100 Years Without a Khilāfah (And Do We Need to Re-Establish One) Shaykh Dr

If he wants to go and live outside, as long as he's good in his life, he can do so. To me, all of this indicates a Khilafah is a tool. It's not the end goal.

It's not the actual thing we strive for. If we have it, we utilize it, alhamdulillah. If not, well then, you know, we can try some amongst us and it is a tool.

And if we're not able to do it in our particular circumstances, and in the West it's not our circumstance, we are happy with what we have, and we attain Jannah. That's my second point.

Point Three: Would a Khilafah Prevent Gaza?

My third point, the claim that if we had a Khilafah, Ghazah would not be happening. I politely say, this broad statement without any caveats, without any conditions, I have to say I disagree with. And I am a student of history. I'm not an expert.

I'm a minor student of history. I read history. I love reading history, especially Andalusian history.

I'm doing a deep dive right now about Islam in Andalusia. I humbly state my opinion, and that is, whoever says so, I don't think they have really studied Islamic history that well. They seem to have a very romanticized notion of the past.

Conditions for Effectiveness

Khilafahs, to claim that if we had a Khilafah, Ghazah would not be happening. There are at least two conditions that come to mind. More than two, but at least two. Number one, if we had a pious and righteous Khalifah. Number two, who had military and political strength in the globe, then perhaps Ghazah would not be happening. Okay.

Okay, now let's deconstruct this sentiment or this sentence. Politics corrupts the soul. Whether you're Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Kafir, Atheist, power corrupts the soul.

And absolute power corrupts absolutely. All you need to do is to look at any book of history about political intrigue. In fact, even the average Muslim is aware of the, let's just say problems that happened in early Islam.

Historical Realities of Power

The civil wars that took place. Righteous people went to war over power. All people are aware even in the first generation, Mecca and Medina were attacked.

The grandson of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was brutally massacred. And what a lot of people don't know, Ibn Taymiyyah says, the injustices of that person, Yazid and others of that generation, were no more or less than the injustices of later Khulafa. But the only thing was he did it upon the sons of the Sahaba.

And it made it so much worse. Now pause here. What is Ibn Taymiyyah saying? Ibn Taymiyyah who really is a historian.

Ibn Taymiyyah is saying, in reality the dhulm of those guys is the same as the dhulm of all the other Khulafa. It's nothing new. But they did it against a group of people that are extra special.

What does that tell us? We have this idealized notion of the past. As if all the Khulafa were Malaika on earth. And when you read history, you understand that is not the case.

You understand that people are humans. And when you're in power, you have ultimate authority to do as you please. So, the reality is that this notion of a Khulafa itself bringing about peace, you are presuming that the Khalifa is a God-fearing person.

The Exception, Not the Rule

And the fact to the matter, this is a bit harsh to say, but read the books of history. It is the exception rather than the rule to find an Umar ibn Abdulaziz. That's why he is so famous.

It's the exception rather than the rule to have the Khulafa ar-Rashidun. That's why they're so beloved. These are the exceptions.

Once you understand this, and I'm reading Andalusian history, I will tell you factually the majority of armies and battles that took place in Andalusian Islam were between Muslims fighting for power. I will defend this, and I challenge anybody to find this issue problematic historically. The majority of Khulafa and rulers were fighting each other for 700 years.

That's one of the main reasons they could be kicked out. When you are in power, the intrigue that occurs, the civil wars that occur, the insurrections that occur, brothers fighting brothers. Go read history, what happened.

So this notion that if we had a Khulafa, everything would be fine. I politely say, I just don't agree with this. Also, there is an assumption that the Khulafa will be superpower.

Historical Examples of Powerlessness

No. When the Muslims were being massacred in Andalus, they wrote a letter to the Khalifa, Ottoman Khalifa. They begged him, we're being killed in the thousands.

They begged him, we need Islam to be saved. And the Khalifa did nothing. Not that he was a coward, but he realized, I can't take on the Spanish Empire.

16th century, the Spanish Empire is becoming a superpower. The Khulafa is already stretched thin, fighting wars in the Balkans, wars amongst Greece, wars here and there. They realized, you know what? We can't take on the Spanish Empire.

They did nothing militarily. And a 100,000 plus Muslims were expelled. Tens of thousands were killed.

Children were taken hostage and Christianized. Nothing could be done. So this romanticized notion, if we had a Khulafa, this would not be happening.

I'm sorry, I've said this bluntly before. We lost Al-Aqsa under a Khulafa, the Crusades. And we regained it in spite of the Khulafa.

Saladin Ayyubi did not operate from the paradigm of the Khulafa. He actually operated as a separate state. He broke away essentially.

And he did what he did outside of the realm of the Khulafa. So this simplistic notion, if we had, then I humbly say, unconditionally no.

