As Muslims Allah (swt) has made it obligatory upon each one of us to live and organise all our life affairs based solely on the basis of Quran and Sunnah and what it leads us to, meaning the Ijma of the Sahaba (ra) and Qiyas.
Looking at the reality of different rulings, one could easily understand that there are certain rulings that pertain to individuals and could be performed in one’s individual capacity i.e. Fasting, Salah, charity, good manners, serving parents, marriage etc. While certain rulings by its very nature are beyond the scope of an individual as it involves an authority to establish it and take care of it. For instance, in the case of robbery, murder, theft, rape, invasion of foreign forces, education, justice, Economics etc there is a need for an institutionalized approach to deal with it. When Quran say “cut the hands of the thief, be male of female” does not warrant an individual to start behaving like a judge, jury and executioner rather it’s a multifarious issue where it is required to first verify the crime committed, and that its committed by the same person, nature and value of the items stolen, witnesses and then verdict of either guilty or innocent is given by a competent and authorize authority. Once the accused is convicted another authorized department is required to implement the judgment. This one example brings us to some crucial points i.e. who that authority is? How does it look like? Where that authority does get its legitimacy from etc.
Looking at the reality of different rulings, one could easily understand that there are certain rulings that pertain to individuals and could be performed in one’s individual capacity i.e. Fasting, Salah, charity, good manners, serving parents, marriage etc. While certain rulings by its very nature are beyond the scope of an individual as it involves an authority to establish it and take care of it. For instance, in the case of robbery, murder, theft, rape, invasion of foreign forces, education, justice, Economics etc there is a need for an institutionalized approach to deal with it. When Quran say “cut the hands of the thief, be male of female” does not warrant an individual to start behaving like a judge, jury and executioner rather it’s a multifarious issue where it is required to first verify the crime committed, and that its committed by the same person, nature and value of the items stolen, witnesses and then verdict of either guilty or innocent is given by a competent and authorize authority. Once the accused is convicted another authorized department is required to implement the judgment. This one example brings us to some crucial points i.e. who that authority is? How does it look like? Where that authority does get its legitimacy from etc.
The answers to these questions are what will clarify the matter to all of us. The authority that does all the above is the state. It’s the duty of the state to implement Islam and make sure the affairs of people is governed according to the teachings of Islam. The state that Islam proposes is called Khilafah, which has its detailed structure and principles. The last question needs some elaboration as to who give the state and the ruler the authority to implement Islam and who gave this authority to the people to elect the Caliph to carry out the responsibility?
Since it’s obligatory upon every Muslim to live his/her life according to Islam, we know that many of the rulings of Islam are not only addressed to individuals rather to the Ameer/Caliph/Imam. Therefore, to ensure the complete implementation of Islam as a Deen a centralized authority is a prerequisite.
As citizens of the state the individuals elect an authority, give him a pledge of allegiance and make him their representative (Wakeel) to implement Islam and to rule by what Allah (swt) has revealed on their behalf. Since the ruler is trusted upon by the people to implement nothing but Islam on their behalf, this is what he is supposed to do and the people as result will have to extend him absolute obedience. However, the process doesn’t stop here.
The obligation of absolute obedience to the amir regarding his authority does not mean the absence of accounting of him. Allah (swt) has obliged the accounting of the amirs, whether they were rulers or otherwise, when they abuse the rights of the people, fail to accomplish their (amirs) responsibilities, neglect any of the affairs of those under their charge within their responsibilities, disagree with rules of Islam or judge/rule with other than the revelation of Allah. Muslim narrated from Umm Salama that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
«ستكون أمراء فتعرفون وتنكرون، فمن عرف برئ، ومن أنكر سلم، ولكن من رضي وتابع....»
“There will be amirs, where you will acknowledge (some of what they do as right) and refuse to acknowledge (some other). Whoever acknowledged (what is right) he would be cleared (of the sin), and whoever rejected (what is wrong) he would be blameless; however, whoever accepted and complied with (he would not be so)…”.
