Islaamic Universal Government

[Mutakhasis]

Where did it fail?

Haha he's a typical stooge whose lost in his own world of misery

Over 1200 years of Islaamic rule, influencing over 2/3's of the world, instead in Nadir's world it failed in Medina haha

I've chose to ignore these senseless stooges

They need to drop out of secular schools as it's having the opposite affect on them

[Mutakhasis]

TREASURY REVENUES DIVISION

[Mutakhasis]

TREASURY EXPENDITURE DIVISION

[JAMALUDEEN]

Mutakhasis, tfs.

[Mutakhasis]

WHAT IS THE ISLAMIC STATE (KHILAFAH)

Here is a brief overview of the Khilafah State. Inshallah in the coming posts we are going to expand on the structure, processes and functions of this state and how we envisage it would work in the 21st century.

* The Khilafah (Caliphate) is a general leadership over all Muslims in the world. Its responsibility is to implement the laws of the Islam system and convey the Islamic Message to the rest of the world. The Khilafah is also called the Imama as both words have been narrated in many sahih ahadith with the same meaning.


* The Khilafah ruling system bears no resemblance to any of the governments in the Muslim world today. Although many commentators and historians have tried to interpret the Khilafah within existing political frameworks, it is in fact a unique political system.


* The Khaleefah (Caliph) is the head of state in the Khilafah. He is not a king or dictator but an elected leader whose authority to rule must be given willingly by the Muslims through a special ruling contact called baya. Without this baya he cannot be the head of state. This is completely opposite to a king or dictator who imposes his authority through coercion and force. The tyrant kings and dictators in the Muslim world are ample examples of this, imprisoning and torturing the Muslims and stealing their wealth and resources.


* This contract of baya stipulates that the Khaleefah must be just and rule the people by sharia. He is not sovereign and cannot legislate laws from his own mind that suit his personal and family interests. Any legislation he wishes to pass must be derived from the Islamic legal sources through a precise and detailed methodology called ijtihad. If the Khaleefah legislates any law contrary to this or commits oppression against his people, the highest and most powerful court in the State - the Unjust Acts Court (mahkamat muzalim) can impeach the Khaleefah and order his removal from office.


* The Khaleefah has been likened by some to a Pope, who is the Spiritual Head of all Muslims, infallible and appointed by God. This is not the case as the Khaleefah is not a priest. His post is an executive post within the Islamic government. He is not infallible and can make mistakes, which is why many checks and balances exist within the Islamic system to ensure he and his government remain accountable.


* The Khaleefah is not appointed by Allah rather he is elected by the Muslims and assumes authority through the contract of baya. The Khilafah is not a theocracy. Its legislation is not restricted to religious and moral codes that neglect the problems of society. Shari’ah is a comprehensive system that legislates on political, social, economic, foreign policy and judicial matters. Economic progress, elimination of poverty and enhancing the people’s standard of living are all goals the Khilafah will aim to achieve. This is completely opposite to the backward, medieval theocracies founded in Europe during the middle ages where the poor were forced to work and live in squalid conditions in return for the promise of heaven. Historically the Khilafah was an immensely wealthy state with a flourishing economy, high standard of living and a world leader in industry and scientific research for centuries.


* The Khilafah is not an empire that favours some lands above others. Nationalism and racism have no place in Islam and are totally prohibited. The Khaleefah can be from any race or colour, and from any school of thought (mazahib) as long as he is Muslim. The Khilafah is an expansionist state but does not conquer new lands in order to steal their wealth and resources. Rather its foreign policy is to convey the Islamic message alone.


* The Khilafah bears no resemblance to the republican system that is widespread in the Muslim world today. The republican system is based on democracy where sovereignty is given to the people. This means they have the right to legislate laws and a constitution. Sovereignty in Islam is to the sharia. No one in the Khilafah including the Khaleefah can legislate laws from their own minds.


* The Khilafah is not a totalitarian state. It cannot spy on its Muslim or non-Muslim citizens. Everyone in the Khilafah has the right to express his or her opposition to policies of the state without fear of arrest or imprisonment. Torture and imprisonment without trial is completely forbidden.


* The Khilafah does not oppress its non-Muslim minorities. Non-Muslims (dhimmi) are protected by the state and not forced to leave their religions and adopt Islamic values. Rather non-Muslim citizens are protected and their homes, properties and lives cannot be violated. Imam Qarafi, a Classical Scholar summed up the responsibility of the Khilafah to the dhimmi when he said: “It is the responsibility of the Muslims to the People of the Dhimma to care for their weak, fulfil the needs of the poor, feed the hungry, provide clothes, address them politely, and even tolerate their harm even if it was from a neighbour, even though the Muslim would have an upper hand (by the fact that It is an Islamic state). The Muslims must also advise them sincerely on their affairs and protect them against anyone who tries to hurt them or their family, steal their wealth, or violates their rights.”


* Women in the Khilafah are not regarded as inferior or second class citizens. Islam gave women the right to wealth, property rights, rights over marriage and divorce as well as a place in society. Islam established a public dress code for women – the Khimar and Jilbab in order to establish a productive society free from the type of negative and harmful relationships prevalent in the west.


* Establishing the Khilafah and appointing a Khaleefah is obligatory on all Muslims in the world, male and female. Performing this duty (fard) is the same as performing any other duty which Allah (SWT) has ordered us, where no complacency is allowed. Indeed the Khilafah is a vital issue for the Muslims.


* The future Khilafah will undoubtedly usher in a new era of peace, stability and prosperity for the Muslim world and beyond, ending years of oppression by some of the worst tyrants this world has ever seen. The days of colonialism and exploitation of the Muslim world will finally come to an end, and the Khilafah will utilise all resources at its disposal to further the interests of Islam and Muslims as well as establish an alternative for the people of the world to the Capitalist system.

[Mutakhasis]

The Khilafah system was implemented continuously throughout the history of Islam

Due to the current situation of the Muslim word, it is natural that the Ummah is looking for a solution to its problems and dedicates its resources in order to alleviate itself from the catastrophes that are confronting it. In its efforts to solve its problems, it is also natural that the Muslims would realise that Islam is the only solution because it is deeply rooted in the minds of Muslims and embodies our history, language, culture, and sentiments. As a result of such a realisation, Muslims would naturally work to bring Islam back into existence.

Today, Muslims are beginning to return to their Islamic roots, and we are exerting a tremendous amount of energy in order to change the situation. In the attempts to re-establish the Islamic ruling system, the Khilafah, those movements have faced many questions and obstacles. Some of these issues centre on whether the Khilafah State implemented Islam alone during its establishment.


The reason behind this questioning

As a consequence of the cultural and political invasion of the West upon the Muslims - which concentrated on attacking and diluting the concepts related to Islamic ruling and authority - many ideas related to Islamic governance-manifested by the Khilafah State- became weak, or completely misunderstood.

There were some who were infatuated with the West, and smitten by their ideas, who denied the Khilafah state ever existed. The western powers ensured that the Muslims, by their own initiative, turn away from such central and mainstream concepts as the Islamic political system, to the extent that when the Khilafah's death certificate was signed in 1924, a scholar and Azhar graduate named Ali Abdul Raziq, plagiarised a French book and immediately issued it claiming that Muhammad (saw) never acted as ruler, imam, judge, or political leader, and that the Khilafah was not a part of Islam at all.

He also claimed that the Muslims should convene and choose any political system to take care of their worldly affairs, but emphasised that Islam is exclusively for the individual and such a political system would not constitute a part of Islam. After issuing the book, Al Azhar issued a fatwa calling for the destruction of his certificate and claiming that he had left the fold of Islam. In spite of Al-Azhar's response, the book was published immediately after the destruction of the Khilafah, leading one to conclude that the publishing of such a book was precisely timed to coincide with the destruction of the state.

More recently, Farish A Noor, a Malaysian political scientist and human rights activist said in an article entitled, ‘Restoration of the Muslim Caliphate remains a Pipe-Dream’, “Those Muslims who tried to revive the institution of the Caliphate…. were merely holding on to a fantasy that was a comfortable panacea for the painful realities of their daily lives.”

