The Kingdom and Kingship- Abdassamad Clarke (The Dialogue Series)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Most Merciful

Khutbah 24/10/2010 – The Kingdom

اَلْحَمْدُ‏ لِلَّهِ‏ نَحْمَدُهُ‏ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ‏ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ‏ وَنُومِنُ‏ بِهِ‏ وَنَتَوَكَّلُ‏ عَلَيْهِ‏ ،
وَنَعُوذُ‏ بِا‏للَّهِ‏ مِنْ‏ شُرُورِ‏ أَنْفُسِنَا وَسَيِّئَاتِ‏ أَعْمَالِنَا‏ ،
مَن‏ يَهْدِ‏ ا‏للَّهُ‏ فَهُوَ‏ الْمُهْتَدِ‏ ،‏ وَمَنْ‏ يُضْلِلْ‏ فَلاَ‏ هَادِيَ‏ لَهُ،
وَأَشْهَدُ‏ أَنْ‏ لآ إلَهَ‏ إلَّا ا‏للَّهُ‏ وَحْدَهُ‏ لَا شَرِيكَ‏ لَهُ‏ ،‏ لَهُ‏ الْمُلْكُ‏ وَلَهُ‏ الْحَمْدُ‏ ،‏ يُحْيِي‏ وَيُمِيتُ‏ ،‏ بِيَدِهِ‏ الْخَيْرُ،‏ وَهُوَ‏ عَلَى كُلِّ‏ شَيْءٍ‏ قَدِيرٌ‏ .  وَأَشْهَدُ‏ أَنَّ‏ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ‏ وَرَسُولُهُ‏ ،‏ أَرْسَلَهُ‏ بِدِينِ‏ الْحَقِّ‏ بَشِيرًا وَنَذِيرًا‏ ،‏ بَيْنَ‏ يَدَيِّ‏ السَّاعَةِ‏ ،‏ صَلَّى ا‏للَّهُ‏ عَلَيْهِ‏ وَسَلَّمَ‏ وَعَلَى آلِهِ‏ وَصَحْبِهِ‏ وَمَنْ‏ تَبِعَهُمْ‏ بِإحْسَانٍ‏ إلَى‏ يَوْمِ‏ الدِّينِ .
}يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَلْتَنظُرْ نَفْسٌ مَّا قَدَّمَتْ لِغَدٍ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ{
}يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَقُولُوا قَوْلاً سَدِيداً  يُصْلِحْ لَكُمْ أَعْمَالَكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَمَن يُطِعْ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزاً عَظِيماً {
أما بعد:
تاريخ اليوم الخامس عشر من شهر شوّال، سنةَ ألف وأربع مائة وواحد وثلاثين

The date today is the fifteenth of Shawwal 1431

ونعود إلى بدايةِ الأمر إلى أول ءاية في سورةِ الفاتحة قولِ اللهِ تعالى بعد أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم }الحمد لله رب العالمين{.

We return to the beginning of the matter, to the first āyah in Surat al-Fatihah, the words of Allah, exalted is He, “Praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the Worlds”.

ومعاني قولِنا }ربّ{  أربعةٌ  : الإلهُ  والسيدُ  والمالكُ  والمصلحُ،  وكلُّها  في  رب  العالمين  إلا  أنَّ  الأرجح  َ معنى  الإلهِ  لِاختِصاصِهِ  للهِ  تعالى،  كما  أن  الأرجحَ  في العالمين  أن  يرادَ  به  كلَّ  موجودٍ  سوى  الله ِ تعالى  فَيَعُمُّ  جميعَ  المخلوقات.

Ibn Juzayy al-Kalbi, may Allah be merciful to him, says in his tafsīr about the word Rabb: “It has four meanings: God, Master, Owner, and the One Who Puts Right, all of which are in Lord of the Worlds but the weightiest meaning here is God because of its being uniquely for Allah, exalted is He, just as the weightiest meaning of ‘alameen is that it indicates every existent apart from Allah, so that it comprises all created beings.

