Political System of Islam 5 – Early Application 2

Assalamu alaikum peace be unto you. We continue with our slaves to go dealing with the political system of Islam, with the discussion of the choice of rulers in Islam, on your host, Mr. Rashid and I have joining me as usual, Dr. Jamal betawi of St. Mary's University brother Jamal Assalamu alaikum.

Could I have you very quickly summarize the main points that we touched on in our fourth program in the series are dealing with the political system of Islam? Sure.

The main point as you indicated in the introduction of the program is the issue of how a ruler in Islam should be chosen.

And we indicated that the cardinal rule, the most important fundamental rule in Islam is that the ruler should be chosen with the free choice of people not to be imposed on them in some way or the other.

in analyzing how this happened in the model that we regard as the perfect model, if you will, or near perfect model of the implementation of Islam, we started looking as to how the Prophet and the first four caliphs were accepted as leaders.

In the case of the Prophet, Prophet, Muhammad, peace be upon him, we said that his case was quite different, even though the the principle still applied. But it was different from the candidates in a sense that he was both a prophet and a head of state, combining both offices. But in any case, we have seen again that the Prophet would have not been in that leadership position without the overwhelming support and acceptance of the majority of both his prophethood as well as his leadership and as a head of state. And we have indicated that even in the case of the Prophet they have been the very high or pledge or Oath of Allegiance or loyalty, which was given to the there

still was acceptance by the MSS.

We went on then to analyze the choice of the first Calif, or successor to Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him as head of state, Abubakar.

And we're delighted that Abu Bakr again was chosen with the consensus of the people, even though the procedures in each case might have varied, from the first case to the second, third or fourth, but the principle was there.

In the case of the first game, if we said that when the news of the death of the Prophet got around, there was some meat, there was a meeting called by the unsired, on the original residence of Medina,

in which they suggested that one of them would succeed the Prophet, there were some discussion, some of them are hygiene or migrants joined the discussion. So after some free discussion and presentation of alternatives, Abu Bakr was nominated. But the most important thing that was emphasized in the previous program, that even though Abu Bakr was nominated by what you might call the leaders of the people, or the most respected members of the community, it wasn't binding on the community and he did not gain legitimacy as a ruler until the following day, when he went to the mosque, which was like an open meeting place. And the masses came also and pledged fealty or the

loyalty, the oath of allegiance or acceptance of the person as a ruler.

In the case of the second case, that we discussed briefly also, we said that is still the principle was there, even though the methodology varied with the needs of the time.

And we said that when the first case was on his deathbed,

people approached him, and actually give him some kind of authorization to suggest or nominate one person to succeed him so that the amount of disputation or degree of disputation will be minimized.

And then we said that he did some consultations, and then he finally came up with the nomination of a very prominent Companion of the process. That is how much the second case, but even then, again, it wasn't truly appointment, as some people might have inserted, that it's not, he has no power to appoint someone on people.

Regardless of their choice, it was simply a nomination based on people's confidence.

his suggestion.

But even in the case of the second clip, and legitimacy was established only

when he went to the mosque like his successor, his predecessor Abu Bakr did, and people came and accepted him pledged allegiance and accepted him as a careless or ruler. And the same

principle was implemented, at least in the case of the third and fourth.

Or perhaps Now today's program, we could turn to an examination of the situation with respect to the selection of the remaining two by the gate that indicated return, first of all to the third, Osman, could you perhaps explain the circumstances surrounding his selection of characters, okay. similar situation was, or has risen when the second Caleb Palmer was dying.

He also made his sort of suggestion to avoid

too much conflict and division, but again, by way of nomination,

and what he suggested was a different way.

He nominated or named, six prominent companions of the Prophet.

And this companions were among the non 10 G and Islamic traditions. There are 10 particular companions of the Prophet who received explicit glad tidings that they will go to Paradise, which means, of course, that both Allah or God and the Prophet were very pleased with their faith and their commitment and that they would live their life and die as true believers.

And this is just for the record of history.

Included, Ali is cousin, Russ man who came to be chosen as the third, Kenneth Abdur Rahman,

sad

as a bearish and tougher, this was the six that Omar nominated. And he was quite strict, he said, You know, this six should meet together. And they should agree among themselves to nominate or choose one person that is to be accepted or to be suggested to the people.