Another reason for the questioning of the ruling system of Islam is sinister too. There are those who are clambering to keep the current Kufr [Non-Islamic] systems, by passing fatawa which are contradictory to Islam, and which deny the existence of the Khilafah state in history as the Islamic political system, due to the fact that they wish to please their masters from amongst the corrupt rulers.

Furthermore there are those who are defeated by pessimism who constantly see darkness and despair, and are afraid to go out of their houses. There are those who have simply misunderstood the reality of history and the events of the past, and state that Islamic rule lasted for a very short period only.

The West exerted a tremendous effort to alienate the Muslims from Islam, employing several tactics in order to achieve this aim. Among their many manoeuvres, championed by the Orientalists, was in constructing a picture of Islamic history as a grim era full of oppression and tyranny. As a result, many Muslims use such a scenario to counterattack any movement seeking to re-establish Islam in the realm of life. In order to legitimise their arguments, they present two particular points. They bring the example of the Umayyads and Abbasids and claim that their rule was that of a monarchy; and they cite stories of problems and incidents that occurred in history, exaggerate them in scope, and use them to justify their claim that Islam was not implemented. The following are some of the more common arguments raised against the Khilafah ruling system:


Islam did not give details on a political system

On the contrary, the Khilafah state is well defined, and scholars in the past and present have presented the Khilafah structure in detail. All pillars and roles within it are extracted from the first Islamic State that the Prophet Muhammad (saw) established in Medina and the structure adopted by subsequent Khulafah.


The argument that the Khilafah lasted for 30 years

There are some who have misunderstood the divine texts, and claim that the Khilafah only lasted for 30 years. They base their understanding, by taking in an isolated manner an honourable hadith, which was narrated in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad, which states that the Prophet (saw) said, “The Khilafah in my Ummah after me will be for thirty years. Then there will be Mulk after that.” Some people translate the word mulk as Kingship.

To deal with this understanding we need to look to the hadith, and what it is addressing, and we need to look to this honourable hadith in context with other hadith. The 30 years that are mentioned is related to the period of the Khulafah Rashidah. So if we look to their period of rule and look to the sum of the first five Khulafah it comes to exactly thirty years: two years and three months for Abu Bakr (ra), ten and a half years for Umar (ra), twelve years for Uthman (ra), four years and nine months for Ali (ra), and six months for al-Hasan (ra). The hadith then mentions that there will be mulk afterwards. The word mulk has many meanings. The famous Arabic dictionaries, like "Al- Muhit" of Fairuz Al-Abadi, clearly illustrate this. The word mulk amongst other things does mean kingship, but also it means the one having charge over all the people, and also the word “hukm” (rule), is synonymous with the word sultan (authority), and mulk (dominion/rule).

Those who refer to this hadith claim the Umayyads and later generations were monarchies because, they claim, even the hadith mentions the word Mulkan, which is derived from Malik, or ruler. Such an argument is built upon a false interpretation because the word Mulk as stated above means "dominion/rule/authority" and the word Malik can either mean "a ruler" in any context or "a ruler within a monarchical system." Thus, rulership or ruling does not immediately mean kingship or monarchy but can mean ruling in any system. Allah (swt) mentions in the Qur'an the word Mulk, in the context of rule, amongst other ayat:

“By Allah's will they routed them; and Dawud slew Goliath; and Allah gave him dominion [Mulk] and wisdom and taught him whatever (else) He willed. And were it not for Allah's repelling some men with others, the earth would certainly be in a state of disorder; but Allah is Gracious to the creatures” [TMQ Al-Baqarah: 251].

Nobody can claim that Dawud (as) was a king because he would have to declare himself sovereign, an impossible act for a Prophet. In this context, Dawud (as) was given the authority to implement the revelation he received from Allah (swt), in the same manner that the Khaleefah has the authority to rule only by Islam.

Also if we look to other hadith, they mention that there will be 12 Imams, which is a Shari’ah term to mean Khulafah, which can indicate that there were 12 Khulafah in the first three generations. As narrated by Jabir ibn Samurah (ra) that Muhammad (saw) said “The Islamic deen will continue until the Hour has been established, or you have been ruled by twelve Khulafah, all of them being from the Quraish” [Sahih Muslim].

In another hadith the Prophet (saw) has indicated that their will be many Khulafah. It has been reported on the authority of Abu Hazim that he said: “I accompanied Abu Hurairah for five years, and heard him informing about the Prophet (saw), he said: ‘The Prophets ruled over the children of Israel, whenever a Prophet died another Prophet succeeded him, but there will be no Prophet after me. There will soon be Khulafah and they will number many.’ They asked; ‘What then do you order us?’ He (saw) said; ‘Fulfil the Bay’ah to them, one after the other and give them their dues for Allah will verily account them about what he entrusted them with’ [Sahih Muslim].

Also the example of the Sahabah, Tabieen, and Tabi-Tabieen, and the great Mujtahideen amongst them, is clear that they recognised the Khulafah after Hasan (ra) and gave bay’ah to them freely, such as Khaleefah Muawiya, Khaleefah Abdullah ibn Zubayr (ra), and Khaleefah Umar ibn Abdul Aziz (ra), and even those much later on such as Khaleefah Abdul Hamid II amongst many others.


The argument that the Khilafah was a tyranny

To legitimise their claims that Islam was not implemented during its history or that Islam cannot be implemented again, some individuals refer to incidents described in history books that portray life under Islamic rule as a dismal existence in which oppression, misery, and persecution were the norm. In reality, these books often follow the footsteps of the Orientalists whose purpose was to attack and undermine Islam from every angle. The contents of such books point to isolated incidents that do not represent the general state of affairs within the Khilafah during its 1400-year tenure.

Moreover, such books contradict common sense. For instance, Khaleefah Haroon al-Rashid is often the target of malicious attacks by Orientalist writers that accuse him of a myriad of crimes - ranging from adultery to alcoholism to theft - as well as to portray him as a tyrannical despot who sponsored mass executions and ruled the people with an iron fist. Yet the same Khaleefah Haroon - spent alternating years performing Hajj and maintaining the armies of jihad, who built a water transport system that the Saudi regime cannot build today with their wealth and resources, and who saw the Islamic civilization rise to its zenith under his reign - was also nicknamed "Al-Rashid" and called the "Sixth Guided Khaleefah." Many other contradictions and distortions are found in such books that aim only at undermining Islam and presenting a distorted picture.

Yet, even tyranny is not a cause for the invalidation of the Islamic ruling system (although it can never be acceptable and must be changed), as the following noble hadith mentions; “‘The best of your Imams are those whom you love and they love you, and pray for you and you pray for them, and the worst of your Imams are those whom you hate and they hate you, and you curse them and they curse you.’ We asked; ‘O Messenger of Allah! Shall we not then declare war on them?’ He said; ‘No, as long as they establish Salah amongst you’ ” [Muslim from Auf bin Malik]. So the hadith is indicating that the ruler needs to be obeyed, as long as he implements the Shari’ah.

The Islamic Ummah must take the initiative and objectively re-examine its history by scrutinising its sources. No longer can Muslims afford to focus on the episodes from our history and heritage that the Orientalists and colonialists wish for us to dwell upon. Islamic history remains a history full of glimmering achievements and a shining example of civilization that produced a society of unparalleled justice, mercy, and advancement, for thirteen centuries.


The period of the ransacking of the Khilafah in 1258-1261

There are some who claim that there was no Khaleefah for a period of three years and that the Muslims ignored the duty of the Khilafah system. To fully understand this period, we need to examine the wider situation at that time. The reality of the Khilafah was that it was very weak. The capital of the Khilafah was Baghdad but many of the Wilayat (provinces) had become very strong; virtually autonomous. So when the Mongols ransacked Baghdad in 1258, and killed the Khaleefah Mutasim, it shook the entire state as mentioned by Jalaluddin As-Suyuti in his book Tarikh al-Khulafah.

