Obey the Khalifah and Islamic Ruler (1/2)

He has to have knowledge and be a believer.

It is wajib for the Muslims to have one and only one Khalifah or supreme Islamic government leader for the world. This person may either be elected by a majority of people, selected by a small group of pious leading Muslim officers, or named as the successor of the previous Khalifah by the Khalifah himself (in the case of his death or incapacitation).

Once the Muslims (or a large section of them) have decided upon a Khalifah, it is not valid to appoint another Khalifah (anywhere in the world) or to refuse to obey this one (even if he is not the best man present). [Additionally, any other man who subsequently claims to be the rightful Khalifah may be lawfully killed.]

If by mistake or on purpose two more Khalifahs are simultaneously chosen, one of them should resign (if one of them does not voluntarily step down, they must both draw lots or flip a coin once together to see who will leave and who will remain). If the extra Khalifah who is chosen to be ejected from office (e.g., by drawing lots or picking a name out of a hat) refuses to leave, then he may be lawfully killed.

In order to have a Khalifah, the Muslims must have a section of territory (even if as small as a city) which is under their complete jurisdiction (and is free from answering to any third party or other world government agency).

If the Muslims do not have such a territory, then the Khalifah's position is not valid.

Once a valid Khalifah is chosen, it is wajib for every citizen (male and female) to obey him in the things that the citizen likes and in the things that the citizen dislikes (as long as the Khalifah does not command one to clearly disobey Allah (as Allah has authority over him)). It is absolutely unlawful to try to overthrow the government of the Khalifah (even if it is corrupt) as long as his government establishes the wajib acts of our din (e.g., prayer, Zakat, Fasting, Hajj, laws of business and justice, etc.) and no clear sign of disbelief is seen from the Khalifah (e.g., he claims that there are gods besides Allah).

The Khalifah is given the power to put down armed insurrections with force (however, he is not given the power to prevent people from peacefully speaking out against the wrongs of his government).

The citizens should not riot if they feel that the Khalifah's government is neglecting them; rather, they should set up private institutions to meet their needs and the Khalifah should allow them to do such (as the government cannot take care of everything (and less should be expected from it)). From this you see that in our din the Khalifah's government does not manage every single aspect of the lives of the citizens (e.g., social and economic); rather, the private sector (i.e. individual people and organizations) may handle the social and business affairs of the citizens (from non-centralized locations).

The preconditions for the Khalifah are:

a) He must be male (no females may take public government leadership positions in our din (however, females may take private or social leadership positions (e.g., head of a business or social organization)).

b) He must be past puberty (no children are allowed).

c) He must be sane (please refer to footnote 71).

d) He must be upright (i.e. he must pray five times a day, try his best to perform all the wajib acts, and stay away from all unlawful acts in our din).

e) He must be Muslim.

f) He must be a scholar of the din (i.e. he must know Arabic, have a firm grounding in the primary texts (i.e. Qur'an and Ahadith), and must have studied texts like al-Murshid al-Mu`in, Mukhtasar Khalil, and Tuhfah al-Hukkam which completely cover all three aspects of our din (please refer to footnote 248)). [The Khalifah should also keep a counsel of pious scholars of the din to consult with on major issues.]

g) He must be fully able to discharge the duties of the office without physical help (i.e. he should be independent).

h) It is better if the Khalifah is a descendent of Nadr ibn Kinanah (the father of the Quraysh tribe); however, a non-Qurayshi or non-Arab Khalifah is also valid.

i) He must not desire or want to be the Khalifah. Anyone who desires the office of the Khalifah is automatically disqualified. Rather, he should be put in office against his own will. From this, you see that political campaigning is not part of our din.

If the Muslims agree on someone who does not fulfill all the requirements/preconditions of the Khalifah's office, then this agreed upon person should be accepted (even though he may be ignorant of the laws of the din or be a non-Arab). This is because in our din we prefer that the Muslims are in harmony and not fighting each other even if fighting may lead to a better Khalifah (or government).

 (Continued)