Quotes on Khilafah by Classical Scholars

Abu Ya'la (d. 458 AH)
a leading Hanbali scholar along with Ibn Taymiyyah, resembled Mawardi(d. 450AH) in his thought about the Khilafah. Abu Ya'la quotes Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal that the Muslims would be in a state of Fitnah if there was no Khaleef. Page 125, Mahmood A. Ghazi's Book 'Political and Constitutional Thought of Islam'




Qadi Abd al Jabbar (d. 415 AH,1025AD)

He wrote extensively on the subject, some of his works include:



Sharh al-Usul al Khamsah

Al-Mughni fi Abwab al-Tawhid Wa'l Adl



The establishment of the Khilafah according to the Qadi in compulsory upon the Ummah, because many of the obligations of Islam cannot be fulfilled without the Khilafah, stating the well known principle: Ma la Yatimmu'l Wajib Illa Bihi Fahuwa Wajib [Whatever the wajib cannot be accomplished without is itself a wajib]



He also discusses the concept of Imamah in the context the Quranic principle of Amr bi'l Maruf wa'l Nahy An al-Munkar[Enjoining of the Good and the Forbidding of the Evil]. After extensively quoting from the Qur'an and the Hadith he establishes that the Enjoining of the Good and the Forbidding of the Evil is incumbent(Fard) on the believers. Then he says that individual Muslims cannot meet the full requirements of the principle of Amr bi'l Maruf wa'l Nahy An al-Munkar because it cannot be established without the State.



Sharh al-Usul al-Khamsah p.759

Sharh al-Usul al-Khamsah p.749

Sharh al-Usul al-Khamsah p.750

Sharh al-Usul al-Khamsah p.751



Abd al Qahir Baghdadi

Abu mansur Abd al-Qahir ibn Tahir al-Shafi was among the among the most noted theologians of the late fourth and early fifth century AH.

He taught as many as 17 sciences including Fiqh, Usul al Fiqh, Arithmetic and Fariad.



He critically examines the viewpoint of the Ahl al-Sunnah Wa'l Jamaah on the issue of the Khilafah. According to him it is obligatory upon the Ummah to establish the Khilafah, and also states that this obligation is universally accepted by all the Muslim scholars. He also criticises Abu Bakr al Assam and Hisham al-Ghuti who are from the Mutazilites.



Al-Farq Bayn al-Firaq, p271



Al-Sharastani

Abu'l Fath Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Karim al-Sharastani(479-458 AH)

According to Sharastani, the establishment of the Khilafah is obligatory in all situations. In no case, in no time and no situation can the Muslim Ummah be relieved of the responsibility of establishing the institution of the Khilafah according to the injunctions of Islam.



Al-Milal wa'l Nihal, Vol 1, p.109



Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH)



Ibn Taymiyyah ideas about the Khilafah can be found in:



Minhaj al_sunnah al-Nabawiyyah fi Naqd Kalam al-Shi'ah wa'l Qadariyah

Al-Siyasah al-Shari'yyah

Al-Hisbah fi'l-Islam



Ibn Taymiyyah states that the main purpose of the Prophet(saw) was to establish a social order on the basis of a universal, permanent, consistent and all-Prevailing ideology. He states that the establishment of the state is more than necessary. Ibn Taymiyyah holds the opinion that it is one of the greatest obligations of the Din.



'The aim and objective of politics is to seek nearness to Allah. A Muslim adopts politics only to establish the Din which guarantees such a nearness by providing a suitable psychological and spiritual climate in which man achieves a spiritual perfection and, hence, the Divine Nearness. That is why a political activity divorced from the guidance of the Din is a curse for humanity and entails all sorts of evils and immoralities.'



Al Siyasa al-Shariyyah



Ibn Qayyim also held the same opinion as Ibn Taymiyyah:



al-Turuq al_Hukmiyyah Fil Siyasah al-Shariyyah

I'lam al-Muwaqqin



Badruddin Ibn Jamaah

Ibn Jamaah is noted as the Shafi jurist of the seventh century AH. He served as a Qadi in Palestine and a teacher of Fiqh. In his treatise 'Tahrir al-Ahkam- fi Tadbir ahl al-Islam'

he establishes the obligation of the Khilafah through the Quran. He starts his work 'Tharir al-Ahkam with the verse:



"O David: We did indeed make you a vicegerent on earth: So judge between men with truth and justice and follow not the lusts and desires: for they will mislead you from the path of Allah"



Diya al-Din Barani (683-758AH)

Diya al-Din Barani lived in India. His works mentioning the issue of the Khilafah include:

Tarikh Firoz Shahi

Fatawa-i-Kahandari



He says that 'the very creation of Man on earth is meant only for the worship of Allah(swt). And His true worship is only possible when mankind is guaranteed peaceful and secure conditions of life. To successfully discharge the divine obligations a secure and organised life in order and well-organised that Allah created the Khilafah.'



Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Musa al-Shatibi (d. 790 AH)

One of the greatest juristic minds in the history of Islam. A Maliki jurist he was one of the most outstanding Faqih of the eighth century AH. He says that the Khilafah is an obligation and further states 'in the absense of the khilafah, a state of anarchy and lawlessness would prevail and this would usher in a great corruption and disorder. And it is evident, that the establishment of the Din is quite impossible in a state of anarchy and disorder.'



Kitab al-Din



Abu Zayd Wali al-Din Abd al Rahman Ibn Khaldun (732-808 AH)



Ibn Khaldun taught in Al-Azhar, was a scholar of the Maliki Jurisprudence and also worked as a judge in Cairo.



He states 'the best kind of state is the Khilfah, which is a system based on the Shariah.This is the only system based on the Shariah. This is the only system which guarantees the fulfilment of all natural and genuine human needs both in this world and in the hereafter. It also guarantees full equality between the ruler and the ruled. The Khilfah is the divine method of politics. Initially it is established by the Prophets and Apostles of God and then run by their successors - the Khulufa. This is the system which has been laid down by God the Almighty Himself, and, hence, no other system can be at par with it.'



Shah Waliyullah Dehlavi (1703-1762 CE)



According to Shah Waliyullah, it is a collective obligation (Fard Al-Kifaya) upon the Muslims for all times to come to elect and install a Khilafah. To support this Shah Waliyullah give various arguments:



'the collective reason of mankind requires that a Khilafah should be there to lookafter the interests which cannot be achieved without a Khilafah. The Khilafah is appointed for achieving two categories of objective and purposes. The Holy Prophet(saw) was also sent to achieve these two calsses of objectives. Therefore after passing away of the Prophet, a Khilafah is needed to succeed him and to implement his orders and commandments. That is why the obedience to the imam id equal to the obediance to the Prophet and the disobedience of the Khaleef amount to disobedience of the Prophet:



"Whosoever obeys an Amir, verily he has obeyed me; and whosoever disobeyed the Amir he disobeyed me."[hadith]



"the Imam is a sheild from the back of which the muslims fight and protect themselves. if the Imam commands to fear Allah and guides his will be a big Reward, if he orders other than this he will bear the burden of it."[hadith - Muslim]



In Izaalat al-KhafaShah Waliy Allah quotes another hadith which he says is clear textual evidence (An-Nass in proving that the establishment of the Khilafah is an obligation:



"Whosoever dies without a bayah on his neck dies the death of Jahiliyyah" [Muslim]



'The sahaba also rushed to establish the khilafah immediately, after the death of the prophet(saw) and delayed his burial. Moreover there are matters which cannot be accomplished without the Khilafah: the Jihad, the administration of Justice, the revival of Islamic science, the establishment of the pillars of Islam, the defence of Dar al-Islam and such other things that have been collectively enjoined upon the Muslim Ummah.'



Hujjat Allah al-Balighah Vol 1

Hujjat Allah al-Balighah Vol 2

Izalat al-Khafa, Vol 1

Izalat al-Khafa, Vol 2

Organisations of the Khilafah State - Part 3

Thirdly: Executive assistants (mu’awin ut-tanfeedh)

Mu’awin-un-Tanfeeth is the wazir whom the Khaleefah appoints to be his assistant in the execution, follow up and implementation of his orders. He is the intermediary between the Khaleefah and the various State departments, the subjects and the foreign office on the other side. He conveys messages from the Khaleefah on the one hand and on the other hand; so he is an assistant in executing orders and not authorized over them or entrusted with them. His work is therefore administrative and not ruling, and his department is a tool used to execute what the Khaleefah issues to the internal and foreign offices and to submit to him all that comes to him from these offices. His department acts as an intermediary between the Khaleefah and others, where it conveys to them on his behalf and conveys to him from them.

The executive assistant was used to be called secretary (al-Katib) at the time of the Messenger of Allah (saw) and the khulafaa’ rashidoon. Then he became known as the keeper of the divan of letters or correspondence, and then it was decided to call him the secretary of composition or the keeper of the divan of composition. Finally the jurists called him the executive assistant (wazir ut-tanfeedh).

The Khaleefah is a ruler, whose duties include ruling, execution, and looking after people’s affairs. Carrying out of ruling, execution and guardianship require administrative actions. This necessitates the setting up of a special department that works closely with the Khaleefah to manage tasks that help him carry out the Khilafah’s duties. Thus an executive assistant is required, to be appointed by the Khaleefah to run administrative affairs not the affairs of ruling. He does not perform any ruling duties like the delegated assistant. He is not allowed for example to appoint a Wali or an ‘Amil, nor to manage people’s affairs. His duties are merely administrative, i.e. to execute the ruling orders and the administrative tasks issued by the Khaleefah or the delegated assistant. This is why he is known as the executive assistant. Jurists used to call him ‘wazir tanfeeth’ which simply means Mu’awin-un-Tanfeeth, on the basis that the word wazir is linguistically used to mean ‘the assistant.’They said that this wazir is an intermediary between the Khaleefah, the subjects and the Walis, who conveys the orders issued by him, executes his rules, informs about the appointment of Walis, and about the preparation of task forces and armies stationed at the frontiers. He also submits to the Khaleefah whatever comes from such offices and informs him of all new matters that may arise so that he can implement whatever the Khaleefah may order him to. This makes him an assistant in executing commands and not in charge over them, or entrusted with them. He is similar to the head of the divan of the head of the state at the present time.

Since the executive assistant is linked directly to the Khaleefah just like the delegated assistant, and he is part of the Khaleefah’s entourage. Besides his task is in contact with the ruler (Khaleefah) and requires pursual with the Khaleefah and meeting with him in isolation at any time at day and night, a matter that disagrees with the conditions of the woman according to the divine rules. Therefore, the executive assistant has to be man. In addition the executive assistant cannot be a disbeliever; he must rather be a Muslim, for he is part of the Khaleefah’s entourage. This is because Allah (swt) says:
(يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لاَ تَتَّخِذُوا بِطَانَةً مِنْ دُونِكُمْ لاَ يَأْلُونَكُمْ خَبَالاً وَدُّوا مَا عَنِتُّمْ قَدْ بَدَتْ الْبَغْضَاءُ مِنْ أَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَمَا تُخْفِي صُدُورُهُمْ أَكْبَرُ)
‘O you who believe; do not take for intimates others than your own folk, who would spare no pains to ruin you; they love to hamper you. Hatred is revealed by (the utterance of) their mouths, but that which their breasts hide is greater.’ [TMQ 3: 118]

The prohibition of taking a non-Muslim as part of the Khaleefah’s entourage is very clear in the verse. Therefore the executive assistant cannot be a Kafir but must be Muslim for he is directly connected to the Khaleefah and not separate from him, just like the delegated assistant. The executive assistants can also number more than one according to the need and according to the work he communicates between the Khaleefah and others.

