Indeed it is clear that the baya’ah is to be given to the Imaam to obey him in all conditions whether easy or difficult as clearly indicated in the following ahadeeth Abu Hurayrah reported that Nabi (saw) said “It is upon you (i.e. obligatory) to listen and obey in your hardship [u’srika] and your ease [yusrika] and what you like [manshatika] and dislike [makrahika] and even if there is preference over you [atharatin a’layka].” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4524]) and U’baadah related a hadeeth from his father who related from his father who said ‘We gave our baya’ah to Rasool Allah (saw) to “Listen and obey in hardship and ease [fi’l u’sri wal yusri] and what is liked and disliked [wal manshati wal makrahi] and upon preference given over us [wa a’la atharatin a’layna] and upon not opposing the people of authority [wa a’la laa nunaaza’l amra ahlahu] and in speaking the truth in whatever position and not fearing in the matter of Allah the reproach of a reproacher.” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4538-4540]a similar hadeeth is also narrated by Ubaadah bin as Saamit in BUKHAARI kitaabul Ahkaam [vol.9 no.307])

As for saying that the khaleefah must have power and must have established all the laws of Islam as a condition of his khilaafah then this is wrong because his leadership must first be recognised before the power can be under his control. The application of laws can not be a ‘condition’ [shart] of khilaafah because the conditions have to be present before the hukm is valid. Therefore if we look to the established conditions of Imaamah e.g. Muslim, Male, Mature, Sane, Free, Trustworthy, Qurayshi…..we see that all of these exist before he is appointed. They have to be existing before he is appointed to perform his duties because they are conditions of his duties being valid. Therefore it is impossible that we say the power and establishment of laws are conditions because he can not be in control of these matters until he is actually appointed and recognised so that the people follow him in such issues. Therefore these are obligations rather than conditions. If he was deliberately to deny these obligations or make effort to prevent them then he would be reomoved and if he neglected them he would be accounted. Also we see that the khaleefah can only perform his duties byu giving commands and it is those who are obliged to listen to him and obey him who actually fulfil these tasks. Therefore the Imaam must be first recognised as the Imaam and it is the recognition and obedience which results in the fruition of the obligations and the benefits of khilaafah. And we must be careful not to confuse obligations with conditions as this would result in the suspension of the shari’ah rules and an absence of their benefits and we should be careful not to invent conditions as this is similar to legislating that which Allah has not allowed. Aishah reported that Nabi (saw) said “…What is the matter with men who make conditions which are not in the Book of Allah a’zza wa jall. Every condition not in the Book of Allah is invalid (baatil), even if it is one hundred conditions…” (BUKHAARI [Eng/Arabic vol.1 no.446 vol.3 no.364, 377, 735, 737, 889, 893], MUSLIM, IBN MAAJAH) and Allah (swt) says “O you who believe! Do not make haraam the good things that Allah has made halaal for you and do not transgress indeed Allah does not like the transgressors” (al Maai’dah 5:90) and “And do not say that which your tongues put forward falsely ‘This is halaal and that is haraam’ in order to fabricate a lie against Allah, assuerdly, those who fabricate a lie against Allah will never be successful.” (an Nahl 16:116)

So there is no doubt that it is obligatory for the Muslims to be united at all times under one leader whether they have darul Islam established or not. Indeed appoiting a leader and uniting under him and listening to him and obeying will itself lead to strength as is established by ration and proven by the life of Nabi (saw) and he is the best example for us. Allah (swt) says “Verily in the messenger of Allah you have the best example for him who hopes for Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah much.” (al Ahzaab 33:21) So this verse commands us to take Nabi (saw) as an example in all matters including that of leadership and we can not restrict this example to the time of strength. And there is no doubt that the ummah were at all times unified under the command of Nabi (saw) including when they were in Makkah and this is also indicated by the fact that Nabi (saw) took the baya’ah of obedience and the baya’ah of nussrah before the establishment of Darul Islam, the last article of the first bayah of Al A’qabah which proved the comprehensive leadership of Nabi (saw) was the words “….and not to disobey in any ma’roof” (BUKHAARI, MUSLIM from U’baadah bin as Saamit) Additionally we see that those who took this baya’ah were already Muslims and this baya’ah to obey generally and to obey in specific actions was a clear indicator of the Imaamah [leadership] of Nabi (saw) and it was a lesson for the ummah to follow this example in the stage of weakness as this event was deliberately revealed and the word “ma’roof” is a clear indication that this is an example for later leaders in the stage of weakness as prophet can only ever command ma’roof due to infallibility.

