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

 

"May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be Upon You"

 

Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah

As-Salaam Alaykum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakaatuh

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Ruling by other than what Allah revealed

Among the requirements of believing in Allah, the Exalted, and worshipping Him is submitting to His judgment, and contentment with His laws, and the referral to His book and to the Sunnah of His Messenger, in disputes with regards to statements, fundamentals, litigations, blood, properties, and the rest of rights. For Allah is the ultimate Judge and judgment ultimately pertains to Him. It is incumbent upon the rulers to rule by what Allah revealed, and it is incumbent upon the subjects to seek judgment from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (salallahu alaihe wa-sallam).

With regards to rulers, Allah says:

"Verily, Allah commands you to deliver the trust [1] committed to you to their due owners, and that when you judge between people, to judge with justice." (4:58)

And surely excellent is that with which Allah admonishes you. Allah is all Hearing, all Seeing.

And with regards to the subjects, He said:

"O you who believe, obey Allah and obey His Messenger, and the people in authority among you. And if you dispute over anything, refer it to Allah and His Messenger if you really believe in Allah and the Last Day that is best in terms of consequences."(4:59)

Then Allah has made it clear that having faith does not conform with seeking judgment in other than what Allah revealed.

Allah, the Exalted, says:

"Do you not see those who allege to believe in what is revealed to you and what was revealed before you? They desire to seek judgment from the Taghut, although they are commanded to disbelieve in it, and Satan desires to lead them far astray." (4:60)

Then how will they fare when an affliction befalls them because of what they have achieved (of evil deeds) then they come to you swearing by Allah, saying, 'We meant nothing but the doing good and reconciliation? It is those whose secrets Allah knows well. So turn away from them and admonish them and give them effective exhortation concerning their insights.

And We have sent no Messenger but that he should be obeyed by the command of Allah. And had they come to you when they wronged themselves, and asked forgiveness of Allah, and the Messenger also asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah Oft-Returning, Merciful. But nay, by your Rubb, they will never become believers until they set you a judge in their disputes and then find no straits in themselves concerning what your verdict, and submit with full submission.(4:65)

Allah, the Exalted, emphasizes by oath the lack of iman of those who do not refer their disputes to the Messenger of Allah and be content with his judgment submissively.

Allah also ruled that those rulers who do not rule by what Allah sent down are unbelievers, wrongdoers, and rebellious.

He says: "And he who does not rule by what Allah sent down, it is they who are the disbelievers." (5:44)

And He says: "And he who does not rule by what Allah sent down, it is they who are the wrongdoers." (5:45)

And He says: "And he who does not rule by what Allah sent down, it is they who are the rebellious." (5:47)

It is incumbent to rule by what Allah revealed and to seek His judgment in all cases of dispute with regards to scholars' opinions to accept only those opinions or statements that are substantiated by the Book and the Sunnah without taking side of a certain jurisprudential school, or certain Imam. This must apply to all litigation and rights; not just personal statutes as practiced in some countries that are related to Islam. For Islam is one entity which is indivisible.

Allah says: "O you who believe! uphold Islam in its entirety (as a whole)." (2:208)

And Allah condemned the Jews saying: "Do you, then, believe in part of the Book and disbelieve in part?" (2:85)

The adherents of Madh'habs (Jurisprudential schools) must also refer the statements of their Imams to the Book and the Sunnah to accept only those of them that are in conformity with these two sources, and reject the rest, without prejudice or bias, particularly in matters of Aqidah. The Imams, may Allah be merciful to them, recommended doing so strongly; and this is the real Madh'hab of all the Imams. Therefore, he who opposes them is not considered as their adherent, even if he claims to be so. Rather, he would be one of those of whom Allah says:

"They take their priests and monks, and the Messiah, son of Maryam, as lords aside from Allah." (9:31)

The above Ayah is not restricted to Christians only, rather, it applies to anyone who copies them. He who disobeys the command of Allah and His Messenger ruling by other than what Allah revealed, or requests doing so following his whims, and what he loves, he would have apostatized by departing from Islam and disposing of Iman, even if he claims to be a believer. Allah, the Exalted, denied such people's claim to Iman, by using the verb, 'allege' in the above mentioned Ayah; a verb which is usually applied to those whose action and behavior belie their claims.

This is proven by the words of Allah: "And they are commanded to denounce the Taghut." (4:60)

Because denouncing Taghut is a pillar of Tawhid (the belief in the Oneness of Allah). If man does not fulfill this pillar he would not be considered as a believer in the Oneness of Allah, for Tawhid is the foundation of Iman through which all good deeds are rendered sound, and without which they would be nullified. Seeking judgment from the Taghut means believing in it. [Muhammad b. Abdul Wahhab. Fath al Majeed. P. 467-468]

[Note: Taghut is any deity, worshipped. or obeyed besides or aside from Allah]

Allah says: "He who disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah has surely grasped a strong handle." (2:256)

Negating Iman from him who does not rule by what Allah revealed indicates that applying the laws of Allah is a matter of faith, creed and worship which a Muslim must uphold and adhere to. The laws of Allah should not be applied only because they are better for people and their safety and security, rather because applying them is an act of worship.

Some people emphasize this point only and ignore the terms of faith, creed and worship of applying the Divine laws. [2] Allah, glory be to Him, condemns those who apply His laws for personal interest, not because they believe that applying them is an act of worship.

