The state in Islam equals the khalifah, i.e the head of state. Because sovereignity is for the divine law (shariah), and it is the Khalifah who implements the shariah. Hence, the Khalifah is the State. The principle that underpins the Khilafah State is that mastership belongs to the law (shariah) and not the people. The State has no free hand but is restricted according to the Islamic laws, and at the same time it is the means to implement the laws.
The capitalist states consider that mastership belongs to the people, i.e the people rnake laws and the will of the people is sovereign. The state under the democratic/capitalist regime is founded to guarantee the four freedoms, namely:
freedom of thought, possession, creed, and freedom of the individual. The country is the homeland and everyone belonging to the land is considered a citizen of the State. They are the only people who have the authority to make the laws. Consequently authority in the capitalist State is collective.
In Islam the State has a completely different meaning. Unlike the capitalist State, Islam recognises no fixed or permanent borders. The border is temporary in Islam, because the call to Islam (dawa) is for the whole world, and its borders are ever expanding. The main duty of the State is to deliver the dawa and its aim is to deliver the dawa so that Islam encapsulates the entire world , and brings all the peoples together in one nation enjoying- without differentiation- the same duties and rights. The homeland is only the place of residence. Mastership belongs to the shariah and all the power of the State resides in the hands of the khalifah, who is appointed freely by the nation to implement Islam. Therefore the rule is singular not collective.
The Prophet (SAW) said,
"When oath of allegience has been taken for two khalifahs, kill the latter, " (Muslim).
It is from this point of view that we say the Khalifah = the State. Thus, if the Khalifah dies and no-one is chosen as Khalifah, then the State will be very close to the land of disbelief (Dar al- Kufr). The danger is real, because the State = the Khalifah and the whole system may be changed. Accordingly it is necessary to understand what is the responsibility of the Khalifah in Islam.
The responsibility of the Khalifah in general terms.
Generally the Khalifah is responsible for everything in the State, because he is the State. His primary duty is to take care of the people. This duty to take care comes from the Hokm Shariah (divine law).
"The Imam is responsible for the subjects".
From this we understand that the function of 'taking care' is restricted to the Khalifah and not allowed for any individual, group, institution or organisation. One who performs this function in place of the ruler is Asim (sinful). At this point it is necesssary to differentiate between the function of 'taking care' and the action of 'doing good'.
'Taking care' of the affairs of the citizens for example involves providing infastructure, roads sewage, power supplies etc. 'Doing good' on the other hand involves such actions as collecting money to build a mosque or helping a friend in distress. Doing the good are actions which Islam accepts and infact, encourages, They are actions for which there is an evidence from the hokm shara'i.
The evidence for '.taking care' of the subjects however, restricts the performance of such actions to the State.
The policies of the State.
The head of state is responsible for both the internal and external politics of the State. Thus, he will be the leader of the army, having full authority to initiate war. He selects judges, amirs and assistants, he meets other heads of state, accepts ambassadors, opens embassies and generally solves the problems of state. All this is done on condition that the Khalifah adopts only Islam. If he implements anything not from Islam the subjects have the right to ask the Acts of Injustice Court to take action against him. An example would be if he fixed the prices of commodities on the pretext of helping the state’s economy. As it is haram to fix prices (prices should be determined by the mechanism of the market) the Acts of Injustice Court would take him to task.
Qualifications of the Khalifah.
The Khalifah must have certain qualifications: they are:
- A strong personality.
- Taqwa (consciousness of Allah).
- Compassion.
- He must be approachable.
Abu Dharr relates:
“I said to the Holy Prophet : Will you not appoint me to public office?"
He patted me on the shoulder and said,
'Abu Dliarr, you are weak and office is a trust and is a source of limitation and remorse on the Day of Judgement, except for him who takes it up with a full sense of responsibility and duly, discharges its obligations." (Muslim).
The weakness refered to by the Rasool (SAW) was not his faith, the Prophet (SAW) said of him,
"The earth does not carry nor the heavens cover a man more true and faithftil than Abu Dharr."
His weakness was his personafity, which was unique and which did not lend itself to ruling.