و} العالمين  } جمع  عالَم  ٍ وهو  عند  المتكلمين  كلُّ  موجودٍ  سوى  اللهِ  تعالى،  وقيل  العالمين  الإنس  والجن  والملائكة  فجمعه  جمع  العقلاء،  و إلا فجمعُ عالمٍ هو عَوالم، وقيل  الإنس  خاصة  لقوله  }أتأتون  الذكران  من  العالمين{. ٢٦:١٦٥

‘alameen is the plural of ‘aalam, which means ‘world’. The people of kalam say that it is every existent thing apart from Allah, exalted is He, and some say that the alameen are the human beings, the jinn and the angels because its plural is the plural that is reserved for conscious beings with intellect, for otherwise its plural is ‘awalim. Some others said that it means human beings because of His words, “Of all beings, do you lie with males?” And this is the words of Lut ï to his people whose acts of sodomy he deplored.

قال القرطبي في تفسيره:
} رب العالمين { أي مالك جميعِ الخلق من الإنسِ والجنِ والملائكةِ والدوابِ وغيرِهم، وكلٌّ منها يُطلَقُ عليه عَالَمٌ، يُقالُ عَالَمُ الإنسِ وعالمُ الجنِّ إلى غيرِ ذلك، وغلَّب في جمْعِه بالياء والنون أُولِي العِلْمِ على غيرِهِمْ، وهو من العلامةِ لأنه علامةٌ على مُوجِدِه.

Al-Qurtubi said, “Rabb al-‘Aalameen” means owner of all of the creation including human beings, jinn, Angels, animals etc. Each of them is described as a world; one says the world of men, the world of the jinn etc. In the plural He gave preponderance – by using the ya and the noon – to those possessing knowledge over others. ‘Aalameen is a sign or a mark because it is a sign of the One Who brought it into being.

But here we are accepting much more than just a list of creatures, but by our knowledge of these different creations of Allah, we realise that they are almost like different dimensions of this existence. The Angels are a different aspect of existence from the jinn who are again a different aspect of existence from the human beings who are also different from the beasts etc. Remember that among the jinn and human beings there are shayateen, the complete opposites of the Angels, but remember also that they are not opposite to Allah, Who has no opposite just as He has no peer, no like, no offspring and no parents.

Allah, exalted is He, is without a kunyah, i.e. we call so-and-so Abū Aḥmad because he is the father of Aḥmad, so we neglect his own name and call him after his son, or he is Ibn Zayd and so we call him after his father. Allah has no kunyah, but in this term Rabb al-‘Aalameen, ’aalameen is a mark or sign by which you know something about Allah because of reflecting on other than Him. You reflect on the meaning of these worlds and it tells you something about their Maker. Our unanticipated discoveries of the enormous extent of the universe we inhabit tells us something about its Maker. Its stretching for billions of light-years, i.e. the billions of years which the fastest entity in the universe, light, would take to cross it. The universe is a sign or a mark which indicates something about its Maker.
And without any evidence and without any possibility of proof, scientists speculate that there are an infinity of universes other than this one. It is thought to be impossible to prove such a thing, but we say that if it is proved, here it is already in the very first verse of the Qur’ān: the Lord of the Worlds.

وهذا ملكُ الله }فَتَعَالَى اللَّهُ‏ الْمَلِكُ‏ الْحَقُّ‏{ سورة طه ٢٠: ١١٤

This is the kingdom of Allah, “So High exalted be Allah, the King, the Real!”