The region of Egypt was controlled by the Wali (governor), who had assumed the title of Sultan. As-Suyuti mentions that;

"In 657 AH the world was without the Khaleefah. The Tartars [Mongols] were descending upon the Ummah. The Sultan [Wali] of Egypt was a boy, Mansur Ali bil Muizz (who was unable to do anything to help the Muslims)…There upon Sultan [Wali] Qotuz, assembled the nobles and the principal men of the Ummah and there present was Shaykh Izzuddin bin Abdus Sallam who was a celebrated orator, and he said, ' Since, the enemy has overrun the Wilayah, it is incumbent upon the whole Ummah to oppose them, and it is lawful to take from the people what they can afford of their sustenance on the condition that the bait al mal [State Treasury] be first exhausted…"

Then Qotuz, removed al-Mansur as the Sultan, and Qotuz, was then appointed as Sultan of the Wilayah. He then sent for Sultan Bayburs and met at Ain Jalut, where the Tartars were defeated, and the Muslims were victorious. In Rajab of 659 AH (May 1261) the Khaleefah was proclaimed and given the bay’ah. His name was Al Mustansir Billah Ahmed, he had fled Baghdad in 1258, and when Bayburs became Sultan he set out to visit him, with the Qadis and other officials of the state. The first to give him Bay’ah was Sultan Bayburs, then the Qadi al Qudaa, Tajuddin Aa'zz, then the Shaykh Izzuddin Sallam, and then the rest of the influential people.

The whole narration shows that the structure of the State was intact, apart from the fact that the Khaleefah had been killed and that the Muslims did not have a Khaleefah for 3 years. This was not because of a negligence of a duty, far from it, and it would be wrong to suggest so by the fact that the Muslims concerned for selecting a Khaleefah were under an overwhelming power preventing them from doing so. The period between 1258-1261 is analogous to the case of the Muslims after the murder of Uthman (ra) where the Muslims remained for five days without a Khaleefah before pledging Ali (ra) as Khaleefah.

Even the Tartars, who ransacked Baghdad and directly occupied the Islamic State, could not escape the influence of Islam. When the Muslims finally expelled them, they accepted Islam, returned to give the Bay'ah to the Khaleefah, and carried the banner of Islam to Russia and the Far East. No other incident in history witnesses that a nation conquered a people, and the conquerors soon carried the culture and ideas of the conquered! Only through the implementation of Islam and the power of the Islamic Ideology could the Muslims have profoundly influenced their invaders inspite of the intellectual decline and fragmentation existing within the Ummah at the time.


The Case Of The Bay'ah [oath of allegiance]

Although the Khilafah remained with a single family during the time of the Umayyads and Abbasids, their ruling was not considered a monarchy for the following reasons:

The sovereignty was never given to the Head of State, and nor did the Head of State ever claim himself to be sovereign, i.e. the source of legislation, as is the case in the monarchical system. Throughout Islamic history, the Muslims always referred to the Hukm Shar'i [Islamic law] as the source of their legislation and not to any particular individual.

The office of the Khilafah was never conferred upon individuals solely on the basis of inheritance. Although the Khilafah remained within a single family for several generations at a time, such an incident does not constitute hereditary ruling because the Bay’ah was always given. In a monarchy, the son of the King or the ruler, by sole virtue of his family relationship, would immediately assume the ruling position afterward. During the Islamic history, no Khaleefah was ever appointed or designated to his post without the Bay’ah. Those few who did try to assume the position of Khaleefah without a Bay’ah performed an illegitimate seizure of power and were quickly removed.

The controversy over the Bay’ah centres on the incident in which Muawiya (ra) took the Bay’ah for his son, and such an incident is used to justify the claims that monarchical rule followed the generation of the Sahabah. Such a conclusion results from failing to distinguish between misapplying the rules and abandoning them altogether. Muawiya's case demonstrates a misapplication of the Shari’ah rules in which the Bay’ah was taken in the wrong manner. Furthermore, Muawiya based his understanding on Abu Bakr's (ra) actions when he nominated Umar (ra) before the termination of his Khilafah. In the same manner, Muawiya selected his son. Although Abu Bakr (ra) asked the opinions of the Muslims as opposed to Muawiya, such an act does not indicate that Muawiya abandoned the Shari’ah because the Bay’ah was not abandoned but he misapplied the Shari’ah rule in this instance.

In spite of the misapplication, the Bay’ah was given consistently throughout the thirteen centuries of Islamic rule. The Shari’ah has laid down two points related to the Bay’ah that need to exist for the Bay’ah to be legitimate. Firstly, the consent of all the Muslims needs to be sought, and secondly it needs to be done without coercion but by free will and consent. Generally, the Bay’ah was given by the Sheikh al Islam or the Ahlul Halli wal Aqd [the influential people] who represented the Muslims as a whole throughout Islamic history. Thus, the argument that the Bay’ah was misapplied on occasion is no basis for claiming the Khaleefah was not legitimately contracted or that Islam was not implemented.


Conclusion

As sovereignty belongs to Allah (swt), the Muslims should always surrender to Allah's (swt) rulings as found in the Islamic texts when discussing any issue, evaluating any idea or concept, or initiating any action. Regardless of how many justifications or excuses circulate amongst the Ummah, the fact remains that Islam defined a unique political system, provided a detailed and well-defined political structure, established the political system as the practical mechanism to implement and carry Islam, and obliged the Muslims to establish this system. The Orientalists and those who harbour hatred towards Islam have capitalised upon aspects of Islamic history to portray a bleak picture of life under Islamic rule. Some people, even sincere Muslims, have been seduced by the Orientalists and inadvertently justify the claim that Islam is not applicable for modern political life. Such claims are not excuses for the Muslims to claim that Islam has no political system or that it doesn't work. On the Day of Judgment, Allah (swt) will judge the Muslims for their deeds, not their excuses.

The ruling by Islam constitutes an integral part of the belief in Islam because Allah (swt) mentions in the Qur'an:

“They (the prophets) are those whom we gave the Book, Al-Hukm (the ruling), and the Prophethood. But if they disbelieve therein, then we have entrusted it to a people who are not disbelievers” [TMQ Al-Anam: 89].

Nobody can claim that Muhammad (saw) was not given the ruling because the Ayah clearly indicates that, as a Prophet, Muhammad (saw) received the ruling along with the Book and the Prophethood. To claim that Islam does not have a ruling system would denote a denial of the Ayah in the Qur'an. Also, "they" in the Ayah is addressed to the polytheists among the Quraysh, and the, "people who are not disbelievers", refers to the Sahabah. In this Ayah, Allah (swt) is stating that those who disbelieve in any of the three aspects, whether it is the Book, the Prophethood, or the ruling, would be similar to the disbelievers among the Quraish who fought and opposed Muhammad (saw). Furthermore, the Sahabah, in order to fulfil the criterion of, "people who are not disbelievers", would have to believe in the ruling and work for its establishment. Based upon this Ayah, Allah (swt) likens those who oppose the ruling or those who oppose the work for Islam's establishment to the polytheists among the Quraish. Thus, any attack against the political system of Islam or those who work to establish it is an attack against Islam itself.

Most importantly, the Muslims must understand that, in spite of what history says, Islam is correct: Allah (swt) is still the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe; the Qur'an and the Sunnah remain as guidance for humanity and the system from Allah (swt). Islam will always remain for anyone to accept or reject as he or she desires, and no excuses - whether they come in the guise of, "Islam was not implemented, so what's the use?" or any other justification - will change Islam in any aspect. Nations, like people, experience falls and shortcomings that add to the growth of the nation in the same manner that an individual's failures build experience and knowledge that act as stepping stones for future success.

Today, the Islamic Ummah has fourteen centuries of history as a deposit in her ideological account that can be withdrawn and utilised in the challenge to re-establish the Islamic State and attain its rightful status. Allah (swt) mentions the Muslims’ status in the Qur'an:

“We have made you a just Ummah, that you be witnesses over mankind and the Messenger be a witness over you” [TMQ Al-Baqarah: 143].

“You are the best Ummah ever raised up for mankind; you enjoin the good, and forbid the evil, and you believe in Allah” [TMQ Ale-Imran: 110].

The Muslims should aspire towards nothing less because Muhammad (saw) indicated that the Khilafah will return based on the path of Prophethood.

Ibn 'Asakir quoted Yunus Ibn Maysara Ibn Halbas as saying that Rasoolallah (saw) had stated: "This matter (namely the Khilafah) will be after me in Madinah, then in Syria, then in the Jazira, then in Iraq, then in Madina, then in Jerusalem. If it is in Jerusalem, its home country is there, and if any people expel it, it will not return there for ever" [Ibn 'Asakir, Tahdhib Tarikh Dimashq al-Kabir, Volume 1, p42 (Dar al-Masiyrah, Beirut, 1979)].

