Saudi Constitution In the Light of Quran and Sunnah

Modern day kingdom of Saudi Arabia came into existence as a result of a conspiracy and a revolt against The Islamic Khilafah State. Al-Saud family played the most important role in this revolt with the help of the British in the 1916 and as a result secured the position of future rulers of Hijaz. They had so much trust and confidence in their British masters and were so sure and confident of their possession that they called it Saudi Arabia - after their family name. More Ironically, they have always been insisting on calling it an Islamic State. To prove this claim they used variety of deceptive techniques which range from hiring the so-called Islamic scholars to introducing the so-called Islamic Constitution recently. In the following paragraphs, the contradictions and contrast between some of the articles of the recent Saudi constitution and the Islamic system are revealed.

Some Features of the Saudi Constitution:

The Ruling System (section 2):

Article 5:

a. The ruling system in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of Kingship.

c. The King chooses his successor and dismisses him in a Royal decree.

Article 7:

The rule in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia derives its authority from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (saaws).

The System of Consultative Assembly:

Article 3:

The Consultative Assembly is composed of a president and sixty members chosen by the king to be people of knowledge, experience, and specialty. The right of the members and their duties and all of their affairs are to be specified by a Royal decree.

Article 5 of the Saudi constitution proclaims monarchy or kingship as the state's ruling system. Monarchical ruling system is defined as ruling system in which a single person holds absolute sovereignty or undivided rule over a state. Islamic ruling system is not one of kingship. The Ruling System in the Islamic State is the Khilafah Ruling system in which the sovereignty belongs to the shari'a. Khalifah is bound by the sharia and can be removed in case he deviates from it.

According part c of article 5, the king has the authority to choose or remove his successor in a royal decree. In Islamic State, the Khalifah does not possess the authority to appoint his successor. A Khalifah can only be selected through the process of bay'a. This bay'a is invalid in case there is already a Khalifah ruling as proven by the hadith, "If two Khalifahs are given the bay'a, kill the second one.”

While keeping in mind that this section was made to keep the successor in line with the American policy, it must be made clear that it is also Haram.

As for Article 3, the consultative assembly can not be appointed in Islam. It must be chosen (elected) by the people. This is because the consultative assembly is the representative (wakil) of Muslims. Since their position is that of wukulah, they must be chosen and not appointed. In addition, in the second allegiance at Aqaba, the Messenger (saaws) said to the Ansars: “Bring out for me twelve representatives” which means the people choose their representative. Moreover, they need not be people of knowledge, because the above mentioned Hadith does not contain any conditions. Inreality the proposed consultative assembly in Saudia is not designed to represent the people. It is designed to represent the King.

Ar-Raya Magazine