With these matters understood, it is pointless to try to raise any doubt over the fact that Nabi (saw) was the Imaam of the Muslims in the stage of weakness and that we are commanded to follow him (saw) in that example. However we can still demonstrate that Nabi (saw) was a khaleefah and that he is to be followed in this role and that there is no harm in describing that Nabi (saw) by his attributes was a khaleefah.

1. In the shari’ah sense it is clear that Nabi (saw) is a khaleefah, i.e. the leader of the Muslims who succeeds the previous leader of believers. This is proven by the fact that Nabi (saw) was the successor [khaleefah] of I’sa (as) in Prophethood and by extension the leadership of the believers, this is proven by the following evidences “And when I’sa ibn Maryam said ‘O children of Israeel! I am the messenger of Allah unto you confirming the Tawrah before me and giving the good news of a messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad.’ But when he came to them with clear proofs, they said ‘This is plain magic’.” (as Saff 61:6) The ahadeeth confirm that there is no Prophet between I’sa (as) and Muhammad (saw) so definitely Muhammad (saw) is the khaleefah of I’sa (as) in prophethood and the khaleefah of I’sa (as) in the leadership (Imaamah) of the believers. It is reported that Nabi (saw) said “I am the closest to I’sa ibn Maryam among the whole of mankind in this worldly life and in the next life.” They said ‘Rasool Allah, how is it?’ Nabi (saw) replied “Prophets are brothers having different mothers. There deen is one and there is no messenger between us.” And in another narration “…no Prophet was raised between me and him.” (MUSLIM [no.5834-5836] BUKHAARI kitaab ‘Ahaadeethul Anbiyaa’ [Eng/Arabic vol.4 no.651])

2. According to the following hadeeth Nabi (saw) is not only a khaleefah but it is mentioned that the khilaafah will return based upon the methodology of the khilaafah of Nabi (saw). Nu’maan reported on the authority of Hudhayfah ibn al Yaman that that Nabi (saw) "Prophethood will remain among you as long as Allah wishes it to remain, then Allah Most High will remove it. Then there will be a khilaafah upon the method of the prophethood as long as Allah wishes it to remain, then Allah Most High will remove it. Then there will be a distressful kingdom (mulkiyyah) which will remain as long as Allah wishes it to remain, then Allah Most High will remove it. Then there will be a proud kingdom which will remain as long as Allah wishes it to remain, then Allah Most High will remove it. Then there will be a khilaafah upon the method of the prophethood (a’la minhaajan Naboowah)." Then he stopped. Habib said: "When Umar ibn AbdulAziz became khaleefah I wrote to him, mentioning this tradition to him and saying, "I hope you will be the commander of the faithful after the distressful and the proud kingdoms." It pleased and charmed him, i.e. Umar ibn AbdulAziz." (TIRMIDHI [no.5378] BAYHAQI in ‘Dalaa’il an Naboowah’ AHMAD from Nu’man bin Basheer [vol.4 p.273] AT TAYAALISI, AL BAZZAR, AT TABARAANI) So from this hadeeth we see that the prophet (saw) is a khaleefah and a prophet as it said “Khilaafah upon the method (minhaaj) of the prophethood” This phrase was not restricted and so we understand that prophethood did exist in the stage of weakness and in the stage of strength and if the khaleefah takes over the role of the prophet as leader of the ummah then this leadership is also for the time of weakness for the hadeeth did not say ‘upon the method of prophethood except in the stage of weakness’ Similarly, if the khilaafah is to be upon the method of the prophethood then we know that the khaleefah should lead the ummah from the stage of weakness to the stage of strength and that that the beginning they will be small in number and will go through hardship and they will also be one unified group and all of this would be khilaafah upon the method of the prophet’s khilaafah.

3. It is a fact that Prophets are khulafaa’ (leaders and successors) and there is nothing wrong in attributing this to them as Allah (swt) says "O Dawood! Verily, We have placed you as a khaleefah on the earth, so judge you between men in truth…” (Sad 38:26) So Dawood was a prophet and a khaleefah and he was a leader due to his khilaafah being connected to judging between men. If Allah affirmed the status of Dawood (as) as Khaleefah then this tells us i) There is no insult to a prophet in referring to him as ‘khaleefah’ ii) Naboowah and khilaafah can exist in the same individual iii) Calling a Prophet a khaleefah is not an insult to Allah iv) Muhammad (saw) is even more deserving of the title of khaleefah as the ahadeeth confirmed he is the leader of the prophets.

