The situation which has been created today for Islam and
Muslims in the whole world by certain extremist organizations
is an evil consequence of the ideology taught in our religious
seminaries, and also propagated day and night by Islamic
movements and religious political parties. The true
understanding of Islam, in contrast to this, has been
presented by this writer in his treatise Mizan.
This understanding actually constitutes a counter narrative.
It has been repeatedly pointed out by this writer that when in
a Muslim society anarchy is created on the basis of religion,
the remedy to this situation is not advocacy of secularism. On
the contrary, the solution lies in presenting a counter
narrative to the existing narrative on religion. Its details
can be looked up in the aforementioned treatise. However, the
part of it which relates to Islam and the state is summarized
below.
1. The message of Islam is primarily addressed to an
individual. It wants to rule the hearts and minds of people.
The directives it has given to the society are also addressed
to individuals who are fulfilling their responsibilities as
the rulers of Muslims. Hence, it is baseless to think that a
state also has a religion and there is a need to Islamize it
through an Objectives Resolution and that it must be
constitutionally bound to not make any law repugnant to the
Qur’an and Sunnah. People who presented this view and were
successful in having it implemented actually laid the
foundations of a permanent division in the nation states of
these times: it gave the message to the non-Muslims that they
are in fact second rate citizens who at best occupy the status
of a protected minority and that if they want to demand
anything from the real owners of the state must do this in
this capacity of theirs.
2. It can be the dream of every person that countries in which
Muslims are in majority should unite under a single rule and
we can also strive to achieve this goal but this is no
directive of the Islamic shari‘ah which today Muslims are
guilty of disregarding. Certainly not! Neither is khilafah a
religious term nor its establishment at the global level a
directive of Islam. After the first century hijrah, when
celebrated jurists of the Muslims were among them, two
separate Muslim kingdoms, the Abbasid kingdom in Baghdad and
the Umayyad kingdom in Spain had been established and remained
established for many centuries. However, none of these jurists
regarded this state of affairs to be against the Islamic
shari‘ah. The reason is that there is not a single directive
found on this issue in the Qur’an and the Hadith. On the
contrary, what everyone, including this writer, does say is
that if at any place a state is established, rebelling against
it is a heinous crime. Such is the horrific nature of this
crime that the Prophet (sws) is reported to have said that a
person who does so dies the death of jahiliyyah.
3. The basis of nationhood in Islam is not Islam itself, as is
generally understood. At no place in the Qur’an and Hadith has
it been said that Muslims must become one nation. On the
contrary, what the Qur’an has said is: (٤٩:
١٠) اِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُوْنَ
اِخْوَةٌ (All Muslims are brothers to one another,
(49:10)). Thus the relationship between Muslims is not based
on nationhood; it is rather based on brotherhood. While being
divided into several nations, countries and states they are
brothers in faith. Hence, what can be demanded from them is
that they should keep themselves aware of the circumstances of
their brothers, help them in their troubles and tribulations,
support those who are oppressed among them, give them
preference in economic and social ties and in no circumstances
close their doors on them. However, what cannot be demanded
from them is that they give up their nation states and
national identities and become one nation and one state. Just
as they can create separate nation states, in the same way if
they have the freedom to follow their religion, they can live
in the capacity of citizens of non-Muslim states and adopt
their nationality. None of this is forbidden by the Qur’an and
Sunnah.
4. If some Muslims of the world declare themselves as Muslims
and, in fact, insist on this and adopt a belief or deed which
is not approved by one or more scholars or the rest of the
Muslims, then this deed or belief of theirs can be regarded as
incorrect and even a deviation and departure from Islam, yet
these people cannot be regarded as non-Muslims or disbelievers
(kuffar) because these people adduce their views from the
Qur’an and Hadith. For the ruling of God on such beliefs and
deeds, we must wait for the Day of Judgement. Their proponents
in this world in accordance with their own acknowledgement are
Muslims, must be regarded as Muslims and must be dealt with in
the same way as a Muslim is dealt with. It is the right of the
scholars to point out their mistake, to invite them to accept
what is correct, to regard what they find as constituting
polytheism and disbelief in their ideology and also inform
people about all this. However, no one has the right to
declare them as non-Muslims or to ostracize them from the
Muslim community because only God can give this right to
someone, and everyone who has knowledge of the Qur’an and
Hadith knows that God has not given this right to anyone.
5. Polytheism,
disbelief and apostasy are indeed grave crimes; however, no
human being can punish another human being for these crimes.
This is the right of God alone. In the Hereafter too, He will
punish them for these crimes and in this world it is He Who
does so if He intends. The matter of the Hereafter is not
under discussion here. In this world, this punishment takes
place in the following manner: when the Almighty decides to
reward and punish people in this world on the basis of their
deeds, He sends His messenger towards them. This messenger
conclusively communicates the truth to these people such that
they are left with no excuse before God to deny it. After that
the verdict of God is passed and people who even after the
conclusive communication of the truth insist on disbelief and
polytheism are punished in this world. This is an established
practice of God which the Qur’an describes in the following
words: وَلِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولٌ فَإِذَا
جَاء رَسُولُهُمْ قُضِيَ بَيْنَهُم بِالْقِسْطِ وَهُمْ لاَ
يُظْلَمُونَ (٤٧:١٠) (And for each community, there is a
messenger. Then when their messenger comes, their fate is
decided with full justice and they are not wronged, (10:47)).
