All posts filed under: Caliphate

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 …

4 ways of appointing a caliph

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Dr. Wahbah Az-Zuhaili (d.2015) mentions four ways of appointing a caliph. He says, “The Fuqaha’ of Islam have mentioned four ways in respect to the manner of appointing the highest ruler for the state and these are: We will see that the correct Islamic method, in accordance with the principle of Shura and the principle of collective obligations, is one method, which is the bay’ah of the Ahlul hali wal-aqd, and the inclusion of the ummah’s approval of his (caliph) choice. As for anything other than that, its basis is weak due to arbitrary interpretation of texts, or reliance on weak texts and personal whims, or approval of an existing reality that Muslims did not find wisdom or interest in revolting against, or eliminating its existence to stop the bloodshed and prevent chaos, and taking into account external circumstances, or fear of the ferocity of the one holding power that came to him through illegitimate means such as inheritance and the like.”[2] Shaykh Khudari Bak (d.1927) in a similar manner lists the same ways of appointing an Imam as Wahbah Az-Zuhaili, with the …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

What is an Islamic Society?

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Society is defined as “a large group of people who live together in an organized way, making decisions about how to do things and sharing the work that needs to be done. All the people in a country, or in several similar countries, can be referred to as a society.”[1] The concept of society (مُجْتَمَع) is intrinsically linked to the discussion of authority, because it’s the authority and government which plays the greatest role in shaping and controlling society. The Ottoman historian Tursun Beg (d.1499) said, “With the pen of scribes, the ruler turns the noble into a wretched, and the wretched into a noble…with the sword of executioners he takes lives. As such he manifests the attributes of the Necessary Existent as if he shares the sultanate with Him except that the ruler of the world is a mortal.”[2] The source of authority (masdar al-sultah) is based on societal concepts which are in turn based on the Islamic ‘aqeeda which forms a distinct viewpoint of life, and which influences the type of authority that is established. This is why …