The shari’ah is a comprehensive guidance to mankind at all times and in all situations. This means that there is no justification for inventing any man-made solution to problems away from the superior guidance of the Quran and Suunah.Mankind is a social being and thus the shari’ah recognised that the affairs of mankind collective and individual need to be organised in a way that harmonises necessary spheres of human activity. The shari’ah not only provides a system for the organisation for the fulfillment of the human needs and instincts but it also provides the best possible system of guidance, that is not open to question, rather it is an a’qeedah matter based upon clear evidences.The baya’h remains effective and obligatory in times of when the Muslims are strong and in times when they are weak as the baya’h did not mention weakness as a cause of invalidity and the texts also proved this in various ways. This is confirmed by the following evidence:-i) The contract is according to ability, neglect is not the same as inability due to the absence of things that are beyond one’s control (such as power). So the contract of baya’h does not mention that the baya’h is invalid if darul Islam ceased to exist, or the Imaam was unable to protect some Muslims or the like of that. The Imam was appointed to be obeyed in his commands that were in accordance with ma’roof. ii) The ahadith call for rebellion only in case of the ruler declaring or implementing open kufr… U’baadah bin as Saamit said ‘The Prophet called us, and we pledged our allegiance to him. He imposed on us the duty to listen and obey in what pleases us and in what displeases us, in hardship and in ease whatever our personal preference, and that we should not withdraw authority from those who have been entrusted with it “..unless you see open kufr (kufraan buwaahan) from which you have from Allah a clear proof (burhaan)” (MUSLIM [4541] and similar from BUKHAARI Eng/Arabic [vol.9 no.178]) or neglecting the implementation of the deen... Auf bin Maalik reported that Nabi (saw) said “The best of your rulers are those whom you love and who love you, who invoke Allah’s blessings upon you and you invoke His blessings upon them. And the worst of your rulers are those whom you hate and who hate you, and whom you curse and who curse you.” It was asked ‘Shouldn’t we overthrow them with the sword?’ He (saw) said “No, as long as they establish the Salah among you [‘laa maa aqaamoo feekumus Salaata’]. If you then find anything detestable in them, you should hate their administration but do not withdraw yourselves from their obedience." (MUSLIM [4573]) Umm Salamah reported that Nabi (saw) said “Amirs will be appointed over you and you will find them doing good as well as bad deeds. One who hates their bad deeds is absolved from blame, one who disapproves of their bad deeds is also safe. But one who approves of their bad deeds and imitates them (is not blameless).” People asked ‘Rasool Allah! Shouldn’t we fight against them?’ He (saw) replied “No, as long as they pray [‘laa maa salloo’].” (MUSLIM [4570]) iii) The hadith of U’baadah bin as Saamit talks of allegiance and obediance in ease and in hardship. . Junaada ibn Abu Ummayyah said ‘We entered the house of U’baadah bin as Saamit whilst he was ill and we said ‘May Allah make you a good person, tell us a hadith you heard from the Prophet (saw) and with which Allah benefits you. He said ‘The Prophet (saw) invited us and we gave him our baya’h and that pledge was to ‘..listen and obey in what we like and in what we dislike, in ease and in hardship, whatever our personal preference and not to dispute the authority of those who entrusted with it, saying “…unless you see clear open kufr upon which you have proof from Allah.”’ (BUKHAARI Eng/Arabic [vol.9 no.178], MUSLIM [no.4541]) MENTION ALTERNATIVE NARRATIONiv) The hadith of hudhayfah, clearly describes a time of fitnah, division and the absence of the unified, secure and powerful darul Islam. The command which was given in this period was to cling to jama’atul Muslimeen and their Imam. Hudhayfah ibn al Yaman said ‘The people used to ask rasool Allah (saw) about the good, but I used to ask him about the evil for fear that it might overtake me, so I said, ‘O Rasool Allah, we used to be in ignorance (jaahileeyah) and evil (shari) then Allah brought this good to us. So is there any evil after this good? He (saw) said “Yes” I said ‘And is there any good after that evil?’ He (saw) said “Yes, but it will be tainted (literally by ‘smoke’)” I asked ‘What will that smoke be?’ He (saw) said “A people adopting ways other than my sunnah, guiding others with other than my guidance, you will recognise some (of their deeds) and not recognise others.” I asked ‘Then is there any evil after that good?’ He (saw) said “Yes, callers at the gates of Hellfire, whoever responds to their call will be thrown into it.” I said ‘O rasool Allah describe them to us.’ He (saw) said “They will be from our own people and speak our language.” What do you order me to do if I should see that?’ He (saw) said “Cling (talzamu) to the jama’atul Muslimeen and their Imam.” I said ‘And if there is no Jama’ah and no Imam?’ He (saw) said “Then keep away from all those sects (firaq) even if you have to bite upon the root of a tree until death overtakes you in that condition.” (BUKHAARI English/Arabic version vol.4 [no.803] and vol.9 [no.206], MUSLIM [no.4553]) This shows that khilaafah can still exist despite the lack of power. Clinging to the jama’tul Muslimeen can include physically unifying with ummah that is rightly acting in obeying the imaam and unifying under him and in other evidence it can also refer to remaining upon the correct beliefs and practises of Islam which are supported by the evidence and explained and conveyed by the sahabah, through to the rest of the salaf and carried among the Muslims for all times, thus the saying of Ibn Masoo’d “The Jama’ah is what accords to the truth even if you are one person” (AL LAALIKAA’EE in ‘as Sunnah’, IBN A’SAAKIR in ‘Tareekh Dimashq’) This is supported by many ahadith that mention the Jama’h (eg Ibn U’mar reported that Nabi (saw) said “Indeed, Allah will never unite this Ummah upon misguidance (dalaalah) and the Hand of Allah is upon the Jama’ah.” (TIRMIDHI [2168] Mua’wiyah reported that Nabi (saw) said “Verily, those before you of the people of the Book split up into seventy-two sects. This nation will split up into seventy-three sects. Seventy-two of them will be in the Fire. One of them will be in Paradise, that is the Jama’ah.” (ABU DAWOOD Kitaabus Sunnah [no.4580], AHMAD) and in another version from Awf bin Maalik Nabi (saw) said “The Jews split into seventy-one sects, one will enter paradise and seventy will enter Hell. The christians split into seventy-two sects, seventy-one will enter Hell and one will enter paradise. By Him in whose hand is my soul, my ummah will split into seventy-three sects, one will enter paradise and seventy-two will enter Hell.” Someone asked ‘O Rasool Allah, who will they be?’ He (saw) replied “The Jama’ah” (ABU DAWOOD kitabus Sunnah [4572, 4573]) Additionally, the hadeeth of Hudhayfah proved that the constant system of organising the affairs of the Muslims was restricted to Imaamah. This is because Nabi (saw) commanded the Muslims to cling to the Jama’ah of the Muslims and their Imaam, this was not a command to join independent self governing groups but it restricted the legitimate authority to the Imaam and the legitmate group to being the jama’atul muslimeen. Even if the Imaam was not present the Prophet (saw) did not say join groups or make groups but rather to avoid all the groups.v) The hadith of Ibn U’mar concerning baya’h talks about having no excuse before Allah on the Day of Judgement if you separate from obedience. Ibn U’mar reported that Nabi (saw) said “The one who separates his hand from obedience (ta’ah) will have no excuse (hujjah) before Allah on the Day of Judgement and he who dies without a baya’h on his neck dies the death of jahileeyah” (MUSLIM [4562-4564]) So there should be much caution in seperating from obedience to the khaleefah and there should also be caution in not giving bayah as the hadith mentioned that there will be no excuse on the Day of Judgement and it mentioned that one would die the death of jaahileeyah. Therefore clear justification from the wahi must be produced in order to refrain from giving baya’h or not obeying the Imam as this hadith itself mentions no condition of land or power for this obedience. This hadeeth is also supported by the hadeeth “Whoever dies without having an Imaam then he dies the death of jaahileeyah” (AHMAD, MUTTAQI AL HINDI ‘Kanzul U’mmaal’ [1/103]) and also by the following hadeeth it is reported