The Reality of Leadership

Add some conditions, and then the awkward reality comes. How are you gonna ensure that the Khalifa is gonna be pious? So many leaders might themselves be pious, but because they're not powerful, they can do nothing. Look around you, there might be some good people in the modern last 10 years. They've come to power and office in various countries, I can't mention them.

But they're too innocent, they're too pure, whatever it might be. Their own people revolt against them, their own people put them in jail, kill them, assassinate them, hang them. This is the reality.

Do you think if we had a Khulafa we'll be any different? People are people. Just because you call it a Khulafa is not gonna change raw power. Also, a Khulafa without military might, political might is impotent.

So what if you establish a Khulafa on an island, everybody is pure there. You have to become a superpower. And you do not become a superpower simply by words, we are a Khulafa.

Superpowers, economic weight, military might, strength, strategy, GDP. So these are words. If we had a Khulafa, utmost respect, no, I don't agree with this simplistic notion in this regard.

Point Four: Opposition to Practical Solutions

So this is the third point here. The fourth point that I wanna mention here is that I say once again that I am not opposed to the idea of a Khulafa. I say those that are qualified should think, those that are qualified should strategize.

But what I am opposed to and what really irritates me, this is what I cannot stand. Some people, not all, some movements, not all, they are so obsessed with the notion of the Khulafa that when you try to solve

something in a manner other than the Khulafa, they actually oppose you. And they oppose your strategy to help people.

The Gaza Example

Case in point, Gaza. Right now, a genocide is taking place the likes of which we haven't seen in a century. Right now, 35,000 people have been decimated, 20,000 of them children.

Right now, women and children are starving to death. Now, people are trying. I don't have the solution.

Petitioning, protesting, lobbying, you know, doing whatever. I don't know what I can do. But one thing I will not do is criticize somebody who's trying to do something.

And the only thing I'm doing, sitting in my chair, criticizing the efforts of somebody who's trying to bring about a change. And this is what irritates me. This is what I cannot stand.

Don't be an armchair critic while you do nothing except criticize the efforts of those who are trying to do something. Wallahi, I'll be the first to say, it is humiliating having to protest in the streets. It is humiliating having to even work or try to work around Biden and the candidates.

It is humiliating. But at least we're trying to do something. At least it's some tactic.

And it is better than your tactic of sitting at home and doing nothing other than criticizing those that are doing something. While you are daydreaming of a Khilafah, bombs are dropping. We are trying to stop the bombs.

Even if you think the Khilafah is going to solve it, you work for it and you allow others to try to stop the bombs dropping. This is what I'm asking you. I am not against people envisioning the Khilafah.

I'm not against people daydreaming with grandiose daydreams. But when somebody wants to feed the people of Gaza, when somebody wants to bring food, and medicine to them, do not stop them and say, Oh, until we establish a Khilafah, your fundraising is of no use. How foolish is that? There are children dying.

Let's feed the children, and you talk about a Khilafah for the next generation, no problem. This is my only point. Do not impede the progress.

The Munafiqun Example

Do not be like the munafiqun. Allah says in the Quran, when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) called for the people of Tabuk to give, some of the sahabah had very little things. They gave half a date.

And the munafiqun made fun. They said, ha, we want to raise an army. And these people are giving half a date.

What is this? They're winking at one another. And they're saying, look at this guy, he's just giving half a date. While they themselves gave nothing, right? And Allah says in the Quran:

"[Those] who criticize the contributors among the believers concerning [their] charities and (criticize) those who find nothing (to spend) except their effort, so they ridicule them - Allah will ridicule them, and they will have a painful punishment."

They're those munafiqun who are nudging and winking.

They're making fun of those that are giving whatever they have. Whatever they have, they're trying to do it. Oh, people who are interested in the Khilafah, do not be like the munafiqun.

Do not mock the efforts of those who are trying to do something, even if it's not that effective. Because it is more effective than your empty and shallow and hollow criticisms. This is my only point.

Point Five: Reimagining the Modern Khilafah

Now the final point that I have inshaAllah ta'ala, it's a little bit ambitious. The conclusion I have. Perhaps we need to rethink what a modern Khilafah might look like.

Do we have to revive a particular land with a particular Sultan? Doing so, I'm not gonna go too explicit, but you want that type of Khilafah, you're talking revolution and blood. That's all I'm gonna say. And that is a whole different agenda.

Think about the reality of that. Can we reimagine what a modern institution might look like? And just as an example, just to flirt with the idea. What if we had a large conglomeration of Muslim countries, cooperate together for Muslim causes while they retain their individual countries? It's not that crazy.

