ISLAM AND STATE

SEQUENCE

• State Defined

• Elements of State

• Historical Perspective

• State in Pre-Islamic period

• Purpose of Islamic state

• State of Madinah and its Political perspective

• Structure of government in Islamic state

• Islamic State in period of Caliphate

• Islamic State and Welfare organizations

• Conclusion

STATE

An aggregation of different families and villages organized

for the purpose of providing facilities for the promotion of a

happy and prosperous life.

(Aristotle)

The state is a community of persons, permanently

The state as such is the natural result of human life, which

requires association (ijtima) and organization

(Ibn –e- Khaldoon)

g a definite territory, independent of external

control and possessing an organized government

to which great body of inhabitants render habitual

obedience. (Garner)

STATE- DEFINITION

A society politically organized within a definite territory,

having its own government with coercive power to enforce

obedience and which is free from external control

Groups of people which have acquired international

recognition as an independent country and which have a

population, a common language and a defined and distinct

territory

ELEMENTS OF STATE

Population: The state must have population.

Without population we cannot think of state

No state can be imagined without the people, as there must be

some to rule and others to be ruled

Population may be less or more

No number of persons can be fixed as population of the state

ELEMENTS OF STATE

Territory: People cannot constitute a state, unless they inhabit in a

definite territory.

The people must live on a definite territory

Wandering tribes do not form a state

ELEMENTS OF STATE

Government:

A community of persons alone does not form a state unless it

is organized by an established government

State is nothing without a government

Government is the machinery through which the will of the

state is formulated, expressed and implemented

Government usually consists of three branches

Legislature: The power to make laws

Executive: The power to implement or enforce laws

Judiciary: The power to apply, interpret and adjudicate (to make an official decision about an issue) laws.

ELEMENTS OF STATE

Sovereignty: Sovereignty means supreme and final legal authority and

beyond which no further legal power exists.

Sovereignty distinguishes the state from all other

associations.

Sovereignty has two aspects

• Internal

• External

ELEMENTS OF STATE

• Internal sovereignty:

The power of the State in controlling its domestic or internal affairs without having to rely on external or outside help or without intervention from outside forces like other states & international organizations. The power of the state to decide on it sown.

• External sovereignty

means freedom of the state from foreign control

The capacity of the state to relate itself with other states in pursuing its interests. However, this does not mean that the state we have an agreement with can dictate us on what we need to do. External sovereignty means that we have the capacity to decide on “how” we need to relate with other states.

CONCEPT OF STATE - HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE • Tribal Organization:

Most primitive form, chief of the tribe had to perform variety

of functions

Gradually became hereditary and assumed absolute

authority

Strong tribes got hold of weak

Gradually tribal organization expanded to vast area e.g.

Euphrate, Dajla, Sindh, Ganga, Yang etc

• Greek City States:

Between 4th or 5th B.C. Historical linkage to present world

Whole region divided, small cities, every city was State.

Mutual rivalries—concept of vast territory could not

developed

STATE IN PRE ISLAMIC PERIOD

The Pre-Islamic Arab Society Had no state structure.

Predominantly a tribal society which did not know any distinction

between a state and a civil society

No written law, much less a constitution

No governing authority either hereditary or elected

There was a senate called Ma’la

Senate consisted of tribal chiefs of the tribes in the area

Any decision taken had to be unanimous and the tribal chiefs

enforced the decision in their respective tribes

If a tribal chief dissented, the decision could not be implemented

• Islam is concerned with all aspects of human life and state is

one of the most important aspect of life so it is not possible that

we are deprived of instructions concerning this aspect in

Islamic Sharia Although the Prophet (peace be upon him) did

not appoint or nominate a successor to lead the community,

neither did he give clear instruction as to the formation of a

state, he was, nevertheless, the head a state himself and left

behind, in his capacity both as Messenger of Allah and as

political leader, a legacy of verbal and practical instruction

which the ‘Ulama' have relied upon in expounding the basic

attributes of political authority in Islam. The precedent of the

Rightly-guided Caliphs in state affairs has facilitated further the

elaboration of the same theme.

