The series "Caliphate and Imamate in Islamic Thought"
By the writer and thinker Thaer Salama - Abu Malek
Episode Forty-Eight: The Philosophy of Islam Regarding the Caliphate – Part 1
The caliphate is the act of something taking the place of something else, and the rule belongs to God Almighty, and God has made it for creation in general, as the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Indeed, the world is sweet and green, and God has made you successors in it, and He sees how you act," narrated by Muslim from Abu Saeed Al-Khudri, in accordance with God's saying: "Then We made you successors in the land after them to see how you act." [Yunus: 14]1, meaning that you apply God's laws and God's methodology among yourselves and to yourselves in every matter, and the caliphate in particular in the rule, from the ruler who rules according to what God has revealed, as this methodology is what distinguishes between the successor in the land being a corruptor in it, shedding blood, or being a caliph who is protected by that methodology from that error, and in order for the methodology to prevail, it must prevail through a state, not just that individuals adhere to it in a society in which other than that methodology prevails!
God Almighty said: "Indeed, I will make a successor on earth." Al-Qurtubi, may God have mercy on him, said: This verse is the origin of appointing an imam and caliph who is heard and obeyed, so that the word may be united, and the rulings of the caliph may be implemented. There is no disagreement in the obligation of that among the nation or among the imams except for what was narrated about Al-Asamm, as he was deaf to the Sharia, end quote, and this is from the precision of the knowledge of Imam Al-Qurtubi, may God be pleased with him!
That is because God Almighty established the heavens and the earth on justice, as in the Hadith Qudsi from Abu Dharr Jundub bin Junada, may God be pleased with him, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, in what he narrates from God, Blessed and Exalted is He, Lord of Glory, His names are sanctified, that He said: "O My servants, I have forbidden injustice to Myself and made it forbidden among you, so do not oppress one another," so God has forbidden injustice to Himself, and forbidden it to His servants and revealed the Sharia, and the methodology that guarantees that injustice does not enter the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, so He made man a successor to establish the system that establishes justice and prevents injustice, "We have sent Our messengers with clear proofs and sent down with them the Scripture and the balance that the people may maintain [their affairs] in justice." [Al-Hadid: 25], so He made the authority for the nation to delegate a ruler to govern it with the law of its Lord, as has been established from the deduction from the principles of the system of government in Islam, so the mentioned caliph are the believers who follow God Almighty's law in what He has commanded them to do of commands in their lives, who establish His methodology among them, as we mentioned earlier, as the establishment of the methodology in individuals does not establish it in society, and if it is not established in society, their adherence to it is not achieved2, and justice is not achieved, therefore the matter required the establishment of the methodology in individuals, society, and the state, and since most of these rulings are applied through the state, people pledge allegiance to a caliph to establish them among them, so making the ruling caliph is also the meaning of God Almighty's saying: "And when your Lord said to the angels, "Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority," meaning that by which the meaning of succession is achieved in a way that leads to the purpose of that succession, as indicated by the verse as Al-Qurtubi deduced it, so the angels asked the Lord of Glory, Glory be to Him: "They said, "Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood," a caliph? So the Truth Almighty replied: "He said, "Indeed, I know that which you do not know," and it is not of meaning that the caliph is a metaphor for a person who does whatever he wants, for if that were the case, the meaning of their disapproval would have been achieved: "They said, "Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood," but since the Lord of Glory answered them, saying: "Indeed, I know that which you do not know," then it means that He did not make him a caliph to shed blood and cause corruption, and from this we exclude from succession whoever follows any methodology that leads to corruption and bloodshed, and this is the case of every methodology based on the legislation of people and their desires, in accordance with God Almighty's saying: "And if the Truth had followed their inclinations, the heavens and the earth and whoever is in them would have been ruined." [Al-Mu'minun: 71], "Then We put you, [O Muhammad], on an ordained way concerning the matter [of religion]; so follow it and do not follow the inclinations of those who do not know." [Al-Jathiyah: 18], so other than God's law is following the desires of the legislators, and leads to corruption on earth, therefore the caliph referred to is the one who establishes God's methodology that guarantees the establishment of truth and justice in accordance with God's law, by applying His law, this is the one whom God Almighty has appointed as a successor: the believers establish His law and pledge allegiance to a caliph to apply it among them.
And the Lord of the Worlds, Glory be to Him, said: "O David, indeed We have made you a successor upon the earth, so judge between the people in truth and do not follow [your own] desire, as it will lead you astray from the way of Allah." [Saad: 26], and that is in proportion to God Almighty's sending down the books to judge between people in truth, "Mankind was [of] one religion, then Allah sent the prophets as bringers of good tidings and warners and sent down with them the Scripture in truth to judge between the people concerning that in which they differed." So the succession of David, peace be upon him, and his judgment between people in truth is like the succession of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and his judgment between people in truth, "And judge, [O Muhammad], between them by what Allah has revealed and do not follow their inclinations and beware of them lest they tempt you away from some of what Allah has revealed to you." [Al-Ma'idah: 49], and this contains an address to the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, which is an address to his nation, so the succession was carrying out God Almighty's rulings on the servants, and it is the origin of every divine legislation, and every book that came down from God only came down to judge, and the Children of Israel were governed by the prophets with those books and divine legislations, then this Sunnah was transferred to the caliphs after the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, as in the hadith of Al-Bukhari from Abu Hazim who said: I sat with Abu Hurairah for five years and I heard him narrating from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who said: "The Children of Israel were governed by the prophets, whenever a prophet died, another prophet succeeded him, and there will be no prophet after me, and there will be caliphs and they will be many, they said what do you command us? He said: Fulfill the allegiance to the first one and give them their rights, for God will ask them about what He has entrusted to them" [Narrated by Muslim, Al-Bukhari, Ibn Hanbal, and Ibn Majah], so he stipulated that the politics of the nation be for the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, then for the caliphs after him, and he commanded obedience to them and fulfillment of their allegiance, and from Abu Saeed Al-Khudri from the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, who said: "If allegiance is pledged to two caliphs, then kill the last of them," so he commanded the unity of the caliphate state and made whoever divides the Muslim community lawful to be killed, Muslim narrated in the book of Emirate: "From Arfajah who said I heard the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, saying, "Whoever comes to you while your affairs are united under one man, wanting to break your staff or divide your community, then kill him."
1- And God Almighty's saying: "And it is He who has made you successors upon the earth and has raised some of you above others in degrees [of rank] that He may try you through what He has given you. Indeed, your Lord is swift in penalty; but indeed, He is Forgiving and Merciful" 165 Al-An'am, and God Almighty's saying: "It is He who has made you successors upon the earth" 39 Fatir.
2- The cornerstone in the identity of society is the way in which relations are conducted, and the systems that control these relations, so usurious relations are the product of applying a capitalist system, for example, and it is not possible to change in society as long as the society remains capitalist, and there is no effect of millions of Muslims in Western societies or even Islamic countries where the usury system is rampant abstaining from usury in changing the capitalist economic system in it, but they will undoubtedly deposit their money in banks, and the banks will invest it legally in what the bank sees, and the money of Muslims will be mixed with usury and the trade of liquor, and the investments that the banks invest in nightclubs, whether the Muslims in the West want it or not, but above that, they will be subject to the laws of the state from compulsory insurance, and systems prohibited in Islam and others, so the lesson is in the relations and systems, not in the beliefs of individuals.
