Allah (Most High) has created men and women as equals in terms of their humanity but He has assigned them different psroles in this life. These roles are complementary which leads to harmony between the sexes and in society as a whole. يا أَيُّهَا النّاسُ إِنّا خَلَقناكُم مِن ذَكَرٍ وَأُنثىٰ وَجَعَلناكُم شُعوبًا وَقَبائِلَ لِتَعارَفوا ۚ إِنَّ أَكرَمَكُم عِندَ اللَّهِ أَتقاكُم ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَليمٌ خَبيرٌ Mankind! We created you from a male and female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you might come to know each other. The noblest among you in Allah’s sight is the one with the most taqwa. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware. (Al-Hujuraat, 49:13) One such role which has been restricted to men is that of ruling. This includes all ruling positions such as the Caliph, his Assistants and Governors but excludes judiciary and Majlis membership whose positions can be held by both men and women. This is not sexist or misogynistic but simply obedience to the Creator of men and women– Allah (Most High) who knows the best …

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّـهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ ۖ فَإِن تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى اللَّـهِ وَالرَّسُولِ إِن كُنتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّـهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَحْسَنُ تَأْوِيلًا “O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is the best [way] and best in result.” (An-Nisaa, 4:59) 1. أَطِيعُوا اللَّـهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ ‘obey Allah and obey the Messenger’: After the command ‘obey Allah’ this verse has repeated the command ‘obey’ when referring to obedience to the Messenger ﷺ. This is to signify the centrality of the Sunnah as a source of legislation in addition to the Qur’an. Therefore, Muslims are obliged absolutely to take the Qur’an and the Sunnah as the only sources of legislation. 2. وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ ‘and those in authority among you’: It is interesting to note that the command to ‘obey’ was not repeated with ‘those …

Executive powers of the Caliph The executive branch of government is responsible for the day-to-day management of the state. Islam does not believe in collective ruling where the executive powers are shared among a cabinet of ministers. In parliamentary democracy the Prime Minister is ‘first among equals’, having limited powers of interference in his cabinet minister’s departments. Sharing executive power among government ministers with separate portfolios (departments) leads to immense bureaucracy and lengthy delays in resolutions to problems. It also leads to political infighting and rivalry between government departments. Normally the head of the treasury emerges as the second most powerful minister since he must approve the budgets for all other departments which he can use to wield political influence. Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s fractious relationship in the UK is an example of this. In the Caliphate all executive powers are held with the Caliph. Although he will appoint Assistant Caliphs (Mu’awin ut-Tafweed) to manage various areas of the state, these Assistants are not independent but rather under the supervision and responsibility of the …

In answer to this there are two factors that need to be considered for someone to be suitable for a ruling position in the Caliphate – capability and strength of ideology. Capability to Rule Capability in carrying out the task of ruling is an explicit shar’i (Iegal) condition for the Caliph, Assistants (mu’awinoon) and the governors (wulah). This ruling capability is manifested in certain traits that will enable the person to fulfil the responsibilities of office and manage the affairs of state. These traits are strength of personality, consciousness of Allah (taqwa), kindness and that he should not be one who causes aversion. Muslim narrated from Abu Dharr who said: “I said: O Messenger of Allah, will you not appoint me as a governor/ruler? He ﷺ struck my shoulder with his hand then said: “O Abu Dharr, you are weak and it is a trust (amanah). On the Day of Judgement it will be a disgrace and regret except for the one who took it by its right and fulfilled his duty in it.” Strength of personality means …

In most Muslim countries today the ruler and his extended family are some of the wealthiest individuals in the nation and in some instances even the world. According to the official 2006 Forbes rich list of world leaders, the top three richest leaders are in Muslim countries.

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 …

There is no dispute that the burial of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, the best man who ever lived and greatest of all the prophets, was delayed. However, confusion may arise over the reasons for this delay and how to view the Sahabah’s actions who collectively consented to this delay. When answering this question it’s important we base our answer on textual evidence and not cite reasons from our minds. How long was the burial delayed? Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ died on Monday and was buried on Tuesday and people prayed over him individually with no one leading them. Some people said that he would be buried near the mimbar, and others said that he would be buried in al-Baqi. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq came and said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, ‘No prophet was ever buried except in the place where he died.’” So a grave was dug for him there. When he was about to be washed they wished to take off his shirt but they heard a voice …