Such Ayat and Ahadith should provide a source of confidence in Islam to motivate the Muslims to strive for the supremacy of Allah (swt) deen. The Muslims have a responsibility to mankind to establish Islam so that its light and beauty shines upon the whole world.

[Roshina]

This whole idea of an Islamic *universal* government has always been confusing to me. (And, to all those who are pro this idea, don't assume that reading the long stuff you're pasting from God-knows-where is going to help me understand. It's making things even more confusing. You're not willing to listen to us, since you're too busy pasting stuff from other places without even citing them. And when people give their opinions in disagreement to your idea, you can only call them "dumb" and write things like "hahaha," which, you should know by now, makes you appear very childish.) But anyway, here are my thoughts.

See, who's going to decide who our leaders will be? Certainly, voting will be involved, right? So, who all will be allowed to vote? Who will DECIDE who can vote and who can't? (For example, will the extremist Sunnis let non-Sunnis vote?) And is it like for Muslims all over the world, or what? Surely, we would agree that we'll have to have branches here and there, major offices and whatnot, where our leaders will meet and discuss all matters that need to be paid full attention to. So who's gonna decide where all this will be located?

I thought of more questions and things to say before sleeping last night, but I can't remember the rest now! So more later.

But giving my opinion . . . this is way too impractical to be achieved realistically.

[Khushal Khan Khattak]

People should realize, we are a different civilization, even though we do not like to call ourselves Muslim, it is the people in the West who would categorize you as the Muslims civilization.

There is only one way we can achieve progress and development, the same way the West used, standing out as The Christian West against the Barbaric Islam, as they saw it. Whenever a group of Westerners travelled in the East, they would not call themselves as English, German or French but as Westerners.

The 1st step to our renaissance is to know who we are, the definition of self as the West made for itself, and that definition is simple, we are, Muslims.

[lalala]

this sounds like a way for arabs to enslave all muslims under their menacing rule

arabs who fought against ottoman rule now dream of an islamic government HA!



i think you would have a placce like dubai where arabs get rich and fat while they use all other muslims as slaves

[Roshina]

sorry to butt in but this diagram shows how the Khalifah will be elected. Look closely on the right hand side. At the bottom it says shias and other minorities will be represented and so will be non muslims.

Again, no, it doesn't.

And we'll have to finally conclude -- after over 1400 years later -- what exactly a "Muslim" means. Some will say Ismailis will count as Muslims, and others will say no. If they're gonna be counted as Muslims, that means their vote will have to count. Otherwise, no. But who's gonna decide who's Muslim and who's not?

I am interested in who exactly is gonna be *making the decisions* regarding our leadership -- i.e., who all will be nominated and from where? I mean, we're talking about the ENTIRE world here, with over 6 billion people (since you claim that both Muslims and non-Muslims will be represented). Do you see what I mean about impracticality? Yeah, utterly impractical and unrealistic.

[inqilab]

I guess i will continue this since you got banned LOL

[inqilab]

Defeating the Byzantines
Mu'awiyah bin Sufyaan was the first of the Ummayad rulers and enacted a policy of continuous expansion, which brought Northwest Africa (Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia), Spain, western India and portions of Central Asia under Islamic authority. Mu'awiyah is famous for enacting the policy for the development of the military of the Islamic state. This included a powerful navy and the creation of military bases. Mu'awiya had realised that the decisive battle against the than superpower the Byzantines would be at sea. Mu'awiyah's policies resulted in the creation of dockyards in Acre in Syria and also in Eastern Egypt which was in Muslim control by 641. By 649 the construction of 1000 fleet was complete. This policy also resulted in ship building factories being constructed at important ports such as Abla and Sirafin in the Persian Gulf, Tunis on the North African Coast, Sus in Morocco then after further victories facilities developed in Palermo and Messina in Sicily and Bari in Italy. Within a hundred years these ports also served as commercial centres for Trade which facilitated the Islamic states riches


Prior to Mu'awiyah all the Khilafah's victories were with states landlocked with the Muslims, the Arabian peninsula, Western India, Persia, Iraq and central Asia, none of them ever warranted sea battles. The Ummah used camels and horses for strategic mobility across the dessert. The strategy being to move along the dessert coast and then retreat if the enemy was too strong. This severely hindered the Byzantine forces, who were a sea power, it however restricted Islamic expansion. Mu'awiyah however realised that the Byzantines would need to be defeated at sea to cause them any major blow.


Mu'awiyah also realised the need for military bases and this was incorporated into his expansion policy. The first attempt at Egypt failed due to the then supply line being overstretched - the Fustat military base was 1500 miles away. Other bases such as Kufa and Basra were even further. In 670 the first full military base composed of garrisons, horses, camels, artillery, blades, swords and gunpowder was made in Qairawan (modern Tunisia) like all the other bases it developed into a famous city. Once Egypt was conquered a base was also set up there by the conquered Berbers themselves which matched the base set up Qairawan. This resulted in metalworking reaching a high standard, and the use and development of glassware and ceramics.


As a result of Mu'awiya's Economic and military policies and with a supply line supported by two huge military bases and a powerful navy the Berber turned Muslim Tariq ibn Ziyad in 711, from around Tangier (modern day Morocco), with an army of around seven thousand three hundred men crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and began the conquest of Spain and thereafter Europe.

Baghdad
When the Abbasids took over the Khilafah, they began a project of creating a capital city that would be revered around the world. The Abbasid caliph, Al Mansur assembled engineers, surveyors and art constructionists from around the world to come together and draw up plans for the city. Over 100,000 construction workers came to survey the plans and were distributed salaries to start the building of the grand city.


Baghdad was the first circular city in the world. Within fifty years the population outgrew the city walls as people thronged to the capital to become part of the Abbasids' Civil service and engage in trade. Baghdad became a vast emporium of trade linking Asia and the Mediterranean. By the reign of Mansur's grandson, Harun ar Rashid (786-806), Baghdad was second in size only to Constantinople. European towns, cities and settlements built walls to prevent raids from outlaws and armies but were typically vulnerable at four points; the corners. If enough pressure was applied at any of these points the wall would collapse and troops could flood through the breach. The Muslims solved this problem by building circular cities.


After the defences of the city were complete attention turned to how the Abbasids would feed the rest of the Ummah. The development of Agriculture under the Abbasids was a phenomenon; the scarcity of water had converted the barren Arab lands into a vast desert, which had never yielded any substantial agricultural produce. The scattered population always imported supply of food grains to supplement the dates and the little corn grown in their own lands. Agriculture in Arabia, had been very primitive and was confined to those tracts where water was available in the form of springs. Medina, with its springs and wells was the only green spot in the vast desert. The Abbasids dealt with this by first controlling the flows of the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers. The Irrigation system in the land was greatly improved by digging a number of new canals, the largest flowed between the Tigris and Euphrates. This canal was called Nahr Isa (Isa canal) and was open to ships for transportation between Syria & Iraq. This led to navigation routes opening to India and Persian Gulf. The Abbasids reconstructed the existing canals, lakes, and reservoirs, which were first built under Hajjaj Bin Yusuf in 702. After this the swamps around Baghdad were drained, freeing the city of malaria.

House of Wisdom - Bayt al-Hikma
The Abbasids in the 8th initiated probably the greatest translation project translating the work of the Ancient Greeks into Arabic to preserve them from being lost forever. The careful and painstaking archive work took time, effort and co-ordination. An institute named Al-Bait ul-Hikmah was set up and run by the Abbasid Khilafah in Baghdad for this purpose.


At the behest of the Caliph an observatory was built and numerous educational institutes which made literacy widespread were created. Other rulers such as Al-Mansur ordered plentiful resources to achieve the task. Translation became a state industry and the Muslim scholars succeeded in what is still regarded today as a truly incredible feat.


Observatories were set up in Baghdad and become an unrivalled center for the study of humanities and for sciences, including mathematics, astronomy, medicine, chemistry, zoology and geography. The scholars, scientists and specialists draw upon the translated works of previous civilizations such as the Persian and Greek works that included those of Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle and Socrates. Such works were accumulated and Baghdad become home to a great collection of world knowledge.

