What God desires of man, first and foremost, is that he display humility in His presence. It is this attitude which is called worship. But man has not been created in a vacuum; he has rather been placed in a world full of diverse circumstances. It is necessary that this spirit of worship should be evinced, no matter what circumstances he faces in this world.
1. The first aspect of this relates to his own person. In the course of normal living, whenever he is faced with two options, one path leading to God and the other leading to self, his spirit of worship compels him at that point to renounce the latter path and take the one which is pointed out to him by God. This happens when he has surrendered his being in all respects, in the physical as well as the spiritual, before the God to whom he has already bowed psychologically. This manifestation of worship is related to one’s own self, another name for which is submission. Occasions for such submission will occur at home, in the office, in the market, and in all other such places where the faithful may be faced with making a choice between godly and ungodly ways.
2. The second aspect of worship relates to the external world, that is, to non-Muslims. The precarious conditions of all those inhabitants of this world who have not yet established contact with their Lord, and, as a result, are drifting to a dangerous end in the hereafter, forces the believer to bring them to that path of worship which he has chosen for himself. It is the aspect of worship which manifests itself in relation to the common man. Another name for this duty of the believer is bearing witness to the truth or conveying the message of the Lord. The faithful are expected to obey the commandments of God so far as they themselves are concerned. And in relation to non-Muslims they are responsible for conveying God’s message to them.
Now let us take the first manifestation of worship, i.e. submission. It can be divided into two major categories: the individual and collective (or social). Individual obedience means obeying God in those matters which are related to the personal lives of the faithful. It covers all those commandments which pertain to morals and dealings with others, like speaking the truth, keeping one’s promises, being honest and trustworthy, upholding justice and equality, being humble, giving full measure, paying everyone his due, being a well-wisher of all, in short, all those virtues which are related to man’s personal life and all those situations in which man must make his own decisions. In all such cases, compliance with divine injunctions means submitting individually, surrendering to the will of God in one’s own personal affairs. A Muslim is not allowed to disobey God once he knows God’s commandments in relation to his personal life, and once he is in a position to obey them. The Quran states:
It is not fitting for a believing man or woman to exercise any choice in his or her own affairs once God and His Messenger have reached a decision upon them. Anyone who disobeys God and His Messenger is in manifest error (33:36).
This individual obedience to God is an obligation which every believer must fulfil. No man can ever be regarded as a worshipper in the eyes of God unless in his practical life he obeys the commandments imposed upon him by God which relate to his life and his circumstances. If “worship” in essence means submission of the inner self then, in external respects, man is required to make a complete surrender to God of his outward self. In other words, man should mould his external life entirely on the pattern indicated by God. It is the duty of all believing men and all believing women to reject other inducements and to submit totally to God in all matters that they face in this life:
O believers, submit all of you wholeheartedly, and do not walk in Satan’s footsteps; he is your sworn enemy (2:208).
The second category of commandments, for which we have chosen the title Ita‘ah (submission), may be termed social commandments. These are commandments the obeying of which does not depend upon the will of an individual believer. These can be carried out only when the whole of society is prepared to accept them. That is why such commandments have always been sent by God only when the believers had already established a political organization among themselves, and when they were in a position to enforce such social laws. Thus the social laws of the Shari‘ah are addressed to any Muslim society which is invested with authority, rather than to individual believers who have no political power.
We find in the history of the Israelites that so long as they were under the rule of the Copts of Egypt, they were not given the legal commandments which appear in the Old Testament. Only when they had left Egypt for the Sinai desert and acquired the status of an independent, authority-invested group, did God send His laws to them (Exodus 15:25). Exactly the same course was adopted in Arabia. During the Makkan period, when the faithful were a minority with no authority, only the basic part of the Shari‘ah was revealed, for the establishment of which no political power was required. Every Muslim could adopt those laws in his life by his own personal decision. The rest of the Shari‘ah continued to be revealed according to the circumstances. That is to say, detailed commandments regarding social life were given in Madinah once the faithful had acquired temporal authority there.
