The Best Way to Establish a Fair Leadership

The Best Way to Establish a Fair Leadership

The Best Way to Establish a Fair Leadership

It is a sad thing to witness the current condition of our people in general. They looked so far from the religious values, whereas if one of them were asked about his religion, he would spontaneously answer, “It is Islam.” Likewise, if we speak about political and governmental affairs. We could hardly hear the verses of Qur’an and the sayings of the Prophet – peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- from their mouths.

The Perfection of Islam

Islam is an ultimately perfect religion, which regulates all aspects of human’s life. Even further, Islam has regulated and explained about the manners in defecating and urinating. Hence, how is it possible that Islam doesn’t speak about political matters? How is it possible that Islam doesn’t regulate the best way to establish the fair leadership? This is evidently impossible.

Allah the Exalted decreed, which can be translated as,

“We sent down the Book to you which makes everything clear, and serves as a guidance and mercy and glad tidings to those who have submitted to Allah.” (An Nahl/The Bee: 89)

How to Establish A Fair Leadership? 

In our society, there are two strongholds of muslims that struggle and spend their time to establish a fair leadership. The first one consists of people who legalized the political system which doesn’t originate from Islam, or at least, involved in it. Whereas the second one consists of people who legalized the blood of the rulers, or at least try to dethrone them.

Then, which of these strongholds that suit the shari’a path? And if none of them suit the shari’a path, how should we behave regarding this matter?

Looking Back to Our History

Before answering the two questions above, it is better for us to look back to our past, when the Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- started to enjoin people to Islam, until finally an Islamic empire was established. since he is our role model in all aspects of our life.

The Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- was sent among a nation whose religious, social, and political matters were atrocious. But we’ve never heard that when he still lived at Mecca, he tried to rebel, take over the power, or use cunning tricks to dethrone or kill the leaders of polytheists of Mecca. Why didn’t the Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- use those ways? The answer is because those aren’t the correct ways to solve the problem.

When the Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- started his calling to Islam openly, and many people started to embrace Islam, the Quraish sent ‘Utbah Ibn Rani’ah to persuade him. ‘Utbah Ibn Rabi’ah told him,

(وإن كنت تريد شرفا سودناك علينا حتى لا نقطع أمرا دونك وإن كنت تريد ملكا ملكناك علينا)

“If you want position, then we’ll make you as our master, thus we’ll not decide over a matter without you. And if you wish a kingdom, then we’ll make you our king.” [1]

But did the Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- accept the offer? Well, the answer is no. Why did the Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- reject it? Whereas by that offer, it seemed that he could enjoin people using his power. The answer is because that isn’t the correct way to solve the problem.

The irrefutable evidence was King Najasyi – peace be upon him- who had had embraced Islam. Although the reins of leadership was already in his hand, he still couldn’t use it to change his people.

The condition was different than when the Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- already settled in Medina. At that time, the number of muslims were numerous and they had strong faith, thus it was easy for the Messenger of Allah – peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- to rule them and establish an empire of Islam, the one that we’re dreaming of today.

The Righteousness of Government depends on The Fairness and Righteousness of The Society

Know, O brothers! The fairness and righteousness of the government depend on the fairness and righteousness of the society. The law of equality applies in this case. If the society itself is not righteous and fair, then how come they hope for a fair and righteous government?

Think about the verses below:

Allah the Exalted decreed, which can be translated as,

“In this manner We shall make the wrong-doers the friends of one another (in the Hereafter) because they earned (evil in the world) together.” (Al An’aam/The Cattle: 129)

This is a very clear indication that supports my statement above.

Allah the Exalted decreed, which can be translated as,

“When We decide to destroy a town We command the affluent among them, whereupon they commit sins in it, then the decree (of chastisement) becomes due against them and thereafter We destroy that town utterly. ” (Al Isra’/The Night Journey:16)

This is a very clear indication that explain that the wickedness of a people of a country could destroy that country.

