Author: islamciv

What is sharia?

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Islam is not a religion like Christianity which, “Renders unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s”.[1] There is no separation between religion and politics in Islam. All spheres of life, state and society are governed by Allah’s guidance in the form of the sharia (شَرِيعَة). Sharia comprises of all the rules (ahkam) derived from the legislative sources of Islam. These rules are not just limited to areas covering beliefs and morals, but rather the Islamic rules cover every action performed by an individual or state. Allah (Most High) says: فَرَّطْنَا فِي الْكِتَابِ مِن شَيْءٍ “Nothing have We omitted from the book”[2] Iyad Hilal says, “The linguistic meaning of the word Sharia is a non-exhaustive source of water with which people satisfy their thirst. Thus, the linguistic significance of Sharia is that the Islamic laws are effectively a source of guidance. As water is the fundamental basis of life, the Islamic laws are an essential source for guiding human life. Sharia is composed of all the laws derived from the legislative sources of …

Rhetorical Perceptions in Surah Al-‘Asr

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This is a translation from Dr Fadhel Saleh Al-Samarra’i’s لَمَسات بَيانِيَّة لِسُوَر القُرْآن الكَرِيم ‘Rhetorical Perceptions in the Surahs of the Holy Qur’an.’ Dr Fadhel (b.1933) is a former Professor of Literature at the College of Arabic Language at the University of Sharjah. His full biography can be read here. Surah Al-‘Asr وَٱلْعَصْرِ By the ˹passage of˺ time! إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ لَفِى خُسْرٍ Surely humanity is in ˹grave˺ loss, إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ except those who have faith, do good, and urge each other to the truth, and urge each other to perseverance. The Purpose of the Surah This Meccan surah is remarkably concise in wording yet profound in meaning. Imam al-Shafi’i said of this surah: “If Allah Almighty had revealed nothing else in the Quran but Surah al-‘Asr, it would have sufficed for humanity.” This is because Islam ultimately rests on four pillars: iman, righteous deeds, mutual exhortation to truth (التواصي بالحق) for the sake of upholding the deen on earth, and mutual exhortation to patience (التواصي بالصبر), since upholding the deen exposes …

War and Peace in Islam: Non-Muslims entering Muslim lands

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Continuing our series on War and Peace in Islam, some of the extreme Jihadi-Salafi groups in Iraq began killing Christians and destroying their churches, in a country which was the heartland of the Abbasid Caliphate for 511 years. ISIS went even further and started to enslave Yazidis, whose existence pre-dates Islam and who managed to survive 1300 years of caliphal rule. A few years of ISIS ‘rule’ however and they nearly became extinct. This is evidence enough that there is nothing Islamic about ISIS let alone its claim to the caliphate. Categories of non-Muslims entering Muslim lands There are four main categories of non-Muslims entering either a caliphate or Muslim country. These are: The Mu’ahid is a citizen of a foreign state with which the state has a treaty. The citizens of this state (mu’ahideen) can enter without a passport or visa if this is reciprocated to the citizens of the Muslim state.[15] The Must’amin is a citizen of a foreign state with which the Muslim country has no treaty. The citizens of these states can enter, but only …

Did Al-ʿAbbās spy in Makkah for the Islamic State in Medina?

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According to some historians Al-ʿAbbās remained in Makkah after his conversion to Islam in order to inform the Prophet ﷺ of the events in the city i.e. spying. Some may misconstrue this as an evidence to permit Muslim citizens of non-Islamic lands to spy for a future caliphate, even though this is a clear breach of their Aman (citizenship and residency status). Al-ʿAbbās ibn Abd al-Muttalib (May Allah be pleased with him) was the Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ uncle. When the Prophet ﷺ migrated to Medina to establish the Islamic State, Al-ʿAbbās remained behind in Makkah as he hadn’t converted to Islam at this point in time. Just before the Conquest of Makkah, he converted to Islam and made hijra to Medina as the final emigrant, giving him a high status among the sahaba compared to those who converted after the conquest. Allah (Most High) says, لَا يَسْتَوِى مِنكُم مَّنْ أَنفَقَ مِن قَبْلِ ٱلْفَتْحِ وَقَـٰتَلَ ۚ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ أَعْظَمُ دَرَجَةًۭ مِّنَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنفَقُوا۟ مِنۢ بَعْدُ وَقَـٰتَلُوا۟ Those of you who donated and fought before the victory ˹over …

War and Peace in Islam: Citizenship and residency visas

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Continuing our series on war and peace in Islam, there is confusion over the classical ‘covenant of security’ and when it applies and when it breaks. This will be continued over a number of articles as it’s a very important topic to be understood in light of the historical attrocities that have been committed in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries. Citizenship and residency visas are the modern equivalents of the classical sharia concept of Al-Amān (الأَمان) which are security covenants. Ahmed Al-Dawoody says, “Amān (literally, protection, safety) forms an essential part of the Islamic law of war.”[1] He continues, “Some contemporary Muslim scholars have likened this safe conduct status to the “passport” system. Indeed, this ancient safe conduct system is similar to the visa system in some respects. It is a temporary permission to stay in a foreign country and can be renewed after its expiry date.”[2] Fulfilling security covenants is a well-established rule, that was codified by the imams of the classical schools of thought and applied throughout Islamic history. While abuses, mistakes and collateral …

How is a caliphate divided up?

