The Moon said after greeting with a salaam, "Wise leaders are self aware; aware of their prejudices, their social conditioning, and thus, able to moderate the tendency to be over-optimistic with their intuitive instincts. A wise leader, assembles as much knowledge and understanding as possible, to empower them, to make the right decision, in a timely manner. This is why, wise leaders, surround themselves with the best people." "And what the Fourth Judge narrated?" the Owl was curioused. The Moon unveiled, "The Fourth Judge described, 'Islam has ‘political dimension’ in addition to spiritual and social nature. Political issues are mentioned more than 100 times in the Quran, at least 73 of which concerned either denouncing unjust rulers or praising persons who protested against, opposed or confronted such rulers. A man asked the Prophet (ﷺ), “What is the best Jihad?” The Prophet (ﷺ) said,
كَلِمَةُ حَقٍّ عِنْدَ سُلْطَانٍ جَائِرٍ
“A word of truth in front of a tyrannical ruler.” [Musnad Aḥmad; Sahih (authentic) according to Al-Nawawi]
The Prophet (ﷺ) stated that the best of all martyrs was a person who stand up to an oppressive ruler, demanding fairness and protesting against the ruler’s injustices and who, as a result, may lose his or her life.
The first day of the Islamic Calendar is the day when the Prophet (ﷺ) reached Madinah and was greeted as the new political leader of the city-state, not his birth or the beginning of the revelations. And among the first projects that the Prophet (ﷺ) started in Madinah was, the drafting of a socio-political contract, known as the Sahifat al-Madinah or the Charter of Medina, which acknowledged every tribe in Madinah, recognized other religions, and described how relations should be conducted among these tribal and religious groups. The Sahifat included a common defence agreement, a basic mechanism for inter-group conflict resolution, and autonomy for Jews with respect to their internal affairs.
In the political domain, Al-Hikmah, i.e. the Quran and the Sunnah, address certain broad themes regarding political issues. Since these two supreme sources of Islam, do not contain many political details, even when they address certain social, political, economic, punitive, personal and family matters, the creation of laws is a task for ijtihad or human agency.
When it comes to the concept of democracy, there are two Islamic concepts that pertain to politics: Shura and Bay‘a. In Islamic political thought, Shura refers to deliberations conducted with the aim of collecting and discussing different opinions on a particular subject in order to reach a decision. The majority of classical jurists and contemporary scholars of Islamic studies consider Shura to be a fard. Scholars–particularly those from the classical era–perceived shura as being less than an obligation, but still deemed it to be mandub (recommended).
The Concept of Shura or mutual consultation, is understood as a tool of deliberate action to protect public interests and resolve public issues. So, what is mutual consultation? Mutual consultation means the act of discussing something with somebody before making a decision. Mutual consultation is not an isolated habit. The willingness to engage in it results directly from qualities like modesty, sincerity, caution and the spirit of learning. Without these qualities, no one can engage sincerely in mutual consultation. Belief in Allah, brings with it all these virtues and makes one absolutely sincere in all aspects of life. It is this sincerity as well as modesty that compels a believer not to decide upon anything without first consulting others.
The best form of mutual consultation is that in which one seeks others’ advice, while endeavoring to share experiences. Mutual consultation is important, not just for the individual but also for society. As far as the individual is concerned it is through consultation or discussion that he develops his personality. Mutual consultation makes one a better person and a society comprising individuals of this kind becomes a wise society.
Fruitful mutual consultation has two conditions attached to it. One precondition for effective mutual consultation is that both the parties should have open minds. The other condition is that both parties should be ready to accept opinions on their merits and without bias. It can be conducted between the rich and the poor, between seniors and juniors, between the educated and the uneducated, between the young and the old or between men and women. This all-encompassing nature of consultation makes it fruitful to the ultimate extent.
The habit of mutual consultation creates a degree of trust between the different members of society. Mutual trust and the spirit of cooperation is essential for building a good society, and mutual consultation is a vital part of that process. Mutual consultation, in one sense is a ‘give and take’ culture. When you discuss an issue with someone, it is not simply a verbal exchange. During a discussion, you take something from the other, and give something to the other as well. Indeed, the society becomes like a family where people trust and help each other. Here, consultation does not only mean addressing major issues. Issues of that kind no doubt warrant consultation but more important is personal consultation. Everyone needs others’ advice even in matters of daily life.
In the Islamic political context, Bay‘a is defined as an oath of loyalty given to the nominated, would-be ruler, based on certain conditions. It can be described as a contract by which Muslims give their word that they will accept the nominated person as their leader, as long as that person abides by certain conditions. These may include a variety of different policies and promises about social justice, distribution of wealth, military defence and so forth. It is important to emphasize that Bay‘a is revocable. Thus, Bay‘a could be perceived as a basis for both a system of checks and balances, and the principle of the state’s accountability to the people.
The concept of Bay'a is closely related to the concept of Imamate. Imamate is prescribed to succeed prophethood as a means of protecting the deen and of managing the affairs of this world. There are several conditions regarding those suited to the Imamate, generally, among others, justice together with all its conditions; knowledge which equips them for ijtihad in unforeseen matters and for arriving at relevant judgements; good health in their faculties of hearing, sight and speech such that they may arrive at a sound assessment of whatever they perceive; sound in limb, free of any deficiency which might prevent them from normal movements; a judgement capable of organising the people and managing the offices of administration; courage and bravery enabling them to defend the territory of Islam and to mount jihad against the enemy. There is also a special requirements, i.e. of the family of the Quraysh, because of the text of a prophetic hadith on the matter, and by virtue of consensus.