And that there should be no division and nobody should deviate once they somehow there's some agreement on that everybody should unite in that choice,

at least among the six.

So what happened is that in the meeting of this committee, if you will,

one of those six of them,

made a suggestion, the address of the people and he said, the six people on the other five, if you will, and he said,

Who among you offers to withdraw his nomination have to be able to not to be considered for a to be a cabinet, or successor rotor, provided that he would do his best to make a nomination for someone who is best or who is most qualified to do it.

There was some silence, but he took the initiative, this is alright, I am out of it.

I don't, I don't necessarily, you know, want to be a ruler.

So I played with him is that he would act as a sort of, you know, like chairperson or initiator.

On behalf of the group.

He took an oath from them that if you have given me that trust and confidence are whatever we decide, everybody should, you know, fall in line.

But I agree.

He did a number

of

approaches, if you will, or methods to try and find out what the consensus really is.

So he approached the two perhaps most prominent I think most people who said these are the were the two most prominent members of this committee of six

army announcement.

And he went to each of them individually, in private, he went to a smile.

And he said, suppose you are not the one to be chosen to be a ruler,

who you think would be the most deserving?

And as man answered early, that is he would trust it, the cousin of the Prophet,

he went and repeated the same thing for it. He said only

if you were not chosen as the ruler, who you think is the most deserving and most qualified, and it served us man.

In addition to this to other prominent members as well, and they also indicated their strong preference of us man.

But this was only one way of getting first, some sense or feeling within the committed

With a six

and in addition to this of the amount of now, that chairperson if you will,

spent several nights meeting, discussing and consulting with the companions of the prophets, the most prominent people

in addition to consulting even with common people, common man, if you will, people, especially who came in deputation for Medina, Medina took some opinions from them and some field.

And he found that both Ali and Osman seem to be quite acceptable and strong candidates, maybe with some edge, slight edge for us man, the

elder because it was more, you know, elderly and perhaps, you know, both of them are very good, but at that particular point, the need seem to be cold for a person like Osman, at least in the judgment of the majority.

In addition to this, he held a general meeting.

After don't pray a touch, you know, the stone prayer, which is usually performed about 75 minutes before sunrise,

and the dawn prayer, there were so many people in the mosque included people who migrated from Mecca to Medina, included some of the original residents of Medina or unsolved It included some of the leaders of deputations of armies,

other people who are

in what you might call business trips, that is related to the running of the state, you know, official,

and a public discussion was held.

Without getting into all the details, there were so much discussion about the virtues of Usman and the virtues of it.

And finally, it ended up with the conclusion in the mind of optimal health when there was some kind of slight edge and as he could gather in favor of us man, to offer fealty or to offer the pledge of allegiance to a smile, and people accepted them, they also made the same kind of, of pledge. Again, notice here that it was only when this nomination, if you will, was accepted by the masses, then I'll smile, again, legitimacy as the third successor of Allah, after Prophet Muhammad peace,

history, what about now turning to a discussion of the fourth and finally, a final likely guide? Kenny,

could you give us the background of the selection of that? Okay, I've tried to do that in a brief way, because

it perhaps could be understood a little better by going into some historical background as to the kind of commotions that took place during the reign of the third killer.

But perhaps make the case for visitors might come into 100 different series, perhaps on Muslim history.

But to cut the story, long story short,

there were some promotions and difficulties during the reign of aasmaan. We're not analyzing now, the causes behind these promotions. But many historians agree that the most important

reason might have been the fact that Islam spread so fast. So quickly, a large number of people followed Islam in so many different diverse areas. And they did not have the chance to really grow in Islam under the supervision of the Prophet and really absorb it. So there were some still, you might say, carry over of the olden days. But aside from that, the commotions, in any case, ended up in the assassination of the third killing us man,

who was a very poorest individual, and perhaps you get to that interesting

following the assassination of Osman, the situation was quite

confused.

depressing, if you will,

at this point, it was actually like almost an equal candidate with Osman,

when Osman was chosen, was very depressed and didn't like what happened at all. It was very sad, of course, for the assassination of that innocent, very righteous, Caleb Osman.

And he actually isolated himself he went away

in seclusion.

Some of the prominent Companion of the Prophet went to him and they begged him they said, Listen, you know, at this particular time in this situation, we can't really think of anyone who is more qualified and more competent and deserving the new to be the

case, the first case to succeed.

