Why the caliphate did not come to the Prophet's Family?

 

Why did the caliphate not come to the Prophet's Family

 

 

We can understand with a moment’s reflection that the desire of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) was that His Family (i.e. the Ahle Bait) should have the high stations of the hereafter to which the first step is asceticism and renunciation of the pleasures of this world.  This was the reason why such divinely ordained events took place that the Prophet’s Family didn’t get the caliphate.  This was because the divine writ was that the true caliphate should be for 30 years and after that monarchy would be established as mentioned in Hadith. 

 

As it was necessary that the true caliphate should remain for 30 years, in the earlier years, Imam Hasan (May Allah be well pleased with him) gave thought to it and handled the caliphate for 6 months.  When 30 years of the true caliphate were over, the Imam got the thought that Muslims are being killed indiscriminately, made an agreement with Hadhrat Ameer Mu’awiya (May Allah be well pleased with him) and gave up the caliphate.  Although after that people would taunt him and try to provoke him, but the Imam wouldn’t have any of it.

 

        Thus, it is mentioned in Tareekh Ul Khulafa that after the Imam gave up the caliphate, his associates addressed him as “O you who has disgraced the believers” and such terms, but the Imam’s response was:  I didn’t do this to disgrace Muslims, but I consider it undesirable to have you be killed in a war of power. 

 

It is mentioned in Tareekh Al Kaamil that when the Imam decided to go from Kufa to Madina, there was an uproar in Kufa.  Somebody asked him:  O Imam!  What made you do this?  The Imam replied:  First, this world is undesirable to me and the second is the disloyalty of the people of Kufa.  Just see, what excesses have they committed against my illustrious father!

 

When the Imam was leaving, a person came and spoke to the Imam disrespectfully.  The Imam said:  Don’t berate me!  The real reason behind this is something else which you don’t know.  That is that once the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) saw a dream that the Clan of Ummayya were jumping on His pulpit like monkeys.  On this, the Surah Kauthar was revealed and the Surah Qadr was also revealed on this occasion.  In the latter Surah, the glad tidings are there that the Night of Qadr is better than 1000 months.  Which 1000 months?  That is the period of the rule of the Ummayyads.  It is mentioned in Tareekh Ul Khulafa that this Hadith is present in Jame’ Tirmidhi (Babu Wa Min Sooratil Qadr, Hadith No. 3673) and one of the narrators of this Hadith, Qasim bin Fadhl says:  When we calculated, the rule of the Ummayyads was for exactly 1000 months.  It is also mentioned that this Hadith is present in Mustadrak ‘Alas Sahihain (Babu Wa Min Fadhaaili Hasan bin ‘Ali Raziallahu ‘Anhu, Hadith No. 4780).  It is also mentioned in Khasaais-e-Kubra, Pg. No. 119 on the authority of Baihaqui that as the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) did not like the Ummayyads jumping on His pulpit, Almighty Allah sent a revelation.

Thus, it was ordained that the sultanate should be lumped onto the Ummayyads and the highest stations of the hereafter should be given to the Prophets’ Family.

 

[Excerpted from Maqasid Ul Islam, Vol. 5]