A strong personality, however, needs a balance, a restraining factor. This is the taqwa. Whenever Rasool (SAW) dispatched a leader of the army he would give him the following advice,
"Be aware of Allah and remember that you are but a servant and be good to your citizens "
Ayesha relates that she heard the Holy Prophet say,
"Allah , when one who is placed in authority over my people is hard on them, be thou hard on him also, and when such a one is gentle with them, be thou gentle with him also." (Muslim).
The Prophet refering to those in authority over people said,
“The fragrance of paradise will not reach him, if he does not look after them with good will and sincerity." (Bukhari).
The Khalifah’s responsibility to the citizens.
1. Caring for his subjects.
Abu Maryam Azdi relates that he said to Mu'awiah, "I heard the Holy Prophet say,
"If Allah places someone in authority over the Muslims and he puts a barrier between himself and their needs and objects and poverty, Allah will put up a barrier between Himself and his needs and objects and poverty on the Day of Judgement.”
So Mu'awiah appointed a man to keep a check on the needs of people. (Abu Dawud
and Tirmidhi).
The Khalifah should always be in touch with his subjects and should know of their needs, even before they ask. He is responsible for their welfare and this is a great responsibility on him. The leaders of Muslims were well aware of this responsibility such that Omar bin al Khattab said, If the goat falls on the mountain track he will be held accountable for it.
Omar was caring in this way for the animals of the State, what then the well being of the citizen ? It is said that Omar ibn Abdul Aziz fainted on hearing the news that he had been chosen as the Khalifah When he was brought around he informed those who asked why he had fainted, that it was hnowledge of the responsibility that had befallen upon him that caused him to faint. Countless examples can be cited from the reign of the early Khalifahs to illustrate this point. However, perhaps it is more useful to look at examples from less known Khalifahs. The following is an incident from the reign of Motahson Billah.
Whilst Motsahson was Khalifah a group of people came to him and requested from him houses, factories and other material things, they were in poverty and wished to become self reliant through having their own businesses. Motahson didn't turn them away, as it is often the case today. Instead he sent his people to research the question and to see if they could fmd a solution. They concluded that these people needed help but that there was insufficient funds in the State treasury to fund the projects. Motahson decided to collect money from the rich people of the State, they donated but there was still insufficient funds. Motahson could not sleep, the problem perplexed him. He decided that it was his duty to help them and he could not rest until he satisfied their need. He even donated all his allowance from the State, but still the fund was not enough. So he gathered his entire entourage at the court and they all agreed to finance the projects, and thus the problem was solved. This is the real example of the attitude of the Khalifah who cares for his people like he cares for himself.
Compare this example with the response of King Fahd to the demands of the people of Qateef. The people of Qateef asked lgng Fahd for their right from the treasury. Under the Saudi Administration all Saudi citizens receive an allowance from the government. The people of Qateef demanded their right, a right which was being denied to them because they were Shia. After writing numerous letters they approached him direct. This angered Fahd. He answered their demands by killing many of them. Such was the compassion of the 'Gaurdian of the two holy mosques'.
2. Taking good advice.
The Prophet (SAW) said,
“Allah will forbid Paradise to one whom He appoints in authority over people and he dies whilst cheating them." (Bukhari & Muslim).
The leader of Muslims must not cheat his subjects. Instead he must surround the people with good advice. He should also be capable of taking advice, because the ‘din is advice.’
Once a certain person said to Umar bin al Khattab "Fear Allah, 0 Umar." and then Umar told him, "Mind you, all of you must say it. There is no good in you if you do not say it and no good in us if we do not pay heed to it."
During the rule of Khalifah Abu Jaffar Mansoor, a man came to him and said,
"0 Prince of the Believers, you have built a kingdom without precedent, but nevertheless there are three things wrong with your kingdom. Firstly, your kingdoin is far from water, secondty, the people like plants and vegetation, but you have none, thirdly,, your palace is inundated by your subjects. Hence with your people in your palace you can not take care of the people outside. "
Following this complaint Abu Jaffar Mansoor ordered the people to dig two large artificial rivers starting from Daj'la (a large river). He asked them to bring from Abassiah various assortments of plants. In answer to "the third complaint he said to the man,
"There are no borders between my Subjects and I, it is my duty to be available to them."
