Refuting Takfiri Extremists who Brand Muslim Rulers and Scholars as Tyrants (Tawaghit) and Thereby Declaring Them Kaafir
By
Sheikh Dr Shawki Ibrahim Allam
Translated
from Arabic by Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi, New Age Islam
15 June
2022
Is The Ruler
Who Does Not Rule By What Allah Almighty Has Revealed A Kaafir?
Main
Points
1. Whoever
characterizes Muslim rulers, Ulama, and others as tyrants and gates of sedition
does so incorrectly, as the Islamic Sharia does not contain what they claim.
2. Taghut is
used to describe any situation in which the servant goes beyond his bounds in
terms of following, worshipping, or obeying.
3. Whoever does
not judge according to Allah Almighty's revelation is subject to two
situations.
4. Not everyone
who is followed or obeyed is a despicable tyrant unless following or obeying
him is a gateway to disobeying God and His Messenger (peace be upon him)
-------
Question: Some extremists declare leaders of
Muslim states and governments, as well as kings, princes, and sheikhs, to be
Kaafir, alleging that they are tyrants and spread sedition. So, what's the
Islamic take on it?
The
answer: Whoever
characterizes Muslim rulers, Ulama, and others as tyrants and gates of sedition
does so incorrectly, as the Islamic Sharia does not contain what they claim.
Such a person goes to great lengths to demonize Muslim kings and Ulama. This mind-set
is one of the entry points for evil and corruption, which Allah Almighty is
well aware of. Not everyone who is followed or obeyed is a despicable tyrant
unless following or obeying him is a gateway to disobeying Allah and His
Messenger, and obedience to the ruler and the Aalim [religious scholar] is
obedience to Allah and His Messenger as revealed in the Holy Quran and the
Prophet's purified Sunnah.
There are a
few things to consider before responding to these tyrants’ branding of those
who oppose them as "the heads of the tyrants":
First, Tawaghit
is the singular of Tâghût, which is derived from the three-letter Arabic
verbal root of T-G-Y, which means ‘going beyond the limit in disobedience’. Ibn
Manzoor said in “Lisan ul-Arab” (9/15 verbal root Taghya, 8/444, verbal root:
Tawgh - T. Dar Sadir - Beirut), ‘Tâghût can also refer to something that is
worshipped other than Allah Almighty. Tâghût is called the mastermind behind
all falsehood. Tâghût is also used to refer to idols and Satan.’
As for its
idiomatic meaning, it is not far from its linguistic meaning. Imam Ibn Jarir
al-Tabari says in his commentary of the Quran “Jami’ al-Bayan” (5/419, printed
in al-Risala Foundation):
“The
correct view of Taghut, in my opinion, is that everyone who transgresses
against Allah Almighty is Taghut, and everything that is worshipped
other than Him is Taghut, whether the worshipper is forced to do so or
chooses to do so, and whether the worshipped is a human being, Satan, idol, or
anything else.”
Ibn
al-Qayyim said, “Taghut is used to describe any situation in which the
servant goes beyond his bounds in terms of following, worshipping, or obeying.
So the Taghut of each community is someone who seeks judgment instead of
what Allah and His Messenger have ruled, or those whom they worship other than
Allah; or those whom they follow without proof from Allah; or those whom they
obey without knowing if it is in accordance with Allah's Judgment. So these are
the Tawagheet of the world; if you think about them and consider the
conditions of the people around them, you'll notice that the majority of them
have turned away from worshipping Allah Alone and toward worshipping the Taghut;
away from seeking judgment from Allah and His Messenger and toward seeking
judgment from the Taghut; away from obeying Him and following His
Messenger and toward obeying and following the Taghut.” [I’lām
Al-Muwaqqi’īn An Rabbil Aalamin 1/40, published by Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah]
Second,
generalizing the inclusion of leaders and Ulama among tyrants is one of the
gates of sedition, as is fabricating lies about the Islamic Sharia, and
exaggerating the evil thinking about Muslim rulers and scholars to the extent
of declaring them Kaafir, all of which are gates of evil and corruption that
Allah Almighty is All-Knowing of.
Third, it
is established that Allah Almighty alone is the True Judge and the Lord of
creation and command. “Beware, for Him is the creation and the command”
(The Quran, 7:54) and “And Allah gives the command – there is none that can
postpone His command…” (13:41). Therefore ruling by what Allah Almighty has
revealed is compulsory as is making the Messenger [peace be upon him] the
arbitrator and judge, as well as accepting and adhering to his commands. Allah
Almighty says: “But no, by your Lord, they will not [truly] believe until
they make you, [O Muhammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute
among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you
have judged and submit in [full, willing] submission.” (4:65)
These
extremists are to be refuted by the passage that is frequently cited by legal
theorists [of Islamic Jurisprudence, or scholars of the Usul] when discussing
the concept of the Law-giver [al-hakim], which is one of the pillars of Islamic
Law (al-Hukm al-Shari'), namely, that ‘the Hakim is none other than Allah’ (see
‘al-Tahlweeh ala al-Tawdeeh’, 2/44, published by Sabeeh). This means that ‘only
Allah has the authority to give judgment’ (see: “Ghayat al-Wusul Sharh Labb
al-Usul”, p.7, published by al-Halabi). These two lines denote that the Ruler
is the divine Sharia and not the human mind (see: “Minhaj al-Wusul Lil
Baidawi”, p.13, published by Sabeeh)
Then
whoever does not judge according to Allah Almighty's revelation is subject to
two situations:
The first
situation is that he disbelieves Allah's divine judgment, despises it, believes
it has no right to be applied and describes it in a disparaging, hostile, and
hateful manner.
