Khalifa simply means “successor”. In Islamic history, it has also been used for “ruler” or “leader”. So who really has the authority to choose a ruler or leader in Islam? What does Khalifa Allah mean? Who appoints this Khalifa? The answers to all these questions is in the Holy Quran. It is to be noted that none except the Vicegerent of God (Khalifa Allah) calls people towards Supremacy of God- the belief system that the Almighty is pleased with. The belief that sovereignty belongs to God and whoever God appoints. In Islam, this is the belief of the progeny of Muhammad PBUT.
Quranic Evidence
Say, “I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind, The King of mankind. (Quran 3:55)
We find in the Quran, that Allah SWT is the King of mankind.
Say, “O Allah, Owner of Sovereignty, You give sovereignty to whom You will and You take sovereignty away from whom You will. (Quran 3:55)
So the matter is simple. This is Allah’s earth, and Allah SWT is the Owner of Sovereignty. Therefore, in order for his sovereignty to be transferred to someone else so that the person be called a King, or leader or successor of Allah in ruling over people on His SWT earth, the appointment has to come from Allah SWT alone! Whoever appoints himself without any authority from Allah SWT is simply usurping this great matter of Allah SWT!
So if we ponder upon the Holy Quran, we find that the test on this earth begins with Allah SWT appointing Adam pbuh as the Khalifa:
And when your Lord said to the Angels, “I will make upon Earth a Khalifa.” (Quran 2:30)
We go to the middle of the Holy Quran, we find that Allah SWT appointed David as the Khalifa:
O David, indeed We have made you a Khalifa upon the Earth so judge between the people in truth. (Quran 38:26)
And all Muslims unanimously agree that the end is with Khalifa Allah Al-Mahdi!
Then, how come the Sunna of Allah SWT that has been the same since Adam until Al-Mahdi, changed only for the time period between Prophet Muhammad (s) and Al-Mahdi?!
But you will never find in the Sunna of Allah any change. (Quran 35:43)
Story of Saul pbuh:
Have you not seen the eminences of the Children of Israel after Moses when they said to a prophet of theirs, “Send to us a king, and we will fight in the way of God”? (Quran 2:246)
These believing and righteous people from the Children of Israel believed in the supremacy of God and did not appoint anyone. Instead, they asked God to appoint a king for them. This is the greatest evidence that the divine law in all divine religions acknowledges that the ruler is appointed by God, and not by the people through elections.
Story of Moses choosing 70 people:
{And Moses chose seventy men from his people for Our appointment. And when the earthquake seized them, he said, “My Lord, if You had willed, You could have destroyed them and myself before. Would You destroy us for what the foolish among us have done? This is not but Your trial by which You send astray whom You will and guide whom You will. You are our Protector, so forgive us and have mercy upon us, and You are the best of forgivers.}
(Quran 7:155)
Thus if Moses pbuh, one of the Ulu’l-Azm Prophets chose seventy men for a divine mission, none of whom turned out to be qualified for this mission, how can the common people choose a ruler and king? They might unknowingly choose the most evil of God’s creation!
Do the Khalifa Allah or Vicegerents of God always rule in reality?
It is also to be noted that the king appointed by Allah SWT might not necessarily rule in reality, for he might be overpowered and removed from the helm of governance. Throughout the history of mankind, this has always happened. Abraham pbuh did not rule but rather, Nimrod did. Moses pbuh did not rule either but rather, Pharaoh did. Allah SWT says:
{Or do they envy the people for what God has given them out of His bounty? We gave the Book and wisdom to the children of Abraham, and We gave them great sovereignty.} Quran (4:54)
Therefore, although the children of Abraham pbut have always been granted sovereignty and divine supremacy, they have been oppressed, subdued, and eliminated from the helm of governance, and it has been taken over by the oppressors. The obligation upon all people is to enable the Khalifa Allah on His earth to be at the helm of leadership. If they do not, they waste this opportunity and anger their Lord.
Hadiths from Sunnis
Abi Saied Alkhudri quoted Prophet Muhammad (s): “Allah never sent a prophet or nominated a successor (Khalifa) unless he had two instincts, one exhorts him to do good and other encourages him to do wickedness. The infallible is the one God retains as so.” Al Bukhari Volume 8, page 121
So here its mentioned that the appointment of not only Prophets but even Successors (Khalifa) is done by Allah SWT alone, there is no change before and after Prophet Muhammad(p) except the difference that Prophet Muhammad (s) is last Prophet. But the succession continues, and the successors or leaders are appointed by Allah SWT as we have previously discussed as well. They are the ones who guard the religion and the Shariah. And Allah SWT has perfected Islam by them leaving no place for opinions and assumptions in the religion.
Let’s look at another hadith:
AlBukhary by Furat alQazaz heard from Abu Hazim from Abu Huraira from Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said:
“The tribes of Israel were led by the Prophets, every time a Prophet deceased he was followed by another Prophet, and there will be no Prophets after me, but there will be Khulafaa (successors) and they will be many.” The companions then asked, “What do you order us?” To which the Prophet (s) replied “Fulfil your pledge of allegiance to them one after another, and give them their rights, and truly Allah will ask them about their responsibilities.”
Al-Nawai explains this in Muslim’s book part 12 page 231, he says:
By Prophet Muhammad (s): “The tribes of Israel were led by the Prophets, each Prophet followed by another”: It means they lead as do the “Emirs” and “The Commanders with the subordinates and politics” handling things towards the best.
Thus, the matter of leadership and Caliphate continues even after Prophet Muhammad (s) but only Allah SWT appoints the Khalifa.
Logical Evidence
Appointment: If a man owns a company or any place where people work, is he not supposed to appoint a manager for the company or a leader for those people? If he did not do so, and the company underperformed, then wouldn’t that be lacking wisdom from his part?
Appointed one has superior knowledge for what he is appointed for: If the owner appointed someone, but not the most knowledgeable or capable one for the position, and hence, the company underperformed, then wouldn’t that be an act lacking wisdom again?
Obligation to obey the appointed leader: And finally, if the owner did not command those workers to obey the appointed one, and thus, people acted on their whims negatively affecting the company, wouldn’t that be lacking wisdom from the owner again?! What is the point of appointing the most knowledgeable and capable one, if at the end people were not ordered to obey him?!
Surely a reasonable one would come to the conclusion that: “A leader must be appointed and he must possess or be provided with all the knowledge he needs and people must be commanded to obey him”
This is already mentioned in the Quran:
Appointment: “I will make upon Earth a Khalifa.” (Quran 2:30)
Appointed one has superior knowledge for what he is appointed for: “And He taught Adam the names – all of them.” (Quran 2:31)
Obligation to obey the appointed leader: “When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My spirit, fall down to him in prostration” (Quran 15:29)
On the contrary, our opponents have no evidence to prove that people can choose a leader for the Ummah, no evidence to support the change in the Sunna of Allah SWT.
Allah SWT says:
“And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed – then it is those who are the disbelievers.” (Quran 5:44)