Summary of the Book of Systems - 3
Muslims must have one Caliph and one state, and there are many hadiths about this, such as the Prophet’s saying, “If allegiance is pledged to two caliphs, kill the last of them.” This hadith indicates that if allegiance is pledged to two people, the last of them must be killed, and the caliph is the first, and this is a metaphor for preventing the division of the state, and prohibiting making the state states, just as the system of government in Islam must be a unitary system, not a federal system.
The Caliph has the following powers:
1- Adopting legal rulings, which then become enforceable laws.
2- Responsible for foreign and domestic policy, commander of the army, and has the right to declare war, truce, and conclude treaties.
3- Appoints and dismisses ambassadors, and accepts or rejects foreign ambassadors.
4- Appoints governors and assistants, who are responsible to him and to the National Assembly.
5- Appointing the chief justice and judges, and he has the right to appoint a judge of grievances, but his dismissal is subject to restrictions, and he has the right to appoint and dismiss department directors, the commander of the army, and his chiefs of staff and brigades, and they are responsible to him and not to the National Assembly.
6- Setting the laws that determine the chapters of the budget, and the amounts required, whether for expenses or imports.
As for the evidence for the first matter, it is what happened between Abu Bakr and Omar, may God be pleased with them, in dividing the money. They differed in dividing it on a differential basis or equally. Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq believed in distributing it equally, and Omar Ibn Al-Khattab believed in distributing it differentially, but Omar, during the caliphate of Abu Bakr, abandoned his ijtihad and followed the ijtihad of Abu Bakr, i.e., the Caliph. When Omar assumed the caliphate, he acted according to his own opinion, so this was a consensus that the Caliph has the right to order specific legal rulings, and to order that they be acted upon and obeyed, even if they contradict the ijtihad of the Muslims, provided that the Muslims follow the legal rulings, not the orders of the Sultan, but the ijtihads differ. There are matters that require all Muslims to be of one opinion, as happened in the previous incident, in order to take care of their affairs.
As for the second matter, its evidence is the actions of the Prophet, peace be upon him, as he was the one who took care of internal and external affairs, appointing judges, preventing cheating, addressing kings, actually leading the army, and concluding treaties with the Jews.
As for the evidence for the third matter, it is that he, peace be upon him, was the one who appointed ambassadors and sent them to kings, and received messengers from kings and tribes.
As for the evidence for the fourth matter, it is that he, peace be upon him, was the one who appointed and dismissed governors, such as his dismissal of Al-Alaa bin Al-Hadrami when the people of his province complained about him, which indicates that the governors are responsible to the people of the province and to the National Assembly that represents the provinces, and he, peace be upon him, appointed two assistants to him, Omar bin Al-Khattab, and Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq.
The evidence for the fifth matter is that the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, used to appoint judges, such as his appointment of Ali, may God be pleased with him, and as he appointed directors of departments and commanders of the army, and they were responsible to him and not to anyone else. As for the fact that the Caliph is the one who determines the chapters of the budget and revenues, the evidence for this is that the Prophet, peace be upon him, was the one who collected and spent the money, so the matter of money goes back to the Caliph or whoever he authorizes.
The Caliph is bound by adopting legal rulings that are correctly derived from legal evidence, and he is also bound by what he has adopted from rulings and what he has committed to in terms of a method of deduction, so it is not permissible for him to order what contradicts his ijtihad, or to adopt a ruling that was deduced according to a method that contradicts the method that he adopted.
The evidence for this is that Islam has ordered all believers to judge according to what God has revealed, so they must adopt a specific ruling when the address of the legislator is multiple, so adoption in this case becomes obligatory on everyone, including the Caliph when he performs his work, which is judging. Likewise, the allegiance to the Caliph is to act according to the Book of God and the Sunnah of His Prophet, so it is not correct to go against them, and he has disbelieved if he believes in that, and is immoral and unjust if it is without belief. Likewise, the Caliph is appointed to implement the rulings of Sharia, and there is evidence that denies faith from those who rule by other than Islam, so in this there is evidence of certainty.
Likewise, when the Caliph adopts a legal ruling, it becomes God’s ruling in his right, and it is not permissible for him to adopt anything else; Because it is not considered God’s ruling in his right, so it is not a legal ruling for him or for the Muslims. Likewise, for example, if he considers the interests sent are not legal evidence, and then adopts a ruling based on the interests sent, then this is not correct; Because this ruling is not considered legal in his right or for Muslims, so it is as if he adopted a ruling from other than legal rulings.
