Geopolitical Myths by Adnan Khan

For nearly 1400 years no debate existed on whether Islam had a system of governance. The destruction of the Khilafah in 1924 was when such an issue raised its head. It was when many individuals succumbed to the onslaught of western culture and denied Islam had any system of government. ‘Ali Abd ar-Raaziq went to great lengths in his book ‘al-Islam wa Usul al-Hukm,’ published in 1925 a year after the destruction of the Khilafah to prove there was no evidence in Islam for any type of government. Many orientalist’s such as Sir Thomas Arnold also played their part by scrutinizing Islamic evidences and producing much literature arguing Islam has no system of governance.

Today many Muslims unfortunately smitten by the call to modernise Islam have gone to great lengths to prove Islam has no system of government. They advocate that Muslims can live according to any system of government of the day and choose the most appropriate. Cambridge University, in England organised one such event in June 2007 on ‘Islam and Muslims in the world today. The grand Mufti of Egypt, Ali Gomaa, alongside many ‘moderate’ Muslims were invited to discuss how Islam can be changed to meet the needs of the West. Ali Gomaa responded by outlining how Islam had no political system:

‘Many assume that an Islamic government must be a caliphate, and that the caliph must rule in a set and specific way. There is no basis for this vision within the Islamic tradition. The caliphate is one political solution that Muslims adopted during a certain historical period, but this does not mean that it is the only possible choice for Muslims when it comes to deciding how they should be governed. The experience that Egypt went through can be taken as an example of this. The period of development begun by Muhammad Ali Pasha and continued by the Khedive Ismail was an attempt to build a modern state. This meant a reformulation of Islamic law. This process led Egypt to become a liberal state run by a system of democracy without any objections from Muslim scholars.

Muslims are free to choose whichever system of government they deem most appropriate for them.

Whilst think tanks and government minsters across the Western world continue to highlight the threat posed from the emergence of an Islamic government (implicitly accepting Islam has a system of government) it is generally certain Muslims who argue that Islam did not outline any form of government. They go as far as arguing that what was seen in Islamic history is specific to that time period and cannot be used as a basis for Islamic governance today, i.e. the previous form of ruling seen in the Islamic world was merely customary, and hence Islam has no system of government. To understand this myth the Islamic evidences need to be surveyed in order to asses if Islam has provided a model of government.

The Qur’an reinforces in many verses the need to rule by what Allah وتعالى سبحانه has revealed, Muslims are commanded to rule by Islam:

He وتعالى سبحانه also says:

Furthermore, establishing the Deen and implementing the Shariah in every single aspect of life is an obligation upon Muslims proven through evidences definite in report and in meaning, and this cannot be achieved unless there is a ruler who possesses the authority to do so. This is why there are numerous evidences that make the appointment of a ruler an obligation.

The evidence concerning the obligation of appointing a Khaleefah over all the Muslims is understood from the Sunnah and the Ijmaa’ of the Sahabah. As for the Sunnah, Nafi’a reported saying: “Abdullah ibn Umar said to me that he heard the Prophet وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى saying:

‘Whosoever takes off his hand from allegiance to Allah وتعالى سبحانه will meet Him وتعالى سبحانه on the Day of Resurrection without having any proof for him, and whoso dies whilst there was no Bai’ah (allegiance) on his neck (to a Khaleefah), he dies a death of Jahiliyyah (ignorance).’” Narrated by Muslim.

So the Messenger وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى made it obligatory upon every Muslim to have a Bai’ah on his neck. He described the one who dies without having a Bai’ah on his neck as if he died the death of Jahiliyyah. The phrase having ‘Bai’ah on his neck,’ means having the Khaleefah present. The process of appointing the ruler was clearly outlined by the Prophet وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى .

Abu Hazim reported that he accompanied Abu Hurayrah for five years and heard him talking of the saying of the Prophet وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى” :The Prophets ruled over the children of Israel, one after the other. Whenever a prophet died another Prophet succeeded him, but there will be no Prophets after me. There will be Khulafaa’ and they will number many. They asked what then do you order us? He said “fulfil the bay’ah (pledge of allegiance) to them one after the other and give them their dues, surely Allah will ask them about what he entrusted them with.” (Muslim)

Prophet Muhammad وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى established a clear structure for Islamic governance, laid down its rules and outlined its details. When the Prophet وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى established the first Islamic State in Medina in the 7th century it was a small city state with a belligerent tribe, the Quraysh, out to eliminate the newly founded society. The Prophet وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى moved quickly to develop a self sufficient economy to ensure the State could be defended and be able to feed its populace. The Prophet وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى in the first year sent military expeditions to various parts of the Arabian Peninsula along the trade routes to intercept Qurayshi caravans, develop foreign relations and trade treaties to ensure regular protected routes for trade.

The Messenger of Allah وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى ruled over both Muslims and non-Muslims and he managed their affairs from the first day he set foot in Medina. Once the Islamic State was founded, he set about forming an Islamic society in which the welfare of the people was properly catered for.

Acting in his capacity as a statesman he signed treaties with the Jews, with Banu Dhamrah and Banu Madlaj. He then later signed treaties with the Quraysh and with the people of Aylah, al-Jarba’ and Uzrah. As commander of the armed forces, the Messenger of Allah وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى planned and executed many military campaigns. Additionally, the Prophet وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى appointed a Wali (governor) in every province and an ‘Amil (mayor) in every area. For example, he appointed ‘Utab ibn Usayd as Wali over Makkah shortly after its liberation and once Badhan ibn Sasan embraced Islam, he was appointed Wali of Yemen. Mu’adh ibn Jabal al-Khazraji was appointed as Wali over al-Janad and Khalid ibn Sa’id ibn al-’As was appointed ‘Amil over San’a.

The Messenger of Allah وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى appointed judges to settle the people’s disputes. He صلى وسلم وآله عليه الله appointed Ali (ra) as judge over Yemen and ‘Abdullah ibn Nawfal as judge over Medina. He وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى would enquire from them, “What would you judge by?” They replied, “If we do not find the judgment in the Book nor in the Sunnah we shall use Qiyas and extract a judgment.” He وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى approved of that method. Prophet Muhammad الله صلى وسلم وآله عليه also established tribunals (Madhalim) to deal with complaints concerning judges and Wulaa’ alike. He appointed Rashid ibn ‘Abdullah as an Amir of the judiciary and the tribunals of complaints, with powers to supervise the cases brought before such tribunals.

Prophet Muhammad وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى appointed registrars, who functioned as the heads of departments of State:

• ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib was the writer of treaties, • Mu’ayqeeb ibn Abi Fatimah was secretary of the booties, • Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman was in charge of assessing the crops and fruits throughout Hijaz (Arabian Peninsula), • Zubayr ibn al-’Awwam was secretary of Sadaqah (Charities), • Al-Mughira ibn Shu’bah was given the task of writing all the loan agreements and transactions, and • Sharkhabeel ibn Hasanah was employed as the writer of messages which were sent to various kings.

The Prophet وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى would appoint for every department a secretary or director regardless of the number of departments. In these matters, he وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى consulted his Sahabah extensively, especially those who showed a large degree of understanding and deep thinking and who possessed aptitude in the relevant areas.

The Messenger of Allah وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى levied taxes upon Muslims and non-Muslims on land and on some properties, fruit and livestock. These consisted of the Zakat, the ‘Ushr (10% of specific crops), the Fay’i (war booty), the Kharaj (land tax) and the Jizyah (paid by the non Muslim covenanted citizens of the State). The Anfal and the booties belonged to the State treasury. The Zakat was distributed among the eight categories of people entitled to it, as mentioned in the Qur’an, and nobody else.

