MUSLIMS FOR
PEACE
لَّا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجُوكُم مِّن دِيَارِكُمْ أَن تَبَرُّوهُمْ وَتُقْسِطُوا إِلَيْهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ
Allah does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not expel you from your homes - from being righteous toward them and acting justly toward them. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly. (Surah Mumtahna verse 8)
THE CALIPHATE
For almost 13 centuries, from the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632 to the overthrow of the last Ottoman caliph in 1924, the Islamic world was ruled by a caliph. ‘Khalifa’, the word ‘caliph’ means successor or deputy. The caliph was considered the successor to the Prophet Muhammad.
The Caliph - Part 1: Foundation
The Caliph - Part 2: Division
The Caliph - Part 3: Decline
The vedios seen above are a 3 part Al Jazeera documentary on the Caliphate. Copyrights belong Al-Jazeera
HOW IS A KHALIFA CHOSEN?
It is known in Islamic scholarship that none of the Khulafaa Rashidoon became the Imam except with the agreement with Ahl Hal Wal 'Aqd, or at least its majority. The establishment of the Imam of the Muslims only occurs when the people of strength and authority agree upon this. Receiving the Ba'yah from Ahlul Hal Wal 'Aqd is the very essence of Minhaj Nubuwaa (i.e Methodology of Prophethood), and let none come to claim that they are the Khilafah today (as the Prophet peace be upon him told us would be established again), except that they fulfill this crucial element.
The Ahul Hal Wal 'Aqd are the those of power, authority and influence over the people. The scholars have stated that they may be the likes of the leaders, scholars, tribal leaders and so on. The purpose of Ahl Hal Wal 'Aqd is to gain approval of the people. So the Ahul Hal Wal 'Aqd should have sufficient number of people to have acceptance of the Ummah or at least its majority. They are the representatives who represent the Ummah. As we see today, the Ummah has different people across the globe as their different representatives all of whom are obeyed by different sections of the Ummah in different regions. In this case, all of these should be consulted with and made a part of Ahul Hal Wal 'Aqd. What really matters is the one who can represent the Ummah and be obeyed by them willingly. It is necessary that the Ahlul Hal Wal 'Aqd should be representatives of the Ummah, and not that they are to be those chosen by so and so council for himself and then named as the people of Shurah. This is the actions of the tyrants and not the way of Khilafah.
Leadership, in the view of the Imams of Sunni Islam, is established with the agreement of the people of strength on it, and the person does not become a leader until the people of strength, through whose obedience to him the objective leadership is reached, agree upon him. For the objective of the leadership is only attained by capability and authority, so if he’s given a pledge whereby capability and authority are reached then he has become an Imam. Leadership is by dominance and authority, and a person doesn’t become dominant by the agreement of one, two or four (people), except that if the agreement of those entails the agreement of those besides them, thus becoming dominant thereby.”
HOW WAS IT PRACTISED IN THE TIME OF THE SAHABA?
With ‘Umar (R.A), when Abu Bakr (R.A) appointed him, he only became the Imam when they pledged to him and obeyed him, and if it so happened that they didn’t fulfill the appointment of Abu Bakr (R.A) and didn’t pledge to him he wouldn’t have been an Imam, regardless of whether that permissible or not
“And if it happened that ‘Umar (R.A) and a party with him pledged to him (Abu Bakr (R.A)) and the rest of the Companions withheld from pledging he wouldn’t become an Imam by that, rather he only became an Imam through the pledging of the majority of the Companions who are the people of capability and strength. And due to this the lingering of Sa’d ibn ‘Ubadah brought no harm, because that had no impact in the objective leadership, for the objective is the attainment of capability and authority whereby the benefits of Imamah (leadership) are gained, which were gained by the agreement of the majority”
“So whoever says that he becomes an Imam by the agreement of one, two or four (people) and they aren’t the people of capability and strength then he is mistaken, just like the one who thinks the absence of one, two or ten people is also mistaken”
And there are those who claim that it is sufficent that only one, two or three men give Ba'yah for the Khilafah, Abu Nu'aym al-Asbahaani states:
“If he says: “As-Siddeeq (Abu Bakr (R.A.)) was only given the pledge by one man, which is that ‘Umar (R.A.) said to him: “Stretch forth your hand I’ll pledge to you”. Then it’s said (to him): ‘Umar (R.A.) didn’t do that except with knowing of the consent of the Muslims and their uniting upon him (Abu Bakr (R.A.)), and (with the knowledge of) their yielding to his opinion and actions. And because of their awareness of his trustworthiness, sincerity & following of the truth. And because tranquility is uttered on the tongue of ‘Umar and his heart, along with what the Prophet (peace be upon hm) taught them, that: “If they obey Abu Bakr and ‘Umar they’ll be guided” and “That they should follow the two after him, Abu Bakr and Umar”.