The order in which these laws arrived shows that ordinarily the faithful are bound to follow only those Islamic laws which were revealed before their having reached political power. The carrying out of the rest of the laws becomes obligatory only when the faithful can, from the seat of government, enforce these laws with authority. The revelation of the Shari‘ah laws, in accordance with the gradual expansion of the Islamic field of activity, itself shows that these laws are not required to be obeyed in the absolute sense, but only in relation to circumstances. These are always determined in relation to the actual circumstances of the individual or group addressed.
The truth is that social and political commandments are directed only at those groups of believers who are in a position to carry them out. Believers with a limited sphere of power are not required to enforce religious laws on a social or national level. A system can be implemented in practice only by those who have already accepted it. This implementation, moreover, will be according to their capacity of acceptance.
One clear principle of the Shari‘ah is that “God does not charge a soul with more than it can bear” (2:286). That is to say, no one is charged with a responsibility which is beyond his capacity to fufill. To assign responsibility to anyone which is beyond his capacity is not God’s way. Then how can believers be asked to obey laws, which they are not in a position to comply with? If, taking into account all the details of religious laws, the claim is made that it is obligatory for believers to carry out and enforce all these laws in all circumstances, it will amount to saying, for example, that it is the responsibility of each and every Muslim to try to acquire all those financial assets on which Zakat (almsgiving) has been fixed, so that he may carry out the duties in relation to Zakat.
All the commands of religion are of equal value in terms of form, but their applicability is determined by circumstances. For instance, one command of the Quran is to “pray regularly,” another is to ‘pay Zakat.’ Apparently both these commands are equal in importance just as both are in the imperative tense. But their relevance to different individuals is not always the same. The command to pray regularly is an absolute command which is obligatory on each and every believer, while the command regarding Zakat is conditional, that is, it is obligatory only when one possesses enough wealth to come under the law of Zakat. That is, if a person possesses items taxable under Zakat law, this obligation to pay Zakat will be applicable to him in the absolute sense, just as the order to pray is obligatory for all. But a person who is not in possession of items taxable under Zakat is neither required to pay Zakat nor is he ordered to acquire taxable items so that he may be able to obey the law on Zakat. What is desirable is that the believer should be active in carrying out duties which are applicable in the present rather than engaging in such activities which may be applicable to him in the future, in different sets of circumstances.
We learn, therefore, that there are a number of religious duties that are not to be enforced in the absolute sense, being applicable only in relation to circumstances. As the circle of believers goes on expanding, so also do the demands of religion. If there were only one single believer, only that part of religion would be obligatory upon him which related to his person. In this instance, the sole object of divine commandments would be his own person. When the believers increase in numbers to one or several families, then this whole group will be the addressee of the divine commandments. And when a group of believers attain the status of an independent, autonomous society, then it becomes the duty of the whole society to fully carry out the commandments of God regarding social matters. Since such commands cannot be carried out without authority at the social level, whenever these social commands become applicable to a society of believers, it becomes the duty of the believers to select a political leader in order to carry out the divine laws governing social life under his leadership.
All Islamic commandments are the expression of some inner reality. When faith is rooted in the heart, it reflects on the human personality. Yet its external expression is in proportion to the scope offered by external circumstances. Interrelationships between believers is also of a similar nature. Though it is not possible to structure them in a hierarchical way, they may still be broadly divided into three main stages, for the sake of understanding it.
The first stage is that of exhortation. The crux of it is that every Muslim should have in his heart sincerity and well-wishing for every other Muslim (Bukhari, Muslim). In the words of the Bible, he should become his brother’s keeper. (Genesis, 4:9).
A Companion named Jarir once came to the Prophet. The latter said, “O, Jarir, extend your hand.” Jarir asked him the reason. The Prophet said: “So that you may surrender yourself to God and be a well-wisher to every Muslim.” (Kanzul Ummal, Vol. 1, p. 82).
That is, your attitude in social intercourse should be beneficial to your brother in both the present world and the hereafter. And you should avoid any such act as could possibly lead to division and dissension among Muslims.
It is this attitude which is alluded to in the Quran in chapter 103 (revealed in Makkah): ‘Exhort one another to truth and patience.’ This exemplifies the spirit of worship which marks one Muslim’s dealings with another. Thus God has highlighted two important aspects of this demand made by faith. One is that we induce believers in Islam to opt for the courses of action which God finds desirable. The other is that we unite so that we may staunchly face any worldly hurdles which could bar our carrying out the will of God or our remaining steadfast on the path of God, regardless of the difficulties.
