about which there prevails great misconception. The first is the general impression among Muslims as well as non-Muslims that, though the battles which the Holy Prophet had to fight were defensive and not aggressive, yet the wars of the Early Caliphate were undertaken with no other object than the expansion of Islam and the territorial extension of its kingdom. In this short history I have shown that this is quite an erroneous view, and that Muslims never sallied forth to impose their religion or even their rule on the neighbouring empires; or to offer what has frequently been represented as the alternatives to Islam or Jizyah. This question has been fully dealt with in the lives of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. The second point to which I wish to draw special attention relates to the equally great misconception as to internal dissensions