that Nabi (saw) said “Whoever dies without there being over him an Imaam of the Jama’ah [a’layhi Imaamu Jama’ah] then he has died the death of jaahileeyah.” (AL HAAKIM ‘al Mustadrak’)vi) The hadith of Ibn U’mar regarding the baya’h talks of obeying in ‘what you are able’ A’bdullah ibn U’mar said ‘When we took an oath of allegiance with him to listen and obey, the Messenger of Allah (saw) said to us “In what you are able’” (MAALIK, BUKHAARI, MUSLIM and others) This principle applies to the the khaleefah in fulfilling his obligations like it applies to the obligation of those obeying him as none can do more than what they are able, the struggle between haqq and baatil and the natural diversity of situations and changing environments and circumstances mean that problems will always occur which will sometimes prevent success. There is no doubt that the one taking baya’h does not become incapable to obey the Imam due to the absence of darul Islam, the judgement concerning him is the same, i.e. he must do as much as he can. vii) The various ahadith of imaarah and khilaafah talk about clinging to obediance to the imam even when disagreeable things appear in him (e.g. Ibn A’bbaas reports Nabi (saw) “One who found in his amir something he dislike should hold his patience, for one who seperated from the jama’ah even to the extent of a handspan and then died would die the death of jaahileeyah” (MUSLIM [4559] BUKHAARI [Eng. Ver. V9No.122]) and in another version of MUSLIM [no.4560]“…for anyone who separates from the sultaan…” and in the hadith reported by Abu Hurayrah Nabi (saw) is reported to have said “…There will be Khulafaa and they will number many” They asked ‘What then do you order us?’ He (saw) said “Fulfill the baya’h to them one after the other and give them their due. Surely Allah will ask them about what He entrusted them with.” (MUSLIM [4543-4544], BUKHAARI [English version vol.4 no.661]) and Abu Hunaidah Wa’il bin Hujr related that Salamah bin Yazeed Ju’fi asked Nabi (saw) ‘O Rasool Allah (saw) Please let me know if we may be placed under such rulers who may require from us their due, but may refuse to give us fully our rights, what do you command (us in this matter)?’ Nabi (saw) avoided to give him a reply, but he repeated his question and therefore Nabi (saw) said, “You should listen to them and obey them. For on them shall be their burden and on you shall be your burden.” (MUSLIM [4551]) and Abdullah ibn Masoo’d relates that Nabi (saw) said “When I pass away you will see differences and such things you will not like.” They asked ‘O rasool Allah, then what shall we do in such circumstances?’ He (saw) replied “Pay their rights which you owe them and pray to Allah for your rights.” (BUKHAARI, MUSLIM [4545])), and the distinction has been made between the duties of the followers and the duty of the Imam. These ahadith make a distinction between the two parties of the contract and order the followers to fulfill their duties regardless of what the other does (except in the case of kufr and accounting by forbidding the munkar etc.) as both parties will be accounted about their responsibilities on Yawmil Qiyaamah. Only the failure to implement the deen out of neglect or implementing kufr will result in dismissal. The inability due to impossibility is not a means of dismissal. viii) The hadith of Abu Hurayrah talks of obeying in ease and hardship Abu Hurayrah reports that Nabi (saw) said “You are bound to listen and obey in hardship and in ease, in what you like and what you dislike and even when someone is given preference over you.” (MUSLIM [4524]) ix) The wahi always ordered the Muslims to adopt the necessary means to organize their affairs and bring about the best results “O you who believe! Take your precautions…” (an Nisa 4:71) This means that organization, leadership and authority must be established generally over the Muslims as they are one body and also in specific matters in which it is required A’bdullah ibn A’mru ibn al Ass reported that nabi (saw) said “It is not permissable for any three of you to remain in a deserted place without appointing one of you as ameer.” (AHMAD) So we see from this that authority was commanded even for the small situation and that remaining leaderless was not permissable. Leadership and authority was commanded for various matters such as the salah, marriage, slavery, jihaad