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The Conditions of Leadership [ash Shurootul Imaamah] |
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If we look to the real conditions of Imaamah that are established by evidence from the Quran and Sunnah and sound rational deduction we can see how these true conditions serve the objectives of the shari'ah and the objectives of Imaamah. Presented below, is a list of the conditions that one has to fulfill before he can assume the postion of Imaamah over the Ummah:- 1 Muslim “…Never will Allah allow the kaafiroon to have a sabeel over the mu'minoon” (an Nisa 4:141) “O you who believe! Obey Allah obey the messenger and those in authority amongst you” (an Nisaa' 4:60) 2 Mature Mukallaf (sane, mature) Nabi (saw) was reported by A'li to have said “The pen is lifted for three – one who sleeps till he awakes, a child till he becomes mature and an insane person till he gains his sanity” (ABU DAWOOD kitabul Hudood, AHMAD, NASAA'I, IBN MAAJAH and graded ‘saheeh' according to AL HAAKIM as reported by IBN HAJR AL ASQALAANI in ‘Bulooghul Maraam min Adillatul Ahkaam' [kitaabun Nikaah no.927]) Abdullah Ibnu Hisham said "My mother took me to Rasool Allah (saw) in order to give him bayah. He (saw) wiped my head and said "He is a child" and made du'a for me". (BUKHAARI) 3 Sane Nabi (saw) was reported by A'li to have said “The pen is lifted for three – one who sleeps till he awakes, a child till he becomes mature and an insane person till he gains his sanity” (ABU DAWOOD kitabul Hudood, AHMAD, NASAA'I, IBN MAAJAH and graded ‘saheeh' according to AL HAAKIM as reported by IBN HAJR AL ASQALAANI in ‘Bulooghul Maraam min Adillatul Ahkaam' [kitaabun Nikaah no.927]) 4 Free The Imaam is an authority over the whole ummah and his is necessarily excluding the slave as he is under the complete control of his owner. 5 Just /trustworthy
We see by way of mafhoom mukhalafah [impliction of opposite meaning] that the just Imaam is promised a great reward of paradise whereas the Imaam who is oppressive is not guaranteed such a matter but rather the ahdeeth mention that he is accountable for that and will be punished. However, when we come to the issue of the conditions at the time of appointment, then this is not the same as the shari'ah treatment of the Imaam who has already been in place. The role of Imaamah is to guard the deen and govern the affairs of the Muslims according to Islam and thus if a corrupt [faasiq] person was appointed then this would contradict the very objectives of Imaamah as the objective is an Islamic leadership and not simply any leadership. Another matter is that considering the great punishment associated with oppressive leadership then it is not allowed to overburden a fellow Muslim who is not capable of justice as this would be like sending him to his own punishment and destruction and thus we see that even Nabi (saw) prohibited Imaarah even for those sahaabah who were not corrupt but regarded as unsuitable for the task of leadership e.g. Abu Dhar reports Nabi (saw) “Abu Dhar I find that you are weak and I like for you what I like for myself. Do not rule over two people and do not manage the property of an orphan.” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4492]) 6 Male Allah (swt) says, “The men have authority over the women due to the excellence which Allah has given to the man over the women and due to the wealth that they spend upon them.” (an Nisa 4:34) “Men have a degree over women” (al Baqarah 2:228) and due to the Husbands authority over the wife “If I were to order anyone to prostrate to other than Allah, I would have ordered the woman to prostrate before her husband. By Him in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, the woman will not fulfil the rights of her Lord until she fulfils the rights of her husband, and even if he were to request her for herself (i.e. intercourse) whilst she was sitting upon a camel's saddle she should not refuse him.” (IBN MAAJAH [no.1853] IBN HIBBAAN [6/186] AHMAD [4/381] from A'bdullah ibn Awfaa) “Every soul from the children of Adam is a master, so the man is the master of his family and the woman is the mistress of her household” (IBN AS SUNNI) Abu Bakra reported that Nabi (saw) said “A people will never be successful who appoint a woman as their amir (ruler)” (BUKHAARI Eng/Arabic [vol.9 no.219] as in Bulooghul Maraam of IBN HAJR [no.1197]) 7 Able The ability of the Imaam is with regards to his ability to view the situation of the ummah and the