One of the principles of the Islamic ruling system, and a mark of a rightly guided caliphate is shura (شُورَىٰ). In Arabic “The pivotal meaning [of shura] is to extract what something contains of goodness or suitable, strong effect. Like honey in the waqba[1] or the hive, it is extracted from it, and like camels containing fat and the appearance of that fat on them, and like the well containing water to water the crops so they grow, and like feeding the fire with fuel so its flame rises and appears. This rise and appearance is from the door of exit.”[2] Umar bin Al-Khattab informed the senior sahaba in a khutbah (sermon) during his caliphate: فَمَنْ بَايَعَ رَجُلاً عَلَى غَيْرِ مَشُورَةٍ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ فَلاَ يُتَابَعُ هُوَ وَلاَ الَّذِي بَايَعَهُ تَغِرَّةً أَنْ يُقْتَلاَ‏‏ “So, if any person gives the bay’ah to somebody without consulting (shura) the other Muslims, then the one he has selected should not be granted allegiance, lest both of them should be killed[3].”[4] Muhammad Haykal comments on this hadith, “The sahaba listened to this speech and none spoke out against what was said. Consequently, …

State and authority in Islam is not an end in itself, but a means to an end which is to establish justice so that people can freely worship Allah, fulfil His obligations and refrain from His prohibitions. Allah ta’ala says, لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا بِٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِ وَأَنزَلْنَا مَعَهُمُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلْمِيزَانَ لِيَقُومَ ٱلنَّاسُ بِٱلْقِسْطِ “We sent Our messengers with clear signs, the Scripture and the Balance, so that people could uphold justice.”[1] Ibn Ashur (d.1973) explains the meaning of balance (مِيزان) here as “conveying the command to be just (العَدْل) among people. The balance (مِيزان) is a metaphor for justice among people in distributing their rights, as one of the requirements of the balance is the presence of two parties whose equivalence is to be ascertained. Allah ta’ala says, وإذا حَكَمْتُمْ بَيْنَ النّاسِ أنْ تَحْكُمُوا بِالعَدْلِ ‘And when you judge between people, judge with justice.’ [An-Nisa’: 58]”[2] Aisha Bewley says, “In fiqh, the principal function of government is to enable the individual Muslim to practise the deen and fulfill his obligations to Allah – which, of course, also entails certain …

Assessing the maslaha (benefit) and mafsadah (harm) within the sphere of siyasa sharia is not an exact science. Every time and place needs to be assessed by highly skilled statesmen like the Prophet ﷺ, Rightly Guided Caliphs and those who follow in their footsteps, who can navigate these tumultuous waters. There are many options open to a Muslim ruler who is sincere in their attempts to implement Islam. Israr Ahmed (d.2010) says, “Since we cannot recreate as such the Islamic Order as it functioned during the age of the Rightly Guided Caliphate, we must adopt the following principle: we should take the principles and ideals from the model of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and the Rightly Guided Caliphs (RAA), and then incorporate these principles and ideals in the political institutions that have been developed in the contemporary civilized world as a result of the process of social evolution.”[1] Muhammad Haykal outlines a possible scenario for unification of the Muslim world once a caliphate has been established. He says, “When this Khilafah state is established via the bay’ah of the Muslims of a particular …

Loyalty to the Caliph is through the Bay’ah The bay’ah contract which is the citizenship contract between the Muslims and the caliph contains explicit words of loyalty and obedience to the head of state. Ubada ibn Al-Samit said: بَايَعْنَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَلَى السَّمْعِ وَالطَّاعَةِ فِي الْمَنْشَطِ وَالْمَكْرَهِ‏.‏ ‏‏وَأَنْ لاَ نُنَازِعَ الأَمْرَ أَهْلَهُ، وَأَنْ نَقُومَ ـ أَوْ نَقُولَ ـ بِالْحَقِّ حَيْثُمَا كُنَّا لاَ نَخَافُ فِي اللَّهِ لَوْمَةَ لاَئِمٍ ‏‏‏  “We gave the bayah to Allah’s Messenger that we would listen and obey him both at the time when we were active and at the time when we were tired, and that we would not fight against the ruler or disobey him, and would stand firm for the truth or say the truth wherever we might be, and in the Way of Allah we would not be afraid of the blame of the blamers.”[1] Every citizen, including all the governors are bound first and foremost by the bay’ah. When the Islamic ideology is strong within the ummah and its governing bodies, then this should be the basis of …

The caliph’s appointment of governors is through a contract of appointment (عَقْد تَقْلِيد ‘aqd taqleed) which does not end with the death or removal of the caliph. It continues, and the new caliph will decide whether to renew the contract and keep the governors in place or appoint new governors. Abu Bakr for example, kept the same governors as the Prophet ﷺ had appointed, but Umar when he became caliph changed the governors and appointed new ones. During the volatile period after the death of Mu’awiya ibn Yazid, the people of Iraq and Khorasan actually elected new governors until a caliph had been chosen. This is based on the hadith, where the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, وَلَا يَحِلُّ لِثَلَاثَةِ نَفَرٍ يَكُونُونَ بِأَرْضِ فَلَاةٍ إِلَّا أَمَّرُوا عَلَيْهِمْ أَحَدَهُمْ “It is not permissible for three people to be in an open country (desert) without appointing one of them as their Amir.”[1] Summary of Elected Amirs Province Elected Amir Damascus al-Dahhak bin Qays al-Fihri Basra 1. Ubaydallah ibn Ziyad2. Abd al-Malik bin Abdallah bin Amir3. Abdallah bin …

