If
we look to the real conditions of Imaamah that are established
by evidence from the Quran and Sunnah and sound rational deduction
we can see how these true conditions serve the objectives of
the shari’ah and the objectives of Imaamah as opposed
to the false conditions that are not supported by divine text
and contradict rational proof. Below is a list of the conditions
of Imaamah:-1 Muslim
“…Never will Allah allow the kaafiroon to
have a sabeel over the mu’minoon” (an Nisa 4:141)
“O you who believe! Obey Allah obey the messenger and
those in authority amongst you” (an Nisaa’
4:60)2 Mature
Mukallaf (sane, mature) Nabi (saw) was reported by A’li
to have said “The pen is lifted for three –
one who sleeps till he awakes, a child till he becomes mature
and an insane person till he gains his sanity” (ABU DAWOOD kitabul Hudood, AHMAD, NASAA’I, IBN MAAJAH
and graded ‘saheeh’ according to AL HAAKIM as reported
by IBN HAJR AL ASQALAANI in ‘Bulooghul Maraam min Adillatul
Ahkaam’ [kitaabun Nikaah no.927]) Abdullah Ibnu Hisham
said "My mother took me to Rasool Allah (saw) in order
to give him bayah. He (saw) wiped my head and said "He
is a child" and made du'a for me". (BUKHAARI)3 Sane
Nabi (saw) was reported by A’li to have said “The
pen is lifted for three – one who sleeps till he awakes,
a child till he becomes mature and an insane person till he
gains his sanity” (ABU DAWOOD kitabul Hudood,
AHMAD, NASAA’I, IBN MAAJAH and graded ‘saheeh’
according to AL HAAKIM as reported by IBN HAJR AL ASQALAANI
in ‘Bulooghul Maraam min Adillatul Ahkaam’ [kitaabun
Nikaah no.927])4 Free
The Imaam is an authority over the whole ummah and his is necessarily
excluding the slave as he is under the complete control of his
owner.
5 Just /trustworthy
• Allah (swt) says "...And
take for witnesses two just persons from among you..." [at Talaq 65:2] When we look to this ayah we can see that the
condition of the witness is that he is just and not a faasiq.
There can be no way that the justice of shari’ah can be
actualised when the true circumstances are deliberately misrepresented
by liars and false reports, this is because the shari’ah
is a judgement upon the true circumstances and thus it is dependent
upon an accurate conveyance of the details being judged. If
this is the case with the witnesses then what is the case with
the one who is making the judgement? What is the benefit of
establishing a true reporting of events if we allow that an
untrustworthy person can actually make the judgement itself?
Indeed the judge himself must be a just witness to the hukm
just like a witness must convey the truthful circumstances that
are to be judged. At the root of all this is the Imaam as he
is the one who appoints the judges and from Usoolul fiqh the
principle is that the root is not outweighed by the branch.
i.e. The branch of just judges be broken by the one who appoints
them being corrupt.
•
Allah (swt) says “When you judge between people
then do so with justice” (an Nisaa’ 4:58)
It is obligatory to judge with justice and as we have said the
root of judgement is the Imaam who has the ultimate decision
in the affairs of the deen and the dunya and is the one who
appoints the judges and has ultimate authority in deciding the
discretionary punishments [ta’zeer]. Also it can be said
that those who appoint the Imaam must also make the just judgement
when deciding who is to be appointed as Imaam.
•
Allah (swt) says “Verily We have sent down to
you the Book with the truth so that you can judge between the
people by that which Allah has shown you and do not plead for
those who are treacherous [khaseeman]” (an Nisaa’
4:105) This verse is important because it links the objectives
[maqaasid] of wahi with the just judgement and not the assistance
of injustice and falsehood as the verse clerly prohibits this.
Note this verse also proves that an attribute of the naboowah
of Nabi (saw) was that he was a judge [haakim] etween people.
