Muhammad's Heir

[BornInMarch]

Muhammad founded Islam when he received a message from Gabriel at the age of 35 (Muslims believe this message to be true, while non-Muslims might consider it a deception or a sign of mental-disorder or something else … who was right isn’t the point of this thread). By the time he died, he had united The Arab Tribes under his faith and created a political unity never before seen in Arabia.

When he died, his close adviser and father-in-law Abu Bakr succeeded him as Caliph. However, some think that Ali should have been Caliph instead. This lead to a schism in Islam, causing a divide between Shiite and Sunni.

The Sunni view Abu Bakr as a hero, as one of Muhammad’s closest friends and most trusted advisers. Abu Bakr in the eyes of The Sunni, was a rightful successor and a just ruler (think of how Christians view St. Peter).

The Shiite on the other hand view Abu Bakr as a traitor, as one who went against The Prophet’s dying wishes. Abu Bakr, in the eyes of The Shiite, was a greedy usurper (think of how Christians view Judas).

Since then the Caliph has passed to Ali anyway, then to Umayyids.

So this gives me some questions.

First off, who would Muhammad have wanted to be the heir? Would he have wanted there to be a Caliphate?

Second, If so how far would he have wanted it’s political power to extend (Arabia, the World, somewhere between that)?

 

[arthra]

I’m not a Muslim but I have a few suggestions to offer…

I would not encourage comparing “Peter” or “Judas” to these figures…,.

There was a continuing working relationship between Ali ibn abi Talib and Abu Bakr…

Abu Bakr was the first Caliph and Ali was the fourth Caliph… so there was a continuation of the Caliphate in the first years… It was in my view the Umayyad Caliphate of Yazid that really split the community of Islam into Shiah and Sunni …

The early Caliphs were elected by the community

There was no written Will and Testament signifying who should succeed the Prophet…

Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:

When Allah’s Apostle was on his death-bed and in the house there were some people among whom was 'Umar bin Al-Khattab, the Prophet said, “Come, let me write for you a statement after which you will not go astray.” 'Umar said, “The Prophet is seriously ill and you have the Qur’an; so the Book of Allah is enough for us.” The people present in the house differed and quarrelled. Some said “Go near so that the Prophet may write for you a statement after which you will not go astray,” while the others said as Umar said. When they caused a hue and cry before the Prophet, Allah’s Apostle said, “Go away!” Narrated 'Ubaidullah: Ibn 'Abbas used to say, “It was very unfortunate that Allah’s Apostle was prevented from writing that statement for them because of their disagreement and noise.”

— Muhammad al-Bukhari, Sahih al-Bukhari[3]

 

[TheAtheist]

First off, who would Muhammad have wanted to be the heir? Would he have wanted there to be a Caliphate?

To your first question, that is kind of the point being argued by those who take up either the Sunni or Shi’ite position. If he had pinned down someone specific, the whole Ummah would have agreed to it. But he didn’t.

As for the Caliphate - i’m often told by at least scholars of the Islamic faith that after Ali, there is a sense that the Caliphate “went wrong.” Caliphs were supposed to be something of a cross between community leader in contact with his people and religious functionary.

Under the Umayyads, who took their inspiration from the classical cultures that the Arabs had grown up around/been in contact with (Roman East, Persians, etc), there was a shift toward a kind of more Kingly/Imperial style understanding of the Caliphate.

Second, If so how far would he have wanted it’s political power to extend (Arabia, the World, somewhere between that)?

The World.

To his credit, Mohammed no distinction between Arab and Non-Arab for the purposes of equal rights/conversion to Islam…as such every human on the planet has the potential to become a Muslim, so it is the duty of the faithful to spread the word to the four corners of the Earth.

…although the Umayyads did prioritize Arabs over Non-Arabs. So much so that during their time period, they didn’t really put an emphasis on conversion of Non-Arabs.

How else would they be able to collect tax money without a sizeable Non-Muslim population?

 

[BornInMarch]

I’m not a Muslim but I have a few suggestions to offer…

I would not encourage comparing “Peter” or “Judas” to these figures…,.

There was a continuing working relationship between Ali ibn abi Talib and Abu Bakr…

The comparisons were only to give Christians some reference as to how the preception of Abu Bakr is different depending on whether you ask a Shiite or a Sunni.

 

[drac16]

I will confess that I don’t know much about Islamic history, so take my answer with a grain of salt. I believe that Muhammad [peace be upon him] would have wanted his best friend, Abu Bakr [may Allah be pleased with him], as the rightful successor. If Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman [may Allah be pleased with them] were apostates, why did Ali name his sons after them? either Ali was a double agent or he was crazy; neither seem convincing.

Abu Bakr was there when Gabriel came down in human form to teach people about their deen (known as the hadith of Gabriel), Abu Bakr was the first male adult follower of Muhammad, Abu Bakr was the father of one of the mothers of the believers, Abu Bakr was the companion of the cave in surah 9:40, Abu Bakr was the one who set Bilal [the first muadhin] free from slavery, Abu Bakr wept whenever he recited the Qur’an and so on and so forth. There are many merits of Abu Bakr.

I think it makes perfect sense that Muhammad wanted a successor. When he died, the people of Islam didn’t have a role model that demonstrated how to live. Anyone can recite Qur’an or memorize Qur’an, but it takes a person of strong character to be both a spiritual and political leader. Abu Bakr was both. I don’t know how far Muhammad wanted the caliphate to spread, but he probably knew that it would spread far and wide. People of the Arabian Peninsula were largely pagan and they found something that was greater than worshiping an idol and having no hope of an afterlife (that’s one of the reasons why Islam spread so rapidly). People wanted answers and Islam gave those answers of who we are, why we’re here and what to worship.