أَقُولُ‏ قَوْلِي‏ هَذَا وَأَسَْتَغْفِرُ‏ ا‏للَّهَ‏ لِي‏ وَلَكُمْ‏ وَلِسآئِرِ‏ الْمُسْلِمِينَ‏ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ‏ إنَّهُ‏ هُوَالْغَفُورُ‏ الرَّحِيمُ اَلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَالصَّلاَةُ والسَّلاَمُ عَلَى مَنْ لاَ نَبِيَّ بَعْدَهُ،
أُوصِِيكُمْ  بِتَقْوَا اللَّهِ وَطَاعَتِهِ، وأُحَذِّرُكُمْ عَنْ مَعْصِيَّتِهِ وَمُخَالَفَتِهِ. فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ فِيمَا أَمَرَ، وَانْتَهُوا عَمَّا نَهَى عَنْهُ وَزَجَرَ.
قال تعالى:
} فَمَن يَّعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْراً يَرَهُ   وَمَن يَّعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرّاً يَرَهُ{
أَمَّا بَعْد:
ومن فضله تعالى أنَّه وصف نفسَهُ بأنَّه الملكُ، وهو صفةٌ معروفةُ لدينا لأنَّنا نعرف الملوكَ، أو كنّا نعرفهم قبل عصر الديموقراطية. ومن الناس مَن يُنكرُ المُلُوكِيَّة حتَّى يُحرِّمُها بعضهم وهذا غلط بيّن، فقد بعث الله مُلوكاً كما قال حاكياً عن نبيٍّ من أنبياء بني ّسرائيل }وَقَالَ لَهُمْ‏ نَبِيُّهُمْ‏ إِنَّ‏ اللَّهَ‏ قَدْ‏ بَعَثَ‏ لَكُمْ‏ طَالُوتَ‏ مَلِكاً{ سورة البقرة: ٢٤٧

Out of His bounty, exalted is He, He has described Himself to us as the King, which is an attribute that is well-known to us since we know kings, or rather we used to know them before the age of democracy. Some people deny kingship, even to the extent of declaring it ḥarām, but this is clearly a mistake when Allah has appointed kings, as He said, citing one of the prophets of Bani Israil:
245    Their Prophet said to them,
‘Allah has appointed Talut to be your king.’

فقالوا من جهلهم }قَالُوَاْ‏ أَنَّى‏ يَكُونُ‏ لَهُ‏ الْمُلْكُ‏ عَلَيْنَا وَنَحْنُ‏ أَحَقُّ‏ بِالْمُلْكِ مِنْهُ‏ وَلَمْ‏ يُؤْتَ‏ سَعَةً‏ مِّنَ‏ الْمَالِ‏{ روي  أنه  كان دباغا  ولم  يكن  من  بيت  الملك  

They said, ‘How can he have kingship over us
when we have much more right to kingship than he does?
He has not even got much wealth!’
It is narrated that he tanned leather and that he was not from the royal family.

}قَالَ‏ إِنَّ‏ اللَّهَ‏ اصْطَفَاهُ عَلَيْكُمْ‏ وَزَادَهُ‏ بَسْطَةً‏ فِي‏ الْعِلْمِ‏ وَالْجِسْمِ‏ وَاللَّهُ يُؤْتِي‏ مُلْكَهُ‏ مَن‏ يَشَاءُ‏ {
كان  عالما  بالعلوم  وقيل  بالحروب  وكان  أطول  رجل  يصل  إلى  منكبه  ^ والله  يؤتي  ملكه  من  يشاء  ^ رد  عليهم  في  اعتقادهم  أن  الملك  يستحق  بالبيت  أو  المال .

He said, ‘Allah has chosen him over you
and favoured him greatly in knowledge and physical strength.
Allah gives kingship to anyone He wills.
Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing.’
He was knowledgeable of the branches of knowledge, but some say he was knowledgeable about military matters. He was so tall that the tallest of men only reached to his shoulders. “Allah gives kingship to anyone He wills” means that Allah refutes their belief that kingship depends on belonging to the royal family or that it depends on having great wealth.

وبُعِثَ طَالوتَ ملكاً لقتالِ جالوتَ وَجُنودِهِ في سبيل الله. قال تعالى
} فَهَزَمُوهُم بِإِذْنِ‏ اللَّهِ‏ وَقَتَلَ دَاوُودُ‏ جَالُوتَ‏ وَآتَاهُ‏ اللَّهُ‏ الْمُلْكَ‏ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَعَلَّمَهُ‏ مِمَّا‏ يَشَاءُ‏ {

Talut had been appointed king in order to lead Bani Israil in jihad in the Way of Allah against Jalut and his armies. Allah, exalted is He, said that which means:
249    And with Allah’s permission they routed them.
Dawud killed Goliath
and Allah gave him kingship and wisdom
and taught him whatever He willed.

