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Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Politics in Islam - The Khilafah/Caliphate (Updated Thrice)

Since Islam is a deen, it covers all aspects of life including the political aspect. Here is an overview of the Islamic political system.
The word khilafah has been taken from the Arabic root word Khalifa meaning to follow or to succeed. When the Prophet Muhammad (S) died, Hadhrat Abu Bakr became the leader of the Muslims. He was called KhalifatulRasulullah. Even though, Hadhrat Umar (RA) assumed the title of Ameer-ul-Momineen, the title of Khalifa was also retained and in time the Muslims adopted this title, Khalifa, for their leader.
The first four khalifas were called the rightly guided khalifa, or caliphs. During their reign, Islam was fully enforced on their people. However, soon after these four khalifas, the khilafat changed into monarchy but the name of the post remained unchanged.
By the first world war, the khalifa had shifted his headquarters to Turkey. In the first world war, Turkey fought against the British and was badly defeated. Even though the British had decided to abolish the seat of caliphate, they could not do this because the nationalist party under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk abolished it and took control.
The khilafah, in reality, is a system given by Allah. Since this system has been made by Allah, it cannot contain any flaw. This system was followed by the four rightly guided caliphs. According to this sytem, the sovereignty belongs to Allah and the Islamic Shariah or Islamic law is enforced. This law is the law given in the Quran, Ahadith, decided by ijma or consensus and qiyas or analogy.
The current system in the world, capitalism, has taken its foundations from the system of khilafat. However, since people tried to change it, it lost many of its advantages. Here's an example to prove this. If a person has a specific recipe to make a cake and he modifies it, the cake will either become better or worse. However, it is for time to prove what it has become. Similarly, time has proven that while the Muslims were using the system of khilafat, they remained the superpowers for centuries. However, no other country has remained a superpower for that long because no other country has used the system of khilafat.
It is the duty of every Muslim on the face of the earth to strive for the establishment of khlifat.

***** Inshallah, I'll write a new article on the methodology soon.



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37 comments:

Anonymous said...

Assalamu alaykum brother,

Jazak Allah for this post and for writing on this extremely important topic.

Just one thing, your summary of the Hizb ut-Tahrir method is oversimplified and not entirely accurate. The HT method is a three-staged method following the example of the Prophet (saw) in how hw established the first Islamic State:

1. Secret stage: where individuals who join the call are cultured in Islam and the da'wah.
2. Interaction stage: where the group openly calls the society to implement Islam and interacts with all levels of society in showing (intellectually) the superiority of Islam and exposing the reality of non-Islamic systems/practices. The objective in this stage is to win public opinion in favour of Islam.
3. Seeking nusrah: takig the da'wah to those who have material and otehr power in society, in order to win them and through that power to implement Islam comprehensively (by establishing the state).

The details of the HT method (with evidences from the Qur'an and Sunnah) are presented in one of their books which can be read at the following site:

http://www.mykhilafah.com/ebook/TheMethodToRe-establishTheKhilafah.pdf

May Allah reward you and all those who sincerely work for Islam.

Wasalam

Ibrahim said...

It's true that the Khilafah is the best system but the question is, are any of these groups worthy of establishing a Khilafah at this point in time, and why is a "revolution" necessary? From what you said, the Tanzeem group does indeed sound the closest to the sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Even so, the Muslims of the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not go out of their way to start a military campaign. If there are any nonviolent ways of starting a Khilafah, they must be sought first (education in Islam, application of Islam in everyday life, brotherhood, etc). Allah tells us in the Quran not to go out of our way to die in His path, and to thank Him for the calm and peaceful state we are in, but when the time comes when we MUST fight, then we should fight in His path. Don't forget that fighting is the "minor" jihad, and everyday life is the "major" jihad according to the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Personally I always thought that more should be done to promote Islam through nonviolent ways before the time to fight comes. For example, even now a lot of Muslims, may Allah guide them, go and pray to pir sahibs and the graves, even though this was the practice of the Christians and was forbidden by Allah, Who is the only One we can and should pray to. A revolution will not change that in my opinion, only proper guidance and teaching will do that. Only when proper Islam is taught, and only when all nonviolent means fail, should we opt for a revolution.

Anonymous said...

Please don't bring the heretical Hizb ut-Tahrir into this. May Allah guide us all.

Imad-ud-din Saqib said...

Salam!
Thank you for the description of Hizb-ut-Tahrir. As I wrote earlier I don't know much about the group. Thanks again.
Wasalam

Imad-ud-din Saqib said...