4. Adam (as) was referred to as a ‘khaleefah’ by Allah (swt) in the Quran and Adam (as) was a prophet and it is also said that Adam (as) was a rasool because he was the first man and was living according to the laws of Allah and these laws were also for the people that emanated from him and there was no law or messenger before Adam (as) This has been mentioned in the hadeeth where Abu Dharr asked Nabi (saw) ‘O Rasool Allah! Who was the first of the prophets?’ He (saw) said “Adam” I asked ‘Was he a prophet?’ He (saw) said “Yes a prophet to whom words (or a message) was sent [nabiyun mukallimun]” I asked ‘O Rasool Allah! How many were the messengers?’ (He (saw) said “Three hundred and ten odd out of many” in a narration from Abu Umaamah, Abu Dharr asked ‘O Rasool Allah! How many are the full number of prophets?’ He (saw) said “One hundred and twenty thousand and from that the messengers are three hundred and fifteen out of many” (AHMAD as reported in ‘Mishkaatul Masaabih’ [vol4. p.227]) and the word khaleefah was used for Adam (as) when Allah (swt) says “And when your Lord said to the angels ‘Verily, I am going to place a khaleefah on the earth’ They said ‘Will you place therein one who will make corruption and shed blood, while we glorify You with praise and thanks and sanctify You’ He (Allah) said, ‘I know that which you do not know’ And He taught Adam all the names then He showed them to the angels and said ‘Tell Me the names of these if you are truthful.’” (al Baqarah 2:30-31) So the ‘khaleefah’ can be referring to Adam (as) specifically or mankind generally or both. If it is Adam (as) then it is not improper for a prophet to be called khaleefah and if it is mankind generally, then indeed Nabi (saw) is included in mankind and he is the best of them and most deserving of the title in all its praiseworthy meanings.

5. Haroon (as) was the khaleefah of Moosa (as). Haroon was a prophet and Moosa was a messenger. “And We appointed for Moosa thirty nights and added ten (more), and he completed the term, appointed by his Lord of forty nights. And Moosa said to his brother Haaroon, take my place (akhlufni) among my people, act in the right way and follow not the way of the mufsidoon.” (al A’raaf 7:142) So Haaroon was the successor (khaleefah) of Moosa in leadership of the people while Moosa was absent. This is also confirmed by the hadeeth Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqaas reported that Nabi (saw) left A’li ibn A’li Talib behind during the expedition of Tabook, whereupon he (A’li) said ‘Rasool Allah, are you leaving me behind amongst women and children?’ Thereupon Nabi (saw) said “Aren’t you satisfied with being unto me what Haroon was unto Moosa but with the exception that there would be no Prophet after me.” (MUSLIM [no.5913-5915] BUKHAARI [Eng. vers. vol.5 no.56, 700])

6. Again with regards to the permissability of the term ‘khaleefah’ for Nabi (saw) we see that mankind generally were referred to as ‘khalaa’if’ This is either due to them succeeding esch other by generations in terms of their higher responsibility and leadership of the earth as human beings or it could have another specific meaning, whichever it is it will apply to Muhammad (saw) as well as he is from mankind, Allah (swt) says “He it is who has made you successors (khalaa’if) of one another in the earth, so whoever disbelieves, on him will be his disbelief. And the disbelief of the disbelievers adds nothing but loss.” (Faatir 35:39)

7. There are also ahadeeth where Nabi (saw) was referred to as a khaleefah. Abu Hurayrah reported about Nabi (saw) “…Then he travelled until he came to al Quds and dismounted. He tied his horse to the Rock and prayed with the angels. When the prayer was over, they asked Jibreel (as) ‘Who is this with you?’ He (as) said ‘This is Muhammad, the messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets.’ They asked ‘Has he been sent already?’ He (as) said ‘Yes’ They said may Allah give him long life as a brother and as a khaleefah! An excellent brother! An excellent khaleefah!’ Then he met the spirits of the Prophets who praised their Lord and he mentioned what each of them said, they were Ibraheem, Moosa, I’sa, Dawood and Sulaymaan…’” (QAADI A’YAAD in ‘ash Shifa bi Ta’rif Huqooq Mustafa’) So there are two points from this hadeeth (i) Nabi (saw) is called a khaleefah by the angels and (ii) The Israa’ and Mi’raj took place before the hijrah according to the majority of u’lemah based upon the ahadeeth related to it and more than this, suratul Israa’ which mentions the Israa’ is a Makki surah. This demonstrates that the title ‘khaleefah’ could be used in reference to Nabi (saw) before the establishment of darul Islam.

