The series "The Caliphate and Imamate in Islamic Thought"
By the writer and thinker Thaer Salama – Abu Malek
Part Four: Establishing the Caliphate is one of the Major Objectives of Sharia, Part 2
Scholars have derived eight1 essential purposes for humans, which are: preserving the self, money, religion, mind, and offspring, preserving the state, preserving security, and preserving human dignity. We may be able to add to them the major purposes derived from these verses: establishing justice, implementing Sharia, mercy, worship, guidance, and clarifying rulings.
Religion, then, was revealed to be a system of life that obligatorily governs people's lives with its rulings2. ﴿Mankind was one community, and Allah sent prophets as bringers of good tidings and warners and sent down with them the Scripture in truth to judge between the people in matters in which they differed﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 213]. The "to judge between the people" in His saying ﴿to judge between the people﴾ is a Lam of causation. Thus, one of the most important overall purposes of sending the prophets with glad tidings and warnings is for the Book to judge between people so that their livelihood can be rectified and truth and justice can prevail in every aspect of their lives! Therefore, applying these rulings in real life is the greatest purpose of the Sharia, the purpose of sending the Messenger ﷺ, and the purpose of revealing the Book! It is the foundation of the solid religion, and establishing it in people's lives is one of the most obligatory duties. Therefore, establishing the Islamic state, i.e., the state of the Caliphate, is the way in which the purposes for which God sent the Messenger ﷺ and for which He revealed the Book are achieved!
Otherwise, Islam is not a fictional philosophy, but rather it was revealed to be applied and to govern. It has been established that these rulings are only implemented in the lives of Muslims through a state that rules them3, adhering to a system of governance prescribed by Sharia, which the Messenger of God ﷺ called the State of the Caliphate4. He established it in reality, and established its institutions and laws, so a state actually existed. The Companions did nothing but continue what the Master of Creation ﷺ had started regarding it. It is a state whose pillars are based on the actions of the Messenger ﷺ, and on the rulings that represent most of the Quran and Sunnah, which were revealed to be applied through it, and whose obligation was unanimously agreed upon by the Companions. Its obligation has been transmitted through conclusive continuous reports. Only an ignorant person would be unaware of the existence, rule, and institutions of such a state, or say that it is a human system that is not binding!
1- Imam Al-Shatibi derived five essential purposes: preserving the self, money, religion, mind, and offspring. Imam Taqi al-Din al-Nabhani added to them the purpose of preserving security, the purpose of preserving the state, and the purpose of preserving human dignity, by deriving them through the severe punishment for committing a crime that affects them according to Sharia. The one who rebels against the state with weapons is fought, and the one who splits the stick of obedience and pledges allegiance to a second Caliph is killed, and other rulings and details can be found in the book "The Islamic Personality," Part Three. Thus, the essential purposes became eight.
2- The obligation of prayer and the obligation of Zakat are among the greatest obligations of Islam, but the obligation without implementation necessitates severe punishment, because the obligations and all the rulings were revealed to be applied and acted upon. Islam is not a fictional philosophy, nor is it an ideal republic; rather, it is rulings that were revealed for implementation. The state was established in Islam, and the Caliphate was made obligatory by the Lawgiver, because through it, all the obligations, duties, and rulings are applied and implemented, even more than 90% of the rulings of Islam! Abu Bakr, may God be pleased with him, understood this well when he said: "By God, I will fight whoever differentiates between prayer and Zakat, for Zakat is the right of wealth. By God, if they withheld from me a rope that they used to give to the Messenger of God, I would fight them for withholding it." So he fought, in his capacity as Caliph of the Muslims, those who withheld Zakat. Zakat is to be paid to him, i.e., to the Sultan!
3- Refer to our book: "Did the Messenger ﷺ Specify a Method for Establishing the Islamic State?" It contains a detailed and solid demonstration that the Messenger ﷺ was working to establish the state. Ibn Taymiyyah says in the book "Al-Siyasah Al-Shar'iyyah," p. 114, and "Majmu' Al-Fatawa," vol. 28/ p. 390: "It must be known that the rulers of the people are among the greatest واجبات of religion; rather, the religion cannot be established without them, for the interests of the children of Adam cannot be fulfilled except through اجتماع, because some of them need others, and they must, when اجتماع, need a leader." Dr. Diaa al-Din al-Rayes said in his book "Islam and the Caliphate," p. 99: "The Caliphate is the most important religious position and concerns all Muslims. Islamic Sharia has stipulated that establishing the Caliphate is a basic فرض of the religion; rather, it is the greatest فرض because the implementation of all other فروض depends on it." See: "Warning the Neglectful and Informing the Perplexed" that restoring the Caliphate is one of the greatest واجبات of this religion by Sheikh Ali Benhadj.