•
Allah (swt) says “Be just for Allah loves those
who are just [muqsiteen]” (al Hujuraat 49:9)
•
“And (remember) when the Lord of Ibraheem tried him with
commands, which he fulfilled. He (Allah) said (to him) ‘Verily,
I am going to make you an Imaam [leader] for people’ (Ibraheem)
said ‘And of my offspring’ (Allah) said ‘My
covenant includes not zaalimoon’.” (al
Baqarah 2:124)
•
I’yaad bin Himaar reports Nabi (saw) “…The
inmates of paradise will be of three kinds sultaanin muqsit
mutasaddiq muwaffaq (the one in authority who is just, truthful
and given success to do good), and a person full of mercy and
tender hearted towards his relatives and Muslims and a pious
self restraining person having a family….” (MUSLIM kitaabul Jannah wa Sifaat naa’imaha wa ahliha
[no.6853])
•
Abu Sa’eed al Khudri reports that Nabi (saw) said “
The most beloved person to Allah and the closest to Him on Yawmil
Qiyaamah is a just leader {Imaamun A’adilun] and the most
hated person to Allah and the furthest from Him on Yawmil Qiyaamah
is the tyrant leader [Imaamun Jaa’irun]” (TIRMIDHI)
•
Abu Hurayrah reports Nabi (saw) “Seven will be shaded on the Day when there will be no
shade except His Shade - Imaamun Aa’dilan [just leader]…” (MAALIK, BUKHAARI, MUSLIM)
• Abu Dharr
narrated ‘I said to the Prophet (peace be upon him): ‘Messenger
of Allah, will you not appoint me to a public office?’
He stroked my shoulder with his hand and said: “AbuDharr,
thou art weak and authority is a trust, and on the Day of Judgment
it is a cause of humiliation and repentance except for one who
fulfils its obligations and (properly) discharges the duties
attendant thereon.”’ (MUSLIM Kitaabul Imaarah
[no.4491])• Thawbaan reports that Rasool Allah (saw) said “The
earth was contracted for me until I saw its East and its West
and I was given two treasures al Asfar (or al Ahmar) and al
Abayd (i.e. gold and silver) and I was told your dominion (Mulk)
is to extend to that which the earth was contracted for you’
And I begged Allah a’zza wa jall three times not to make
hunger dominate over my ummah and not to destroy them altogether
by it, not to bring about schism (shee’an) among them
and cause them to taste the fighting of one another’ It
was said to me ‘When I pass judgement it is irresistible
and irrevocable and verily I will not dominate a famine over
your ummah that should destroy them and I will not muster (their
enemies) from all directions of the earth against them till
some of you will fight with others and some of them will kill
one another. And when the swords will be drawn out in my people
they will never be removed from them until Yawmil Qiyaamah and
that which I fear most upon my ummah are the misguiding Imaams
(aa’immatan mudilleen) and certain tribes of my ummah
will join with the mushrikeen (and follow them) and near the
Last Hour about thirty about thirty liars and dajjals will appear
everyone of them claiming to be a prophet and there will not
cease to be a taai’fah from my ummah upon the truth, supported
(mansooreen). They will not be harmed by those who oppose (khaalafahum)
them until there comes the command of Allah a’zza wa jall.” Abu’l Hasan said ‘When Abu A’bdullah
completed this hadeeth he said ‘How horrible is this’
(IBN MAAJAH kitaabul Fitan [no.3952]) This hadeeth supports
the attribute of justice as it says “…and
that which I fear most upon my ummah are the misguiding Imaams
(aa’immatan mudilleen)…”We
see by way of mafhoom mukhalafah [impliction of opposite meaning]
that the just Imaam is promised a great reward of paradise whereas
the Imaam who is oppressive is not guaranteed such a matter
but rather the ahdeeth mention that he is accountable for that
and will be punished. However, when we come to the issue of
the conditions at the time of appointment, then this is not
the same as the shari’ah treatment of the Imaam who has
already been in place. The role of Imaamah is to guard the deen
and govern the affairs of the Muslims according to Islam and
thus if a corrupt [faasiq] person was appointed then this would
contradict the very objectives of Imaamah as the objective is
an Islamic leadership and not simply any leadership. Another
matter is that considering the great punishment associated with
oppressive leadership then it is not allowed to overburden a
fellow Muslim who is not capable of justice as this would be
like sending him to his own punishment and destruction and thus
we see that even Nabi (saw) prohibited Imaarah even for those
sahaabah who were not corrupt but regarded as unsuitable for
the task of leadership e.g. Abu Dhar reports Nabi (saw) “Abu Dhar I find that you are weak and I like for you
what I like for myself. Do not rule over two people and do not
manage the property of an orphan.” (MUSLIM kitaabul
Imaarah [no.4492])6
Male
Allah (swt) says, “The men have authority over
the women due to the excellence which Allah has given to the
man over the women and due to the wealth that they spend upon
them.” (an Nisa 4:34) “Men have
a degree over women” (al Baqarah 2:228) and due
to the Husbands authority over the wife “If I
were to order anyone to prostrate to other than Allah, I would
have ordered the woman to prostrate before her husband. By Him
in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, the woman will not fulfil
the rights of her Lord until she fulfils the rights of her husband,
and even if he were to request her for herself (i.e. intercourse)
whilst she was sitting upon a camel’s saddle she should
not refuse him.” (IBN MAAJAH [no.1853] IBN HIBBAAN
[6/186] AHMAD [4/381] from A’bdullah ibn Awfaa) “Every soul from the children of Adam is a master, so
