17.10 General Responsibilities/duties
The Legislator (i.e. Allah) fixed the obligatory general responsibilities upon the ruler explicitly without leaving any area for obscurity or confusion. He clarified the ruler’s responsibilities in relation to what is obligatory upon him in his personal capacity as a ruler, and his responsibilities in respect of his relationship with the citizens.
As for the ruler’s responsibilities in his personal capacity as a ruler, they are clear in the ahadith in which the Messenger (saw) clarified some of the ruler’s attributes. The most apparent of them are strength, consciousness of Allah (taqwa) and kindness, and that he should not be one who causes aversion. The Messenger (saw) opined that the ruler must be strong, and that the weak person is not suitable to become a ruler. Muslim narrated from Abu Dharr (ra) that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
“O Abu Dharr, I see that you are weak and I like for you what I like for myself. Do not rule over (even) two persons, and do not manage an orphan's property
Muslim also narrated from Abu Dharr who said:
“I said: O Messenger of Allah, Why do you not appoint me to an (official) position?" He (saw) patted me on the shoulder with his hand and said, "O Abu Dharr, you are a weak man and it is a trust and it will be a cause of disgrace and remorse on the Day of Resurrection except for the one who takes it up with a full sense of responsibility and fulfills what is entrusted to him (discharges its obligations efficiently)..”
The meaning of strength here is strength of personality i.e. intellectual and emotional strength. It is necessary that this intellect be the ruling intellect by which he understands matters and relationships, and that his emotional disposition (nafsiyya) be that of a ruler who understands that he is a ruler so he directs his inclinations with the command of an Amir. Since the strength of the personality has within it the potential of domination and authority, there is an obvious need that the ruler has an attribute which protects him from the evil of authority. So it is necessary that he has the attribute of taqwa within himself and in his taking care of the Ummah. Muslim and Ahmad from Sulayman bin Buraydah from his father:
“Whenever the Messenger of Allah (saw) would appoint an Amir over an army or expedition, he would command him with taqwa with himself and to be good to those Muslims who are with him.”
The ruler, if he is conscious of Allah (swt) and fears Him, and accounts Him in his own soul secretly and openly, then this would stop him from enslaving the citizens. However, the taqwa would not prevent him from harshness and severity since in his taking account of Allah he would restrict himself to His commands and prohibitions. And since he is a ruler, it is natural in his position to be severe and hard, and because of this the Legislator (Ash-Shari’) commanded him to be friendly and not to be hostile to the citizens. From Aisha who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) saying in his house of mine:
“O Allah! Treat harshly those who rule over my Ummah with harshness, and treat gently those who rule over my Ummah with gentleness” (Narrated by Muslim).
He also commanded to be the one who gives glad tidings and not the one who repels people away. It has been narrated from Abu Musa who said: When the Messenger of Allah (saw) sent one of his companions in some of his affairs, he would say to him:
“Make things easy and do not make them difficult, cheer the people up by conveying glad tidings to them and do not repulse (them). (Narrated by Muslim).
This is in relation to what is obligatory for the ruler to have within his personality. As for his relationship with the citizens, the Legislator commanded him to encompass the citizens with good advice, warned him not to touch the public wealth in any way, and compelled him to adhere to ruling by Islam alone without associating it with anything else. Verily Allah (swt) prohibited Paradise to the ruler who does not encompass his citizens with good advice or betrays them in anything. From Mu’aqqil bin Yasar who said: I hear the Prophet (saw) saying:
“There is no slave whom Allah gives charge over citizens then he does not give them good advice except that he will not smell the odour of Paradise” (narrated by Al-Bukhari).
He (Al-Bukhari) also narrated from Mu’aqqil bin yasar who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) saying:
“No governor (wali) will govern Muslim citizens and dies while betraying them except that Allah will prohibit Paradise for him.”
Muslim narrated from Mu’aqqil who said:
I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) saying:
“There is no leader who will govern the Muslims’ affair then does not exert himself for them nor show sincere friendship except that he will not enter Paradise with them”
And it has been reported from Abu Said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
“There is a flag for every traitor on the Day of Judgement which will be raised according to the level of his treachery, and there is no traitor greater in his treachery than the general leader” (narrated by Muslim).
The Messenger has clearly & severely emphasised exerting effort on behalf of the citizens and encompassing them with good advice which clarifies the high level of responsibility (of the ruler) over them. As for touching public wealth, he warned about this and was severe in this warning. So when he saw this in one of his governors he was harsh with him and spoke to the public about this matter. It has been reported from Abu Hamid As-Sa’idi that the Prophet (saw) appointed ibn Al-Luttaybah over the sadaqat of Banu Sulaym. When he returned to the Messenger of Allah (saw) who accounted him, he said: This is what is for you and this is a gift given to me. So the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
“Why doesn't he stay at the house of his father or the house of his mother and see whether he will be given gifts or not if he was telling the truth”
Then the Messenger of Allah (saw) stood and spoke to the people. He praised Allah (swt) and extolled Him, then said:
“As for what follows, verily I appointed a man among you upon matter Allah made me responsible. So one of you came to me saying: This is for you and this is a gift given to me. Why then did he not sit in his father’s house and mother’s house such that his gifts would reach him if he was truthful? By Allah, none of you will take from it without due right except that he will bear it on the Day of Judgement” (narrated by Al-Bukhari).