Purpose of the Islamic State• The Holy Qur’an clearly states that the aim and purpose of

this state, built on the foundation of Tawhid, Risalat and

Khilafat, is the establishment, maintenance and development

of virtues, and the prevention and eradication of evils. The

constant demand made by Islam is that the principles of

morality must be observed at all costs and in all walks of life.

It is not prepared, under any circumstances, to tolerate fraud,

falsehood and injustice for the sake of political, administrative

or national expediency. . The clear injunctions (nusus), of the

Qur'an and the Sunnah represent the binding corpus of the

Shariah and it is the main duty of state in Islam to enforce

them.

STATE OF MADINA• Migrated from Makkah to Madinah because the Makkans were

not willing to accept his faith and made it difficult for him to

preach his religion

• The people of Madinah, on the other hand, accepted him as the

Messenger of Allah, invited him to Madinah

• With the help and support from the people of Madinah, he

founded a city-state at Madinah.

STATE OF MADINA

• Although he had the last word in political and military affairs,

and as the Messenger of Allah (saws) was not obliged to consult

others

• He consulted his Companions in all matters other than those

concerning revelation in accordance with the command

addressed to him in the Qur’an to the effect that (he should

consult them in affairs and when he had taken a decision, he

should put his trust in Allah) (surah 3: verse 159).

STATE OF MADINA

.

• Prominent Sahaba were consulted in worldly matters so forming a sort of Majlis e Shura (Parliment).

• The Prophet (PBUH), a great spiritual and religious personality, commanded great respect and set out to establish a just society in Madinah. First of all he drew up a pact between various tribal and religious groups known as Mithaq-i-Madina which guaranteed full autonomy to all tribes and religious groups like the Jews, the Muslims, and other pagan tribes.

• The Mithaq-i-Madina was a sort of preliminary constitution of the `state’ of Madinah that went beyond a tribal structure and transcended the tribal boundaries in matters of common governance. It also laid down that if Madinah is attacked by an outside force all will defend it together. Thus for the first time a concept of common territory, so necessary for a state to operate, evolved.

STATE OF MADINA

• The Prophet, in a way, took a revolutionary step in dissolving tribal bonds and laying more emphasis on ideological boundaries on one hand, and territorial boundaries, on the other. However, the Prophet’s aim was not to build a political community but to build a religious community instead.

• The Qur’an lays more emphasis on values, ethics, and morality than on any political doctrines. The political system had to evolve over a period of time and in keeping with the needs and requirements.

Sovereignty in Islamic state

• Sovereignty may be defined in a general meaning as under.

• “The supreme power of authority of an individual or a group of individuals which is unquestioningly obeyed the bulk of people in the state.”

• The basic tenet of Islam is the sovereignty of Allah. Islam teaches that sovereignty or supreme power belongs to Allah and Allah alone.

•Quran says:“To Allah belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth.” (42: 48)

• Allah Almighty is the Lord of the heavens and of the earth.

He delegates authority for the administration of peace and

justice as a trust to such men as He wills. Those who

exercise authority form a state, but their authority is a

trust, to be exercised so long as they dispense justice, and

within the limitation prescribed by Allah Almighty.

Islamic State

• Islam advocates only a limited government whose power is restricted in a variety of ways:

• Its powers in respect of legislation are limited by the given terms of the Shariah.

• The Islamic state is also a consultative state by the requirement of consultation and due regard for the wishes of the community and the general consensus of ‘Ulama'.

• The powers of the head of state are also limited by reference to khilafah which means that he acts in the capacity of the trustee of both God Most High and the community of which he is an employee and representative

Structure of the government in Islamic state:

• A. Executive

• The responsibility for the administration of the Government in an

Islamic state is entrusted to an Amir (leader) who may be likened to the

President or the Prime Minister in a Western democratic state. All adult

men and women who accept the fundamentals of the constitution are

entitled to vote in the election for the leader. The head of state is elected

by the community through consultation. nomination. and bay'ah

(pledge of allegiance). Bay'ah is. to all intents and purposes, equivalent

to a vote.