4- In Sunan Abu Dawood, and Al-Albani authenticated it: "Ahmad bin Saleh narrated to us, Asad bin Musa narrated to us, Muawiyah bin Saleh narrated to us, Damrah narrated to me that Ibn Zughb Al-Ayadi narrated to him, he said: Abdullah bin Hawala Al-Azdi came to me and said to me: The Messenger of God ﷺ sent us to plunder on our feet, and we returned without plundering anything, and he recognized the hardship in our faces, so he stood among us and said: O God, do not entrust them to me, for I will be too weak for them, and do not entrust them to themselves, for they will be unable to do it, and do not entrust them to the people, for they will monopolize them. Then he placed his hand on my head, or said on my crown, then he said: O Ibn Hawala, when you see the Caliphate has descended on the Holy Land, then earthquakes, tribulations, and great matters are near, and the Hour on that day is closer to the people than this hand of mine is to your head. Abu Dawood said: Abdullah bin Hawala is from Homs." Muslim said: "Haddab bin Khalid Al-Azdi narrated to us, Hammad bin Salama narrated to us from Simak bin Harb, he said: I heard Jabir bin Samra say: I heard the Messenger of God ﷺ say: 'Islam will continue to be mighty until there are twelve Caliphs.'" From Al-Irbad bin Sariya, he said: "Then the Messenger of God ﷺ preached to us one day after the morning prayer a moving sermon that caused the eyes to shed tears and the hearts to fear. A man said: This is a farewell sermon, so what do you enjoin us to do, O Messenger of God? He said: I enjoin you to fear God and to listen and obey even if a حبشي slave is in charge, for whoever lives among you will see much اختلاف, and beware of newly invented matters, for they are a ضلالة, so whoever among you witnesses that, then adhere to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, cling to it with your molar teeth." Muslim narrated from Furat Al-Qazzaz from Abu Hazim, he said: "I sat with Abu Hurairah for five years, and I heard him narrate from the Prophet ﷺ who said: 'The Children of Israel were ruled by the prophets; whenever a prophet died, another prophet succeeded him, and there will be no prophet after me, and there will be Caliphs who will be many.' They said: What do you command us to do? He said: 'Fulfill the allegiance to the first one, then the next, and give them their rights, for God will ask them about what He entrusted to them.'" "Prophethood will be among you as long as God wills it to be, then God will raise it up when He wills to raise it up, then there will be a Caliphate on the Prophetic method, and it will be as long as God wills it to be, then God will raise it up when He wills to raise it up, then there will be a biting monarchy, and it will be as long as God wills it to be, then God will raise it up when He wills to raise it up, then there will be an oppressive monarchy, and it will be as long as God wills it to be, then He will raise it up when He wills, then there will be a Caliphate on the Prophetic method." Then he was silent. This hadith is Hasan, narrated by Ahmad (30/355, hadith 18406), Al-Bazzar, and Al-Tabarani in Al-Awsat (6577), and the isnad of Ahmad is Hasan, in it is Dawud bin Ibrahim Al-Wasiti, Al-Tayalisi narrated from him and authenticated him, and Ibn Hibban mentioned him in Al-Thiqaat. Al-Tayalisi and Al-Bayhaqi also narrated the hadith in Minhaj Al-Nubuwwah, and Al-Tabari, and Al-Albani authenticated the hadith in Al-Silsilah Al-Sahihah, and Al-Arna'ut حسنed it. There is a witness to the hadith from Safeena, may God be pleased with him, who said: The Messenger of God ﷺ said: "The Caliphate in my Ummah is thirty years, then after that there will be a monarchy." Then Safeena said: Hold on to the Caliphate of Abu Bakr, then he said: and the Caliphate of Umar and the Caliphate of Uthman, then he said to me: Hold on to the Caliphate of Ali, he said: So we found it to be thirty years. Narrated by Ahmad and Al-Arna'ut حسنed it. Imam Ahmad narrated from Hudhaifa, may God be pleased with him, who said: "Prophethood is gone, so the Caliphate was on the Prophetic method." And Al-Arna'ut authenticated it.