Salam!
Ibrahim, its necessary to bring a revolution to finish the system of democracy completely. Without the revolution, some of the democracy will still be there which might eventually allow democracy to come back. There's less chance of it coming back after a revolution. While training for the revolution, proper guidance and real teachings of Islam will be explained to the people. By the way, President (General) Zia-ul-Haq tried the non-violent way in Pakistan but it was unsuccessful. Here's something that I heard ina lecture by Dr. Israr. He said that people used to come to him and complain that while they were praying Zhuhr, some of their juniors would laugh at them and they asked for an explanation of this. He said that they laugh because they know that the people are praying Zhuhr for General Zia, i.e. they won't go home and pray Maghrib or Isha. Also, JUI is trying to enforce Islamic Shariah peacefully by elections. Dr. Israr used to be in JUI but he left and founded Tanzeem-e-Islami. May Allah guide us all.
Wasalam!

Imad-ud-din Saqib said...

Salam!
Why shouldn't Hizb-ut-Tahrir come? Its aiming for good even if the effects come out as bad.
"Actions are judged by intentions..."
Wasalam!

Anonymous said...

Assalam o alaikum

Hizb ut-Tahrir has been successful in resonating the voice of Khilafah in more than 40 countries and it is aiming to rally all Muslims behind this call of Khilafah. It has been successful in making this call stronger and stronger in so many Muslim countries. So practically it seems to be more closer to establishing khilafah than any other group.

Secondly, the concept of Khilafah in Islam is that all the Muslims have one global state (Khilafah) and there is no concept of having 56 different countries for the Muslims. So to erase all these borders and create a global state for Muslims, there needs to be a global party working for Khilafah. So Hizb ut-Tahrir is unique in this aspect as no other party works globally for establishing Khilafah. (Tanzeem, JUI and JI all are working to establish Islamic system in Pakistan only).

Anonymous said...

Assalam-o-allaikum,

First of all Dr. Israr was never a part of JUI .. he was in Islami jamiat Talaba and then in JI. He left JI after Maachi Goth issue, when JI decided to become the part of the existing system. Secondly HT's follow nothing other than the footsteps of Rasool-ullah SAW. As Muhammad SAW sid "...Summa taoonu khilafah alaa minahj an-nubuwwah" .. "then therewill be again Khiladah of the method of prophethood". HT is the only Islamic Political Organzation that works for the sole goal of resuming the islamic way of life in more than 40 countries and under a single leadership.

HT follows a three stage methodology that has been quoted by Anonymous ... it doesnt call for any blood revoulution rather it calls for transfer of authority as it was done by ansaar when they gave nusrah to rasoolullah SAW to establish the islamic state in Medinah ...

Ma Assalam,
Tashfeen bin Rizwan

Imad-ud-din Saqib said...

Salam!
The process has to be started from bit and the best way is to start from one country and then spread it among the world. One weakness of Hizb-ut-Tahrir is that people do not have a very good opinion about it. Many regard it as a terrorist group.
Wasalam!

Imad-ud-din Saqib said...

Salam!
Jamat-e-Ulema-i-Islami is also called Jamat-e-Islami. As I said, Hizb-ut-Tahrir's weakness is its reputation. The Prophet (S) also started the khilafah from Saudi Arabia and it was expanded by the caliphs. Tanzeem-e-Islami also works solely for khilafah but in Pakistan at first. It was a kind of revolution that the Prophet (S) brought when he conquered Makkah. By the way, the revolution is supposed to be non-violent.
Wasalam

Anonymous said...

Hizb-ut-tahrir which literally means The Liberation Party is a global political party based on ideology of Islam.

It has support in central asian states, arab countries, asia pacific, south asia and europe.

It is a non-violent party advocating establishment of Khilafah because prophet Muhammad pbuh did not use violence to establish Islam in Medina.

In Pakistan sometimes, the word Hizb is incorrectly linked with jihadi organizations thus giving an impression that Hizb ut-Tahrir is a jehadi organization which is totally false.

Hizb ut-Tahrir was established in 1953 and since then it has been advocating establishment of Khilafah in 40+ countries.

Despite all their endeavor UK/USA could not ban Hizb ut-Tahrir because they had no evidence of involvement in any violent activities.

Hizb ut Tahrir has adopted methodology of establishing Khilafah from the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad PBUH. I invite all to do more reading on this political party.

Last but not least, I support all sincere muslims who support ideology of Islam regardless of any party.

Salam

Anonymous said...

Salam,

May Allah swt reward you for your good effort.

Brother please note that the comment on Hizb-ut-Tahrir regarding Ghazwah-Badar is incorrect.

Hizb-ut-Tahrir focuses work in the society and challenges the false concepts/practices in the society to replace them with Islam.