Some historians tell us that he was reluctant even he said, Well, I would prefer without a, that is I'd prefer even to be an advisor or to serve rather than to be the ruler, which is, by the way, the character of all case, all of them were humbled all of them did not just run for, you know, power because the office they occupied was an office that required a great deal of sacrifice. It's not like today's

rulers having all kinds of fringe benefits. It was far from that the, the ruler was expected to sacrifice more than the common person

that they insisted on him, he said, we can, cannot accept this proposal or nomination of yours unless it is in the mosque, because the mosque was the commonplace for any Muslim can go and express his or her view, it should be in the mosque, and with the acceptance and consent of other Muslims.

Which again shows the same basic principle adhered to, and the choice of all four camps, that they feed our people to choose and to approve or not approve, a person nominated. So it shows that regardless of the specific

method, or mechanism

by which each of these four rightly guided caliphs was chosen, in all cases, the transplant was their nomination, followed by by

your analysis of a method of choosing all of these, reverse these first four rotors, you've used this term several times, perhaps it might be appropriate to ask you to just elaborate a bit more on the on the concept of what's involved. Okay, the term beyhadh that's really comes almost like from a deal. Like when you buy your cellular When you have completed some kind of a deal, which includes the sort of commitment on both parties.

That term appears in the Quran.

In at least three verses, and two Sutras, one is called an ohana and others is considered

the word

three incidents where we find difference in the prophetic life, about this buyer or Pledge of Allegiance or morality. One was the bias of women. That is when women came to the Prophet and the Quran directed the Prophet that if they come and give the allegiance, that they would follow the path of truth, which includes Of course, all aspects of life. Then it says,

This is the profit that you should accept their oath of loyalty or, or allegiance. And just to make a cross reference in our discussion in the series on social system, and Islam when we talked about the so called political quote unquote, rights of women, we indicated that this concept of Bihar or other religions is an early reference to the right of election or the right of women to choose or to give allegiance or acceptance of the leader which is equivalent today to participation in an election and we're talking here about the seventh century ago, but just a cross reference to what was covered.

There was also another incident of br or or,

or pledge of loyalty allegiance, which was done in October, it was known as the first acaba

elisions which included a few

persons from Medina and

that was during the period of pilgrimage.

And there was

a second acaba

also elisions which was like a preparation really, for Hitler or migration of the Prophet preceding his migration from Mecca to Medina.

And all of this pledge, if you will, the more common aspect really of the most common aspect is that it was an allegiance or pledge to accept the leadership of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him as a prophet, and as a head of state or leaders, as a prophet and a sense of obeying, whatever he communicate to us by way of revelation he receives from God.

Secondly, to accept him also as a head of the Muslim community as the you know, the final authority if you will, is in determining their, their affairs or dispute.

So in a way, the concept of bias

is more or less like the concept of law

referendum if you will. But it's even more broad than the simple choice or the simple election. Because an election, you're simply saying, alright, by referendum or by vote or ballot, I accept x to be the owner or choose x to be president or whatnot. But in the case of the pledge is more than that, it goes beyond this. It is also an all or pledge on the part of the person doing it, to obey the leader, or the head of the state, so long as he's not doing something against the Quran, or the prophetic directions. And it also includes a pledge to advise and correct the ruler if he makes a mistake to do so it's a broader concept than Central

Election, as far as the scope who should participate in Baia, in principle, any Muslim has the right to participate. However, in the early days of Islam, it was not too practical when Islam spread so fast and means of communication and transportation, were not available as it is today.

To have everybody from all Muslim countries gathered in one place to get this Daya or of Allegiance. So they base it was mostly the people in Medina, which included the early Muslims, which was justified in a way because they actually represent the really conscious of Muslims. They were the ones who received the revelation, the directors of the Prophet, they lived with him, they absorb this them with him, they sacrificed a great deal. So they were rich people who must understand Islam and its spirit. And practically again, they were the ones in the center of the

government, if you will, of the time. However, we find that even in the case of the first four candidates, they were also participation by deputations, or people coming also from other places. You might recall, in this program, when we were talking about the choice of us, man, we said that among the people who participated in the discussion, and his choice, and the mosque were representatives from other

places also, as well. So the principle is there. But the mechanism, of course, could vary depending on the needs of the child. It's very interesting concept. I wonder if I could ask you perhaps to give an example of how In your opinion, this could be applicable in this day and age, the basic principle of freedom of choice, yes.

