A proverb that makes me ponder, “The one eyed king, leading the blind.” Unfortunately, this has become the situation of some ‘Islamic Societies’. Due to the need of having a centre point, many colleges/universities have elected people to be in charge with regards to certain matters. However, in recent times, many of these leaders have been abusing their powers and forcing their unwanted, unjust and inaccurate views down the throats of others who are in objection to them. As a result of this, those unjust leaders begin to throw Ahadith to defend themselves (and their ‘power’) but in doing so, they expose their weak understanding of the sayings of our beloved Rasul salallahu alayhi wa salam. They begin their weak argument with the verse,
يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ أَطِيعُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُواْ ٱلرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِى ٱلۡأَمۡرِ مِنكُمۡۖ
“O you who believe, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you”
First and foremost, we must define what an Ameer is and the different types of Ameer. The Lugwi Ma’ana of the word Ameer is simply ‘a person who is in charge, a leader’ (Al Munjid) however we do not want to take the Lugwi Ma’ana (Literal meaning) in this instance but we want to take the meaning which is the Shari’ Ma’ana (Shariat meaning). In this verse, the term أُوْلِى ٱلۡأَمۡرِ is translated as ‘those in authority’. Lexically, this refers to those in whose hands lies the management and administration of something. Therefore, Sayyiduna ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Hasan al Basri (the earliest commentators of the Qur’an), may Allah be pleased with them, have said that أُوْلِى ٱلۡأَمۡرِ applies to scholars and jurists since they are the succeeding deputies of Rasulullulah salallahu alayhi wa salam and the proper regulation of religion is in their hands. (This is in both Ibn Jarir 5/88 and Ibn Kathir 3/344)
However, then there is a group of commentators, including Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah radiallahu anhu, who say that أُوْلِى ٱلۡأَمۡرِ signifies officials and rulers who hold the reins of government in their hands. (for more info please read تقليد كي شرعي حيسيت by Mufti Taqi Usmaani Sahib DB)
However, it quite simply appears in Tafsir ibn Kathir and Tafsir Mazhari that the phrase أُوْلِى ٱلۡأَمۡرِ includes both categories. Both the scholars and jurists as well as the officials and rulers because the system of command is inevitably connected with these two. Similar opinions have been discussed in detail in Ma’ariful Qur’an also.
Unfortunately by now, the so called college/university ‘Ameer’ has included himself within these group of people and is dubbing himself to others as أُوْلِى ٱلۡأَمۡرِ. To a lay person, this may seem completely normal but it is far past normal, it is absurd! These people have interpreted Hukoomat in such an erroneous manner that they continue to make themselves look like clowns! If you start of on the wrong foot then most assuredly, you will fall. Unfortunately, these Salafis do not look at the verse in contention prior to this one in which Allah Ta’ala states,
وَإِذَا حَكَمۡتُم بَيۡنَ ٱلنَّاسِ أَن تَحۡكُمُواْ بِٱلۡعَدۡلِۚ
“...and that, when you judge between people, judge with fairness.”
These people are so focused on being dominant in control, they forget this statement. If we look at this verse which states, ‘judge with fairness’ along with the command to ‘obey those in authority’, we can see a clear hint to the effect: If the Ameer, the authority in power, sticks to ٱلۡعَدۡلِ (justice), obedience to him is wajib (necessary) and should he forsake justice and spread laws against the Shariat, the Ameer will not be obeyed as far as those laws are concerned.
Another point that emerges from the statement, “When you judge between people, judge with fairness” is that a person who does not have ability and the power to maintain equity and justice should not become the Ameer or Qadhi, because ‘judging with fairness’ is amanah. The great charge of the fulfilment of a trust obligation, something which cannot be guarded, defended and fulfilled by a weak and incapable person. Relevant to this case, is that of Sayyiduna Abu Dhar radiallahu anhu who had requested Rasul e Paak salallahu alayhi wa salam that he may be appointed as the governor of some place in the Islamic state. In reply, the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa salam said,
يا اباذر ضعيف و انّها يوم القيامة خزى و ندامة الا من اخذ بحقها و ادى الذى عليه فيها
“O Abu Dhar, you are weak and this is an office of trust, which may, on the Day of Qiyamah, become the cause of disgrace and remorse, except for one who has fulfilled all his trust obligations, fully and duly (that is, he will be spared of that disgrace).” (Muslim, Mazhari & Ma’ariful Qur’an)
Similarly in another hadith it comes that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa salam has reported to have said, “The just person is loved by Allah and he is the closest to Him, while the unjust person is cast far away from the mercy and grace of Allah.”
Unfortunately, this is lacking from many so called leaders. The decision to be wise and just is something that is heavily missing and when the Ameer of a college/university does not get his way, he blubbers many Ahadith of which he has no idea about just to clutch on to his power. He may say,
"Whoever dislikes something from the ameer should stay patient. If he abandons obedience to the ameer, then he will die the death of Jahilliya" (Agreed upon)
And,
“One who obeys me, obeys Allah and one disobeys me disobeys Allah and the person who obeys the Ameer, obeys me and whoever disobeys the Ameer disobeys me.” (Bukhari & Muslim)
And so on. Many Ahadith can be narrated which bring one back to the same point that the Ameer must be listened to and obeyed. That is to cut a long story short and to put their view into a nutshell and to this we have no objection and nor can there be any objection. It is totally corrupt and wrong to disobey an Ameer and whosoever does, will rightfully be punished.
