THE CONCEPT OF THE CALIPHATE
Successors on Earth
THE Quran tells us that when God made man, a dialogue took place between God and the angels. In the course of this dialogue, God explained the purpose of creating man, saying: “I am putting a successor on earth.” (2: 30)
The dictionary meaning of the word khilafat (or caliphate in English) is ‘to come after’. Khalifa (or, in English, caliph) is someone who takes the place of someone else, or, in other words, ‘successor’. This is the literal meaning of the word khalifa. But it is generally in politics that a person becomes the successor of someone else. That is why the word khalifa began to be used solely for political rulers, both for one who became a ruler through succession as well as someone who acquired this position without succession.
Until the Day of Judgment, man has freedom to spend his life in this world, in the sphere that is in his control. He is free to use this freedom in whatever way he wants—properly or otherwise.
The word khalifa in the above-quoted Quranic verse is used in this second sense. This means God settled man on earth as a creature possessing free-will. The earth was given to man’s charge for a temporary period. In line with the system of nature, although man is running the affairs of the world just as angels are running the affairs of other parts of the universe, it is only in a limited sense that the world is in man’s control. Until the Day of Judgment, man has freedom to spend his life in this world, in the sphere that is in his control.
He is free to use this freedom in whatever way he wants—properly or otherwise.
An important principle to bear in mind while seeking to understand the Quran is that one part of the Quran explains another part. In the light of this principle, it is clear from several verses of the Quran what appointing man as khalifa means. One of these verses (10: 14) reads:
“Then We made you their successors in the land, so that We might observe how you would conduct yourselves.”
God has created man as an intelligent being. In terms of his abilities, the first man ever was as complete as the 21st century man. The place where man was settled—planet earth—had everything in it for man’s needs. However, these were mostly present only in potential form.
It was man’s task to convert the potential into the actual. The whole of human history is a reflection of this journey; this journeying from potential to actual.
The most appropriate word for this journey is ‘civilization’. Man’s entire history, from Adam till the Day of Judgment, is but another name for this civilizational journey. The Creator has made the earth as the abode of civilization. It was man’s task to develop this ‘potential civilization’ into ‘actual civilization’. Khalifa is the name of the creature who would play this role—irrespective of whether he is religious or secular.
The word ‘civilization’ is generally employed to refer to material progress. A conventional understanding of the term ‘civilization’ is that it refers to a stage of high social, cultural and scientific progress. But this is a limited understanding of the term. To fully understand what ‘civilization’ means, one must see it in the context of God’s creation plan. The builders of civilization do not create anything on their own. Rather, they progress along the journey of civilization using the natural resources that the Creator has created. The human builders of civilization are, as it were, workers of the Creator. They are giving practical shape to God’s creation plan.
Although man is running the affairs of the world just as angels are running the affairs of other parts of the universe, it is only in a limited sense that the world is in man’s control.
In reality, this journey of civilization is a journey of divine civilization. It is taking man to that stage where he can have a high experience of praise for God and gratitude to Him, where he can reach the higher stages of God-realization. But because this work is happening while keeping human freedom intact, people have not been able to understand its significance.
To properly understand this journey of civilization, it is necessary to set apart the evils produced as a result of human freedom and then see how God is managing human history. To meaningfully understand human history, it is most important to keep apart the human element and look at the working of the divine element in history.
A Survey
God has bestowed man with freedom. Man has been granted this
freedom so that he can discover things himself and cultivate a selfdeveloped
personality.
Man sometimes uses this freedom properly. At other times, he misuses it. But the All-powerful God is managing history and taking it towards the stage that is its real stage—the completion of the realization of God.
Since the beginning of human history, God sent a series of messengers to the world to tell people of His creation plan. They tried to keep the journey of human civilization progressing in the right direction.