ability of the Imaam to command the ummah. This proven by the fact that the Imaam was always described as one commanding [amr] and one who is listened to and obeyed, and by necessity this means the fundamental element of Imaamah is the issuing of commands by the Imaam and the receiving of those commands by the ummah. This is not the physical ability to force people according to the presence of darul Islam but rather it refers to the Imaams individual position. This is because the whole nature of Imaamah is that it is based upon listening and obeying to the commands of the Imaam who makes the decision for the ummah. For him to make the decisions he must be able to know the situation or receive the information from some method by which the information is not distorted. This requires sound senses (seeing, hearing etc) however u'lemaa' differed on what constitutes this disability due to the ability of a blind man to hear and speak and be aided and also due to the deaf mans ability to see and speak and write etc. However if all of these senses were absent or hindered to the extent that information could not be received and understood then the u'lemaa agreed that this would invalidate the Imaamah. Also the Imaam must be able to issue commands, this also requires sound senses such as speech, however some u'lemaa' may have made a concession due to the ability to write, however most would agree that this is not adequate due to emergency and the possibility of lack of writing resources et cetera in different situations. “ No blame is there on the blind nor is there blame on the lame nor on one ill (if he joins not the war): but he that obeys Allah and His Apostle (Allah) will admit him to Gardens beneath which rivers flow; and he who turns back (Allah) will punish him with a grievous Penalty.” (al Fath 48:17) From this ayah we see that the lame and the blind were not obligated with jihaad and this indicates the invalidity of Imaamah for the one possessing similar attributes due to the fact that the Imaam is the one responsible for all collective affairs of the ummah and the Imaam is the ameer of the jihaad, whether defensive or offensive. Another prevention on ability that is specific to the individual is that of capture by the enemy and if the Imaam could not be rescued then the Imaamah would become invalid due to him being unable to view the situation of the ummah and being unable to command the ummah. We see that in both of these two preventions to ability, there is benefit in nullifying the Imaamah because the Imaam can not command the Ummah so this is solved by appointing a new Imaam. As for what some of the later people have confused with this then they erred in making the ability of the individual synonymous with the ability of the whole ummah due to the common situation of absence of darul Islam. In the case of the absence of darul Islam and power, then this has nothing to do with the individual Imaam but rather it is the common situation which all people are subject to. If the Imaam in this position was removed it would achieve nothing. The objective of the conditions is that if someone fails to meet them then they are to be removed and replaced with the person that does fulfil the conditions. The removal of the Imaam in the case of absence of power, when this is due to the situation and not due to his own personal inability (such as capture or lack of senses), is not the solution to the problem. It would not bring about the implementation of the deen nor would it bring about the objectives and functions of Imaamah but it would only hinder these objectives. The correct solution would be to continue with Imaamah and to maintain the unity and the organisation of the ummah and this would provide a basis for recovery. The ummah could then work fully and co-operate under the command of the Imaam to bring about the necessary power through seeking nussrah or building their own nussrah or by other means that are halaal. This clarifies the error of those who have confused ability due to the situation with the ability of the individual due to matters that are specific to him and not existing in others. It is very clear that imposing disunity and leaderlessness on the Muslim ummah in the stage of weakness does not help them bring about strength but it would be a major obstacle, and it would only add to their problems and Allah does not command the Muslims to weaken their situation but Allah commands the Muslims to be strong and to facilitate the means for the ummah to be