“Allah had promised to those among you who believe and do good works that He will surely make them Successors in the earth, as He made Successors from among those who were before them; and that He will surely establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them; and that He will surely give them in exchange security and peace after their fear: They will worship Me, and they will not associate anything with Me. Then whoso is ungrateful after that, they will be the rebellious.” (Surah Al-Nur, Chapter 24, Verse 56)

This verse of the Holy Qur’an sheds light on one of the vital Islamic principles. While the previous chapter of the Holy Qur’an emphasised the future of Islam, this chapter articulates the success of Islam through Khilafat: a leading light which was to become the main instrument for establishing the spiritual and political hegemony of Islam. The primary role of Khilafat is to convey the beautiful teachings of Islam to the world, which were brought to us by the Holy Prophet^sa. However, this task can only be completed when people of the same faith are united under divine leadership. The verse itself states that this promise will only be fulfilled when Muslims will observe prayers, offer Zakat and obey the Holy Prophet^sa in all religious and temporal matters. When Muslims fulfil these conditions, only then will Khilafat be bestowed upon them and their state of fear will be replaced by security and peace. Islam will reign supreme in the world, and above all the Oneness and Unity of God will be established in this world. However, it is our responsibility to prove ourselves worthy of the blessings of Khilafat.

In 632 CE, the Muslim Ummah witnessed the blessings of Khilafat when Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq^ra was elected as the first Khalifah of Islam. Upon his election, he had to deal with an extremely difficult situation which developed due to the sudden demise of the Holy Prophet^sa. In the beginning, some of the tribes renounced Islam, due to the fact that their tribal chiefs did not feel necessary to pledge their allegiance to Hazrat Abu Bakr^ra. Not only that but they made plans to attack Medina to end the institution of Khilafat. Then there were others among them who refused to pay the Zakat, which was essential for fulfilling the needs of the Islamic state and caring for the poor. An imposter by the name of Musalima Kazaab even raised a large army for commencement of hostilities towards the Islamic state. However, despite all of these difficulties Hazrat Abu Bakr^ra defended Islam with limited resources and Allah the Exalted granted him victory against the mischief mongers.

Hazrat Abu Bakr^ra was also blessed with victory over two large empires of the time: the Persian Empire and the Roman Empire. During the last days of his life, the Holy Prophet^sa decided to send an army of fearless warriors of Islam to battle against the Romans who had made incursions into the Northern borders. After the demise of the Holy Prophet^sa, the law-and-order situation started deteriorating outside of Medina. Many notable companions of the Holy Prophet^sa advised Hazrat Abu Bakr^ra to stand down the army that was to fight against the Romans and instead focus on the areas surrounding Medina. Hazrat Abu Bakr^ra replied forcefully:

“What authority has the Son of Abu Qahafah, to stop that which was started by the Holy Prophet^sa”.

The Muslim army, under the command of Hazrat Khalid bin Walid^ra left Medina and defeated the Persians and Romans in the battles of Ajnadayn and Yarmuk, and thus the whole of Syria came under the control of the Islamic state.

During his last days, Hazrat Abu Bakr^ra sought the advice of the companions in terms of who should be appointed as the second Khalifah of Islam. The majority of companions deemed Hazrat Umar Bin Khattab^ra as the second Khalifah of Islam. However, some of them argued that Hazrat Umar^ra was of a very strict nature and he might be hard on the Muslim Ummah. Hazrat Abu Bakr^ra replied that the harshness of Hazrat Umar^ra would vanish when he would be burdened with the responsibility. All the companions agreed and Hazrat Abu Bakr^ra addressed the Muslims and said:

“I have continuously deliberated on who should be your Khalifah after my demise. After much contemplation and prayer, I have decided to nominate Hazrat Umar Bin Khattab^ra as Khalifah. So Hazrat Umar Bin Khattab^ra will be the Khalifah after me.”

All of the companions and others agreed with Hazrat Abu Bakr^ra and took Bai’at of Hazrat Umar^ra in 634 CE after the demise of Hazrat Abu Bakr^ra.

