Summary of the Book of Systems - 4
The caliphate is the leadership of all Muslims in the world, and it is for the application of the rulings of Islam, and carrying the Islamic call to the world. It is for the application of the rulings of Islam to people and spreading it among them. In it, Muslims pledge allegiance to whomever they wish, and appoint whomever they want as their caliph. It is a human position, and it is completely different from prophethood. Prophethood is a divine position that God gives to whomever He wills to receive His law through revelation. The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was a ruler who implemented the law he brought. He held both the position of ruler and prophet. God commanded him to rule as He commanded him to convey the message, saying: (AND THAT YOU JUDGE BETWEEN THEM BY WHAT ALLAH HAS REVEALED), and saying: (O Messenger, announce that which has been revealed to you from your Lord). The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, held two positions: prophethood and the leadership of all Muslims in the world. As for the caliphate after the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, those who hold it are human beings, and they are not prophets, so what happens to humans from mistakes can happen to them. The Messenger of God told us this in his saying: "The Imam is a shield, fought from behind and protected by. If he commands with the fear of God, the Mighty and Sublime, and is just, then he will have a reward for that. And if he commands with other than that, then he will be responsible for it." This hadith indicates that it is permissible for the Imam to make mistakes, forget, and disobey, and people are obligated to obey him as long as he rules according to Islam, and no clear disbelief occurs from him, and as long as he does not command disobedience.
There is no specific period for the presidency of the Caliph. As long as he adheres to the Sharia, is able to carry out the affairs of the state, he remains a Caliph. The hadiths that mention the pledge of allegiance mention it in its entirety and do not restrict it to a specific period, and the caliphate of the Companions continued until their death, which was a consensus from the Companions. However, if something happens and the Caliph incurs something that warrants his removal or makes him removed, then the period of his caliphate ends. That is not a specification of the duration of the pledge of allegiance, but because of a defect in its conditions; because the pledge of allegiance is limited to the Caliph fulfilling what he was pledged to, which is acting according to the Book and the Sunnah.
If the Caliph loses any of the seven conditions of convening, then it is not permissible for him, according to Sharia, to continue in the Caliphate, and he is entitled to be removed. The one who has the power to decide his removal is the Court of Grievances, which decides whether the Caliph has lost any of the conditions of convening. That is because the occurrence of what necessitates the removal of the Caliph is a grievance that needs to be removed, and it is among the matters that need to be proven. It must be proven before a judge, and the one who rules to remove grievances is the Court of Grievances, and its judge is the one who has the authority to prove the grievance and rule on it. If the Muslims and those in authority disagree, their matter must be referred to God and His Messenger, that is, referred to the judiciary. This is if the Muslims see that he should be removed for losing one of the conditions of convening, but he disputes that with them. However, if he removes himself, then the matter is over.
It is obligatory to engage in appointing the Caliph from the first moment the position of Caliphate becomes vacant, as happened when the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, died, where the Muslims immediately after his death engaged in appointing a Caliph for him, and the maximum period for appointing a Caliph is three days. The evidence is that when Omar bin Al-Khattab specified six members of the Shura council for the position of Caliphate, he specified three days for them, and specified fifty people to kill the dissenter among them if they did not agree on a Caliph within that period, even though they were from the Shura council and senior Companions, and no one from the Companions opposed him, so that was a consensus. The Muslims must be busy appointing a Caliph after the center of the Caliphate becomes vacant, and he must be appointed within three days. But if the Caliphate is eliminated and they sit back from that, then they are sinful, except for those who are engaged in serious work in order to establish it with a sincere group, for he will escape the sin, which is a great sin as explained by him, peace and blessings be upon him: "And whoever dies and does not have a pledge of allegiance on his neck, dies a death of ignorance."
The assistants are the ministers who are appointed by the Caliph to assist him in bearing the burdens of the Caliphate. It is not correct to call them ministers without restriction, so that the meaning of the minister in Islam is not confused with the meaning of the minister in secular democratic systems. The Minister of Delegation is delegated by the Caliph to manage matters according to his opinion and to implement them according to his judgment in accordance with the provisions of Sharia.
The Caliph has the right to delegate the assistant of delegation to represent him in all parts of the state with general oversight of all works, and he has the right to assign him to a specific work, or to a specific place, for example, to the eastern or western states. Since the Caliph will need more than one minister, especially with the large size of the state, this will create problems in the ministers performing their work due to the possibility of overlap, as long as each of them has general oversight and representation. Therefore, we adopt the following: In terms of delegation, the assistant is delegated general oversight and representation in all parts of the state, and in terms of work, the assistant is assigned to work in a part of the state, that is, the states are divided among the assistants. As for the transfer, the assistant is transferred from one place to another and from one work to another without the need for a new delegation; because the original delegation of him as an assistant includes all work, and he is different from the governor in that, because the governor is delegated general oversight in a certain place, so he is not transferred to another, but needs a new delegation, because the new place is not included in the first delegation. As for the assistant, he is delegated general oversight and representation, so it is permissible to transfer him from one place to another without the need for a new delegation. The conditions required for the Caliph are also required for the assistant of delegation, which is that he be a Muslim man, free, adult, sane, just, and capable with competence.
The assistant of delegation must submit what he intends to manage to the Caliph, then inform him of what he has implemented from management, and implement this notification unless the Caliph stops him from that. This is not taking permission. Informing him means that he discusses the matter with him, and this notification is sufficient for him to carry out all the details contained in it without the need for permission to work. The Caliph must examine the works of the assistant; because he is responsible for the subjects and to correct any mistakes that may occur from the assistant. If the assistant informs the Caliph of a matter and he approves it, then after its implementation the Caliph opposes it, then it is considered. If it is something that the Caliph is allowed to correct from his own action, then he is allowed to correct it from the action of his deputy, such as setting a military plan; because even though he performs all the powers of the Caliph, he does not perform them independently but on behalf of the Caliph. If the action is something that the Caliph is not allowed to correct from his own action, then he is not allowed to correct it from the action of his deputy, such as placing money in his right, or a ruling that he implemented correctly. The assistant of delegation is not specific to the administrative apparatus; because those who carry out the administrative apparatus are employees and not rulers, but this does not mean that he is prohibited from carrying out any administrative work, but it means that he is not limited to administrative works, but has general oversight.
The one who appoints and dismisses the assistants of delegation is the Caliph, and their term ends upon his death, and does not continue except during the period of the temporary emir, and they do not need a decision to dismiss them at that time.
