How the Khilafah will Address Political Corruption
(Translated)

- Allah (swt) says in Surat Al-Mu’minun Verse 71,

(وَلَوْ اتَّبَعَ الْحَقُّ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ لَفَسَدَتْ السَّمَوَاتُ وَالأَرْضُ وَمَنْ فِيهِنَّ بَلْ أَتَيْنَاهُمْ بِذِكْرِهِمْ فَهُمْ عَنْ ذِكْرِهِمْ مُعْرِضُونَ)

“But if the Truth had followed their inclinations, the heavens and the earth and whoever is in them would have been ruined. Rather, We have brought them their message, but they, from their message, are turning away.”

Thus, if the Almighty does what these polytheists desire and managed the affairs according to their will and desires and left the Truth (al-Haq) that they hate, the heavens and the earth and whoever is in them would have been corrupted; this is because they do not know the consequences of things and the righteous and the corrupt of the management (interpretation of Tabari). The manner of this life is not valid, and its conduct is only possible by what Allah (swt) has enacted of rules and treatments which He revealed to the people as guidance and mercy.

- Islam is a doctrine from which a system that guides people to the ways of good and success emanates. It came to correct the world and rule the world, and if it is void from their lives, corruption would prevail and the people would get lost. Corruption means swaying away from the right path, showing disobedience of Allah (swt) on earth and not submitting to the Almighty’s Lordship:

(إِنَّ هَذَا لَهُوَ الْقَصَصُ الْحَقُّ وَمَا مِنْ إِلَهٍ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ * فَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ بِالْمُفْسِدِينَ)

“Indeed, this is the true narration. And there is no deity except Allah. And indeed, Allah is the Exalted in Might, the Wise. *But if they turn away, then indeed - Allah is Knowing of the corrupters.” [Al-i-Imran: 62-63].

- What Allah considers to be corruption then it is so, even if some people would see it otherwise. Allah (swt) says:

(وَإِذَا تَوَلَّى سَعَى فِي الْأَرْضِ لِيُفْسِدَ فِيهَا وَيُهْلِكَ الْحَرْثَ وَالنَّسْلَ وَاللَّـهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْفَسَادَ)

“And when he goes away, he strives throughout the land to cause corruption therein and destroy crops and animals. And Allah does not like corruption.” [Al-Baqara: 205]

So, to judge a deed as righteous or corrupt, we must have a criterion. This criterion must be a Shari’ and not a rational one; for if it were rational, every person would claim that what he is doing is righteousness and otherwise it is corruption, as the people of Pharaoh said:

(أَتَذَرُ مُوسَى وَقَوْمَهُ لِيُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَيَذَرَكَ وَآلِهَتَكَ...)

“Will you leave Moses and his people to cause corruption in the land and abandon you and your gods?” [Al-A’raf: 127].

These eminent among the people of Pharaoh judged Moses and his people as corrupters and they argued that Pharaoh is the amender ... This ruling is based only on whims and interests, which makes it a wrong and corrupt judgment.

Resorting to the mind to judge acts with righteousness or corruption will not lead to the correct result or to the right judgment. The law set by the mind describes all that is outside it or call for other than it as corrupt and corrupter: thus, a Capitalist according to the socialists is corrupt and a Muslim according to the capitalists is corrupt... based on the concepts that emerged from these beliefs and differed according to the ideology.

(وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ لَا تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ قَالُوا إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ مُصْلِحُونَ * أَلَا إِنَّهُمْ هُمُ الْمُفْسِدُونَ وَلَكِنْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ)

“And when it is said to them: ‘Create not disorder on the earth,’ they say: ‘We are only promoters of peace.’ Beware! it is surely they who create disorder, but they do not perceive it.” [Al-Baqara: 11-12]

- Political corruption (corruption in taking care of people's affairs) generally is the corruption of the system that runs life’s affairs which will not be upright unless it is ruled by the system of its Creator:

(وَمَنْ أَعْرَضَ عَن ذِكْرِي فَإِنَّ لَهُ مَعِيشَةً ضَنكاً وَنَحْشُرُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَعْمَىٰ)

“And whoever turns away from My remembrance - indeed, he will have a depressed life.’” [Ta-Ha: 124]

Corruption is the abandonment of Allah’s law and the adoption of a law other than the Sharia law. Therefore, the Messenger of Allah (saw) was keen to establish the rule of Allah on earth, so he (saw) spread the message, delivered the trust and laid the foundations of a state that protects Alkhair (the goodness) and fights its enemies and stay up for its survival by accounting and preventing every corruption in the State and outside it.