The second stage is that of organization. That is, Muslims should not remain like scattered groups, but, to the degree possible, should establish discipline among themselves, and regulate social matters by consultation. We find one example of this in the course taken by the Prophet Moses. On reaching the Sinai desert, he divided the Israelites into twelve tribes with a leader (naqueeb) for every group. During the early Makkan days, this social organization existed around the person of the Prophet, Dar al-Arqam (the house of Arqam) being its centre. The same system was adopted for the Ansar of Madinah before the Emigration. At the time of the second oath of allegiance (623 a.d.), when 75 people of Madinah (73 men and 2 women) came to the Prophet and accepted Islam, they were told by the Prophet to appoint twelve leaders (Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah, Vol. 3, p. 160). So they chose twelve responsible persons from among themselves. Three belonged to the Aws tribe and nine to the Khazraj tribe. Then the Prophet addressed them thus:
“You are the guardians of the believers of Madinah” (Zarqani, Vol. 1, p. 382). The leadership of Jafar, who was appointed leader of the emigrants to Abyssinia was also of this nature (Seerat ibn Hisham). Similarly, whenever Muslims spread out from Arabia across the world, they endeavoured to establish their social structures. In addition to leading an Islamic life and calling others to Islam, they gave basic importance to organization, so that they were able to perform their religious duties under one leader.
The last stage of Islamic organization is the formation of a political setup which, in religious terminology, is called Nasb-e-Imamat, the appointment of an Imam. According to all schools of religious thought, the establishment of a political and social leader of Muslims is obligatory. This matter is so important that there is not a single book on religious law and creeds which has not dealt with this issue.
It is specially stated in Sharh al-Mawaqif, Sharh Maqasid and Aqaaide al-Nasafi that it is compulsory for Muslims to have an Imam. With one minor exception, no group disagrees over this issue. Ibn Hazm writes:
All Sunnis, Murjea, Shia, and Khawarij (except the now extinct Najdat sect) agree on the obligatory nature of the Imamat (Al Melal wa al Nehal, p. 72).
The only difference of opinion on this matter is that the people of the Ahl al-Sunnah wa al Jama’a take this to be a canonical order, while some other groups, such as Zaidiya and Mutazela, consider it necessary as being the demand of reason. But, as mentioned above, the matter of appointing a political leader is relevant only in a Muslim society which has acquired an independent status as a social group and, as such, is in a position to set up its own separate political organization. The question just does not arise of appointing a political leader over a scattered group of believers. That is to say, this commandment is not absolute. It means simply that when a group of Muslims has a social organization, it is incumbent upon it to organize its social life on the foundations of religion and to appoint a political leader in order to lead an organized life under his leadership. Political leadership is a manifestation of the social authority of a definable group. Where no social authority exists, on what basis can one be ordained to carry out the commandment of Imamat?
The above statement has been made from the point of view of the feasibility of enforcing commandments. But there is an equally important requirement of Islam: the principle of gradualness to be observed when enforcing the commandments.
Viewed from this angle, a Muslim minority, however religiously aware, is not required to begin launching its Islamic mission as a campaign for the enforcement of Islamic laws. The same will hold true for a Muslim society which has degenerated into religious apathy, if not apostasy. Such a campaign as a first step would be tantamount to a deviation from the Islamic method of gradualness.
The correct way to reform a Muslim society is to spread the basic teachings and initial commandments of religion, so that to the necessary extent, Islam’s legal and social laws become generally acceptable. Only after this stage will the time be ripe for starting a movement for the enforcement of God’s commandments.
The importance of gradualness in enforcing commandments is stressed in a famous tradition of the Prophet’s wife ‘Aishah, according to which gradualness was so essential in the eyes of God that, in many instances, He did not send the believers His commandments in their full and final form. On the contrary, most of the commandments were sent in instalments. The principle of Naskh (abrogation) came into operation due to this concession as mentioned in the Quran (2:106, 16:101). According to Hudhaifah, it is impermissible for anyone who is not conversant with this principle of Naskh to preach or to explain the verses of the Quran.