Its nature is the same as of the sacrifice of Ishmael (sws)
and the incident of Khidr. It is not related to us human
beings. Just as we cannot drill a hole in the boat of a poor
person to help him and cannot kill a disobedient boy nor
embark upon slaughtering any of our sons on the basis of a
dream as Abraham (sws) did, similarly, we cannot undertake
this task except if a revelation comes from God or if He
directly gives an order. Everyone knows that the door to this
has permanently been closed.
6. No doubt
jihad is a directive of Islam. The Qur’an requires of its
followers that if they have the strength, they should wage war
against oppression and injustice. The primary reason of this
directive is to curb persecution which is the use of
oppression and coercion to make people give up their religion.
Those having insight know that Muslims are not given this
directive of jihad in their individual capacity; they are
addressed in their collective capacity regarding this
directive. They are not individually addressed in the verses
of jihad which occur in the Qur’an. Thus in this matter only
the collectivity has the right to launch any such armed
offensive. No individual or group of Muslims has the right to
take this decision on their behalf. It is for this reason that
the Prophet (sws) is reported to have said: “A Muslim ruler is
a shield; war can only waged under him.”
7. The directive
of jihad given by Islam is war for the cause of God;
therefore, it cannot be waged while disregarding moral
restrictions. Ethics and morality supersede everything in all
circumstances and even in matters of war and armed offensives,
the Almighty has not allowed Muslims to deviate from moral
principles. Hence, it is absolutely certain that jihad can
only be waged against combatants. It is the law of Islam that
if a person attacks through his tongue, then this attack shall
be countered through the tongue and if he financially supports
the warriors, then he will be stopped from this support;
however, unless a person picks up arms to wage war, his life
cannot be taken. So much so, if right in the battle field an
enemy throws down arms and surrenders, he shall be taken a
prisoner; he cannot be executed after this. The words of the
verse which mention the directive of jihad are: وَقَاتِلُوا
فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ الَّذِينَ يُقَاتِلُونَكُمْ وَلَا
تَعْتَدُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُعْتَدِينَ (٢:
١٩٠) (And fight in the way of God with those who fight
against you and do not transgress bounds [in this fighting].
Indeed, God does not like the transgressors, (2:190)). The
Prophet (sws) forbade the killing of women and children during
war.
The reason for this is that if they had embarked upon jihad
with the army, it was not in the capacity of combatants. At
best, they could boost the morale of the combatants and urge
them through the tongue to fight.
8. Centuries
before the thinkers of the present age, the Qur’an had
declared: اَمْرُهُم شُوْرٰی بَينَهُمْ (٤٢:
٣٨) (the affairs of the Muslims are run on the basis of
their mutual consultation, (42:38)). This clearly meant that
an Islamic government would be established through their
consultation, everyone would have equal rights in this
consultation, whatever done through consultation could only be
undone through consultation and every individual would become
part of the consultative process. Moreover, if a decision
could be reached through a consensus or total agreement, then
the opinion of the majority would be accepted as the decision.
This is precisely what democracy is. Thus
dictatorship is not acceptable in any case whether it is of a
dynasty or a of a group or of a national institution and not
even of religious scholars in the interpretation of issues
related to religion and shari‘ah. These scholars indeed have
the right to present their views and express their opinions;
however, their view can only become a law for the people to
follow when the majority of the elected representatives accept
it. In modern states, the institution of the parliament has
been constituted for this very purpose. It holds and should
hold the final authority in the system of a state. People do
have a right to criticize the decisions of the parliament and
point out their mistakes; however, no one has the right to
disobey them or rebel against them. Neither scholars nor the
judiciary is above the parliament. The principle of
اَمْرُهُم شُوْرٰی بَينَهُمْ (42: 38)
binds every individual and every institution to practically
submit to the decisions of the parliament even though they may
differ with them.
It is only this
way which is justifiable in setting up the rule of Islam and
running it. If any other way is adopted to set up this rule,
then it will be illegal even though the forehead of its ruler
may glisten with the signs of prostration or even if he is
bestowed the title of amir al-mu’minin.
9. If at some
place a Muslim government exists, it is generally asked to
implement the shari‘ah. This expression is misleading because
it gives the impression that Islam has given the right to a
government to forcibly implement all the directives of the
shari‘ah on people. The fact is that the Qur’an and Hadith do
not give this authority to any government. The Islamic
shari‘ah contains two categories of directives. The first
category comprises directives which are given to individuals
and the second category comprises directives which are given
to a Muslim society. The first category relates to directives
which are between an individual and God. In these directives,
a person is not responsible to any government; on the
contrary, he is responsible to God. Hence, no government, for
example, can force a person to fast or go for hajj or ‘umrah
or to circumcise himself or to keep his moustaches trimmed or
in the case of a woman to cover her chest, refrain from
displaying her ornaments or to wear a scarf when going out. In
such matters, a government has no authority beyond urging and
educating people except if there is a chance of rights being
usurped or excesses being committed against the life, wealth
and honour of people. The Qur’an has explicitly said that
among the positive directives of religion, a state can only
forcibly demand from them to offer the prayer and pay zakah.
