CALIPHATE – THE SYSTEM OF CHOICE
Allah has created men and there is no one who created men except Allah. Allah loves men and all His creations. Among all the creations of Allah, man is the best creation. Allah has made men as the best creation and Allah has given men, a way of life. When men practice the orders of Allah, the status of men will be above the angel and when men do not practice the orders of Allah, the status of men will be lower than the animals. In other words, when men live according to the orders of Allah and died with iman, men will be above the animals but when man does not live in accordance to the orders of Allah and died without iman, men will be lower than the animal. Allah had given many orders and the order of Allah includes all the activities of men. Allah had given orders regarding the relationship of men with Allah. Allah has also given orders regarding the relationship of man with another man. Allah has given orders regarding wealth and power and orders on how to use the power and the wealth given by Allah. Allah has ordered men to live in a community and to have a leader to lead the community. Allah has given men the system to choose the leaders of the community. The system is known as Caliphate (also known as Khalifah or Khilafat). When a system to choose leaders is in place, men will be able to live in peace and harmony. Islam means peace. When Muslims are not using the system of Caliphate, there will be no peace and harmony even in those countries known to the world as Muslim countries. Many Muslims are secular in their beliefs, thoughts and actions. Many Muslims are in the opinion that Islam is only limited to the worship of Allah. Regarding all other issues which are not related to Allah, Muslims think they can follow the ways of the non-Muslims. Nowadays none of the Muslim countries is using the Islamic system of Caliphate in choosing their leaders and all the Muslims countries in the world are either using democracy or monarchy.
Because of weak iman, Muslims have misunderstood the Quran. Muslims have not been able to interpret and understand the Quran according to the wishes of Allah and His Prophet Muhammad saw. Even the so called learned scholars of Islam think democracy and monarchy can be practiced by Muslims. Muslims are practicing democracy and monarchy without even knowing that the systems are against the order of Allah. Many think politic is part of Islam and practicing democracy and monarchy are the systems prescribed by Allah. Muslims tend to follow what others do without even questioning whether the systems are the order of Allah or not. Muslims tend to follow what others do blindly. Muslims in all over the world establish political parties with Islamic names and follow the system of democracy. Many Muslims believe to die in the struggle of the so called Islamic parties, is to die as a martyr. Whoever joins the Islamic parties or to lend support to the Islamic parties will gain rewards from Allah. Whoever does not support the struggles of the Islamic parties are infidels. Many Muslims believe only by giving an Islamic name to actions will make the actions to become Islamic. Muslims follow the system of democracy and monarchy in choosing their leaders without knowing that Allah had given to the Muslims a system known as Caliphate. Allah has given so many other systems to the Muslims but Muslims are not practicing the systems given by Allah to them. Muslims in Pakistan name their country the Islamic Republic of Pakistan but the systems use in Pakistan is democracy which is not the system from the Quran. When Muslims are not using the Islamic system, Allah would not give them leaders who are pious and interested in adopting Islamic system in the country and instead Allah will give to the Muslims leaders who are not pious and who love to practice non-Islamic systems in the countries.
What is the system of selecting leaders in Islam? The system of selecting leaders in Islam is based on a very simple principle that the best among the Muslims must be chosen to be the leader of the Muslims. The system of choosing a leader in Islam is the same as the system used in selecting an imam in a prayer. Allah orders us not to choose someone who wants to become a leader to be a leader. A person who wants to become a leader is a person who loves power and wealth and a person who loves power and wealth is not a good person. Love of power and wealth is the basis of all evils. A person who loves to become a leader cannot be appointed as a leader because he or she is a person who has a potential to become a leader who will do many evil actions to the Muslims. A person who loves to become a Prime Minister cannot be made a Prime Minister. When the love of Allah increases in one’s heart, the love of other than Allah will decrease. A believer is a person who has the love of Allah more than the love of others in his heart. Prophet Muhammad saw is the only person who has in his heart only the love of Allah. Muslims must appoint the best to become their leaders and the best Muslims is the one when compare to other Muslims at a certain time, have the most love towards Allah in his heart. A person who has the most love towards Allah in his heart would not like to become a leader, unless the leadership is forced upon him.
Abu Bakar r.a is a person who does not want to become a leader. He used to advise someone before he was appointed as a Caliph that he should not become a leader even for two persons. When Abu Bakar r.a was appointed as the Caliph or the leader of the Muslims, that person came to Abu Bakar r.a and asked him; you used to advise me not to become a leader even for two persons, but now you are not only become the leader for two persons but the leader for the whole Muslims. Abu Bakar r.a answered; the position as a Caliph has been forced upon me. When the people of Ansar were trying to appoint a separate leader for them, Abu Bakar r.a and Omar r.a went hurriedly to the people of Ansar and persuaded them not to appoint a separate leader for them. Abu Bakar r.a told the Ansar that at any time there should be only one leader or Caliph for the Muslims. Abu Bakar r.a also told to the people of Ansar that he heard from Prophet Muhammad saw that the leader of the Muslims should be from the people of Muhajirin (those who have migrated to Madinah, leaving behind all their wealth in Mecca, with the intention only to please Allah). Abu Bakar r.a told the Ansar that they may choose from the two Muhajirs who were with him at that time; Umar Khatab r.a or Ubaidah Ibn Jar‘rah r.a to become the leader for all the Muslims. When Umar r.a heard his name was mentioned by Abu Bakar r.a as the candidate for the leader of all Muslims, Umar r.a immediately holds the hand of Abu Bakar r.a and declare his allegiance to Abu Bakar r.a and his action was followed by all the people of Ansar, and Abu Bakar r.a was officially elected as the first Caliph of all Muslims.