dominant “…He has chosen you and has not laid upon you in the deen any hardship…” (al Hajj 22:78) How can any person of the slightest insight and intellect believe that Allah commanded us to be unified while at the same time commanding us to achieve this on the basis of disunity? Allah does not command the impossible and Allah does not put upon us a burden greater than we can bear, Allah (swt) says “Allah burdens not a soul beyond his capability…” (al Baqarah 2:286) Allah (swt) never commands the Muslims with a matter whose fulfilment has been made impossible by its own method of implementation. Rather, for every command Allah provided a method and that method was in harmony with the command, and Allah (swt) says “Allah has sent down the most beautiful speech in the form of a Book consistent with itself…” (az Zumar 39:23) 8 Qurayshi The condition of the Imaam being Quraysh is not based on one hadeeth but it is based on several ahadeeth:- No.1 Abu Hurayrah reported that Nabi (saw) said “People are subservient to Quraysh, the Muslims among them being subservient to the Muslims among them and the disbelievers being subservient to the disbelievers among them.” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4473]) No.2 Jabir bin A'bdullah reported that Nabi (saw) said “People are followers of Quraysh in good (Islam) as well as evil (kufr)” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4475]) No.3 A'bdullah reported that nabi (saw) said “This affair will remain among the Quraysh even if there are only two people left.” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4476]) No.4 Ibn U'mar reported that Nabi (saw) said “This affair will remain in Quraysh even if there are only two of them remaining.” (BUKHAARI Eng/Arabic vol.9 no.254]) No.5 Muaawiyah reports Nabi (saw) “ This affair will remain in Quraysh. None will rebel against them except that Allah will throw him down on his face, as long as they establish the deen.” (BUKHAARI [ Eng. Vers. Vol 9. 190, 253]) No.6 Anaas bin Maalik reported that Nabi (saw) said “The Imaams are from Quraysh…” (AHMAD [3/129] NASAA'I) No.7 Abu Hurayrah reported that Nabi (saw) said, "The tribe of Quraish has precedence over the people in this connection (i.e the right of ruling). The Muslims follow the Muslims amongst them, and the infidels follow the infidels amongst them. People are of different natures: The best amongst them in the pre-Islamic period are the best in Islam provided they comprehend the religious knowledge. You will find that the best amongst the people in this respect (i.e. of ruling) is he who hates it (i.e. the idea of ruling) most, till he is given the baya'h." (BUKHAARI [eng/Arabic vol.4 no.700]) No.8 Sulaim bin Mutayr reported on the authority of his father that Mutayr went out to perform hajj. When he reached as Suwaydah a man suddenly came searching for medicine and ammonium anthorhizum extract and he said ‘A man who heard rasool Allah addressing the people and commanding them and forbidding them, told me that he said “O people accept presents so long as they remain present but when the Quraysh quarrel about the rule and the presents are given for the deen of one of you then leave them.” (ABU DAWOOD kitaabul Kharaaj [no.2952] and similar with the wording “When the Quraysh quarrel about the rule among themselves and the presents become bribery then leave them…” [no.2953]) No.9 Jaabir bin Samurah said Nabi (saw) said “This deen would not cease to be powerful [a'zeezan] and [maneea'n] dominant until there has been twelve as khaleefah” Then he said something I could not hear due to the people, I asked my father ‘What did he say' He said “Everyone from Quraysh” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4482]) No.10 Jaabir bin Samurah reported that Nabi (saw) said “The affairs of the people will not cease to be conducted as long as they are governed [waliyhum] by twelve men.” Then nabi (saw) said something which was unclear to me. I asked my father, ‘What did rasool Allah (saw) say?' He said “Everyone of them will be from Quraysh” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4478-4479]) So this hadeeth connected the successful implementation of the deen to the Imaamah of the Quraysh. No.11 Jaabir bin Samurah reported that Nabi (saw) said “There will not cease to be a powerful [a'zeezan] Islam until there have been twelve have been khaleefah” Then Nabi (saw) said something which I did not understand. I asked my father and he said “Everyone of them from