This is an allusion to Allah’s accounting him and punishing him over his action, which is a severe warning to the ruler not to touch the public wealth in any way whatsoever including through any interpretation or fatwa.
In relation to the rules by which the ruler is obliged to rule with, the Legislator has restricted this and compelled him to rule by the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (saw). It gave him the right to perform ijtihad in both of them, and forbade him to seek from other than Islam or to ever adopt from other than Islam. As for restricting the rule to the Book and the Sunnah, this is explicit from the Qur’anic ayat. Allah (swt) said:
“Whoever does not rule by all that Allah revealed is among the disbelievers [TMQ 5:44]
And:
“Whoever does not rule by all that Allah revealed is among the transgressors [TMQ 5:47]
And:
“Whoever does not rule by all that Allah revealed is among the oppressors [TMQ 5:45].
This means limiting the rule to what Allah revealed, and that which Allah revealed to His Messenger (saw), our master Muhammad (saw), is the Noble Qur’an in wording and meaning and the Sunnah in meaning not wording. Therefore the ruler is restricted in his rule within the limits of the Book and Sunnah. The Legislator permitted him to perform ijtihad upon the Book and Sunnah i.e. exerting effort to understand and deduce rules from both of them. It has been narrated that the Messenger (saw) sent Mu’adh to Yemen and said to him:
“By what will you judge? He said: By the Book of Allah. He said: If you do not find it (explicitly there)? He said: By the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah. He said: If you do not find it (explicitly there)? He said: I will perform ijtihad (and reach to) my opinion. He said: Praise be to Allah who bestowed the messenger of the Messenger of Allah with what Allah is pleased and as is His Messenger.”
He gave the ruler a reward if he made a mistake in ijtihad, thereby encouraging him to perform ijtihad and keeping him far away from (sticking) rigidly to the merely apparent (meaning of the) texts. Al-Bukhari narrated from Amr bin Al-‘Aas that he heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) saying:
“When the ruler judges and performs ijtihad then gets it right there are two rewards for him. And when he rules and performs ijtihad and errs, there is one reward for him.”
The Shar’a exaggerated in restricting the rules by which the ruler rules as being (from) Islam and nothing else. Despite giving the ruler the right to peform ijtihad even if he errs, it was strict in restricting the ruling by Islam and prohibited his ruling by anything else. Rather, it even prohibited him asking about the ruler from other than Islam or that he associates with Islam anything not from it. Allah (swt) said addressing the Messenger (saw):
And He (swt) said:
“Rule between them by what Allah revealed and do not follow their desires after the truth has come to you” [TMQ 5:49].
The speech to the Messenger (swt) is the address to his Ummah so this is an address to every ruler. Muslim narrated from Aisha (ra) who said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
“Whoever innovates in this matter of ours anything not of it, it is rejected”
And in another narration
“Whoever performs any action not in accordance with our matter (Islam), it is rejected.”
And Al-Bukhari narrated from Ubaidullah bin Abdullah that ibn Abbas (ra) said:
“How do you ask for the People of the Book about anything and the Book which was revealed to the Messenger of Allah (saw) is more recent. You read it pure and it is not old. And it has told you that the People of the Book changed the Book of Allah and altered it. They wrote the Book with their own hands and they said: ‘This is from Allah’ in order to purchase a measly price for it. Does not the knowledge which came to you prohibit from asking them?”
This hereby clarifies the restriction by which he (the ruler) is obliged to rule by; it restricted his responsibility in the rules to the rule by what Allah (swt) revealed.
These obligatory responsibilities upon the ruler show that the Legislator delineated the public responsibilities clearly and these responsibilities are upon the ruler as a ruler irrespective of his being a Khalifah or his assistant, governor (wali) or official (‘amil). All of them are rulers and they are bound by these responsibilities. Therefore if these are the responsibilities of the governors and leaders, and others among the rulers, then they are the Khalifah’s responsibilities. Since they are obligatory upon the leader therefore they are obligatory upon the one bearing the greater burden by greater reason. Moreover, there are general ahadith addressing whoever oversees an affairs among the Muslims’ affairs, whether a Khalifah or a governor. The Messenger’s statement:
“There is no slave whom Allah appoints over the citizens”
And his statement:
“The greatest treachery is from the general leader”
And Allah’s statement:
“Whoever does not rule” [TMQ 5:44].
