Are There Any Directives Regarding the Reestablishment of Khilaafah? Thank you for such a useful and invaluable site... Recently, I had a discussion with a brother on an internet forum on the issue of Khilafah . Having read your enlightening responses to questions on this issue, I asked that brother to give me one commandment from the Qur'an itself where it states categorically and unambigously that to establish the Khilafah is fard on the Muslims. His response was as follows: Why Disunity & Nationalism is Forbidden? (Below are some verses from Quran, about Islamic Unity) Quran States: 3:103 " And hold fast, All TOGETHER, by the rope which Allah (stretches out for you), and be NOT DIVIDED AMONG YOURSELVES...". 3:105 "Be NOT like those WHO ARE DIVIDED AMONGST THEMSELVES and fall into disputations..." 6:159 "AS for those who DIVIDE their religion and break up into sects, you have no part in them in the least: Their affair is with Allah: He will in the end tell them the truth of all that they did. 23:52: "And verily this Ummah of yours IS A SINGLE UMMAH and I am your Lord and Cherisher: therefore Fear Me (and no other)" 23:53: But people have cut off their affair (of unity), between them, into sects: Each party rejoices in that which is with itself" 30:32 "Those who SPLIT up their religion, and become mere sects each party rejoicing in that which is with itself!" 42:13: "...that ye should remain steadfast in religion and make no DIVISIONS therein....." 49:13 "O Men, We created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may KNOW one another (NOT THAT YOU MAY DESPISE EACH OTHER)" 30:22 And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the difference of your LANGUAGES and COLORS. Lo! herein indeed are portents for men of knowledge. The verses above are ordering and warning Muslims not to be divided, split up, or form sects out of the religion. We're created into so many different beautiful races, and cultures so that we KNOW each other, and NOT get divided into many different countries, etc. Nationalism is also a way of disuniting the UMMAH. As currently seen in the world, we are over FIFTY-FIVE MUSLIM COUNTRIES AND GROWING ! There should only be ONE Muslim country (Khilafah). Allah CLEARLY orders us NOT to be divided and separated and yet we have REFUSED to do so and decided to live in over 55 countries. We are too busy being proud Palestinian, Jordanian, Yemeni, Turkish, Irani, Iraqi, Saudi Arabian, Syrian, Pakistani, Algerian, Libyan, Egyptian, Moroccan, Lebanese, Bengali, etc. How many more nationalities are we going to see in the UMMAH ? How many more divisions? How many more separations ? The Kuffar are killing us one by one, as seen in the "New World Order" Chechnya, Algeria, Bosnia, Kashmir, etc.). Divide-and-conquer is really working on the UMMAH. Lets all work together to put an end to this nonsense called Nationalism, a completely alien, and forbidden ideology in Islam. Hadeeth on Nationalism Nationalism is HARAM because the Prophet Mohammad (saaw) said in the following Hadeeths: "Leave it. It is Rotten " (Refers to all forms of Asabiyah, nationalism, racism. Bukhari & Muslim) "Whoever takes part in Nationalism is not from among us" "...People should give up their pride in nations because this is a coal from the coals of hell-fire. If they do not give this up Allah (swt) will consider them lower than a lowly worm which pushes itself through khur (feces)." [abu Dawd & Tirmidhi] Learning and appreciating ours and other Muslim cultures and backgrounds and languages is one thing, and being proud of being a certain nationality is another. Ummah is rich in culture, language, and backgrounds, Alhumdolillah. We don't need to be "rich" in being divided into many different nationalities and sects. How to Get Khilafah Back 24:55: "Allah has promised those amongst you who believe, and do righteous good deeds, that HE will CERTAINLY GRANT them SUCCESSION to the PRESENT RULERS on the EARTH, as HE granted it to those before them; that HE will ESTABLISH in authority their religion - the one which HE has chosen for them; and that HE will change their state, after the fear in which they lived, to one of security and peace: They worship ME alone and not associate ought with Me. IF any do reject Faith after this, they are Rebellious and Wicked." There we have it. A simple, straightforward and plain GUARANTEE! What else can we ask for? How clear can it get? That is Allah's promise to us. Is that not enough for us? Hadeeth Regarding Future of Khilafah Saheeh: Related by Ahmad (4/273), from an Nu'maan ibn Basheer(RA). Prophethood will remain amongst you for as long as Allaah wishes it to, then Allaah will raise it up when He wishes to raise it up. Then there will be Khilaafah upon the manner of Prophethood and it will remain amongst you for as long as Allaah wishes it to, then Allaah will raise it up when He wishes to raise it up. Then there will be harsh kingship which will remain amongst you for as long as Allaah wishes it to, then Allaah will raise it up when He wishes to raise it up. Then there will be tyrannical kingship and it will remain amongst you for as long as Allaah wishes it to, then Allaah will raise it up when He wishes to raise it up. Then there will be Khilafah upon the manner of Prophethood. Then he was silent. After all if any one thinks otherwise about Islamic unity or why Muslims should not be united as one UMMAH and elect/select/appoint their leader the Khalifa (Chaliph) should go and try to prove their point in the light of Quran and Sunnah. The above was the response, which the brother had forwarded to me. In the light of above reponse to my question, I would like to ask you only if you have time, if his reply is credible. Is he quoting out of context? Could you provide the meaning and context of these references? Especially with regard to the reference from the Qur'an Chapter 24, Verse 55? Thank you kindly... Adil Farooq, UK Reply My basic observation relating to the cited verses and narratives ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh) is that none of them provides an answer to your question. Please take a look at your question once again. You had, correctly, asked: ... give me one commandment from the Qur'an itself where it states categorically and unambiguously that to establish the Khilafah is fard on the Muslims. I really fail to see a single reference to a verse of the Qur'an, which 'categorically and unambiguously' directs Muslims to create a universal Muslim state. Do you see any? The