Caliphate Contentions (9) “The Caliphate Only Lasted Thirty Years”

The hadith stating that “the Caliphate after me will last thirty years” is a descriptive prophecy about the era of Prophetic-model Caliphate, not a prescriptive limitation on the Islamic obligation of political unity and leadership. The idea that Islam abandoned the concept of Caliphate after thirty years has no basis in classical jurisprudence, historical practice, or theological reasoning.

Caliphate Contentions (8): “We Don’t Need a Caliphate As I can Practise Islam in Safety Today”

To say “we are safe, so we do not need the caliphate” is to confuse the individual's luxury with the community’s duty. It is to claim sufficiency in fragments of the deen, while neglecting its collective expression and divine mandate. It is also complacency and a failure to recognise that their individual circumstances may be in relative comfort due to the space afforded to them by a kufr regime and ideology today, that can be easily taken away tomorrow – leaving them with no recourse to anyone to stand up for them on the basis of Islam either.

Caliphate Contentions (7): The West won’t allow for a Caliphate –  Fatalism as Ideology and The Myth of Geopolitical Impossibility

Arguing that the West won't allow the emergence of a Caliphate is not a fiqhī evaluation, but a surrender to the dominant international order - a worldview that elevates the invincibility of global hegemons above the command of the Creator. Such a posture is not realism, but rather despair and cowardice masquerading as maturity.

Reexamining the Caliphate: Authority and Political Theory

The essay by Reza Pankhurst explores the decline of the caliphate up until its formal abolition in 1924, highlighting its transformation from a powerful institution to a mere symbolic figurehead. The caliphate originally served as a centralized political authority in Islam but became hereditary over time. Pankhurst discusses the historical and theoretical frameworks surrounding the caliphate, including differing views on its selection, authority, and legitimacy. The analysis reveals the complex evolution of Islamic political theory regarding governance, reflecting waning popular involvement in leadership selection and advocating for a potentially reformed model grounded in the original principles of shared authority among Muslims.

Let’s Be Real – A Response

Dr Reza Pankhurst critiques the podcast with Dr. Yasir Qadhi, arguing that real change for the Muslim ummah cannot come from within the current world order, which serves Western interests. The establishment of an Islamic state (Khilafa) is deemed crucial for defending and uniting Muslims, contrasting YQ's view of it as a low-priority, idealistic goal.

The Weighty Burden of Responsibility

Hadith 13 You are eager for leadership and it is truly a regret and a sorrow on the Day of Judgement, what a good wet nurse and what an evil weanerإِنَّكُمْ سَتَحْرِصُونَ عَلَى الإِمَارَةِ وَإِنَّهَا سَتَكُونُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ حَسْرَةً وَنَدَامَةً فَنِعْمَتِ الْمُرْضِعَةُ وَبِئْسَتِ الْفَاطِمَةُ(Bukhari) Hadith 14 O Abu Dharr, you are weak, and it is … Continue reading The Weighty Burden of Responsibility