The Qur’an (9:5) says that after this, it is incumbent upon
the state to leave them alone and not try to enforce anything
on them. As for the second category of directives, they are
only given to a government because it is a government which
represents a society in collective affairs. If religious
scholars demand from those in authority to obey them, then
they certainly will be justified. In fact, it is their duty in
their capacity as scholars to make such a demand. It should be
clear that this demand is the demand to follow the shari‘ah.
Implementation of the shari‘ah is not the right name for this
demand. This second category comprises the following
directives:
i. Muslims will
not be subjects of their rulers but equal citizens. No
discrimination shall be made between them in the state system
and the laws of the state. Their life, wealth and honour shall
hold sanctity – so much so that without their consent the
state shall not impose any tax on them other than zakah. If a
dispute arises in their personal affairs like marriage,
divorce, distribution of inheritance and other similar
matters, then it shall be decided in accordance with the
Islamic shari‘ah. They shall be provided with all the
essential facilities for their daily prayers, the fasts of
Ramadan and hajj and ‘umrah. They will not be forced by the
law to submit to any directive which reflects a positive
injunction of Islam except the prayer and the zakah. They will
be governed with justice and fairness on the principle of
اَمْرُهُم شُوْرٰی بَينَهُمْ (٤٢:
٣٨)
(the affairs of the Muslims are run on the basis of their
mutual consultation, (42:38)). Their public wealth and assets
shall be reserved for the collective needs of the society and
shall not be given in private ownership; in fact, they shall
be developed and looked after in such a way that the needs of
people who are not able to financially support themselves are
fulfilled from their income. If they pass away, they shall be
enshrouded and prepared for burial according to Muslim rites;
their funeral prayer shall be offered and they shall be buried
in the graveyard of the Muslims the way Muslims are buried.
ii. It shall be the responsibility of the government to
organize the Friday and the ‘id prayers. These prayers shall
be held only at places which are specified by the state. Their
pulpits shall be reserved for the rulers. They themselves will
lead and deliver the sermon of these prayers or some
representative of theirs will fulfill this responsibility on
their behalf. Within the confines of the state, no one will
have the authority to organize these prayers independently.
iii. Law enforcing departments shall be primarily reserved for
amar bi al-ma‘ruf and nahi ‘an al-munkar (enjoining good and
forbidding evil). Thus the most pious of people will be
selected as workers of these departments. They will urge
people to do good and forbid them all what mankind has always
regarded as evil. However, they will only use the force of law
when a person is guilty of usurping rights or goes after the
life, wealth and honour of people.
iv. The state shall always adhere to justice (qa’im bi al-qist)
with regard to its enemies as well. It will speak the truth,
bear witness to it and will not take any step contrary to
justice and fairness.
v. If the state enters into agreement with someone within its
jurisdiction or with some foreign entity, then as long as the
agreement exists it shall be honoured both in letter and in
spirit with full honesty and sincerity.
vi. The death penalty will be given in two cases only: murder
and spreading anarchy in the land. If a Muslim is guilty of
murder, theft, fornication, falsely accusing someone of
fornication (qadhf) or spreading anarchy and disorder in the
land and a court is fully satisfied that he does not deserve
any leniency arising from his personal, familial and social
circumstances, then those punishments shall be meted out to
him which the Almighty has prescribed in His Book for those
who have whole-heartedly accepted the call of Islam.
vii. Dissemination of Islam to all parts of this world shall
be organized at the state level. If any power of the world
tries to hinder this effort or persecutes Muslims, then the
state, according to its capacity, will try to remove this
hindrance and stop this persecution even if it has to use
force for it.
10. These are the directives of the shari‘ah which relate to
the state and have been given with the warning that those who
do not accept the verdict of the Book of God after
acknowledging it will be regarded as wrongdoers (zalim),
defiant (fasiq) and disbelievers (kafir) on the Day of
Judgement.
However, if the rulers of the Muslims, in spite of this
warning are guilty of some error in this regard or become
rebellious, then the only responsibility of religious scholars
is to warn them of its consequences in this world and the
Hereafter. With wisdom and kindly exhortation, they should
call them to mend their ways, face their questions, dispel
their doubts and logically reason with them as to why God has
given them His shari‘ah. They should explain to them its
relevance in the collective sphere of life. They should also
elucidate to them the basis of its directives and the
difficulty which a person of the modern era faces in
understanding it. They should adopt styles and ways to explain
and clarify it so that its underlying wisdom and objective
becomes evident to them and their hearts and minds are able to
adopt it with full satisfaction and they become prepared to
follow it. The Qur’an has stated that the real status of
religious scholars is to invite people to the truth and warn
them about any deviation from it. God does not want them to
force people to follow Islam or to organize their followers in
groups that ask people at gun point to follow the shari‘ah.
(Translated by
Dr Shehzad Saleem)
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