{"id":18575,"date":"2020-02-13T10:48:07","date_gmt":"2020-02-13T10:48:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/?p=18575"},"modified":"2020-02-14T03:59:42","modified_gmt":"2020-02-14T03:59:42","slug":"lesson-one-the-place-of-leadership-in-islam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/lesson-one-the-place-of-leadership-in-islam\/","title":{"rendered":"Lesson One The Place of Leadership* in Islam"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nThe Imam is, with respect to the masses composing the ummali,
\nthe leader and exemplar from whose intellectual power and
\ninsight those travelling toward God benefit, whose conduct
\nand mode of life they imitate, and to whose commands they
\nsubmit.
\nImamate has a broad and comprehensive sense that
\nincludes both intellectual authority and political leadership.
\nAfter the death of the Prophet, the Imam was entrusted with
\nthe guardianship of his accomplishments and the continuation
\nof his leadership, in order to teach men the truths of the
\nQur’an and religion and ordinances concerning society; in
\nshort, he was to guide them in all dimensions of their existence.
\nSuch leadership, exercised in its true and proper form, is
\nnothing other than the realization of the goals of Islam and the
\nimplementation of its precepts, precepts established by the
\nMessenger of God; it bestows objective existence on the ideal
\nof forming a community and codifying a law for its gover-
\nnance. Imamate and leadership are sometimes understood
\nin a restricted sense to refer to the person who is entrusted
\nwith exclusively social or political leadership. However, the
\nspiritual dimension of man is connected intimately with the
\nmission of religion, and the true and veritable Imam is that
\nexalted person who combines in himself intellectual authority
\nand political leadership; who stands at the head of Islamic
\nsociety, being enabled thereby both of convey to men the
\ndivine laws that exist in every sphere and to implement them;
\nand who preserves the collective identity and the human
\ndignity of the Muslims from decline and corruption. In
\naddition, the Imam is one whose personality, already in this
\nworld, has a divine aspect; his dealings with God and man, his
\nimplementation of all the devotional, ethical and social
\nprecepts of God’s religion, furnish a complete pattern and
\nmodel for imitation. It is the Imam who guides the movement
\nof men toward perfection. It is therefore incumbent on all
\nbelievers to follow him in all matters, for lie is a living exemplar
\nfor the development of the self and of society, and his mode of
\nlife is the best specimen of virtue for the Islamic community.
\nMost Sunni scholars are of the opinion that Caliphate
\n(khilafah) and Imamate (imamah) are synonymous, both
\nsignifying the heavy social and political responsibility
\nbestowed on the caliph, who attains his position of
\nguardianship for the affairs of the Muslims by election. The
\ncaliph both solves the religious problems of the people and
\nassures public security and guards the frontiers of the country
\nthrough the exercise of military power. The caliph (or Imam) is
\ntherefore at one and the same time a leader of conventional
\ntype and a ruler concerned with the welfare of society, whose
\nultimate aim is the establishment of justice and guarding the
\nfrontiers of the country, it is for the sake of these aims that he is
\nelected.
\nAccording to this concept, the qualifications for leadership
\nare governmental competence and capacity for rule. On the one
\nhand, the leader must punish errant and corrupt individuals by
\nimplementing the penalties God has decreed; hold in check
\nthose who would transgress against the rights of others; and
\nrepress rebellious and anarchic ruffians. On the other hand, by
\nacquiring the necessary military equipment and organizing a
\npowerful army, he must both protect the frontiers of the Islamic
\nstate against all aggression, and also confront, with jihad and
\narmed struggle, various forms of shirk and corruption and
\nfactors of ignorance and unbelief if they prevent the progress
\nor the implementation of true religion and the dissemination of
\ntawhid by way of propagation and guidance powers proves
\nimpossible.
\nIn this view of things, it does not present a major problem
\nif the leader or ruler has no background of erudition with
\nrespect to God’s ordinances, or even if he has strayed beyond
\nthe boundaries of piety and polluted himself with sin. Anyone
\ncan lay claim to the title of successor (khalifah) to the Prophet
\nwho undertakes the tasks he used to fulfil. It is not offensive if
\nsome oppressive tyrant establishes his dominance over Islamic
\nsociety by trampling the rights of the people, shedding their
\nblood and exercising military force, calling himself the leader of
\nthe Muslims; or if some two-faced politician assumes the office
\nof successor to the Prophet, and then proceeds to rule over
\npeople, despite his lack of spiritual and moral qualities,
\ncancelling all notion of justice and equity. Indeed, not only is it
\nimpermissible to oppose him; it is necessary to obey him.