It is also narrated from Abu Said Al-Khudry, he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
«من رأى منكم منكراً فليغيره بيده، فإن لم يستطع فبلسانه، فإن لم يستطع فبقلبه وذلك أضعف الإيمان» .
“Whoever of you has seen a munkar (evil) let him change it with his hand. If he could not, then (let him change it) with his tongue. If he could not, then (let him hate it) by his heart; and this is the weakest iman”.
Accounting of the Amirs, whether they were rulers, Amirs of armies, leaders of parties or leaders of groups, consists of discussing with them so as to show the error of the actions they did, the error of the orders and decisions they issued, the error of the rules they executed, and the error of the ideas and opinions they derived. The Amirs must listen to those who account them and discuss with them the issues over which they carry out this accounting. If the Amirs were convinced of that which was discussed with them and found it to be right then they must return to it. If they, however, were not convinced of that which was discussed with them and found it to be wrong, they have to explain to them the validity of the actions they did, and the correctness of the orders and decisions they issued, the rules they executed and the ideas and opinions they deduced.
After the amirs had explained their position, those who accounted, discussed and objected have to accept the views of the amirs after they (accounting people) did their utmost effort in persuading them. This is necessary for continuing the obedience to them, continuity of discipline, and maintaining the unity of the entity of the state and party. This is different to the case when the Amir shows kufr bawah (Manifest Disbelief), over which we have proof from Allah, where this has a different rule. Hence after discharging the duty of electing the ruler and giving him the pledge of allegiance to establish Islam the Ummah must obey him as well as make sure that the ruler is obeying the contract upon which he was given the Bayah, without any restrictions and time limit.
As said achieving something is not as difficult as maintain it, thus, appointing the authority (Caliph) is half the work, rest of the other half is to make sure he is fulfilling his covenant. The more vigilant the citizens of the state, both Muslims and non-Muslims, be, there would be fewer chances that the Caliph will go unchecked It is because of this that the Prophet ﷺ said that “the best of Jihad is speaking the word of truth against the tyrant ruler”. To speak truth against a tyrant ruler warrant two things. 1- To know the truth 2- to know what tyranny is. In order to do that the Ummah needs to be politically active and on top of the issues happening at the state level.
As citizens of the state the individuals elect an authority, give him a pledge of allegiance and make him their representative (Wakeel) to implement Islam and to rule by what Allah (swt) has revealed on their behalf. Since the ruler is trusted upon by the people to implement nothing but Islam on their behalf, this is what he is supposed to do and the people as result will have to extend him absolute obedience. However, the process doesn’t stop here.
The obligation of absolute obedience to the amir regarding his authority does not mean the absence of accounting of him. Allah (swt) has obliged the accounting of the amirs, whether they were rulers or otherwise, when they abuse the rights of the people, fail to accomplish their (amirs) responsibilities, neglect any of the affairs of those under their charge within their responsibilities, disagree with rules of Islam or judge/rule with other than the revelation of Allah. Muslim narrated from Umm Salama that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
«ستكون أمراء فتعرفون وتنكرون، فمن عرف برئ، ومن أنكر سلم، ولكن من رضي وتابع....»
“There will be amirs, where you will acknowledge (some of what they do as right) and refuse to acknowledge (some other). Whoever acknowledged (what is right) he would be cleared (of the sin), and whoever rejected (what is wrong) he would be blameless; however, whoever accepted and complied with (he would not be so)…”.
It is also narrated from Abu Said Al-Khudry, he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
«من رأى منكم منكراً فليغيره بيده، فإن لم يستطع فبلسانه، فإن لم يستطع فبقلبه وذلك أضعف الإيمان» .
“Whoever of you has seen a munkar (evil) let him change it with his hand. If he could not, then (let him change it) with his tongue. If he could not, then (let him hate it) by his heart; and this is the weakest iman”.