Umar r.a also does not want to become a Caliph. Umar r.a said; ” I could not imagine that I became the leader for all Muslims when Abu Bakar r.a was still alived”. Umar r.a knows that Abu Bakar r.a was the first man to become Muslim and he was the companion of the Prophet Muhammad saw during the Hijrah of Prophet Muhammad saw to Medina. When compared to all the other companions of the Prophet Muhammad saw, Abu Bakar r.a was always leading in good deeds. It was clear to all the Muslims at that time the best Muslim was Abu Bakar r.a. Umar r.a testified it and he personally said that during many occasions he was trying to overtake Abu Bakar r.a in good deeds but he had failed to do so. Abu Bakar r.a was the best Muslims and all the Muslims at that time unanimously selected Abu Bakar r.a as the first Caliph of Islam. The best become the leader is the basic principle in selecting a leader in Islam. Abu Bakar r.a was chosen as the Caliph because he was at that time the best Muslim.
It is a very simple and logical way to choose a leader. The leader of the Muslims should be the best Muslims available at a particular time. Who should decide who the best Muslim is? In democracy, the peoples choose the leaders and in monarchy, the previous King decides the leader. In islam, it is done by a chosen committee of pious personalities as done by Umar r.a- Prophet Muhammad saw said in the approximate meaning; if there is a prophet after me, he would be Umar Al-Khatab r.a. The chosen committee will finally agree unanimously that this particular person is the best Muslims and should be made the leader of the Muslims. The committee leads by a leader. In case of deadlock where the number of persons in the committee who agree and disagree to the proposal are equal, then the decision are made based on which side the leader is in. Umar Al-Khatab r.a selected six pious persons and the leader of the committee was Abdul Rahman Auf r.a. Everyone in the committee unanimously agrees that Uthman r.a was the best person among them and should be made the Caliph of the Muslims. Umar r.a told them that when the decision had been reached everyone must agree with the decision. In case after a decision had been made, there were some peoples in the committee who still do not agree to the decision, then Umar r.a advised the committee to kill those persons at that very place where the meeting was taken place. Islam is a very simple religion and has very simple and logical systems to choose leaders. The system is so simple and so logical, which does not require many expenses as in democracy and monarchy system.
The purpose of life of a Muslim is not to have power and wealth. Allah has never ordered men to work in order to gain power or wealth but Allah has ordered men to work in order to earn men’s needs. The purpose of life a Muslim is to gain the love of Allah. Allah gives wealth and power to whoever Allah wants and there is no relationship between work and power or between work and wealth. There is no one who can give wealth except Allah and there is no one who can give power or wealth except Allah. Power and wealth are not indications of success. Allah gives power and wealth in order to know who among men are good in actions. When we obey Allah in all situations, Allah will make us successful. Islam is based on a very simple principle that men’s success and failure depends only on the actions of men and not on power or wealth. Our life is simple and Islam teaches us a very simple system of choosing our leaders but our desire for power and wealth has made our life complicated and sophisticated. We should not worry or become unhappy in case Allah has made us poor and similarly we should not become so proud in case Allah has made us rich and powerful. Many men, instead of working only to earn their needs, they work in order to become rich and powerful. The main work of Muslims is to invite peoples to Allah and to obey Allah with the intention to please Allah until Allah is pleased with us.
I would say that all politicians in this world are in the wrong path of life. In Islam there is no politic because politic is the path of those who want to earn power and wealth. Administration of the country according to the orders of Allah is not politic; it is part of the orders of Allah. Politic is the science of securing power in a democratic country. If politic is to earn more seats in the parliament or to gain power then it is not the order of Allah and it is not Islamic. Politic is the way of life of those who does not want Allah. Simply giving the name to any political party an Islamic name does not make the party Islamic. Islam is not names or words but Islam is actions. When we do actions because it is the order of Allah and to please only Allah, it is Islamic .When we do actions which are not the orders of Allah even with the intention to please Allah, it would not become Islamic. There is no politic in Islam (to work in order to have more seats in the parliaments) and Allah does not order us to gain power or to have seats in the parliament. Both democracy and monarchy are not Islamic systems and we can never make the systems Islamic even if give the system an Islamic name. We are not Islamic if we practice democracy or monarchy. When Muslims are embracing the system of democracy or monarchy in selecting their leaders, Muslims will have problems and calamities. In order to avoid problems we need to use the Islamic system, known as the system of Caliphate. When Muslims are using the system of Caliphate in choosing leaders, Allah will be pleased with the Muslims and when Allah is pleased with Muslims, Allah will not give us problems and calamities to the Muslims in this world and hereafter.
Prof Dr Nasoha Saabin
June 2012
Integrative Holistic Wellness Centre