All these came with general words covering the governor and covering the Khalifah. And the address to the Messenger (saw) is the address to every ruler, whether Khalifah or governor. Additionally, the Messenger (saw) clarified the Khalifah’s responsibility to his citizens textually in the hadith which clarified the general responsibilities. Al-Bukhari narrated from Abdullah bin Umar (ra) that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
“Verily each one of you is a guardian and each one of you is accountable over his charge. The Imam is a guardian over the people and he is accountable over his citizens. The man is a guardian over the people of his house and he is accountable over his charges. The woman is a guardian over the people of the house of her husband, and she is accountable over them. The man’s slave is a guardian over his master’s property and he is accountable over it. Verily each one of you is a guardian and each one of you is accountable over his charge.”
He made the Khalifah responsible with a general responsibility over his citizens. Therefore the general responsibilities are imposed upon the Khalifah as they are concerning the leader.
The Legislator has completely guaranteed the ruler’s performance of burdens of these public responsibilities via guidelines (tawjeeh) and legislation. As for the guidelines (tawjeeh), He warned the ruler of Allah’s punishment if he neglected and failed to fulfill his burdens. He clarified that there is disgrace and regrets if the weak person who could not fulfill what is imposed upon him undertook it (the rule), the Messenger (saw) asked Allah that He (swt) be severe to the one who is severe upon the Islamic Ummah and Allah prohibited Paradise for who does not encompass the Ummah with good advice among other warnings which demonstrated to the ruler his end if he failed to fulfill his responsibilities i.e. the punishment of Allah. However, the Shar’a was not satisfied with this but also made the Ummah responsible for the ruler’s performance of his responsibilities; it compelled them to denounce him if he fell short of fulfilling his responsibilities or sinned in his transactions. And it even commanded the Ummah to fight him by the sword if he ruled by other than Islam so that it became open disbelief, and made the one who dies in the way of denouncing the ruler the prince of martyrs. He (saw) said:
“The prince of martyrs is Hamza bin Abdul-Muttalib and the man who stood before the unjust ruler to command and forbid him, and he was killed.”
It made the one who is pleased with the ruler’s neglect and follows him (upon that) accountable before Allah (swt) and not safe from His (swt) punishment. Muslim narrated from Umm Salamah that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
“There will be leaders. You will recognise and reject (some of what they do). Whoever recognises is guiltless and whoever rejects is safe, but the one who is pleased and follows (is neither guiltless nor safe). They said: Should we not fight them? He said: No, not as long as they prayed”
And in another narration:
“Whoever dislikes is guiltless and whoever rejects is safe, but the one who is pleased and follows (is not).”
This narration explains the first narration. About his statement,
“Whoever recognises is guiltless”
The one who knows the munkar such that it is not ambiguous to him has found a path to innocence from his sin and punishment by changing it by his hand or tongue; and, if he is too weak, then hating it by his heart.” And his statement:
“Whoever rejects is safe”
I.e. the one who is unable to change it by his hand and tongue and rejects it by his heart is safe from associating with them in the sin
“But the one who is pleased and follows”
I.e. the one who is pleased by their action and follows them in acting upon it is neither guiltless nor safe. In this hadith the Messenger (saw) commanded rejecting against the ruler and obliged it through any means possible by the hand on condition that it does not reach fighting i.e. less than the sword or the tongue in any way whatsoever i.e. by words or by the heart if he is too weak to use the hand or tongue. He considered the one who does not reject a partner to the ruler in sin when he said that the one who is pleased by what they do and follows upon that is neither guiltless nor safe from sin. However this rejection is only when they act wrong but still rule by Islam. If they leave the implementation of Islam and implement the rules of kufr, the Shar’a is not satisfied with mere rejection by hand, tongue and heart but it rather made the method of changing what they do, or them (the rulers), the sword and fighting. In the hadith of Umm Salamah which was narrated by Muslim,
“They said: Should we not fight them? He said: No, not as long as they prayed”
And in the hadith of Awf bin Malik which was narrated by Muslim,
“It was said: O Messenger of Allah, should we not oppose them by the sword? He said: No, not as long as they establish the prayer over you”
And in a narration they said:
“We said: O Messenger of Allah, should we not oppose them due to that? He said: No, not as long as they establish the prayer over you.”
And in Al-Bukhari from Ubadah bin As-Samit who said
“The Prophet (saw) invited us and we gave him a pledge. He said: Among what he made a condition over us is that we pledge him to hear and obey in matters we are energetic about and what we dislike, in what we find difficult and what we find easy, and even when others are preferred over us and that we should not dispute the authority with those who possess it--He said--Unless you see open disbelief (kufr bawah) for which you have from Allah clear poof (burhan).”
The understanding of this hadith is that we dispute the authority with those who possess it if we see open disbelief, and that we dispute with them by the sword and fight them if they do not establish the prayer over us. This, in relation to the ruler, is a metaphoric expression (kinayah) for ruling by Islam i.e. as long as they rule by Islam then there is no fighting, opposition or dispute. If they rule with other than Islam, then it is obliged at that very time to fight, oppose and dispute with them. In this way, Islam has completely guaranteed the execution of the public responsibilities.