However, this is where a fatal flaw is made in the ideology of the Salafis and Ghair Muqallideen. For a person to be an Ameer, he must fit the required criteria and must be able to carry out the Shariat to its true extent. However it must be recognised that they are not Ameer in the Shari’ Ma’ana and therefore, all the ahadith that they constantly use to bombard lay people are of no meaning with regards to their ‘leadership’. Then as a last ditch attempt, some Salafis turn towards one of the four Imams for help, and they say,
Imam Ahmad said, in his `Usool us-Sunnah: “Whoever revolts against a leader from among the leaders of the Muslims - after the people had agreed upon him and united themselves behind him, after they had affirmed the khilaafah for him, in whatever way this khilaafah may have been, by their pleasure and acceptance or by [his] force and domination [over them], - then this revolter has disobeyed the Muslims, and has contradicted the narrations of the Messenger of Allah salallahu alayhi wa salam . And if the one who revolted against the ruler died he would have died the death of ignorance."
This statement itself is very misleading to the untrained mind, in the statement ‘whatever way this khilaafah may have been’ there is a lot of ambiguity and this statement itself is often the subject of huge amounts of misinterpretation.
The Ghair Muqallideen will argue that the phrase, ‘whatever way this khilaafah may have been’ can be related to the Ameer of the college/university (i.e. ‘whatever way’ can also encompass the various types of leaderships we have today e.g. Ameer of colleges, universities and small individual groups etc). May Allah Ta’ala guide these people for those who are blind in this world will be blind in the hereafter too. This statement has not got anything to do with the various types of leaderships that we see in the world. This statement is talking about the way in which the leadership was carried out (i.e. was the leader a nice Ameer or an evil Ameer). The following line strengthens this point that I have made as Imam Sahib clearly mentions, ‘by their pleasure and acceptance or by [his] force and domination [over them]’. That is the explanation to “whatever way his khilaafah may have been”. In other words, did the Ameer rule in nice way in which people were happy with him or was it in a situation where people disliked his leadership. I once again stress the point that this statement of Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal is limited and only for the Ameer of a Muslim nation who can exercise Shari’ authority in its fullest. This does not apply to college/university leaders as they are merely organisers and are only labelled as Ameer because of its Lugwi Ma’ana (which has been mentioned above). They are nowhere near the ability to be an Ameer in the Shari’ Ma’ana.
Moving on, let us just accept their twisted and manipulated argument for the sake of it and just for a moment accept that they are the Ameer. Then these people are not just bad leaders but they are flagrant, sinning leaders! In the colleges and universities, they like to go on about ‘Obeying Allah’ and ‘Obeying His Rasul’ but they themselves are openly disobeying the command of Allah Ta’ala! How? It is the job of the Ameer to punish those people who neglect their prayers, commit fornication, and consume intoxicants etc. These vices are so rife in college and university life and it is the job of a Shari’ Ameer to punish those who adhere to it, facilitate it and live on that lifestyle. If they do not punish these people then they are openly challenging the Commands of Allah Ta’ala and the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa salam as the punishment of imprisonment, death, 80-100 flogs are there to be abided by and carried out by the ruler himself (or his appointed deputies)! And we all know what the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa salam said about a sinful leader. He said,
لا طاعة المخلوق فى معصية الخالق
“There is no obedience to the created in the matter of disobedience to the Creator.”
And so, if the leader cannot carry out these punishments then he is not an Ameer in the Shari’ Ma’ana but a mere leader in the Lugwi Ma’ana. An Ameer is he, who is in authority and has the right to judge, place rulings, command by Shariat like those who have ruled in history. Was there ever an ‘Ameer’ in the period of the Khulafaa e Rashideen that was not able to exercise full, divine law? The likes of Hazrat Sa’ad ibn Abi Waqas radiallahu anhu who was made as leader for the people of Kufa, did he not place the likes of Hazrat Abu Mijhin radiallahu anhu in a prison for drinking? He did this because he was in full right to exercise Shariat and was an Ameer in the truest, Islamic meaning of the word. Thus it is established that those leaders in university/college are only there due to Masalah Mursala. People need some organisation, someone who will put them at ease and make life easier for them and this is where the college/university Ameer comes into place. He is just there to organise, nothing more. However, some people have the capability to practise Islam in their own accord and rightly so, if they are not doing anything that goes against the main Jama’at, it is fine.
However still, some of the people gain power and enjoy it so much that they vilify those who choose to preach the Deen of Allah Ta’ala by their own accord. They emphasise obedience to the Ameer so much that they have brainwashed themselves in to first thinking that they are a Shari’ leader and secondly, they feel that everybody must follow Islam in their twisted way. Thus, many of the Muslimeen are being misguided by this enormous threat. The lay Muslims do not have the knowledge and ability to understand the deeper sciences behind the Ahadith.