Allah, the Exalted, says: "And when they are summoned to Allah and His Messenger to judge between them, behold! a party of them turn away. But if the right is in their favor, they come to him submissively." (24:48 49)

They in fact care only about what they desire, while they turn away from anything else which opposes their desires, because they do not consider as an act of worship seeking the judgment of the Messenger of Allah (i.e. by going to him during his lifetime and referring to his Sunnah after his death).

The Status of One applying other Than the Divine laws

Allah, the Exalted, said: "And He who does not rule by what Allah has revealed it is they who are the unbelievers." (5:44)

This Ayah signifies that ruling by laws other than those revealed by Allah constitutes infidelity. This type of infidelity is either major which entails apostasy, or minor which does not constitute apostasy depending on the ruler's attitude. If he believes that the laws of Allah are not binding, and that he has a choice, or he took them lightly, or believed that man-made laws are better than the Divine laws, because the former are not suitable for this time and age, or if he wants to satisfy the infidels and hypocrites by so doing, then he commits major infidelity. But if he believes that the laws of Allah are binding and knows the respective laws are relevant to the case he is handling, and yet he opted to rule by otherwise, recognizing that his deed is wrong, and would be subject to punishment, then such a ruler is disobedient who has committed minor Kufr or disbelief. But if he was ignorant of the respective Divine law and tried his best and utmost seeking it, but missed it, he would have committed an error, but he would be rewarded for exerting the effort to reach the proper judgment and, whose error would be forgiven. [At Tahawiyah p.363 364]

This applies to cases that concern individuals, but ruling on cases that concern the public is a different case. Shaikhul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said: "If the ruler was religious and yet ruled ignorantly without knowledge, he would end up in Hell Fire. But if he is aware of the Divine laws and yet he ruled by other than the truth of which he is aware, he would belong to the people of Hell Fire. And if he rules unjustly and without knowledge, he would be more deserving of Fire. This in case he judges in a case of an individual, but if he judges in a case which concerns the public, and altered the truth into falsehood, and the falsehood into truth, the Sunnah into Bid'ah, or the Bid'ah into Sunnah, and the good into evil and the evil into good, and opposes the commands of Allah and His Messenger and commands what Allah and his Messenger forbid, then this is another type to be judged by Allah, the Rubh of the Worlds, and the God of the Messengers, the Proprietor of the Day of Requital, to Whom belongs all the praise in the beginning and the end. [Majmoo' al Fatawa, p. 388]

Allah says: "The judgment is His, and to Him you shall return." (28:88)

Allah says: "He it is Who sent His Messenger with guidance and the deen of the truth, to make it prevail over all other religions. And Allah is sufficient as a Witness." (48:28)

Shaikhul Islam lbn Taymiyyah went on to say: "There is no doubt that he who does not believe in the incumbency of ruling by what Allah sent to His Messenger is an infidel. So he who deems it lawful to judge between people according to what he deems as justice without adhering to what Allah sent down is an infidel too.

There is not a nation but enjoins ruling with justice, although justice according to their religion is what their leaders or chiefs consider as such. There are many who claim to be Muslims, rule by their mores and customs which is not revealed by Allah, such as the customs of the Bedouins, which they inherited from their forefathers who were obeyed rulers. They believe that such customs must be applied, excluding the Book and the Sunnah, and such belief constitutes infidelity.

There are many people who accept Islam, but do not rule except by the prevailing customs that are commanded by obeyed lords. Such people know that it is not permissible to rule by other than what Allah revealed, but do not apply them, rather they deem as lawful to rule by other than what Allah sent down, they are infidels." [Minhaaj as Sunnah]

Shaikh Muhammad ibn Ibraheem asserted: "As for that which is described as lesser infidelity, it is when he refers the dispute to other than the Book of Allah knowing that he is disobeying Allah by doing so, and that the ruling of Allah is the truth, and He does it once. Such a person would not be committing major infidelity. As for those who legislate laws and make others obey them, this constitutes infidelity, even if they claim that they made a mistake, and that the laws of Allah are more just; such is considered as an infidelity which entails apostasy." [Fatawa ash-Sheik Muhammad ibn Ibraheem aal Ash-Sheikh (The Mufti of Saudi Arabia before Allamah Ibn Baaz rahimahullah)]

By asserting this Sheikh Muhammad ibn Ibraheem, may Allah grant him His Mercy, made distinction between the partial ruling of no recurrence, and between the general ruling which is used as reference to all judgments or most of them, and he decided that such infidelity constitutes absolute apostasy. That is because he who discards the Islamic Shar'iah and replaces it with man-made laws, this is a proof that he considers the man-made laws as more appropriate and better than the Shar'iah, which is beyond doubt major infidelity which constitutes apostasy and contradicts Tawheed (the belief in the Oneness of Allah).

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[1] The term, 'trust' means rights of Allah including all of His commands, and the rights of humans that are committed to man

[2] [QSEP NOTE] – This is groups like the Ikhwaan al-Muslimoon and their counterparts in the Indian Subcontinent like Jamaat Islami. Also Refer to what Shaikh Al-Albaani says on the subject.

Source: Aqeedah At-Tawheed (The Creed of Islâmic Monotheism) by Shaikh Saalih al-Fawzaan-Translated by Mahmoud Ridha Murad

http://www.abdurrahman.org/tawheed/AqeedahAtTawheed-Fawzaan.html

Note: All footnotes which mention, [Translator] at the end are by the translator, Mahmoud Ridha Murad. Apart from these all additional footnotes are by As-Sunnah (www.qsep.com)

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