We all witnessed that MMA couldn't bring any change even with total majority in two provinces. System can not be changed by joining it, this must be replaced by another system -Khilafah and that can only be done through revolution.

Rasoolallah saw brought revolution in Media it was a social, economical, political revolution.

Jazakallah Khair for your good work.

Salam

Imad-ud-din Saqib said...

Salam!
Thank you for your comment, Mohammad. I agree with you and I also support all sincere Muslims. Hizb-ut-Tahrir is not only misunderstood in Pakistan. I heard the comment of a terrorist from an English resident. I think it should try to improve its reputation.
Wasalam!

Imad-ud-din Saqib said...

Salam!
I agree with your comment but I thought that the Ghazwah-e-Badr thing was a fact because I heard it from someone who was thinking of joining Hizb-ut-Tahrir and had done research on it. Anyways, I apologise for writing it and I accept my mistake. Next time, I edit the post for changes, I'll remember to correct it inshallah. May Allah guide us all.
Wasalam!

Anonymous said...

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

Imaduddin Saqib, I realize that General Zia's nonviolent method was largely unsuccessful as you pointed out as people were forced to pray in public and perhaps didn't do so in private (and Allah knows best), but that is not the only nonviolent way. What I mean to say is that there is the nonviolent way of Zia-ul-Haq, which was unsuccessful, and there was the nonviolent way of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Where the former (that of Zia) failed I pray that the latter (that of the Prophet, peace be upon him) will succeed InshaAllah.
It is perhaps worth noting that the first command and justification of waging war in Jihad (i.e. fighting) was in verses 39-40 of Surah Al-Hajj:

"Permission (to fight) is given to those (believers) who are fought against, because they have been wronged; and surely, Allah is able to give them victory. Those who have been expelled from their homes unjustly only because they said, 'Our Lord is Allah.' For had it not been that Allah checks one set of people by means of another, Sawami, Biya, Salawat, and Masjids, wherein the Name of Allah is mentioned much, would surely have been pulled down. Verily, Allah will help those who help His (cause)." (22:39-40 of the Noble Quran)

Regarding verse 39 of Surah Al-Hajj, Ibn Kathir comments (and Allah knows best): "Allah prescribed Jihad at an appropriate time, because when [the believers] were in Makkah, the idolaters outnumbered them by more than ten to one. Had they tried to engage in fighting at that time, the results would have been disastrous." (Darussalam-abridged translation, Volume # 6 of Tafsir Ibn Kathir.)
Allah knows best, but at the moment, I personally think that the Muslim Ummah lacks a) strong imaan b) education first and foremost in Islam and also in other matters that help build and consolidate a strong society InshaAllah c) patience, unity, discipline, intelligence and discretion. I think that it would be safest to adopt the method of Rasulullah (peace be upon him) who was the best example for mankind and whose nation was the best according to the Quran. The method of "revolution first, consolidation next" seems somewhat reckless to me and resembles the 1979 revolution in Iran of the Shia Khomeini. Allah knows best, but one of the duties of the Muslims (which is admittedly difficult in a secular world) is Da'wah, to preach Islam and draw people towards it, and Khomeini was widely considered the stereotypical Muslim at the time, even though some of his statements were contradictory to the Sunnah and Quran, and his stern and harsh manner was one of the reasons many uninformed people think that Islam is a stern and hostile religion, even though the evidence of the Quran and Sunnah points otherwise.
Another point to consider: the early Muslims had the advantage of Allah sending them His messenger as a first leader, then followed by Abu Bakr, Umar ibn Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan, and Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with them). If this revolution does occur and come off InshaAllah, who are you going to pick as a Khalifah?

I'm not saying to just sit back and let the world get increasingly secular, but I think that if a successful establishment of the Khilafah is to be pulled off, it should and would best be done in the same context and consolidatory manner in which the Prophet (S.A.W.) did it, resorting to fighting only when it was absolutely necessary for Islam.

Allah Knows best.

Imad-ud-din Saqib said...

Salam!
I agree with what you wrote. I never said "revolution first, consolidation next". Support has to be gathered among the people before the revolution is to come and the revolution has to be a non-violent one. I forgot to mention non-violent. The supporters of the khilafat will not be allowed to defend themselves because if they do, the army will be forced to fight but if they don't the army will itself realise that it should not fight as all of them are in fact brothers.
May Allah guide us all.
Wasalam!