Quraysh” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4480]) No.12 “This matter will not cease to be powerful [a'zeezan] until there have been twelve as khaleefah” Then he said something I did not understand. I asked my father ‘What did he say?' He said “Everyone of them from Quraysh” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4481]) No.13 “The deen will not cease to be established until the Hour has been established or until there has been upon you twelve as khaleefah, everyone of them from Quraysh” and I heard him say “A small group of Muslims will conquer the white house [baytul abyad] the house of Kisraa of the descendents of Kisraa” and I heard him say “Before the Day of Judgement there will appear liars, so guard against them.” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4483] No.14 Jaabir bin Samurah said, ‘I heard Nabi (saw) saying “There will be twelve as ameer” Then he said some words I did not hear. My father said “Everyone of them from Quraysh” (BUKHAARI kitaabul Ahkaam [vol.9 no.329]) The view that Qurayshi lineage can be seen from the fact that the jumhoor [majority] of the classical u'lemaa' and muhadditheen regarded Qurayshi lineage as a binding condition of Imaamah, as for the shi'a then they all agreed that the Imaam should not only be Qurayshi but also Ahlul Bayt [descendents of the Prophet, through either Hasan or Husayn ibn A'li ibn Abi Talib] we have mentioned only a few of them:- Imaam Ibn Hazm [ZAAHIRI d.456 hijri ]in ‘al Muhalla' Imaam an Nawawi [SHAFI'I d.676 hijri]in ‘Minhaajut Talibeen' Qadi Abu Bakr ibn al A'rabi [MAALIKI d.543 hijri]in ‘Al A'waasim min al Qawaasim' Imaam Barbahaari [HANBALI d.329 hijri] in ‘Sharhus Sunnah' Imaam Mawardi [SHAFI'I d.450 hijri] in ‘al Ahkaamus Sultaniyyah wal Wilayatud Deeniyyah' Imaam Ibn Hajr al Haytami [SHAFI'I d.974 hijri] in ‘Tuhfa al Muhtaj bi sharhul Minhaaj' Imaam Ghazali [SHAFI'I d.505 hijri] in ‘Ihyaa U'loomid Deen' Imaam Ibn Juzayy [MAALIKI d.741 hijri] in ‘Qawaninul Fiqhiyyah' Haafiz Ibn Katheer [SHAFI'I d. hijri] in ‘Tafseerul Qura'n al A'zeem' Some scholars of the past and some from the present time have objected that the Imaamah is confined to one from the tribe of Quraysh. The arguments they put forward include the following:- 1 All of the ahadeeth which mention Quraysh are informative (ikhbaari) and none of them came in the form of command (amr). 2 The tribe of Quraysh were the rulers at the time of Nabi (saw) before Islam and the prophet (saw) was from them and the khulafaa' raashideen were from Quraysh, so this served the maslah of the time and situation but it was not binding due to shari' command but in later times the masaalih (shari'ah benefits) would not be served by this. 3 The warnings about opposing Quraysh were not due to the Imaamah being exclusive to the Quraysh but rather these commands were about opposing the legitmate ruler (shari Imaam) and Quraysh were mentioned as they were the existing legitimate rulers in the time of Nabi (saw). 4 It is now impossible to trace the lineage and therefore Allah does not command to that which is impossible. 5 The early arguments between the muhaajiroon and Ansaar are an indication that such a condition is a misinterpretation as such an important rule would have been well known to all sahaabah and not just some from the muhaajireen. 6 The narration from Mu'awiyah said “…as long as they establish the deen.” (BUKHAARI) and this is an indication that when they occupied the seat of Imaamah and ruled according to Islam they should not be opposed but if they left Islamic rule they should be removed even for non Qurayshi and that if they did not occupy the seat of Imaamah then there was no obligation to appoint them considering that the aim of Imaamah is to establish the deen. 7 The Qareena (divine indication) in all other ahadeeth concerning Quraysh did not reach the level of waajib but either could be interpreted as recommendation (mandoob) or interpreted in a way which attached obligation or prohibition to the Imaamah rather than the Quraysh, although Quraysh was used to describe those who were in that office at the time. 8 There is a report from AHMAD that U'mar would have made Muadh the khaleefah and he was Ansaari The refutation of this view is as follows:- 1 If the condition of Quraysh is rejected due to the linguistic structure of the ahadeeth, i.e. that people interpret Quraysh to mean just the ruler of the time then this would mean that those who raised this objection would even be contradicting their own stance as this interpretation of the evidence would mean that Quraysh is not even a preferable condition. 