The great Maliki scholar Ibn Khaldun [born 732 H/1332 CE] writes in his famous book, al-Muqaddimah

“The vanquished always want to imitate the victor in his distinctive characteristics, his dress, his occupation, and all his other conditions and customs. The reason for this is that the soul always sees perfection in the person who is superior to it and to whom it is subservient. It considers him perfect, either because it is impressed by the respect it has for him, or because it erroneously assumes that its own subservience to him is not due to the nature of defeat but to the perfection of the victor.”

[Ibn Khaldun, Muqaddimah, quoted in S. Sayyid, Recalling the Caliphate: Decolonization and World Order, Hurst & Company, London, 2014, p. 1]


عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ عَنْ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ خَيْرُ النَّاسِ قَرْنِي ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ ثُمَّ يَجِيءُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ قَوْمٌ تَسْبِقُ شَهَادَتُهُمْ أَيْمَانَهُمْ وَأَيْمَانُهُمْ شَهَادَتَهُمْ

6429 صحيح البخاري كتاب الرقاق باب ما يحذر من زهرة الدنيا والتنافس فيها

2533 صحيح مسلم كتاب فضائل الصحابة باب فضل الصحابة رضي الله تعالى عنهم ثم الذين يلونهم ثم الذين يلونهم

Abdullah ibn Mas’ud reported: The Prophet, ﷺ, said, “The best people are those of my generation, then those who come after them, then those who come after them. Then, there will come people after them whose testimony precedes their oaths and their oaths precede their testimony.”

[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī #6429, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim #2533]

وقال القاري رحمه الله :
” قَالَ السُّيُوطِيُّ : وَالْأَصَحُّ أَنَّهُ – يعني القرن – لَا يَنْضَبِطُ بِمُدَّةٍ ، فَقَرْنُهُ – صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ – هُمُ الصَّحَابَةُ ، وَكَانَتْ مُدَّتُهُمْ مِنَ الْمَبْعَثِ إِلَى آخِرِ مَنْ مَاتَ مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ مِائَةً وَعِشْرِينَ سَنَةً ، وَقَرْنُ التَّابِعِينَ مِنْ مِائَةِ سَنَةٍ إِلَى نَحْوِ سَبْعِينَ ، وَقَرْنُ أَتْبَاعِ التَّابِعِينَ مِنْ ثَمَّ إِلَى نَحْوِ الْعِشْرِينَ وَمِائَتَيْنِ ، وَفِي هَذَا الْوَقْتِ ظَهَرَتِ الْبِدَعُ ظُهُورًا فَاشِيًا ، وَأَطْلَقَتِ الْمُعْتَزِلَةُ أَلْسِنَتَهَا ، وَرَفَعَتِ الْفَلَاسِفَةُ رُءُوسَهَا ، وَامْتُحِنَ أَهْلُ الْعِلْمِ لِيَقُولُوا بِخَلْقِ الْقُرْآنِ ، وَتَغَيَّرَتِ الْأَحْوَالُ تَغَيُّرًا شَدِيدًا ، وَلَمْ يَزَلِ الْأَمْرُ فِي نَقْصٍ إِلَى الْآنَ ، وَظَهَرَ مِصْدَاقُ قَوْلِهِ – صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ – : (ثُمَّ يَفْشُو الْكَذِبُ) ” انتهى من ” مرقاة المفاتيح ” (9/3878)

Mulla ‘Ali al-Qārī (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

Al-Suyūṭī said: The correct view is that this word – al-qarn (generation) – does not have a defined duration. The Prophet’s generation, namely the Companions, lasted from the time his mission began until the last of the Companions died, approximately one hundred and twenty years. The generation of the Tābi‘īn [Followers] lasted until approximately 170 H, and the generation of those who came after the Tābi‘īn lasted until approximately 220 H. During this time, innovations appeared and became widespread, the Mu‘tazilah began to preach their misguided notions, philosophers began to spread their misguided ideas, the scholars were put to trial and forced to say that the Qur’an was created, and circumstances changed drastically, and things have only been getting worse until now. This is a confirmation of the words of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): “Then lying will become widespread.” (Mirqāt al-Mafātīḥ  9/3878).

