Anyone who is familiar with organisational
affairs knows that the lesser the burden on a person and the smaller the
area under his control the better is his performance. This is the reason
that the organisers, by they of a state or of a business, divide the work
in units according to the work or the area or the number of people and
an in charge or an administrator is appointed to manage this unit. Whenever
the working of a group of people is organised, this is normally the course
of action taken. The reason is that no administrator or in charge has unlimited
abilities to mange an organisation single handedly. Even the Prophets had
to deal with their nations and states according to this principle. In the
Torah, it is written:
Moses’ father-in-law replied: What you are doing
is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves
out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. Listen
now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You
must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes
to Him. Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live
and the duties they are to perform. But select capable men from all the
people – men who fear God, trustworthy, men who hate dishonest gain and
appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have
them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every
difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That
will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you
do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and
all these people will go home satisfied.
Right in accordance with this principle,
countries and states are divided into administrative units and each unit
has an administrator. It is obvious that an Islamic State is no different
in this regard. However, there are a few distinctions in an Islamic State
that must be kept in mind:
1. The first thing is that the centre of every
administrative unit should be its Jami‘ Masjid (Congregational Mosque).
The Jami‘ Masjid is the religious and political community centre of the
Muslims. Just as the prayer has been accorded the fundamental position
among all forms of worship, the mosque also has a very important role in
our political and collective living.
2. Keeping in view the primary position held
by the Jami‘ Masjid, the various organising departments like the police
should also be adjacent to it. It is obvious that unless all these offices
and the courts are connected with the Jami‘ Masjid, it will remain deprived
of the important position which it has in an Islamic State. Moreover, by
the establishment of offices and courts in these small administrative units
it will be possible to put an end to bribery and dishonesty. It will also
be possible to provide swift and speedy justice to the masses.
3. In the capital of the state and in every provincial
capital a central Jami‘ Masjid should be established. On the provincial
level the provincial centres of the administrative offices and courts should
bee set up. The Supreme Court should be set up with the central Jami‘
Masjid of the federal capital.
4. The Friday Sermon should be delivered
by the head of state in the central Jami‘ Masjid of the state capital
and he should lead the Friday prayer. In the Provincial Capitals, this
duty should be carried out by the provincial governors and in the Jami‘
Masaajid of the administrative units by their administrators.
The Friday Sermon and leading of the Friday prayer
by the State officials is in compliance with the obligation of ‘calling
towards what is good’ imposed on an Islamic state by the Qur’an.
We have already made it clear that in an Islamic State
salat and zakah hold the status of public law and a person who does not
say his prayer and does not give zakah to the public exchequer will
that an effort to organise salat at the state level should be undertaken.
Keeping this in mind, the Prophet (sws) made it a Sunnah that in ordinary
circumstances the rulers and their representatives should lead the prayer
and especially on Fridays. It has been made their duty that they must deliver
the sermon and lead the Friday prayer. In this regard, another thing should
be give consideration that by leading prayer and giving the Sermon on Friday
s the leaders are able to establish a weekly contact with the citizens
of the Islamic State. This can slowly help to eliminate the distance this
era has created between the rulers and the ruled.
5. Apart from these Jami‘ Masaajid, the Friday
prayer should not be held in any other mosque. Therefore, it is necessary
that these mosques be large enough to accommodate all the people residing
in the locality.
6. An important aspect in an Islamic State’s
effort to establish regular prayers is that all the mosques should be organised
by it and this should be the responsibility and right of the government
alone. This means that the appointment of the people commissioned there
should be done by the state. No person or group should be given the permission
to build his or their own mosque. It is obvious that one very essential
reason for this injunction is that when any one person undertakes the building
and organisation of a mosque, he is, in fact, creating a fortress of sectarianism
instead of Allah’s house.
7. Imposing the responsibility of organisation
and management of the mosques on the government means that no sect or school
of thought should have its own mosque. Instead, every mosque in the state
should have the same school of thought, which in other words is the one
based on that interpretation of religion done at the state level. This
does not mean that the scholars of the different schools of thought are
not given the freedom to voice and impress upon the people their own point
of view. On the contrary, every scholar should be given the right to get
time in any mosque in which he can explain his point of and educate the
people about it. However, the right to sit on the mosque’s pulpit or say
anything on behalf of the mosque should be held by only those who have
been authorised by the state.
Javed Ahmad Ghamidi in his article Pas
Chai Baayed Kard writes:
In this regard, the Sunnah set by the Prophet
(sws) is that the Friday address should be delivered by the head of state
and his administrators and only they should lead the Friday prayer. However,
in case of any legitimate plea on their part, some other person can address
and lead the Friday prayer as their authorised representative.
The implications of this Sunnah are very clear:
In Islam, mosques are meant to be the fountainhead of authority. Also,
there is a complete negation of theocracy. A person whom the Muslims choose
as their leader leads them in worship also, eliminating once and for all
the division between state and religion.
After the Prophet (sws), his Companions solemnly
adhered to this Sunnah in the Caliphate they established. However, in later
times, when, owing to their own ill-ways, the Muslim rulers could not stand
face to face with the publics, they themselves handed over the mosques
to the ulema. This was the most tragic incident in our history. This result
was that religion lost its grace and the state its grandeur. A further
consequence of this was that the most ill-suited and corrupt lot of people
assumed the country’s helm of affairs. The whole set up does not leave
the slightest chance for the able and morally sound to rule and govern
the country.
The menace of sectarianism has turned the mosques
into citadels which are in a perpetual state of war with one another. This
has further led to the creation of professional Maulvis who are an utter
disgrace to knowledge and learning. Differences of opinion are very graciously
greeted’ by them with fire and fury. Intellectual endeavours and advancements
are the cherished targets of their ‘highly encouraging’ jeers. Every mosque
is a stronghold of sectarianism, which is taught, encouraged and patronised
in place of the Qur’an and Sunnah. It is impossible for any scholar to
use a mosque to spread and communicate the message of Islam – an obligation
the Almighty has imposed on him according to his abilities. (Pg 30)
These evils in the set up of the
mosques of our country are evident to every keen eye. In our opinion, their
only remedy is to revive the aforementioned Sunnah of the Prophet (sws)
(Adaped from Moiz Amjad’s commentary on Ghamidi’s ‘Manshur’)
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