(Series of Answers by the Eminent Scholar Ata bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah, Ameer of Hizb ut-Tahrir, to the Questions of the Visitors of his Facebook Page "Fikri")
Answer to Question
To Ntham Rd
Question:
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful, peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings,
I have a question: It was mentioned in the book The Islamic Personality, Volume II, page 33, under the seventh point of the conditions for the Khalifa, "Ability" (Al-Qudrah). It then explained "Ability" and continued writing until it reached the following phrase: "Likewise, it is not a condition for the contracting of the Khilafah that the Khalifa be brave, or among those of the opinion that leads to the policy of the subjects and the management of interests." The question: Is that not considered part of "Ability"?
Answer:
Walaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuh,
What was mentioned in the book is: "Likewise, it is not a condition for the contracting of the Khilafah that the Khalifa be brave, or among those of the opinion that leads to the policy of the subjects and the management of interests, because no sahih hadith has been reported regarding that, and it does not fall under a Shari’i rule that makes it a condition of contracting, even if it is better for him to be brave, possessing opinion and insight." End quote.
As you know, a condition of contracting (shart in’iqad) means that if the Ummah elects a Khalifa who does not fulfill the conditions of contracting, then his Khilafah is void. By contemplating these two matters you mentioned, it becomes clear that they are not among the conditions of contracting, meaning that if the Ummah elects a Khalifa who does not fulfill them, his Khilafah is not invalidated because the Shari’i evidences do not indicate that. However, they are among the conditions of preference (shurut al-afdhaliyyah); meaning it is better for the Ummah to observe these two conditions when electing a Khalifa. Thus, it should strive to elect one who possesses the conditions of contracting and the greatest number of the conditions of preference, as this is better and more upright.
As for "Ability" (Al-Qudrah), it is one of the conditions of contracting and means that the Khalifa must be capable of carrying out the burdens of the Khilafah, without limiting "Ability" to a specific thing. Everything that affects the ability to carry out the burdens of the Khilafah in a detrimental way is considered a violation of the condition of "Ability." This is because the work of the Khalifa is the implementation of Shari’i rules, and this requires the ability to carry out the tasks himself or to follow up on the tasks himself if he assigns others to perform them. If he is unable to do that, he cannot fulfill the contract of the Khilafah which is centered on his person to implement Shari’i rules. It is sufficient in this regard to fulfill the conditions of contracting, including "Ability." If it is lost, then the contract of the Khilafah does not continue to be valid—such as if the Khalifa is afflicted with memory loss, or enters into intensive care for a long period, or similar diseases such that the disease continues with him for a long period that affects the sound governance in the state, whereby the Khalifa is unable to perform the tasks himself or follow up on them if he assigns others to do them. The Court of Unjust Acts (Mahkamat al-Mazalim) is responsible for taking the procedures to verify the lack of ability and then issuing the necessary decision to declare the vacancy of the post of the Khilafah.
As for not fulfilling the conditions of preference, it does not invalidate the contract of the Khilafah. Being brave and mastering the highest levels of combat, or being a person of opinion graduated from the highest universities—all of this is not a condition of contracting, so it does not invalidate the contract of the Khilafah, because there is no Shari’i evidence for it, and because such conditions do not affect the performance of the duties of the Khilafah in a detrimental way. Furthermore, if a matter requires appropriate bravery in certain things like wars, for example, the Khalifa can seek assistance from some of those who possess bravery in this matter. Likewise, if a matter requires the opinion of those with higher university studies, the Khalifa can refer to such people from his subjects. Nevertheless, as we said earlier, it is better for the Ummah to elect a Khalifa who possesses the conditions of contracting and the conditions of preference. However, if it chooses one who possesses the conditions of contracting but does not possess all the conditions of preference, his Khilafah is valid as long as he has fulfilled the conditions of contracting, because the correct Shari’i evidences state that.
Your brother, Ata bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah
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