the man is the master of his family and the woman is the mistress
of her household” (IBN AS SUNNI) Abu Bakra reported
that Nabi (saw) said “A people will never be successful
who appoint a woman as their amir (ruler)” (BUKHAARI
Eng/Arabic [vol.9 no.219] as in Bulooghul Maraam of IBN HAJR
[no.1197])7
Able
The ability of the Imaam is with regards to his ability to view
the situation of the ummah and the ability of the Imaam to command
the ummah. This proven by the fact that the Imaam was always
described as one commanding [amr] and one who is listened to
and obeyed, and by necessity this means the fundamental element
of Imaamah is the issuing of commands by the Imaam and the receiving
of those commands by the ummah. This is not the physical ability
to force people according to the presence of darul Islam but
rather it refers to the Imaams individual position. This is
because the whole nature of Imaamah is that it is based upon
listening and obeying to the commands of the Imaam who makes
the decision for the ummah. For him to make the decisions he
must be able to know the situation or receive the information
from some method by which the information is not distorted.
This requires sound senses (seeing, hearing etc) however u’lemaa’
differed on what constitutes this disability due to the ability
of a blind man to hear and speak and be aided and also due to
the deaf mans ability to see and speak and write etc. However
if all of these senses were absent or hindered to the extent
that information could not be received and understood then the
u’lemaa agreed that this would invalidate the Imaamah.
Also the Imaam must be able to issue commands, this also requires
sound senses such as speech, however some u’lemaa’
may have made a concession due to the ability to write, however
most would agree that this is not adequate due to emergency
and the possibility of lack of writing resources et cetera in
different situations.
“No blame is there on the blind nor is there blame
on the lame nor on one ill (if he joins not the war): but he
that obeys Allah and His Apostle (Allah) will admit him to Gardens
beneath which rivers flow; and he who turns back (Allah) will
punish him with a grievous Penalty.” (al Fath
48:17) From this ayah we see that the lame and the blind were
not obligated with jihaad and this indicates the invalidity
of Imaamah for the one possessing similar attributes due to
the fact that the Imaam is the one responsible for all collective
affairs of the ummah and the Imaam is the ameer of the jihaad,
whether defensive or offensive. Another prevention on ability
that is specific to the individual is that of capture by the
enemy and if the Imaam could not be rescued then the Imaamah
would become invalid due to him being unable to view the situation
of the ummah and being unable to command the ummah. We see that
in both of these two preventions to ability, there is benefit
in nullifying the Imaamah because the Imaam can not command
the Ummah so this is solved by appointing a new Imaam. As for
what some of the later people have confused with this then they
erred in making the ability of the individual synonymous with
the ability of the whole ummah due to the common situation of
absence of darul Islam. In the case of the absence of darul
Islam and power, then this has nothing to do with the individual
Imaam but rather it is the common situation which all people
are subject to. If the Imaam in this position was removed it
would achieve nothing. The objective of the conditions is that
if someone fails to meet them then they are to be removed and
replaced with the person that does fulfil the conditions. The
removal of the Imaam in the case of absence of power, when this
is due to the situation and not due to his own personal inability
(such as capture or lack of senses), is not the solution to
the problem. It would not bring about the implementation of
the deen nor would it bring about the objectives and functions
of Imaamah but it would only hinder these objectives. The correct
solution would be to continue with Imaamah and to maintain the
unity and the organisation of the ummah and this would provide
a basis for recovery. The ummah could then work fully and co-operate
under the command of the Imaam to bring about the necessary
power through seeking nussrah or building their own nussrah
or by other means that are halaal. This clarifies the error
of those who have confused ability due to the situation with
the ability of the individual due to matters that are specific
to him and not existing in others. It is very clear that imposing
disunity and leaderlessness on the Muslim ummah in the stage
of weakness does not help them bring about strength but it would
be a major obstacle, and it would only add to their problems
and Allah does not command the Muslims to weaken their situation
but Allah commands the Muslims to be strong and to facilitate
the means for the ummah to be dominant “…He
has chosen you and has not laid upon you in the deen any hardship…” (al Hajj 22:78) How can any person of the slightest insight
and intellect believe that Allah commanded us to be unified
while at the same time commanding us to achieve this on the
basis of disunity? Allah does not command the impossible and
Allah does not put upon us a burden greater than we can bear,
Allah (swt) says “Allah burdens not a soul beyond
his capability…” (al Baqarah 2:286) Allah
(swt) never commands the Muslims with a matter whose fulfilment
has been made impossible by its own method of implementation.