2 How will the ummah be united behind a non Qurayshi Imaam when there are so many ahadeeth that indicated the precedence of Quraysh in this matter and also that the majority of the u'lemaa' agreed that the khaleefah should be Qurayshi and that the khulafaa' raashideen and the early khulafaa' were Qurayshi and even Nabi (saw) was Qurayshi. This would be creating problems in one of the objectives of Imaamah which is to unite the ummah through the acceptance of the common leadership. 3 The wahi came to explain and make clear and from the conditions of Imaamah we see that there is much evidence concerning the condition of Qurayshi lineage, to reject this is to adopt a confusing interpretation of the texts. 4 Those who said that Quraysh is impossible to verify also said that it is a preferable condition, this is incoherence from them. This is because all commands from the shari'ah whether obligatory or preferable are commanded according to capability, Allah does not command the impossible. 5 There is a difference between saying that Imaamah must be within Quraysh if possible as opposed to saying Imaamah is only valid within Quraysh. To reject a command when impossible does not abrogate the validiy of the condition when circumstances make it possible. The evidences indicated that the Imaamah should be in Quraysh when possible and when they establish the deen. This means it is a necessary condition except when not available, then unity and Imaamah must continue under non-Qurayshi and even some of the u'lemaa' then stipulated that it should be nearest to Qurayshi (refer Minhaajut Taalibeen of Imaam an Nawawi and its commentary by Haytami) 6 If a mistake was made in verification of Quraysh this does not refute the rule as all rules are according to capability and exhausting effort. If failure comes after this there is no blame and additionally corrctions can be made. 7 Another proof of lineage being a valid science and knowledge that is to be applied at all times is that the numerous ahadeeth that mentioned the Mahdi described that he would be from Ahlul Bayt and therefore this is even more specific then Quraysh. So what would be the purpose of this information of description if such information could not be known. 8 Further proof of this is that the shari'ah stipulated that Ahlul Bayt should not receive the zakah so this rule should be applied. 9 Another point in relation to this is that the neglect of a study, science or knowledge does not justify the neglect nor does it invalidate the rules relating to such knowledge, rather the command would be to revive such knowledge as much as possible. 10 It is well known concerning the family names and tribes that some emanate from Ahlul Bayt and Quraysh and many of them were proud in remembering their kinship to the family of Nabi (saw) or the mention by the wahi of the precedence of Quraysh in ruling. This is even more known to the scholars of hadeeth, geneology and historty. 11 To some people the geneology and its methods may be unknown but to experts in this field they have various methods of research and verification. Some of the u'lemaa' studied these things due to the related shari'ah t lineage and to some specific commands concerning lineage and its knowledge e.g. the report attributed to nabi (saw) “Know your geneologies” (MAWARDI) However, even if this report is rejected its meaning is implicitly (i.e. by inference [istinbaat]) due to the fact that many ahadeeth commanded matters which required knowledge of geneology, and the shari'ah principle states ‘that which is necessary to achieve a waajib is waajib in itself'. So Nabi (saw) said in Hadeethul Thaqalayn [two weighty things] recorded by MUSLIM and others to not neglect Ahlul Bayt, also they could not receive zakah (refer to ahadeeth in MUSLIM regarding zakah and fadaail of A'li ibn Abi Talib) Therefore, geneology [nasab] must be known. 12 Every country has its tribes and upperclasses and royal families who have known lineage and such lineage is traced back hundreds of years. 