This Religion Does Not Depend on Any One Man

The next matter: hold fast to the religion. When the rumour spread that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) had been killed, some of the Muslims tried to find a way to reach ʿAbdullāh ibn Ubayy, so that he might intercede with the disbelievers of Quraysh for a truce. Allah (swt) addressed this:

Muhammad is not but a messenger; other messengers have passed on before him — and where are they now? They are dead. The same, then, should be expected to happen to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him): if all the other prophets are dead, why should it be assumed that he would not die as they did? So if he were to die or be killed, would the believers turn back on their heels to unbelief — is that how his death should be met? Whoever turns back on his heels will never harm Allah in the least; it is the believers who need Allah, Allah does not need them, but Allah will reward the grateful. This is Āl ʿImrān 144. This religion, then, does not depend on personalities; the faith of this religion is not hinged to any one person, even if that person is the great and noble Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) himself. And if that is the case with him, no one should ever think or believe that if such-and-such a person is killed, the advance of this religion will stop; no one should assume that victory depends on a particular leader. That is why ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb later dismissed Khālid ibn al-Walīd (may Allah be pleased with him) from his post as commander of the Muslim armies: he wanted people to know that victory was not because of Khālid ibn al-Walīd — victory is because of Allah. It is Allah who brings victory, not Khālid ibn al-Walīd. Allah did not allow the believers to depend on the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) himself: He told them that if he were to die, they needed to carry on being Muslims, carry on spreading the message as if nothing had changed, and not retreat or fall back on their heels — because this religion depends on no one. That is why, when Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (may Allah be pleased with him) came to Madīnah after the death of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), he said to the people: "Whoever worshipped Muhammad, then Muhammad is dead; but whoever worships Allah, then Allah is alive and never dies."