As for the areas in which the Mu’awin at-Tanfeeth acts as an intermediary between the Khaleefah and others, these are four:

1) The international affairs, whether the Khaleefah discharges them directly, or he appoints a foreign department that takes charge of them.

2) The army.

3) The state organizations other than the army.

4) Relations with the citizens.

These are the types of duties, which the executive assistant carries out. Since he is an intermediary between the Khaleefah and others, he would be considered as a liaison department that reports from the Khaleefah and reports to him. By acting as such he follows up what is required of the State departments’ action.

The Khaleefah is the actual ruler. He is the one who deals with ruling, execution and the management of people’s affairs by himself. Therefore he is in constant contact with the ruling apparatus, international affairs and the Ummah. He enacts laws, takes decisions, carries out actions of caring and looks at the performance of the ruling apparatus and whatever obstacles it may face and whatever needs it requires. He is also informed of any demands, complaints and matters that come from the Ummah, and he follows up the international activities as well. Therefore, based on the nature of these actions, the Mu’awin at-tanfeeth acts as an intermediary relating to them, i.e. he conveys messages to the Khaleefah and conveys orders from him. Since what is issued by the Khaleefah to the different departments and what comes to him from them needs following up in order to be implemented, the executive assistant needs to carry out this follow up for insuring the execution to be satisfactorily completed. He would carry out a follow up with the Khaleefah and with the State departments and would not stop carrying out this follow up, unless the Khaleefah specifically demanded so. In this case he has to obey his orders and stop the follow up, because the Khaleefah is the ruler and his order has to be implemented.

With regards to the matters related to the army and the international relations, these are generally confidential and are specific to the Khaleefah. Therefore the executive assistant does not follow up the execution of these matters nor pursue their execution, unless the Khaleefah requests him to do so in which case he will follow up only the matters which the Khaleefah demanded and not any others.

With regards to the Ummah; in matters of looking after her affairs, fulfilling her demands and removing unjust actions from her, these matters are for the Khaleefah to deal with the one who is appointed as a deputy to him. They are not a mandate for the executive assistant, so he does not follow them up except for those issues which the Khaleefah requests him to do so. His action in their regard is simply execution and not following up. All this depends on the nature of the actions which the Khaleefah carries out and accordingly the nature of the Mu’awin at-tanfeedh actions.

As examples to the actions of the executive assistant at the time of the Messenger (saw) and khulafaa’ rashidoon (where this assistant was called secretary at that time):

1. International relations, and the examples are:

• Hudaybiah treaty as narrated by al-Bukhari through al-Musawwar and Marwan. It says:فدعا النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم الكاتب...»
“So the prophet (saw) called the secretary (writer)…”Abu Yousuf also narrated in the book of Kharaj, he said:
وحدثني محمد بن اسحق والكلبي، زاد بعضهم على بعض في الحديث، وفيه: وقال: اكتبوا...
“Mohammad ibn Ishaq and al-Kalbi informed me, some others added in the hadeeth saying: He sad: Write (plural)..”, without mentioning the name of the writer.
Ibn Katheer narrated it, he said
:قال ابن اسحق قال الزهري... ثم دعا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم علي بن أبي طالب فقال: أكتب...
“Ibn Ishaq said az-Zuhari said…then the Messenger of Allah (saw) called upon Ali ibn Talib and said: Write (singular)…”Abu Ubayd narrated it in the book of al-Amwal from ibn Abbas, where he said:.
.. فقال لعلي: أكتب يا علي.. .“…
.and he said to Ali: O Ali, write…”Al-Hakim narrated it from ibn Abbas, and az-Zahabi authenticated it and approved it, saying:.
.. أكتب يا علي..
.“…..O Ali, write…”The text of this peace treaty is well known, and does not need to mention it here.
• The letter of the Messenger (saw) to Hercules is narrated by the jamaa’ah (of muhadditheen) excluding ibn Majah. The wording of the hadeeth as narrated by Al-Bukhari from ibn Appas from Abu Sufyan:
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم، من محمد عبد الله ورسوله إلى هرقل عظيم الروم، سلام على من اتبع الهدى، أما بعد، فإني أدعوك بدعاية الإسلام، أسلم تسلم يؤتك الله أجرك مرتين، فإن توليت فإن عليك إثم الأريسيين، ويا أهل الكتاب تعالوا إلى كلمة سواء بيننا وبينكم، أن لا نعبد إلا الله، ولا نشرك به شيئاً، ولا يتخذ بعضنا بعضاً أرباباً من دون الله، فإن تولوا فقولوا اشهدوا بأنا مسلمون».
“Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim, from Mohammad, Abdullah and Messenger of Allah (saw) to Hercules the leader of the Romans, peace is upon whoever follows the guidance. After that, I invite you to the da’wa of Islam; if you embrace Islam Allah will give your reward double. If you turned away then you are responsible about the sin of the Arisiyeen (meaning the Romans). O you people of the book, come forward to a fair word between us and between you, that we do not worship save Allah, we do not associate partners with Him, and nor take each other as lords beside Allah. If they turned away say bear witness that we are Muslims.”

• The book of Hercules to the Messenger of Allah (saw) in response to his letter. Abu Ubayd reported in the book of al-Amwal from Bakr ibn Abdullah ibn Abdullah al-Muzni: “…And he wrote to the Messenger of Allah (saw) that he is Muslim, and sent him some dinars (money). The Messenger of Allah (saw) said when he read the letter
:كذب عدو الله ليس بمسلم، ولكنه على النصرانية "
He lies, the enemy of Allah, he is not Muslim, rather he is on Christianity."Al-Hafiz said in al-Fath, the hadeeth is of authentic narration but disconnected (mursal) from Bakr.

• The letter written by people of Minbaj to Umar and his reply to them, where Ab Yousuf said in the book of al-Kharaj: “Abdul Malik ibn Jurayj told us from Amr ibn Shua’yb that the people of Minbaj – some people of war behind the sea – wrote to Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra): Allow us to enter your country as traders and impose upon us a tax of tenth. He said: Umar consulted with the companions of the Messenger of Allah (saw) regarding that, and they advised him to do that. Thus, they were the first people of war that paid the tenth.”

2. The army, and some of its correspondence are:

• The letter of Abu Bakr to Khalid, in which he commands him to travel to Ash-Sham. Abu Yousuf said in the book of Al-Kharaj: “Khalid wanted to take Al-Heerah as his centre. However the letter of Abu Bakr came to him in which he was commanded him to travel to Ash-Sham as reinforcement to Abu Ubaydah and Muslims…”

• The armies in Ash-Sham wrote to Umar asking him support, and he wrote to them: Ahmad narrated through narrators considered of the quality of the sound’s narrators, and Abu Hatim ibn Happan through sound narration from Sammak, he said: I heard Iyadh al-Ash’ary said: “I attended al-Yarmook when we were under five ameers: Abu Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah, Yazeed ibn Aby Sufyan, Ibn Hasanag, Khalid ibn Al-Waleed and Iyadh who was different to the narrator that spoke to Sammak. He said that Umar said: If it was a matter of fight, then seek the help of Abu Ubaydah. He said: So we wrote to him that death raged against us and we sought his support. He wrote to us: I received your letter in which you seek my support. I direct you to the one who is of stronger support and his soldiers more ready; he is Allah (azza wajall), so seek His help, because Muhammad (saw) was given victory at Badr with less than your army. Once this my letter reached you fight against them and do not revise with me. He said: So we fought against him and thus defeated them. We killed them for four farsakh..”

• The army of Ash-Sham wrote to Umar ibn Al-Khattab “When we meet the enemy and see them cover their weapons with silk we find terror in our hearts. Umar wrote to them: You do the same, so cover your weapons with silk”, as mentioned by Ibn Taymiyyah in Al-Fatawa.

3. The state’s organizations other than the army. These are some of its correspondence.

• The letter of the Messenger (saw) to Mu’adh regarding the tenth: Yahya ibn Adam narrated in the book of Al-Kharaj about ruling, he said: “The Messenger of Allah (saw) wrote to Ma’adh in Yemen:
• فيما سقت السماء أو سقي غيلاً العشر، وما سقي بالغرب فنصف العشر
“The tenth is due in whatever was irrigated with rain or with sizable water; and half of the tenth in whatever is irrigated with bucket.” And Ash-Shi’by narrated the like of it.

• The letter of the Messenger of Allah (saw) to Al-Mundir ibn Sawa regarding the head tax (jizyah).
Aby Yousuf mentioned in the book of Al-Kharaj from Abu Ubaydah, he said:

كتب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إلى المنذر بن ساوى أن من صلى صلاتنا، واستقبل قبلتنا، وأكل ذبيحتنا، فذلك المسلم، له ذمة الله وذمة رسوله، فمن أحب ذلك من المجوس فهو آمن، ومن أبى فعليه الجزية“

The Messenger of Allah (saw) wrote to Al-Mundir ibn Sawa that whover prayed our prayer, turned to our qiblah, ate our slaughtered meat, then this the Muslim, and he is entitled with the protection of Allah and His Messenger. Whoever of the Magus liked that then he is safe, and whoever rejected, then he has to pay the jizyah”.

• The letter of Abu Bakr to Anas regarding the duty of Sadaqa, when he sent him to Bahrain: Al-Bukhari narrated from Anas “that Abu Bakr (ra) wrote to him regarding the duty of Sadaqah which Allah and His Messenger commanded…”

• The letter of Umar to Amr at the year of Ramadah (famine), and the reply of Amr to him. Ibn Khazeemah narrated in his authentic (saheeh) book, and Al-Hakim who said it is sound on the terms of Muslim, al-Bayhaqi in the Sunan, and Ibn Sa’d in the Tabaqaat from Zayd ibn Aslam from his father, he said: “When the year of Ramadah took place, and the land of the Arab suffered of drought, Umar ibn Al-Khattab wrote to Amr ibn Al-Ass: From Abdullah, ameer al-Mu’mineen to Amr ibn Al-Ass. By Allah you do not bother if you and the people on your side became fat at the time I and the people on my side became slim. Help us! Amr wrote: Peace is upon you. I am at your service; I am at your service. Camels are coming to you, where its first is with you and its last is with me; though I hope to find a way to carry the supplies by sea.”

• The letter of Mohammad Abu Bakr to Ali regarding the apostates, and his reply to him. Ibn Aby sheebah reported from Qaboos ibn al-Mukhariq from his father, he said: “Ali sent Mohammad ibn Abu Bakr as an ameer over Egypt, so he wrote to him regarding some zendik (apostates), some of them worship the sun and moon, and some of them worship something else, and some of them claim he is Muslim. He wrote to him ordering him regarding the zendik to kill the one that claims Islam, and leave others worship whatever they like.”

4. Letters addressed directly to the citizens, this is some of which:

• The letter of the Messenger (saw) to the people of Najran. It is narrated by Abu Dawud from Al-Saddy from ibn Appas. Al-Mundidry said: What Al-Saddy heard from Ibn Appas needs examination. Abu Ubayd narrated it in Al-Amwal from Aby Al-Maleeh Al-Hadly, which says at its end: “Uthman ibn Affan and Mu’ayqeeb testified to that, and wrote”. Abu Yousuf narrated it in Al-Kharaj, and he mentioned the scripter was Al-Mugheerah ibn Aby Shu’bah. Then Abu Yousuf mentioned the letter of Abu Bakr to them, and the scripter was Al-Mugheerah. Then he mentioned the letter of Umar and the scripter is Mu’ayqeeb, and then the letter of Uthman to them and the scripter is his associate (mawla) Humran, then the letter of Ali and the scripter is Abdullah ibn Rafi’.