Rather, for every command Allah provided a method and that method
was in harmony with the command, and Allah (swt) says “Allah has sent down the most beautiful speech in the
form of a Book consistent with itself…” (az
Zumar 39:23) 8 Qurayshi
The condition of the Imaam being Quraysh is not based on one
hadeeth but it is based on several ahadeeth:-
No.1 Abu Hurayrah reported that Nabi (saw) said “People
are subservient to Quraysh, the Muslims among them being subservient
to the Muslims among them and the disbelievers being subservient
to the disbelievers among them.” (MUSLIM kitaabul
Imaarah [no.4473])No.2
Jabir bin A’bdullah reported that Nabi (saw) said “People are followers of Quraysh in good (Islam) as well
as evil (kufr)” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4475])No.3
A’bdullah reported that nabi (saw) said “This
affair will remain among the Quraysh even if there are only
two people left.” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4476])No.4
Ibn U’mar reported that Nabi (saw) said “This
affair will remain in Quraysh even if there are only two of
them remaining.” (BUKHAARI Eng/Arabic vol.9 no.254])No.5
Muaawiyah reports Nabi (saw) “This affair will
remain in Quraysh. None will rebel against them except that
Allah will throw him down on his face, as long as they establish
the deen.” (BUKHAARI [Eng. Vers. Vol 9. 190,
253]) No.6
Anaas bin Maalik reported that Nabi (saw) said “The
Imaams are from Quraysh…” (AHMAD [3/129]
NASAA’I)No.7
Abu Hurayrah reported that Nabi (saw) said, "The
tribe of Quraish has precedence over the people in this connection
(i.e the right of ruling). The Muslims follow the Muslims amongst
them, and the infidels follow the infidels amongst them. People
are of different natures: The best amongst them in the pre-Islamic
period are the best in Islam provided they comprehend the religious
knowledge. You will find that the best amongst the people in
this respect (i.e. of ruling) is he who hates it (i.e. the idea
of ruling) most, till he is given the baya’h." (BUKHAARI [eng/Arabic vol.4 no.700]) No.8
Sulaim bin Mutayr reported on the authority of his father that
Mutayr went out to perform hajj. When he reached as Suwaydah
a man suddenly came searching for medicine and ammonium anthorhizum
extract and he said ‘A man who heard rasool Allah addressing
the people and commanding them and forbidding them, told me
that he said “O people accept presents so long
as they remain present but when the Quraysh quarrel about the
rule and the presents are given for the deen of one of you then
leave them.” (ABU DAWOOD kitaabul Kharaaj [no.2952]
and similar with the wording “When the Quraysh
quarrel about the rule among themselves and the presents become
bribery then leave them…” [no.2953])No.9
Jaabir bin Samurah said Nabi (saw) said “This
deen would not cease to be powerful [a’zeezan] and [maneea’n]
dominant until there has been twelve as khaleefah” Then
he said something I could not hear due to the people, I asked
my father ‘What did he say’ He said “Everyone
from Quraysh” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4482])No.10
Jaabir bin Samurah reported that Nabi (saw) said “The
affairs of the people will not cease to be conducted as long
as they are governed [waliyhum] by twelve men.” Then nabi (saw) said something which was unclear to me. I asked
my father, ‘What did rasool Allah (saw) say?’ He
said “Everyone of them will be from Quraysh” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4478-4479]) So this hadeeth connected
the successful implementation of the deen to the Imaamah of
the Quraysh.No.11
Jaabir bin Samurah reported that Nabi (saw) said “There
will not cease to be a powerful [a’zeezan] Islam until
there have been twelve have been khaleefah” Then
Nabi (saw) said something which I did not understand. I asked
