Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatu Llahi wa barakatuhu ya ikhwati.
The rafidha have made invitation to debates regarding several questions. Yet none accepted it which gave them a lot of reasons to rejoice. These are those questions:
How should the caliph be elected? You claim that the Prophet peace be upon him didn't appoint a cahliph, and abu Bakr became one by the decision of shura of muslims. Tell us then why abu Bark didn't follow the Prophet's example and didn't let shura elect the new caliph?
The election of caliph after period of Umar became quite different.He confined the right to determine it with six man.
If this issue should be solved by the concilium of muslims, then all muslims should participate. Why did Umar create a shura with six people in it?
We ask you why abu Bakr and Umar left a will while according to your opinion the Prophet peace be upon him and his family didn't do it? Why did abu Bakr and Umar didn't act in accordance with the sunna of the Prophet?
Could you brothers provide answers?
Walaykum as salaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakathu,
I counted four questions posed by the Rawaafidh but honestly, the "four questions" stem from one misunderstanding. Or I should say, deliberate hiding of facts (perhaps being ignorant of facts).
1. The Prophet [saw] did not appoint a Caliph but consistently praised his Companions [ra] who were near and dear to him. Out of these Companions [ra], he chose to take one as his travel companion. Although I am not an Arab, there is an Arabic saying (I have been told) which goes something like, "before you set out on a journey, you should seek a travel companion". Furthermore, the Prophet [saw] nominated the same person to lead the Muslims in prayer when he [saw] was unable to do so (due to his health). Finally, the remaining Companions [ra] - those who were closest to the Prophet [saw] regarding whom we can find praise in narration after narration - agreed with the Caliphate of Abu Bakr [ra].
As for Abu Bakr [ra] preventing shura is a baseless claim. Do the Shias think that Abu Bakr [ra] nominated Umar [ra] without the consent of other Companions [ra]? They should read history and see how Abu Bakr [ra] sought the approval of Muslims in this matter.
2. Again, misunderstanding or deliberate hiding of facts. Umar [ra] chose the most prominent of Companions [ra] and asked them to elect someone from among themselves. Therefore, logically one can deduce that these men consulted (shura) each other and arrived at a decision. And this consultation took about three nights before Uthman [ra] was elected the leader. So ask the Shias; what were they doing for three nights? CONSULTING among themselves and other Companions [ra]. While we are at it, let us not forget that Uthman [ra] voted for Imam Ali [ra] whereas Imam Ali [ra] wanted Uthman [ra] to become the leader.
3. Already answered! Umar [ra] did not elect an isolated group. He nominated a panel of six men [ra] the entire ummah had no qualms about. In other words, the six men [ra] were the best among the Muslims. Disagreements arise when someone thinks he (or she) is better than someone else. In this case, Umar [ra] had put together the top six, most well-deserved Companions [ra]. Not a single Muslim objected to any one of the six. And as stated earlier, the six consulted among each other (it went on for three nights).
4. What will did they leave? If they are talking about leadership, then it is baseless and already refuted. If they are talking about inheritance, then they should read their own narrations which say that Prophets [asws] do not leave dirhams but knowledge. If they say, "oh but those narrations are talking about scholars, that scholars only inherit knowledge from the Prophet [saw]", ask them which scholar today has a monetary inheritance claim on the Prophet [saw]?