• The letter of the Messenger (saw) to Tameem Al-Dari. Abu Yousuf mentioned in al-Kharaj, he said
:قام تميم الداري وهو تميم بن أوس - رجل من لخم - فقال يا رسول الله، إن لي جيرة من الروم بفلسطين، لهم قرية يقال لها حبرى،
وأخرى يقال لها عينون، وإن فتح الله عليك الشام فهبها لي، فقال: هما لك. قال: فاكتب لي بذلك، فكتب له: بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم، هذا كتاب من محمد رسول الله لتميم بن أوس الداري، أن له قرية حبرى وبيت عينون قريتها كلها، وسهلها وجبلها وماؤها وحرثها وأنباطها وبقرها ولعقبه من بعده، لا يحاقه فيها أحد، ولا يلحد عليهم أحد بظلم، فمن ظلم وأخذ منهم شيئاً فإن عليه لعنة الله والملائكة والناس أجمعين. وكتب عل

“Tameem Al-dary, who is Tameem ibn Aws, a man from Lakham, and said; O Messenger of Allah; I have neighbors from the Romans in Palestine. They have a village called Habra, and another one called ‘Aynoon. If Allah conquered Ash-Sham for you, please grant those (two villages) to me. He said: They are yours. He said; so write regarding that to me. He wrote to him: Bismillah ir-rahman ir-Rahim. This is a letter from Mohammad, the Messenger of Allah, to Tameem ibn Aws Al-Dary, that he has the village of Habra and the village of Bayt ‘Aynoon, all of it, its plain, mountain, water, arable land, Nabateans and cows, and to his offspring after him. No one would challenge him regarding his right over them, and nor any one would deviate from their right unjustly. Whoever did so and took any thing from them he deserves the curse of Allah, the Angels and all mankind. Ali has written.” When Abu Bakr took authority he wrote to them a letter regarding that that says: “Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem. This is a letter from Abu Bakr, the trustee of the Messenger of Allah (saw) that was taken authority in the land. He writes it to the Darys, that no one would undermine what they possess of the village of Habra and ‘Aynoon. Whoever listens and obeys Allah, he must not undermine any thing of them. My chief has to set up the two doors on them, and protect them from the corrupters.”

The Khaleefah has the right to appoint secretaries as many as he needs in his correspondence. This even becomes obligatory if the duty cannot be performed without their appointment. The authors of the seerah mentioned that the Messenger of Allah (saw) had about twenty scripters. Al-Bukhari mentioned in his saheeh that the Messenger of Allah (saw) ordered Zayd ibn Thabit to learn the language of the Jews so as to read to the prophet (saw) when they write to him. So, he learnt it in fifteen days. Ibn Ishaq narrated from Abdullah ibn Al-Zubyr
:أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه
وسلم استكتب عبد الله ابن الأرقم بن عبد يغوث، وكان يجيب عنه الملوك...
“that the Messenger of Allah (saw) dictated to Abdullah ibn Al-Arqam ibn Abd Yaghooth, and he used to reply the kings on his behalf…” Al-Bayhaqi narrted from Abdullah ibn Umar (ra), he said
:أتى النبي كتاب رجل، فقال لعبد الله بن الأرقم: أجب عني، فكتب جوابه، ثم قرأه عليه فقال: أصبت وأحسنت اللهم وفقه
“A letter from a man came to the prophet (saw), so he said to Abdullah ibn Al-Arqam: Reply on my behalf. He wrote his reply and then read to the prophet (saw). He said: You did the right and was proficient; may Allah give him success”. Muhammad ibn Sa’d reported from Ali ibn Muhammad Al-Mada’ini through his narrations that Muhammad ibn Maslamah was the one who once wrote a letter to a delegate, based on an order from the Messenger of Allah (saw); Ali ibn Aby Talib was the one that used to write the treaties when the Messenger (saw) made treaties, and write peace when he made peace. Mu’ayqeeb ibn Aby Fatimah was responsible for his stamp. Al-Bukhari reported in the history through Muhammad ibn Bashshar from his grandfather Mu’ayqeeb, he said:

:كان خاتم رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم من حديد ملوّن عليه فضة كان بيدي. وكان المعيقيب على خاتم رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم

“The seal ring of the Messenger of Allah (saw) was made of coloured iron, with silver on it, and it was with me; and Mu’ayqeeb was responsible for the stamp of the Messenger of Allah (saw)”.

Organisations of the Khilafah State - Part 2

The delegated assistant ( Mu’awin at-Tafweed )

The assistants are the wazirs whom the Khaleefah appoints to assist him in discharging the tasks and responsibilities of the Khilafah. There are nUmarous tasks in the Khilafah, especially when the State is growing and expanding, and these would be a heavy burden for the Khaleefah alone. Hence he needs people to help him in carrying this burden and discharging these responsibilities.

It is invalid to call them wazirs without restriction, otherwise the meaning of wazir in Islam will be confused with its meaning in the current man made systems based on the secular, capitalist democratic basis, or other systems we observe nowadays.

The delegate assistant or mu;awin ut-tafweedh is the wazir appointed by the Khaleefah to carry with him the responsibility of ruling and authority. So, the Khaleefah delegates to him the discharge of the affairs according to his own opinion and to execute them according to his own ijtihad, in accordance with the divine rules. Thus the Khaleefah delegates to him general examination of the affairs and general deputyship to him.

Al-Haakim and at-Tirmidhi reported from Abi Sa’id al-Khudri that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
«وزيراي من السماء جبريل وميكائيل ومن الأرض أبو بكر وعمر»
“My two ministers (wazirs) from the heavens are Jibra’il and Mika’il and on the earth are Abu Bakr and Umar.”

The word ‘wazir’ in the Hadith means the helper and the assistant, which is the linguistic meaning. It has been used in the Qur’an with such a meaning; Allah (swt) says:
وَاجْعَلْ لِي وَزِيرًا مِنْ أَهْلِي
'Give me a minister from my family.’ [TMQ 20:29].

It also means a helper and assistant. The word wazir in the Hadith is unrestricted (mutlaqa) which includes any help or assistance in any matter; therefore he can assist the Khaleefah in the functions and the tasks of the Khilafah. The Hadith of Abi Sa’id al-Khudri is not specific to assistance in the matter of ruling, because Jibra’il and Mika’il, the two wazirs of the Messenger of Allah (saw) from heaven, have no relationship in helping him in the responsibilities and functions of ruling. Therefore the word wazirai (my two wazirs) in the Hadith does not indicate other than the linguistic meaning, which is my two assistants. It is understood from the hadeeth that it is allowed to have more than one assistant.

Though Abu Bakr and ‘Umar did not appear that they carried the tasks of ruling along with the Messenger of Allah (saw). However appointing them as two wazirs to him gives them the mandatory powers of assisting him in every matter without restriction, including the matters and tasks of ruling. After Abu Bakr became the Khaleefah, he appointed ‘Umar b. al-Khattab as an assistant to him. His assistance was so evident.

Once ‘Umar held the post of the Khilafah, ‘Uthman and ‘Ali were ‘Umar’s assistants, but they did not appear to carry out any role of assistanship to ‘Umar in the matters of ruling. Their situation was similar to that of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar with the Messenger of Allah (saw). At the time of ‘Uthman, ‘Ali and Marwan b. al-Hakam were his two assistants. However ‘Ali was unhappy about some affairs, so he remained distant. However, Marwan ibn Al-Hakam was quite evident in assisting ‘Uthman in the tasks of ruling.

If the delegate assistant was honest, he would then be of great advantage to the Khaleefah. He would remind him of every thing good and help him in its execution. It was narrated fro ‘Ayesha (ra), she said:
The Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
«إذا أراد الله بالأمير خيراً جعل له وزير صدق، إن نسي ذكَّره، وإن ذكر أعانه. وإذا أراد الله به غير ذلك جعل وزير سوء، إن نسي لَم يذكِّره، وإن ذكر لَم يعنه»
“If Allah wished something good to the ameer he would make for him a honest wazir. When he forgets something, he would remind him, and if he remembered it he would help him in it. If Allah wished to him something else, he would make for him a bad wazir. When he forgets something, he would not remind him, and if he remembered it he would not help him in it.” It is narrated by Ahmad. An-Nawawi said it of good transmission. Al-Bazzar narrated it through transmission described by Al-Haythami saying its narrators are of the sound hadeeth.

By examining the work of the assistant at the time of the Messenger (saw) and the time of Khulafaa’ Rashidoon, we find the assistant might be assigned to specific issues, where he is entitled of their general examination. He might also be appointed to have general examination in all the issues. He can also be appointed in a (certain) place and has the task of general examination, as well as in various places with a task of general examination. It has been narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim through Abu Hurayarah, he said:
«بعث رسول الله عمر على الصدقة»
“The Messenger of Allah (saw) sent Umar as responsible for sadaqah.”
Ibn Khuzaymah and Ibn Hibban reported:
«أن رسول الله حين رجع من عمرة الجِعرانة، بعث أبا بكر على الحج»
“When the Messenger of Allah (saw) returned back from the umrah of Ja’ranah, he sent Abu Bakr responsible for hajj.”

This means Abu Bakr and Umar (ra), the two assistants of the Messenger of Allah (saw), were charged with general examination in specific tasks at the time of the Messenger of Allah (saw), though they were two assistants (wazirs) that were appointed with general examination and deputyship, as it is required by ministry of deputyship. This was the case of Ali and Uthman at the time of Umar. Even at the time of Abu Bakr, the assistantship of Umar to Abu Bakr was evident in the general examination and deputyship, to the point that some of the sahabah said to Abu Bakr: We do not know who is the Khaleefah? Is it Umar or you? Yet, Abu Bakr appointed Umar in the post of judiciary in some periods, as it is reported by al-Bahaqi through a narration which was corroborated by al-Hafiz.

Thereupon, it is understood from the Seerah of the Messenger (saw) and the khulafaa’ Rashidoon after him that the assistant is entrusted with the general examination and deputyship. However, it is allowed that the assistant is designated to a specific place or task, as the prophet (saw) did with Abu Bakr and Umar, and as Abu Bakr did with Umar. This is like appointing an assistant to follow up the northern regions while another to follow up the southern regions of the Khilafah state. The Khaleefah is allowed also to put the first assistant in the position of the second and the second in the position of the first. Besides he can direct one assistant to a specific task, and another to a different task, the way it is fit to help the Khaleefah. In such cases an assistant does not require a new designation; he just only needs transfer from one task to another. This is because he is entrusted originally with the general examination and deputyship; and all of these tasks are within his appointment as an assistant. The assistant differs in this regard from the governor (wali), where the governor is entrusted with the general examination in one place without being transferred from it. In case he is transferred he would rather need new appointment, because the new place is not included in the first appointment. However, the assistant is entrusted with the general examination and deputyship; so he is allowed to be transferred from one place to another without the need of new deputyship, since he is in origin entrusted with the general examination and deputyship in all the tasks.

It is understood from all of this that the Khaleefah appoints his assistant deputyship of him in all the regions of the state, with the general examination of all the tasks. However, he is allowed to charge him with a specific task, such as responsible for the eastern districts, and another for the western districts, and so on. The importance of such arrangement is evident in the case of having more than one delegated assistant, so their tasks would not conflict.

Since, the Khaleefah will need more than one deputy assistant, particularly because of the big size of the state, and allowing each one of them to conduct tasks all over the state, this would create problems in discharging their tasks, due to the possibility of interference that results from the general examination and deputyship, which each one of them has.

Therefore, we adopt:
In term of appointment: the assistant is entrusted with the general examination and deputyship, all over the state.

In term of action: he is charged with a task in part of the state. This means the Khilafah is divided into states (wilayaat) among the delegated assistants. One assistant would help in the east, while the other in the west, a third in the north, and so on.

