Kutafuta wadhifa wa Khilafah na kushindania wadhifa huo ni halali kwa Waislamu wote, wala si Makruh; hakuna maandiko yoyote yaliyoorodheshwa yanayoonyesha kuwa ni haramu. Imethibitishwa kwamba Waislamu walishindania wadhifa huo katika ukumbi wa Banu Sa’ida wakati Mtume wa Allah ﷺ alikuwa amelala kitandani mwake bado hajazikwa. Pia imethibitishwa kwamba wajumbe sita wa baraza la Shura, wote wakiwa Sahaba wakuu, walishindania wadhifa huo mbele ya Masahaba, wala hakuna aliyewakemea, bali walikubali ushindani huu. Hili linaonyesha kuwa kumekuwepo ijmaa’ (makubaliano) ya Masahaba kuhusu ruhusa ya kushindania wadhifa wa Khilafah, na ruhusa ya kuomba wadhifa huo na kuufanyia kampeni kwa kutoa hoja, maoni, mapendekezo n.k. kwa lengo la kufikia lengo hilo. Kuhusu katazo la kutafuta Imarah (uongozi) lililokuja katika Hadith, linawahusu watu dhaifu, kama Abu Dharr, ambao hawaonekani kuwa wanafaa kwa wadhifa huo. Lakini wale wanaostahili Imarah wanaruhusiwa kuutafuta, kwa ushahidi wa tukio la ukumbi wa Banu Sa’idah na tukio la wajumbe sita wa Shura. Kwa hiyo, Hadith hizo zinahusu wale wasiostahili wadhifa huo, iwe ni Imarah au Khilafah; Mtume wa Allah ﷺ hakumkemea yule aliyestahili, na alimteua yule aliyeuomba. Kwa kuwa Mtume ﷺ alimpa Imarah yule aliyeuomba, na alikataza kutafuta Imarah kwa yule ambaye hafai, basi katazo hilo halikuwa la jumla bila masharti.

To seek the Khilafah post and compete over it is lawful to all the Muslims and it is not Makruh; no text has ever been listed indicating its prohibition. It has been confirmed that the Muslims competed for it in the hall of Banu Sa’ida while the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was lying on his bed still unburied. It has also been confirmed that the six members of the Shura council who were all senior Sahabah competed over the post, in the presence of the Sahabah and no one had reproached them but rather consented to this competition. This demonstrates that a consensus (‘Ijmaa’) of the Sahabah has been established about the permissibility of competing for the Khilafah post and the permissibility of applying for the post and campaigning for it by putting forward the arguments and opinions, proposals etc for the aim of achieving that goal. As for the prohbition of seeking the Imarah (authority) that came in the Ahadith, it is forbidding the weak persons, like Abu Dharr, who are not deemed suitable for it. But those who are suitable for the Imarah are permitted to seek it by the evidence of the courtyard of Bani Saa’idah and the incident of the six people of the Shura. Therefore, the Ahadith are specific to those who are not qualified for the post, whether it was Imarah or Khilafah, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) did not reproach the one who was qualified for it, the, and He appointed the one who asked for it. Since the Messenger (pbuh) appointed the Imarah to the one who asked for it. He (pbuh) forbade the seeking of Imarah regarding the one who seeks it from those who are not suitable. Thus it was not an absolute prohibition.