Prophet Muhammad وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى set up everything himself and completed it during his lifetime. He وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى was the Head of State; he had assistants, governors, judges, an army, secretaries and a council of Shura. This type of structure was termed the Khilafah and this is the Islamic system of governance. Information concerning all these details of the structure of the Islamic State has been transmitted from generation to generation via Tawatur (collective and assured testimony).

The Messenger of Allah وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى held the post of Head of State from the very first day he arrived in Medina, until his death. Abu Bakr and ‘Umar (ra) were his two assistants. The Sahabah agreed after his death on the obligation of appointing a Khaleefah to follow him as the Head of State only, and not in the Message, nor as a Prophet, for he وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى was the seal of the Prophets. Prophet Muhammad وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى established a complete system of government during his lifetime. He وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى left behind him the type of rule and the governmental structure known by and evident to everyone at the time.

The Sahabah agreed upon the necessity of establishing a successor (i.e. Khaleefah) to the Messenger of Allah وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى after his death. They all agreed to appoint a successor to Abu Bakr (ra), and upon his death, appointing ‘Umar (ra) as successor and upon ‘Uthman’s (ra)

death to appoint ‘Ali (ra) as a successor to him. The general consensus of the Sahabah on the appointment of a Khaleefah manifested itself emphatically upon the death of the Messenger of Allah وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى where they busied themselves in appointing a successor to him even though it is known that the burial of the dead person after his death is obligatory. It is also prohibited upon those in charge of preparing the burial to engage themselves in anything else until they completed the burial. Despite this, some of the Sahabah engaged themselves in appointing a Khaleefah, even though they were obliged to engage themselves in preparing the burial of the Messenger of Allah وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى .Other Sahabah kept silent about this and participated in the delaying of the burial for two nights, despite having the ability to deny the delay and to bury the .صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم Allah of Messenger Hence after his وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى death the Sahabah appointed a Khaleefah from amongst them, and such a leader was contracted with the consent of the Ummah. As the Islamic lands spread, Wali’s were appointed in those lands and Islam was consolidated. Furthermore, all of the Sahabah consented throughout their lives, upon the obligation of appointing the Khaleefah. Although at times they differed about the person who should be selected as a Khaleefah, they never disagreed about the fact that a Khaleefah must be appointed, whether in the wake of the death of Prophet Muhammad وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى nor after the death of each of the Khulafaa’ ar-Rashideen.’ Accordingly, the general consensus of the Sahabah (Ijmaa’) is both strong and clear evidence that the appointment of a Khaleefah is obligatory.

Although on some occasions Islam may have been misapplied, the Khilafah existed from the death of Prophet Muhammad وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى until it was destroyed in 1924 in Istanbul. The system outlined by Prophet Muhammad وسلم وآله عليه الله صلى is too detailed to be considered customary and it was considered by all at the time to be a huge departure from the monarchical and autocratic types of government. All this indicates that the Khilafah is a unique form of governance legislated by Islam. It is the Khilafah that implements Islam and it is the Khilafah that would implement the Islamic system in all its territories.

The Khilafah’s track record is unparalleled in history, its success being recognised by all. The orientalist Bernard Lewis wrote in his book ‘What Went Wrong?’:

‘Islam represented the greatest military power on earth…It was the foremost economic power in the world…It had achieved the highest level so far in human history, in the arts and sciences of civilization...Islam in contrast created a world civilization, poly-ethnic, multiracial, international, one might even say intercontinental.’ (Lewis, 2002)

Francis Fukuyama who is considered one of the most important living public intellectuals considers Islam as the only remaining system that poses a challenge to Capitalism. He states: ‘Democracy's only real competitor in the realm of ideas today is radical Islamism. Indeed, one of the world's most dangerous nation-states today is Iran, run by extremist Shiite mullahs. But Sunni radicalism has been remarkably ineffective in actually taking control of a nation-state, due to its propensity to devour its own potential supporters.