In term of transference: the assistant is transferred from one place to another and from one task to another without the need of new deputyship. He is rather transferred based on his first deputyship, for the origin of his deputyship is being a delegated assistant that covers all tasks.

The conditions of the delegated assistant

The delegated assistant should meet the conditions as those required for the Khaleefah’s post, i.e. to be male, free, Muslim, mature, sane and just. In addition to this, the assistant should be from the people of competence in what is assigned to him in terms of duties delegated to him.

Evidences of these conditions are the same as those of the conditions of the Khaleefah post because the work of the delegated assistant is part of ruling; therefore he should be male, for the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
«لن يفلح قوماً وَلّوا أمرهم امرأة»
“People who appoint a woman to run their affairs shall never succeed,” narrated by al-Bukhari on the authority of Abi Bakra.
He must also be free, for the slave does not have authority over his own affairs, thus he cannot run other people’s affairs.
He should also be mature, for the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
«رفع القلم عن ثلاثة عن النائم حتى يستيقظ، وعن الصبي حتى يبلغ، وعن المعتوه حتى يبرأ»
“Three types of people are exempted from accountability, the one who sleeps until he wakes up, a child until he reaches the age of puberty and the insane until he is cured,” narrated by Abu Dawood.
He also should be sane; for in the same Hadith, the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
«وعن المعتوه حتى يبرأ»
“And the insane until he is cured.”

And in another narration the Hadith States
«وعن المجنون المغلوب على عقله حتى يفيق»
‘…about the one whose mind is overpowered until he regains his mind.’The Mu’awin should also be just, for Allah (swt) has made it a condition in testimony.
He (swt) says:
(وَأَشْهِدُوا ذَوَى عَدْلٍ مِنْكُمْ)
“And seek the witness of two just men from amongst you” - [TMQ; 65:2]

Therefore, there is greater reason to require justice from the assistant of the Khaleefah. The Mu’awin should also be from the competent people in the duties of ruling. This is so as to enable him to assist the Khaleefah in shouldering the tasks of the Khilafah and the responsibility of rule and authority.

The task of the delegated assistant

The task of the delegated assistant is to submit to the Khaleefah all the work he intends to perform. He then reports to the Khaleefah what he has executed in terms of decisions and what he has discharged in terms of management and appointment, so that the assistant would not become like the Khaleefah in his powers. Therefore, his job is to submit his review and then execute it, unless the Khaleefah stops him from doing so.

The evidence for this is the nature of the Mu’awin as a deputy of the Khaleefah in the issue designated to him. A deputy acts on behalf of the person who appointed him as his deputy. Thus he does not become independent from the Khaleefah, but rather reviews with him every action just as ‘Umar used to do when he was wazir to Abu Bakr, whereby he would review with Abu Bakr what he intended to perform, then execute it accordingly. Reviewing with the Khaleefah does not necessarily mean that he needs to ask for his permission in every single detail, for this contradicts the nature of the Mu’awin. It rather means discussing the matter with him, for example the need of appointing a capable wali to one of the provinces or dealing with the complaints of people regarding food shortage in the market, or any other State affairs. He may also submit a matter to him, in the form of a presentation, which would be sufficient for the Mu’awin in the future to carry out the matter with all its details, without the need for permission to act. However, if the Khaleefah issues orders to stop the carrying out of any matter, then it should not be executed. Hence, the presentation is simply the putting forward of a proposal and the consultation with Khaleefah about it; and it does not mean seeking permission to carry out the task. The Mu’awin can execute the task in question as long as the Khaleefah does not stop him from doing so.

The Khaleefah should review the actions of the Mu’awin and his management of affairs, in order to approve what is right and redress what is wrong. This is so because the management of the Ummah’s affairs is commissioned to the Khaleefah and discharged according to his own ijtihad. The evidence for this is the Hadith of responsibility over the subjects where the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
«الإمام راعٍ وهو مسؤول عن رعيته»
“The Imam is a guardian and he is responsible over his subjects.”

Therefore, the Khaleefah is entitled to the task of government and he is responsible over his subjects, whereas the delegated Mu’awin is not responsible over subjects, but he is merely responsible for his own actions. The responsibility over the subjects is confined to the Khaleefah alone. Therefore, the Khaleefah is obliged to review the actions of the Mu’awin and his performance in order to fulfill his duty towards his subjects. Aside from this, the delegated assistant can sometimes make errors, and the Khaleefah has to redress such errors, so he has to review all the assistant’s actions.

Therefore, it is for these two reasons: fulfilling responsibility towards his subjects and redressing potential errors made by the delegated assistant, that the Khaleefah is obliged to review all of the Mu’awin’s actions.

If the delegated assistant decided a matter and the Khaleefah approved of it, the Mu’awin could then execute it without any alterations. If the Khaleefah objected to what the Mu’awin had executed, then in this case the matter would be examined. If the Mu’awin had correctly carried out a verdict or if he had spent some funds in the correct areas or in certain projects then the Mu’awin’s opinion comes into force, for, in principle, it is the Khaleefah’s opinion, and the Khaleefah has no right to redress what the Mu’awin had executed in terms of rules he executed or funds he had spent. However, if the Mu’awin had performed other types of actions, such as the appointing of a Wali or the preparation of an army, the Khaleefah has the right to reverse the Mu’awin’s decision and enforce his own and nullify the Mu’awin’s actions. This is because the Khaleefah has the right to redress his own actions so he has the right to redress the actions of his assistant.

This is a description of the way which the Mu’awin follows in performing his actions and of the way which the Khaleefah follows in reviewing the Mu’awin’s actions. It is derived from what sort of actions the Khaleefah is allowed to redress and what actions he is not allowed to redress, because the actions of the delegated Mu’awin are considered as actions of the Khaleefah. As an explanation for this, it is allowed for the delegated assistant to rule by himself and to appoint rulers as it is allowed for the Khaleefah; This is so, because the conditions of ruling have been conferred to him. He is also entitled to investigate complaints or to deputize someone to do so, because the conditions of complaints have been verified for him. He is also entitled to take charge of Jihad by himself, or appoint someone to do so, for the conditions of war have been verified for him. He is entitled to execute matters he has decided or to deputize someone to execute them on his behalf, for the conditions of voicing an opinion and management are conferred to him. However, this does not mean that whatever the Mu’awin performed can’t be reversed by the Khaleefah, as long as he had been briefed about it. It rather means that he possesses the same powers as the Khaleefah, but he acts on his behalf and not independent of him. Therefore, the Khaleefah is entitled to disagree with the Mu’awin and redress what has been executed or reverse any of his actions, bearing in mind that this applies only to the sort of actions which the Khaleefah can redress of his own actions. If the Mu’awin had executed a rule correctly or spent funds in the right areas then the Khaleefah’s objections would carry no weight and the Mu’awin’s decision would be executed. This is because in principle, it is the Khaleefah’s own decision and in such cases he himself cannot reverse his decision or nullify what he himself had executed. Hence, he could not reverse his Mu’awin’s action. However, if the Mu’awin had appointed a Wali, an administrator, an army commander or any other appointee or if he had laid down an economic strategy, a military plan or an industrial program or any similar undertaking, then the Khaleefah is allowed to nullify it. This is because, although they are considered as being the Khaleefah’s opinions they fall under the category of decisions which the Khaleefah is entitled to redress even when done by himself. Accordingly he could do likewise with his Mu’awin’s decisions. So in this category, it is allowed for the Khaleefah to nullify the actions of the Mu’awin. The basic rule concerning this would be as follows: any action that the Khaleefah is allowed to redress of his own actions, he is entitled to redress in a like manner if performed by his Mu’awin; whereas any action the Khaleefah cannot redress, he is also not allowed to redress this action if performed by his Mu’awin.

The delegated Mu’awin is not designated to any particular department of the administration system, like the education department for example, because those who take charge of the administration matters are civil servants and not rulers; whilst, the delegated assistant is a ruler, rather than a civil servant. His task is take charge of the affairs, rather than performing the actions carried out by civil servants.

This is the reason why he does not run the administrative matters. It does not mean however that he is prevented from carrying out any administrative action; rather he is not confined to administration functions but is given a general responsibility.

Appointment and dismissal of the delegate assistants:

The delegated assistant is appointed and dismissed by the command of the Khaleefah. At the death of the Khaleefah, the term of the delegate assistants expires, and they do not continue in their post except during the term of the provisional ameer. After that they need new appointment from the new Khaleefah so as continue in their task. They do not need a decision of dismissal because their authority would eventually expire by the death of the Khaleefah that took them as his assistants.

Organisations of the Khilafah State - Part 1

The Khaleefah
The Khaleefah is the man who represents the Ummah in the ruling and authority and in the implementation of the rules of a Shar’ (Divine Laws). Islam has decreed that the ruling and authority belong to the Ummah. It is she who appoints someone who runs that on her behalf, and Allah (SWT) has made it obligatory upon the Ummah to execute all of the rules of Shar’.

Since the Khaleefah is appointed by the Muslims, this makes him a representative of the Ummah in terms of ruling and authority and as well in the implementation of the rules of Shar’. Therefore, he does not become a Khaleefah unless the Ummah had given him the pledge of allegiance (Bay’ah). By giving her Bay’ah to him over Khilafah she effectively appointed him as her representative. The conclusion of the Khilafah to him by this Bay’ah, he was given the authority (Sultan) and thus the Ummah was obliged to obey him.

The man who rules the Muslims does not become Khaleefah unless pledge of allegiance, i.e. the Bay’ah was given to him by the influential people (Ahlul Hall Wal Aqd) from amongst the Ummah , with choice and content. He should fulfil all the conditions required for concluding the Khilafah to him, and he should proceed after that in implementing the rules of Shar’.

The Title:
As for his title, it could be the Khaleefah, or the Imam or the Ameer of the believers. These titles have been narrated in sound Ahadith and in the Ijma’a of the Sahaba. The ‘Khulafa’a Al-Rashideen’ (first four Khulafa’a’a) have held such titles. Abu Said Al-Khudri reported that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:

«إذا بُويع لخليفتين فاقتلوا الآخر منهما»
“If the pledge of allegiance (Bay’ah) has been taken for two Khulafa’a kill the latter of them”, narrated by Muslim.

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amru Ibnul ‘A‘as reported that he heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) say:
«…ومن بايع إماماً فأعطاه صفقة يده، وثمرة قلبه فليطعه... الحديث»
“Whoever pledged allegiance to an Imam giving him the clasp of his hand and the fruit of his heart shall obey him as long as he can ...”, narrated by Muslim.

Auf Ibnu Malik reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) say:
«خيار أئمتكم الذين تحبونهم ويحبونكم، وتصلون عليهم ويصلون عليكم»
“The best of your Imams are those whom you love and they love you and who pray for you and you pray for them ...”, narrated by Muslim.

Thus, in this ahadith the title of the ruler that executes the divine rules in Islam is: the Khaleefah, or the Imam.

