The True Concept about Khalifah

Among the most popular conceptions of political leadership systems among Muslims is the khilafah. By the supporters of the khilafah, it is considered the best political system, and therefore it is the duty of the Muslim Ummah to uphold it.

They base their arguments on the Qur'an and the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad. They often refer to a hadith that they understand to mean that at the end of time, the khilafah system based on the prophetic path will prevail and triumph, namely:

"The Messenger of Allah said: 'In your midst is the age of prophethood, by Allah's permission it will remain. Then He will appoint him if He so desires. Then there will be a Caliphate that follows the prophetic manhaj. It exists and by Allah's permission it will remain. Then He will appoint it if He wills to appoint it. Then there will be an unjust power (kingdom); it too exists and by Allah's permission it will remain. Then He will lift it up if He wills to lift it up. Then there will be an oppressive dictatorship; it also exists and by the permission of God it will remain. Then there will again be a Caliphate that follows the Prophetic manhaj. He then became silent." (HR Ahmad and al-Bazar).

The hadith is understood textually and results in the understanding that after the prophetic period, there will be a phase of "caliphate on the prophetic way", followed by two phases of power with negative values, and ending with a phase of returning to "caliphate on the prophetic way".

Some shallowness of understanding

This shallowness of understanding is apparent for several reasons:

First, the four earliest caliphs are referred to by different names.

The early generations of Muslims did not attach much importance to the name of the system of leadership they were running. They called it by various names.

When Abu Bakr ra. became the leader in place of the Prophet, there was one of the companions who called him "khalîfatullâh". However, Abu Bakr rejected the title and emphasized that he was not a substitute for God, but a substitute for the Prophet Muhammad PBUH. This story was told by Ibn Mulaikah, that someone said to Abu Bakr: "O caliph of Allah". Abu Bakr immediately reacted by saying: "I am the caliph of Muhammad, and I like that."

It was the same with Umar Bin Khaththab. He even rebuked the person who called him khalîfatullâh. Umar said:

"What are you? You have done too much. My mother named me Umar. If you call me by this name, I will accept it. After I grew up, I was given the title Abu Hafsh. If you call me by this, I can accept it. Then you appointed me as a leader, then you called me amir al-mu'minin. If you call me by this title, it will be sufficient for you." (al-Adzkâr, p. 361).

Initially, Umar was also called caliph in the context of being the successor-successor of Rasulillah (khalîfatu khalîfati Rasulillâh), meaning the successor of Abu Bakr. However, because it was too long, some companions felt the need for a more convenient nickname. Until finally, the call amir al-mu'minin appeared.

Second, the mechanism of appointment of the first four caliphs. This mechanism shows that the caliphate was not a political system. The first four caliphs were chosen in a variety of different ways.

Abu Bakr was elected in a dynamic debate tending to be tough (syûrâ) at Saqifah Bani Sa'idah, then blessed by Umar, then followed by many other influential companions, both from among the Ansar and Muhajirin. Before Abu Bakr died, and felt that his life would not be long, he appointed Umar as his successor. Meanwhile, Uthman bin Affan was chosen as caliph by a team formed by Umar bin Khaththab consisting of: Ali bin Abi Talib, Abdurrahman bin Auf, Sa'd bin Abi Waqqash, Uthman bin Affan, Zubair bin Awwam, and Talhah bin Ubaidillah. The last name was not present until the decision was taken, because he had not yet reached Medina. Meanwhile, Ali b. Abi Talib was sworn in at the mosque after many people urged him to become the successor leader to Uthman who had just been killed.

Third, two verses of the Qur'an in which there is the word khalîfah, namely: "Remember when your Lord said to the Angels: "Indeed, I want to make a caliph on earth". (al-Baqarah: 30) and "O David, indeed We have made you a caliph (ruler) on the earth, so judge between people justly and do not follow your lusts, for they will lead you astray from the path of Allah. Indeed, those who go astray from the way of Allah will have a severe punishment, because they forget the day of reckoning. " (QS. Shâd: 26) context is very far from the understanding of the political system. In fact David was clearly a king, as he was the son-in-law of King Saul who after Saul ceased to rule then succeeded him. In the Qur'an, Saul is clearly referred to as a king in a good connotation: "Their prophet said to them: "Surely Allah has made Saul your king". (QS. al-Baqarah: 247). David was later succeeded by his son, Prophet Solomon. Thus, all three were kings, and their leadership was praised by the Qur'an.

Even in the Qur'an, there is a word that is rooted with khalîfah, but has a negative connotation, namely: "So "replace" (come) after them, (bad) replacements who waste their prayers and indulge in their lusts, so they will meet with misguidance." (QS. Maryam: 59).

Fourthly, it assumes that the khilafah system in question ended in 1924 with the end of the Ottoman Empire. Yet it is clear that the Ottoman Empire, and indeed also the Abbasid Empire and even the Umayyad Empire, implemented a royal system. This was because Mu'awiyah unilaterally appointed his son Yazid as his successor.

Based on these facts, the khilafah is actually any political system that allows the laws of Allah to be implemented, so that the people in it can worship properly and can also build relationships among themselves in harmony. Wallahu a'lam bi al-shawab.