All posts filed under: Featured

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 …

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 …

The Ummah’s Political Representatives (Ahlul hali wal-aqd)?

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What is the Ahlul hali wal-aqd? The sharia texts related to the bay’ah are ‘aam (general) in their address by use of the relative pronoun مَنْ which translates as whoever.[1] They therefore include the entire Muslim ummah, which is why we say the source of authority in origin is with the ummah. This is seen in numerous ahadith on the bay’ah: مَنْ كَرِهَ مِنْ أَمِيرِهِ “Whoever sees in his Ameer…”[2] مَنْ خَرَجَ مِنَ الطَّاعَةِ “Whoever withdraws obedience (to the Ameer)…”[3] مَنْ بَايَعَ إِمَامًا “Whoever gave bay’ah to an Imam…”[4] مَنْ مَاتَ وَلَيْسَ فِي عُنُقِهِ بَيْعَةٌ “Whoever dies while having no bay’ah on his neck…”[5] When it comes to exercising that authority however, a problem arises because the bay’ah is a contract of one-to-millions i.e. between the caliph and the Muslim ummah. This is different to other Islamic contracts which are one-to-one such as buying, selling and marriage. This poses a challenge on how you get the consent of millions of people which is a condition in Islamic contracts. Historically it was not possible for every Muslim to participate in the election of the Imam, which is why in the rightly guided caliphate of …

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 …