The speech of Allah (SWT) to the Prophet (SAW) also applies to the Ummah. To establish the rule of Allah, entails the establishment of the State and the appointment of a Khalifah, who governs according to Islam. It is incumbent upon the Muslims to establish a state and appoint a leader who applies Islam. The appointment of such a Khalifah is obtained through the Bay'aat has been reported on the authority of Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) say: "One who dies without having bound himself by an oath of allegiance (to an Amir) will die the death of one belonging to the days of Jahiliyyah." (Muslim)

It has been Narrated on the authority of Abdullah b Amir b al-As that he heard the Prophet (SAW) say: "He who swears allegiance to a Khalifah should give him the pledge of his hand and the sincerity of his heart (i.e. submit to him both outwardly as well as inwardly). He should obey him to the best of his capacity. If another man comes forward (as claim ant to Khalifah) disputing his authority, they (the Muslims) should behead the latter." (Muslim)

In accordance with Islam, it is the duty of the Muslims world wide to elect a Khalifah. Such an appointment is seen as a duty (fard) similar to all other duties within Islam. The duty is seen as inevitable, and any divergence from the path is considered a grave sin, and therefore any neglect of this duty will be punished accordingly. The establishment of a Khilafah is seen as vital, because without it Islam cannot possibly be applied.

Such factors as: the weakness and deterioration of the Muslim world; the collapse of the Khilafah; the application of Kufr systems in Muslim countries; the removal of Islam from life; the control of Kufr over the Muslim land; the division of the state into weak countries ruled by agents of the unbelievers; the establishment of Israel plunging itself like a sword into our heart; and the submissive attitude of the Muslims towards Israel; has led the sincere and conscious sons of the great Ummah to think about this terrible situation; to analyze and study the reasons for such a development; to study the various movements (Islamic and Nationalistic) which were formed in order to save the Muslim world, and the reasons why they failed; to study the large influent movements throughout history and the reasons for their success; and to study Islam in depth by referring to the Qur'an, the Sunnah, Ijtihad (exertion on the text) of the Muslim scholars, and the example of how the Prophet (SAW) established the Islamic State.

Part One

Khilafah is one of the most important issues in Islam, many versus in Quran and many Hadiths of the Prophet ordered Muslims to establish such a system. Ruling by Islam is the most frequent issue discussed in Quran after the belief and creed. Therefore, Khilafah was discussed by many Muslim scholars, the following are the definition of some of them to Khilafah.

1. Ibn Khaldoon defined it as: A representation, of the one  who  has the right to adopt the divine rules, aimed at  protecting the Deen and ruling the world (Dunia) with it.
2. Al-Mawardi defined it as: Succession of the Prophethood aimed at protecting the Deen and ruling the world (Dunia).
3. Taqiudine al-Nabhani, (founder of Hizb at-Tahreer) defined  it as: A total leadership for all the Muslims aimed at  implementing the Shariah of Islam and carrying the Message  of Islam to the world.

     Al-Imam al-Juwaini (known also as Imam Al-Haramain) has a similar definition but I could not translate the text.

     In summary, Khilafah is the political system in Islam. It is responsible for implementing the Islamic system (be it social, economic, educational, foreign policy,...) and maintaining its implementation. It is also responsible for spreading the message of Islam to the world. Khilafah is the Islamic state which the Prophet (pbuh) ought to create and worked for in Mecca, for a period of thirteen years, until he (pbuh) established it Medina.

    Ibn Hisham, the famous narrator of the Sirah of the Prophet (pbuh) says regarding the establishment of the Islamic State in Madina: "When the Prophet (pbuh) was assured and satisfied in Madina and when his brothers from Muhajireen (migrants) were gathered with him in Madina along with his brothers from the Ansar (helpers), Islam was firmly established so the prayer was established, the Zakah and Sawm (fasting) were obligated, the hudud (punishment) were established, halal and haram was obligated and Islam was in power among them."

     The establishment of Khilafah is an Islamic duty. There is a consensus between Muslim scholars about this issue as Al- Qurtubi said in his Tafseer. In one of my previous messages I quoted several scholars from different schools of thoughts in Islam (Sunnah, Shia, Mu3tazilah,...) so I do not need to repeat them here.

     The evidence for the duty of establishing the Khilafah is confirmed in the Quran, the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh), the consensus of the Sahabah and Shariah principle. I quoted many Ayahs and Hadiths in the previous messages so I will not repeat the evidences from the Quran and Sunnah here, they are available upon request. I will continue with the evidence from the consensus of the Sahabah.