Allah the Exalted decreed, which can be translated as,

“All the townships afflicted with scourge are before your eyes. When they committed wrong, We destroyed them. For the destruction of each We had set a definite term.” (Al Kahfi/The Cave:59)

Likewise the content of a hadith below:

عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ قَالَ قِيلَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَتَى نَتْرُكُ الأَمْرَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَالنَّهْىَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ قَالَ « إِذَا ظَهَرَ فِيكُمْ مَا ظَهَرَ فِى الأُمَمِ قَبْلَكُمْ ». قُلْنَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَمَا ظَهَرَ فِى الأُمَمِ قَبْلَنَا قَالَ « الْمُلْكُ فِى صِغَارِكُمْ وَالْفَاحِشَةُ فِى كِبَارِكُمْ وَالْعِلْمُ فِى رُذَالَتِكُمْ ».

From Anas Ibn Malik -may Allah be pleased with him-, he said, “The Messenger of Allah was asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah! When will we leave the enjoin to do good and prohibition from evil doing?’. He replied, ‘If something have appeared among you, which have had appeared among the nations before you.’ Then we asked him, ‘O Messenger of Allah! What happened among the nations before us?’. He said, ‘(When) the kingdom/power is in the hand of the youth of yours [2], the major sins are committed by the elderly of yours [3], and knowledges are propagated by the despised ones among you [4].” [5]

This hadith explained about the interconnection between sins and commanding the good and forbidding the evil. When commanding the good and forbidding the evil has been abandoned, then it is the sign of the doom of a nation.

Al Walid Ath Thurthusi -may Allah have mercy on him- said, “Until now, we could still hear people that say, “Your deeds are your workers.” As you are today, that is how you’ll be ruled. There is a similar verse in terms of meaning with it in the Qur’an, (that is the chapter Al An’am/The Cattle:129 as mentioned previously)..”. Abdul Malik Ibn Marwan said, “O my people, be fair to us! (How is it possible that) you want from us as what practiced by Abu Bakr and Umar, whereas you do not practice as they practiced?” [6]

After we realized that the piety and fairness of the government depend on the piety and fairness of the society, then there will be no other way for us to establish it but by changing the condition of the society.

News from the Prophet about the Condition of the Future Nation and The Way to Solve it

The condition of our society today has been revealed by the Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him-, together with the solvency.

The Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- said,

« إِذَا تَبَايَعْتُمْ بِالْعِينَةِ وَأَخَذْتُمْ أَذْنَابَ الْبَقَرِ وَرَضِيتُمْ بِالزَّرْعِ وَتَرَكْتُمُ الْجِهَادَ سَلَّطَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمْ ذُلاًّ لاَ يَنْزِعُهُ حَتَّى تَرْجِعُوا إِلَى دِينِكُمْ »

“If you have started to transact using the system of iinah [7] and take the tails of camel, and you’ve been pleased with farming [8] and left the jihad, Allah will bring you to the humiliation. Allah will not eliminate it until you return to your religion.”[9]

«فَوَاللَّهِ مَا الْفَقْرَ أَخْشَى عَلَيْكُمْ ، وَلَكِنِّى أَخْشَى أَنْ تُبْسَطَ عَلَيْكُمُ الدُّنْيَا كَمَا بُسِطَتْ عَلَى مَنْ قَبْلَكُمْ ، فَتَنَافَسُوهَا كَمَا تَنَافَسُوهَا ، وَتُهْلِكَكُمْ كَمَا أَهْلَكَتْهُمْ »

“By Allah! It isn’t the poverty that I fear upon you. But I fear that if the world is opened for you, as it had opened for the nations before you, thus you’ll compete (to obtain it) as they competed, and the world will destroy you as it destroyed them.” [10]