The Imamate, in Sunni doctrine, have generally viewed as the historical caliphate as the legitimate leadership of Islam after our beloved Prophet (ﷺ). The imam, is thus identical with the ruling caliph. Actual rule, even if reduced to a minimum, is indispensable for the legitimacy of the imam. Classical Sunni theory considered the imamate as an institution necessary for the legitimacy of all acts of government. The imam could be either appointed by his predecessor or elected. In the case of election, there are three conditions regarding those eligible to make the election, first, that they be just and fulfil all the conditions implied in this quality; second, that they possess a knowledge by which they may comprehend who has a right to the Imamate and that they fulfil all the conditions implied by this knowledge; third, that they possess the insight and wisdom which will lead them to choose the person who is most fitting for the Imamate and who is the most upright and knowledgeable with respect to the management of the offices of administration.
The Imamate is called the Khalifah (successor) as he stands in for the Messenger of Allah at the head of his Ummah. However, the majority of the ‘ulama, do not permit to say "Khalifah of Allah," and treat those who do say this as corrupt, arguing that the Khalifah succeeds someone who is absent or dead and Allah is not absent and does not die.
The majority of the fuqaha are of the opinion that seeking after the Imamate, is not a blamable quality, as the people involved in the council have contested each other’s right by their very involvement, while no one who has sought involvement has been rejected nor has anyone who desires it been excluded. There cannot be two Imams or Head of the State or leaders at one time, and there are ten matters regarding affairs of a public nature which are binding on him. First, he must guard the deen as it was established in its original form and about which the first generations of the Unimah are agreed; if an innovator appears, or someone of dubious character deviates from this deen, he should make clear to him the legal proof of his error, explain the right way to him and take the appropriate measures regarding his liability and his punishment such that the deen is protected from blemish and the Ummah is prevented from going astray. Second, he must execute the legal judgements between two contestants and bring to an end any dispute between two litigants so that equity prevails, the tyrant does not transgress and the weak are not oppressed. Third, he must protect the territory of Islam and defend the sanctuaries so that people may earn their sustenance and journey safe from any threat to their persons or belongings. Fourth, he must establish the hadd-punishments in order to protect what Allah has made inviolable from being violated and prevent the rights of His slaves from being abused. Fifth, he must fortify the border posts against attack and defend them with force against an enemy which might appear unexpectedly and violate what is sacred or shed the blood of Muslims or dhimmis protected by a pact. Sixth, He must make jihad against those who resist Islam after having been called to it until they submit or accept to live as a protected dhimmi-community-so that Allah’s rights, be made uppermost above all religion. Seventh, he must collect the fay and zakah taxes from those on whom the shari’ah and legal judgement has made it an obligation to pay, and this without fear or oppression. Eigth, he must apportion the stipends and whatever is due from the bait almal without wastefulness or meanness and make payments punctually, neither before their time nor after it. Ninth, he must ensure the employment of trustworthy persons and the appointment of worthy counsellors capable of undertaking those tasks delegated to them and of safeguarding monies made over to them. Tenth, he must personally take over the surveillance of affairs and the scrutiny of circumstances such that he may execute the policy of the Ummah and defend the nation without over-reliance on delegation of authority- by means of which he might devote himself to pleasure-seeking or worship - for even the trustworthy may deceive and counsellors behave dishonestly.
So if the Imam fulfils the rights of the Ummah, he will have executed the command of Allah, regarding their rights and their duties: in which case they have a duty to obey and support him as long as his state does not change. Two changes in a person’s state will exclude him from the Imamate: the first of these is a lack of decency and the second is a physical deficiency.
As for a lack of decency, that is a moral deviation, it is of two kinds: the first of them resulting from lust, the second from his holding dubious opinions.
As for the first, it is connected to physical action: he commits forbidden acts, pursues evil, is ruled by his lust and is subject to his passions; this counts as a moral deviation which excludes him from taking up the Imamate or from carrying on with it. Thus, if such behaviour befalls someone who has become the Imam, he is disqualified.
The second aspect, is connected to his creed and his dubious manner of interpreting contrary to the truth.
As for deficiencies in his capacity to act, it is of two kinds: control or coercion by others. “Control” here describes the situation when someone from his retinue gains authority over him and rules autocratically over affairs without appearing to commit any act of disobedience and without any manifest sign of opposition. This does not exclude him from Imamate and it does not impair the validity of his governance, but the actions of the person who has taken over his affairs, should be investigated: if they are in accordance with the judgements of the deen and according to the requirements of justice, he may be allowed to remain in order that the Imamate may continue to function and its rulings be executed, lest the affairs of the deen be interrupted and the Ummah is corrupted. If however, his actions are outside the rule of the deen and the requirements of justice, he may not tolerate his actions and he must seek the help of another in order to overcome him and put an end to his dominance.
The “coercion” referred to here means that the Imam has become the captive of an overpowering enemy force from which he cannot free himself: this prevents the contract of Imamate being concluded with him because he is incapable of examining the affairs of the Muslims. It is of no consequence whether the enemy is a mushrik or a rebel Muslim.The Ummah may choose another than him from amongst those who have power to act by themselves. If he is made captive after having become the Imam, it is up to the whole Ummah to save him as the office of Imamate obliges that he be saved; he remains the Imam as long as there is hope he will be released - either by force or by ransom. If there is no hope for him, consideration must be made of whether his captors are mushrikun or rebel Muslims.
It should be noted that all of the concept had been mentioned, is manifesting a strong tendency towards bureaucracy, to take the divine order to “command the good and forbid the evil”, which at the time of the Prophet (ﷺ), was understood as a responsibility of each and every man, has now become institutionalised into the concept of Hisbah, an Islamic doctrine referring to upholding "community morals," based on the Quranic injunction to 'enjoin good and forbid wrong.' There are some opinions, believe that the 'Ulama carry out the Hisbah with the 'tongue' and officials should use the 'hand.'"