     The consensus of the Sahabah means that the Sahabah unanimously accept a certain issue as being a divine rule as they understood it from the Prophet (pbuh). The Sahabah consensus as such is considered a third source of the divine rules (after Quran and Sunnah).

     It is reported through Tawatur (via many narration chains) that after the death of the Prophet (pbuh), the Sahabah unanimously prohibited the post of the head of state to be vacant for any time. Abu Bakr (ra) is reported to have said "Muhammad has indeed died. This Deen needs some one to maintain it." Umar Ibn Al-Khatab (ra) said:" There can be no Islam without Jama'a; no Jama'a without an Ameer (leader); and no leadership without obedience."

     Some of the prominent Sahabah left aside the burial process of the Prophet (pbuh) and engaged in the process of establishing the Khalifah. It is known that the burial of the person is obligatory (Fard). and it is a sin (Haram) for those who are supposed to prepare the burial to engage themselves in anything else until they complete the burial. In spite of this, some of the companions (Sahabah) engaged themselves in appointing a Khalifah, though they were obliged to engage themselves in preparing the burial of the Prophet (pbuh). The rest of the companions kept silent on their action and participated in delaying the burial of the Prophet (pbuh) for two nights, despite having the ability to condemn the delay and being able to bury the Prophet (pbuh).

     This action of the companions (Sahabah) is therefore an evidence of consensus to support the appointment of Khalifah rather than to bury the dead. This could not legitimate, unless the appointment of a Khalif is more of an obligation than the burial of the dead.

     All the companions (Sahabah) agreed throughout their lives upon the obligation of appointing a Khalif. Although at times they differed about the person to be appointed, they never disagreed that a Khalif should be appointed. So what happened in Saqifat Bani Sa'ida after the death of the Prophet (pbuh) is an evidence that appointing a Khalif is obligatory. There was a discussion about who should be the Khalif but they all agreed their should be a Khalif.

Evidence From the Shariah Principle

The establishment of our religion (deen) and the implementation of the divine law in every aspect of life is an obligation (Fard) proven through authentic and conclusive evidences (I quoted these evidences in previous messages). However, the establishment of the deen and implementation of the divine law cannot be achieved unless there is a ruler who possesses the authority to do so. Accordingly, the fulfillment of the duties to implement the divine law and to establish the deen cannot be accomplished unless there exists the ruler. In this context the Shariah principle states: "That which is Necessary to accomplish a duty (Wajib) is itself a duty (Wajib).

     Therefore, according to this divine principle the presence of a Khalif is compulsory. Due to the absence of the authority of Islam via the abolishment of the Khilafah, rules of Islam continue to be incomplete and mutilated. However, with the knot of Islamic ruling intact, the rest of the knots of Islam would be preserved. Conversely, with the undoing (abolishment) of the knot of the Islamic ruling structure, the knots of Islam would be thereby abolished.

     Imam Ahmad narrated in his book, the Musnad, that the Prophet (pbuh) said: The knots of Islam will be undone one by one until when everyone of them is undone, and the first one to be undone is the ruling and the last one is the prayer."

Part Two

The claim that the Islamic form of government is not explicitly defined in Islam is not justified by any daleel. It is true that the details of the Khilafah structure are not given in the Quran. But the Sunnah  of the Prophet (pbuh) explained the Khilafah structure with great details.

    In the Quran Allah (SWT) established that his laws have to be used in the process of ruling. Through the Sunnah of his Prophet (pbuh), Allah showed how the ruling is to be organized. Besides the Khilafah, there are many issues outlined in the Quran in a general form, and the Sunnah defined their details. The prayer is an outstanding example. In the Quran, Allah (SWT) orders us to pray. But how to pray, when to pray, and how many times to pray were explained in the Sunnah.

     In the same manner, Allah (SWT) in the Quran ordered the Muslims to employ His (SWT) rules in the ruling system. The Prophet (pbuh) explained the details of the ruling system, the form of government, the duties of the Khalifah, the duties of the people towards the Khalifah, the functions of the State, the structure of the administration, and all related matters. In a previous series of messages I gave an outline to the ruling system in Islam and discussed the first three principles. In this message I will continue. However, I will start with the outline to give a clear picture for those who are interested and following this issue. The first three messages are available upon request.

 

The Ruling System

Outline of the Khilafah Ruling System

Allah (swt) has determined the form of government in Islam to be the Khilafah system. It is the only system for ruling the Islamic state. Imam Muslim narrated from Abu Hazim who said: "I was with Abu Hurairah for five years and I heard him narrate from the Prophet (pbuh) that he said: The Prophets used to rule Ban Israel. Whenever a prophet died another prophet succeeded him, but there will be no prophets after me; instead there will be Khalifs and they will number many."