Thus he accepted the first two criticisms as valid, but refused the third, taking it as a duty on him.
On another occasion the people of a certain province in the state came to Abu Jaffar and told him they did not want him to be Khalifah. He agreed to relinquish the Khilafah. However, the jurists who look after this question asked them what was the reason for their demand. They said he had spent a lot of money on the poor people but they had received little in comparison. They explained that Abu Jaffar was distributing the funds equally amongst the citizens but they did not take into account the relative high costs of living in their area, and so they were suffering. Abu Jaffar sent some people to look into the matter and they discovered their complaint to be valid. Because of their environment they required a larger allowance from the state. Accordingly Abu Jaffar decreed that their allowance should be increased.
No one could imagine that our present rulers would tolerate such a demand. If anyone told Saddam, Ghaddafi, Assad etc. that they did not want him as their leader he would be eliminated, possibly with the rest of his family and village. Witness the destruction of Hama in Syria by Hafiz Assad.
Assad did not try to resolve the problem of Hama peacefully. He could have surrounded the city and brought an end to the uprising with minimal cost to human lives. Instead he ordered his, army to obliterate Hama from the map of the world. Thus 20,000 men, women and children were wiped out. This is the mentality of our present day rulers, they have no feelings for the people and can take no advice.
3. Guarding the Public Funds.
The Khalifah is not allowed to touch the public finance. He occupies the position like that of an orphan's guardian.
Abu Hamid Sa'idi relates that the Prophet (SAW) appointed a man of Azd call lbn al-Lutbiyyah as collector of Zakat. When he returned from his assignment he reported,
"This and this I have collected as Zakat and that and that are gifts presented to me."
Thereupon the Holy Prophet ascended the pulpit, praised and glorified Allah and said,
“I appoint a man from amiong you to cany out some duty in connection with that which Allali has committed to me and he comes back and says: This is yours and that has been presented to me as a gift. If he is telling the truth why did he not sit in the house of his Fatlier or Mother so that his gifts should have come to him ? By Allah if anyone of you should take anything to which he has no right, he will meet Allah on the Day of Judgement carying that thing. So let me not see any of you meet Allah carrying a grunting camel or a mooing cow or a bleating goat."
Then he raised his arms so high that the white of his armpits bacame visible and his supplication went up:
'Allah, I have conveyed Thy command. " (Buklzari & Muslim).
Umar bin al Khattab used to examine his governors and see what property they possessed. When one among them said to him, "l did business and earned profit," Umar replied, " We did not send you for doing business."
Khalifah Omar ibn Abdul Aziz was so careful not to touch the public's funds that whenever someone would speak to him on a personal matter he would put out the candle acquired from the treasure house and light another candle.
The present rulers of the Muslim world embezzle billions of pounds from the public funds. They amass fortunes on the backs of people whom they tax without limits. Public money is diverted to private banks and bribary and corruption are common place. The revenues of the State, fill the private purses of the rulers such that there is no distinction between revenue of the State and the revenue of the ruler.
4. Ruling by Islam.
“And judge between them accorditig to what Allah has revealed, and do not follow their opinions, and beware of them lest they confuse you in matters which Allah has revealed to you. " (5:49).
“And if they do not respond to you, then know that they are following their own opinions, and who can be more misguided than one who follows his own opinions, against the guidance from Allah ? Indeed, Allah does not guide the wicked people." (28; 50)
"We have set you on a way ordained (by Allali) then follow it, and do not follow the desires of those wlio have no knowledge. They will not avail you anything before Allah. Surely the evil doers are ftiends of one another, and Allah is the friend of the God-fearing." I45; 18)
Many more verses make it clear that either one submits to Allah and His Messenger (SAW) or one follows Kufr (disbelief). If the law of Allah is not implemented then the ruler and State has deviated. The land can no longer be called the Home of Islam. It is not permissable to mix with Islam any aspect of Kufr, whether it be Kufr laws or Kufr values, practices or concepts. The ruler who deviates from the divine law must be removed. This is why Omar bin al-Khattab (may Allah satisfy him) said,
"Those of you who see in me deviation must straighten it."