During the Khilafat of Hazrat Umar^ra, the Muslims fought a number of battles against Egypt, Iran, Iraq and Syria. This resulted in Muslims gaining control of vast areas of these countries. When the city of Jerusalem was conquered by Muslims in 17 Hijri (17th year of the Islamic Calendar), the Romans requested Hazrat Umar^ra to attend the city and take the keys of Jerusalem. Hazrat Umar^ra established the Shura, a consultative body of advisors to the Khalifah, the finance department and building of schools and mosques in different parts of the state. He also introduced an Islamic Hijrah calendar and divided the whole Islamic state into provinces to facilitate administration. His administrative capabilities were incredibly foresighted and brought great organisation to the Muslim world.

In 644 CE, Hazrat Umar^ra was stabbed by a Persian slave while he was offering his Prayers in the Mosque. In the time that followed this attack, Hazrat Umar^ra realised that his demise was imminent, therefore, he nominated six people and advised them to elect the next Khalifah from among themselves. He appointed Hazrat Miqdad bin Al-Aswad^ra to oversee the consultation and election process and directed him to hold the Electoral College at one place and to guard it. The six people that were selected by Hazrat Umar Bin Khattab^ra were Hazrat Uthman^ra, Hazrat Ali^ra, Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin Auf^ra, Hazrat Sa‘d bin Al-Waqqas^ra, Hazrat Zubair^ra, and Hazrat Talha^ra. In addition to them, he included his son, Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar, as advisor, but did not declare him as entitled to Khilafat. After the Electoral College, Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin Auf^ra spoke with other Muslims and Hazrat Uthman Bin Afaan^ra was elected as the next Khalifah of Islam.

In the time of Hazrat Uthman^ra the Islamic empire expanded even further and defeated Iran, Egypt and the Romans. As a result of these victories, Allah the Almighty granted the whole of Iran, Asia Minor and Egypt to the control of the Islamic Empire. It was during his Khilafat that an Islamic fleet in the form of a navy was first established.

The Holy Qur’an, as we see it today, was compiled under his direct supervision. Hazrat Uthman Bin Afaan^ra instructed standard copies of the Holy Qur’an to be produced which were prepared from the ones that Hazrat Abu Bakr^ra had compiled. These copies were then sent to all the provinces of the state to ensure unity in access to Allah’s revealed Word.

During the last six years of his Khilafat, various conflicts began to build in the Islamic state due to the conspiracies of certain groups including those led by Abdullah Bin Sabah, a Jew who had become a Muslim with the intention of weakening the Islamic empire. This disorder continued and grew until it led to open conflict. The end result of this was the martyrdom of Hazrat Uthman Bin Afaan^ra on June 17, 656 CE, while he was reciting the Holy Qur’an.

After the demise of Hazrat Uthman Bin Afaan^ra, the Companions who were present in Medina witnessed discord and conflict spreading among the Muslims. In order to resolve this matter, they approached Hazrat Ali^ra and asked him to take the Bai’at from the Muslims—knowing that Muslims had to be united under Khilafat. Thus, Hazrat Ali^ra became the fourth Khalifah. Some companions were of the view that Hazrat Ali^ra should punish the killers of Hazrat Uthman^ra. He told the companions that his top priority was to restore law and order and only then would he be able to bring the murderers of Hazrat Uthman^ra to justice. This difference led to further unrest in what was already becoming a divided Islamic state, owing to groups of individuals (who were in reality hypocrites) fanning the flames of disorder. This group of hypocrites known as the Khawariji (The Outsiders) planned to assassinate Hazrat Ali^ra and succeeded.  Hazrat Ali^ra was martyred in 40 Hijri and became the third Khalifah to have been martyred as a result of disorder.

Undoubtedly, Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq^ra, Hazrat Umar^ra, Hazrat Uthman^ra and Hazrat Ali^ra were great leaders of the Muslim Ummah who sacrificed their own comfort for the sake of preaching the true teachings of Islam. All four were given glad tidings by the Holy Prophet^sa that they would be rewarded with paradise in the hereafter.

It is important to clarify that the disorder was not caused by the companions of the Holy Prophet^sa.  Hazrat Khalifatul-Masih II^ra states:

“The disorder that emerged during the time of Hazrat Uthman^ra was not instigated by the Companions. Those who say that this mischief was caused by the Companions are mistaken. There is no doubt that many Companions stood in opposition to Hazrat Ali^ra and many stood in opposition to Mu‘awiyah^ra. However, I say that the Companions were not the cause of this disorder; rather, it was those who joined [Islam] later and were not fortunate enough to have received the companionship of the Holy Prophet^sa and never sat in his company”.