ABUDi said...

salamz...

i once again point out that the analysis of HT method shud be understood carefully before giving analysis on it...

www.khilafah.com wud giv u the appropriate details...

secondly HT functions in the form of different wilayahs or provinces each headed by an ameer but who are all under the authority of sheikh ata abu rashta ..the present ameer of HT... so the organisation functioning in PAKISTAN is HuT, WILAYAH PAKISTAN...and the website for that is www.khilafat.pk ..

u must agree that establishing islam is farz so HT provides a global platfrm for ppl in all areas to work from their hometown but contribute for the entire ummah coz in the end khilafah is for the ummah...ppl of pakistan will work under HT pakistan while those of malaysia under the respected wilayah....

this form strengthens and unite muslims rather than weakning them...it also encourages ppl to work for islam rather than a nation... and the funds and materials are more betterly distributed amongst respected wings...

for more info on HT and the solution to global economic crisis...plz see

http://equatinglife.blogspot.com/2008/10/global-financial-system-in-complete.html

wasalamz

Imad-ud-din Saqib said...

Salam!
I agree with what you said. However, the revolution will have to start from one place.
Wasalam!

Unknown said...

Hizb-ul-Tahrir is a pan-islamic organization working for Khilafah in many countries at the same time. Whereas Tanzeem-e-Islami (Tehreek-e-Khilafat Pakistan) has initiated its activities from Pakistan. This idea has also been taken from the Seerah. If you review the Seerah of the Prophet PBUH, you would see a foundation was based in Madina 1st of all and then it spreaded around the arab and so on. The holy Prophet PBUH had never sent any message outside the arab until they had been recognized as a state, in Sulah Hudabiya. We strongly believe that a firm foundation is required before you go towards the other countries and this is our formost obligation to establish Islam in our own country.

Unknown said...

The way Hizb-ul-Tahrir is adopting has been experienced once in Egypt when Ikhwanis were crashed by Hafiz-ul-Asad and no result came out at the end of the day.
This is because the spirtual purification of the masses was not carried out and pre-mature action was taken.
In Pakistan, when Gen. Zia-ul-Haq took control of the country and hijacked the movement(Nizam-e-Mustafa), what had happened to the people who were demanding for Nizam-e-Mustafa. They were simply pushed back and nothing could they grab rather than rubbing their hands. There was no other reason than that the then authority (Gen Zia-ul-Haq) and its armies were not inwardly trained for establishing Nizam-e-Mustapha, before they took control.
Similarly, if you review Tehreek-e-Shaheedain (led by Syed Ahmad Barelvi Shaheed), almost likewise method was adopted but what happened ? The then pathans who were numerously coated around their culture stood against them and rejected the Shari'ah laws.

All in all, we strongly believe that a popular mass movement, with people having eeman and faith, is required to get this done.
We've seen changes taking place in this way in modern world as well. For example, "Orange revolution of Ukraine" and "The Iranian Revolution".

Unknown said...

Please keep in mind that I ain't considering Hizb mrthodology non-permissible. We are talking about the way nearest to the Seerah and the most feasible in modern world.

Unknown said...

Brother Ibrahim,

We also consider the Seerah of our beloved Prophet PBUH as the best strategy to make this happen. The issue is who among us is following straight away the Seerah.

We don't recommend armed struggle so far because neither its feasible nor this community is a non-muslim community. And in a muslim community, masses and their peoperties are definitely at stake in case of violance.
And we also consider the fatwa by Imam Abu-Hanifa in terms of armed struggle against a muslim ruler.
Lastly, I would like to make it very clear that if armed struggle seems feasible to us on the last stage, we would never refrain.

Unknown said...

Dear brother Abdullah Saqib,

Tanzeem-e-Islami was founded in Pakistan, and its aim is to establish the Deen of Allah (SWT) initially in Pakistan and ultimately all over the world. We believe that Pakistan has a special place in the Divine scheme of things. The history of the last four hundred years show that unusually prominent reformers have appeared in this part of the world. Dr. Israr Ahmad believes that with the beginning of the second millennium of Hijri calendar, the spiritual and intellectual center of the Muslim world has shifted from the Arab world to the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent. Pakistan itself was created in the name of Islam, and despite all the un-Islamic practices prevalent in this country, our Constitution still contains the Objectives Resolution which proclaims the sovereignty of Allah and the need to live according to Allah's guidance. The conditions are much more congenial for the establishment of Khilafah in Pakistan than in many of the other Muslim countries. Moreover, every Muslim is obliged to call people towards Islam and to work for the establishment of Deen in the country where he is born and raised, or where he finds himself living.

Unknown said...