expeditions, travelling parties et cetera Abu Sa’eedul Khudri reported that Nabi (saw) said “When there are three persons one of them should lead them. The one among them most worthy to act as Imaam is the one who is best versed in the Quran…” (MUSLIM kitaabus Salah [no. 1417]) and A'bdullah ibn U'mar reported that Nabi (saw) said "Beware, everyone of you is a guardian and everyone of you is accountable for his guardianship. So the Imaam over his people [naas] is a guardian and he is accountable for his guardianship and the man is a guardian over the people of his household [ahli baytihi] and he is accountable for his guardianship and the lady is a guardian over the people of the household [ahli baytihi] of her husband and his children and she is accountable for them and a slave [a'bd] of a man is guardian over the wealth of his master [sayyidihi] and he is accountable for it. Beware, because everyone of you is a guardian and everyone of you is accountable for his guardianship." (BUKHAARI kitaabul Ahkaam [vol.9 no.252]) and in another version A'bdullah (ibn U’mar) reported that Nabi (saw) "Everyone of you is a guardian and is accountable for his guardianship so the ameer over his people is a guardian and is accountable for them. And the lady is a guardian over the house and children and she is accountable for them and the slave [a'bdu] is a guardian over the wealth of his master [sayyidihi] and he is accountable for it so everyone of you is a guardian [raa'in] and everyone of you is accountable for your guardianship." (BUKHAARI [vol.3 no.730]This hadeeth was narrated with several different versions by BUKHAARI see [vol.3 no.592, 733] kitaabul Juma'h [vol.2 no.18] kitaabul Wasayyah [vol.4 no.14] kitaabun Nikah [vol.7 no.116,128] and similar was narrated by MUSLIM in his ‘Jaami’us Saheeh’ kitaabul Imaarah MUSLIM [no.4496-4499]) x) A’bdullah reported that Nabi (saw) said “The command (imaarah) will remain among the Quraysh even if there are only two people left” (MUSLIM [4476]) This shows that imaarah must continue even among the small numbers of people remaining.xi) Al Haarith al Asha’ri reported that Nabi (saw) said “I command you with five which Allah commanded me with: Listening and obeying, jihaad and hijrah and the Jama’ah for he who leaves the jama’ah by a handsbreadth, then he has thrown off the yoke of Islam from his neck.” (AHMAD[4/130, 202] AT-TAYAALISI [no.1161] IBN HIBBAAN [no.1550] IBN KHUZAYMAH [no.930] AL-HAAKIM [1/236]) and in another version also reported by Al Haarith al Asha’ri, Nabi (saw) said “I command you with five; The Jama’ah and Listening and Obeying and Hijrah and Jihaad in the cause of Allah. And verily, whoever goes out of the Jama’ah to the extent of a (hand) span has put off the tie of Islam from his neck unless he turns back. And whoever calls with the calls of jaahileeyah, he is of the stones of jahannam, even though he fasts and prays and asserts that he is a Muslim.” (AHMAD, TIRMIDHI [3694]) The Jama’ah means the correct beliefs and the Jama’ah is the united Muslim Ummah under the Imaam. The importance of the existence of the Jama’ah of the Muslims has been emphasized here in four ways. We have been commanded by Nabi (saw) to listen, and this means being ready to receive the order of the Imaam of the ummah or those he has delegated authority to. Secondly, Nabi (saw) commanded us to obey, and this means obeying the Imaam or his delegated assistants in authority. Thirdly we were commanded with the Jama’ah and this is the unified body of Muslims under the imaarah of the Imaam. Fourthly, we were warned that seperating from the Jama’ah even to a small extent is throwing off Islam from our necks, which is an indication of severe sin and kufr in some cases depending on the motives, basis and actions relating to that separation. It could also be mentioned that the Imam and the Jama’ah has been emphasized in a further two ways. Firstly, Hijrah in Islam is of several types but one of the main types will be an obligation that can only occur with the instructions of the Imaam and that is the hijrah from darul kufr to darul Islam and it could also include the hijrah to a new area in order to establish or prepare the way for darul Islam, this would be like when Musab bin Umayr went to Madeenah to teach the people about Islam which assisted in the preparation of the first darul Islam. Secondly, jihaad is