1. What is the Khilafah?
The Khilafah is the name given to the Islamic system of
government. When we say that Muslims must establish Khilafah, we mean
that Muslims must establish an Islamic state, with an Islamic system of
government ruled by the Islamic Shariah.
The name Khilafah comes from the Arabic word
"Khaleefah", which means the successor. The name
"Khaleefah" is the title given to those Islamic leaders who
came as successors to prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Another name for the
Khaleefah is Ameer-ul-Mo'mineen, which means "leader of the
faithful".
Muslims must perform the bay'ah on the Khaleefa, which
means to select him as a leader and to trust him to rule by the word of
Allah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta'Ala). This means that the Khaleefah must
implement Islamic laws, the Shariah, in all the lands under the
Khilafah. The Khilafah must include all nations in the world where the
population is predominantly Muslim, and all Islamic Shariah laws must
take effect in these lands with respect to all issues in the society.
2. What about Muslim countries that exist today?
Islam came as a uniting religion, meant to unite all of
mankind under one rule, the rule of Allah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta'Ala). Allah
(Subhaanahu Wa Ta'Ala) has warned us in many ayat in the Qur'an that we
must not be seperated or divided into groups and we must all be one
community and one Ummah. Therefore, the current state of affairs of the
Muslim Ummah is not acceptable from an Islamic point of view. All
Islamic nations must be united as one nation, one people, brothers and
sisters in Islam, with one leader.
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) also warned in many ahadith that
we must not be split up into groups, and that all Muslims are like one
inseperable body. In order to be true Muslims, we must follow the
commands of Allah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta'Ala) and his messenger (pbuh), and
we must unite ourselves into a single nation and a single Ummah under
one leader.
Therefore, establishing a Khilafah uniting all Muslim
nations is a religious duty on every Muslim, and it is just as important
as establishing salat, fasting Ramadan and giving zakat. Not only is it
a religious duty on every single Muslim, but it will also lead to
economic prosperity, justice, peace and security for all Muslim
communities living throughout the world.