Uthmani Khilafah
The Uthmani's came to eclipse all of the rival amirs and sultans across the Islamic lands and then were able to menace the whole of Europe, to the extent that the Kuffar were convinced that the Uthmani's could not be defeated. A number of polices enacted by the Uthmani's cemented their position in global politics at the time.


The Uthmani's were one of the many bands of Turkmen horsemen who began to come into the Islamic lands as a result of the Mongol invasions in the 13th century. These Turkmen warriors, who had converted to Islam, were sent to the frontiers of the state by the Seljuks, who themselves were of Turkish origin. This was because they had excellent fighting skills and zeal, which the Seljuks wanted them to apply along the frontier with the Byzantines. The House of Uthman proved to be one of the most successful of these bands, taking many towns and villages from the control of the Byzantines, they then unified the other ghazis, or mujahideen, under their banner.


In 1432, Murad II (the 5th Sultan) introduced the devshirme or boy-tribute system which was an elite force of soldiers loyal only to the Sultan. According to this system, a tribute officer would set out across the Balkans and Greece, and from the villages a number of young boys, usually less than a handful from each village, would be taken for training. These were trained physically and put through an education system that would enable them to proceed into the state's administrative system. Those who showed good intellectual aptitude would proceed on this track, while those who were not considered suitable for administrative tasks would be drafted into the janissaries, or other positions serving the Sultan, There were huge benefits to such a system Firstly, the Uthmani's could constantly guarantee that the only basis for people to obtain posts in the Khilafah was the personal qualities that shone through under examination; they were literally the best of the best. Alongside that, the administrative system was only open to people via this system hence they had no ties with families within the Khilafah, hence it could be assured that any official, no matter what post he reached, would not be able to pass on all that he had earned, or try and get his son into power after him. This had the effect of not allowing the power to be cemented in the hands of anyone other than the Sultan. The importance of this system cannot be underestimated, from the time of Muhammad al Fatih in the 1450s, the 34 of the next 36 leaders, were converts to Islam, who had come through this system.


The Uthmani's also developed the janissaries, who were a standing infantry that would only admit into its ranks captured non-Muslims. These troops would be trained and then, after converting to Islam, they would be fully enrolled into the janissary order. The source for these troops was the captured nobles of the people the Othmani's had defeated. For centuries onwards from this time, they were the only standing army in Europe, a professional corps of fighters always prepared and ready for battle. The upkeep for the janissaries was paid for through revenues that the empire was constantly collecting. This meant that the Uthmani's would always have the advantage of being able to immediately deploy their forces, at no extra cost.


In contrast, the feudal states of Europe would have to impose hefty taxes on their peasant populations in order to generate the needed funds. The benefit of the standing army was that it acted to cement the power of the state's legitimate authority. Europeans, their Kings, Dukes or other potentates would have to rely on their nobles to provide troops. If this would not be sufficient, they would have to hire foreign forces, or enter into pacts, treaties and other political agreements that could all in them selves lead to more of a threat than the menace of the Uthmani army itself. The Sultan could count on the fact that the janissaries had no loyalty to any one other than him. So the Khaleefah had no rivals or other centres of power to placate, because his authority in the Khilafah was absolute. This led to continued political stability in the Khilafah and gave the Khaleefah the ability to engage in long term plans to expand power. The success of such polices resulted in the conquering of Southern Italy, Hungary, Austria, Romania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Malta, Cyprus, Croatia, Ukraine, the Canary Islands, parts of Iceland and the largest island of the Bristol waters in England - Lundy.


Such was the perceived threat of the Uthmani Khilafah under the reign of Suleiman al Qanooni that ambassador Busbecq of the Austrian monarch Ferdinand I warned of Europe's imminent conquest: "On [the Turks'] side are the resources of a mighty empire, strength unimpaired, habituation to victory, endurance of toil, unity, discipline, frugality and watchfulness... Can we doubt what the result will be?...When the Turks have settled with Persia, they will fly at our throats supported by the might of the whole East; how unprepared we are I dare not say." (Lewis, Bernard (2002). What Went Wrong? : Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response)

Uthmani-US Relations
In 1783 the first US navy boat started to sail in international waters and within two years was captured by the Uthmani navy near Algeria. In 1793 12 more US navy boats were captured. In March 1794 the US Congress authorized President Washington to spend up to 700 000 gold coins to build strong steel boats that would resist the Uthmani navy. Just a year later the US signed the Barbary Treaty to resolve the Uthmani threat. Barbary, was the term for the North African wilaya's of Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, under the rule of the Uthmani's
The terms of the treaty were:

1. The treaty will cost the US a one off payment of $992,463

1. The American ships captured would be returned and the American Navy was to be given permission to sail in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

1. In return, the American government would pay $642 000 in equivalent gold.

1. The US would also pay an annual tax (tribute) of $12 000 in gold. The annual tribute would be calculated according to the Islamic calendar and not the Christian calendar

1. $585,000 would be paid for the ransom of the captured American sailors

1. A state of the art steel ship would be constructed and delivered to the Uthmani's, built in the US with all costs borne by the US in return for privileges. (The costs of masts, Yards, and heavy planks, were very costly and so difficult to procure, and then so exceedingly expensive to transport. Once delivered the US had actually paid thirty times their estimated price in the stipulations).

The treaty was written in Turkish and signed by President Washington, This is the only American legal document to ever have been concluded in a foreign language and the only treaty the Americans have ever signed that agrees to pay annual tax to another nation. This treaty continued until the Khilafah was abolished.

Conclusions
When the Khilafah was present and it applied Islam it was the world's unrivalled power. This fact is not forgotten by the West and it remains a potent force which the world's intelligence agencies spend day and night hypothesizing about. As a result of this various surveys, think tank reports and policy makers have all accepted that Muslims globally have rejected western values. A Gallup survey in 2006 concluded Muslim women tended to regard Western culture as morally corrupt and obsessed with sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. This represents a glaring failure on the part of the West who has faced no challenge to its global supremacy since the fall of Communism.


On the 86th Anniversary of the destruction of the Khilafah, the Ummah globally should realise that the West has pulled out all its resources to halt the call for the Khilafah and the winds of change that have galvanized the Ummah. The Ummah needs to realise whilst the Western colonialists led by the US bleed to death due to Iraq and Afghanistan, the Ummah is actually in a position of strength. The attack on both of these nations is due in part to the failure of the Muslims rulers to stop the Islamisation of their countries.



All that remains now is for the Muslim armies to realise the Ummah is ready for change and for them to make this change a reality. The Muslims armies should remember that Sa'ad ibn Muadh رضي الله عنه gave the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم the necessary military and political support (nusra) as one of the chiefs of the key tribes of Madina. His support played a vital role in establishing Islam as a way of life. On his death the throne of Allah سبحانه وتعالى moved, and Allah سبحانه وتعالى truly elevated his status.


When Sa'ad ibn Muadh رضي الله عنه died, Jibreel عليه السلام came to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and said: "Who was this good soul who died? The gates of the heavens were opened for him and the throne of Allah moved." (Ahmed).


When his body was carried after the Janazah the Muslims carrying the body said, "We have not carried a dead body lighter than this." The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم replied to them: "Nothing made his body lighter, but it was such and such number of angels (many angles) who descended and carried him along with you. Those angels had never before descended." (Narrated in Tabaqat ibn Sa'ad).


Bukhari narrates on the authority of Jabir رضي الله عنه who said: "I heard the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم say: ‘the heavens trembled at the death of Sa'ad bin Muadh.'"

[erlangner]

I would like to mention here two jokes regarding this universal Islamic government.
I appreciate how sincerely Mutakhassis worked for it, but it seems to me no way practical. Jokes are as follow.
1)Once sitting in the gathering of Jammaat-i-Islami (I used to attend gathering of all parties to learn and know new things) and one of the speaker was telling that USA is too much afraid of us, and you people why? Gathering replied in silence, he said, because we are struggling for Islamic government. And USA allows freely the tableghi jamaat for their activities in USA, and he furthered explained, that once a US offcial was asked, why US allows tableghi Jammaat for activites in US. He replied, because they are talking about the things somewhere away from this planet. And if they dont create problem here, so why we should stop them.

2) I belong to one of the southern district of Khyber pakhtoonkhwa, and our dialect, bannusi, marwat wala, khattak wala, wazirwala, maseewala, bittan wala, hanguwalla, and also kohtawala as well are difficult dialects. One of our university friend once just joking at us from southern districts told a nice story. It made us laugh too much.