my father and he said “Everyone of them from Quraysh” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4480])No.12 “This matter will not cease to be powerful [a’zeezan]
until there have been twelve as khaleefah” Then
he said something I did not understand. I asked my father ‘What
did he say?’ He said “Everyone of them from
Quraysh” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4481])No.13 “The deen will not cease to be established until the Hour
has been established or until there has been upon you twelve
as khaleefah, everyone of them from Quraysh” and I heard him say “A small group of Muslims
will conquer the white house [baytul abyad] the house of Kisraa
of the descendents of Kisraa” and I heard him
say “Before the Day of Judgement there will appear
liars, so guard against them.” (MUSLIM kitaabul
Imaarah [no.4483]No.14
Jaabir bin Samurah said, ‘I heard Nabi (saw) saying “There will be twelve as ameer” Then he
said some words I did not hear. My father said “Everyone
of them from Quraysh” (BUKHAARI kitaabul Ahkaam
[vol.9 no.329])The
view that Qurayshi lineage can be seen from the fact that the
jumhoor [majority] of the classical u’lemaa’ and
muhadditheen regarded Qurayshi lineage as a binding condition
of Imaamah, as for the shi’a then they all agreed that
the Imaam should not only be Qurayshi but also Ahlul Bayt [descendents
of the Prophet, through either Hasan or Husayn ibn A’li
ibn Abi Talib] we have mentioned only a few of them:-Imaam
Ibn Hazm [ZAAHIRI d.456 hijri ]in ‘al Muhalla’
Imaam an Nawawi [SHAFI’I d.676 hijri]in ‘Minhaajut
Talibeen’
Qadi Abu Bakr ibn al A’rabi [MAALIKI d.543 hijri]in ‘Al
A’waasim min al Qawaasim’
Imaam Barbahaari [HANBALI d.329 hijri] in ‘Sharhus Sunnah’
Imaam Mawardi [SHAFI’I d.450 hijri] in ‘al Ahkaamus
Sultaniyyah wal Wilayatud Deeniyyah’
Imaam Ibn Hajr al Haytami [SHAFI’I d.974 hijri] in ‘Tuhfa
al Muhtaj bi sharhul Minhaaj’
Imaam Ghazali [SHAFI’I d.505 hijri] in ‘Ihyaa U’loomid
Deen’
Imaam Ibn Juzayy [MAALIKI d.741 hijri] in ‘Qawaninul Fiqhiyyah’
Haafiz Ibn Katheer [SHAFI’I d. hijri] in ‘Tafseerul
Qura’n al A’zeem’Some
scholars of the past and some from the present time have objected
that the Imaamah is confined to one from the tribe of Quraysh.
The arguments they put forward include the following:-1 All of the ahadeeth
which mention Quraysh are informative (ikhbaari) and none of
them came in the form of command (amr).
2 The tribe of Quraysh were the rulers at the time of Nabi (saw)
before Islam and the prophet (saw) was from them and the khulafaa’
raashideen were from Quraysh, so this served the maslah of the
time and situation but it was not binding due to shari’
command but in later times the masaalih (shari’ah benefits)
would not be served by this.
3 The warnings about opposing Quraysh were not due to the Imaamah
being exclusive to the Quraysh but rather these commands were
about opposing the legitmate ruler (shari Imaam) and Quraysh
were mentioned as they were the existing legitimate rulers in
the time of Nabi (saw).
4 It is now impossible to trace the lineage and therefore Allah
does not command to that which is impossible.
5 The early arguments between the muhaajiroon and Ansaar are
an indication that such a condition is a misinterpretation as
such an important rule would have been well known to all sahaabah
and not just some from the muhaajireen.
6 The narration from Mu’awiyah said “…as
long as they establish the deen.” (BUKHAARI)
and this is an indication that when they occupied the seat of
Imaamah and ruled according to Islam they should not be opposed
but if they left Islamic rule they should be removed even for
non Qurayshi and that if they did not occupy the seat of Imaamah
then there was no obligation to appoint them considering that
the aim of Imaamah is to establish the deen.