As for title “Ameer al-Mu’mineen”, the most authentic reports that came regarding it is the hadith of Shihab az-Zuhri as reported by al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak, authenticated by az-Zahabi and reported by at-Tabarani, and al-Haythami said about its narrators they are the narrators of the sound hadeeth. Its words as it mentioned by al-Hakim are as follows: “Ibn Shihab narrated that Umar ibn Abdul Azeez asked Aba Bakr ibn Sulaiman ibn Aby Hathma….It was written firstly: From the Khaleefah of Abu Bakr, so who was the first to write from Ameer ul-Mu’mineen? He said: Ash-Shaffa’ told me, and she was from the first women emigrants, that Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra) wrote to the governor of Iraq to send him two strong men so as to ask them about Iraq and its people. He sent to him Labeed ibn Rabee’ah and Adiyy ibn Hatim. When they arrived to al-Madinah they camped their two camel rides in the courtyard of the mosque and entered in the mosque. They suddenly saw Amru ibn al-Ass, and said: Ask O Amru for us the permission to see Ameer ul-Mu’mineen! Amru said: By Allah, you called him by his right name. He is the ameer, and we are the believers (mu’mineen). Then Amru jumped and entered at Umar, Ameer ul-Mu’mineen and said: Assalamu Alayka ya Ameer ul-Mu’mineen (Peace be upon you O ameer of the believers). Umar said: What make you think of this name, O ibn al-Ass? Allah knows you have to justify that which you said. He said: Labeed ibn Rabee’ah and Adiyy ibn Hatim arrived and they camped their two camel rides in the courtyard of the mosque and came to me and said: Ask O Amru for us the permission to see Ameer ul-Mu’mineen! By Allah they gave you the right name; we are the believers (mu’minoon) and you are our ameer. Since then, they started using this title in writing. Ash-Shaffa’ was the grandmother of Abu Bakr ibn Sulaiman”. Then they continued to call the Khulafaa’ after him with this title at the time of the sahabah and those who came after them.

Conditions of the Khaleefah:
The Khaleefah must satisfy seven contractual conditions in order to qualify for the Khilafah post and for the Bay’ah of Khilafah to him to take place legitimately. These seven conditions are necessary. If just one condition is not observed the Khilafah contract would not have taken place.

The contracting conditions are:Firstly: The Khaleefah must be Muslim; the post of Khilafah is never allowed for the unbeliever, nor is it allowed to obey him.
Because Allah (SWT) says:

وَلَنْ يَجْعَلَ اللَّهُ لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ سَبِيلاً
"And Allah will never (lan) give the unbelievers any way (of authority) against the believers.”- [TMQ; 4: 141]

Ruling is the strongest way for the ruler over the ruled, hence the term ‘lan’ (never) means the categorical prohibition of the unbeliever (Kafir) from taking a post of authority over the Muslims, be it the Khilafah or any other post of authority. This in turn forbids the Muslims from accepting the Kafir to rule over them.

Besides, the Khaleefah is the person in authority and Allah (SWT) has decreed that the person in charge of the affairs of the Muslims should be Muslim. Allah (SWT) says:
]يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِي الأَمْرِ مِنْكُمْ[
“O you who believe, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority (Ulil-Amr) from amongst you.” - [TMQ; 4: 59]
He (SWT) also says:
وَإِذَا جَاءَهُمْ أَمْرٌ مِنَ الأَمْنِ أَوْ الْخَوْفِ أَذَاعُوا بِهِ وَلَوْ رَدُّوهُ إِلَى الرَّسُولِ وَإِلَى أُوْلِي الأَمْرِ مِنْهُمْ
“ When there comes to them some matter touching public safety or fear they divulge it .If they had only referred it to the Messenger or to the people of authority (Ulil- Amr) from among them” [TMQ; 4: 83]

The phrase “Ulil-Amr” has always been mentioned in connection with the Muslims, it has not been mentioned in any other context other than to indicate that the people concerned are Muslims. This proves that they must be Muslims. Since the Khaleefah is the person in authority and it is he who appoints people in positions of authority such as his assistants, Walis and ‘Amils, he himself must, therefore, be Muslim.

Secondly: The Khaleefah must be male. It is forbidden for a female to be Khaleefah, i.e. the Khaleefah must be a man, not a woman. This is because Al-Bukhari said: When the Messenger of Allah heard that the people of Persia had appointed the daughter of Chosroes (Kisra), he said:
«لن يفلح قوم ولّوا أمرهم امرأة»
“People who appoint (Wallaow) a woman as their leader will never succeed.”

The fact that the Messenger of Allah (saw) foretold the failure to those who assign the running of their affairs to a woman this indicates forbiddance of appointing her. The fact that this came in the form of request, which came in the form of reproaching those who appoint a woman to run their affairs by denying them success, this is a connotation (Qareenah) which indicates decisiveness. Thus, the forbiddance from appointing a woman as a ruler came here linked with a connotation that indicates the forbiddance is decisive, so the appointment of the woman as waly amr is haram. This means holding the post of ruling, whether it is Khilafah or any other ruling posts. This is because the subject of the Hadith is the appointment of the daughter of Chosroes as a queen, so it is related to the issue of ruling that came in the hadeeth, and not specific to the appointment of Chosroes’s daughter as queen. The Hadith is not also general to cover everything, so it does not include judiciary, shura council, accounting the rulers and nor election of the ruler. Rather, all of this is allowed for the woman as it will be explained later on.

Thirdly: The Khaleefah must be mature; it is forbidden to appoint a youth (pre-puberty). Abu Dawoud narrated from ‘Ali Ibnu Abi Talib that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
«رُفع القلم عن ثلاثة: عن الصبي حتى يبلغ وعت النائم حتى يستيقظ، وعن المعتوه حتى يبرأ»
“Accountability is lifted off three persons: The dormant until he awakes, the boy (adolescent) until he reaches maturity and the deranged until he regains his mind.”
«رفع القلم عن ثلاثة: عن المجنون المغلوب على عقله حتى يفيق، وعن النائم حتى يستيقظ، وعن الصبي حتى يحتلم»
In another narration from ‘Ali: “The pen has been lifted off three persons: The deranged in his mind till he restores his mind, the dormant till he wakes up and the adolescent till he reaches maturity.”

Therefore, the person from whom the pen is raised is not able to be responsible for himself, and he is not under any liability by Shar’, so it is unlawful for him to become Khaleefah or to hold any post of authority for he is not responsible for his own actions. Evidence is also derived from what Al-Bukhari narrated from “Abi Aqeel, Zahra ibn Ma’abed from his grandfather Abdullah Ibnu Hisham who reached the time of the Prophet (saw) and his mother Zainab bint Humair took him to the Messenger of Allah (saw) and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! Take his Bay’ah’.
The Prophet (saw):
«هو صغير فمسح رأسه ودعا له …»
‘He is still a little boy’, so he stroked his head and prayed for him.”
Therefore, if the Bay’ah of the little boy is not valid, and he cannot give a Bay’ah to a Khaleefah, he evidently cannot be Khaleefah himself.

Fourthly: The Khaleefah must be sane; it is unlawful for a Khaleefah to be insane, because the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
«رُفع القلم عن ثلاثة»
“The pen has been lifted off three persons”.
He mentioned of these:
«المجنون لمغلوب على عقله حتى يفيق»
“The deranged in his mind till he restores his mind.”

The person off whom the pen is raised is not under obligation; this is because the mind is the condition for responsibility and for the validity of actions. The Khaleefah enacts the rules and executes all the legal duties, it is therefore unlawful to have an insane Khaleefah because it is invalid for the insane to look after himself, and nor look after the affairs of the people by greater reason.

Fifthly: The Khaleefah must be just (‘Adl); it would not be right for him to be a ‘Fasiq’ (unreliable). Integrity is an obligatory condition for contracting the Khilafah and for its continuity. This is because Allah (SWT) has stipulated that the witness must be just .He (SWT) says:
وَأَشْهِدُوا ذَوَيْ عَدْلٍ مِنْكُمْ
“And seek the witness of two just men from amongst you” - [TMQ; 65:2]

So if the witness must be just, then the Khaleefah who holds a higher post and rules over the witness himself should, by greater reason, be just. For if justice was stipulated in the witness, its presence in the Khaleefah must exist by greater reason.

Sixthly: The Khaleefah must be a freeman; since the slave is under his master’s authority, so he cannot run his own affairs, therefore he has no power to run other people’s affairs and be a ruler over them.

Seventhly: The Khaleefah must be able to carry out the task of the Khilafah; this is because this is an integral part of the Bay’ah. One who is unable to do so cannot perform the duty of running the people’s affairs by the Book and the Sunnah upon which he took the pledge of allegiance (Bay’ah). Court of unjust acts has the mandatory powers to determine the types of the inability which the Khaleefah must not suffer of so as to be considered of those capable to carry out the tasks of the Khilafah.

The Conditions of Preference
The aforementioned are the contractual conditions necessary for the Khaleefah to be appointed. Any other condition, apart from the seven mentioned above, does not constitute a necessary prerequisite for contracting the Khilafah. Such conditions however, constitute conditions of preference if the texts relating to them are confirmed, or if they are listed under a rule that has been confirmed by a sound (Sahih) text. This is because for the condition, to be a contractual one it should have evidence which includes a decisive command to indicate that it is obligatory. If the evidence does not include a decisive command then the condition becomes only one of preference. No evidence containing a decisive command has been found except for those seven conditions; therefore they alone constitute the contractual conditions. As for the other conditions, whereby a rule has been confirmed as sound, these would constitute conditions of preference only. This is like the stipulation that the Khaleefah should be from Quraysh, a Mujtahid or skilful in using weapons or the like, which has no decisive evidence.

The Method of Appointing the Khaleefah

When shar’ made it incumbent upon the ummah to appoint a khaleefah on her, it determined to her the method by which the Khaleefah is appointed. This method is proved in the book, the Sunnah. The Muslims concerned with this bay’ah are the Muslims that are citizens to the past khaleefah in case there was a Khilafah. Otherwise they are the Muslims of the country in which the Khilafah is established in case there was no Khilafah.

The fact that this method is the Bay’ah, is proved from the Bay’ah of the Muslims to the Prophet (saw), and from the order of the Messenger to us to pledge Bay’ah to the Imam. However, the Bay’ah of Muslims to the Messenger (saw) was not a Bay’ah on Prophethood, but a Bay’ah over ruling, for it was regarding action not belief. Therefore, Rasul Allah (saw) was pledged an allegiance as a ruler, and not as a Prophet or a Messenger. This is because acknowledging the Prophethood and Messengership is belief (Iman), and not a Bay’ah, so the Bay’ah to him (saw) was only in his capacity as the head of the state.

The Bay’ah was mentioned in the Qur’an and Hadith. Allah (SWT) says:]
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِذَا جَاءَكَ الْمُؤْمِنَاتُ يُبَايِعْنَكَ عَلَى أَنْ لاَ يُشْرِكْنَ بِاللَّهِ شَيْئًا وَلاَ يَسْرِقْنَ وَلاَ يَزْنِينَ وَلاَ يَقْتُلْنَ أَوْلاَدَهُنَّ وَلاَ يَأْتِينَ بِبُهْتَانٍ يَفْتَرِينَهُ بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِنَّ وَأَرْجُلِهِنَّ وَلاَ يَعْصِينَكَ فِي مَعْرُوفٍ فَبَايِعْهُنَّ
["O Prophet! If the believers come to you to take the oath (Bay’ah) that they will not associate (in worship) anything whatever with Allah, that they will not steal, that they will not commit adultery, that they will not kill their children, that they will not utter slander, intentionally forging falsehood, and they will not disobey you in any just matter (Ma’roof), then receive their oath (Bay’ah)." – [TMQ:60:12]

In another verse Allah (SWT) says:]
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُبَايِعُونَكَ إِنَّمَا يُبَايِعُونَ اللَّهَ يَدُ اللَّهِ فَوْقَ أَيْدِيهِمْ
["Verily those who pledge their allegiance to you do no less than pledge their allegiance to Allah: The Hand of Allah is over their hands." - [ TMQ:48:10; ].

Al-Bukhari narrated: ‘Ismail told us, Malek told on the authority of Yahya bin Sa‘eed who said: Ubadah bin Alwaleed told me, that my father told me on the authority of Ubadah bin-us-Samit who said:
«بايعْنا رسولَ الله على السمع والطاعة في المنشط والمكره، وأن لا ننازع الأمر أهله، وأن نقوم أو نقول بالحق حيثما كنا، لا نخاف في الله لومة لائم»
"We have pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah to listen and obey in ease and in hardship and that we do not dispute the matter (authority) with its people and that we stand for or speak the truth wherever we were and that in the service of Allah we would fear the blame of no one.”

