1. Power (shawkah) or the existence of darul Islam, is
not the cause (sabab) or reason (illa) for unity (ittihaad)
in Islam. The command to unity is general (a’mm),
it is a command in itself. Usaamah bin Shareek reported
that Nabi (saw) said “If a man comes out
to make division [yufarriqu] between my ummah then strike
his neck.” (NASAA’I) The evidences
(adillah) that called for Unity did not make power a condition
(shart) of that unity. It should be realised that it is
impossible to be unified in reality without unifying under
one leader (imaam) and organizing our collective affairs
and duties under him by giving baya’h (the oath
of allegiance and obedience) and listening to him and
obeying him in that which is ma’roof. Ibn A’baass
reported that Nabi (saw) said “He who sees
anything in his amir which he dislikes should remain patient
as there is none who separates from the jama’ah
[yufaariqul jama’ah] even to the extent of a handspan
then dies but he dies the death of jaahileeyah.” (BUKHAARI Eng/Arabic vers. vol.9 [no.177, 257] MUSLIM
[no. 4559])
2.
The need for unity and the benefits of the existence of
an Imaam are needed in the stage of weakness just as they
are needed in the time of strength. In fact, the Muslim
Ummah is in even greater need of unifying behind an Imaam
in the time of weakness. Hudhayfah reported that Nabi
(saw) commanded him, if he should see the time of fitnah
and tafarruq “Cling to the Jama’atul
Muslimeen and their Imaam.” (BUKHAARI Eng/Arabic
version vol.4 [no.803] & vol.9 [no.206], MUSLIM [no.4553])
So not only is unity under an Imaam needed for the stage
of weakness but the shari’ah specifically commanded
unity under the Imaam as a solution to the time of division,
fitnah and weakness.
3.
Tafarruq [division] is prohibited generally. “And
hold fast to the rope of Allah all of you together and
do not divide [la tafarruqu]…” (aali
I’mraan 3:103) The absence of power was not made
an exception to the prohibition of tafarruq. Tafarruq
does not only mean dividing on the basis of a’qeedah
as some erroneously claim. Tafarruq has been prohibited
generally and it definitely includes separating from the
Imaam and the jama’atul Muslimeen by renouncing
the baya’ah, or separating from obedience in order
to become independent or to make groups independent from
the unified body of believers under the Imaam. This is
proven by the following hadeeth and many others similar
to it, A’rfajah bin Shuraih reported that Nabi (saw)
said “…So whoever tries to divide
[yufarriqa] the affairs of this ummah while they are united
(jameea’n) then strike him with the sword whoever
he is.” (MUSLIM [no. 4564])
4. We have been commanded to follow the example [uswah]
of Muhammad (saw). The example that Nabi (saw) and the
sahaabah set for the stage of weakness was that of Imaamah
[leadership] and ittihaad [unity], they were not divided
into independent groups in pre-hijri Makkah. There is
no permit to ignore this aspect of the example of Nabi
(saw) and Allah intended this guidance for the Muslims.
There is no justification to adopt some parts of the example
of Nabi (saw) and leave others. “Then is
it only a part of the Book that you believe in and do
you reject the rest? But what is the reward for those
among you who behave like this but disgrace in this life?
And on the Day of Judgment they shall be consigned to
the most grievous penalty. For Allah is not unmindful
of what you do.” (al Baqarah 2:85) Unity
under a leader was never abrogated as the later wahi only
further commanded unity and leadership. Also, the circumstances
of Nabi (saw) being without darul Islam never arose again
so abrogation of the example of Nabi (saw) in these circumstances
is impossible. This is because the circumstances of the
abrogating [naasikh] daleel must be the same as that of
the abrogated [mansookh] daleel.
5.
