“It is not permissible for Muslims to abandon working for Islam and the establishment of its state on the face of the earth, waiting for the appearance of the Mahdi and the descent of ‘Isa, peace be upon them both, feeling despair and imagining that is not possible before (they appear). This notion is false.” [Shaykh al-Albani]
Allah has commanded us to enjoin the good and forbid the evil, and this duty cannot be rendered without power and authority. Likewise, all other social duties such as jihād, maintaining peace and order, justice, organizing ḥajj and ‘īd festivals, redressing abuses, helping the oppressed, enforcing the ḥudūd, and so on, cannot be carried out without political power and authority.
One of the excuses for ignoring the emphatic Shari‘ah obligation of re-instituting the Caliphate is the claim that it is an impossible dream which cannot be realised. According to this argument, the Caliphate is deemed to be a Utopia which present-day Muslims cannot bring to fruition. This is despite the fact that the Caliphate previously existed for several centuries and succeeded in spreading Islam to many lands.
Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman said: ‘Islam is divided into eight parts. The prayer is one part, zakat is one part, fasting is one part, hajj is one part, ‘umrah is one part, jihad is one part, commanding what is known to be right is one part, and forbidding what is recognised as wrong is one part. Disappointed is he who has no part of Islam.’
The recently released Pandora Papers [click here for more details] show how the present corrupt rulers of the Muslim world enrich themselves at the expense of the Musim Ummah and use secretive offshore companies to hide their ill-gotten wealth. But Allah has promised us that these kings and emirs will be replaced by the likes of rightly guided rulers like ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdul ‘Aziz
From Muhammad, Messenger of Allah, to Jaifar and 'Abd, sons of al-Julanda, and may peace be upon those who follow Allah's guidance. To proceed, I invite you both to Islam; accept Islam and you will attain salvation, for I am Allah's Messenger to all mankind so that I may warn those who are alive and establish (Allah's) word over the unbelievers. If you declare your Islam I will appoint you both as governors [of your lands], but if you refuse then (know that) your dominion is only fleeting, and my horsemen will dismount in your courtyard, and my Prophethood will prevail over your dominion.
"Let it be noted of the first generation, as to how the Companions (رضي الله عنهم) hastened after the death of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to appoint the Imam and contract the pledge of allegiance, and how they believed that it was a conclusive obligation (farḍ), a right and mandated (wājib) with immediacy and urgency, as well as how they left the preparation of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ (for burial) through being busy with it (appointing the Imam)."
In the final part of this series, we will continue our review of the classical works of uṣūl (beliefs). As a recap, notwithstanding that the institution of the Caliphate/Imamate relates to jurisprudence (law as opposed to belief), its sheer importance led to its inclusion within the uṣūl discussions of the classical scholars. This historical phenomenon … Continue reading Classical Works on Creed and the Caliphate Imperative – Part 4: Al-Tahawi, Al-Bayhaqi and Al-Baqillani
The Grand Mufti of Damascus, Imam ‘Ala’ al-Dīn al-Haskafi, like other Islamic luminaries states in his famous Hanafi work Durr al-Mukhtār [The Chosen Pearl] written in the year 1070H: “...The major (type) (i.e. the Caliphate) is the right of general administration over the people. Its study is in the science of credal doctrine and establishing … Continue reading Classical Works on Creed and the Caliphate Imperative – Part 1: Imam Ghazali and Imam Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi
Despite the fact that Imam Ghazali’s al-Iqtiṣād fi al-I‘tiqād is a book on beliefs (‘aqīda), he includes a whole chapter on the imamate (caliphate) in this work. At the beginning of this chapter, he includes a discussion of what he describes as ‘definite legal proof’ (al-burhān al-qaṭ‘ī al-shar‘ī) that appointing an imam is an obligation. … Continue reading Imam Ghazali’s ‘Definite Proof’ that Appointing a Caliph is Obligatory
The Caliphate 