حَدَّثَنَا سَعِيدُ بْنُ تَلِيدٍ، حَدَّثَنِي ابْنُ وَهْبٍ، حَدَّثَنِي عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ شُرَيْحٍ، وَغَيْرُهُ، عَنْ أَبِي الأَسْوَدِ، عَنْ عُرْوَةَ، قَالَ حَجَّ عَلَيْنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عَمْرٍو فَسَمِعْتُهُ يَقُولُ سَمِعْتُ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ ‏ “‏ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَنْزِعُ الْعِلْمَ بَعْدَ أَنْ أَعْطَاهُمُوهُ انْتِزَاعًا، وَلَكِنْ يَنْتَزِعُهُ مِنْهُمْ مَعَ قَبْضِ الْعُلَمَاءِ بِعِلْمِهِمْ، فَيَبْقَى نَاسٌ جُهَّالٌ يُسْتَفْتَوْنَ فَيُفْتُونَ بِرَأْيِهِمْ، فَيُضِلُّونَ وَيَضِلُّونَ ‏”

Narrated ‘Abdullāh bin ‘Amr:

I heard the Prophet ﷺ saying, “Allah will not deprive you of knowledge after he has given it to you, but it will be taken away through the death of the religious learned men with their knowledge. Then there will remain ignorant people who, when consulted, will give verdicts according to their opinions whereby they will mislead others and go astray.”

[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī #7307]

وَعَنِ ابْنِ سِيرِينَ قَالَ: إِنَّ هَذَا الْعِلْمَ دِينٌ فَانْظُرُوا عَمَّنْ تَأْخُذُونَ دِينَكُمْ. رَوَاهُ مُسْلِمٌ

Ibn Sīrīn said: “Verily, this matter is your dīn, so be very careful as to whom you take your dīn from”. [Mishkāt al-Masābih #273. Transmitted by Imam Muslim and the narration is authentic]

Dear Noble Reader,

Muslims live in challenging times when those to whom the believers look for guidance are influenced by ideas alien to Islam. This situation is made worse when those in power forcibly promote and enforce those alien ideas on the population as was the classic case with the Mu‘tazilah (who were infatuated by the ideas of the Greek philosophers) after they became so influential that their views were co-opted by the ruling elite. This great trial was known as the Mihna (inquisition). In those difficult times, a number of courageous scholars spoke out and did not compromise when it came to the truth. Scholars such as the great Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (r), who was tortured publicly but did not waver in his refusal to profess and rubber-stamp the deviant ideas of the Mu‘tazilah (see here for an account of how he stood up to the tyrant rulers of the time).

And similar to when Greek philosophy became popular at the time of Imam Ahmad (r), western neoliberalism is now almost all pervasive amongst Muslim societies today. Free market capitalism, freedom and democracy are the clarion calls of so many in the Muslim world but especially those of us in the west. Modernist reformers, funded and promoted by government institutions, appear to have no shame in espousing corrupt western ideas and even attempting to provide Islamic justifications for such notions. For example, some go to the extent of proclaiming that voting is wājib (obligatory)! Those who object to such ideas are branded radical, reactionary and extremist. We are now facing what the late Dr. Shabbir Akhtar (r) termed the ‘Liberal Inquisition’.

In the not too distant past, there were scholars who were not afraid to publicly refute modernism in their speeches and writings. Some of the Akābir (Great Ones) of Deoband have penned books and given speeches on these topics. For example, Ḥakīm al-Ummat Maulana Ashraf ‘Ali Thanwi (r) wrote Al-Intibahat al-Mufīdah ‘an al-Ishtibahat al-Jadīdah that has been translated as ‘Answer to Modernism’ (this can be viewed online here). More recently, a scholar who follows in his footsteps, Mufti Taqi Usmani has authored ‘Islam and Modernism’.

