"The Caliphate and Imamate in Islamic Thought" Series
By the writer and thinker Thaer Salama - Abu Malik
Episode Twenty: The Second Detail
The second detail:
That the Almighty God sent the Messenger ﷺ, and revealed the Book, rulings that were revealed for people to uphold justice, and God Almighty is the best of judges, ﴿So be patient until Allah judges between us, and He is the best of judges.﴾ [Al-A'raf: 87], and He knows best what is good for people and what benefits them, and He revealed the Sharia to govern every aspect of life, so that in any dispute in any matter, the reference is to these rulings, meaning that He prescribed for us our system of life, at the level of the individual, society, and the state, and obligated us to apply this system, and live by and for it, so that the system becomes the method of our life, and we submit to it in our economic, political, social relations, the judiciary, and penalties...etc., and the Lawgiver rejected any other method, forbade resorting to it for judgment, and commanded disbelief in it!
He described every system that did not originate from what He Almighty prescribed as a tyrant or ignorance, ﴿Then is it the judgement of [the time of] ignorance they desire? But who is better than Allah in judgement for a people who are certain [in faith].﴾ [Al-Ma'idah: 50] And He said: ﴿But no, by your Lord, they will not [truly] believe until they make you, [O Muhammad], judge between them concerning that over which they dispute.﴾ [An-Nisa: 65], ﴿They want to refer judgement to طاغوت [Taghut], while they were commanded to disbelieve in him.﴾ [An-Nisa: 60], and other numerous verses on this subject. This is with regard to judgment. These verses indicate decisively that judgment is only according to what God has revealed, and that the reference should only be to God and the Messenger, that is, to the Book of God and the Sunnah of His Messenger ﷺ, and that judging by other than what God has revealed is judging by Taghut and ignorance, and that resorting to Taghut or to ignorance is forbidden, and that whoever does not judge by what God has revealed is either an infidel, a sinner, or an oppressor, and that resorting to God Almighty's method is only in every matter that arises among people, and that whoever resorts to Taghut, his faith is only a claim that is not realized in reality.
The prohibition of systems of government that contradict the Islamic system, and considering them as ignorance and Taghut, and the command to disbelieve in them, and the prohibition of resorting to them for judgment, is a decisive evidence1 that Islam imposes on people a specific system of government and politics, and considers adhering to it an obligation, and above that, it shows that it is a system imposed by God and did not leave it to humans to create or agree upon!
And verses from the Quran with definitive and conclusive meaning, related to judging by what God has revealed and resorting to His law, have negated faith from whoever does the opposite. It is mentioned in the books of Tafsir that whoever judges by other than what God has revealed, denying it and its validity, is considered an infidel because he denies a ruling that is definitively proven and definitively indicative. And whoever judges by other than what God has revealed while acknowledging that it is the truth, but follows his desires or the orders of other parties, is either an oppressor or a sinner. And if we apply these descriptions to the Caliph, they do not apply to him because one of the conditions for appointing the Caliph is that he be a Muslim and not an infidel, just and not a sinner, and fair and not an oppressor ﴿And when you judge between people, judge with justice.﴾, which indicates the obligation of appointing a Caliph who judges with justice and by what God has revealed, which indicates the system of the Caliphate that will establish justice and judge by what God has revealed, and which indicates definitively that man-made systems are forbidden!
As for the level of methodology and systems, you will find hundreds of verses with definitive indications on the details of this system, which in its entirety forms the constitution of the state and its detailed systems and rulings, from the verses and hadiths that deal with the economic and social system, the relations between the Islamic state and other countries, military and criminal legislation, financial and internal and external political systems, treaties, and the state's responsibilities for securing people's basic needs, and so on. We will mention the details of this, God willing, shortly in a separate section that emphasizes it and links it to the system that brings all these systems and rulings under its wings, i.e., the Caliphate system that succeeded the Prophethood in its methodology, responsibilities, and rulings. The Caliphate is the extension and continuation of the Prophethood system in governance. These verses and hadiths, which are more than can be counted, we benefit from them the definitive obligation of the system that applies and implements them, i.e., the system of the Islamic state.
Just as God Almighty commanded His Messenger ﷺ to judge by what He revealed, He commanded us until the Day of Judgment with the same command. God Almighty's address to His Messenger ﷺ is an address to his nation to judge by what God has revealed. The rulings that God revealed, such as the rulings related to the economic or social system or the system of government, the judiciary, and penalties, were revealed for people to refer to for judgment, and God Almighty has imposed referring to them on people until the Day of Judgment. Judging by what God has revealed can only be in accordance with what He has prescribed of organizations and form, i.e., through the Islamic Caliphate state, and He did not leave people without a statement that clarifies to them how to judge by what God has revealed!
1- The indication of commitment