of several types, but the offensive type which aims at expanding darul Islam must take place with the existence of the Imaam or this could also include the jihaad in order to establish darul Islam, which again, would be most beneficial if organized under the unified authority of the Imaam. This hadith has commanded listening to and obeying the Imam in a general way without any condition of power being placed. The example of the Prophet (saw) demonstrates that this listening and obeying leads to the stage of power. The jama’ah is the unified body of believers under the Imam and they can not be one jama’ah without unifying under this Imam, even the command to make hijrah and jihad can not be properly organized without the existence of the Imam. Who will decide where the jama’atul Muslimeen make hijrah to except their amir? Jihad could establish darul Islam if the mujaahideen among the ummah would be part of the Muslim body and function at the command of the Imam. Even without the existence of darul Islam, the Imam could send the Mujaahideen to any place where Muslims are oppressed to remove the trouble in an effective and swift manner. The Imam could command the support of the whole Muslim body for any such effort for jihaad with all relevant resources such as wealth, manpower, technical knowledge et cetera. At the moment, with the Muslims choosing to be divided and leaderless rather than uniting as one body under an amir, the mujaahideen are divided into thousands of individuals and groups who do not have the resources to function properly and their efforts often collide with each other rather than assist each other. xii)Abu Haazim said ‘I accompanied Abu Hurayrah for five years and heard him talking of the Prophet’s (saw) saying “The prophets ruled (tasoosuhum) over the affairs of the children of Israel, whenever a Prophet died another prophet succeeded (khalafahu)him, but there will be no Prophet after me. There will be khulafaa’ (successors) and they will number many.” They asked ‘What then do you order us?’ He (saw) said “Fulfill the baya’h to them, the first then the first and give them their rights and ask Allah for yours. For verily, Allah will ask them about what He entrusted them with.” (MUSLIM kitaabu Imaarah [no.4543-4544], BUKHAARI [English version vol.4 no.661]) This hadeeth made clear that the system of khilaafah (Imaamah) is the system for organising the affairs and that this was to continue in the stage of weakness. This is because the prophets continued to govern and their people at all times including weakness and the khulafaa’ succeed them in their role except that they do not receive wahi. Secondly, Nabi (saw) did not say that there would be khilaafah for the time of strength and independent groups for the stage of weakness. Rather it was only the system of khilaafah that was to succeed the prophethood in organising the affairs of the ummah.xiii) Listening and obeying were commands put upon the Muslims generally for all times because unity and Imaamah were prescribed as the constant system of unity and organization for the Muslims Allah (swt) said “So have taqwa of Allah as much as you can listen and obey…” (at Taghaabun 64:16) and “O you who believe! Obey Allah, obey the Messenger and those in authority amongst you…” (an Nisa 4:59) and Nabi (saw) said as reported by Ibn U’mar “It is obligatory upon the Muslim to listen and obey in what he likes and dislikes except when commanded to ma’seeyah (disobedience to Allah). If he is commanded to ma’seeyah then there is no listening and no obeying.” (BUKHAARI, MUSLIM) and Nabi (saw) connected the clarity of the deen which he (saw) left us with the constant duty of listening and obeying Irbaad ibn Sariyah reported that Nabi (saw) said “I have left you upon clear white ground, its night is like its day, no one deviates from it except that he is destroyed, and whoever lives among you will see great differences (controversy). So stick to what you know from my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly acting (raashideen) rightly guided (mahdiyeen) khulafaa, cling to that with your molar teeth and stick to obedience even if it is an abyssinian slave, since the believer is like the submissive camel, wherever he is led he follows.” (AHMAD [4/126] IBN MAAJAH [no. 43] AL HAAKIM [1/96] BAYHAQI in ‘al Madkhal’ [no.51]) The evidence proves that the Imam is