13 The knowledge of tribes was relevant at time of Nabi (saw), before him and after as the comprehensive and unlimited wahi mentioned such things which indicated by extension the significance of tribe and the knowledge of geneology such as Jabir bin A'bdullah reported that Nabi (saw) said “People are followers of Quraysh in good (Islam) as well as evil (kufr)” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4475]) • Rationally and textually the condition of Quraysh restricts the eligibility for Imaamah. There is wisdom and benefit in this as it means the majority of the ummah is saved from competition and struggle for leadership. This means that the majority of the ummah is then encouraged towards the productive stance of support of authority and submission to Imaamah. There is no doubt about the blessing upon the Arabs as the Quran was revealed in their language and the prophet was first sent to them and within them their was even more blessing for Quraysh as it was the tribe of Nabi (saw). There is further hikmah in the stipulation of Quraysh and that is that its geneology is more known than others and more relevant as it was known to Nabi (saw) and the sahaabah and those who were among the wahi and first to implement its commands, and they were to be the role model for the latter part of the ummah. It could not have been to people other than them as the ruling would have been distanced from the prophet and his followers and thus its knowledge (of nasab) would be non existent and its application beyond their ability. So it was not to others because of i) unknown ii) disconected physically from them iii) a'jami (non a'rab)iv) ignorant of wahi (thus not suitable to rule) v) non demonstatable but would have only been a command for the latter people with no preceding example. • The selection of one tribe above another is similar to one language above another and the two are connected as the language is most sound in the early Qurayshi dialects. • It does not mean wrong due to tribe being preferred over the best man being chosen due to the fact that those being quraysh i) they must establish the deen due to various ahadeeth - a) “as long as they establish the deen” b) “as long as they establish salah” c) “… unless you see kufr boowaah” ii) You look for best among quraysh iii) Taqwa, i'lm, experience etc. is a subjective scale that can not be measured for sure. iv) the ahadeeth commanded nasiha and amr bil ma'roof wan nahi anil munkar. So checks were upon the khaleefah whoever he was. • The condition of Quraysh is proven also by Ijma as Sahaabah. In the the hall of Bani Saida, Abu Bakr quoted the hadeeth of Nabi (saw) ‘The Imaams are from Quraysh' and the ansaar withdrew their claim for khilaafah and thus there was ijma on this issue. • Nabi (saw) was Qurayshi and all of the early khulafaa' raashideen were Qurayshi. The Imaamah was kept within the Quraysh for hundreds of years with Bani Umayyah and the Abbaaseeyah. When those of the Uthmaaneeyah who were not Qurayshi were often not referred to as ‘Imaams' and ‘Khaleefah' by the scholars, subjects and themselves due to the doubts thay had concerning the Status of the non Qurayshi ruler, most of the time they were referred to as ‘Sultaan'. • As for basing non-obligation upon the report attributed to U'mar – • A statement of a sahaabi does not take precedence over many ahadeeth indicating the opposite and also which contain indications of the impossibility of abrogation. • In addition to this the sahaabah did not even act upon such statements themselves but rather they agreed upon acting in opposition to this after Nabi (saw) and this continued for the whole salafi period (i.e. The generations of the sahaabah, tabi'een and tabit tabi'een). So a single isolated statement that was not acted upon and may not even be authentic can not outweigh that which has been authentically reported from the prophet as well as authentically related from the sahaabah and acted upon them generally and continously. • As for the point about no hadeeth coming in the command form, then the conclusion reached from this is wrong. This is because it not simply the linguistic structure which results in a command but it is the import of the evidence. If there is a hadeeth that implies a criticism or punishment that is connected to an act then this will either mean a command to do or a command not to do, whether decisive or indecisive. So the claim that the informative indication does not result in a command [amr] is erroneous when 1) The subject matter of the information is connected to ahkam (such as Imaamah or anything else) and 2) By the indications of punishment or reward connected to the information. These two mean the informative form [ikhbaar] ascends to the level of command [amr] and obligation [wujoob]. • As for those ahadeeth which some people confused, Abu Dharr said ‘My friend (i.e. Nabi [saw]) advised me to “Listen and obey even if he were a slave with maimed limbs” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4525]) and in another version “…an abyssinian slave with maimed limbs” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4526]) This was actually one of the last pieces of advise to be given to the Muslims by Nabi (saw) as confirmed by the following narration Yahya ibn Hussayn who heard from his grandmother that Nabi (saw) was delivering his sermon during the farewell pilgrimage [hajjatil wadaa'] and he (saw) said “If a slave is appointed over you and he leads you according to the Book of Allah then listen to him and obey.” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4528]) and in another version “…an Abyssinian slave” [no.4529] and in another version “… a maimed Abyssinian slave” [no.4530] and Yahya ibn Hussein said on the authority of his grandmother Umm Hussayn ‘I performed Hajjatul Wadaa' in the company of Rasool Allah (saw). He (saw) said a lot of things. Then I heard him saying “If a maimed slave is given command [ummira] over you…” the narrator says ‘I think he said “…a black slave…who leads you according to the Book of Allah then listen to him and obey.” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4532]) and Anas bin Maalik reported that Nabi (saw) said “Listen and obey and even if an Abyssinian slave is appointed over you whose head is like a raisin.” (BUKHAARI kitaabul Ahkaam [vol.9 no.256]) These ahadeeth do bring two confusing points for some people and that is with regards to the conditions of Imaamah being freedom and Qurayshi lineage. These ahadeeth do not contradict these conditions because we can easily reconcile their meanings. With regards to slavery then these ahadeeth could mean:- i) The person used to be a slave ii) These ahadeeth could be concerning a temporary authority in specific circumstances such as when a master has given permission for his slave to go on a jihaad expedition and this slave has been appointed from amongst a group of people for a period of time until he returns to his master. iii) The slave may have been appointed for specific tasks over other slaves with the permission of his master. As for the condition of Qurayshi lineage then this is not contradicted due to the following possible means of reconciliation of the meanings:- • These ahadeeth are not necessarily concerning the general imaarah i.e. the position of Imaam but rather they can be related to the lesser authority [imaaratus sughrah] or specific authority such as a wali or delegated ameer or wazeer for specific tasks and in such positions, Qurayshi lineage is not a condition. • It is possible that the Abysinnian is also Qurayshi due to the dispersal of tribes in later times, so that now those who are from Quraysh are found all over the Muslim world due to travel, inter-marriage and the expansion of Islam. • As for abrogation then these ahadeeth can not be abrogated, abrogation is impossible due to the following:- • Nabi (saw) was speaking about khilaafah and Imaamah and this starts after himself, abrogation can only occur during the time of wahi [revelation] • The wording of the ahadeeth concerning Imaamah among the Quraysh also negates the possibility of abrogation, as these implied the continuation of Imaamah under the Quraysh even in adverse conditions, for example A'bdullah reported that nabi (saw) said “This affair will remain among the Quraysh even if there are only two people left.” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4476]) and Ibn U'mar reported that Nabi (saw) said “This affair will remain in Quraysh even if there are only two of them remaining.” (BUKHAARI Eng/Arabic vol.9 no.254]) These both indicate that there is no change in this matter. • Specific hadeeth indicated the continuation of the Imaamah in Quraysh until the end of time • The sahaabah themselves quoted the ahadeeth of Imaamah being confined to Quraysh and they continued to act upon them. 23) As for the hadeeth “…as long as they establish the deen” This proved that the Imaamah should be in Quraysh due to its statement concerning that. Any khaleefah who does not govern by Islam will be removed. However unity and leadership must continue until a Qurayshi is available, due to the Quran and Sunnah commanding unity and Imaamah. The u'lemaa' (e.g. refer to Imaam an Nawawi in ‘Minhaajut Talibeen' and its commentart by Ibn Hajr al Haytami) even mentioned that this should go to the nearest tribe of Quraysh as this would be like fulfilling the commands according to the principle of istitaa'ah. |