     This Hadith is a clear statement of the fact that the form of government in Islam, after the Prophet (pbuh) is the Khilafah. This understanding is supported by numerous other Hadith that indicate the only system of government in Islam is the Khilafah.

The ruling system in Islam is based on four principles:
     1. The supremacy is to the Sharia and not to the Ummah.
     2. The authority is to the Ummah.
     3. Appointing one Khalif is an obligation on all Muslims.
     4. The Khalif has power to adopt the divine law.

The State system is built upon eight pillars:
     1. The Khalif.
     2. The delegated assistants.
     3. The executive assistants.
     4. The Amir of Jihad.
     5. The Judges.
     6. The governors of the provinces (Wilayat).
     7. An administrative system.
     8. The consultative assembly (majlis ash-shura).

    The second principle "The authority belongs to the Ummah" means  the Ummah has the right to choose the Khalifah. The Sharia has given the right of appointing the Khalif to the Ummah; in other words, it is the Ummah who chooses the Khalif and gives him the pledge of allegiance. This principle was discussed in detail in one of the messages of last February. How would the Ummah choose the Khalif? It is very clear and obvious that any choice should be by voting and election. In addition other Hadith confirm that the Muslims are obliged to appoint an amir even if they were only three persons in isolation or on journey.

     Imam Ahmed reported on the authority of Abdullah Ibnu Amru that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: "It is forbidden for three persons to be together in a secluded place without appointing one of them as their amir". (Sahih)

     The phrase one of them implies that there should be no more than one Amir. The phrase "appointing" implies they are the one who appoint the Amir which means choose the Amir.  Furthermore, if the Sharia verdict compels the appointment of an Amir on three persons, this proves that the obligation on the Ummah world-wide is of greater magnitude.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     The issue of voting and election will be discussed in more details in another message.
     I discussed the first three principles in the ruling system last February. I will continue with some issues related to the third principle before going to the forth one. The third principle says "Appointing one Khalif is an obligation on all Muslims." Did Islam prescribed a way to appoint a Khalif or left it to people? Did Islam discuss the relation between the Khalif and the Ummah or left it open? How should the Ummah behave towards the Khalif if he commits a sin? Does the Ummah have the right to through the Khalif out of office? How would the Ummah do that? All these questions will be discussed in the following messages.

Part Three

The Ruling System
 

**   The First Principle:  The supremacy is to the Sharia and not to the Ummah.

The individual and the Ummah's actions and initiations are subject to Allah's commands and prohibitions.

1. Evidence from Quran:
     Allah has indicated:   "Allah bestows His sovereignty on whom He will. Allah is All-Embracing, All knowing" [2:247]. This clearly indicates that the absolute supremacy is exclusively to the Sharia of All (SWT).

     "The rule is to none but Allah" [6:57]  This clearly proves that the rule, judgment and supremacy are all to Allah (SWT). "If anyone rules by other than what Allah has revealed,  they are kafireen unbelievers)." [5:44]

     "O you who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the messenger and  those from you who are in authority; and if you have a  dispute concerning any matter, refer it to Allah and the  messenger if your (in truth) believers in Allah and the Last Day. That is better and more seemly in the end." [4:59]  Referring it to Allah and the Messenger means to the Sharia. "It is not for any believing man or woman, when Allah and his messenger have decided a matter, to have any  choice for themselves in their affairs. For whoever rebels against Allah and His Messenger has gone astray into manifest error." [33:36]

2. Evidence from the Sunnah:
     The messenger of Allah (SAW) said: "No one among you becomes a believer until his mentality and feelings (emotions) are in harmony with what I have brought". The Prophet Sirah is a clear evidence for that. He never gave an answer without the "Wahy". He sticked to the divine law even if it was against the wish of the majority of the Shabah. The example of Hudaibiah (which was cited in one of my messages about shura) is clearly showing my point.

3. Evidences from the general consensus of the Sahabah.
     The actions of the Khulafaa Rashideen (The first four Khalif) have indicated that the supremacy is to the Sharia and not the people, the sahabah did not object to this and consented, the general consensus is a proof that the supremacy is indeed to the Sharia and none else.

     Therefore the supremacy is to the Sharia for the Khalif is not given the pledge by the Ummah merely to be a hired man,  executing what the Ummah decides, he is given the pledge of  allegiance by the Ummah to execute the rules of the Holly Quran and the Sunnah of the Messenger (SAW), i.e., to execute the Sharia laws and what the people want.