to be appointed and obeyed at all times both weak and strong. In fact the clinging to the Imam and the Jama’ah is needed even more during the time of weakness than the time of strength. Those who say the Muslims can not be unified under one amir when there is no darul Islam are rejecting the example of the Prophet (saw) and are opposing all the evidence that describes the reality of imaarah. In addition to this, they are opposing that which is proven by the intellect and are calling for that which is nonsensical. It is not power and force that is the cause of unity but rather power and force will be present as a result of unity and there can be no unity without appointing a leader and uniting under his command. It is the decision of the believers to give baya’h to the Imam and obey him which leads to strength and unity and it their decision to disobey which causes weakness and division, it is clear that even the most powerful of armies would not be able to force unity as obedience is a matter of willing obedience. The obedience which is a result of force is an invalid obedience which does not result in reward in the next life for obedience to the amir is about obeying the one whom Allah has commanded to be obeyed. The Muslims were commanded with listening (as Sama’) and obeying (at Ta’ah) and they were commanded with the Jama’ah (being one united body under an amir) all of these three matters are connected to each other and none of them is present except with the Muslims unifying under one Imam. They unite and become one Jama’ah under his authority (imaarah) and their only condition for being within this jama’ah is that they are Muslims, it is not based upon the acceptance of one mans views and opinions about the whole of Islam as is the case with the multitude of groups and parties that have been invented. The Muslims unite under the Imam because they have chosen to accept that the shari’ah orders unity at all times, not just for the strong time, the Muslims must accept that the unity, the Jama’tul Muslimeen, the unified imaarah (authority) for the believers is the way forward for the Muslims and that opposing this will only prolong the suffering of the Muslims and prevent organization, the establishment of darul Islam and hundreds of other obligations. The sahaabi Jareer said ‘While I was at Yemen, I met two men from Yemen called Dhu Kala and Dhu Amr, and I started telling them about Allah's Apostle. Dhu Amr said to me, "If what you are saying about your friend (i.e. the Prophet) is true, then he has died three days ago." Then both of them accompanied me to Medina, and when we had covered some distance on the way to Medina, we saw some riders coming from Medina. We asked them and they said, "Allah's Apostle has died and Abu Bakr has been appointed as the Caliph and the people are in a good state.' Then they said, "Tell your friend (Abu Bakr) that we have come (to visit him), and if Allah will, we will come again." So they both returned to Yemen. When I told Abu Bakr their statement, he said to me, "I wish you had brought them (to me)." Afterwards I met Dhu Amr, and he said to me, "O Jarir! You have done a favour to me and I am going to tell you something, i.e. you, the nation of 'Arabs, will remain prosperous as long as you choose and appoint another ameer whenever a former one is dead. But if authority is obtained by the power of the sword, then the rulers will become kings who will get angry, as kings get angry, and will be delighted as kings get delighted." (BUKHAARI) So the importance of always having imaamah or imaarah was made clear by this narration. Imaamah was the system given to mankind by Allah and if it were to be neglected then it would be replaced by things that are harmful. This is made clear from the following hadith A’bdullah ibn U’mar reported that Nabi(saw) said “…If the leaders (Imaams) do not govern according to the Book of Allah and did not choose that which Allah has revealed (this has never happened) except that Allah put adversities (baa’sahum) between them.” (IBN MAAJAH kitabul Fitaan [4019]) Qays bin Abi Haazim reported that Abu Bakr went to a lady from the Ahmas tribe called Zainab bint Al-Muhajir and found that she refused to speak. He asked, "Why does she not speak?" The people said, "She has intended to perform Hajj without speaking." He said to her, "Speak, for it is illegal not to