Rationally, unity is better for the ummah than division
and this is true at all times. This rational fact is also
confirmed by the the wahi, Allah (swt) says “Verily,
Allah loves those who fight in His cause in rows as if
they were a solid structure.” (as Saff
61:4) and It is reported that Nabi (saw) said “Certainly Shaytaan is with one and is further away
from two. Whoever of you desires the felicity of paradise
should cling to the jama’ah (falyalzamil jama’ah).” (TIRMIDHI & similar from AHMAD) And division was described
as a punishment, Nu’maan bin Basheer reported that
Nabi (saw) said “The Jama’h is a mercy
and disunity a punishment” (AHMAD [4/2784
& 375] IBN ABI AA’SIM [93]) and Allah says “Say:
‘He possesses the power to send calamities on you
from above and below or to cover you with confusion in
party strife, giving you a taste of mutual vengeance each
from the other.’ See how We explain the Signs so
that they may understand.” (al Ana’m
6:65) A’rfajah reported that Nabi (saw) said “Whoever comes to you while your affair has been
united (jameea’n) under one man, intending to dissolve
your strength (yashuqqa a’saakum) or divide the
jama’ah (yufarriqa jamaa’atakum), kill him.” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4567]) So it is clear that
unity is a source of strength whereas disunity leads to
weakness, so imposing disunity on the ummah due to the
absence of darul Islam is definitely not from Islam because
Allah does not command the ummah to that which is worse
for it, Allah (swt) says “…Allah desires
ease for you and does not desire hardship for you…” (al Baqarah 2:185) and “…Allah does
not want to place you in any difficulty…” (al Maai’dah 5:6)
6.
Unity leads to strength. This is rationally correct and
it is also proven by ayaat and ahadeeth “And
obey Allah and His messenger And do not dispute [tanaaza’u]
(with one another) lest you lose courage and your strength
depart…” (al Anfaal 8:46) and is
proven by the example of Nabi (saw) and the sahaabah who
were unified in the stage of weakness and then established
power by the will of Allah. In addition to this if we
look to the example of Nabi (saw) we see that when he
(saw) was seeking nussrah he was the Imaam of the whole
ummah and not just one leader of a group among many independent
and divided groups. When Nabi (saw) was given nussrah
he was the Imaam of the ummah, anything other than this
is against the example of Nabi (saw) and leads to conflict
of efforts and division of resources and weakening of
activities and absence of beneficial co-operation and
co-ordination. We see this now with several groups competing
with each other for the support of one army and the efforts
of groups undermining each other accidentally and deliberately
in many cases. Allah commanded the Muslims to establish
the deen on the basis of unity and not on the basis of
division “…Establish the deen and
do not make divisions in it…” (ash
Shooraa 42:13)
7.
As with the whole of the shari’ah, the conditions
of the khaleefah are in the best interests of the deen
and the ummah. The false condition of power is a harmful
condition as it imposes disunity, confusion, weakness
and leaderlessness on an ummah that is already weak. This
fabricated condition contradicts the objectives of the
shari’ah. Those who talk about this erroneous condition
have confused it with the personal inability of an individual
khaleefah to give commands and receive information. Such
personal inability may be caused by something specific
and intrinsic to himself, such as the physical disability
of being deaf, dumb and blind or it could be caused by
circumstances that are specific to himself such as capture
by the enemy and when rescue is not expected. In these
two situations the khaleefah would not be able to command
and lead the ummah and his replacement with another Imaam
would solve the problem of leaderlessness for the ummah.
As for the situation when the ummah as a whole does not
have power, bringing another Imaam would make no difference
to the circumstances as the lack of power here is not
related to specific individuals but is related to the
common circumstances. Therefore people should not confuse
these two totally different matters of a situation where
power and darul Islam does not exist with inability that
is specific to an individual. The first matter is related
to a shared situation of weakness but where leadership
of the people and unity is still possible, whereas the
second situation is related to the inability of a specific
individual to command and lead the ummah and this incapability
could be present whether the ummah is in power or not.