So, how the state of the Khilafah (Caliphate) fought corruption and its people?

- Through Jihad, the Khilafah has spread Allah’s law... and through Jihad, the goodness and righteousness prevailed... and by it, people were brought out from the darkness to the light and it called them to worship the Lord of the people and leave whatever beyond it of corruption... It did not compel people to enter Islam, but worked to make the world governed by nothing but this goodness and to apply to the people its rules and the justice and mercy they contain!

At the external level, the Khilafah State has spread Alkhair (al-Islam) throughout the world, so its area has expanded ... and it has prevented corruption (the laws that man has established) thus, reduced it and worked to eliminate it. While internally, the Khilafah has fought corruption and the corruptors, and prevented oppression and the oppressors, and has not allow any one to rule over Muslims unless the Ummah chooses him, thus, the authority belongs the Ummah and it alone has the right to appoint the whom it deems fit to apply the law of Allah.

No one is compelled to be a Khaleefah for the Ummah and it is not allowed to compel anyone to choose who to become the Khaleefah, this is because “The Khilafah is a contract of choice and consent” (Article 25 of the Draft Constitution of the Khilafah State prepared by Hizb ut Tahrir).

Every Muslim has the right to elect the Khaleefah and pledge allegiance (Bayah) to him. Khilafah is contracted to an individual by the pledge of those selected by the Ummah to represent it in giving the pledge, whereas, the pledge of the remainder of the people is a pledge upon obedience and not a pledge of contracting “anyone who is seen to have the potential of rebellion is forced to give the pledge” (Article 27 of the Draft Constitution).

- If a person takes over the Khilafah without the allegiance of the Ummah then he has become a usurper of its right and authority and has stepped the first step in the path of corruption, and the Ummah must stand before him, deter him and restore the authority and elect the one who it deems competent for it, “No one can be Khalifah unless the Muslims appoint him, and no one possesses the mandatory powers of the leadership of the State unless the contract with him has been concluded according to the Shari’ah, like any contract in Islam.” (Article 28 of the Draft Constitution).

- Accounting the Khaleefah is an Obligation upon the Ummah; "Accounting of the rulers by Muslims is one of their rights and an obligation of sufficiency upon them.

The non-Muslim subjects have the right to voice complaint regarding the ruler’s injustice towards them or misapplication of the rules of Islam upon them”. (Article 20 of the Draft Constitution of the Khilafah State prepared by Hizb ut Tahrir). The Prophet (saw) said:

«أَلاَ مَنْ ظَلَمَ مُعَاهِداً، أَوْ انْتَقَصَهُ، أَوْ كَلَّفَهُ فَوْقَ طَاقَتِهِ، أَوْ أَخَذَ مِنْهُ شَيْئاً بِغَيْرِ طِيبِ نَفْسٍ، فَأَنَا حَجِيجُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ»

“Beware, if anyone wrongs a contracting man, or diminishes his right, or forces him to work beyond his capacity, or takes from him anything without his consent, I shall plead for him on the Day of Judgment.” (Narrated by Abu Dawood). Accordingly, misapplication of the Shari’ah rules is considered an act of injustice, and the complaint regarding it is a right for the Muslim and Dhimmi, since the Messenger (saw) says:

«وَإِنِّي لأَرْجُو أَنْ أَلْقَى رَبِّي وَلَيْسَ أَحَدٌ مِنْكُمْ يَطْلُبُنِي بِمَظْلِمَةٍ» “I hope that I meet my Lord and none of you are seeking (recompense from) me for an injustice.” (reported by Al-Tirmidhi who said the narration is Hasan Sahih).

«...مَنْ أَخَذْتُ لَهُ مَالاً فَهَذَا مَالِي فَلْيَأْخُذْ مِنْهُ، وَمَنْ جَلَدْتُ لَهُ ظَهْراً فَهَذَا ظَهْرِي فَلْيَقْتَصَّ مِنْهُ»

“...Whosoever property I have taken from, here is my property; let him take from it, and whosever back I have lashed, here is my back; let him lash it.” Thus, to achieve Allah's rule and justice on earth it is necessary for the Ummah - after giving its allegiance to the Khaleefah to whom it pleases to rule them by what Allah has revealed - to hold him accountable and raise his matter to Court of Injustices (Madhalim) (through the Ummah Council) if he refuses to refrain from his corruption and the court has the right to dismiss him.