But a study of history reveals that people did not prove to be responsible in using the freedom that they had been granted. Soon, history in general deviated from the path of monotheism and began travelling on the path of polytheism. This was because people found that they did not see the God that the prophets told them about, while they could see the things made by God abounded all around them. Because of this, people left the invisible God and began considering visible objects their deities. They began considering every object that appeared to them to be great as gods or partners of God. This is how ‘nature worship’, emerged.
To properly understand the journey of civilization, it is necessary to set apart the evils produced as a result of human freedom and then see how God is managing human history.
Nature worship spread far and wide. One reason for this was kings in ancient times found nature worship to be convenient to them, and so they patronised it. They employed this form of worship to claim a mandate for their rule. In this way, in ancient times polytheism acquired the status of official religion throughout the world. As a result of this nexus between nature worship and political power, polytheism acquired dominance all across the world.
Monarchy
In ancient times—and this continued for thousands of years—much
of the world was under monarchy. Monarchical rule would very soon
turn into personality cult. And personality cults gradually acquired the
form of idol worship. This is why in ancient times monarchical rule
finally turned into religion based rule. For instance, the Egyptian ruler
at the time of Moses, the Quran (79: 24) tells us, proclaimed, “I am your
supreme Lord”.
The system of monarchical rule emerged as the greatest evil in ancient times. It was the gravest misuse of human freedom. This system was ended at the political level through the democratic revolution. In the Hereafter, the wrongs of the monarchical system of rule will become clearly manifest. A part of the Hadith report refers to this in these words: “God, the Exalted and Glorious, on the Day of Judgment would say: ‘I am the Lord; where are the lords of the earth?’” (Sahih Muslim)
Three Periods of the Caliphate
In the Quran, the word ‘khilafat’ is not used in the sense of ‘Islamic
Caliphate’. According to the Quran (10: 14), all those people were ‘khalaif
fi al-arz’ who, in different ages, were given the role of ruler, irrespective
of whether, in terms of belief, they were
religious or non-religious. Throughout history
those who received the opportunity to play
the role of ruler (khilafat-e-arzi), can be classed
into three groups:
The rulers who used religion as the basis of their rule: It lasted from ancient times to the 7th century CE.
The rule of monotheists: This was the age of Muslim Sultans. It lasted from around the 8th century to the 18th century.
The rule of secular people: This period began in the 19th century, and continues today.
The journey of civilization is a journey of divine civilization. It is taking man to that stage where he can have a high experience of praise for God and gratitude to Him, where he can reach the higher stages of Godrealization.
In the first period people did not enjoy religious freedom. It was an age of religious persecution and coercion. During such an age people lost their right to think freely. And so, the process of intellectual development came to a complete halt. It was impossible for intellectual progress to continue.
God wanted man to discover the laws hidden in nature so that he could discover the Creator of these laws, and so that such means be developed that the task of inviting people to God could be carried out more effectively. This process had been completely blocked in the age of persecution and coercion. God sent a large number of prophets to the world to tell people that by misusing their freedom they were placing a hurdle in His plan. However, the peaceful efforts of the prophets to call people to God were ineffective in preventing man from continuing on the course he had adopted.
After this, God did not put an end to human freedom but decided to take away the despotic role of rulers. The Quran refers to this Divine decision thus: “Fight them until there is no more [religious] persecution, and religion belongs wholly to God.” (8: 39). In other words this verse is referring to the end of religious persecution and coercion and the opening of the door to God's blessings upon man.
As is well known, the Prophet of Islam and his Companions did precisely this. They transformed the entire political map of ancient times.
The role that Muslims played in this period was not of establishing any political system. In actual fact, it is not the aim of the Muslim ummah to establish any particular system. The task that was accomplished in the Muslim period had two major aspects to it: to usher in the age of freedom in the world, and to initiate the task of the scientific study of nature.
God wanted man to discover the laws hidden in nature so that he could discover the Creator of these laws, and so that such means be developed that the task of inviting people to God could be carried out more effectively.