7 The Qareena (divine indication) in all other ahadeeth concerning
Quraysh did not reach the level of waajib but either could be
interpreted as recommendation (mandoob) or interpreted in a
way which attached obligation or prohibition to the Imaamah
rather than the Quraysh, although Quraysh was used to describe
those who were in that office at the time.
8 There is a report from AHMAD that U’mar would have made
Muadh the khaleefah and he was AnsaariThe
refutation of this view is as follows:-1
If the condition of Quraysh is rejected due to the linguistic
structure of the ahadeeth, i.e. that people interpret Quraysh
to mean just the ruler of the time then this would mean that
those who raised this objection would even be contradicting
their own stance as this interpretation of the evidence would
mean that Quraysh is not even a preferable condition. 2
How will the ummah be united behind a non Qurayshi Imaam when
there are so many ahadeeth that indicated the precedence of
Quraysh in this matter and also that the majority of the u’lemaa’
agreed that the khaleefah should be Qurayshi and that the khulafaa’
raashideen and the early khulafaa’ were Qurayshi and even
Nabi (saw) was Qurayshi. This would be creating problems in
one of the objectives of Imaamah which is to unite the ummah
through the acceptance of the common leadership.3
The wahi came to explain and make clear and from the conditions
of Imaamah we see that there is much evidence concerning the
condition of Qurayshi lineage, to reject this is to adopt a
confusing interpretation of the texts.4
Those who said that Quraysh is impossible to verify also said
that it is a preferable condition, this is incoherence from
them. This is because all commands from the shari’ah whether
obligatory or preferable are commanded according to capability,
Allah does not command the impossible.5
There is a difference between saying that Imaamah must be within
Quraysh if possible as opposed to saying Imaamah is only valid
within Quraysh. To reject a command when impossible does not
abrogate the validiy of the condition when circumstances make
it possible. The evidences indicated that the Imaamah should
be in Quraysh when possible and when they establish the deen.
This means it is a necessary condition except when not available,
then unity and Imaamah must continue under non-Qurayshi and
even some of the u’lemaa’ then stipulated that it
should be nearest to Qurayshi (refer Minhaajut Taalibeen of
Imaam an Nawawi and its commentary by Haytami)6
If a mistake was made in verification of Quraysh this does not
refute the rule as all rules are according to capability and
exhausting effort. If failure comes after this there is no blame
and additionally corrctions can be made.7
Another proof of lineage being a valid science and knowledge
that is to be applied at all times is that the numerous ahadeeth
that mentioned the Mahdi described that he would be from Ahlul
Bayt and therefore this is even more specific then Quraysh.
So what would be the purpose of this information of description
if such information could not be known.8
Further proof of this is that the shari’ah stipulated
that Ahlul Bayt should not receive the zakah so this rule should
be applied.9
Another point in relation to this is that the neglect of a study,
science or knowledge does not justify the neglect nor does it
invalidate the rules relating to such knowledge, rather the
command would be to revive such knowledge as much as possible.10
It is well known concerning the family names and tribes that
some emanate from Ahlul Bayt and Quraysh and many of them were
proud in remembering their kinship to the family of Nabi (saw)
or the mention by the wahi of the precedence of Quraysh in ruling.
This is even more known to the scholars of hadeeth, geneology
and historty.11
To some people the geneology and its methods may be unknown
but to experts in this field they have various methods of research
and verification. Some of the u’lemaa’ studied these
things due to the related shari’ah t lineage and to some
specific commands concerning lineage and its knowledge e.g.