\nIt is on the basis of this view of the matter that one of the
\ngreat Sunni scholars expressed himself as follows concerning
\nthe caliph:
\n“The caliph cannot be removed from office on account of
\ncontravening God’s laws and commands, transgressing against
\nthe property of individuals or killing them, or suspending the
\nlaws God has decreed. In such a case, it is the duty of the
\nIslamic community to set his misdeeds aright and to draw him
\nonto the path of true guidance.” <\/span>1<\/strong><\/span>
\nHowever, if such an atmosphere predominates in the
\ninstitution of the caliphate, with the caliph having no sense of
\nresponsibility, based on his own religiosity, toward Muslim
\nsociety, how can those who wish to reform the situation
\nconstantly watch over the deeds of a corrupt leadership, evince
\nthe appropriate reaction on every occasion, and purge Islam of
\ndeviation? Can rulers be persuaded by mere advice to change
\ntheir ways?
\nIf God had wished to entrust the destinies of the
\ncommunity to unworthy rulers, to impious and selfish
\noppressors, it would not have been necessary for him to bestow
\nmessenger hood on the Prophet or to reveal the ordinances
\nneeded for the stability of society. Did those caring,
\nself-sacrificing and noble souls who throughout the centuries
\nrebelled against evil and oppressive rulers act contrary to God’s
\nwill?
\nDr. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Duri, a Sunni scholar, writes as
\nfollows:
\n“At the time the sovereignty of the caliphate was being
\nestablished, the political theory of the Sunnis with respect to
\nthis institution was not based simply on Qur’an and hadith.
\nRather it rested on the principle that Qur’an and hadith must
\nbe understood and explicated in accordance with whatever
\nevents subsequently occurred. Thus every generation left its
\nmark on the theory of the caliphate, because that theory
\nassumed a new shape with each new occurrence and was
\ncolored by it. An obvious example is the case of Qadi Abu
\n‘l-Hasan al-Mawardi, who served as chief judge under the
\ncaliph. When writing his book al-Ahkam al-Sultaniyyah he kept
\nthe concerns of the caliph in mind, at a time when the caliphate
\nwas at its most degenerate. He employed all his mental powers
\nto reconcile the views of earlier jurists with the situation
\nexisting in his own time and the developments that were
\noccurring then. His sole talent was in eschewing any kind of
\nfree and original thought. He wrote:
\n“‘It is permissible for an unfit individual to be the leader
\neven if a fit individual is also to be found. Once someone has
\nbeen chosen, he cannot be removed simply because there is
\nsomeone better and more fitted available.’
\n“He admits and vindicates this principle in order to justify
\nrule by numerous unfit caliphs. It is possible, too, that he
\nwished to refute Sh-1’i views on the subject. The theological
\nand credal view he puts forth serves no other purpose for the
\nSunnis but to justify the political developments of the day. The
\nonly aim was to justify whatever might be grouped under the
\nheading of ijma’ (consensus).” <\/span>2<\/span><\/strong>
\nSuch are the intellectual foundations of those who regard
\nthemselves as followers of the Sunnah of the Prophet and the
\nguardians of religion and the shari’ah. They denounce as
\nrejecters and traitors to the Sun nah of God’s Messenger a whole
\nhost of Islamic thinkers and social reformers, followers of the
\nImams of justice, the proofs of God and the guides of mankind.
\nIf rulers who are strangers to the spirit of Islam and
\ntrample underfoot the laws of God, have the right to rule over
\nthe believers; and if the ummah of Islam is obliged to obey such
\nrulers, being forbidden to take them to task in order to reform
\nthe caliphate or to disobey their orders – what then becomes of
\nthe religion of God?
\nCan the Islamic conscience accept this as a proper form of
\nloyalty to the shari’ah of the Prophet? Is not the inevitable
\nresult of this mode of thought the granting of unlimited rights
\nto the powerful and oppressive tyrants that have ruled
\nthroughout history?
\nBy contrast, the Imamate in the view of the Shi’ah is a
\nform of divine governance, an office depending on
\nappointment just like prophethood, something God bestows on
\nexalted persons. The difference is that the Prophet is the
\nfounder of the religion and the school of thought that proceeds
\nfrom it, whereas the Imam has the function of guarding and
\nprotecting God’s religion, in the sense that people have the
\nduty of following in all dimensions of their life the spiritual
\nvalues and mode of conduct of the Imams.
\nAfter the Messenger of God, the Islamic ummah stood in
\nneed of a worthy personage who would be endowed with the
\nknowledge derived from revelation, exempt from sin and
\nimpurity, and capable of perpetuating the path of the founder
\nof the shari’ah. Only such a personage would be able not only
\nto watch over the political developments of the time and to
\nprotect society from its deviant elements, but also to provide
\npeople with the extensive religious knowledge which spring
\nfrom the fountainhead of revelation and derive from the
\ngeneral principles of the shari’ah. The laws derived from
\nrevelation would thus be preserved, and the torch of truth and
\njustice held high.