« يُوشِكُ أَنْ تَدَاعَى عَلَيْكُمُ الأُمَمُ مِنْ كُلِّ أُفُقٍ كَمَا تَدَاعَى الأُكَلَةُ عَلَى قَصْعَتِهَا ». قَالَ قُلْنَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَمِنْ قِلَّةٍ بِنَا يَوْمَئِذٍ قَالَ « أَنْتُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ كَثِيرٌ وَلَكِنْ تَكُونُونَ غُثَاءً كَغُثَاءِ السَّيْلِ يَنْتَزِعُ الْمَهَابَةَ مِنْ قُلُوبِ عَدُوِّكُمْ وَيَجْعَلُ فِى قُلُوبِكُمُ الْوَهَنَ ». قَالَ قُلْنَا وَمَا الْوَهَنُ قَالَ « حُبُّ الْحَيَاةِ وَكَرَاهِيَةُ الْمَوْتِ »

“Just a little while from now, the nations (of other religions) will attack you from all sides as the people who eat invade their plate.’ Then we asked, “Are we of little amount at that time? “He said,” The number you at the time a lot. However, you will be as bubbles like water bubbles. Allah will pull away the fear or awe from the hearts of your enemy and plant al wahn in your hearts.” We asked, “What is al wahn?”. He replied, “Love of life (the world) and the fear of death.” [11]

The hadith above explained about the condition of the muslims, who are swayed by the worldly pleasure, being ignorant and far from their religion; the thought of jihad never came to their mind. thus Allah humiliate and destroy them, and make their enemies become unafraid of them. It’s all true, what had been said by the Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him-, it’s all happening. [12]

The Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- also explained in the hadith above that the muslims will not return to their glorious days except after they returned to their religion.

For the Muslims to Return to their religion

How to persuade the muslims to return to their religion? Well, there are no other ways but by commencing tashfiyah (purification) and tarbiyah (education). [13]

Sheikh Abdul Malik Ramdhani -may Allah preserve him- explained that “Purification means purifying Islam from other teachings that mingle into it and education means educating or teaching the people the authentic (true) Islam, that is the purification of tawheed from shirk, purification of sunnah from innovation, purification of Islamic laws from the new, weak opinions, purification of Islamic mannerism from the attitudes of the doomed nations, and purification of the valid among the Prophetic hadith from the false ones..”[14]

Sheikh Al Albani -may Allah have mercy on him- said, “We must know the reason why the muslims of today don’t use the Islamic laws except in small number of regions? Why the muslim preachers don’t practice the values of Islam on themselves before ordering others to practice it in their countries? There’s only a single answer, that is because they don’t recognize but the global picture of Islam or they don’t educate themselves and other people based on the Islamic teaching in their lives, manners, and social interactions between them.” [15]

A Bitter Reality

The pleasure of being a knowledge seeker is a great pleasure. But only small amount of muslims who know about that, while there are plenty of verses, hadith, and narrations that pointed out this fact, as written inside the religious books.

Unfortunately, those who are already been given guidance by Allah to study the right knowledge, to study the valid creeds and religion, are busied mainly by the worldly and political affairs which are not originated from Islam. As a result, they who previously enjoined people at the mosques and houses, now leave their mosques and society, they who previously were studious and keen on reading books inside the libraries are now leaving their books and libraries, those who previously wore the Islamic clothes, are now wearing the christian clothes. What a bitter reality..

Aren’t they saddened by the condition of this nation? Politicians are very easy to make, technicians are very easy to create, physicians are very easy to raise, but to create preachers, and scholars are not. If it were not them, the seeker of the religious knowledge, then who else that would mend the condition of this nation?

Allah the Exalted decreed, which can be translated as,

“Verily Allah does not change a people’s condition unless they change their inner selves.” (QS Ar-Ra’d/The Thunder : 11)

The Conclusion

Hence, it is evident now the distinction between the right and the wrong. Both previously mentioned strongholds are not standing on the truth and are not suiting the shari’a. And there are no correct way to establish the fair leadership but by purifying and educating the muslims first, as explained above.