8. Another point is that it is not in any way below the status of Nabi (saw) to say that he was an Imaam or Khaleefah, rather these things are included within his prophethood and messengership from beginning to end. The messengers must always be obeyed and be followed and this means they are Imaams (leaders) as the Imaam is the one who is followed, Allah (swt) says “And there came running from the farthest part of the city a man saying ‘O people! Follow (tabioo’) the messengers.’” (Yaa Seen 36:20) and “We never sent any messenger except to be obeyed by the permission of Allah.” (an Nisaa 4:64)There is no sense at all in opposing this and such objections are only raised by those who know full well the implications of understanding fully the role, example and guidance of Nabi (saw) in the stage of weakness. To admit that Nabi (saw) was a leader in the stage of weakness would mean that the Muslim ummah should follow this guidance and also unify under an Imaam in the stage of weakness. The result of this is that the innovated groups and their self declared amirs will lose their small portion of authority and more than this, it would be the beginning of the end of the regimes of taaghoot. If Ibraheem (as) has been called an Imaam and the Muslim ummah has been commanded to be upon the millah of Ibraheem then how is it an insult to Nabi (saw) to declare that he (saw) was also a leader over the people and should be followed in the principles of leadership and unity that he (saw) established? We know very well that Muhammad (saw) was a father, a husband an Imaam of the salah, a khateeb (orator), a teacher and many other roles. So when we admit that Nabi (saw) was a husband, which is a role which millions of people fulfil, then how is it wrong to attribute the leadership of the ummah to Nabi (saw) when this role can only be performed by one person at a time? When Muhammad (saw) has been called an Imaam a khaleefah and a Qaa’id in ahadeeth then what is the point in opposing such ahadeeth with foolish objections? As for those who say that Nabi (saw) was a prophet and not an Imaam, then they show how they do not understand the role of prophethood generally and how they are ignorant of the prophethood of Muhammad (saw) specifically. Muhammad (saw) was a prophet and messenger and within this high status was included the role of Imaam of the ummah and this is similar to the way Muhammad (saw) was a prophet and a husband at the same time. It is not the case that he can only be one or the other for these roles are not in contradiction but rather they are consistent with each other and complimentary and necessary for the final prophet to mankind whose guidance must be comprehensive. To disagree with this is baseless from the point of evidence and is stupidity which brings no benefit.

9. Another proof of the permissibility of calling Nabi (saw) ‘khaleefah’ and that it is not an insult to Nabi (saw) nor to Allah is the following hadeeth…… “….So when you see him give your baya’ah to him even if have to crawl over snow for he is the khaleefah of Allah, the Mahdi.” (IBN MAAJAH vol.5 Al HAAKIM AL HAYTHAMI) So this hadeeth proves just like some ayaat that ‘khaleefah’ does not always imply you are replacing one absent, because inn this case the ‘khaleefah’ can mean a representation of Divine Authority. This is because the Mahdi will be the Imaam and judging according to the hidaayah of Allah (swt). Therefore it is not blasphemous because Allah gave the Islamic leadership to the khulafaa’. We also see that this title is even more deserving for Nabi (saw) as he was ma’soom [infallible] and representing the laws of Allah without mistake.

10. I'sa (as) as well as being a prophet and messenger will return to this earth and the ahadeeth have described his return with terms of leadership such as 'Hakam' and 'Imaam.' E.g. Abu Hurayrah reported that Nabi (saw) said “What would you do when Ibn Maryam would descend amongst you and would lead you as one amongst you [fa ammakum minkum]?” Ibn Abi Dhi’b on the authority of Abu Hurayrah narrated: “Your leader [Imaam] amongst you. [wa Imaamukum minkum]” Ibn Abi Dhi’b said ‘Do you know what the words “He would lead as one amongst you” mean?’ I said ‘Explain these to me’ He said, ‘He would lead you according to the Book of your Lord and the Sunnah of your messenger.’ (MUSLIM Kitaabul Imaan [no.292]) and Abu Hurayrah reported that rasool Allah (saw) said “By Him in whose Hand is my life, the Ibn Maryam (as) will soon descend among you as a just judge (hakaman muqistan). He will break the crosses, kill the pigs and abolish the jizya and the wealth will pour forth to such an extent that no one will accept it.” (MUSLIM [no.287] and similar from BUKHAARI starting with the words “The Hour will not be established until Ibn Maryam descends…” [English/Arabic version vol.3 no.656 and similar in vol.3 no.425, vol.4 no.657]) Also from Abu Hurayrah in the transmission of Ibn U’yaynah the words are “Just leader (Imaam) and trustworthy judge [‘Imaaman muqsitan wa Hakaman a’dlan’]” (MUSLIM [no.288]) He will lead Muslims by Quran and Sunnah, and is a prophet and has been referred to in ahadeeth by this titles. This shows there is no prohibition in attributing Imaarah, Imaamah and Khilaafah to a Prophet. However, with even greater emphasis we see the following hadeeth referred to I'sa (as) as a 'Khaleefah' when he returns. Abu Hurayrah reported that Rasool Allah (saw) said "Pay Heed! There is no prophet or messenger between I'sa ibn Maryam [as] and me. Remember that after me he will be my khaleefah over my ummah...." (TABARAANI, SUYOOTI in 'ad-Durrul Manthoor') So in this hadeeth we see the following points:-