In terms of Usool, in every statement of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa salam mentioned above, the Ameer is in its Haqiqi Ma’ana and then from the Haqiqi Ma’ana we take the Shari’ Ma’ana as it is holds more priority than the Lugwi, Urfi & Istilahi Ma’ana. The 'Shari’ Haqiqi' is defined as a word which is used for a juridical meaning that the ‘lawgiver’ has given it in the first place. Such as 'salah', which literally means 'supplication' but which, in its well established Shari’ sense, is a particular form of worship. Similarly, the word 'zakah literally means 'purification', but in its juridical and Shari’ Ma’ana, it denotes a particular form of charity whose details are specified in the Shariat.” (Usul ul Fiqhul ul Islami Lil Badran, Ilm Usul il Fiqh Lil Khallaf) Similarly, the Ameer is Shari’ Haqiqi and cannot be the title ascribed to a college leader.
The college Ameer is just there due to public intrest to argue that it is compulsory for a person to have a college Ameer and that it is wajib for a person to act upon his methods is a Bid’ah. He is just a means of Maslahah Mursalah, as it refers to unrestricted public interest. Technically, it is defined as a consideration which is proper and suitable with the objectives (protecting the five essential values, religion, life, intellect, lineage and property) of the lawgiver. It secures a benefit or prevents harm, and Shariat provides no indication as to its validity in the text. E.g. the companions decided to issue currency, to establish prisons, and to impose tax (karaj) on farming lands in the conquered territories.(Al Mustasfa Min Illmil Usul Lil Ghazali) So as Ghazali mentions that Maslahah consists of considerations which secure a benefit or prevent a harm. Protection of life, religion, intellect, lineage and property is Maslahah. This is quite simply what is happening within college and university.
Now finally, being a Salafi, one would like to reject this haqq that has clobbered his wits out and will want to desperately twist one final hadith in order to hold onto his views. He will probably mention the ahadith relating to those people who appoint a leader on a journey. Firstly, the fact that they are on a travel makes the situation khas. But, there is no point answering this point, a famous scholar who is widely accepted by the Ghair Muqallideen has the perfect answer to this scenario. Sheikh Muhammad Salih al Munajjid was questioned,
What is the ruling on appointing someone as an ameer when not travelling, such as when a group of young men are sharing a flat or in a camp that is held within the city or elsewhere?
Praise be to Allaah.
The reports that have been narrated concerning appointing an ameer refer specifically to when people are travelling, because when people are travelling they need to be able to refer their opinions to a leader or ameer. But when people are not travelling, usually each individual is busy with his own affairs and they do not need an ameer.
But they may appoint someone to be the head of their society or group, so if for example they are living in a flat, they may say” we need someone to organize our affairs in this flat, so we will appoint So and so to be our head or ameer.” Then they can discuss with him the running of this household’s affairs, such as what kind of food to have, setting times of rest, deciding what needs to be bought, and so on, so they discuss these things with him and agree to accept what he says. This is correct, insha Allaah. http://www.islamqa.com/en/ref/1094
Islam Q&A
I really do like the part where the respected Sheikh says, ‘But they may appoint someone to be the head of their society or group, so if for example they are living in a flat, they may say 'we need someone to organize our affairs in this flat, so we will appoint So and so to be our head or ameer’ This is exactly the situation in which we find ourselves in college, the Ameer is specific (khas) to a person who is in charge of a Shariat run, Islamic nation, travel and not to a college/university person. The Sheikh mentions it quite explicitly ‘The reports that have been narrated concerning appointing an ameer refer specifically to when people are travelling,’.The college Ameer is there to organise the affairs in the prayer room but the Shari’ Ameer is there to put the Divine Law in place. The college/university leader is named ‘Ameer’ by the dictionary, the Shari’ leader is named ‘Ameer’ by Allah and His Rasul salallahu alayhi wa salam. To disobey the Shari’ Ameer is a very big sin but this does not apply to a college Ameer. Especially when he is neither an ‘Alim, or a person of knowledge. If you are trying to preach the word of Allah Ta’ala, he has no right to stop you as he is not acting upon ‘Commanding the good and forbidding the evil’. There are no restrictions on the conveying the Deen of Allah and those who do put restraints on it are truly accursed. ‘It is truly amazing that a people who speak of Tawheed and the ‘authentic’ sunnah’ cannot even commentate on it properly, nor implement it properly. Thus I conclude that ‘the one eyed king’ is he who is unfair, unjust and lacks deep Islamic insight and ‘the blind’ are those who are not able to refute his evil ways and thus follow him in whatever he says.
A person who is the organiser in the college/university should be listened to and his word should be taken into consideration as much as possible. However, if he wishes to prevent something that can be a cause of major benefit for the people, then he has no right to interrupt and try to put chains on the worship of others. He may argue that that there is disunity but the unity should be on the truth and if both groups of people are working towards the betterment of the Deen, then it should be accepted by both without hollering and shouting. May Allah Ta'ala guide those people who wish to suppress those who convey the Deen and then cause disunity by their foul actions thereafter. Ameen.
And Allah Ta’ala knows best.