In the time of Abu Bakr and Umar the people trusted their opinion over their own, so there was no real requirement to consult the ordinary people of a province on who their governor should be. We can see this in the selection process for the next caliph where the Ahlul hali wal-aqd[1] (senior sahaba) said to Abu Bakr: “O Caliph of the Messenger Allah, your opinion is our opinion (i.e., appoint your successor for us).” He said, “Then give me some time, so that I can see what is best in the view of Allah and what is best for His religion and His slaves.”[2] Similarly, when Umar was stabbed and his death was imminent, the Ahlul hali wal-aqd came and asked him to nominate a successor as Abu Bakr had done for him. Umar couldn’t come to a decision so he appointed a council of six candidates who were all from the 10 promised jannah to meet after his death and appoint a caliph.  Near the end of Uthman’s caliphate and the loss of many senior sahaba, discontent and …

The sunnah consists of the speech, actions and consent of the Prophet ﷺ. It is a fundamental source of Islamic Law (sharia) from which we guide our actions.[1] The sunnah is not just restricted to ‘ibadat (worships) but covers all aspects of life, state and society. Allah ta’ala says, وَمَآ ءَاتَىٰكُمُ ٱلرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَىٰكُمْ عَنْهُ فَٱنتَهُوا۟ “Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it. And whatever he forbids you from, leave it.”[2] The relative pronoun (مَا) is ‘aam (general) and means “whatever” so we do not restrict the sunnah to one sphere of life only. Today siyasa sharia (Islamic politics) is a neglected sunnah and an area which requires greater scrutiny and study to guide us through the maze of modern political life. In regards to the Islamic ruling system, the speech and actions of the Prophet ﷺ in Medina related to government are a divine evidence (شَرْع دَلِيل  shara’ daleel) for us to follow. The 12 Naqibs When the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ first established the state in Medina, the existing tribal structure was used to administer the state. The Aws …

The devolving of the ruler’s executive powers to the provinces while keeping others with the central government, has its origins in the first Islamic State of the Prophet ﷺ. We already mentioned the Sahifa and the ‘election’ of 12 Naqibs who managed the subtribes of the Ansar as mini-provinces. The Sahifa “mentioned 40 subtribes or clans by name, and stated that each tribe will carry the responsibilities of its members; they will oversee their own blood-money disputes, prisoners of war, and the poor and needy.”[1] This is one evidence. As the state expanded most notably to Yemen, after the former Persian governor Bādhān ibn Sāsān embraced Islam, he ﷺ appointed separate judges and new governors of the districts. Ali ibn Abi Talib was appointed as Qadi (judge) for Yemen. It was narrated that ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib said: عَنْ عَلِيٍّ، رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ بَعَثَنِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِلَى الْيَمَنِ فَقُلْتُ إِنَّكَ تَبْعَثُنِي إِلَى قَوْمٍ وَهُمْ أَسَنُّ مِنِّي لِأَقْضِيَ بَيْنَهُمْ فَقَالَ اذْهَبْ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ سَيَهْدِي قَلْبَكَ وَيُثَبِّتُ لِسَانَكَ “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent me to …

Islamic Society is Devolved The Islamic state is not a communist state where the regime is in control over all aspects of social, political and economic life. The governing authority in Islam certainly plays a major role in society, but it does not intrude into the individual and family affairs of people unless people are facing abuse and harm in these spheres and need protection. In essence an Islamic society is already devolved in terms of its responsibilities. The family plays a pivotal role in looking after its members both young and old, not just in terms of financial support but also with regards the children, educating them and bringing them up to be functioning members of the society. Communities and neighbourhoods are simply a collection of families and so will manage their affairs in a similar manner. The Islamic charitable endowment known as Waqf where an individual or institution permanently donates assets, such as land or money, for religious, charitable, or social purposes to benefit the community, meant that many local projects such as new mosques, …

Devolved Powers of the Provinces Al-Mawardi says, “If the caliph appoints an amir over a district (إِقْلِيم  iqleem) or a town(بَلَد balad), his emirate may be one of two kinds, either general (عامَّة ‘amma) or particular (خاصَّة khassa).”[1] A general emirate is one where the governor has full devolved powers over all aspects of his province including the army[2], finance, judiciary, education and so on. This type of governor is known as a (والِي عامّ) Wali ‘Amm. This is a decentralised model and in Al-Mawardi’s structure where he assigns devolved powers to the military, is more akin to a confederation than a unitary state. In the general emirates of the Prophet ﷺ and the Rightly Guided Caliphs, the provinces never had powers over the army independent of the commander-in-chief i.e. the head of state. A governor can also be appointed with limited devolved powers over his province while the central caliphate government controls the rest. Historically, separate judges, finance officials, police chiefs and teachers were appointed over some of the provinces at the discretion of …