As the Islamic State of the Prophet ﷺ expanded, new officials of state were appointed to manage the ever-growing tasks especially in the new provinces. Once Yemen had joined the state under Bādhān ibn Sāsān, the Prophet ﷺ appointed separate judges to the province notably Ali ibn Abi Talib and Mua’th ibn Jabal. The judiciary was therefore a centralised institution in the time of the Prophet ﷺ, a situation which continued throughout the time of the Rightly Guided Caliphs and beyond although sometimes this was devolved to the governor if he was qualified. Al-Sallabi says, “Among these [governors] were some whom ‘Umar [ibn a-Khattab] kept as judges as well as appointing them as governors, as he did with Mu‘awiyah, and some from whom he took away the role of judge and limited them to their role as governor, as he did with al-Mugheerah and Abu Moosa al-Ash‘ari.”[1] This appointment of judges by the central government does not mean judicial independence was absent from the state. Sovereignty in an Islamic State is to the sharia, so …

The Islamic ruling system is underpinned by a number of principles (القَواعِد) which are derived from the Qur’an and Sunnah. These principles will map to one or more formal institutions (أَجْهِزَة) within the state which are necessary to meet the demands of a society in a specific time and place. 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] What is the Wiliyat Al-Mazalim? One of the principles of the Islamic ruling system is “Removing Maẓālim” (plural: مَظالِم singular: مَظْلِمَة) which literally means removing oppression but in its istilahiyya (technical) meaning refers to removal of state oppression. The principle is shortened in the literature …

This is an excerpt from the book ‘Citizenship and Accountability of Government: An Islamic Perspective’ by Mohammad Hashim Kamali. The maẓālim jurisdiction, which has already been discussed to some extent, originated in the notion that the principle of the rule of law can be compromised if the judges themselves, princes, ministers and powerful members of the community tried to circumvent the law, or violate and defy it for their selfish ends, in which case the Shari’ah courts may be powerless to bring them and their departments to book and enforce the court decisions on them. The need was therefore felt for the creation of a powerful jurisdiction that could apply more expedient procedures in the interest of accountability in government, especially with regard to disputes arising between the citizen and state. One of the basic objectives of the maẓālim jurisdiction was to subjugate the government itself to the rule of law and ensure that state organisations and men of authority and influence did not compromise the objectivity of justice and accountability in governance. Al-Rifa’i has …

Introduction The Caliphate has an independent supreme court called the Court of Unjust Acts (Mahkamat ul-Mazalim) also known as the Diwan al-Maẓālim. It is presided over by the most eminent and qualified judges in the state and granted extensive judicial powers and some executive powers by the shari’a. It has the power to investigate any official in the state regardless of their role or rank including the Caliph himself. If the only way to remove the mazlama (injustice or wrongdoing) is through removal of the official or ruler, then the Mazalim Court can issue a fatwa of impeachment against that officer of the state. What follows is an excerpt from Abu l-Hasan al-Mawardi’s famous work Al-Ahkam as-Sultaniyah (The Laws of Islamic Governance), which became the de facto guide on how to run an Islamic government and was referred to by the ulema and rulers of the Abbasid caliphate, Sejjuk Sultanate and future sultanates and emirates including the Ottoman Caliphate. The Courtroom Al-Mawardi says, “When the person charged with investigating cases of wrongdoing (Mazalim judge) takes …

There is no dispute among the classical scholars that it’s prohibited for a woman to hold a ruling position such as the Khaleefah or a waali (governor), although she can hold any other non-ruling governmental position, and be an active member of the Majlis al-Nuwaab (House of Representatives). This is based on the hadith narrated by Abi Bakra, that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was informed that the Persians had crowned the daughter of Chosroes as their ruler, he ﷺ said,

BY TAJI MUSTAFA Pardon criminals? Obama and Clinton did it. Yes, Trump is doing it. There is a way to commit the ‘perfect crime’ in America. No it’s not to kill, rape or murder and not get caught. It’s OK to get caught, just make sure you know a president who can pardon you afterwards or commute your sentence.

These are extracts from the book “Accountability in the Caliphate” by AK Newell. It should be noted that the Caliphate is an ideological Islamic State. This means all elements of the state work towards achieving Islamic objectives not material objectives. Before any of the state accountability mechanisms take effect the Caliph is restrained by his Islamic belief and taqwa. Secular democracy emanates from the belief that religion should be kept separate from politics. The ruler in a democratic system is therefore not restrained from tyranny by fearing God or divine accountability. With this fundamental aspect of accountability missing i.e. consciousness of God (taqwa) the ruler in a democratic system is prone to tyranny if he isn’t restrained by the mechanisms of government.

Sheikh Abu Iyas Mahmoud bin Abdul Latif al-Uweida from Jordan answers this question. He says, There are no clerics in Islam like those found in Judaism and Christianity. Every Muslim is commanded to carry the call of Islam, spread it, guard it, and abide by its rules. The ulema (scholars) and fuquhaa (jurists) are only there to teach people about Islam. They have no religious powers like those of the Jewish and Christian clergy, such as accepting the repentance of penitents, granting forgiveness, baptizing followers, legislating, and so on.

This is an extract from the book Al-Jihad wa’l Qital fi as-Siyasa ash-Shar’iyya by Sheikh Muhammad Khayr Haykal, chapter ‘The Sixth Study: Al‐Qitaal against the deviation of the ruler.’