The second
situation is that he believes and acknowledges the validity of what Allah
Almighty has revealed, but he is hesitant to put it into practice due to
desire, lust, suspicion, inability to implement, or Tawil [i.e. the act of
determining one of the many meanings attached to a word] in the texts...etc.
There is no
doubt that the ruling of the first situation varies from that of the second.
The first is major disbelief [Kufr-e-Akbar] that leads to expulsion from Islam,
while the second is disobedience and minor disbelief [Kufr-e-Asghar] that does
not lead to expulsion from Islam.
Scholars
have cited some cases of the ruler who makes decisions based on criteria other
than those revealed by Allah, in which he is said to have engaged in minor
disbelief yet remains within the fold of Islam. One of these cases is
disregarding the judgment of Allah in some of his issues due to a personal whim
while believing that this judgment or law of Allah Almighty has guidance and
absolute goodness.
Imam
Qurtubi says in his commentary “Al-Jami’ Li Ahkam il-Quran” (6/191, published
by Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyyah): “If someone judges [something] based on what he
has rather than what Allah has revealed, it is a whim and disobedience, which
is a sin for which forgiveness may be sought, according to Sunni Theology”.
Najashi
[Negus] is one of the clear examples that Islamic scholars have noted in this
regard. He was the Ethiopian king. He converted to Islam without his people and
was unable to learn, let alone apply, the Sharia. No one, however, questions
the authenticity of his Islam. [See: “Minhaj al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah” by Ibn
Taymiyyah (5/112-113, published by Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University).
Third, not
every rule based on man-made law or custom is incompatible with the Law of
Allah Almighty. Instead, it should be handed to the Shari'a, such that whatever
is in the agreement is accepted, and if it isn't, it must be adjusted to become
in accordance with the Shari'a, and whatever it is silent on is due to the
public interest (Maslaha).
It's worth
noting that Tahkim al-Shara' (i.e. judging by what Sharia has commanded) has a
broader definition than Tahkim al-Madhab Al-Makhsus (i.e. judging by
what comes from a certain school of Islamic Jurisprudence (Madhab) or
personal Ijtihad. The laws in force may refer to particular Ijtihad or a specific
Madhab, but they all fall under the broad notion of Sharia, which
includes the general doctrines [Madaahib] of Mujtahidin and their
sayings, even if they contradict what those who advocate for Tahkim al-Sharia
believe and practise.
Allama Ibn
Hazm said, “Everything that the Mujtahids deduced from the Shari’a is
counted, even if its evidence is hidden from the common people. And whoever
denies that generally attributes the imams to error and that they legislate
what God did not authorize. This is a misguidance of the one who says so from
the right path. The truth is that had they not seen evidence in that, they
would not have legislated” (Imam Sha’arani, Al-Mizan Al-Kubra, 1/116, printed
in Alam Al-Kutub)
Fourth, not
everyone who is followed or obeyed is a despicable tyrant, unless following or
obeying him is a gateway to disobeying God and His Messenger, and obedience to
the ruler and the Aalim [religious scholar] is obedience to God and His
Messenger as revealed in the Holy Qur'an and the Prophet's purified Sunnah.
“O,
believers! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you.
Should you disagree on anything, then refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if
you ˹truly˺ believe in Allah and the Last Day. This is the best and fairest
resolution.” (4:59)
It is
narrated by Abu Huraira that Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said,
"Whoever obeys me, obeys Allah, and whoever disobeys me, disobeys Allah,
and whoever obeys the ruler I appoint, obeys me, and whoever disobeys him,
disobeys me." (Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)
Taking into
consideration the foregoing description in response to the central question, it
has become clear that not everyone who is followed or obeyed is a despicable
tyrant unless following or obeying him is a gateway to disobeying God and His
Messenger, and obedience to the ruler and the Aalim [religious scholar] is
obedience to God and His Messenger as revealed in the Holy Qur'an and the
Prophet's purified Sunnah. Whoever characterizes Muslim rulers, Ulama, and
others as tyrants and gates of sedition does so incorrectly, as the Islamic
Sharia does not contain what they claim. Such a person goes to great lengths to
demonize Muslim kings, rulers and Ulama. This mind-set is one of the entry
points for evil and corruption, which Allah Almighty is well aware of.
Allah Knows
The Best.
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