And Abu Bakr (may Allah satisfy him) said,
"If I act well obey me, if I falter straighten me. "
The essential dictum being "There is no loyalty unto the created which involves disloyalty unto the Creator" (Bukhari).
5. Adoption of Divine Law.
An aspect of the duty of 'taking care' of the subjects is to settle the disputes that may arise between them. As the head of the state he will be confronted with different Islamic opinions in the same question. For example one scholar may hold the opinion that something is allowed (mubah) whilst another may be of the opinion that the thing is forbidden (haram). As both opinions are derived from Islamic evidences, i.e Ouran and Sunnah, they are considered as Islamic opinions. The shariah has given the Khalifah the right to adopt one of the opinions as a law for the people to implement, because to unify the people is also his duty. Moreover, this is the only way to unify people in an Islamic State.
Once the Khalifah has adopted an opinion for implementation his orders must be obeyed, whole heartedly and overtly as well as covertly, but only as long as he remains loyal to the divine law. This had been codified by the Shr’iah in the following two principles:
"The order of the khalifah must be accepted openly and secretly, " and
"The order of the khalifah settles all disputes."
Naturally, there is no obedience if the Khalifah goes out of Islam. Ali reported that the Rasool (SAW) said,
"There is no obedience in transgression. Verily obedietice is in good deeds." (Bukhari & Muslim.)
One should not find it strange that there may be more than one opinion in a question and yet all opinions be considered as Islamc.
The Prophet (SAW) said,
"If a jurist makes a right decision through ijtihad (exertion), he shall receive two rewards : if he errs, he shall receive one reward. " (Muslim).
This implies that some scholars will make ijtihad and will error in their reasoning, whilst others will make a correct ijtihad. Thus, in the same question we must have a correct and errorous opinion, but who is to decide which is correct. To have more than one opinion is not un-lslamic. Because the Prophet (SAW) stated that the jurist shall be rewarded for the right ijtihad more than for the wrong ijtihad, but rewards are not granted for things forbidden (haram) nor for the intentional errors. The question of who has made the right ijtihad will not be known, until the Day of Judgement. However it is allowed for the Khalifah to adopt the opinion that convinces him as of stronger divine evidence and better ijtihad, and for all the people to follow it.
An example of this is the decision by Abu Bakr to distribute the funds of the State equally to all subjects. In spite of Umar bin al Khattab's holding a different opinion in this question, he nevertheless obeyed the rule of Abu Bakr and distributed the funds in this manner, as did all subjects of the State. However, when Umar became Khalifah he adopted the policy of distributing the funds according to the duration of time they had embraced Islam. Thus the people who migrated with the Prophet (SAW) received more than those who had entered into Islam after the migration (Hijrah). Similarly the household of the Prophet (SAW) received more than others etc. Othman adopted the same policy when he was Khalifah and so all jurists in the State had to implement this policy. When Ali became Khalifah he adopted the opinion of Abu Bakr, so all jurists had to obey his command and start to distribute funds equally.
In this question we find that Islam pushes the Khalifah very hard to implement only Islam and to unify the ummah on Islam. The Prophet (SAW) said,
"Whosoever brings something not of our affair (Islam) will have it rejected." (Bukhzari).
Abdur-Rahman an Nasser
The responsibility of the Khalifah to his subjects is personified in the life of Abdur-Rahman an Nasser who was Amir of Andalus (Spain). It was he, in fact who opened Andalus. Abdur-Rahman assigned officers to look after the erection of new buildings (i.e. town planners) in conformity to the saying of the Prophet (SAW) that,
"The neighbour has the right over his neighbour in two things, firstly, to be free from adverse cookiitg smells, and secondly for him riot to build higher than his house."
He also assigned officers to look after the milk, to ensure that the milk was not watered down. He appointed environmental health officers to inspect meat and other foodstuffs on sale, ensuring that the produce was well protected from flys and insects etc. He built hostels for the travellers and constantly busied himself with the affairs of State, such that on his death when the people read his personal diaries they found that throughout his entire reign of 55 years, 7 months and 3 days in office, he had only 14 days free from affairs of State. And on his death he had nothing to leave, he died poor.
Al-Fajr Magazine
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