Hagha wayal, che kalla Allah tolo qamoono ta jabbay taqseemawallay, no, da har yao qam mashar ba ratlo, ao yawa jabba ba ye khwakhawalla, cha germna wakhesta, cha english wakhesta, cha arabi, cha tsa ao cha tsa. Akher keda, keda, jabbay khatmay shway, ao de southrn districts masher walar wo. Allah ta war makhamakh sho, wayal, ye zamoong jabba? Allah wayal, yarra, kho pata shwae, jabbay kho khatmay shway. No de mahsar warta wayal, moong tsa okroo, bia. waee Allah warta wayal, Yarra jabbay kho ore nashta, kho bas zae tsa gadday wadday wae no.

I want to say, that Islamic emirates or universal islamic government at this stage is such type of gadda wadda.

[inqilab]

Only joke and joker here seems to be you lol.

[inqilab]

An Introduction to the Islamic Judiciary

Definition
The Khilafah’s judiciary is responsible for issuing judgments that are enforced by the state. Its responsibility covers three main areas:

1. Settling disputes between people
2. Preventing whatever may harm the rights of the community
3. Settling the disputes between people and any person who is part of the government, whether the Khaleefah, his cabinet, civil servants or any other person.1

Types of Judges
There are three types of judges each responsible for one of the areas above.2

1. Qadi (judge) - responsible for setting disputes between people
2. Muhtasib (inspector) – responsible for settling any breach of law that may harm the rights of the community
3. Qadi Mazalim (Government Investigations Judge) – responsible for settling disputes between the people and the government

The Qadi
The evidence for the Qadi is derived from the actions of the Prophet (saw) when he appointed Mu’adh ibn Jabal to Yemen as a Qadi.

Narrated Mu’adh ibn Jabal: Some companions of Mu’adh ibn Jabal said: When the Messenger of Allah (saw) intended to send Mu'adh ibn Jabal to the Yemen, he asked: “What will you do if a matter is referred to you for judgement?” Mu’adh said: “I will judge according to the Book of Allah.” The Prophet asked: “What if you find no solution in the Book of Allah?” Mu’adh said: “Then I will judge by the Sunnah of the Prophet.” The Prophet asked: “And what if you do not find it in the Sunnah of the Prophet?” Mu'adh said: “Then I will make Ijtihad to formulate my own judgement.” The Prophet patted Mu’adh’s chest and said “Praise be to Allah who has guided the messenger of His Prophet to that which pleases Him and His Prophet.”3


There are seven conditions for the post of Qadi.4 These are:

1. Muslim
2. Free
3. Mature
4. Sane
5. Just (‘Adl)
6. Faqih (learned scholar)
7. Aware of how to apply the rules to the events

Therefore the Qadi can be a man or a women.

The Qadi can only pass judgment in a judicial court. This is derived from the following hadith.

Narrated Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr: “The Messenger of Allah has ordered that the two disputing parties should sit before the judge.”5


The Presumption of Innocence exists in an Islamic judicial court where the defendant is innocent until proven guilty. The responsibility of providing the evidence is on the plaintiff (the one who initiates the law suit) not the defendant. This is derived from the following hadith.

The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “It is the plaintiff who should provide the evidence, and the oath is due on the one who disapproves.”6


Different types of courts can be established depending on the case. There can be specialist courts for financial disputes or family disputes. There can also be different levels of courts depending on the nature of the crime. Al-Mawardi mentions the following example from Basra in Iraq.

Abu ‘Abdullah Az-Zubayri said; ‘For sometime, the ‘Umara here in Basra used to appoint a judge at the central Masjid (Al-Masjid Al-Jami’), and they called him the judge of the Masjid. He used to judge in disputes involving sums not exceeding twenty Dinars and two hundred Dirhams, and he used to impose Nafaqah (maintenances). He would not exceed his boundaries nor the duties entrusted to him.’7


The Muhtasib
The evidence for the Muhtasib is derived from the following hadith.

The Messenger of Allah (saw) passed by a heap of food. As he put his hand inside it his fingers got wet, so he said to the vendor: “‘What is this?’ He said; ‘It was dampened by the rain O Messenger of Allah.’ He (saw) said; ‘Why don’t you put it on the top so that people can see it? He who cheats does not belong to me.’”8


The Prophet (saw) passed a judicial judgement on the trader that he must display the damp food on top so that people can see it. The Muhtasib is an inspector who traditionally went around the markets checking the weights and measures and investigating the traders’ transactions.

The conditions of the Muhtasib are the same as those for the Qadi.

The Muhtasib is not restricted to financial transactions but his remit is any violation of the right of the community such as someone playing loud music at night and disturbing the neighbours. Any crimes witnessed by the Muhtasib that fall under the Hudood (penal code) or Jiniyat (criminal law) are outside his remit. These cases would be investigated by the Qadi in a judicial court.

There is no plaintiff or defendant when the Muhtasib gives his judgement only a right of the community has been violated. Therefore the hadith that restricts judgement to a judicial court does not apply to the Muhtasib. The Muhtasib can give judgement anywhere within the jurisdiction assigned to him.

Police officers will accompany the Muhtasib who will carry out the punishment issued by the Muhtasib such as an on the spot fine for dropping litter.

The Qadi Mazalim
The evidence for the Qadi Mazalim is derived from the following verse of the Holy Qu’ran.


“O you who believe obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority from amongst you. If you disputed over a matter refer it to Allah and the Messenger.”9


If any dispute arises between the citizens of the state and those in authority then it must be referred to Islam. This necessitates the appointment of a special Qadi that passes judgement on disputes arising with those in authority.

The unjust acts perpetrated by the state are called Mazlema. This is derived from the following hadith.

Anas reported: “Prices soared during the time of the Messenger of Allah (saw) so they said to him; ‘O Messenger of Allah why don’t you introduce pricing?’ He said; ‘Verily Allah is the Recipient, the Extender of wealth, the Provider, and the Pricer, and I hope that I will meet Allah (swt) without having anyone accusing me of having perpetrated a Mazlema against him be it in blood or in money.’”10


Pricing is where the state intervenes to control the prices of goods in the event of high inflation. The Prophet (saw) described the act of pricing as a Mazlema.

The conditions of the Qadi Mazalim are the same as those of the Qadi except two extra conditions are added.

1. Male
2. Mujtahid (jurist)

The post of the Qadi Mazalim combines judicial and ruling responsibilities so this restricts the post to men. The nature of the crimes committed by the state requires a Qadi who can address any new issue that arises by the state. Therefore the Qadi Mazalim must also be a mujtahid.

The Post of Qadi Mazalim is discussed in the section below on judicial independence.

Head of Judiciary
The Qadi ul-Qudah (Chief Justice) is head of the judiciary. He has the power to appoint and remove all judges in the state. There are exceptions to this concerning the Qadi Mazalim which are explained in the judicial independence section below. The Khaleefah is the one who appoints the Qadi ul-Qudah and removes him.

The conditions for the Qadi ul-Qudah are the same as those of the Qadi Mazalim.

Judicial Independence
There are two types of judicial independence. Institutional and decisional independence. Institutional independence means the judicial branch is independent from the executive and legislative branches. Decisional independence is the idea that the judge should be able to decide the outcome of a trial solely based on the law and case itself, without letting the media, politics or other things sway their decision.11

The Khilafah’s judiciary enshrines both institutional and decisional independence to a level that far exceeds any of the democratic states today.

Institutional independence
The Khilafah has an independent high court called the Court of Unjust Acts (mahkamat mazalim). It is presided over by the most eminent and qualified judges (Qadi Mazalim) in the state and granted extensive powers by the Shari’ah. It has the power to remove any official of state regardless of their role or rank, including, most importantly, the Khaleefah if he persists in pursuing a path that lies outside of the terms of his Bay’ah.

Ordinary citizens who have a complaint against the state can register it with the Court. The Council of the Ummah can also refer disputes arising between itself and the Khaleefah to the Court.