And it has also been stated, “So whomsoever from the Fuqaha’ said that it (Bay’ah) is concluded by one person from Ahlul Hal Wal ‘Aqd, then they require that this person or small number (of people) is expressive of the will of Ahlul Hal Wal ‘Aqd and is representative of their majority”
SO WHAT OF DAESH? IS THEIR CLAIM TO CALIPHATE VALID?
In the case of ISIS, not a single one of their so called Ahlul Hal Wal Aqd is accepted by the Ummah. In fact, the Ummah does not even know them let alone accept them! This is why their claim of fulfilling the condition of Ahlul Hal Wal 'Aqd is rejected. So how can you say they represent you or the Ummah when neither you nor the Ummah knows them. Who are these Ahlul Hal Wal 'Aqd? What is the proof they fulfilled the conditions of being Ahlul Hal Wal 'Aqd?, Who are they representing and who chose them to choose (the "Khalifah")?
The leader of ISIS was not made a leader by the people but his own group. Once his followers chose him as a leader, they forced his authority on all the others who have never even heard of him. In Fiqh, such a ruler is known as Imam Mutaghaalib or the one who asserts power by force. The difference between Imam Mutaghaalib and the one who is chosen by Ahlul Hal Wal 'Aqd is that in the former he is obeyed under compulsion and fear but in the later the obedience is willing. So, in the case of ISIS, obedience under them is forced to the people if they are under their authority. Otherwise, they are not obeyed in the bulk majority of the Ummah. All that is the very definition and purpose of Ahlul Hal Wal 'Aqd. All this proves beyond doubt that no Ahlul Hal Wal 'Aqd has chosen them nor are they the ones representing the Ummah. Therefore, it can be concluded that their claims are NOT VALID at all.
IS HE KHALIFA? OFCOURSE NOT!
TESTIMONY FROM A FORMER ISIS FIGHTER
REAL KHALIFA VS FAKE KHALIFA
WHAT IS THE CORRECT WAY?
If a caliphate is to be established in this day and age, the reality of the matter comes down to the people uniting and coming to agreement on the establishment of the Khilafa. Next, they would have to reach an agreement on the on who the one who gives Ba'yah on their behalf and to whom. The important matter to understand is that the Ahlul Hal Wal 'Aqd should have the sufficient number of people to have acceptance of the whole Ummah or at least its majority, as mentioned earlier. The regions, or numbers are not relevant. It may be possible that one single man alone can be the Ahlul Hal Wal 'Aqd if the Ummah all accepts and obeys this single person of authority or influence. Clearly, they are the representatives who represent the Ummah. If one man alone is widely accepted by the Ummah, and his decisions will be accepted, then he is sufficient to be from the Ahlul Hal Wal 'Aqd. But on the other hand, if the Ummah has different people across the globe as their different representatives all of whom are obeyed through out different regions of the Ummah, then all of these must be consulted and made a part of Ahlul Hal Wal 'Aqd.
References
Aḥmad ibn Taymiyyah, Minhaj as-Sunnah an-Nabawiyyah, Vol 1, pg. 526-531
Nu'aym al-Asbahaani, Tadhbeetul Imaamah wa Tarteebul Khilafah, pg. 256
Salah as-Sawi, al-Wajeez fee Fiqh al-Khilafah pg. 55 by Salah as-Sawi
Al Ghazali, Fadha'ih al Batiniyyah Ad-Dar al Quawmiyyah, pg. 176-177