KHALIFAH AL-KHASSAH (SPECIAL VICEGERANT, SERVENT, REPRESENTATIVE)

KHALIFAH AL-KHASSAH

KHALIFAH is an Arabic word literally meaning "one who replaces someone else who left or died" (English: caliph). In the context of Islam, however, the word acquires a narrower meaning. The Muslim Khalifa is the successor (in a line of successors) to Prophet Muhammad's position as the political, military, and administrative leader of the Muslims. The prophetic role of Muhammad is strictly not included in this definition, as the Qur'an and Hadith clearly state that Muhammad was the last of the prophets. Khilafa is a related Arabic word which, in the context of Islam, is used to denote the government of the Muslim state, of which the Khalifa is the head. A workable analogy of Khalifa and Khilafa is president and presidency or king and monarchy. The Khilafa is a fard kifaya on the ummah.

GOD promises those among you who believe and lead a righteous life, that He will make them sovereigns on earth, as He did for those before them, and will establish for them the religion He has chosen for them, and will substitute peace and security for them in place of fear. All this because they worship Me alone; they never set up any idols beside Me. Those who disbelieve after this are the truly wicked.

The Khalifa of the Muslim ummah must strive to:Safeguard Islam in its original form, and to protect against the introduction of new things (bid'a) into Islam.Establish justice (including punishments for crimes) among the people.Ensure the protection of the ummah. People within the boundaries of the Muslim state (regardless of whether they are Muslims or not) should feel secure enough to be productive.Protect the physical boundaries of the state through the use of arms and other methods.Defend the rights of Muslims abroad, and to see to it that Islam can spread freely in non-Muslim lands (including the use of force).Organize jihad against any non-Muslim government which prevents Muslim da'wah from entering its land.Collect and distribute zakat and the spoils of war according to the Qur'an and Sunnah (and ijtihad, if necessary). This must be done without the use of fear as an incentive (unless a person refuses to pay). Zakat is not to be taken from the best or worst of people's possessions, but rather from the middle.Pay the salaries of Bayt-ul-Mal employees, i.e., those people whose job is the collection of zakat and other state-levied taxes. Their salaries should be reasonable and be paid on time.Hire honest people as helpers, aides, governors, etc. The Khalifa must appoint to public office those who are competent and who can give good advice. This especially applies to Bayt-ul-Mal officials.Be heavily involved personally in the acts of governing. The Khalifa must be actively checking and overseeing the duties of the government, and constantly be guarding against internal corruption

General responsibilities of Khalifah Khassah

To act only within the authority (which is delegated by allah) :

O ye who believe!stand out firmly from Allah,as witness to fair dealing,and let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice.Be just: that is the next to Piety: and fear Allah ,For Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do. (al-maidah,5:8)

To develop and improve life on earth :

To the Thamud people (We sent) Salih, one of their own brethren. He said: “O my people! Worship Allah: ye have no other god but Him. It is He who hath produced you from the earth and settled you therein: then ask forgiveness of Him , and turn to Him ( in repentence ) : for my lord is ( always ) near , ready to answer.” ( Q hud,11:61 )

to perform amal salih(good deeds) :

Having good deeds is among the main pre-requisities to enable Muslim to be Khalifah.Allah has promised , to those among you who believe and work righteous deeds , that He will , of surety , grant them in the land , inheritance ( of power ), as He granted it to those before them : that He will establish in authority their religion , the one which He has chosen for them ; and that He will change ( their state ), after the fear in which they ( lived ), to one of security and peace z; ‘They will worship Me (alone) and not associate aught with me.’If any do reject Faith after this,they are rebellious and wicked.(Q Al.Nur,24:55) in Allah

Muslim should strive and struggle to be the Best model , which will be followed by other nations:

Muslim are reminded to always enjoin goodness and forbid evil,Ye are the best people,evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right.forbidding what is wrong, and believing in Allah. If only the people of the book had faith, it were best for them: among them are some who have faith,but most of them are perveted transgressors( Ali-Imra,3:110)..

As a model , muslim should show good example to others:

Thus we made of you an Ummat justly balanced,that ye might be witnesses over the nations,and the messenger a witness over yourselves; and we appointed the Qibla to which thou wast used,only to test those who followed the Messenger from those who would turn on their heels(from the faith).Indeed it was (a change)momentous, except to those guided by Allah, And never would Allah make your faith of no effect.For Allah is to all people most surely full of kindness, Most Merciful. (Al Baqarah, 2:143 )

The prerequisites to becoming the Khalifa :

Muslim scholars have determined certain criteria which any possible candidate for the Khalifa must meet to be considered legitimate.The Khalifa must be Muslim.He must be a man. This condition is based on the hadith where the Prophet states that a nation would not profit under a woman as its leader.He must be knowledgeable in Islam, and be able to make independent decisions if necessary.He must be just, have good morals, and be trustworthy.He must be physically able (non-handicapped), spiritual, brave, and helpful to protect the ummah against its enemies. His eyes, ears, tongue, and body in general should be in working condition. The point here is to stress an independent, dynamic leader for the sake of the ummah, not to discriminate against the physically handicapped. Today, for example, an artificial limb could be used to offset an otherwise crippling injury.He must be politically, militarily, and administratively experienced.He must be from the tribe of Quraish because they used to be the leading tribe, the majority. The Prophet has said, "The Khalifas are Quraishi." However, many Muslim scholars have commented on this prerequisite. Al-Mawardi has written that the Khalifa should be Quraishi based on the saying of Abu Bakr that the Khalifas are Quraishi and their ministers are non-Quraishi. The majority of scholars are of this opinion. Other scholars have arrived at a different conclusion. Abu Bakr Al-Baqlani has said that the leader of the Muslims simply should be from the majority. Muhammad Riya-Ad-Deen and Abu Hanifa wrote that the leader must come from the majority to make it easy to follow him。