The Quran (42: 38) refers to people who “conduct their affairs by mutual consultation”. This reference is not in a limited sense. It conveys news of a global revolution. It means that God wants that the age of monarchy be ended and that the age of democracy take its place, so that people can think freely, that their potentials can unfold, that they can discover the secrets of nature, and bring in the age of the divine civilization, which is referred to in the Quran (31: 27) in the following words: “If all the trees on earth were pens, and the sea [were] ink, with seven [more] seas added to it, the words of God would not be exhausted: for, truly, God is Almighty and Wise.”
The Age of Democracy
The age of democracy is another name for the age of freedom. In line
with God’s creation plan, it was essential for an environment of freedom
to remain on earth. The role that is required for man to play is possible
only in an environment of freedom. This age of democracy started in
the Muslim period. It advanced further, in the form of a process, till it
culminated in the form of the French Revolution of 1789.
Democracy is a great stage in human history. It was in this age that for the first time freedom and peace became a choice for people. Prior to this, people could enjoy freedom and peace only if they were granted to them as a gift by their rulers. But now it no longer remained something that could be had only if it were given as a gift by someone else. Instead, it became an absolute right of everyone. It was not possible for any individual or group to snatch this right away from others.
Many people today complain that they are deprived of the opportunity to live and work in an atmosphere of freedom and peace. Such people are simply unaware of the secret of life. If you want to enjoy the blessings of freedom and peace that we have been bestowed with in this age, you must know that you should set such a goal for yourself that can be achieved without having to resort to violent confrontation with anyone. If you devise a goal for yourself that will disturb someone else’s life, you will be left to complaining and protesting against others. But if you devise a purpose for yourself that will not, in any way, become a problem for others, you can carry on with your work for the rest of your life, and you will have no complaints against others.
God has bestowed man with freedom. Man has been granted this freedom so that he can discover things himself and cultivate a self-developed personality.
This secret is referred to in the Quran (4: 128) thus: “Reconciliation is best”. This indicates that the aim that you set for yourself should not lead to you entering into confrontation or conflict with others. In this way, you will find that everything in this world is favourable for you. It will become possible, then, for you to achieve your purpose, while being safe from developing the psyche of complaints against others. On the other hand, if you speak the language of complaint, it only means that you have chosen a wrong aim for yourself. It is a problem of a wrong aim, not one of other people’s oppression or enmity.
Another major development that occurred in the Muslim period was that nature was removed from the pedestal of an object of worship and was made an object of study and investigation. This happened in stages, till it finally reached the age of the scientific revolution. The scientific revolution fulfilled this prediction in the Quran (41: 53): “We shall show them Our signs in the universe and within themselves, until it becomes clear to them that this is the Truth.”
The democratic revolution and the scientific revolution in modern times are fully favourable to Islam. The modern age is completely in Islam’s favour. This phase started in the period of Muslim political rule, but its culmination happened in the third period of history, the age of the rule of secular people.
New Role of the Muslim Ummah
Indicating a principle of nature, the Quran says:
Say, “Lord, sovereign of all sovereignty. You bestow sovereignty on whom you will and take it away from whom You please; You exalt whoever You will and abase whoever You will. All that is good lies in Your hands. You have the power to will anything” (3: 26).
This means khilafat-e-arzi or political rule is not the monopoly of any group. It is a role that God, in accordance with His Plan, gives sometimes to one group, and sometimes to another. When a particular group receives political rule, it must find out for what purpose this role has been given to it. And when political rule is snatched from it, then, too, it should know why this post has been taken away from it. Lack of awareness of this will deprive the group of God’s help. Consequently, it will be unsuccessful in every way.
The conditions of this new age show us that the role of the Muslim ummah has now changed. And this role is just one: global dawah.
The Muslim empire was established in the 8th century CE. This was a sign that the role of khilafat-e arzi had now been given to Muslims. This role was to end the system of kingship of the ancient type. This task was accomplished through Muslims on a global scale. For centuries, in whichever land Muslims entered, they put an end to the centuries-old system of political dictatorship. But then a time came when Muslim Sultanates began to decline.