The invention of false conditions is like making haraam
what Allah has made obligatory. Aishah reported that Nabi
(saw) said “…What is the matter with
men who make conditions which are not in the Book of Allah
a’zza wa jall. Every condition not in the Book of
Allah is invalid (baatil), even if it is one hundred conditions…” (BUKHAARI [Eng/Arabic vol.1 no.446 vol.3 no.364,
377, 735, 737, 889, 893], MUSLIM, IBN MAAJAH) If Allah
would have placed such a condition as power on the commands
of unity [ittihaad] and leadership [Imaamah] then Allah
would have conveyed this to us clearly, considering the
importance of the matter, but we do not find this condition
in the hundreds of ahadeeth and numerous ayaat that deal
with these commands and Allah (swt) told us “…And
your Lord was never forgetful.” (Maryam
19: 64)
8.
The shari’ah does not command us to abandon the
whole system of Islam if it is impossible to fulfil every
detail of it. Rather, the shariah established the principle
of istita’aah [to do as much as possible]. Therefore
we must do as much as we can of the obligations. Abu Hurayrah
reported that Nabi (saw) said “…If
I command you to do something then do as much as you are
able…” (BUKHAARI Eng/Arabic vol.9
[no.931], MUSLIM [no.3095]) and Allah (swt) said “So have taqwa of Allah as much as you can and listen
and obey…” (at Taghaabun 64:16) and
A’bdullah ibn U’mar said ‘We gave the
baya’h to Rasool Allah (saw) upon listening and
obeying, he (saw) used to say: “In as much
as you are able.” (BUKHAARI Eng/Arabic
vol.9 [no.309], MUSLIM [no.4604]) A’bdullah ibn
A’mru ibn al Ass reported that Nabi (saw) said “…Whoever gives baya’h to an Imaam giving
him the clasp of his hand and the fruit of his heart,
let him obey him as much as he can…” (MUSLIM
[no.4546]) So this principle was made general for all
obligations but it was mentioned with even more emphasis
with regards to Imaamah and listening and obeying. So
when we apply it to the following questions… Can
we have a leader now? Yes. Can we be unified now? Yes.
Can we collect and distribute the zakah under this leader?
Yes. Can we prepare for the obligations under the leader?
Yes. Can we seek to establish darul Islam under this leader?
Yes. Can we gather our resources, efforts and knowledge
under this leader for the maximum benefit of the ummah?
Yes. What would be better, a town of twenty-five thousand
Muslims being united under one man or to remain as scattered
individuals and dozens of groups? What would be better,
thirty million Muslims in western Europe united under
one man or for the people to remain as scattered individuals
and hundreds of groups? What would be better, a world
of one and a half billion Muslims being united under one
man or to remain as millions of scattered individuals
and thousands of groups? Do people think that Allah wanted
division and weakness for us rather than unity and strength? “They measure not Allah his rightful measure…” (al Hajj 22:74)
9.
People have confused ‘Darul Islam’ with ‘khilaafah’.
‘Darul Islam’ is the land that is controlled
and protected by the Muslims and where the shari’ah
is implemented completely and ‘khilaafah’
is the succession of leadership of the Muslim ummah. Power
is a condition of darul Islam, it is not a condition of
khilaafah. These two matters are different in their reality,
rules, conditions and methods of establishment. Khilaafah
is established by the baya’ah whereas darul Islam
is established by nussrah or by removal of the existing
force. There can be no darul Islam without the existence
of Imaamah as appointing the Imaam, listening and obeying
are part of the shari’ah and the application of
the shari’ah is organized by the Imaam and it revolves
around him. Therefore Imaamah comes before darul Islam
and thus Imaamah can and should exist before the establishment
of darul Islam. Therefore, darul Islam is not a condition
of Imaamah but rather, Imaamah is a condition of darul
Islam. Two rules can not both be conditions of each other
because a condition [shart] must be in place before the
rule [hukm] can apply.
10.
Those who say that Nabi (saw) was not a leader [Imaam]
have clearly contradicted the Quran and Sunnah. Naboowah
[Prophethood] and Risaalah [Messengership] generally establish
Imaamah [leadership] in a man as the messengership is
not only in belief but also in actions. The application
of these rules related to action need explaining, demonstrating
and organizing and this is performed by the Prophets.
