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.