The Khilafat of these four companions was called Khilafat-e-Rashida – The Rightly Guided Caliphate. This was a Khilafat established by God Almighty.

However, later on the Muslim Ummah witnessed the Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba, Abbasid Caliphate, Mamluk Abbasid Dynasty, Caliphate of Cairo, Ibn Al-Zubayr’s Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate, Almohad Caliphate, Indian Caliphate, Sokoto Caliphate, Sharifian Caliphate and Ottoman Caliphate etc. All these Caliphates were material kingdoms and dynasties that came to an end in the manner of all man-made political dynasties. These were different to the Khilafat of the Khulafa-e-Rashideen as those Khulafa were appointed by God Almighty and were spiritual in nature.

During World War I (1914-1918), the Ottoman Caliphate was defeated. When the European Allies defeated the Ottoman Empire, Muslims across the world had a strong reaction and some Muslims in India initiated a ‘Khilafat Movement’ to preserve the integrity of the Caliphate and the Ottoman Empire. However, they totally failed. The age was crying for a saviour to safeguard the Muslim Ummah. Little did they know that Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad^as had already been appointed by Allah as the Imam of the Age, the Mahdi, and the awaited Messiah. He initiated the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at in 1889 and his mission was to revive faith in the One God and to unite all mankind. He declared:

“I have been sent to strengthen faith in God by proving He exists and by making His Being manifest to the people. The condition of faith has become so weak that the Hereafter is now taken as a mere fantasy, and the actions of men clearly show that the degree of certainty with which they believe in this world, and the sort of trust which they put in worldly means, they do not possess such conviction about God and the Hereafter. They pay a lot of lip-service to God, but their hearts are dominated by the love of the world alone. Therefore, I have been sent so that Truth and Faith may again dominate, and fear of God may again be kindled in the hearts of men! These are the ends for which I have come!” (Kitab al-Barriyya, pp. 293-294.)

He admonished his followers:

“Be united, and give up all miserliness, rancour, jealousy and lack of compassion. There are two great Commandments of the Holy Qur’an. One is Unity, love and obedience of the Lord, hallowed be His name; and secondly, sympathy with your brethren and with the whole of mankind.” (Azala Auham, pp.446-452.).

“This age has become empty of true righteousness and purity. The way of the Holy Prophet, which is the means of purification, has been discarded. Now God Almighty desires that the time of Prophethood should be revived in this age, and the same righteousness and purity may be re-established. Thus, the purpose of God Almighty in setting up this (Ahmadiyya) Community is that the lost understanding might be re-established in the world through this Community.”

To achieve these objectives, his methodology was clearly defined:

“This humble one is appointed by the Omnipotent and Most Glorious God to work for the betterment of mankind in the manner of the Israeli prophet of Nazareth, the Messiah, with extreme humility, meekness, modesty, love and courtesy. To those who are unaware of the right way, I am to show them the straight path through which they can achieve true Salvation, and feel in this very world the signs of achieving heavenly life, and experience the enlightenment of being accepted and loved by God.” (Tablighe Risalat, Vol. 1, p.11.).

In 1908, when Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad^as passed away the community was left without a spiritual leader. But as was mentioned earlier in this article, Allah had promised that He will surely make Successors in the earth, as He made Successors from among those who were before. That promise of Allah was fulfilled when He established Khilafat-e-Rashida after the Holy Prophet Muhammad^sa. That promise was once again fulfilled after 1400 years in 1908 when Allah showed His mercy to the Muslim Ummah and established Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya after the demise of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad—the Promised Messiah^as. Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya is the only Khilafat after Khilafat-e-Rashida that was established by Allah. We have witnessed the success of this Khilafat to this day and shall continue to witness it till the day of judgement. While other Muslims await a Mahdi who would wage a Jihad by the sword, Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya has successfully emerged as the leading force among Muslims to demonstrate and convey the true teachings of Islam that were brought by the Holy Prophet^sa.