The Series "Caliphate and Imamate in Islamic Thought"
By the writer and thinker Thaer Salameh - Abu Malek
Episode Sixty-One: Proof that the Caliphate System is a Divine System and Not Made by the Companions or Humans
Firstly: The Caliphate system is divinely ordained, but the Islamic state is a human state, not a divine state:
As for the Caliphate system, conclusive evidence has been established that it is a legislation from God, and therefore it is a divine system, and legal rulings, and its establishment is obligatory, not optional, but the Islamic state itself is a human state, ruled by humans who make mistakes and get things right, and it is not a divine authority. The Caliphate is to establish the provisions of Islamic law, with the ideas brought by Islam and the rulings it legislated, and to carry the Islamic call to the world, by introducing them to Islam, calling them to it, and striving in the path of God. It is called the Imamate and the Commander of the Believers. It is a worldly position, not a position in the afterlife. It exists to apply the religion of Islam to people and to spread it among people. It is definitely not Prophethood.
Prophethood is a divine position, which God gives to whomever He wills, in which the Prophet or Messenger receives the law from God through revelation, while the Caliphate is a human position, in which Muslims pledge allegiance to whomever they wish, and establish as their Caliph whomever they want from the Muslims. Our master Muhammad ﷺ was a ruler, applying the Sharia that he brought. He was in charge of Prophethood and the Message, and at the same time he held the position of head of the Muslims in establishing the rules of Islam. God commanded him to rule, just as He commanded him to deliver the message. He said to him: ﴿And judge between them by what God has revealed﴾, and He said: ﴿Indeed, We have sent down to you the Book in truth so that you may judge between the people by that which God has shown you﴾, as He said to him: ﴿O Messenger, announce that which has been revealed to you from your Lord﴾, and He said: ﴿And this Qur'an has been revealed to me that I may warn you thereby and whomever it reaches﴾, and He said: ﴿O you who covers himself [with a garment], Arise and warn﴾.
The Messenger ﷺ held two positions: the position of Prophethood and the Message, and the position of head of the Muslims in the world to establish God’s law that was revealed to him.
As for the Caliphate after the Messenger of God ﷺ, it is assumed by humans, and they are not prophets, so they are subject to what humans are subject to, such as error, inadvertence, forgetfulness, disobedience, and so on; because they are human. They are not infallible; because they are not prophets or messengers. The Messenger ﷺ informed that the Imam (Caliph) can make mistakes, and he also informed that he may do something that makes people hate him, such as injustice and disobedience, and so on, but he informed that he may commit blatant disbelief, and then he is not obeyed, but rather fought. Muslim narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet ﷺ said: «The Imam is but a shield, from behind whom you fight and by whom you are protected. If he commands to fear God Almighty and is just, he will have a reward for that, and if he commands otherwise, it will be against him.», which means that the Imam is not infallible, and that it is permissible for him to command something other than fearing God. Muslim narrated from Abdullah who said: The Messenger of God ﷺ said: «After me there will be selfishness and matters that you will disapprove of. They said: O Messenger of God, what do you command those of us who live to see that? He said: You should give them their due and ask God for what is yours.» [Abdullah is Ibn Masoud]. Al-Bukhari narrated from Junada bin Abi Umayya who said: We entered upon Ubadah bin Al-Samit while he was ill. We said: May God bless you, tell us a hadith that God will benefit you with that you heard from the Prophet ﷺ. He said: «The Prophet ﷺ called us and we pledged allegiance to him, and he said, among what he took from us, that we pledged allegiance to listen and obey, in our pleasure and displeasure, in our hardship and ease, and when others are given preference over us, and that we do not dispute authority with those in power. He said: Unless you see blatant disbelief for which you have proof from God.» And Aisha said: The Messenger of God ﷺ said: «Ward off the penalties from the Muslims as much as you can, and if there is a way out for him, then let him go, for it is better for the Imam to err in pardon than to err in punishment.» Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi. These hadiths are explicit that it is permissible for the Imam to err, forget, and disobey. Nevertheless, the Messenger ﷺ commanded to adhere to obeying him as long as he rules with Islam, and no blatant disbelief has occurred from him, and as long as he does not command disobedience; therefore, the Caliphs after the Messenger of God ﷺ are humans who make mistakes and get things right, and they are not infallible, meaning they are not prophets, so it cannot be said that the Caliphate is a divine state, but rather it is a human state in which Muslims pledge allegiance to a Caliph to establish the provisions of Islamic law.
[1] The apparatuses of the Caliphate state in governance and administration for Hizb ut-Tahrir, chapter: The Caliphate state is a human state and not a divine state
