The Series "Caliphate and Imamate in Islamic Thought"
By the Writer and Thinker Thaer Salama - Abu Malek
Eleventh Episode: The Responsibility of the Ruler for Ruling by the Decree
The important thing here is to reflect on His gathering of the decree to place it in the hand of the one in authority, to rule based on it, meaning based on the set of commands and prohibitions that the revelation brought, or that those in authority, meaning the scholars, derive from what the revelation brought. In each case, He gathered the rulings by which people are governed, whether in terms of deriving them, or in terms of implementing them, or in terms of their danger to society and referring them to those who know how to derive them, like any matter of security or fear. He has gathered them all in the term "the decree," and made responsible, specialized people for it, not leaving the matter in chaos at all. The hadd punishments, retribution, discretionary punishments, concluding treaties, establishing internal policies to care for affairs in accordance with the provisions of Islam, resolving disputes and restoring rights to their owners, and foreign policy to carry the Islamic call and jihad, and all that is placed in the hand of the ruler, and those he delegates from governors, judges, and others, exist by his existence. Some of it cannot be fully implemented except through this ruler or his delegate, and some of it is not applied at all if this ruler does not exist. The decree entrusted to this caliph constitutes the backbone of the establishment of Islam on earth, and the rest of Islam that can be applied at the individual level does not exceed a small fraction of Islam. There is no existence of Islam on earth except through a state that establishes its rulings, carries its message, and defends its sanctity, a state in which the decree is for the ruler, who is obeyed as long as he establishes it among us, and if he wants to show its opposite, the sword is raised in his face.
Ibn Saeed al-Gharnati said in "al-Mughrib fi Tartib al-Mu'rib": It is said: (Waliya) the matter (and tawallaahu) if he did it himself, and from it is his saying in the chapter of the martyr: "Luwa Akhakum," meaning take care of his matter from the preparation. (And the guardian of the orphan) or the slain, and the governor of the country, meaning the owner of their matter, and their source is "al-wilaya" with a kasra. End quote.
Abu al-Saud al-Emadi said: ﴿Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you﴾, and they are the princes of truth and the governors of justice like the Rightly Guided Caliphs and those who follow them from the guided ones, as for the princes of injustice, they are far from deserving to be associated with Allah and the Messenger ﷺ in the obligation to obey them.1 End quote. And the Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever obeys me has obeyed Allah, and whoever disobeys me has disobeyed Allah, and whoever obeys my commander has obeyed me, and whoever disobeys my commander has disobeyed me." Al-Baghawi said in his Tafsir: Ali bin Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, said: It is the right of the Imam to rule according to what Allah has revealed and to fulfill the trust, and if he does that, then it is the right of the subjects to listen and obey. End quote.
Al-Zamakhshari said: If you and those in authority among you differ in anything concerning the matters of religion, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, meaning: refer it to the Book and the Sunnah. How is it obligatory to obey the princes of injustice, and Allah has made the obedience of those in authority conditional on something that leaves no doubt, which is that He commanded them first to fulfill the trusts and to be just in judgment, and He commanded them last to return to the Book and the Sunnah in what is unclear. The princes of injustice do not fulfill a trust, nor do they judge with justice, nor do they refer anything to the Book or the Sunnah, but rather they follow their desires wherever they take them. They are stripped of the qualities of those who are in authority with Allah and His Messenger, and their most deserving names are: the overpowering thieves. End quote.
His command, may He be glorified and exalted, to refer to Allah and to the Messenger in every matter, large and small, means that the rulings should be applied to events, in order to be implemented in reality, and this is the very definition of politics. Politics is taking care of affairs, small and large, insignificant and dangerous, in accordance with the commands and prohibitions that the revelation brought, to ensure the proper implementation of the system of Islam in reality, so that people can live an Islamic life. The source of these rulings is the scholars who derive them, and the state that implements them. The state is an executive entity for the set of concepts, standards, and convictions that the nation carries. In Islam, these concepts, standards, and convictions are only taken from the revelation. Hence, the revelation was governing the affairs of the people with the religion that was revealed to the heart of Muhammad ﷺ with the truth, so that people could establish justice.
Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said2: "Therefore, the Prophet ﷺ commanded his nation to appoint rulers over them, and commanded the rulers to return the trusts to their owners and to judge with justice when they judge between people, and commanded them to obey the rulers in obedience to Allah Almighty - In Sunan Abi Dawood - on the authority of Abi Saeed that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "If three people go out on a journey, let them appoint one of them as their leader."
And in his Sunan also on the authority of Abu Hurairah like it, and in Musnad Imam Ahmad and on the authority of Abdullah bin Omar that the Prophet ﷺ said: "It is not permissible for three people to be in a wilderness of the earth unless they appoint one of them as their leader." If he has made it obligatory in the smallest groups and the shortest groups that one of them should be appointed as a leader, then this is an indication of the obligation of that in what is more than that, and therefore the guardianship for whoever takes it as a religion by which he draws closer to Allah and does in it what is obligatory as far as possible is one of the best good deeds, so much so that Imam Ahmad narrated in his Musnad from the Prophet ﷺ that he said: "The most beloved of creation to Allah is a just leader, and the most hated of creation to Allah is an unjust leader."
1- It was said: They are the scholars of Sharia, according to His saying Almighty: ﴿When there comes to them some matter touching security or fear, they broadcast it abroad; whereas, if they had referred it to the Messenger and to those charged with authority among them, those of them who are able to investigate would have indeed known [what to do with] it. And had it not been for Allah’s grace upon you, and His mercy, you would surely have followed Satan, save a few.﴾, and His saying Almighty denies it: ﴿And if you differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and the Messenger﴾, as it is not for the follower to dispute with the scholar in his ruling, unless the address is made to those in authority by way of turning attention, and in it is distance, and the introduction of (if) the conditional with the fa' is due to its consequence on what preceded it, for explaining the ruling on obeying those in authority when it agrees with obedience to Allah Almighty and obedience to the Messenger ﷺ requires explaining its ruling when it differs, that is, if you and those in authority among you differ in a matter of religion, then refer in it to the Book of Allah ﴿and the Messenger﴾, that is, to his Sunnah, end quote from Abi Al-Saud. Al-Jassas said in "Ahkam al-Quran": Then he said: ﴿And if you differ in anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger﴾, so he ordered those in authority to refer what is disputed to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of his Prophet ﷺ; since the general public and those who are not people of knowledge do not have this position; because they do not know how to refer to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah and the aspects of their indications of the rulings of events, so it is proven that it is addressed to the scholars. End quote.
2- Majmoo' al-Fatawa 28/p64