\nImamate and caliphate are inseparable, in lust the same
\nway that the governmental functions of the Messenger of God
\ncannot be separated from his prophetic office. Spiritual Islam
\nand political Islam are two parts of a single whole. However, in
\nthe course of Islamic history, political power did become
\nseparated from the spiritual Imamate, and the political
\ndimension of religion was separated from its spiritual
\ndimension.
\nIf Islamic society is not headed by a worthy, lust,
\nGod fearing person, one unsullied by moral impurity, whose
\ndeeds and words serve as a model for people; if, on the
\ncontrary, the ruler of society himself violates the law and turns
\nhis back on the principles of justice – there will be no
\nenvironment capable of receiving justice, and it will not be
\npossible neither for virtue and piety to grow and ascend, nor
\nfor the aim of Islamic government to be accomplished, which is
\nnone other than orienting men to the Supreme Principle and
\ncreating a sound environment for the dissemination of spiritual
\nvalues and the implementation of a law based on divine
\nrevelation. The moral conduct of the ruler and the role of
\ngovernment have so profound and powerful an effect on
\nsociety that ‘Ali, the Commander of the Faithful, peace be
\nupon him, regarded it as more influential than the educative
\nrole of the father within the household. He thus said: “With
\nrespect to their morals, people resemble their rulers more than
\nthey resemble their fathers.”<\/span> 3<\/strong><\/span>
\nSince there is a particular connection and affinity between
\nthe aims of a given government and the attributes and
\ncharacteristics of its leader, attaining the ideals of Islamic
\ngovernment is dependent on the existence of a leader in whom
\nare crystallized the special qualities of a perfected human
\nbeing.
\nIn addition, the need of a society moving forward toward
\nits own perfection for leadership and governance is a natural
\nand innate need, and in just the same way that Islam has made
\nprovision for the individual and collective needs of man,
\nmaterial and moral, by codifying and ordering a coherent
\nsystem of law, it must also pay heed to the natural need for
\nleadership in a fashion that accords with man’s essential
\ndisposition.
\nGod has provided every existent being with all the tools
\nand instruments it needs to transcend the limitations of
\nweakness and lack and advance toward its own perfection. Is it
\nthen possible that man who is also nurtured in the embrace of
\nnature would somehow be excepted from the operation of this
\ninviolable rule and be deprived of the means of spiritual ascent?
\nCould it be said that a Creator Who has lavished
\ngenerosity on man for the sake of his bodily development
\nmight deprive him of the most basic means needed for his
\nspiritual elevation, that He might grudge him this bounty?
\nAt the time of the death of the Messenger of God, the
\nIslamic nation had not reached the cultural or intellectual level
\nthat would have permitted it do continue its development
\ntoward perfection without guardianship and oversight. The
\nprogram that Islam had established for the development and
\nelevation of man would have remained soulless and incomplete
\nunless the principle of Imamate had been joined to it; Islam
\nwould have been unable to play its precious role in the
\nliberation of man and the blossoming of his talents.
\nFundamental Islamic texts proclaim that if the principle of
\nImam ate is subtracted from Islam, the spirit of the laws of Islam
\nand the progressive, monothe’ishc society based on them would
\nbe lost; nothing would remain but a lifeless form.
\nThe Prophet of Islam, peace and blessings be upon him
\nand his family, said: “Whosoever dies without recognizing the
\nImam of his time dies the death of the Jahiliyyah.” <\/span>4<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe reason for this is that during the Jahiliyyah –
\npre-Islamic era of ignorance – the people were polytheists;
\nthey knew nothing of either monotheism or of prophethood.
\nThis categorical declaration by the Prophet, peace and blessings
\nbe upon him and his family, shows the importance that he
\nassigned to the Imamate, to the degree that if someone fails to
\nplace his spiritual life beneath the protective cover of a
\nperfected ruler he is equivalent to one whose whole life was
\nspent in the Jahiliyyah and then went unredeemed to his death.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

*<\/span> By ‘leadership’ here is implied the conception of Imamate. An Imam is an
\ninfallible person designated by the Prophet as his successor by God’s command.<\/span><\/p>\n

1<\/strong><\/span> al-Baqillani, al-Tamhid, p.186.
\n<\/span>2<\/strong><\/span> al-Dun, al-Nuzum al-Islamiyyah, Vol.1, pp. 72-84.
\n<\/span>3<\/strong><\/span> al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, Vol, XVII, p.129.
\n<\/span>4<\/strong><\/span> Ahmad b. Hanbal, al-Musnad, p.96.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Imam is, with respect to the masses composing the ummali, the leader and exemplar from whose intellectual power and insight those travelling toward God benefit, whose conduct and mode of life they imitate, and to whose commands they submit. Imamate has a broad and comprehensive sense that includes both intellectual authority and political leadership. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":18577,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":4,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-islamic-research"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18575"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18575\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18578,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18575\/revisions\/18578"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}