speak, as it is an action of the pre-Islamic period of ignorance. So she spoke and said, "Who are you?" He said, "A man from the muhaajiroon." She asked, "Which of the muhaajiroon?" He replied, "From Quraish." She asked, "From what branch of Quraish are you?" He said, "You ask too many questions; I am Abu Bakr." She said, "How long shall we enjoy this good order (i.e. Islamic religion) which Allah has brought after the period of ignorance?" He said, "You will enjoy it as long as your Imams keep on abiding by its rules and regulations." She asked, "What are the Imams?" He said, "Were there not heads and chiefs of your nation who used to order the people and they used to obey them?" She said, "Yes." He said, "So they (i.e. the Imams) are those whom I meant." (BUKHAARI) So we see from this narration how the sahaabah saw that the success and failure of the ummah was connected to the conduct of the Imaams, so what would the state of the ummah be of there was no Imaam at all?
The Muslims are commanded to be one united body under an amir. When this is understood and when its benefits are reflected over in the light of the shari’ah, we see that the Muslims are not like the kuffaar who are lost without having power and resources but rather Islam is superior than kufr and these two can not be compared as Allah gave the Muslims a system for the weak time and the strong time. The body of believers must not be neglected, divided or destroyed because of a loss of power or land but rather the body of believers must be maintained so that it can repair itself. The body will not exist without a head and the Muslims would not be one block without leadership. So when it is made clear from the various ayaat and ahadith that the Muslims have been commanded to be one body, one group not only in belief and theory but also in reality and practise by appointing a leader and listening to him and obeying him, then the question must be asked ‘Why can’t these obligations be fulfilled in the time of weakness when there is no strong army or no darul Islam?’ The answer is that there is no reason why these obligations can not be fulfilled because the only rest upon the decision of the believers to either comply with them or reject them. And when it is asked ‘What is the benefit of destroying the united body and the united command in the time of weakness when there is no power or no darul Islam?’ The answer is that there is no benefit in this and it only would multiply the harms and problems of the Muslim ummah and prevent it from functioning.The Muslims who have opposed the existence of the united body, the jama’atul muslimeen in the time of weakness, have chosen to destroy and divide the Islamic system given by Allah rather than rebuilding it and keeping it together. The Islamic system is not the system of the kuffaar whose unity is only dependent upon the existence of a forceful State but rather the Muslims unity has been commanded beyond this so that it must exist at all times. The system of Islam can function and apply in the weak time in that which it is able, and this functioning in a unified manner, under one amir would inevitably lead to the full capability of the system and move it to strength so that every component could function and every rule could be applied.

Those who place the condition of power upon the Imam of the Muslim Ummah have often made the mistake of comparing the Islamic system to the system of the Kuffaar who would not have any leader or unity without the existence of a forceful State. Islam is not like the way of the kuffaar, but it is far superior to it. Islam requires the Jama’ah to exist at all times just as the Muslims have been ordered to be united at all times. The unity of the Muslims is not dependent upon power but it is a result of their obeying Allah with regards to the command to unity. The various ahadith that order Muslims to cling to the Jama’ah and cling to the Imam came in a general manner and included no restrictive condition of power. Similarly, the ayaat and ahadith that prohibited division came in a general manner and the absence of power was not made an exception to the prohibition of division. Clinging to the Jama’ah and the Imaam results in many benefits concerning the deen and the dunya and it prevents many harms and the Shari’ah does not command to that which is harmful for the deen and worldly affairs.