Overview

Islamic TopicsOverview of the Islamic System

In Islam, the ruling system is not created by man, but rather by the Creator of all things, Allah (swt).  Muslims must abide by the ruling system as a obligation, not as a perceived benefit.  The Prophet (saaw) worked in Mecca in order to create a political order that would enable him to implement the Islamic Shariah in the lives of the people and carry Islam to the world.  The prevailing public opinion holds many claims, ranging from the assertion that Islam defined no ruling system and left a vacuum, to the claim that Islam mentioned a political system in vague, general terms, leaving a void for human innovation to fill.  Studying the Qur'an and the Sunnah reveals that Islam defined a detailed, organized system of government to implement the Shariah comprehensively.  All of the assertions and concepts that attempt to derail the ruling system emanated from the intellectual war launched by Europe and the Orientalists against the Islamic State to distance Muslims from Islam and convince the Muslim psyche that Islam has no place in the political arena or in the lives of the people.Allah (swt) has determined the Khilafah system as the form of government in Islam.  The hadith narrated by Abu Hazim stating, "I was with Abu Hurairah for five years and I heard him narrate from the Prophet (saaw) that he said, 'The Prophets used to rule Bani Israel. Whenever a Prophet died another Prophet succeeded him, but there will be no Prophets after me; instead there will be Khalifs and they will number many,'" clearly identifies the Khilafah as the Islamic political system. Many other Hadiths collectively affirm that Islam provided a unique structure to assume the political responsibilities of the society.Because of its unique political structure, Islam forbids the existence of multiple states or rulers.  The Shariah assigns the Ummah with the responsibility to ensure the application of Islam by selecting a single Khalifah and pledging full obedience to him as long as he rules within the framework of Islam. Muhammad (saaw) clearly indicates the obligation of having a single Khalifah by saying, "Whoever gives allegiance to an Imam with the palm of his hand and the fruit of his heart and then another comes to dispute with the Imam, strike the head of the other," and "If two Khalifahs are given the allegiance, kill the latter of them."  (Muslim and Bukhari). Perhaps the greatest difficulty in distinguishing the Islamic political system lay in the misunderstanding of the issue of sovereignty.  Because Islam assigns a single person with complete authority and mandates total obedience from the Ummah, many observers would rapidly correlate the Islamic System with a dictatorship or a monarchy. Sovereignty in Islam belongs to Allah (swt), and no entity can legislate laws or amend the Shariah.  Islam has given the Ummah the authority only to implement the legislation, and the Ummah selects one person to assume the delegated function.  The complete obedience to the Khalifah must coincide with him ruling exclusively by Islam.  All other systems give sovereignty to human beings to legislate laws and codes based upon human intellect and imagination, while Islam's supremacy to all other ideologies rests from the distinguishing factor that the legislation emanates from the Supreme Creator.THE KHILAFAHIslam defines the Khilafah as the total leadership of Muslims all over the world. Its role is to establish the laws of the Islamic Shariah and to carry the Da'wa of Islam to the world. The Ummah deputizes the Khalifah with the authority to enforce the divine rules (Hukm Sharii) as well as the responsibility for the internal and external policies of the State.  The Khilafah's function as the political system of Islam consists of implementing the Islamic ideology and spreading Islam to the nations by either calling them into Islam or bringing them  under the rules of Islam.  Muhammad (saaw) worked in Mecca for thirteen years to create the Khilafah, which he finally established in Medina, for the purpose of shaping the world order according to Islam.  During the fourteen centuries of its existence, the Khilafah served as the practical manifestation of Islam and the mechanism enabling the Muslim Ummah to execute the Shariah in the affairs of the world and carry Islam to humanity.Many scholars defined the Khilafah as the vehicle that protects and implements Islam, guards the property and blood of the Muslims, and spreads Islam to the world.  	Ibn Khaldoon defined it as "A representation, of the one who has the right to adopt Hukm Sharii, aimed at protecting the Deen and ruling the world with it."  	Al-Mawardi also defined the Khilafah as "Succession of the Prophethood aimed at  protecting the Deen and ruling the world." 	Imam Al-Ghazali said "Verily the system of the Islamic way of life brought by Islam can only function properly with an obeyed Sultan (Khalif)." 	Imam Absheehi said "Obeying the Sultan (Khalif) ensures that all aspects of the Deen are implemented; it also organizes Muslims affairs; disobedience of the Sultan wrecks the cornerstone of the doctrine 'millah.' Supreme happiness is in the obedience of the Sultan for it is a protection against all Fitna; obeying the Sultan the penal laws would be implemented the duties would be performed, blood would be spared and the routes would be made safe."	