The basic thought behind Hizb ut Tahrir and Tanzeem-e-Islmai is very nearly the same, namely that Islam is not just a private affair of the individual, but that its teachings must be implemented in all public spheres as well. In other words, both parties agree that Islamic State should be established and the System of Khilafah should be revived. The disagreements concern the "methodology" and the "features of the future Islamic state." We believe that an Islamic State can be established in Pakistan by means of a popular non-violent movement, the basis of which is found in ayah no. 112 of Surah Taubah ("those who safeguard the limits of Allah") and hadith of Prophet Muhammad (saw) according to which one should stop evil with his hand (nahi anil munkar bil-yad). We believe that Khilafah cannot be established by taking part in the electoral politics; armed struggle is no longer feasible in today's world and is out of the question; and a coup d'etat can never produce a stable and positive change as it does not involve changing the beliefs and thoughts of the people. Instead, we need to follow the example of the Prophet Muhammad (saw), and therefore preaching, exhortation, and purification of souls are essential initial steps in the establishment of Khilafah. We also believe that there is a serious deficiency in the level and depth of Iman among the Muslims, and the dream of an Islamic revival cannot be realized without the revival of true Iman in a significant portion of the Muslim society, the only reliable means of which is the propagation of the Qur'anic teachings both at the popular level as well as the highest level of intellectual sophistication.

Unknown said...

Dear Brother Saifullah,

On one hand you blame that these all muslim states are Dar-ul-Kufr and on the other hand you are working for the establishment of Khilafah simultaneously in 57 muslim countires. Don't you think there is a contradiction in your policy ?

Unknown said...

Dear brother Mohammad,
You said in your comments:- "In Pakistan sometimes, the word Hizb is incorrectly linked with jihadi organizations thus giving an impression that Hizb ut-Tahrir is a jehadi organization which is totally false."

So, you claim that you're not doing jehad ? Be very kind to clarify this statement.

Imad-ud-din Saqib said...

It is true that Hizb-ut-Tahrir has a lot of support all over the world but it focuses on Pakistan currently.

Imad-ud-din Saqib said...

The step of seeking nusrah has been proved by the Surah and since the Prophet (S)'s way is the best way for all times, it is the most feasible and peaceful.

Imad-ud-din Saqib said...

I think brother Muhammad means Qital and as I mentioned earlier HT is focusing on establishing Khilafah in Pakistan.

Unknown said...

Imad-u-Din,
How do you derive the concept of seeking nusrah of the armies from the Seerah?
According to my knowledge Ansaar were also almost empty handed alongwith the Mahajreen. Mohajreen had been leading the Muslims being at the forefront till the end.
Moreover, a few Sahaba R.A had been spirtually training the Ansaar and reciting against them the verses of the Holy Qur'an before the migration took place. Those Sahaba R.A were appointed by the Prophet PBUH.
But in this age you never have this chance of spirtually training the muslim armies before you go for the establishment of Khilafah and without eeman and conviction they would do nothing.

Unknown said...

Imad-u-Din Saqib,

If Hizb has now started focussing on Pakistan for the initial step to be taken, then that's a good idea and they should have adopted this policy a long before.

Unknown said...

Imad-u-Din Saqib,

Whether Jehad in the form of Qital or other, You've to be prepared for everthing and mind you that dis-associating yourself from Jehadis isn't a good idea. Hizb will have to adopt the same policy at the end of the day, most likely because you are seeking nusrah from the armies and armies know nothing except to fight.

I would again request you to read about "Shaheedain Movement", that has been very popular as well in the history of sub-continent.

I would also invite you to read about Ikhwan-ul-Muslimoon's history.

Imad-ud-din Saqib said...

The army is the most influential factor of a country just as the leader was at that time and according to Raheeq ul Makhtum or the Sealed Nectar, the Prophet (S) sought nusrah from the leader of Yathrib. Note that without the support of the army the government is nothing so after nusrah is sought from them, a khalifa will be appointed.

Unknown said...

Salam Alaikum,
Brother Imad-u-Din,

No doubt that nowadays armies are the most powerful source to impose something onto masses, but still you should deal this without using armies. Because using force could possibaly lead to a huge contection and in both the cases Muslims' lives are at stake.

Because when you hold the arms against your Govt., this is considered as rebel against the state, in modern age. You can see the example of Pakistani Taliban.

Moreover, When you can have the army then this is also a possibility for the secular ruling elite class to engage foreign invaders. Because the real enemy is waiting outside the border.
This is what happened in Bangladesh in 1971.

Maryam said...

Every Muslim want to implement Islamic rules in his country.
don'g metter what you called, khalifa, democracy, kingdom, etc....don't metter.
We need only Islami Laws in country.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Imad-ud-din Saqib said...

Only Islamic laws are not required. A system is required and that system was established by Prophet (S) and we need to establish it. The systems that have been established now such as democracy are useless.

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