What is unique about the Court of Unjust Acts, compared to other judicial courts, is that the Government Investigations Judge (Qadi Mazalim) has investigatory powers and does not require a plaintiff to register a complaint before launching an investigation. This court will therefore constantly monitor the actions of all officials of the state and the legislation adopted to ensure it conforms to Shari’ah and no oppression (mazlama) is committed against the people.12

The executive counterbalance to the power of this Court is by the Khaleefah in principle having the power to appoint and remove the Chief Justice and any judges below him. The Khaleefah can either give his Chief Justice the power to appoint all the mazalim judges or the Khaleefah himself can appoint them.13

In the times of the Sultans of Egypt and Ash-Sham the Court of Unjust Acts was known as the ‘House of Justice’ (Dar al-‘Adl). The Sultan Al-Malik Al-Salih Ayyub appointed deputies to act on his behalf in the house of justice, where they sat to remove the Mazalim, and to gather the witnesses, judges and the Faqihs.14

Nasser O. Rabbat, Professor of Islamic Architecture at MIT describes the historical workings of the Dar al-‘Adl.

This unique institution, which may be best translated in today’s context as “palace of justice,” was initially conceived for the qada al-mazalim service that is, for the public hearings held once or twice each week and presided over by the ruler himself or his appointed deputies to review and redress grievances submitted by his subjects. The earliest known dar al-‘adl (pl. dur al-‘adl) was built ca. 1163 by Nur al-Din Mahmud ibn Zanki is his capital Damascus, and the last one was constructed by the Mamluk Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun (r. 1294-1341, with two interruptions) at the Citadel of the Mountain (Qal’ at al-Jabal) in Cairo in 1315 (it was rebuilt in 1334). Three more dur al-‘adl are known to have been constructed between these two dayes: one in Aleppo in 1189 by al-Zahir Ghazi, the son of Salah al-Din, one by al-kamil Muhammad in the Citadel of Cairo ca. 1207, and one by al-Zahir Baybars in 1262 on the slope of the spur upon which the Citadel of Cairo was built. After this no more dur al-‘adl seem to have been built until modern times, then the palace of justice was introduced.15


Dar al-‘Adl as represented by Robert Hay in his Illustrations of Cairo (1840).

Decisional independence
The Shari’ah explicitly states that a judge must give an honest, knowledgeable and unbiased judgement on a case.

The Prophet (saw) said: “Judges are of three types, one of whom will go to Paradise and two to Hell. The one who will go to Paradise is a man who knows what is right and gives judgment accordingly; but a man who knows what is right and acts tyrannically in his judgment will go to Hell; and a man who gives judgment for people when he is ignorant will go to Hell.”16


The Shari’ah also specifies how the judge should act within the judicial court sitting.

The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “Whoever Allah tests by letting him become a judge, should not let one party of a dispute sit near him without bringing the other party to sit near him. And he should fear Allah by his sitting, his looking to both of them and his judging to them. He should be careful not to look down to one as if the other was higher, he should be careful not to shout to one and not the other, and he should be careful of both of them.”17


Al-Mawardi explains some of the specific qualities needed by the Qadi Mazalim due to his important position within the state.

Judicial investigation of wrongs or abuses is concerned with leading those who have committed wrongs to just behaviour by instilling fear in them, and with dissuading litigants from undue obstinacy in their disputes by instilling a feeling of respect. Thus among the qualities demanded of the judicial investigator is that he be of imposing stature, that he ensures action follows his words, that he commands great respect, is manifestly correct in his keeping within moral bounds, restrained in his appetites, and possessed of great scrupulousness: he needs to have the strength of the law-enforcement officers, and the firmness of the qadis in their judicial tasks and to combine the qualities of these two types of person, so that by the majesty of his bearing he is able to execute any command with respect to both parties.18


To ensure the Qadi Mazalim is free from political influence the Shari’ah has restricted the executive powers of the Khaleefah regarding the Qadi’s removal from office. If the Qadi Mazalim is currently investigating a case against the Khaleefah, Delegated Assistant (Mua’win ut-tafweedh) or the Chief Justice (Qadi al-Qudah) then the Khaleefah cannot remove the Qadi Mazalim from his post. The evidence for this is the Shari’ah principle, ‘the means that leads to haram is itself haram.’19

A question may arise that if the Qadi Mazalim issues a judgement against the Khaleefah can the Khaleefah abuse his authority and overturn the ruling?

There is no concept in the Khilafah of a ‘Pardon’ for crimes committed as exists in the west. The US constitution allows the President to Pardon all crimes except impeachment.

Article II, Section 2 states that the President: shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.


This gives the US President huge judicial power in overturning court rulings or even preventing prosecutions from taking place. The most famous ‘misuse’ of this power was by Gerald Ford in 1974. After Richard Nixon resigned from office due to the Watergate scandal his Vice-President Gerald Ford assumed the Presidency. In a televised address to the nation on 8 September 1974 President Ford gave Nixon a full and unconditional pardon for his part in the Watergate scandal, hence preventing any further judicial proceedings against him. Critics claimed that this was a ‘corrupt bargain’ between the two men. Nixon would resign giving Ford the Presidency in return for Ford giving Nixon a full pardon.20 Either way such an incident can never take place in the Khilafah.

Once a judge (qadi) has passed a judgement on a matter then this ruling cannot be overturned by anyone in the state including the Khaleefah.21

Having said this, there is an appeal process for those judgements someone believes have been made on a basis other than Shari’ah or when new evidence comes to light that places doubt over the original witness testimonies. For example if a witness in a murder trial later admits he lied or the real murderer confesses then this judgement will be overturned. The Court of Unjust Acts is the appeal court for such cases.22

The Khilafah’s judiciary is responsible for issuing judgments that are enforced by the state. Therefore once the Qadi Mazalim has issued a judgement against the Khaleefah it MUST be enforced by the institutions of state such as the army, police or state treasury (Bait ul-Mal). The Khaleefah cannot overturn the ruling under any circumstances and he will be forced if necessary to submit to it.

As an example if the Khaleefah introduced a new taxation to build a grand, new mosque to celebrate his 60th birthday, as King Hassan in Tunisia did when he spent $800 million on the Hassan II mosque in Casablanca, then the Court of Unjust Acts has the power to scrap this taxation. The Bait ul-Mal (State Treasury) would be forbidden from imposing this taxation and the Khaleefah would have no power whatsoever in this matter.

Ibn ‘Umar said that when ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab was in need, he used to go to the man in charge of the bait ul-mal and seek a loan from him. Often he might be in difficulty and the man in charge of the public treasury would come to him, seeking repayment of the debt and would oblige him to pay it, and ‘Umar would be evasive to him. Then often ‘Umar would receive his stipend and so pay his debt.23


Many examples exist within Islamic history to illustrate the decisional and political independence of judges within the Khilafah.

The Qadi Shurayh said: When Ali was setting out to Siffin, he found that he was missing a coat of armour of his. When the war was over and he returned to Kufah, he came across the armour in the hands of a Jew. He said to the Jew, “The armour is mine; I have not sold it or given it away.” The Jew said, “It is my armour and it is in my hand.” He said, “Let us go to the Qadi.” Ali went first, sat beside Shurayh and said, “If it was not because my opponent is a Jew, I would have sat beside him in the gathering, but I heard the Prophet (saw) saying, “Humiliate them, since Allah has humiliated them.” Shurayh said, “Speak Amir al-Muminin.” He said, “Yes. This armour which this Jews has is my armour; I did not sell it and I did not give it away.” Shurayh said, “What do you say Jew?” He said, “It is my armour and it is in my possession.” Shurayh said, “Do you have any evidence Amir al-Muminin?” He said, “Yes. Qanbar and al-Hasan will witness that the armour is mine.” Shurayh said, “A son’s witness it not acceptable on behalf of his father.” Ali said, “A man from the Garden, and his testimony is not acceptable? I heard the Prophet (saw) saying, ‘Al-Hasan and al-Hussein are the two lords of the youth of the people of the Garden.’” The Jew said, “The Amir al-Muminin brought me before his Qadi, and his Qadi gave judgement against him. I witness that this is the truth, and I witness that there is no god but Allah and I witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, and that the armour is your armour.”24


In the time of the Abbasid Khilafah, it is narrated that Khaleefah al-Ma’mun (813 – 833CE, 191AH), used to personally sit in the court for grievances on Sundays. On one such day a women in rags confronted him complaining that her land had been seized.