In addition to this, the Prophets commanded the people
to reject all kufr law and obey Allah “We
sent to every ummah a messenger (declaring) ‘Worship
Allah and reject Taaghoot’” (an Nahl
16:36) This means that the people who followed the truth
from Allah would reject the existing leaders and take
the Prophets as their leaders. There is no doubt in this,
it is clear that the Prophets were to be obeyed and were
the legitimate leaders whether they had power or not as
Allah (swt) says “We never sent any messenger
except for him to be obeyed by the permission of Allah” (an Nisa 4:64) The role of the Prophets was to govern
the affairs of the people at all times, in weakness and
in strength, some of the Prophets never had power such
as I’sa (as) and Loot (as), additionally, others
who did have power eventually, were still clearly the
legitimate leaders although they lived within the regimes
of powerful leaders such as Moosa (as) at the time of
Fira’wn. Abu Hurayrah reported that Nabi (saw) said “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 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 due. Surely, Allah will ask them about
what He entrusted them with.” (MUSLIM [4543-4544],
BUKHAARI [English version vol.4 no.661]) So the khulafaa
succeeded the Prophets in leadership over the people but
they did not succeed them in Prophethood. The leadership
[imaamah] of Muhammad (saw) existed in the time of strength
and in the time of weakness, and the khulafaa succeed
him in this. Therefore leadership in Islam is not established
due to power but it is established due to the command
of Allah, the deen of Islam always operates under a leader.
Therefore obeying the khaleefah is not done because he
possesses power but he is obeyed because he, like a Nabi
[Prophet], is the legitimate leader [shari’ Imaam]
in the sight of Allah even if powerful leaders exist.
Whoever disobeys the Imaam is sinful whether the Imaam
has the ability to punish him or not and this is why the
shari’ah warns about the one who disobeys the Imaam
in many ahadeeth, Nabi (saw) said “…he
who disobeys the amir disobeys me.” (BUKHAARI
Eng/Arabic vol.4 [no.204], MUSLIM [no.4518-4523] from
Abu Hurayrah) Nabi (saw) was obeyed by the Muslims even
though they were weak in Makkah and other leaders existed
but their kufr leadership was rejected as Nabi (saw) was
the shari’ Imaam i.e. the legitimate leader in the
Sight of Allah (swt).
Conclusion
Finally
we ask, is the example of Nabi (saw) a comprehensive example
or is it a limited and inadequate one? Allah (swt) said “Verily in the messenger of Allah you have
the best example for him who hopes for Allah and the Last
Day and remembers Allah much.” (al Ahzaab
33:21) So we know that we have been commanded to take
the example and method of Nabi (saw) in all shariah commands
until the text specifically prohibits or restricts this.
We also ask, is the example and guidance concerning leadership
in Islam comprehensive or is it limited and inadequate?
We know that it is comprehensive guidance, Allah (swt)
says “We have revealed to you the Dhikr
(Reminder) that you may explain to mankind that which
has been revealed to them.” (an Nahl 16:44)
Thus the guidance and example concerning leadership includes
the time of weakness and strength and this is why the
bay’ah that the Prophet (saw) took from his companions
included the phrase “…in hardship
and in ease…” (This part of the bay’ah
was reported by BUKHAARI Eng/Arabic vol.9 [no.178]&
MUSLIM [no.4538-4541] from U’baadah bin as-Saamit
and in a different hadeeth by MUSLIM [no.4524] from Abu
Hurayrah) The shariah must guide in both these situations
because in reality people encounter both of these situations “And indeed, We have left nothing out of
the Book at all.” (al Ana’m 6:38)
and “Verily, We have sent down to you the
Book as a clarification for all matters…” (an Nahl 16:89) So just as the Muslim ummah needs
to be led and unified in the time of weakness the shari’ah
provided them with leadership for t |