Well, so long as the principle is adhered to,

any mechanism or method that does not deviate from basic rules of Sharia or divine law would be acceptable. And this is something beautiful about the, you know, the the way, Islamic teaching responds to the needs of place in time, there are certain transferred that one cannot get out of or go beyond because otherwise things will get chaotic. But on the other hand, in terms of details, methods of implementations, it is less to the needs of place and time. So what I'm saying now is not necessarily the way to do it.

But some of the possible ways of implementing that principle in today's situation, for example,

under the present circumstances,

one possibility, which would not contradict Islamic law, is to have a nomination of one person.

This nomination could be made by either a trusted person that the community accept as abubaker, for example, the first Caleb did,

or it could be a nomination by a group of people who are chosen by other people or trusted or regarded by them as

the representatives of their views and their

understanding

or gain the trust.

This could be one. Secondly, it could be also a nomination after consultation.

That is the nomination would be made after some mutual consent consultation between people who are accepted in the community as representatives of the

people's views and understanding.

There is nothing that prohibits a mechanism whereby you have an elected Council.

And that Council, among themselves, either choose one person to be a head of state, or even a person outside of that Council. Just like when you say a parliament, for example, or people's representatives assembly, if you were to choose one.

Thirdly, it could also be a public referendum. Just like the typical

sections that we have today, one person, one vote, there is nothing that I know of an Islamic law that says you can't follow that this is also if that people are reasonably educated and they're, they know what they're deciding on and they mature enough there is sufficient circulation of information, where people can make an intelligent choice, dispatch will be quite desirable to follow as a method of choosing a ruler. As indicated earlier, these are only examples of possible mechanisms that would not consider, to say the least, would not contradict the spirit or lesser of, of Islamic law. And this is basically what is accepted and understood by the overwhelming majority

of Muslims. I know that you use the term overwhelming, not unanimous, which would suggest that there may be other views in terms of how this can can take place. Can you perhaps shed some light on those views as well? There are very few things in this world which are totally unanimous. Yes, the main reason I use the term overwhelming majority is to try to be as honest to God and myself as possible by not ignoring even some opinions that might not necessarily represent the majority, which might even be a small minority. They're just the ones tend to be careful in the expression. But in any case, the reason basically is that there is a minority opinion that differs with that basic

principle.

And this is the, the idea or concept of a Marmite, which is followed by a group of Muslim who are known as the Shia or Shiite Muslims.

The sky represents approximately 10% of the world's Muslim population.

And

their basic position is that the question of headship of the state, or the community of believers, something which is very fundamental, it is fundamental of faith. They don't regard it as a matter of, let's say, choice of the people or he had something where people can reason and choose what they feel is best for their situation. They say no, it is a matter of faith have articles of faith.

And basically, they say that the Prophet, Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him,

as they believe,

specified, that the one who should succeed him should be his cousin, Ali, may Allah be pleased with him. By the way, this is the same idea that we talked about before who actually was chosen by the public Muslim,

public to be the fourth okay, but he said no one should have been the first and he was specified as an appointed person, and that people should not really choose the ruler, but every ruler chooses or appoint his successors. In other words, they say the Prophet appointed Adi

to be his successor. So it also appoints his successors, and that successor appointed successor. So it goes almost like a sort of hereditary if you will, within only the household or even one segment of the household of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him.

The the further that

those demands are those rulers or successors are infallible. They are not like any other human being, they are infallible, and they say it's essential to have a ruler who is infallible.

And they believe that the 12 in this succession as they believed the tallest man went into a cave

more than 1000 years ago, and that is going to come back before the day of judgment that you filled out the world or earth with justice efforts has been filled with injustice, sort of, you know, similar to the concept of the notion of Messiah or some, you know,

delivery, if you will, coming at the end of the time.

The implication of this minority view, I should say, is that a ruler is not to be chosen freely by the people, but it's just a matter of succession, or appointment. A viewer of course, that needless to say, is not accepted by the mainstream of Islam, the 90% or so more than 90% I should say, do not accept that the 90% view is the one that has already been discussed in the last two programs. We will have to stop at this point because we've exhausted our time. We want to thank you for watching. invite us back next week. We invite you back next week when we'll continue our discussion. Thank you for watching. Assalamu alaikum peace