In Muslim, from Abdullah ibn Amru ibn al-Ass that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
« …ومن بايع إماماً فأعطاه صفقة يده، وثمرة قلبه فليطعه إنِ استطاع، فإن جاء آخر ينازعه فاضربوا عنق الآخر»
"Whosoever pledges allegiance to an Imam by giving him the clasp of his hand, let him obey him if he is able to do so, but if another comes along to dispute with him, then kill the other."

Also in Muslim, Abu Saeed Al-Khudri said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
«إذا بويع لخليفتين فاقتلوا الآخر منهما»
“If two Khulafa’a were pledged allegiance, then kill the latter of them."

Muslim narrated on the authority of Abi Hazim who said: I accompanied Abu Hurayra five years and I heard him talk from the Prophet (saw), he said:
«كانت بنو إسرائيل تسوسهم الأنبياء، كلما هلك نبي، خلفه نبي، وإنه لا نبي بعدي، وستكون خلفاء فتكثر، قالوا فما تأمرنا؟ قال: فُوا ببيعة الأول فالأول، وأعطوهم حقهم، فإن الله سائلهم عما استرعاهم»
"Banu Israel used to be governed by Prophets, every time a Prophet died, another came after him, and there is not Prophet after me. There will be Khulafa’a and they will number many". They said: "What would you order us to do?" He (saw) said: "Fulfill the Bay’ah to them one after the other, and give them their due right, surely Allah will account them for that which He entrusted them with".
The texts are explicit in the Book and Sunnah, that the method of appointing a Khaleefah is by the Bay’ah. This was understood and practiced by all of the Sahabah. The bay’ah of the guided khulafaa’ was clear in that regard.

The Practical Measures Used To Appoint And Take Bay’ah To The Khaleefah

The practical measures by which the process of appointing the Khaleefah before the bay’ah is taken to him can take different forms, as it happened with the guided Khulafaa who came immediately after the death of the Messenger (saw), namely: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and ‘Ali may Allah (SWT) be pleased with them. All of the Sahabah remained silent about this and vouched for it, otherwise, who could have accepted it if it was against the Shar’. This is because it is related to a vital matter upon which rely the stature of the Muslims and the preservation of the rule by Islam. If we follow the development of the appointment of those Khulafa’a, we find that some Muslims had discussions in the hall (Saqeefah) of Banu Saidah, and those who were proposed to rule were Sa‘d, Abu Ubaydah, Umar, Abu Bakr and none other. However, Umar and Abu Ubaidah did not accept to challenge Abu Bakr. This means the issue was confined to Abu Bakr and Sa’d only. As a result of the debate, the Bay’ah was taken for Abu Bakr. The next day the Muslims were called to the Masjid and in turn pledged their Bay’ah. So the Bay’ah of the Saqeefah was a Bay’ah of appointment, by which he became Khaleefah for the Muslims. However, the second Bay’ah in the Masjid in the next day was a Bay’ah of obedience. When Abu Bakr felt that his illness carried with it death, and since the Muslim armies were fighting the superpowers at that time, the Persians and Romans, he invited the Muslims and consulted them with regards to who could be a Khaleefah for the Muslims after him. He continued in making these consultations for three months. When they were complete and he knew the opinion of the majority of the Muslims, he announced to them, ie nominated, according to the language of this century, that Umar would be the Khaleefah to succeed him. This delegation or nomination was not considered a contract of Khilafah to Umar after him. This is because after the death of Abu Bakr Muslims came to the Masjid and pledged their allegiance to Umar for Khilafah. So with this Bay’ah Umar became the Khaleefah for the Muslims, and not with the consultations, nor with the delegation of Abu Bakr. Had the nomination of Umar by Abu Bakr been a contract of Khilafah to him, then he would not have needed the bay’ah of Muslims. Besides, the mentioned texts indicate explicitly that no one can become a Khaleefah except with the bay’ah from Muslims. When Umar was stabbed, the Muslims asked him to nominate a Khaleefah, but he refused. They insisted upon him so he confined it into six people, ie he nominated six to them. Then he appointed Suhaib to lead the prayer and to watch over those nominated by Umar so as to select the Khaleefah from amongst them within the three days fixed to them by Umar.
He said to Suhaib:
«... فإن اجتمع خمسة، ورضوا رجلاً، وأبى واحد، فاشدخ رأسه بالسيف... »“
If five agreed and accepted one man, while one man rejected, then hit his head with the sword….”

As reported by Tabari in his book of history, and by Ibn Qutaibah the author of the book ‘al-Imamah and Siyasah’ known as the book of the Khulafaa’, and Ibn Sa’d in his book ‘at-Tabakaat al-Kubra’. He then appointed Abu Talha Al-Ansari to protect the gathering with fifty men and he charged Al-Muqdad in al-Aswad with the duty of choosing the meeting place for the six. After his death (ra), and the nominees settled in their meeting, Abdul Rahman ibn Awf said: "Who would take himself out of it (the Khilafah) and give it to the best among you? But no one answered him, so he went on saying: I myself renounce my right to the Khilafah. Then he started to consult them one by one. He would ask them: “Apart from yourself, who do you think is worthy of this authority from among this group?" Their answer was confined to two: Ali and Uthman. Then Abdul-Rahman sought the opinion of the Muslims regarding the two people, whom they want fof them. He would ask the men and women, and enquire about the opinion of the people. He (ra) did not work at day only, but at night as well. Al-Bukari reported from Al-Miswar ibn Makhramah, he said: “Abdul Rahman knocked at my door after a part of the night passed till I woke up. He said, I see you have been sleeping. By Allah, I did not enjoy much sleep in these three”, meaning the three nights. Once the people prayed the fajr, the bay’ah was concluded to Uthman, so he became Khaleefah by the bay’ah of the Muslims, rather than by Umar delegating it to six people. Then Uthman was murdered, so the Muslim masses of al-Madinah and al-Kufah gave the bay’ah to Ali ibn Aby Talib, so he became a Khaleefah by the bay’ah of the Muslims.

Upon close examination regarding the method of their (ra) bay’ah it is clear the nominees to the Khilafah were announced to the people, besides each one of them fulfilled the contracting conditions. Then the opinion of the influential people among Muslims, who represent the ummah, was saught. The representatives of the ummah were known at the time of Khulafaa’ Rashioon, for they were the sahabah (ra), or the people of al-Madinah. Whoever was accepted by the sahabah or their majority was given the contracting bay’ah, and became a Khaleefah, and the obedience of the Muslims became his due right upon them. Muslims would then give him the bay’ah of obedience, and the Khaleefah would thus exist, and become the representative of the ummah regarding ruling and authority.

This is understood from the bay’ah given to the Khulafaa’ Rashidoon (ra). There are other two issues that are understood from Umar’s nomination of six people and from the measures followed in the bay’ah of Uthman (ra). These two issues are: Presence of a provisional ameer that takes care of the period during which the new Khaleefah is appointed, and limiting the nominees in six people in maximum.

The Provisional Ameer

The Khaleefah is entitled, once he felt death is approaching him, and a short while before the Khilafah post becomes vacant, to appoint a provisional ameer for looking after the affairs of the Muslims during the period of appointing the new Khaleefah. Where, he exercises his duty after the death of the Khaleefah. His main task would be carrying out the appointment of the new Khaleefah within three days.

The provisional Khaleefah is not entitled in adopting (new) laws. This is because this task is the mandatory powers of the Khaleefah that is pledged by the ummah. He is now also allowed to be from the nominees to the Khilafah post, and nor to support any one of them. This is because Umar appointed such provisional ameer from other than those he nominated to Khilafah.

The authority of such provisional ameer would expre by the time the new Khaleefah was appointed, because his task is temporary and limited to this mission.

The evidence that Suhaib was a provisional ameer appointed by Umar (ra) is the following:It is the saying of Umar (ra) to the six nominees:
«وليصلِّ بكم صهيب هذه الأيام الثلاثة التي تتشاورون فيها»
“Let Suhaib lead you in the prayer during these three days in which you consult”.
Then he said to Suhaib:
«صل بالناس ثلاثة أيام، إلى أن قال: فإن اجتمع خمسة، ورضوا رجلاً، وأبى واحد، فاشدخ رأسه بالسيف...»
“Lead the people in the prayer these three days, till he said: If five met together and agreed upon one man, and one (of the six) objected, then strike his head with the sword…”

This indicates Suhaib was appointed as an ameer over them. He was appointed an ameer over prayer, where leadership over prayer used to mean leadership over people. Moreover, he gave him the authority of executing the punishment (strike his head), where only the ameer performs killing.

This matter was conducted before a group of the sahabah, without anyone of them objecting to that. Thus, this constitutes ijmaa’ that the Khaleefah is entitled to appoint a provisional ameer that looks after the measures of appointing the new Khaleefah. Based on that, the Khaleefah is allowed during his life to adopt a clause in the constitution that stipulates in case the Khaleefah passed away without appointing a provisional ameer to supervise the measures of appointing the new Khaleefah, then somebody has to be appointed as a provisional ameer.

We accordingly adopt here that in case the Khaleefah did not appoint a provisional ameer during his sickness of death, then the eldest delegate assistant would be that ameer, unless he was nominated. In that case the next younger delegate assistant would be that ameer. This goes on followed, if necessary, by the executing assistants in the same way.

This appointment applies in case the Khaleefah was removed from his post. The provisional ameer would be the eldest delegate assistant in case he was not within the nominees. If he was within them, then the next younger one would such ameer, till the end of these assistants. Later on he would be the eldest executing assistant, and so on as before. If all of them, however wanted to nominate themselves then the youngest executing assistant would be obliged to be the provisional ameer.

This as well applies in case the Khaleefah fell as war prisoner. In this case there should be some details regarding the mandatory powers of the provisional ameer when there is or there is not a chance of rescuing him. A bill will be issued on time regarding such mandatory powers.

This provisional ameer is different to the one whom the Khaleefah appoints as his deputy when he goes out for Jihad or in travel. This is like what the Messenger of Allah (saw) used to do when he went out in Jihad or he went out on Hijjat al-Wadaa’ or the like. Such deputy would have the mandatory powers assigned to him by the Khaleefah regarding looking after the affairs required by such appointment.

Shortlisting Of The Nominees

From examining the way of appointing the Khulafaa’ Rashidoon, it is clear there was listing to the nominees. In the hall of Bani Saa’idah, the nominees were Abu Bakr, Umar, Abu Ubaidah and Sa’d ibn Ubadah. These were enough at the time; but Umar and Abu Ubaidah did not consider anybody equal to Abu Bakr, so they did not challenge him. Thus competition was practically limited to Abu bakr and Sa’d ibn Ubadah. Then the influential people present in the hall elected Abu Bakr and gave him the contracting bay’ah. In the next day, Muslims gave Abu Bakr the obedience bay’ah.

Abu Bakr nominated Umar to Muslims for Khilafah, without having any other nominee. The Muslims gave him the contracting bay’ah, and then the obedience bay’ah.

Umar nominated to the Muslims six people and limited Khilafah to them, where they have a Khaleefah from among them. Then Adul Rahman discussed with the remaining five, thus limiting nominees into two: Ali and Uthman, after they delegated the matter to him. After investigating the opinions of the people, the opinion settled on Uthman as a Khaleefah.

As regarding Ali, there was no other nominee for Khilafah beside him, so the majority of Muslims of al-Madinah and al-Kufah gave him the bay’ah, and he thus became the fourth Khaleefah.