- The friend and the companion of the Messenger of Allah (saw), Abu Bakr al-Siddiq said when he took over the Khilafah of Muslims:

إن أحسنت فأعينوني، وإن أسأت فقوّموني، الصّدق أمانة، والكذب خيانة، والضّعيف فيكم قويّ عندي حتّى أريح عليه حقّه إن شاء الله، والقوىّ فيكم ضعيف حتّى آخذ الحقّ منه إن شاء الله

“I have been given the authority over you, and I am not the best of you. If I do well, help me; and if I do wrong, set me right. Sincere regard for truth is Amanah (trust) and disregard for truth is treachery. The weak amongst you shall be strong with me until I have secured his rights, if Allah wills; and the strong amongst you shall be weak with me until I have wrested from him the rights of others, if Allah wills.”

Thus, the companion of the Messenger of Allah understood the message and on the guidance of his Prophet (saw), he fulfilled the trust, and asked people’s advice and help, and on his path the Sahabah (the companions) and the Tab’ieen (the followers) marched, so they ruled and upheld justice and spread Allah’s mercy and guidance.

- The message of Islam is legitimate provisions (Ahkam Shariah) implemented on earth for the happiness of humanity, and these orders are only accomplished with a Khaleefah. His presence is imperative to attain righteousness; and if he is absent, corruption prevails ... But this Khaleefah or others who are in charge of the implementation of the Ahkam may make mistakes - for they are human - so Islam put controls so as not to leave room for injustice and the spread of corruption ... In the Seerah (biography) of our beloved Messenger are the best lessons, for he adhered to the law of his Lord and did not deviate from it ... He established the legal punishments (Hudood), without compromising them or discriminate among the subjects ... He swore by Allah saying:

«وَايْمُ اللَّهِ لَوْ أَنَّ فَاطِمَةَ بِنْتَ مُحَمَّدٍ سَرَقَتْ لَقَطَعْتُ يَدَهَا» “By Allah if Fatimah the daughter of Muhammad was to have stolen I would have cut off her hand.”

Manifesting a pure and clear thought which he (saw) pursued so he was guided and by it he guided those who believed in Allah as their Lord and Mohammed as a Prophet and a Messenger. The Sahabah and the Tab’ieen followed him in that and they pursued his path. Thus, Omar (r.a) carried out the Shari’i punishment for drinking (intoxicants) upon his son because he knew that he consumed some type of a drink that causes intoxication.

- Omar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

أرأيتم إن استعملت عليكم خير ما أعلم ثم أمرته بالعدل فيكم، أكنت قضيت ما علي؟ قالوا: نعم، قال: لا، حتى أنظر في عمله أعَمِل بما أمرته أم لا

“Do you think if I appointed over you the best whom I know, and then commanded him to be just, that have I completed what was upon me?” They replied, yes. He said, “No, until I looked into his actions – did he act according to what I commanded him to or not”. Although monitoring of the Muslim individual begins with self-monitoring practiced by the Muslim himself, man however, is prone to error and a few people who can move away from the slippage.

Therefore, an individual needs to be monitored, and Allah has made the responsibility of monitoring a collective responsibility of the state and the entire Muslim community. “It is imperative that the Khalifah scrutinises the actions of the delegated assistants (Tafwid) and their management of the affairs, in order to confirm what was right, and to correct any errors, since the management of the affairs of the Ummah has been delegated to the Khalifah and is decided by his Ijtihad” (Article 46 of the Draft Constitution of the Khilafah State). “The Khalifah must examine the actions of the governors and continually assess their performance strictly. He must deputise people to monitor their situations, investigate them, and periodically gather all or some of them, and listen to the complaints of the subjects regarding them” (Article 60 of the Draft Constitution of the Khilafah State). The predecessors (Salaf) of the Ummah have followed this approach in order to uproot corruption from the Islamic community and eliminate its manifestations.