The basic qualifications for the election of an Amir are that

He should command the confidence of the largest number of

people in respect of his knowledge and grasp of the spirit of

Islam;

He should possess the Islamic attribute of fear of Allah;

He should be endowed with the quality of statesmanship.

In short, he should be both able and virtuous.

A Shura (consultative council), elected by the people, will assist

and guide the Amir.

The Amir can retain office only so long as he enjoys the

confidence of the people, and must resign when he loses this

confidence.

Every citizen has the right to criticize the Amir and his

Government, and all responsible means for the expression of

public opinion should be available.

• B. Legislature:

• Legislation in an Islamic state should be within the limits prescribed by

the Shari‘ah.

• The injunctions of Allah and His Prophet are to be accepted and obeyed

and no legislative body can alter or modify them or make any new laws

which are contrary to their spirit.

• The duty of defining the real meaning of those commandments which

are open to more than one interpretation is given to people possessing

a specialized knowledge of the law of Shari‘a.

• C. judiciary:

• In Islam the judiciary is not placed under the control of the executive.

It derives its authority directly from the Shari‘ah and is answerable to

Allah.

• The judges will obviously be appointed by the Government but, once

appointed, will have to administer justice impartially according to the

law of Allah.

• All the organs and functionaries of the Government should come

within their jurisdiction: even the highest executive authority of the

Government. Islam stands for equality in the social, economic and

political realms alike.

T H E CONSTITUTION

• Neither the Shariah nor the juristic doctrine of Muslim scholars provides a specific pattern for the constitution of an Islamic state.

• The Qur'in being the main source of Shariah, does not embody a constitution as it does not address constitutional themes on the devolution and transfer of power and other matters of state. It is a source whose guidance need to be reflected in the state activity and legislation. Since there is no consensus on the essential features of such a state, the matter must, therefore, remain open to initiative and ijtihad.

• Legislation will be carried out as per Islamic commands giving full benefit to the community as per needs of the hour without compromising basic principles of legislation

ISLAMIC STATE IN CALIPHATE

Meaning of Khilafah• Khilafat means ‘representation’. Man, according to Islam, is

the representative of Allah on earth, His vicegerent. That is to

say, by virtue of the powers delegated to him by Allah, he is

required to exercise his Allah-given authority in this world

within the limits prescribed by Allah.

• Take, for example, the case of an estate which someone has

been appointed to administer on your behalf. You will see that

four conditions are invariably met.

• First, the real ownership of the estate remains vested in you

and not in the administrator;

• second, he administers your property only in accordance with

your instructions;

• Third, he exercises his authority within the limits prescribed by you;

and

• Fourth, in the administration of the trust he executes your will and not

his own.

• These four conditions are so inherent in the concept of

‘representation’ that if any representative fails to observe them he will

rightly be blamed for breaking the covenant which was implied in the

concept of ‘representation’.

• This is exactly what Islam means when it affirms that man is the

vicegerent of Allah on earth. Hence, these four conditions are also

involved in the concept of Khilafat.

ISLAMIC STATE IN CALIPHATE

• Appointment of Head, no prescribed mode, During the period of

the four Rightly Guided Caliphs (632 to 661 AD) different modes

were adopted for the appointment of the Head of the State and

in all the cases the appointment was confirmed by the Muslim

community through its consent which was formally obtained by

means of of "bay‘ah".

Islamic State and Welfare organizations

• Caliph ‘Umar (RA), in particular, encouraged the establishment of different departments of Central Secretariat in the form of Diwans on the Persian model.

• In the departments secretaries and clerks were employed in order to assist the Chief executive authority in managing the affairs of the state.

• The department of moral censorship (Hisbah) was also organized to enforce the Rights of Allah, the Rights of Human Beings and the Rights which were common to both Allah and Human Beings.

• Qazi Courts

• Libraries

• Hospitals

• Madrassas etc

CONCLUSION

• No defined form of Govt

• Implementation of Shari’ah Law

• Consultation, a vital factor

• Protection of basic human rights

• Social security

• suitable balance between liberty and equality

• system which is based on chain of responsibilities

• Enforcement of welfare system though State machinery

QUESTIONS?

THANKS