There are seven contractual conditions that must be fulfilled before someone can become a Caliph of the Muslims. One of these is maturity i.e. above the age of puberty. The evidence for this is from the sunnah. Abu Dawud narrated from ‘Ali Ibnu Abi Talib that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Accountability is lifted off three people: The sleeping person until he awakes, the boy until he reaches maturity and the deranged until he regains his mind.”  Therefore the person for whom the pen is raised is not responsible for himself, and he is not liable under Sharia. It is therefore unlawful for him to become a Caliph or hold any post of authority for he is not responsible for his own actions let alone others. Evidence is also derived from the fact that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ rejected the Bay’ah of the child. Al-Bukhari narrated from ‘Abi Aqeel, Zahra ibn Ma’abed from his grandfather ‘Abdullah Ibnu Hisham (who was a child at the time of the Prophet ﷺ) His mother Zainab bint Humair … Continue reading Conditions of the Caliph: Will there be teenage Caliphs in a future Caliphate?