Since the bay’ah of Uthman (ra) included the maximum period allowed for electing a Khaleefah, ie three days including their two nights, as well limiting the nominees in six people, which became two, then we are going to mention it with some detail because of its value in the subject we want to discuss:

1- Umar (ra) passed away on Sunday morning, at beginning of Muharram in 24 H due to his stab by Abu Lu’lu’ah, may Allah curse him. Umar (ra) was at that time standing in the mihrab praying on the dawn of Wednesday, 4 days before the end of Dhul Hijjah 23 H. Suhaib (ra) prayed janazah on him according to the will of Umar (ra).

2- When Umar was buried, Al-Muqdad gathered the six people of shura recommended by Umar in a house. Abu Talha went on guarding them. So, they sat down consulting with each other. Then they delegated to Abdul Rahman ibn Awf to choose a Khaleefah from them, with their consent.

3- Abdul Rahman started discussion with them, and asked each one of them: “Apart from yourself, who do you think is worthy of this authority from among this group?" Their answer was not beyond Ali and Uthman. Finally, Abdul Rahman confined the matter into two out of the six.

4- After that Abdul Rahman started consulting the people as it was mentioned above.

5- At Wednesday night, ie the night of the third day after the death of Umar (ra) (ie Sunday), Abdul Rahman went to the house of his nephew, Al-Musawwar ibn Makhramah, where Ibn Katheer reports the following in his book Al-Bidayah Wan-Nihayah:
(فلما كانت الليلة التي يسفر صباحها عن اليوم الرابع من موت عمر، جاء إلى منزل ابن أخته المسور بن مخرمة فقال: أنائم يا مسور؟ والله لَم أغتمض بكثير نوم منذ ثلاث...)
(When the night that begins the fourth day after the death of Umar started, he came to the house of his nephew, Al-Musawwar ibn Makhramah and said: Are you sleeping, O Musawwar? By Allah! I have not enjoyed much sleep since three…)
i.e. the three nights after the death of Umar on Sunday morning, meaning the nights of Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
He continued to say:
(إذهب فادع إليَّ علياً وعثمان... ثم خرج بهما إلى المسجد... ونودي في الناس عامةً: الصلاة جامعة...)
(Go and call for me Ali and Uthman….then he brought them to the mosque…and the people were called to attend a public prayer…)
This was at the dawn of Wednesday. Then he held the hand of Ali (ra) and asked him about taking the bay’ah over the book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger and the action of Abu Bakr and Umar. Ali (ra) gave him the well known answer: Over the book and the sunnah, yes (I take); as for the action of Abu Bakr and Umar, he would make his own ijtihad. So, he dropped his hand and held the hand of Uthman and asked him the same question. Uthman said: Yes, by Allah. Thus the bay’ah was concluded to Uthman (ra).

Suhaib led the people in the fajr and zuhr prayers of that day. Then Uthman (ra) led the people in the asr prayer as a Khaleefah for Muslims. This means that despite the contracting bay’ah to Uthman (ra) started at fajr prayer, the leadership of Suhaib did not expire except after the bay’ah of the influential people in al-Madinah to Uthman. This was completed little before asr, where the sahabah summoned each other to give bay’ah to Uthman until after the mid of that day and before asr. This was completed before asr, so leadership of Suhaib finished, and Uthman led the people in the asr prayer as their Khaleefah.

The author of al-Bidayah and al-Nihayah explains why Suhaib led the people in the zuhr prayer though Uthman took the bay’ah at fajr, and says:
(... بايعه الناس في المسجد، ثم ذُهِبَ به إلى دار الشورى «أي البيت الذي اجتمع فيه أهل الشورى» فبايعه بقية الناس، وكأنه لَم يُتم البيعة إلا بعد الظهر، وصلى صهيب يومئذٍ الظهر في المسجد النبوي، وكان أول صلاة صلاها الخليفة أمير المؤمنين عثمان بالمسلمين هي صلاة العصر...)
(The people gave him the bay’ah in the mosque, then he was taken to the house of shura “ie the house where the people of shura met”, so the rest of the people gave him the bay’ah. It seems he did not finish of taking the bay’ah except after zuhr. So, Suhaib prayed that zuhr in the Prophet’s mosque, thus the first prayer in which the Khaleefah, ameer ul-mu’mineen, Uthman led the Muslims was salat al-asr.)

(هناك اختلاف حول يوم طعن عمر ووفاته وبيعة عثمان... ولكننا ذكرنا الراجح منها).
(There is difference about the day in which Umar was stabbed, the day of his death and the day of bay’ah to Uthman. However we mentioned the one with the strongest evidence).

Therefore, the following matters must be considered when making nominations for the post of Khilafah after becoming vacant (through death or dismissal…), which are:

1- Work has to be day and night regarding the nomination, throughout the days limit.

2- Nominees have to be short listed in terms of fulfilling the contracting conditions, a matter that is conducted by mahkamat al-mazalim.

3- Nominees are short listed twice: the first one is with si, and the other is with two. The council of the ummah conducts that as representatives to the ummah. This is because the ummah delegated that to Umar, who made them six, and the six delegated that to one of them, Abul Rahman, who made it two after discussion. Thus, the reference in all of this is the ummah, ie its representatives.

4- The task of the provisional amerr expires by the completion of the measures of the bay’ah and the appointment of the Khaleefah, rather than by announcement of the results. Leadership of Suhaib did not finish by the election of Uthman, rather by the completion of his bay’ah.

Accordingly, a law will be issued that determines the way of electing the Khaleefah during the three days including their nights. This law has already been enacted, and it will be discussed and adopted on the right time, insha Allah.

This is the case if there was a Khaleefah and he passed away or was removed, and a Khaleefah needs to be appointed to replace him. However, in case there was no Khaleefah at all, and it became obligatory upon Muslims t appoint a Khaleefah for them, to implement the rules of shar’ and to carry out the Islamic da’wah to the world, as it is the case nowadays since the absence of the Islamic Khilafah in Istanbul, on 28th Rajab 1342 H, 3 March 1924. In this situation, every one of the Muslim countries in the Islamic world is suitable to appoint a Khaleefah, and Khilafah would be concluded by him. So, if one of the Muslim countries gave bay’ah to a Khaleefah, and the Khilafah was concluded to him, it becomes obligatory upon Muslims in the other countries to give him the bay’ah of obedience, ie a bay’ah of submission to his authority. This is after Khilafah has been concluded to him through the bay’ah of the people of his country. However, the following conditions have to be fulfilled in that country:

1. The authority of the country must be in the hands of the Muslims and not in the hands of a non-Islamic country or under a non-Islamic influence.

2. The security of the Muslims in that country must be guaranteed by Islam, i.e. its protection at home and abroad should be in the name of Islam and by Islamic forces to the exclusion of all others.

3. The implementation of Islam should take place with immediate effect in a comprehensive and radical manner; the Khaleefah must be involved in the conveying of the Islamic Message.

4. The Khaleefah must fulfill all the contractual conditions; although he might not fulfill the conditions of preference, since what really matters are the conditions of the contract.

Should that country satisfy these four conditions then the Khilafah would be established by the bay’ah of that country alone, and the Khilafah would be concluded by him alone. The Khaleefah to whom they gave the right bay’ah would become the legitimate Khaaleefah, and any bay’ah to other than him would be invalid.
Any country that might give bay’ah to another Khaleefah after that, his bay’ah would be invalid, due to the saying of the Messenger of Allah (saw):
«إذا بويع لخليفتين فاقتلوا الآخر منهما»
“If bay’ah was taken to two Khaleefah, then kill the latter of them.”
«... فوا ببيعة الأول فالأول»
“Fulfill the bay’ah of the first, then the first.”
«من بايع إماماً، فأعطاه صفقة يده، وثمرة قلبه، فليطعه إن استطاع، فإذا جاء آخر ينازعه فاضربوا عنق الآخر»
“Whever gave bay’ah to an imam, giving him the clasp of his hand and the fruit of heart, let him obey him as much as he could. If anybody else came to challenge his authority, then strike the head of the latter.”

The obligation of having only one Khalifah

They are some who argue that having more than one Khalifah at one time and the multiplicity of Muslim states like we have today is an area of legitimate difference of opinion. They say that the ahadith about this issue are not definitive, not clear in meaning and that there is no Ijma (consensus) upon this issue. They also misconstrue the statements of classical scholars to justify this. Despite the fact that the states today don’t even rule by Islam we should look at this issue from the Islamic evidences.

It is important to appreciate that there are ahkam which are from authentic texts which are definitive in meaning and if rejected makes someone a fasiq and not a Kafir. Just because something is not Qat'i thuboot (definitive by transmission) and Qat'i dalalah (definitive by meaning) – this doesn't mean that issue automatically becomes ikhtilafi (subject to legitimate difference of opinion).

There are many ahadith which are clear in meaning regarding this subject such as:
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri narrated that the Prophet (saw) said: "When the oath of allegiance has been taken for two Khalifs, kill the latter of them". [Muslim]

Abdullah b. ‘Amru b. al-‘A'as said that he heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) say: "Whoever pledged allegiance to an Imam giving him the clasp of his hand and the fruit of his heart, he should obey him as long as he can, and if another comes to dispute with him, you must strike the neck of the latter". [Muslim]

Afrajah said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) say: "Whosoever comes to you while your affairs has been united under one man, intending to break your strength or dissolve your unity, kill him." [Muslim]

Muslim reported that Abu Hazim said: I accompanied Abu Hurayra for five years and heard him talking about the Messenger of Allah (saw), he said: "The children of Israel have been governed by Prophets; whenever a Prophet died another Prophet succeeded him; but there will be no prophet after me. There will soon be Khulafa’a and they will number many (in one time); they asked: What then do you order us? He (saw) said: Fulfil allegiance to them, the first of them, the first of them, and give them their dues; for verily Allah will ask them about what he entrusted them with". [Muslim]

Some use a strange argument to legitimise ignoring the Ijma of the Sahabah, they claim that as one of the Sahabah initially proposed having two rulers after the death of the Prophet (saw) this means that it is allowed.

It is true that it is narrated that Al-Habbab Ibn ul-Munthir (ra) said when the Sahaba met in the wake of the death of the Prophet (saw) (at the thaqifa hall) of Bani Sa'ida:"Let there be one Amir from us and one Amir from you (meaning one from the Ansar and one from the Muhajireen)".

Have they forgotten what Abu Bakr replied: "It is forbidden for Muslims to have two Amirs (rulers)..." Then he got up and addressed the Muslims. [‘As-Sira’ of Ibnu Kathir, ‘Tarikh ut-Tabari’ by at-Tabari, ‘Siratu Ibn Hisham’ by Ibn Hisham, ‘As-Sunan ul-Kubra’ of Bayhaqi, ‘Al-fasil-fil Milal’ by Ibnu Hazim and "Al-A'kd Al-Farid" of Al-Waqidi]It has additionally been reported in "as-Sirah" of Ibnu Ishaq that Abu Bakr went on to say on the day of Thaqifa: "It is forbidden for Muslims to have two Amirs for this would cause differences in their affairs and concepts, their unity would be divided and disputes would break out amongst them. The Sunnah would then be abandoned, the bida'a (innovations) would spread and Fitna would grow, and that is in no one's interests".

Just because Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra) after the Prophet (saw) passed away initially was adamant that the Prophet (saw) was not dead, this doesn’t mean that it makes it a legitimate opinion. He was clearly mistaken and accepted this when Abu Bakr (ra) corrected him just as Habbab Ibn ul-Munthir realised this and was the first to give the pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr (ra)

In fact if we read another narration of the incident it is clear that Habbab was emotional when he made the suggestion and it is clear that he wasn’t arguing on the basis of evidence.