فأصبح نبيُّ اللهِ داودُ عليه السلام ملكاً بعد طالوتَ. قال تعالى
} وَوَرِثَ‏ سُلَيْمَانُ‏ دَاوُودَ‏ { سورة النمل ٢٧:١٦
قال ابن جزيٍّ في تفسيرِه:  أي  ورث  عنه  النبوة  والعلم  والملك .
فلا مانعَ لوراثةِ الأبناءِ المُلْكَ من الآباء.

So that the prophet of Allah Dāwūd became the king after Talut. Allah, exalted is He, said: “And Sulaymān inherited Dāwūd.” Ibn Juzayy said in his tafsīr: meaning that he inherited prophethood, knowledge and kingship from him.

وقال سليمان عليه السلام
} قَالَ‏ رَبِّ‏ اغْفِرْ لِي‏ وَهَبْ‏ لِي‏ مُلْكاً‏ لَّا‏ يَنبَغِي‏ لِأَحَدٍ‏ مِّنْ‏ بَعْدِي‏ إِنَّكَ‏ أَنتَ‏ الْوَهَّابُ‏ }سورة ص38 :35‏{
ولو كان غيرَ مرضياً ما سأل ربَّه أن يهبَ له الملكَ.

Sulaymān, peace be upon him, said:
He said, ‘My Lord, forgive me and give me a kingdom
the like of which will never be granted to anyone after me.
Truly You are the Ever-Giving.’
If it was not pleasing to Allah he could not have asked his Lord to give him kingship.

فينكِرُ بعضُ المسلمين الملوكيةَ ويزعمون أنَّ الديموقراطيّة أقربُ للصوابِ، وبُنِيَتْ على ظنِّ الأكثريّةِ واللهُ سبحانه وتعالى يقول:
}وَلَكِنَّ‏ أَكْثَرَهُمْ‏ لَا‏ يَعْلَمُونَ‏ { وأمثالُها في القرءانِ عديدة.

Some of the Muslims deny kingship and claim that democracy is closer to the correct way, but it is based on the opinion of the majority of people, and Allah, glorious is He and exalted, says, “But the majority  of them do not know,” and āyāt like this are repeated many times in Qur’ān.

ويقولون أيضاً بفرضيةِ اتِّباعِ الأَميرِ الشورى ويسمُّون البرلمان }مجلس الشورى{ ولكنَّ اللهَ عزّ وجلّ قال:
}وَشَاوِرْهُمْ‏ فِي‏ الأَمْرِ‏ فَإِذَا عَزَمْتَ فَتَوَكَّلْ‏ عَلَى اللَّهِ‏ { سورة آل عمران ١٥٩
فأمر رسوله صلى الله عليه وسلم بالمشاورةِ ثمّ أَمره إذا عزم هو وحدَهُ أن يتوكَّلَ على الله.

And they also say that it is obligatory for the ruler to follow the advice he is given and then they institute parliaments which are clearly based on European or American models but they call them Majlis ash-Shura, but Allah, mighty is He and majestic, says about Shura,
“Take their counsel in the affair, but then when YOU have made up your mind then rely on Allah.” So He ordered His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to take counsel but then orders him that when he has made up his mind he should rely on Allah, and He does not say “When you all have made up your minds.”