closest that the writer has got is the verse of Surah Al-Noor . However, you shall see that even this verse does not state that the creation of the 'Khilaafah' is obligatory upon Muslims. On the contrary, if you closely examine, the verse is, in fact, promising the Muslims that if they truly 'believe and do righteous deeds', God shall grant them 'succession to the present rulers on the earth'. I really do not see how the obligation of forming a 'Khilaafah' can be derived from this verse. What can, on the contrary, be derived from this verse is that "If Muslims live a life of true faith and good deeds, God promises to give them 'succession to the present rulers'". This, in other words, would mean the obligation of living a life of faith and good deeds, which, due to the stated promise of the Qur'an, would automatically result in being granted 'succession' on the earth. My dear brother, in my opinion, even though the derivations made from most, if not all of the citations are incorrect, yet even then, none of the referred citations give an adequate answer to your question. The following is a brief summary of my observations on the citations of the writer: The verses referred to substantiate the prohibition of disunity and nationalism among Muslims are all, in fact, related to the prohibition of religious disunity (as in forming sects) and not the forming of independent geographical states (as is quite obvious from the words of most of these verses). It should be kept in mind that the formation of independent geographical states does not necessarily imply disunity among these states. The thing to strive for, in the light of these verses, is to remove the sectarian spirit that has taken hold of the Muslims and to remove all forms of religious disunity among them. The aspect which is condemned in the narratives ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh) under the title, " Hadeeth on Nationalism", is "`asbiyyah". When ascription and faithfulness toward one's country becomes more important than faithfulness toward the directives of God and submission to the truth, it then becomes a refutation of the very basis of the message of Islam. In other words, a Muslim can never be of the view: "My country, right or wrong". The verse cited under the title: "How to get the Khilaafah back", is not even closely related to the subject. Keeping the context and the words of the verse in perspective, it is clear that it addresses the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) and the promise entailed in the verse is, in fact, related to their special position as the direct addressees of a messenger of God. The promise entailed in the verse does not extend to all Muslims other than the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) [1] . The final citation, under the title " Hadeeth Regarding Future of Khilaafah " has been interpreted even by some of its narrators to be referring to the rule of Umar ibn Abd al-Azeez. However, if this interpretation is not accepted to be correct, even then the most that can derived from this narrative is that the Prophet (pbuh) foretold the reestablishment of "Khilaafah" (whatever it implied). This does not, as is quite clear, render the establishment of the "Khilaafah" (implying a universal Islamic state) an obligation upon all Muslims. An important, which should also be noted is that the word "Khilaafah" in the Arabic language does not necessarily imply 'a single universal state'. The word is used in the Qur'an and narratives ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh) to imply 'rule', irrespective of the extent or limits of that rule. To take the word "Khilaafah" to imply 'universal Muslim rule' or 'single universal Muslim state' is not supported by the Qur'an or the narratives ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh). The writer has stated in the end: After all if any one thinks otherwise about Islamic unity or why Muslims should not be united as one UMMAH and elect/select/appoint their leader the Khalifa (Chaliph) should go and try to prove their point in the light of Quran and Sunnah. The problem is not that I consider any movements that strive to unite all the Muslims of the world under one rule to be prohibited (although I may have some reservations about its possibility and practicability). Had that been the case, it would have been my responsibility to prove its prohibition from a clear, direct and unambiguous directive of the Qur'an or the Sunnah . The difference of opinion between me and the referred writer is not whether planning and organizing such a movement is lawful in the Shari`ah or not; for, indeed, I do not challenge its lawfulness. The difference of opinion between the referred writer and me relates to the status of planning and organizing such a movement. The honorable writer is of the opinion that planning, organizing or taking part in such a movement is obligatory upon all Muslims. I, on the other hand, have yet to come across a clear and unambiguous directive of the Qur'an, which provides the basis of this opinion. My dear brother, it should be kept in mind that declaring something to be obligatory is not the jurisdiction of the scholars and students of Islam. It is the sole authority of the Almighty. Declaring something to be obligatory, without the authority of the Qur'an and the Sunnah , is a great transgression and a person guilty of such transgression shall be accountable for it on the Day of Judgment. It is for this reason that I would generally have no objections on what a movement plans to do, as long as its actions are morally and legally justifiable. However, when a movement declares something to be Haraam (prohibited) or Fardh (obligatory) or even a nafl (supererogatory), it is my duty to ask for the basis of such declaration in the Qur'an or the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh), as without such basis, all such declarations are a condemnable invention in the body of Islam. I hope this helps. Regards, Moiz Amjad , Otherwise you may simply Close this Window [1] For details please refer to a few of my earlier responses to the following questions titled: "Prophets and Messengers" ( http://www.understanding-islam.com/rpr/pr-003.htm ), "Some Clarifications Regarding the Position and the Mission of the Messengers of God" ( http://www.understanding-islam.com/rpr/pr-021.htm ), "Determining the Addressees of the Qur'an" ( http://www.understanding-islam.com/rq/q-048.htm and http://www.understanding-islam.com/rq/q-049.htm ).