Islamic Rule – Obligation of a single ruler

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Hadith 5


إِذَا بُويِعَ لِخَلِيفَتَيْنِ فَاقْتُلُوا الآخِرَ مِنْهُمَا


If the pledge of allegiance is given to 2 rulers (Khalifatain), kill the latter of them

(Muslim)


Commentary


a. Additional proof used by the consensus that it is not permitted for the Muslims to have more than one Khalifah at any given time, as explained by Imam Nawawi as a proof for the ijma’a on the issue, and indicated by previous ahadith as well.

b. The order in the hadith to kill the latter of the two presupposes that all other ways to remove the second of the claimed Khalifahs have been exhausted.

c. Since it is known that the blood of a Muslim is sanctified, the order to kill the second of the two is another strong indication of the obligation of unitary rule, and raises the importance attached to the issue to one of life and death.

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