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A caliphate is essentially a group of emirates, states or provinces which are bound together by the bay’ah ruling contract with its ruler – the caliph. The Caliphate from its initial establishment after the death of the Prophet ﷺ under its first caliph Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq, had always been an ‘empire’ encompassing vast areas of land, and in later periods spanning multiple continents. In Islamic history the caliphate was broadly divided up into four levels of governance: Level Name Head 1st Level Province (ولاية  Wiliyah) Emirate (إِمَارَةِ)Sultanate (سَلْطَنَة) WaliAmirSultan 2nd Level District (عمالة  I’mala)   ‘AmilHakimAmir 3rd Level City (بَلَد  Balad)Fortified town (قصبة  Qasabah) AmirHakimRa’is 4th Level Neighbourhood (حَيّ  Hayy)[1] Tribe/Clan (قَبِيلَة Qabilah)[2] MuqaddamSheikhNaqib Administering such a huge state relied heavily on the local governors of the various provinces being loyal, competent and just in their positions. The logistical challenges of ancient communications meant it could take weeks or even months for the governors of Egypt, North Africa, and Khorasan to receive a letter from the caliph. The governor would therefore need to have a great deal of autonomy and authority to …

Shura on Government Appointments

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Shura is a principle of ruling Shura (consultation) is a key principle of the Islamic Ruling System and underpins all the institutions of the state. In order for the governors and mayors of the provinces and cities to be focussed on their citizens’ affairs and not their own personal interests, they need to be elected by the people they are ruling over. Ibn Atiyyah (d.1147CE) said that: الشورى من قواعد الشريعة وعزائم الأحكام، ومن لا يستشير أهل العلم والدين، فعزله واجب. هذا ما لا خلاف فيه، وقد مدح الله المؤمنين بقوله:  وَأَمْرُهُمْ شُورَى بَيْنَهُمْ “Shura is one of the principles of Sharia and the firmest of rulings, and whoever does not consult the people of knowledge and religion must be removed. This is something that is not disputed, and Allah praised the believers by saying: وَأَمْرُهُمْ شُورَى بَيْنَهُمْ ‘And their affairs are conducted by mutual consultation.’[1]”[2] Al-Zamakhshari (d.1143CE) explains the limits of shura in his explanation of the verse,وَشَاوِرْهُمْ فِي الْأَمْرِ “And consult them in the matter”[3] يعنى في أمر الحرب ونحوه مما لم ينزل عليك فيه وحي لتستظهر برأيهم “It …

Election of Amirs in the Prophet’s ﷺ State in Medina

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The 12 Naqibs The Aws and Khazraj tribes whom Islam united together as the Ansar (helpers), were sub-divided into various clans who managed their own administrative affairs as devolved ‘mini-provinces’. The chiefs of these clans were not appointed by the Prophet ﷺ, but rather ‘elected’ by the tribes themselves on his ﷺ orders. Ka’b ibn Malik narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said, أَخْرِجُوا إلَيَّ مِنْكُمْ اثْنَيْ عَشَرَ نَقِيبًا، لِيَكُونُوا عَلَى قَوْمِهِمْ بِمَا فِيهِمْ. فَأَخْرَجُوا مِنْهُمْ اثْنَيْ عَشَرَ نَقِيبًا، تِسْعَةً مِنْ الْخَزْرَجِ، وَثَلَاثَةً مِنْ الْأَوْسِ. أَسَمَاءُ النُّقَبَاءِ الِاثْنَيْ عَشَرَ وَتَمَامُ خَبَرِ الْعَقَبَةِ “Bring out to me from among you twelve chiefs (naqibs), so that they may be in charge of their people and what is in them.” So they brought out from among them twelve chiefs, nine from the Khazraj, and three from the Aws.[1] It is clear from the Sahifa and the command of the Prophet ﷺ: أَخْرِجُوا إلَيَّ مِنْكُمْ اثْنَيْ عَشَرَ نَقِيبًا، لِيَكُونُوا عَلَى قَوْمِهِمْ بِمَا فِيهِمْ “Bring out to me from among you twelve chiefs (naqibs), so that they may be in charge of their people …

Devolution in an Islamic State

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Devolution is the transfer or delegation of power to a lower level, especially by central government to a local or regional administration. This is different to a federal state where power is shared between states and the central (federal) government. In such a model, provinces have a constitutional right to disobey the central government, and execute their own policies and laws in certain (non-federal) areas. Therefore, in origin the caliphate is a unitary state with devolution and not a federal state even though the differences between the two are small. In the case of America’s federal model, it’s almost identical administratively to how a future caliphate would look i.e. a United States of Islam (USI). The Islamic State has a unitary executive, where in origin all executive ruling power is with the caliph. This power is transferred to the caliph from the ummah who are the source of authority (مَصْدَر السُلْطَة masdar al-sultah)[1] via the bay’ah contract. Muhammad Haykal says, “The sultah (authority) in Islam belongs to the Ummah and she passes it to the ruler in accordance to a contract …

Bay’ah through Domination

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The last way of appointing a caliph by the ummah is where a usurper or dominant sultan takes power by force. Since the ummah in origin has not consented to this dominant sultan then he cannot be a caliph and the bay’ah would be considered batil as one of its pillars (rukn) is missing. The bay’ah is a contract and must conform to the rules of contracts in Islam which is free choice and consent of both parties. If the ummah and her representatives decide to accept the legitimacy of this ruler, then the bay’ah will become legally convened. Ibn Hajar says, “The jurists have unanimously agreed that it is obligatory to obey the dominant sultan and jihad with him, and that obedience to him is better than revolting against him because of that of shedding blood and pacifying the masses.”[1] Such a situation has been permitted by the ‘ulema but it is an emergency situation and should not be the norm. If this occurred in a future Islamic state due to the removal of a corrupt caliph in a coup d’etat for instance, then elections …