**   The Second Principle: The Authority is to the Ummah.

     The Sharia has given the right of appointing the  Khalif to the Ummah; in other words, it is the Ummah who  chooses the Khalif and gives him the pledge of allegiance.  The Sharia allows the Khalif to take the authority from the  Ummah once she gives him the pledge of allegiance, then the  Ummah is obliged to obey him for he is the Khalif with a  pledge (Bay'ah). Evidence about the Khalif taking the  authority by a pledge comes from the following:  Abdullah Ibnu Amru Ibnul A'as reported that the Messenger  of Allah (SAW) saying: "Whoso pledge allegiance to an Imam  giving him the clasp of his hand and the fruit of his heart shall obey him as long as he can, and if another comes to   dispute with him, strike the neck of that man". Nafi'a reported that Abdullah Ibnu Omar told him that he  heard Allah's Messenger (SAW) saying: "Whoso takes his hand  from allegiance to Allah will meet him on the day of  Resurrection without any evidence supporting him, and whoso   dies while there was no allegiance on his neck dies a death  of the days of ignorance". 

    Many other Hadiths indicate that the authority is to the Ummah (more will be cited when I discuss the third  principle), for she chooses a Khalif among her, gives him  the authority and gives him the pledge of Allegiance  according to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger (SAW). It is worth mentioning here that even the Prophet of Allah (SAW) took the pledge of allegiance from  the Muslims after he (SAW) became leader and had  established the Islamic state. It was a pledge rule and authority, not a pledge of prophecy. He took the pledge  from men and women alike but from a youngster who had reached the age of maturity. Al-Bukhari reported about Ubada ibn as-Samit, who said: "We pledged ourselves to the Messenger of Allah to listen and obey in whatever pleases and displeases us, and that we should not dispute the  authority of those who had been entrusted with it, and to  stand for or say the truth wherever we are, fearing no  blame of anybody for the sake of Allah." 

    Al-Bukhari  reported on the authority of Umm Atiya, who said: "We gave a bay'ah to the Prophet (SAW) and then he read to us that  we should not associate anything to Allah and to refrain  from weeping, upon which a woman amongst us withdrew her   hand and said: A woman pleased me and I want to reward  (repay) her. He said nothing, so she went and then  returned. "Al-Bukhari reported about Abdullah ibn Hisham,  who witnessed the Prophet (SAW), that his mother Zaynab,  daughter of Hameed, took him to the Messenger of Allah  (SAW) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, take his pledge",  the Prophet (SAW) said: "He is young" and rubbed (wiped)  his head and said du'a for him.

***  The Third Principle: Appointing One Khalif is an Obligation on all Muslims.

     The Sharia has made it an obligation on every Muslim to have  a pledge of allegiance (Bay'ah) for a Khalif; the  obligation is to fulfill the pledge. The evidences of this  principle is derived from the Sunnah and the general consensus of the Sahabah.

1. The Sunnah
     Many Hadiths confirm that Muslims are forbidden from having more than one state, and from having more than one ruler  (Amir) in the whole world. From these Hadiths I extract the  following: The Prophet said (PBUH): "When the oath of allegiance has  been taken for two Khalifs, kill the later of them."  (Narrated in Muslim).  The Prophet (PBUH) also said: "Whoso comes to you while your affairs has been united under one  man, intending to divide your staff or dissolve your unity,  kill him." (Narrated in Muslim).

     Al-Bukhari, Ibnu Maja, Al-Imam Ahmad and Imam Muslim  narrated from Abu Hazim who said: "I was with Abu Hurairah  for five years and I heard him narrate from the Prophet  (pbuh) that he said: The Prophets used to rule Ban Israel.  Whenever a prophet died another prophet succeeded him, but there will be no prophets after me; instead there will be  Khalifs and they will number many. They asked: what then do you order us? He said: Fulfill allegiance to them one after  the other. Give them their dues. Verily Allah will ask them about what he entrusted them with."

     These three sahih Hadiths clearly indicate that the Muslims are forbidden from having more than one khalif, or more than one state. In addition to these three hadiths, other Hadith confirm that the Muslims are obliged to have an Amir, i.e, one Amir (ruler) no more, even if they were only three persons in isolation or on journey. Imam Ahmed reported on the authority of Abdullah Ibnu Amru  that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: "It is forbidden for   three persons to be together in a secluded place without  appointing one of them as their amir". (Sahih)   The phrase one of them implies that there should be no more than one Amir. This carries the same weight in terms of evidence. The evidence can not be cancelled out unless there is a text indicating so; and there is no such a text. So they should appoint one Amir and no more.