Sheikh Abdul Malik Ramdhani -may Allah preserve him- said, “The analogy of those strongholds is as two farmers who came to a land that yielded bad fruits. One of them planted some plants on it, and every time the plant fruited, he cut it. The other one planted the plants, repaired its roots, and always watered it. Between them, who would yield better fruits?”.[16]. The answer is none of them. The second one, although he could yield some fruits, but the fruits were not the good ones, because the land they used wasn’t fit to be planted.

A Piece of Advice

As the seeker of truth, let us not prioritize our emotion in considering a matter. Following  our emotion is one of the causal that make many of the muslims to follow their own lusts, and eventually strayed from the right path.

Sheikh Al ‘Uthaymeen -may Allah have mercy on him- said, “If we want to awaken the Muslims from their sleep and negligence, then we have to walk in accordance with the proper ways and with strong principles. Because all of us want the existing rules are the rules that come from Allah, and we wish that Allah’s religion to stand firmly upon this earth. But if we just follow our emotion, then those wishes will never come true. Thus we have to tie our emotion to the shari’a and our rational.” [17]

This is the end of this writing, may it benefits you. Amin.

Finished with the guidance and excellence of Allah.

Author: Ustadz Abu Ahmad Said Yai, Lc.MA

Footnotes:

[1] Classified as good hadith by Sheikh Al-Albani. Refer to “‘As-Siirah An-Nabawiyah fii Dhau’il-mashaadir Al-Ashliyah’” page. 200
[2] The meaning: They are ruled by the inexperienced men.
[3] The meaning: the wrongdoing are committed by a lot of people even until the elderly among them.
[4] The meaning: knowledges are spread by the evil men who just wish to obtain the worldly profit.
[5] Narrated by Ibn Maja No. 4015, Al-Bushiri said, “The narration is valid and the narrators are trusted ones”. For the saying of Al-Buushirii and the explanation of this hadith, please refer to ‘Hasyiah As-Sindi‘. Beirut: Daarulma’rifah. book IV page. 366
[6] ‘Siraaj Al-Muluuk‘ page. 100-101. Cited from ‘Fiqhussiyaasah Asy-Syar’iah fi Dhau’il-kitaab Was-Sunnah Wa Aqwaal Salafil-ummah” page. 171
[7] A transaction that contains usury in it. This hadith is generally applies on every deviation in shari’a, such as deviation in creed, worship, social interaction, marriage, etc. And the mentioning of “‘inah” here is just as a representative or example of those deviations.
[8] The meaning: love of the world and neglecting the Hereafter.
[9] Narrated by Abu Daawud No. 3462 and others, and classified as valid hadith by Sheikh Al-Albani in “Ash-Shahiihah” No. 11
[10] Narrated by Al-Bukhaari No. 3157 and Muslim No. 2971
[11] Narrated by Ahmad in his book “Musnad” book V page. 278 and others. Classified as valid hadith by Sheikh Al-Albani in “Ash-Shahihah” book II page 647-648
[12] For more detailed explanation, please refer to “‘Badaa’iu Al-Hikam bidzikri Fawaaid Hadiits Tadaa’i Al-Umam’ ” by Sheikh Salim Al-Hilaali.
[13] For more detailed explanation, please refer to the book “Ma’aalim Al-Manhaj As-Salafy fit-taghyiir” by Sheikh Al-Albaani
[14] Cited with a little changes from the book “Sittu Durar min Ushuuli Ahlil-Atsar” page. 102
[15] “Ma’aalim al-manhaj as-salafy fit-taghyiir” page 30
[16] Magazine of Al-Ishlah 5th edition, year 1428 H page 43 with the title, “‘Limadza La Yalja’ Ahlus-sunnah fi Ishlahihim ilal-hilli as-siyasi wal-hilli ad-damawi”.
[17] His book, titled  ‘Ash-Shahwah Al-Islamiyah‘ page. 52

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