The European Union Model

You want to look at the EU, look at the EU, the European Union. Who could have imagined 50 years ago that 27 countries would unite together with the same currency? 27 countries with 13 languages would come together and say, hey, we have certain masalah, certain things we need together, we will drop all the visas, drop all the business problems between us, drop all the issues of back and forth, we will become one block for each other, even as we retain our individual constitutions, individual leaders, individual laws. Who could have imagined 50 years ago this would happen? The EU only came into existence when? 1993.

Wallahi, we have a thousand, a million more reasons to form an Islamic block. We have so much in common, much more in common than those 27 European countries. We have Aqidah Quran, Tawheed, we have the Qibla, we have the Lughatul Quran, we have belief in the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), we have Akhlaq, we have Shari'ah, so much in common.

Previous Attempts: The OIC

If we started thinking differently, and perhaps for global causes, we think of coming together. Now by the way, such institutions were attempted, but unfortunately they fizzled out. Perhaps most prominently the

OIC, the Organization of Islamic Conference, right? 56 countries that have come together, I mean unfortunately it's not very effective now, but do you know the catalyst of the OIC? What was it? The catalyst of this was actually the attack on Masjid Al-Aqsa in 1969.

When a crazed fanatic Zionist burnt down Masjid Al-Aqsa, he burnt down the Mihrab of Salah ad-Din Ayubi, the original Mihrab of Salah ad-Din Ayubi. He pretended he's a Muslim, he wore a cloak, it was cold weather, he put a gallon of gasoline under that cloak, and then after Salatul Fajr, he just doused the original of Salah ad-Din Ayubi, and he burnt it, and he burnt down Masjid Al-Aqsa. It raised a huge hue and cry amongst the ummah, over 15 world leaders, King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, and King, I think Hassan Muhammad of Morocco, I've forgotten, the King of Yemen, all of them came together, even the Shah of Iran came to that.

And they decided, literally they decided, let's put our differences aside, and let's form a block for the ummah. The idea sounded good, perhaps some traction happened, it fizzled out. Gaza or Palestine was the catalyst for the first OIC.

A New Vision for Unity

I say, let us be ambitious, let us daydream, let us imagine, let this Aqsa be another catalyst for a bigger and greater unity. Wallahi, if the Europeans can do it, so can we. If they can come together and understand that they have common needs, and they should form one union together, why can't we do the same? And by the way, go study the history of the European Union.

The idea came about in the 40s and 50s. Remember I told you this so many times, victory is not overnight, victory is a long term strategy. The idea came about in the 40s and 50s.

The main person who thought of the notion of the European Union, his name is Walter, I forgot his last name, Walter Hallstein, that it is. Walter Hallstein from Germany. Walter Hallstein was a soldier, turned professor, turned diplomat.

And his whole life, he was calling for unification of Europe. And he died without seeing the unification of Europe. But the idea was planted in the 50s and 60s.

The idea was spread by this intellectual diplomat who was rallying different countries. And he died in the 70s, 80s. He never saw the fruits of his project.

But this is what happens when we envision and plan. So my humble suggestion, could be right, could be wrong. Stop daydreaming of a sultan that's gonna come back and rule the land.

I don't think that's gonna happen. If it happens, good for you, I'm not opposing. But perhaps let's do something else.

Practical Steps Forward

Let's start thinking about Muslim unity. Let us start thinking and imagining and wishing for and actively trying to bring about rulers from within their lands. We're not calling for revolution.

We're not calling for coup d'etat. We're not calling for bloody violence. But rulers who put aside their own differences for the sake of the ummah.

Come together, keep your kursi for your palace. Okay, no big deal. But when it comes to Palestine, come together.

I'm not telling you to cut back your gold and silver and all of your Mercedes. And okay, you do that. I get that, you want to do that.

But when it comes to Gaza, can we just not come together? Can we not have a united front and say to the world's superpowers, Hey look, we are one block. It's not just one country anymore. We are one block.

Maybe the largest 5, 10, 20 Muslim countries drop the visas between them. Form trade unions between them. Form economic unions between them.

Let the peoples begin to grow together like the EU did. By the way, 1993 was the official EU. Before that, they started bringing together economic trading and dropping the visas until finally 1993, one currency is going to come.

It takes a while. Can't we start imagining in this manner, working for something like this? In my humble opinion, this is where we should aspire to. This is a realistic vision where we're not challenging authorities and states.

We're not asking people to give up. But we're saying, for the sake of the ummah, let us think as a group. Let us think as a block.

Conclusion: We Are One Ummah

We are one ummah. Let us revitalize that notion for the sake of our brothers and sisters in Gaza. And perhaps this can be a modern manifestation of a classical and Islamic institution of the khilafah.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us all to be facilitators for the people of Gaza. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to help the people and not to be those who are blocking others.

وَجَزَاكُمُ اللَّهُ خَيْرًا وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