     Furthermore, if the Sharia verdict compels the appointment of an Amir on three persons, this proves that the obligation on the Ummah world-wide is of greater magnitude.

2.  The General Consensus of the Sahaba.
     In the books of Al-fasil-fil Milal by Ibnu Hazim, Tarikh of  Al-tabari, Al-A'kd Al-Farid of Al-Waqidi, Al-Sira of Ibnu Kathir, Al-Sunan Al-Kubra of Bayhaqi and Siratu Ibn Hisham,  that Al-Habbab Ibnu Al-Munthir said when the Sahaba met in  the wake of the death of the Prophet (SAW) at the saqifa (hall) of Bani sa'ida: One Amir from us and one Amir from you (meaning one from the Ansar and one from the Mohajireen). Upon this Abu Bakr replied: "It is forbidden   for Muslims to have two Amirs (rulers)..." Then he got up  and addressed the Muslims. And it has been reported in the  Sirah of Ibnu Ishaq that Abu Bakr said on the day of  Saqifa: "It is forbidden for Muslims to have two Amirs for  this would cause differences in their affairs and concepts,  their unity would be divided and disputes would break out amongst them. The Sunnah would then be abandoned, the  bida'a (innovations) would spread and Fitnah would grow, and that is in no one's interest."

     Therefore Abu Bakr delivered the Sharia verdict on the unity of the Khilafah, stressing that it is forbidden for  the Muslim Ummah to have more than one Amir. The Sahabah  heard him and approved and consented, no one disputed the verdict, but submitted to it and accepted it as a law  (indication of evidence from the Sunnah). The Ansar then conceded their claim to the Khilafah, and Al-Habbab Ibnu Al-Munthir was the first to give the pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr (RA). The general consensus of the Sahabah then  took effect on the day of Al-Saqifa, that is an obligation for all Muslims to have one ruler only. This opinion has  been adopted by all the distinguished scholars and I mention from them:

1. Imam Ali (RA) in his book Nahj-ul-Balagha (part 1 page91): "People must have an Amir...where the believer works under his Imara (rule) and under which the unbeliever would also benefit, until his rule ended by the end of his life (ajal), the booty (fay'i) would be gathered, the enemy would be fought, the routes would be made safe, the strong one will return what he took from the weak till the tyrant would be contained, and not bother anyone.
2. Al-Imam Al-Mawardi in his book Al-ahkam Al-Sultaniyah page 9 says: "It is forbidden for the Ummah to have two Imams at the same time."
3. Al-Imam Al-Nawawi in his book Mughni Al-Muhtaj, volume 4, page 132 says: "It is forbidden to give an oath to two Imams or more, even in different parts of the world and even if they are far apart".
4. Al-Imam Al Qalqashandi in his book Subul Al-Asha, volume 9, page 277 says: "It is forbidden to appoint two Imams at the same time".
5. Al-Imam Ibnu Hazm in his book Al-Muhalla, volume 9, page 360 says: "It is permitted to have only one Imam in the whole of the world."
6. Al-Imam Al-Sha'rani in his book Al-Mizan, volume 2, page 157 says: " It is forbidden for Muslims to have in the whole world and at the same time two Imams whether in agreement or discord."
7. Al-Imam Al-Qadhi Abdul-Jabbar (he is a Mu'tazela scholar) in his book Al-Mughni fi abwab Al-Tawheed, volume 20, page 243, says: "It is forbidden to give the oath to more than one."
8. Al-Imam Al-Joziri in his book Al-Fiqh Alal-Mathahib Al- Arba'a (the fiqh of the four schools of thought), volume 5, page 416 says: "The Imams (scholars of the four schools of thought)- may Allah have mercy on them- agree that the Imama is an obligation, and that the Muslims must appoint an Imam who would implement the deen's rites, and give the oppressed justice against the oppressors. It is forbidden forbidden for Muslims to have two Imams in the world whether in agreement or discord".
9. The Shia schools of thought and others expressed the same opinion about this, whoever wishes to explore this in detail can refer to the book of Al-Fasl Fil-Milal, volume 4, page 62, and the book of Matalib Ulil-Amr and the book of Maqalat Al-Islamyin, volume 2,page 134, or the Book of Al-Moghni Fi Abuab Al-Tawhid, volume 20, pages 58-145.

 

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ni Fi Abuab Al-Tawhid, volume 20, pages 58-145.

 

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