the report attributed to nabi (saw) “Know your
geneologies”(MAWARDI) However, even if this report
is rejected its meaning is implicitly (i.e. by inference [istinbaat])
due to the fact that many ahadeeth commanded matters which required
knowledge of geneology, and the shari’ah principle states
‘that which is necessary to achieve a waajib is waajib
in itself’. So Nabi (saw) said in Hadeethul Thaqalayn
[two weighty things] recorded by MUSLIM and others to not neglect
Ahlul Bayt, also they could not receive zakah (refer to ahadeeth
in MUSLIM regarding zakah and fadaail of A’li ibn Abi
Talib) Therefore, geneology [nasab] must be known.12
Every country has its tribes and upperclasses and royal families
who have known lineage and such lineage is traced back hundreds
of years.13 The knowledge of tribes
was relevant at time of Nabi (saw), before him and after as
the comprehensive and unlimited wahi mentioned such things which
indicated by extension the significance of tribe and the knowledge
of geneology such as Jabir bin A’bdullah reported that
Nabi (saw) said “People are followers of Quraysh
in good (Islam) as well as evil (kufr)” (MUSLIM
kitaabul Imaarah [no.4475])
14 Rationally and textually the condition of Quraysh restricts
the eligibility for Imaamah. There is wisdom and benefit in
this as it means the majority of the ummah is saved from competition
and struggle for leadership. This means that the majority of
the ummah is then encouraged towards the productive stance of
support of authority and submission to Imaamah. There is no
doubt about the blessing upon the Arabs as the Quran was revealed
in their language and the prophet was first sent to them and
within them their was even more blessing for Quraysh as it was
the tribe of Nabi (saw). There is further hikmah in the stipulation
of Quraysh and that is that its geneology is more known than
others and more relevant as it was known to Nabi (saw) and the
sahaabah and those who were among the wahi and first to implement
its commands, and they were to be the role model for the latter
part of the ummah. It could not have been to people other than
them as the ruling would have been distanced from the prophet
and his followers and thus its knowledge (of nasab) would be
non existent and its application beyond their ability. So it
was not to others because of i) unknown ii) disconected physically
from them iii) a’jami (non a’rab)iv) ignorant of
wahi (thus not suitable to rule) v) non demonstatable but would
have only been a command for the latter people with no preceding
example.
15 The selection of one tribe above another is similar to one
language above another and the two are connected as the language
is most sound in the early Qurayshi dialects.
16 It does not mean wrong due to tribe being preferred over
the best man being chosen due to the fact that those being quraysh
i) they must establish the deen due to various ahadeeth - a) “as long as they establish the deen” b) “as long as they establish salah” c) “…unless you see kufr boowaah” ii) You look for best among quraysh iii) Taqwa, i’lm,
experience etc. is a subjective scale that can not be measured
for sure. iv) the ahadeeth commanded nasiha and amr bil ma’roof
wan nahi anil munkar. So checks were upon the khaleefah whoever
he was.
17 The condition of Quraysh is proven also by Ijma as Sahaabah.
In the the hall of Bani Saida, Abu Bakr quoted the hadeeth of
Nabi (saw) ‘The Imaams are from Quraysh’ and the ansaar withdrew their claim for khilaafah and thus there
was ijma on this issue.
18 Nabi (saw) was Qurayshi and all of the early khulafaa’
raashideen were Qurayshi. The Imaamah was kept within the Quraysh
for hundreds of years with Bani Umayyah and the Abbaaseeyah.
When those of the Uthmaaneeyah who were not Qurayshi were often
not referred to as ‘Imaams’ and ‘Khaleefah’
by the scholars, subjects and themselves due to the doubts thay
had concerning the Status of the non Qurayshi ruler, most of
the time they were referred to as ‘Sultaan’.
19 As for basing non-obligation upon the report attributed to
U’mar –
a) A statement of a sahaabi does not take precedence over many
ahadeeth indicating the opposite and also which contain indications
of the impossibility of abrogation.
b) In addition to this the sahaabah did not even act upon such
statements themselves but rather they agreed upon acting in
opposition to this after Nabi (saw) and this continued for the
whole salafi period (i.e. The generations of the sahaabah, tabi’een
and tabit tabi’een). So a single isolated statement that
was not acted upon and may not even be authentic can not outweigh
that which has been authentically reported from the prophet
as well as authentically related from the sahaabah and acted
upon them generally and continously.
20 As for the point about no hadeeth coming in the command form,
then the conclusion reached from this is wrong. This is because
it not simply the linguistic structure which results in a command
but it is the import of the evidence. If there is a hadeeth
that implies a criticism or punishment that is connected to
an act then this will either mean a command to do or a command
not to do, whether decisive or indecisive. So the claim that
the informative indication does not result in a command [amr]
is erroneous when 1) The subject matter of the information is
connected to ahkam (such as Imaamah or anything else) and 2)
By the indications of punishment or reward connected to the
information. These two mean the informative form [ikhbaar] ascends
to the level of command [amr] and obligation [wujoob].