أما من ينتظر المهدي فروى أبو داود:
عن أُمّ  سَلَمَةَ  زَوْجِ  النّبيّ  صلى الله عليه وسلم عن النّبيّ  صلى الله عليه وسلم قالَ:”}يَكُونُ  اخْتِلاَفٌ  عِنْدَ  مَوْتِ  خَلِيفَةٍ  فَيَخْرُجُ  رَجُلٌ  مِنْ  أهْلِ  المَدِينَةِ  هَارِباً  إلَى مَكّةَ فَيَأْتِيهِ  نَاسٌ  مِنْ  أهْلِ  مَكّةَ  فَيُخْرِجُونَهُ  وَهُوَ  كَارِهٌ  فَيُبَايِعُونَهُ  بَيْنَ  الرّكنِ  وَالمَقَامِ …{

As for those who are waiting for the Mahdi, then Abū Dāwūd narrated from Umm Salamah ü that the Prophet @ said, “There will be disagreement at the time of the death of a Caliph. Then a man [the Mahdi] from the inhabitants of Madinah will come out and flee to Makkah. Some Makkans will come to him and make him come out even though he is unwilling. They will then make him accept their bay‘ah between the Black Stone and the Maqam of Ibrahim ï.…”
This hadith is clear proof that there can be no Mahdi today since there has to have been a caliph before him upon whose death there is a dispute about who should succeed him. As there is no caliphate now, those conditions do not exist and there can be no Mahdi until the caliphate is restored.
Our enemies understood all of this matter of kingship very well and so they undermined and then destroyed the Muslim kingdoms, those of the Ottomans and the Mughals. May Allah give us the wisdom to restore our kingdoms as it is only by them that justice and mercy and dīn can be restored among mankind in a real way. Amin.

إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلآئِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ، يَآ أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيماً
اَللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلِّمْ تَسْلِيماً
وَارْضَ اللَّهُمَّ عَنِ الْخُلَفَآءِ الرَّاشِدِينَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ وَعُثْمَانَ وَعَلِيٍّ ، وَسَآئِرِ الصَّحَابَةِ أَجْمَعِينَ، خُصُوصاً  الْأَنْصَارِ مِنْهُمْ وَاِلْمُهَاجِرِينَ،  والتَّابِعِينَ وَتَابِعِي التَّابِعِينَ وَمَنْ تَبِعَهُمْ إلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ.
اَللَّّهُمَّ اهْدِ وُلَاةَ أُمُورِ المُسْلِمِينِ لِمَا يُرْضِيكَ ولِاتِّباعِ سُنَّةِ مُحَمَّدٍ صلى الله عليه وسلم

اَللَّهُمَّ أَعِزَّ الْإسْلاَمَ وَالْمُسْلِمِينَ ، وَاخْذُلِ الْكُفْرَ وَالْكَافِرِينَ ، وانْصُرِ الْمُجَاهِدِينَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ، واجْعَلْ كَلِمَتَكَ هِيَ الْعُلْىَا ، وَكَلِمَةَ الْكُفْرِ هِيَ السُّفْلَى
رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لَنَا وَلِإِخْوَانِنَا الَّذِينَ سَبَقُونَا بِالْإِيمَانِ وَلَا تَجْعَلْ فِي قُلُوبِنَا غِلّاً لِّلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا  ص  رَبَّنَا إِنَّكَ رَؤُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ
رَبَّنَا آتِنَا مِنْ لَّدُنْكَ رَحْمَةً وَهَيِّئْ لَنَا مِنْ أَمْرِنَا رَشَداً
رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّار
رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَاجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّاتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ وَاجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَاماً
إنَّ الصَّلاَةَ تَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَآءِ وَالْمُنْكَرِ
ولَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ
يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَّكَّرُونَ
وَقُومُوا إلَى صَلاَتِكُمْ يَرْحَمُكُمُ اللَّهُ

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Inshallah, Imam Abdassamad Clarke of the Norwich and I have agreed to publish our Islamically fraternal debate about the proper form and application of government for the Ummah. We have entitled it 'The Dialogue Series', and I have invited him to make the first statement. Inshallah, I hope we will all learn from this process, for it is for the sake of Allah and the Ummah of Rasullah(SAAW). Imam Clarke is the Director of the Norwich Conference Network and Imam of Masjid al Ihsan in the United Kingdom. I am very honored to engage in this discussion with him, Ya Rab!