Therefore, the problem is not the presence of corrupt people in the state, but rather the problem is turning a blind eye to corruption and not punishing the corrupt people, the corrupters. There is a vast gap between a just ruler who fights corruption and asks Allah (swt) to grant him success in order to apply His rulings, and a corrupt ruler who evades and disobeys, rather, he bargains with the people of corruption and deals with them, and thus he betrays Allah and His Messenger and the believers, and will receive from Allah what he deserves.

- In "democratic governance" corrupt people legitimize their corruption, and within democracy they enact laws that serve their interests and endorse their transgressions. To achieve this, we see them intensify their electoral campaigns, communicate with people and spend money to ensure the highest number of votes, and afterwards, after ruling them with their "democracy" they turn their backs and collect large sums of money to compensate for what they spent multiplied. While we see that under Allah’s law this trust is not given to those who seek it, out of fear that he may divert and deceived about Allah by a deceiver, so he is lost, becomes corrupt and he commits corruption. The Prophet (saw) said:

«إِنَّا وَاللَّهِ لا نُوَلِّي عَلَى هَذَا الْعَمَلِ أَحَدًا سَأَلَهُ، وَلا أَحَدًا حَرَصَ عَلَيْهِ»

“By Allah we do not appoint someone to this post who seeks it or someone who contends for it”.

The one who seeks the Khilafah post and asks and contends for it he seeks it for his self, and has self-ambitions and personal gains, and whoever is like that he would not seek the interests of others and will not be keen to benefit them. So, when Abu Dhar asked for it, and he is the righteous and trustworthy, saying:

 يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَلَا تَسْتَعْمِلُنِي؟

“I said: O Messenger of Allah, Why don’t you appoint me (to an official position)? He patted me on the shoulder with his hand and said, “O Abu Dharr, you are a weak man and it is a trust and it will be a cause of disgrace and remorse on the Day of Resurrection except for one who takes it up with a full sense of responsibility and fulfils what is entrusted to him (discharges its obligations efficiently.)”

The political corruption that has afflicted the Islamic Ummah and the world in general under this rotten democracy, with its unjust laws, cannot be ended and cannot be eliminated except by the Islamic ruling system, “the Khilafah (Caliphate) on the method of the Prophethood”. It is the only one that will combat corruption, because its laws are enacted according to the orders of Allah (swt), not according to the whims and wishes of the rulers who dug trenches between them and the Ummah, who are not trusted on the Deen of Allah or the people’s life, and who are benefited by the Kaffir in spreading corruption and preventing the Ummah from adhering to Islam and adopting its provisions and living under it.

In order to eliminate corruption ... and to return to the people security, tranquility and prosperity ... it is imperative for Muslims to join the work to resume the Islamic way of life and live under the just provisions of their Lord, and to strive to eliminate democracy and its corruption and persecution of humanity until Allah’s promise is attained:

(وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا مِنْكُمْ وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ وَلَيُمَكِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دِينَهُمُ الَّذِي ارْتَضَى لَهُمْ وَلَيُبَدِّلَنَّهُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ خَوْفِهِمْ أَمْناً يَعْبُدُونَنِي لَا يُشْرِكُونَ بِي شَيْئاً وَمَنْ كَفَرَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ)

“Allah has promised those who have believed among you and done righteous deeds that He will surely grant them succession [to authority] upon the earth just as He granted it to those before them and that He will surely establish for them [therein] their religion which He has preferred for them and that He will surely substitute for them, after their fear, security, [for] they worship Me, not associating anything with Me. But whoever disbelieves after that - then those are the defiantly disobedient.” [An-Nur: 55].

And the prophecy of the Prophet (saw) is established:

«...ثُمَّ تَكُونُ مُلْكاً جَبْرِيَّةً فَتَكُونُ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ أَنْ تَكُونَ ثُمَّ يَرْفَعُهَا إِذَا شَاءَ أَنْ يَرْفَعَهَا ثُمَّ تَكُونُ خِلَافَةٌ عَلَى مِنْهَاجِ النُّبُوَّةِ ثُمَّ سَكَتَ»

“...then there will a forcible rule, as long as Allah wants, then Allah will remove if He so wants, then there will be a Khilafah on the Method of Prophethood, and then he (saw) was silent”. (Narrated by Ahmad).

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Zainah As-Saamit