21 As for those ahadeeth which some people confused, Abu Dharr
said ‘My friend (i.e. Nabi [saw]) advised me to “Listen
and obey even if he were a slave with maimed limbs” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4525]) and in another version “…an abyssinian slave with maimed limbs” (MUSLIM
kitaabul Imaarah [no.4526]) This was actually one of the last
pieces of advise to be given to the Muslims by Nabi (saw) as
confirmed by the following narration Yahya ibn Hussayn who heard
from his grandmother that Nabi (saw) was delivering his sermon
during the farewell pilgrimage [hajjatil wadaa’] and he
(saw) said “If a slave is appointed over you and
he leads you according to the Book of Allah then listen to him
and obey.” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4528])
and in another version “…an Abyssinian slave” [no.4529] and in another version “… a maimed
Abyssinian slave” [no.4530] and Yahya ibn Hussein
said on the authority of his grandmother Umm Hussayn ‘I
performed Hajjatul Wadaa’ in the company of Rasool Allah
(saw). He (saw) said a lot of things. Then I heard him saying “If a maimed slave is given command [ummira] over
you…” the narrator says ‘I think
he said “…a black slave…who leads
you according to the Book of Allah then listen to him and obey.” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4532]) and Anas bin Maalik reported
that Nabi (saw) said “Listen and obey and even
if an Abyssinian slave is appointed over you whose head is like
a raisin.” (BUKHAARI kitaabul Ahkaam [vol.9 no.256])
These ahadeeth do bring two confusing points for some people
and that is with regards to the conditions of Imaamah being
freedom and Qurayshi lineage. These ahadeeth do not contradict
these conditions because we can easily reconcile their meanings.
With regards to slavery then these ahadeeth could mean:-i)
The person used to be a slave
ii) These ahadeeth could be concerning a temporary authority
in specific circumstances such as when a master has given permission
for his slave to go on a jihaad expedition and this slave has
been appointed from amongst a group of people for a period of
time until he returns to his master.
iii) The slave may have been appointed for specific tasks over
other slaves with the permission of his master. As
for the condition of Qurayshi lineage then this is not contradicted
due to the following possible means of reconciliation of the
meanings:-i) These ahadeeth are
not necessarily concerning the general imaarah i.e. the position
of Imaam but rather they can be related to the lesser authority
[imaaratus sughrah] or specific authority such as a wali or
delegated ameer or wazeer for specific tasks and in such positions,
Qurayshi lineage is not a condition.
ii) It is possible that the Abysinnian is also Qurayshi due
to the dispersal of tribes in later times, so that now those
who are from Quraysh are found all over the Muslim world due
to travel, inter-marriage and the expansion of Islam.
22 As for abrogation
then these ahadeeth can not be abrogated, abrogation is impossible
due to the following:-
i) Nabi (saw) was speaking about khilaafah and Imaamah and this
starts after himself, abrogation can only occur during the time
of wahi [revelation]
ii) The wording of the ahadeeth concerning Imaamah among the
Quraysh also negates the possibility of abrogation, as these
implied the continuation of Imaamah under the Quraysh even in
adverse conditions, for example A’bdullah reported that
nabi (saw) said “This affair will remain among
the Quraysh even if there are only two people left.” (MUSLIM
kitaabul Imaarah [no.4476]) and Ibn U’mar reported that
Nabi (saw) said “This affair will remain in Quraysh
even if there are only two of them remaining.” (BUKHAARI Eng/Arabic vol.9 no.254]) These both indicate that
there is no change in this matter.
iii) Specific hadeeth indicated the continuation of the Imaamah
in Quraysh until the end of time
iv) The sahaabah themselves quoted the ahadeeth of Imaamah being
confined to Quraysh and they continued to act upon them.
23) As for the hadeeth “…as long as they
establish the deen” This proved that the Imaamah
should be in Quraysh due to its statement concerning that. Any
khaleefah who does not govern by Islam will be removed. However
unity and leadership must continue until a Qurayshi is available,
due to the Quran and Sunnah commanding unity and Imaamah. The
u’lemaa’ (e.g. refer toImaam an Nawawi in ‘Minhaajut
Talibeen’ and its commentart by Ibn Hajr al Haytami) even
mentioned that this should go to the nearest tribe of Quraysh
as this would be like fulfilling the commands according to the
principle of istitaa’ah. |
