The Contract of Imamate
"And if you rule between people then rule with justice"
[Surah al-Mai'dah:42]
Imamate is prescribed to succeed prophethood as a means of protecting the deen and of managing the affairs of this world. There is a consensus of opinion that the person who discharges the responsibilities of this position must take on the contract of Imamate of the Ummah - although Asam, exceptionally, differs on this matter.
There is a difference of opinion, however, as to its obligation, that is, as whether it is obligatory for rational reasons or because it is prescribed in the Shari'ah. One group of fuqaha says that it is obligatory for rational reasons because of the natural inclination of men and sound mind to submit to the authority of a leader who thereby prevents mutual injustice and who decides between men in cases of dispute and quarrel - for without governance, disorder and barbaric behaviour would arise amongst the wanton and lawless. As the pre-Islamic poet al-Afwah al-Awdi has said in his poem:
There is no benefit to a leaderless people when disorder reigns, and they will never have a leader if the ignorant amongst them leads.
Another group say that it is obligatory because of the shari'ah rather than for rational raeasons: The Imam carries out the affairs of the Shari'ah and it is rationally conceivable that they undertake this Imamate as a form of worship without the option of being able to refuse it; thus the intellect is not instrumental in rendering it obligatory.
The intellect obliges each person of sane mind to avoid mutual injustices and the breaking of social ties, and to fulfil the exigences of justice by dealing equitably with people and by maintaining social contracts: this he organises by means of his own intellect and not someone else's intellect.
It is the Law, however, which has delegated affairs to those who wield authority over them in matters of deen - Allah, may He be exated, has said: "O you who believe, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority amongst you" (Qur'an 4:62). Thus He has imposed on us obedience to those in authority, that is those who have the command over us.
Hisham ibn 'Urwah has related from Abu Salih from Abu Hurairah (radiAllahu anhum) that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
"After me governors will rule over you and those who are upright will rule you by their uprightness and those who are corrupt will rule you by their corruptness: listen to them and obey them in everything compatible with the truth - if they are correct in their dealings then it will be to your benefit and theirs, and if they act incorrectly then that will still be to your benefit (in the next world) but will be held against them."
Having established the obligation of Imamate it must then be known that it is incumbent in a social and a collective way, like the Jihad and the acquisition of Knowledge - that is if one person who is competent in the matters takes it up, the obligation is removed from the rest of the community; if no one takes it up, two parties may be distinguished as responsible for making this choice among the people: the first, those who are worthy of choosing an Imam for the Ummah and second, those who themselves are worthy of the office of Imamate.
No Pressure is to be applied, and no sense of negligence is to be ascribed, to anyone else outside of these two parties regarding choosing the Imam.
Once these two parties have been distinguished from amongst the ummah with respect to the election of the Imam, it is necessary to assess each of the two parties according to the conditions which are binding in this matter.
The Conditions
There are three conditions regarding those eligible to make the choice:
1. That they must be just and fulfill all the conditions implied in this quality;
2. That they possesses a knowledge by which they may comprehend who has a right to the Imamate and that they fulfill all the conditions implied by this knowledge;
3. That they possess the insight and wisdom which will lead them to choose the person who is most fitting for the Imamate and who is the most upright and knowledgeable with respect to the management of the offices of administration.
Those living in the Country of the Imam do not possess any advantage over those living in other countries: it is rather that someone resident in the Country of the Imam contract to elect the Imam by custom not by any legal imposition of the shari'ah; moreover such residents will come to know of the death of the Imam before people from other countries and usually the person who is most fitting for the succession is to be found in the Country of the Imam.
There are seven conditions regarding those suited to the Imamate:
1. Justice together with all its conditions
2. Knowledge which equips them for Ijtihad in unforeseen matter and arriving at relevant judgments
3. Good health in their faculties of hearing, sight and speech such that they may arrive at a sound assessment of whatever they perceive
4. Sound in limb, free of any deficiency which might prevent them from normal movement;
5. A judgment capable of organising the people and managing the offices of administration;
6. Courage and bravery enabling them to defend the territory of Islam and mount the Jihad against the enemy
7. Of the family of the Quraysh, because of the text (of a prophetic hadith) on the matter and by virtue of consensus.. No credibility should be given to the opinion of Dirar who is alone in saying that the post is open to all;
Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, used the testimony of the Prophet, may the peace and blessing of Allah be upon him, against the Ansar on the occasion of Saqifah when the latter defended the succession of Sa'd ibn Ubadah to whom they had given allegiance, in his saying, "The Imams are of the Quraysh".
As a result of this the Ansar renounced their exclusive claim to this Imamate and renounced the claim to share the rights of the Quraysh explicit in their saying "From amongst us an Imam and from amongst the Quraysh an Imam" - submitting thereby to this narration and affirming its content and accepting the following reply of Abu Bakr "From us the amirs and from you the Wazirs" The Prophet may the peace and blessings be upon him said " Give precedence to the Quraysh and do not put others before them" There is not the least doubt or controversy attached to this impeccable text.
The Book:
Al-Ahkam as-Sultaniyyah is both the single most comprehensive account of the workings of the Islamic governance and equally a highly influential theoretical outline of that governance. It is also as it were a snapshot of the inner workings of Abassid power at its height. Woven throughout it are the accounts of the first community of Islam and the judgements of the early scholars of the salaf which are the book's lifeblood and its light.
The Author:
Abu'l Hasan al-Mawardi (d.450 AH) was a practising Qadi whose excellent judgement earned him the soubriquet "The Most Judicious of Qadis". Given that the role of Qadi far exceeds that of "judge" the author was well placed to describe the workings of power from withing. Along with that, his excellence as a scholar allowed him to produce a work which is one of the undoubted classics of Islam.