"The Caliphate and Imamate in Islamic Thought" Series
By the writer and thinker Thaer Salama – Abu Malik
Part Ten: The Suspension of Establishing and Implementing Most of the Noble Sharia Rulings (the Mandate) on Them, and the Assuming of That Implementation by (the Guardian of Authority)
The Caliphate: The Grand Imamate, and the Complete Presidency
If we contemplate the reality of the caliphate, we see that it is the practical embodiment of the mandate of authority, that is, the mandate to implement the rulings, all the rulings that the Lawgiver has gathered under the name "the mandate" ﴿Then We have 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], and He called the one who disposes of it "the guardian of authority", ﴿Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you.﴾ [An-Nisa: 59], and made him responsible for implementing those rulings, by the nation's pledge of allegiance to him for that implementation, and their obedience to him. The Caliph is the Grand Imam, and the Guardian of Authority, and the Caliphate is the Grand Imamate1, and the Complete, Perfect, General Presidency, so this shows why we say that it is the obligation that preserves the obligations, or the crown of the obligations! For most of the obligatory duties are dependent on it, and do not exist except by its existence! If the Caliph is the Grand Imam, and the Caliphate is the Grand Imamate, then the obligation to create it is one of the greatest obligations!
AND THOSE IN AUTHORITY AMONG YOU:
It is stated in the Al-Qamus Al-Muhit: The command is the opposite of the prohibition, and he ordered him, so he complied, and -: the incident, pl: matters, and the source of he commanded us, with three vowels: if he took over, the emirate, with a kasra. And Al-Jawhari's saying: source, is a delusion. And he has an obeyed command over me, with a fatha for the instance of it, meaning: he has a command over me that I obey him in. And the Emir is the king, and it is with a ha, clear in the emirate, and it is opened, pl: Emirs, and the Mu'ammar, like Mu'azzam: the made king, and the defined, .. and those in authority: the leaders, and the scholars. End quote.
Ibn Ashur said in Al-Tahrir wal-Tanwir: And the shepherd (Al-Numairi) said, addressing Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan2:
Guardians of God's command, we are a people Hanifs who prostrate morning and evening End quote.
The Sharia compiles the total of the commands and prohibitions that were revealed to the nation to govern its life with, and the Lawgiver has given it the name: the command, from the point of view of the obligation to obey and submit to it. From here, the subjects are commanded to obey those in authority and submit to them. And the command may mean the incidents, so those in authority derive the rulings related to the incidents, and take care of affairs based on these commands and prohibitions. The connection of the phrase "those in authority" to politics is very strong, and its link is stronger, because this politics is only by implementing God's rulings on events and incidents, so that people may govern their lives according to the system of Islam. From here, the connection between religion, that is, the Sharia, and politics is an organic connection that is not severed except by those who are ignorant.
In the hadith of Anas bin Malik, may God be pleased with him, which was narrated by Ahmad: "Three things do not harbor the heart of a Muslim: sincerity in work for God Almighty, advising those in authority, and adhering to the community of Muslims, for their supplication encompasses them from behind." Ibn Hajar said in Fath al-Bari: His saying: (Chapter ﴿Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you﴾ Those in authority, so Abu Dharr and others ﴿those in authority among you﴾ Those in authority, and this is the interpretation of Abu Ubaidah, he said that in this verse and added: And the evidence for that is that its singular is Dhu, meaning the singular of Uli, because it has no singular from its word. End quote. Ibn Manzur said in Lisan al-Arab: Ibn Sidah said: And from the lightest of this chapter is Uli, meaning possessors, it has no singular and is only spoken of as an addition, like your saying, Uli severe strength and Uli generosity, as if its singular is Ul, and the waw is for the plural, do you not see that it is in the nominative waw and in the accusative and genitive ya? And His saying Almighty: ﴿AND THOSE﴾ ﴿IN AUTHORITY AMONG YOU﴾;... And the totality of those in authority among the Muslims is those who take care of their affairs in the matter of their religion and everything that leads to their well-being. End quote. Al-Mawardi said in Al-Ahkam Al-Sultaniyya: And there are two interpretations of those in authority: one of them is that they are the princes, and this is the saying of Ibn Abbas, may God be pleased with them both. The second is that they are the scholars, and this is the saying of Jabir bin Abdullah, Al-Hasan, and Ata; and Abu Salih narrated from Abu Hurairah, who said: The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: "Whoever obeys me has obeyed God, and whoever obeys my prince has obeyed me, and whoever disobeys me has disobeyed God, and whoever disobeys my prince has disobeyed me." End quote. Ibn Hajar said: Al-Shafi'i favored the first (that they are the rulers) and argued for it that the Quraysh did not know the emirate and did not submit to an emir, so they were ordered to obey whoever took over the authority, and that is why he said, may God bless him and grant him peace, "Whoever obeys my emir has obeyed me" agreed upon, End quote. The arrangement of obedience to their command that comes from them tells you that the most likely in it is that they are the rulers, even if the word came in the plural, so he said: and those in authority, and he did not say and the guardian of authority, for the matter is taken care of by the Caliph and under him a governing body each with its own specialization of the matter, and among them are the governors of the regions to whom obedience is due, and among them are the caliphs throughout time who succeed each other, and the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, when he sent Hudhaifa on a detachment, he ordered them to obey him, on the condition that other verses spoke of those in authority, and the most likely is that they are the scholars in that verse, and it was not associated with obedience, as in His saying: ﴿When there comes to them information about [public] security or fear, they spread it around. But if they had referred it to the Messenger or to those of authority among them, those who can derive [knowledge of] it would have known about it. And if not for the favor of Allah upon you and His mercy, you would have followed Satan, except for a few.﴾.
1- And the Caliph takes the Zakat to put it in its channels, and preserves security and is a shield for the nation, and establishes the political systems that take care of the nation's affairs, social, economic, judicial, penal, educational, financial, media, military policies, and so on,
2- And he said in his poem: "Guardians of God's command, my clan has become their grazing camels weak and scattered."