When Al-Habbab b. Al-Munthir b. Aljamouh, one from the Ansar, noticed that everybody was at ease with Abu Bakr's proposal, he was afraid that the meeting might be adjourned without pledging allegiance to a Khaleefah from the Ansar. So he stood up and said: “O people of Al-Ansar, have control of your own matters, for the people are in your shadow, and nobody would dare to disagree with you. People will not express except according to your opinion. You are the people of power and wealth. You are the majority and people of strength, experience, fortitude and help of others. People are ever watchful of your actions. So do not differ, otherwise this will weaken your opinion, and your affair will crumple. These people will only take what you just heard. An Ameer from amongst us and an Ameer from amongst them.”

The moment Al-Habbab finished his speech, Umar b. Al-Khattab stood up and said: “There is no way for two (leaders) together at any one time. By Allah the Arabs will not accept to make you leaders and their Prophet is from other than you. The Arabs have no objection to surrendering their affairs to those in whom the Prophethood came, and the man in authority of their affairs is whoever is from amongst them. Thus we have with this the clear proof and evident evidence against whoever from the Arabs who might refuse. Who disputes with us regarding the authority of Muhammad and his leadership, when we are his close friends and his tribe, except someone dispensing falsehood, or indulging in sin, or involved in a catastrophe.”

When Al-Habbab heard this, he stood up and replied: “O people of Al-Ansar control yourselves, and do not listen to the words of this man and his companions, otherwise they take your share of this matter (authority). If they refused your demands then oust them from these lands, and hold this matter over them. For by Allah, you are more deserving in this matter than them, since it was by your swords that those who did not submit to this Deen were forced to submit. I am the one who is most fit, and most experienced for it. However, by Allah, if you wish, we will go back to where we started.'”

When Umar heard him he became angry and said: "If so, may Allah kill you". Al-Hubab answered "But you whom He will kill", reaching for his sword as he spoke, but Umar hit his hand, making his sword fall, and Umar seized it.At this crucial moment Abu Ubaydah b. Al-Jarrah, having kept silent until then, interfered in the matter. He stood up and spoke to the Ansar: "O people of Al-Ansar, you were the first of who helped and supported, so do not be the first of those who changed and reverted."

Besides this, what about the Ijma as-Sahabah that took place when Umar bin al-Khattab was stabbed. He said:"You have this group whom, when the Messenger of Allah (saw) died, he was pleased with them, and he said about them: They are the people of paradise: Ali b. Talib, Uthman b. Affan, Sa’ad b. Abi Waqqas, Abdur Rahman ibn Awf, Az- Zubayr b. Al Awwam, and Talha b. Ubaydullah. Let Abdullah ibn Umar be with them, but let him have only an opinion without having anything in the matter of Khilafah."

Umar advised these six people to select a Khaleefah, and appointed to them a three day time limit. After a long talk with them he said: "When I die, consult for three days, and let Suhaib (in these days) lead the Muslims in prayer. Do not let the fourth day come without having an Ameer upon you." He also appointed Abu Talha Al-Ansari to protect the gathering and to encourage them in their task, and he said to him: "O Abu Talha, Allah (swt) has helped Islam by you (i.e. the Ansar) so select fifty men from the Ansar, and urge these (six) people to select one from amongst them."

He asked Al-Muqdad ibn Al-Aswad to select the place of the meeting and said to him : "After you put me in my grave, gather these (six) people in a house till they select one man from themselves." Then he asked Suhaib to monitor the meeting and said to him: "Lead the people in prayer three days, and let Ali, Uthman, Az-Zubayr, Sa’ad, Abdul Rahman b. Awf, and Talha, if he came back (from his travel) and bring in Abdullah b. Umar, without allowing him any personal interest in the matter, and stand at their heads (i.e. supervise them). If five agreed and accepted one man, while one man rejected, then hit his head with the sword. If four consented and agreed on one man, and two disagreed, then kill the dissenters with the sword. If three agreed on one man and three disagreed then let Abdullah bin Umar arbitrate. The group which Abdullah b. Umar judged for, let them select one from them. If they did not accept the judgement of Abdullah b. Umar, then be (all of you) with the group in which is Abdul Rahman b. Awf, and kill the rest if they declined to accept what the people agreed upon."

If having more than one Khalifah was allowed why did Ali (ra) fight against Mu’awiya for not giving him the Bay’ah as the Khalifah, why did Abdullah ibn Zubair (ra) fight against Yazid – they could have easily avoided bloodshed and the death of many of the Sahabah by permitting more than one Khalifah, but they didn’t as they knew it was prohibited to do so. If the issue was about Maslaha (interests) of the Muslims, then surely stopping the Fitna and spilling of Muslim blood is a great Maslaha, yet they the Sahabah didn’t see that as an excuse to legitimise having more than one Khalifah.

It is true that some of the classical scholars discussed scenarios such as:

- If there were two Khulafah in different parts of the world and they did not know of each other then both would be legitimate until they found out then one would have to step down.
- If there was a rebellious part of the Islamic state like at the time of Mu’awiya’s rebellion against Ali ibn Abi Talib (ra) it would still be considered as Dar al-Islam.
- If the Imam’s were so far apart (which was a possibility then) that it was impossible for one of them to supervise the other region.

Ibn Khaldun says:
“It is not possible to appoint two men to the position (of imam) at the same time. Religious scholars generally are of this opinion, on the basis of certain traditions. Those traditions are found in the book, "On Leadership (imarah)," in the Sahih by Muslim. They expressly indicate that this is so.

Others hold that (the prohibition against two imams) applies only to two imams in one locality, or where they would be close to each other. When there are great distances and the imam is unable to control the farther region, it is permissible to set up another imam there to take care of public interests.

Among the famous authorities who are reported to have held this opinion is Professor Abu Ishaq al-Isfariyini, the leading speculative theologian. The Imam al-Haramayn also showed himself inclined toward it in his Kitab al-Irshad. The opinions of the Spaniards and Maghribis often make it evident that they, too, were inclined toward it.” [Al-Muqaddimah, Ibn Khaldun]

Imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni wrote:“On Election, It's Characteristics, and How the Imamate is to Be Invested
On investing the imamate in two individuals

Our associates agree on precluding the investing of two different individuals with the imamate at either end of the world. But, they add: If it should happen that two different persons were invested with the imamate, that would be analogous to the situation of two guardians contracting a marriage for the same woman to two different suitors without either being aware of the other's contract. The decision in the matter rests on the application of jurisprudence. My opinion on this issue is that investiture of two individuals with the imamate in a single locality within relatively restricted boundaries and limited provinces is not permitted and the investiture should be in accord with a consensus. But, when the distances are great and the two Imams quite remote from each other, there is room to allow it, although this cannot be established conclusively.” [A Guide o the Conclusive Proofs for the Principles of Belief" (Kitab al-irshad ila qawati' al-adilla fi usul al-i'tiqad) p 234]

Imam Mawardi wrote:“The investment of two sovereigns in two different cities is invalid in both cases, for the Community may not have two rulers simultaneously, even though there are some dissenting voices who would make that permissible. Jurists are disagreed regarding which one of the two should be sovereign. One party take him to be the one elected in the city where the previous leader died, because its residents are more entitled to make the choice, the rest of the Community in other districts delegating the task to them and investing the one they elect, so that no disunity is caused by differences of opinion and multiplicity of private interests. Others have suggested that each one of the two must give up the office in favour of his opponent, thus allowing the electors to opt for one or the other, in order to secure peace and ward off civil strife. Still another group have argued that lost must be drawn to prevent discord and end the dispute, the stronger claim to leadership being determined by the winner. Now, the truth of the matter is that the greater claim really belongs to the one who receives the vote of allegiance before the other, as in the case of a woman married off by her guardians to two men, for the marriage is effective only with the first of the two to conclude. Thus once the earlier appointee has been determined, the office is his, and the runner-up must concede him the leadership and vow allegiance to him. If the two, however, are invested simultaneously, their investment is invalid and the process is resumed either to choose one of them or a different candidate not known to whom, the issue is settled by evidence of priority in time. Thus, if the two adversaries claim each to have been invested earlier than the other, the claim is not considered and neither is sworn in support of it because the matter does not concern them alone but all Muslims. Neither the taking of the oath nor declining to take it is relevant to the question; indeed, were one to give up the fight and hand the office over to his opponent, the latter's right to it is still only established on the basis of evidence of his earlier investment. Even the admission by one that the other has preceded him merely excludes the testifier from office, albeit without confirming the other's right to it, for the testimony given applies to a right that pertains to the Muslim Community in its entirety. A concession of temporal precedence rendered by the adversary, on the other hand, is admitted provided it is corroborated by the testimony of an independent witness and he asserts that he had not been sure of the facts at the time when the quarrel started, but it is rejected if he does not mention his uncertainty, on account of the contradiction between the two statements.” ["The Ordinances of Government” (Al-Ahkam al-Sultaniyya w'al-Wilayat al-Diniyyya) pg. 7-8]

They discussed scenarios which were possible in their time when the means of communication was the pen and the means of transportation was via animals and ships. They did not discuss the reality of what exists today. Today it is clearly possible for one Khalifah to supervise the affairs in a geographically large state spanning the globe, therefore what these scholars said does not apply.

Ash-Shawkani wrote: "It is known from Islam by necessity (bi-dharoorah) that Islam has forbidden division amongst Muslims and the segregation of their land". [Tafseer al-Qur'an al-Atheem, Shawkani, volume 2, p. 215]

Imam Al-Juzairi, an expert on the Fiqh of the four Sunni schools of thought said regarding the opinion of the four Imams, “...It is forbidden for Muslims to have two Imams in the world whether in agreement or discord." [‘Fiqh ul-Mathahib ul- Arba'a’ (the fiqh of the four schools of thought), al-Juzairi, volume 5, p. 416]

Ibn Taymiyyah says: "It is essential that we know that leadership is one of the most greatest obligations of Deen. As a matter of fact, there is no Deen without it. The children of Adam will not fulfil their needs unless they get together for their needs. And when they get together, they must have a leader. For this reason, the prophet (saw) says: "If three are travelling, there must be a leader amongst them." So, the prophet (saw) mandated that one is to be appointed as the leader in a simple situation where three people are travelling. This is to make us aware of other important types of get-togethers." [Book As-Siyasah As-Shar'iyah, p.138 & 139]

Al-Imam Al-Mawardi in his book Al-Ahkam Al-Sultaniyah page 9 says: "It is forbidden for the Ummah to have two Imams at the same time."

Al-Imam Al-Nawawi in his book Mughni Al-Muhtaj, volume 4, page 132 says: "It is forbidden to give an oath to two Imams or more, even in different parts of the world and even if they are far apart".

Al-Imam Al Qalqashandi in his book Subul Al-Asha, volume 9, page 277 says, "It is forbidden to appoint two Imams at the same time".

Al-Imam Ibnu Hazm in his book Al-Muhalla, volume 9, page 360 says, "It is permitted to have only one Imam in the whole of the world."

Al-Imam Al-Sha'rani in his book Al-Mizan, volume 2, page 157 says: “It is forbidden for Muslims to have in the whole world and at the same time two Imams whether in agreement or discord."

Al-Imam Al-Qadi Abdul-Jabbar in his book Al-Mughni fi abwab Al-Tawheed, volume 20, page 243, says: "It is forbidden to give the oath to more than one."

The Shia schools of thought and others expressed the same opinion about this, whoever wishes to explore this in detail can refer to the book of Al-Fasl Fil-Milal, volume 4, page 62, and the book of Matalib Ulil-Amr and the book of Maqalat Al-Islamyin, volume 2,page 134, or the Book of Al-Moghni Fi Abuab Al-Tawhid, volume 20, pages 58-145.