The early 19th century announced the end of Muslim political dominance. Across the world, one Muslim Sultanate after another began crumbling before Western powers and started coming under their domination. Following this, Muslims made many efforts—on a massive scale—to restore their political glory. But despite many struggles over a period of 200 years, they completely failed in this regard.
This is no ordinary matter. It was, in fact, an announcement of the change in the Muslims’ role. In the 18th century, the Muslims’ political role had ended. The role that was now required of them was another one—to use modern opportunities to communicate the religion of God at the global level. In the modern period, God had according to His plan given Western powers the opportunity to discover new means and resources, and make them available for common use. Through the Western powers those things came into being for the first time that were necessary for engaging in dawah at the global level—for instance, religious freedom, openness, global travel and communications, the printing press and much more.
These new conditions were an indication that the role of the Muslim ummah (community) had now changed. This new role of the Muslim ummah was predicted in a Hadith in the following words: “There shall not remain on the face of earth any house, big or small, in which the word of God will not have reached.” Muslims’ role now was to use modern opportunities to convey the universal message of Islam to the whole of humankind. But strangely, almost the whole of the Muslim ummah remained unaware of this fundamental reality. They did not understand this change in their role. Instead they sought to regain their lost political glory by fighting against their supposed enemies. This action was against the divine plan. That is why it did not receive God’s help, and failed miserably and completely.
Change of Role
The 19th and 20th centuries have taken the Muslim ummah into a new
age. The conditions of this new age show us that the role of the Muslim
ummah has now changed. And this role is just one: global dawah.
However, Muslim leaders remained completely unaware of today’s
age. As a result, they could not even tell the Muslim ummah about
their new role. A major tragedy of the Muslim ummah in this age is its
unawareness of the role that it should play at this time. That is why the
whole ummah seems to have no knowledge of
the direction in which it should head.
The democratic revolution and the scientific revolution in modern times are fully favourable to Islam. The modern age is completely in Islam’s favour.
This age is a period of the degeneration of the ummah. In this age, almost all Muslim leaders, through their rhetoric and writings, fed to the degenerated psyche that Muslims had come to develop. But this was definitely against God’s creation plan. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Muslims witnessed many efforts and struggles—but these were based on a self-created communal role that Muslims saw for themselves, and not for the role that God wanted. Because of this, the ummah remained bereft of God’s help in all of this. The aims that the Muslims devised in this period for themselves were all communal aims, devised in line with the degenerate mindset that they had developed. Therefore, they failed to achieve what they wanted.
Another failure that the Muslims have had to face was that the whole Muslim ummah developed a negative psyche. Despair, negative thinking, complaint, protest-mentality, hot-temperedness, violence, considering the rest of the world as enemies, imagining conspiracies lurking everywhere, gun culture, and, finally, an extreme manifestation of a sense of failure—suicide-bombing: this is the general image of the Muslim ummah in the 21st century. Because of this, the whole community has come to be embroiled in a violent psyche—some of its members are engaged in active violence, while others are engaged in passive violence.
This is a situation of general destruction. There is only one way for the ummah to come out of this destruction—and that is for it to completely stop negative thinking and to replace this completely with positive thinking. It must be prepared to, once again, carry on with its actual mission—that is, the mission of inviting people to God. No excuse that seeks to avoid this mission is acceptable.
Dawah Efforts
In the past, Muslims established political empires. Today, many Muslims
still dream of reviving these empires. But this is an anachronism.
Muslims should understand God’s plan for human history and chalk
out their aims accordingly. The fact is that the age of building political
empires has gone. But there is now another, bigger opportunity for
Muslims that is fully available to them—and that is, to work at the
global level for peaceful dissemination of the divine message.
In the past, deadly wars were fought to establish political empires, resulting in much loss of life. But today to establish a ‘dawah empire’, to invite people across the whole world to God, there is no need for war at all. In the new conditions, it has become fully possible to engage in dawah globally in a peaceful manner.