Accounting of the Amirs, whether they were rulers, Amirs of armies, leaders of parties or leaders of groups, consists of discussing with them so as to show the error of the actions they did, the error of the orders and decisions they issued, the error of the rules they executed, and the error of the ideas and opinions they derived. The Amirs must listen to those who account them and discuss with them the issues over which they carry out this accounting. If the Amirs were convinced of that which was discussed with them and found it to be right then they must return to it. If they, however, were not convinced of that which was discussed with them and found it to be wrong, they have to explain to them the validity of the actions they did, and the correctness of the orders and decisions they issued, the rules they executed and the ideas and opinions they deduced.
After the amirs had explained their position, those who accounted, discussed and objected have to accept the views of the amirs after they (accounting people) did their utmost effort in persuading them. This is necessary for continuing the obedience to them, continuity of discipline, and maintaining the unity of the entity of the state and party. This is different to the case when the Amir shows kufr bawah (Manifest Disbelief), over which we have proof from Allah, where this has a different rule. Hence after discharging the duty of electing the ruler and giving him the pledge of allegiance to establish Islam the Ummah must obey him as well as make sure that the ruler is obeying the contract upon which he was given the Bayah, without any restrictions and time limit.
As said achieving something is not as difficult as maintain it, thus, appointing the authority (Caliph) is half the work, rest of the other half is to make sure he is fulfilling his covenant. The more vigilant the citizens of the state, both Muslims and non-Muslims, be, there would be fewer chances that the Caliph will go unchecked It is because of this that the Prophet ﷺ said that “the best of Jihad is speaking the word of truth against the tyrant ruler”. To speak truth against a tyrant ruler warrant two things. 1- To know the truth 2- to know what tyranny is. In order to do that the Ummah needs to be politically active and on top of the issues happening at the state level.
In Islam, the state doesn’t only belong to the Caliph. It’s unlike Democracy where people get the opportunity once after 5 years to select from predefined choices and then wait for another election. In the Khilafah the work is not done after the election of the Caliph and now its up to the Caliph to decide what laws and system he will implement, rather its people who enjoy the authority that the Ummah willingly transfers to the ruler on a condition that the ruler will rule by what Allah (Swt) has revealed and the people will account him on the basis of the contract, because implementation of Islam and ruling by what Allah (Swt) has revealed is the central tenet of Islam as a Deen, no negligence is allowed on either side; either the ruler nor on the part of the people, because once this foundation is undermined the entire building falls apart as a natural consequence/automatically.
To summaries please pay your utmost attention to the following points;
1- Allah (swt) has revealed Ahkams
2- Some Ahkams are related to individuals while some Ahkams are societal/state
3- To implement the rulings pertaining society and state it requires an authority
4- To discharge our responsibility to implement the collective Ahkams we need to elect a central authority.
5- The purpose of that authority is to rule by What Allah (swt) has revealed on behalf of the Ummah
6- The role of the Ummah after electing the Caliph is to keep an eye on him so that he does not deviate from the pledge that he has been given by the Ummah.
7- If the Caliph deviate from his pledge the Ummah is obliged to account him.
8- If accounting doesn’t work, the Caliph could be impeached.
9- If the Caliph violate the contract altogether then the Ummah could remove him by the sward.
To summaries please pay your utmost attention to the following points;
1- Allah (swt) has revealed Ahkams
2- Some Ahkams are related to individuals while some Ahkams are societal/state
3- To implement the rulings pertaining society and state it requires an authority
4- To discharge our responsibility to implement the collective Ahkams we need to elect a central authority.
5- The purpose of that authority is to rule by What Allah (swt) has revealed on behalf of the Ummah
6- The role of the Ummah after electing the Caliph is to keep an eye on him so that he does not deviate from the pledge that he has been given by the Ummah.
7- If the Caliph deviate from his pledge the Ummah is obliged to account him.
8- If accounting doesn’t work, the Caliph could be impeached.
9- If the Caliph violate the contract altogether then the Ummah could remove him by the sward.
Lastly, it is our duty as a noble Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ to revive the Islamic Way of life by reestablishing the Khilafah Rashidah and to then make sure that the state is governed by the ruler according to Islam. These two points make the state a collective state where each one of the citizens of the state is responsible for undertaking his responsibility with utmost commitment and zeal so that to carry the mercy and justice of Islam to the entire world!