What follows are statements of the Akābir on Democracy and the Caliphate. It should be noted that some of these scholars were living under the tyranny and full control of British imperial rule, a much harsher time than today, and yet their pronouncements on this crucial Islamic topic were not met with the standard rebuttals of today to such views such as the accusation that discussing the obligation and necessity of reinstituting the Khilafah is a fantasy. The western-subjugated mindset behind this accusation is perfectly encapsulated in the above quote by Ibn Khaldun in relation to the end of the last Caliphate, the Uthmani Khilafah: “It (the soul of the vanquished) considers him (the victor) perfect, either because it is impressed by the respect it has for him, or because it erroneously assumes that its own subservience to him is not due to the nature of defeat but to the perfection of the victor.” There are now large swathes of the population in non-Muslim countries both in the west and east who would be reluctant to call their political systems perfect and victorious over whatever they perceive as the enemy. What excuse do we have in maintaining this subjugated mindset? (Emphases in bold have been added):

Maulana Yusuf Ludhyanwi (r)

“Democracy is the biggest idol nowadays which the westerners began worshipping therefore they remained deprived of divine wisdom. It is in complete opposition to Islamic politics. Everyone knows that Islam calls to Khilafah and this is the vicegerency of prophethood and there is a responsibility to restore it and establish the religion of Allah on the land. Islam has no connection to democracy nor democracy to Islam and opposites cannot be reconciliated.”
[اپ کے مسائل اور ان كا حل ١٥٨]

Mufti Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him)

“The first principle of political rule in Islam is that true rule in this universe belongs to Allah alone (great and High is He) and He is the best of Judges.  Based on this foundation, it would not be permitted to issue laws that oppose the rulings of Islam as explained in the Qur’an and the pure Sunnah nor would it be permitted to issue an injunction or command unless it agrees with what Allah has legislated for His servants. It is this principle that distinguishes the Islamic political system from every other one like democracies and dictatorships. Democracy defers the right to rule to the people unrestrictedly and dictatorships defer the right to the ruler who is not subject to any other authority but himself in his actions. In opposition to this, the authority of the ruler in Islam is restricted to what accords with the Qur’an and the Sunna; to the extent that the people must not obey him if he orders a sin or act of disobedience.”
[Takmila Fatḥ al-Mulhim, 3:227]

Maulana Ashraf ‘Ali Thanwi (r)

“Nowadays a strange ruling has emerged in which people lean towards the majority and deem it to be the truth… if this was the case then why did Hud (AS) not act according to his people as the majority opposed him” [مجالس حكيم الامة ٥٨٨]

Maulana Idris Khandelwi (r)

“The basis of an Islamic governance is following the orders of Allah and the basis of non Islamic governance is following those other than Allah and man-made laws.”
[اسلامي دستور]

Maulana Abul Hasan ‘Ali Nadwi (r)

“If we put aside passion and look at the reality, no religion can be in accordance to democracy.”
[دور حاضر سياسي اور اقتضائي مسائل]

Maulana Yusuf Binori (r)

“In modern times, the biggest idol is ‘people power’ of the worship of which is facilitated with assemblies, elections and democracy. The deviated groups such as the Jews and Christians are all involved. The excuse can be made that they are forced. However, the Muslim Ummah! What is the need for them to switch? When we have divine legislation containing all rulings and fundamentals which serve as the cure to diseases… leave parliamentary constitutions. Don’t you have the Qur’an with you? Don’t you have the pure tradition of the Messenger ﷺ?”
[بصائر وعبر ١١٢]

Maulana Nizamudin Shamzai (r)

“If the religion of Allah was to be made dominant, this would never occur with voting or western democracy as the majority of people are transgressors and disbelievers. Democracy is the process of counting people and not weighing them (their value) You cannot do ablution with urine or gain purity with faeces. Islam will never be dominant with western democracy.” [خطبات شمزائي]

Mufti Rasheed Ahmad Ludhyanwi (r)

“Democracy is not in accordance to Islam… Islam has no need for a kufri system.”
[احسن الفتاوي]

Shaykh Balgrami

“Democracy is legislating power to other than Allah and to those who are not deserving. It is appointing transgressors and it is in opposition to Islam.”
[إعلام الأعلام بمفهوم الدين والإسلام ورفع الحجاب عن مضار الجمهورية]

Hat Tip: Maulana Ali Asghar Al-Hanafi