Imam Qalqashandi said "The post of the Khilafah is to govern the whole Ummah." 	Taqiudine al Nabhani, the founder of Hizb ut-Tahrir described the Khilafah as "A total leadership for all the Muslims aimed at implementing the Shariah of Islam and carrying the Message of Islam to all the world."The scholars unanimously agreed on the obligation of establishing the Khilafah as a vital necessity in establishing Islam itself.DAR-AL-ISLAMThe Khilafah State is often equated with the term Dar-ul-Islam (the Domain of Islam). Dar-ul-Islam is defined as that land in which the Shariah is applied and whose security is maintained solely by Muslims. Within Dar-ul-Islam, the Qur'an & Sunnah constitutes the only source of laws and codes that structure the policies and systems of the society.  Because Allah (swt) says,  "So rule between them by that which Allah has revealed, and follow not their desires, but beware of them lest they seduce you from some part of that which Allah has revealed unto you."  [Al-Maidah: 49]the Islamic State must adopt the Qur'an and the Sunnah as the sole source of its constitutions and canons.  Any region that either adopts other sources to define and structure its societal framework or depends upon an entity other than the Muslim Ummah for its security is excluded from Dar-ul-Islam.The authority must be self determined, depending on Muslims only, not on any Kafir state or Kafir influence.The security of the land must reside in the hands of Muslims and the protection of the land internally and externally must be in the name of Islam.The implementation of Islam has to be complete and comprehensive.ONE STATEThe Muslims are not allowed to have more than one Khalifah and One State. The Hadith narrated by Abu Sa'yeed Alkhudri in which the Prophet said, "When the Oath of Allegiance (ba'ya) has been taken for two Khalifs, kill the other of the two (Muslim)," confirms the divine prohibition of having more than one ruler presiding over the Muslims.  When the Khilafah State is reestablished,  it will immediately begin to annex the Muslim countries until the Khilafah encompasses all Muslims.  The current territorial boundaries constitute artificial creations of the Imperialist powers who imposed them to fragment the Ummah and maintain the superiority of the West over the Muslim lands.  Today the regimes that exist act as liaisons for the political, economic, and cultural colonization of the Western nations over the Muslims, and their existence serves the purpose of maintaining the political disunity of the Ummah and impeding the resurgence of Islam. There is no Islamic evidence to support the view that they should remain once the Khilafah state has been reestablished.CENTRALIZED RULINGThe Khilafah State is an unitary system of government. Although the State may extend over a great area, such as when the Khilafah State ruled from Africa to China, it should function as one state with a centralized ruling system with a centralized judiciary and a unified constitution.  The Khilafah would divide its territory into subregions (Wilayahs), but only for the administrative necessity of maintaining the efficiency of the Khilafah's administration. Unlike the federal ruling system like the US, no region will have any political autonomy from the Khalifah or act independently of the central authority.CHECKS AND BALANCESEvery system in the world has checks and balances to maintain the integrity of the system and to ensure the survival of the ideology.  As an ideology, Islam has also mandated certain checks and balances to guarantee that the Shariah is implemented comprehensively, the rulers remain within their boundaries, and the external and internal policies of the State are executed.  The most important check and balance stems from the internal drive that emanates from the individual's taqwa (fear of Allah) and motivates the Muslims to question the rulers and account them for their responsibilities, and to participate in the political medium of the society in order to ensure that the State maintains its function of executing the Islamic Shariah and propagating Islam to the world.  The Khilafah also has many other checks and balances that secure the integrity of the State.  The Court of Unjust Acts has the responsibility of overseeing the actions of the State and possesses the power to dismiss any ruler, even the Khalifah, if such an individual does not implement Islam.  Also, the presence of Islamic political parties would continuously enrich the political medium, serve as a bridge of communication between the rulers and the Ummah, assist and advise the State in executing its responsibilities, and maintain an elevated public opinion among the masses.  In addition, the Majlis-as-Shura (Consultative Assembly) would serve as an additional safeguard to ensure that the State performs its delegated functions and the rulers enact their obligations.  The Non-Muslims citizens in the Islamic State also have the right to express their grievances against injustices committed upon them or against any misapplication of the Islamic Laws upon them.  All of these components would  collectively serve to guarantee the survival of Islam and its application.For further information, comments or questions, please contact us.
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