Al-Ma’mun then asked her: “Against whom do you lodge a complaint?” She replied: “The one standing by your side, al-‘Abbas, the son of the Amir of the Believers.” Al-Ma’mun then told his Qadi, Yahya ibn Aktam, (while others say that it was his wazir Ahmad ibn Abi Khalid), to hold a sitting with both of them and to investigate the case – which he did in the presence of al-Ma’mun. When the women raised her voice and one of the attendants reprimanded her, al-Ma’mun said: “Leave her, for surely it is the truth which is making her speak, and falsehood which is causing him to be silent,” and he ordered that her land be restored to her.25


Draft Constitution Articles governing the Khilafah’s Judiciary 26

Article 66
Judgeship is the pronouncement of the verdict in a binding way. It settles the disputes among people, prevents that which harms the community's rights and eliminates the disputes arising between people and members of the ruling apparatus - rulers and employees - including the Khaleefah and those of lesser rank.

Article 67
The Khaleefah is to appoint a chief judge authorised to appoint, discipline, and dismiss judges within the administrative regulations. The chief judge must be a mature Muslim male who is sane, just and a jurist. The remaining employees of the courts come under the domain of the directorate that administers the court's affairs.

Article 68
There are three types of judges. They are:

1. The judge who settles the disputes among people in transactions and punishments;
2. The muhtasib who settles the violations of the community's rights; and
3. The judge of the Court for the Unjust Acts (Mahkamt ul-Mazalim) who settles disputes between people and officials of the State.

Article 69
All judges must be qualified by being Muslim, mature, free, sane, 'adl, and a jurist being aware of how to apply rules to incidents. Judges of Mahkamt ul-Mazalim must additionally be qualified with being male and a mujtahid, i.e., a person capable of making ijtihad.

Article 70
The judge and the muhtasib may be given a general appointment to pronounce judgement on all problems throughout the State, or alternatively they can be given an appointment to a particular location and to give judgement on particular cases. On the other hand, the judge of the Mahkamt ul-Mazalim must be given a general appointment to pronounce judgement on all problems, but in terms of location he may be appointed to a particular location or all over the State.

Article 71
The courts should be comprised of only one judge who has the authority to pronounce verdict. One or more judges are however permitted to accompany him with only the authority of advising and assisting. They have no authority to pronounce verdict and their opinion is not binding on the judge who has the sole authority to give judgement.

Article 72
The judge cannot pronounce verdict except in a court session. Evidence and oaths are not considered except in a court session as well.

Article 73
It is permissible to vary the grades of courts in respect to the type of cases. Some judges may thus be assigned to certain cases of particular grades, and other courts authorised to judge the other cases.

Article 74
There are no courts of appeal or cassation, because all judgements are of equal standing. Thus, once the judge has pronounced the verdict it becomes effective and no other judge's decision can overturn it, unless he judged with other than Islam , disagreed with a definite text in the Qur'an, Sunnah or Ijma'a as-sahabah or it appeared that he judged in contradictory to a true reality.

Article 75
The muhtasib is the judge who investigates all cases, in the absence of an individual litigation, involving the rights of the public that are non-criminal and not involving the hudud (i.e., the punishments.)

Article 76
The muhtasib has the authority to judge upon violations, wherever is the location one he acquired knowledge of these violations without the need to hold a court session. A number of policemen are put at the muhtasib's disposal to carry out his orders and to execute his verdicts immediately.

Article 77
The muhtasib has the right to appoint deputies to himself, that possess the same qualifications as the muhtasib, and to assign them to various locations where they exercise the same authority as the muhtasib in the location and the cases assigned to them.

Article 78
The judge of the Mahkamt ul-Mazalim is appointed to remove all unjust acts, committed by the Khaleefah, governor(s), or any official of the State, that have been inflicted upon anyone - whether that person is a citizen or not - living in the domain of the State.

Article 79
Judges in the Mahkamt ul-Mazalim of Injustice are appointed by the Khaleefah or the chief judge. As for their accounting , disciplining and dismissal, this is carried by the Khaleefah, the Mahkamt ul-Mazalim or the chief judge if authorised by the Khaleefah to do so. However, it is not allowed to dismiss him during his investigation in an unjust act against the Khaleefah, mua'win ut-tafweedh or the chief judge.

Article 80
There is no limit on the number of judges that can be appointed for the Unjust Acts. The Khaleefah can appoint as many as he may deem necessary to eradicate the unjust acts. Although it is permitted for more than one judge to sit in a court session, only one judge has the authority to pronounce a verdict. The other judges only assist and provide advice, and their advice is not binding on the judge authorised to pronounce the verdict.

Article 81
The Mahkamt ul-Mazalim has the authority to dismiss any ruler, governor and official of the State, including the Khaleefah.

Article 82
The Mahkamt ul-Mazalim has the authority to investigate any case of iniquity, whether it be connected with officials of the State, the Khaleefah's deviation from the divine rules, interpretation of the legislative texts in the constitution, canons and divine rules within the framework adopted by the Khaleefah or the imposition of a tax, etc.

Article 83
The judicature of the Unjust Acts is not restricted by a court session or the request of the defendant or the presence of the plaintiff. It has the authority to look into any case of injustice even if there is no plaintiff.

Article 84
Everyone, both defendant and plaintiff, has the right to appoint a proxy, whether male or female, Muslim or not, to act on his or her behalf. There is no distinction in this matter between the mandator and the proxy. The proxy has the right to be appointed on a salary according to the terms agreed upon between the mandator and his or her proxy.

Article 85
It is permitted for the one who holds office, such as the Khaleefah, wali, official, muhtasib and judge of the Court for the Unjust Acts, or persons who have been vested with a specific responsibility, like a custodian or guardian, to appoint a person to his position as a proxy - within the bounds of his authority - for the purpose of appearing on his/her behalf as the plaintiff or defendant, and for no other reason.



References

1 Taqiuddin an-Nabhani, ‘The Ruling System in Islam,’ translation of Nizam ul-Hukm fil Islam, Khilafah Publications, Fifth Edition, p. 202

2 Ibid, p. 204

3 Abu Dawood, Book 24, Hadith 3585

4 Taqiuddin an-Nabhani, ‘The Ruling System in Islam,’ Op.cit., p. 208

5 Abu Dawood, Book 24, Hadith 3581; Musnad Ahmed

6 Al-Baihaqqi

7 Abu’l-Hasan al-Mawardi, ‘Al-Ahkam as-Sultaniyah,’ (The Laws of Islamic Governance), Ta Ha Publishers, p. 111

8 Sahih Muslim on the authority of Abu Hurayra

9 Holy Qur’an, Chapter 6, Surah An-Nisa’a, Verse 59

10 Musnad Ahmad

11 A Legal framework primarily used in the US for discussing the judicial branch of government

12 Taqiuddin an-Nabhani, ‘The Ruling System in Islam,’ Op.cit., p. 220

13 Ibid, p. 221

14 Al-Maqreezi, ‘Al-Sulook Ila Ma’arifati Douwal Al-Mulook,’ (The way to know the States of the kings)

15 Nasser O. Rabbat, ‘The Ideological Significance of the Dar al- Adl in the Medieval Islamic Orient,’ International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 27, No. 1 (Feb., 1995), pp. 3-28

16 Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 24, Number 3566: Narrated Buraydah ibn al-Hasib

17 Baihaqi, Darqutni, Tabarani

18 al-Mawardi, Op.cit., p. 116

19 Taqiuddin an-Nabhani, ‘The draft constitution of the Khilafah State,’ Op.cit., Article 15

20 CBS News, 27 December 2006, Gerald Ford Dead At 93 - CBS News

21 Taqiuddin an-Nabhani, ‘The Ruling System in Islam,’ Op.cit., p. 212

22 Ibid.

23 Jalal ad-Din as-Suyuti, ‘History of the Khalifahs who took the right way,’ translation of ‘Tarikh al-Khulafa,’ Ta Ha Publishers, p. 139

24 Ibid, p. 193

25 al-Mawardi, Op.cit., p. 128

26 Taqiuddin an-Nabhani, ‘The draft constitution of the Khilafah State. The Introduction and the incumbent reasons,’ translation of Muqadimatud-Dustur Aw al-Asbabul Mujibatulah