11. The clearer proof is from the hadeeth already mentioned where Abu Hurayrah reported that Nabi (saw) said ……“The prophets ruled over the affairs (tasoosuhum) of the children of Israel, whenever a Prophet died another prophet succeeded (khalafahu) him, but there will be no Prophet after me. There will be khulafaa and they will number many.” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4543-4544], BUKHAARI [English version vol.4 no.661]).Therefore this hadeeth was not only establishing the permissability of calling Nabi (saw) ‘khaleefah’ in the linguistic sense, but rather it is totally clear that this is referring to ‘khilaafah’ in the shari’ sense. This is because the Prophets are the leaders who succeed each other in leadership of the ummah and the last prophet (saw) is the role model for all khulafaa’. khaleefah means that he succeeds the role of the prophet (saw) so obviously he is taking over his position as leader. If we say ‘khalafahu’ [succeeded him] then the one succeeding is the ‘khaleefah’ [successor]. There is nothing clearer than this and anyone disputing the point behind this is in need of help to think rationally as a human being, they should not bother themselves with matters of fiqh until they can understand as a mature sane adult understands.

12. The term khaleefah is certainly not an insult to the messenger as this term has been used for Allah (swt) in hadeeth. “…O Allah we ask You for birr and taqwa in this journey of ours and we ask you for deeds which please You. O Allah facilitate our journey and let us cover its distance quickly. O Allah you are the Companion of the journey and you are the Khaleefah over the family [ahlihi]. O Allah, I take refuge with you from the difficulties of travel, from having a change of heart and being in a bad predicament and I take refuge in you from an ill fated outcome with wealth and family.” (ABU DAWOOD) So Allah (swt) has been called Al Khaleefah over the family and we can understand this due to the fact that Allah (swt) is always Al Wakeel [The Best Disposer of affairs] and Al Wali [The Governor and Protector] and Al Waarith [The Inheritor] over all people and thus when the head of family is absent, we know that Allah (swt) guides the family through shari’ah commands and controls all affairs and in absence or presence of others all people, affairs, deeds an wealth will ultimately go back to Allah.

In conclusion the Sunnah of Rasool Allah (saw) was always that of unity under one leader and no permission was given for leaderless and division at any time. It is established that Nabi (saw) was an Imaam, an Ameer and a khaleefah to be followed:-

· It is allowed to refer to Nabi (saw) as khaleefah as the general texts of Quran and Sunnah affirmed this description for all of mankind
· It is clear that Nabi (saw) is a khaleefah of I’sa (as) in the Prophethood and in the leadership of the believers.
· The example of Nabi (saw) includes that of Imaam and this is a shari’ah term synonymous with the word khaleefah. There is no objection to calling Nabi (saw) a father, a husband, a trader and thus there is even more reason to describe him as Imaam, khaleefah etc.
· The term ‘khaleefah’ being used for any prophet is not an insult to Allah because this was title was affirmed from general and specific texts and ‘khilaafah’ in shari’ah and the language does not mean an absence of Allah’s highest authority but rather it is a representation of it.
· Khilaafah is not the same as Darul Islam. Khilaafah is the succession of leadership and Darul Islam is the Domain of Shari’ah and Security. Thus Nabi (saw) is role model for khulafaa’ in Makkah.
· There is no alternative system for organising the Muslims. The ummah is either to be led by a Prophet or a Khaleefah and there is no such thing as groups or individualism for the time of weakness, rather there is to be one ummah, one jama’ah one leader.