The First Islamic State under Muhammad - Research Paper Example

? THE FIRST ISLAMIC UNDER MUHAMMAD (622 - 632 College/ ………….. …………. Introduction The rules and legal systems that came in practice since the time of Prophet Muhammad as part of Islamic State have always been matters of debate, discussions and wide-academic research. Some of the widely debated topics like terrorism, jihad etc have attracted many people to study and research in to the religious dogmas and constitutional aspects that were well-established according to Islamic State. The first Islamic state has emerged in Medina when Prophet Muhammad and his companions faced severe opposition in Mecca and moved or emigrated to Medina. The first Islamic state has thus been established by Prophet Muhammad based on the Holy Quran and the revelation he got from Almighty God, Allah. This piece of research paper presents a brief note on first Islamic State and described its salient features in comparison to other states and legal systems prevailing in today’s modern world. First Islamic State When prophet Muhammad and his companions faced increased opposition and emigrated to Medina, a small group of early converts to Islam in Medina provided accommodation and welcomed the religious, social and cultural changes perfectly. This is how Islamic State came in to existence (Temperman, p. 19). Islamic state represents a typical government system in which the basic ruling and jurisprudence for all the legal and other matters are Holy Quran, Prophet’s Sunnah (His wordings and activities) and scholars opinions based on the above two. When Prophet Muhammad arrived to Medina, the political, social and cultural environments that had long been considered to be superior were swiftly getting altered. The rules and regulations that most Islamic nations even until today strictly adhere to, the legal notions that many of Muslim lawyers often refer to and the very underpinning business concepts that hundreds of Islamic banks and financing institutions research and develop to improve economies are certainly parts of the religious, political and economic concepts established by Prophet Muhammad. Prophet has emigrated to Medina in 622 and he started his mission and preaching in order to help his companions structure new-life systems according to the new Islamic State. The first Islamic State, constituted by Prophet Muhammad, has put forth a written contract between the state and its members, to show rights, duties and responsibilities between them. This document has been renowned as Al-Watiqua. Al-Watiqua As Berween (2003, p. 103) stated, Al Watiqua is a document that put forward a social contract between all members of the community in Medina between 622 to 632, during the time of Prophet’s mission in Medina. It was the first ‘Human Right Document’ in the history and is the first state constitution written by Prophet Muhammad and by the all representatives different tribes and clans in the region as part of his mission of establishing the first Islamic state. Al-Watiqua was merely a legal document that governed relation between three major political groups in medina that time, namely Al Muhajireen (who are the migrated companions from Mecca), Al-Answar (The residents in medina who believed Islam and helped people from mecca) and Jews and non-Muslims who also were residents of Medina that time. Al-Watiqua document was meant to clear duties, rights and responsibilities of each clan and tribe in Medina as each tribe had its own values, customs, cultural activities and commitments. The major contents of Al-Watiqua document were sovereignty, Unity and Independence. Two main clauses contained in the document were: 1-It’s a document from Muhammad, to govern the relation between the believers and Muslims of people coming from Mecca and people who were residing in Medina, and those who followed them, 2- They are one community. These two clauses comprise of three basic policies, namely sovereignty, Unity and Independence. Sovereignty refers to the political community that was having the rights to do whatever it wanted within its territory. This clauses had given the State rights to take decisions that might not be overvalued by others. Secondly, unity referred to the doctrine that the State view its citizens as one people. Thirdly, independence that presented liberty and justice for all who were residents in medina. Doctrines of Islamic State Bases of the rules Each and every government systems have their own manuscripts, most commonly written by experts. When it comes to the concept of Islamic State, its rules, regulations and legal instructions are already contained in Holy Quran and Prophetic revelations. For any issue to be handled, for any political or social matters to be solved or any individual or groups disputes to be resolved, the Islamic State leaders are to refer Holy Quran and Holy Hadiths that are the wordings or actions of Prophet Muhammad. More specifically, what ever Prophet Muhammad had shown to his companions, especially in times of the first Islamic State between 622 and 632 in Medina. Prophet Muhammad had been preaching perfectly based on the laws contained in Holy Quran. His mission was solely depending on Holy Quran. To be more specific, his mission was to give more details and explanations of what has already stated or mentioned through Quran. After the first Islamic State, Caliphate were assigned to rule the state and they followed both Holy Quran and Prophet’s actions, on the belief that Prophet’s doings were solely based on what is contained in the Quran and wordings were pure revelations from the God. Political Consensus Many of the Islamic scholars have emphasized that political consensus (Ijma’ siyasi) is the fundamental principle that confers legitimacy on the state. Law and order are to be maintained through public cooperation and support as imposing legal system by the powerful group on others through force, violence and compulsion can lead to alienation of other social groups (Safi, 1990). Political consensus is considered to be a base for rulings, apart from Quran and Sunnah and this is on the belief that scholars’ political consensus were made only through proper research and analysis about the issues from Holy Quran and Sunnah. Moral Mission Islamic banking, for instance, adheres to very specific moral aspects that both Holy Quran and Sunnah instruct to the community. What ever that is regarded as immoral according to Holy Quran and Sunnah are considered to be illegal. Islamic State’s legal system is thus purely based on moral mission. Any action that community perceives it to be immoral is considered as immoral in Islamic concepts and therefore Islamic State discourages people from involving in all such immoral doings. Roles of Islamic State The basic roles of the state includes provision of social goods and services, eradication of poverty, supplying social goods through the voluntary sector, maintaining both internal and external securities, maintaining economic development and effective defense systems etc. Azmi (2002) emphasized that the Islamic State must provide social goods that are highly beneficial to the citizens and the state must ensure that these social goods are to be available free of direct charge (p. 42). The fulfillment of basic needs such as shelter, food, clothing and education are also considered to be the social goods that are to be available free of any direct charge. Apart from this, the State is obliged to provide infrastructure needed for the overall development of the economy. Rahnema (1994) holds that an Islamic state must provide jobs and means of livelihood for anyone who is able to work. Moreover, the state would give greater emphasis on industrial development and also to improve the productivity1 of the workers (p. 138). According to him, an Islamic state should also strive to reduce the inequalities between rich and poor. The state must indulge in activities designed to encourage wealthy people to share necessary facilities, goods and services with poor people so that both poor and rich would be satisfied of the wellbeing of the community (p. 139). Eradicating the poverty is an imperative function of the Islamic State that can be achieved through a number of measures. Encouraging public to give up their luxuries in order to assist poorer to get satisfied with what is being shared by the rich, providing necessary food, drinks, clothes and other needs for free of charge are some of the illuminating examples for eradicating the poverty. Azmi (2002) described that the voluntary sector was during the time of Prophet Muhammad relied upon to a great extent for the provision of social goods and services including education and defense (p. 44). During the time of Prophet Muhammad, various departments of the government were not established in Medina and occasionally the essential public services were provided through voluntary services. Prophet Muhammad in different occasion appealed to his companions for the provision of necessary items and services. A number of his companions including Abbobakcer Sidheeque, Umar, Uthman and Ali provided various goods and services in different occasions especially when they experienced shortage of food or necessary items. When Prophet Muhammad and his companions expedited to Medina, he asked the public to administer in the construction of the mosque. All these show the relevance of voluntary sector in the Islamic Economy. Ariff (1991) holds the opinion that the voluntary sector has greater significance in Islamic economy. Both Holy Quran and Holy Hadith encourage Muslims to give alms to the needy and poor people in the community. These spontaneous alms are called sadaqah in Islam (p. 3). Sadaqah is supplementary measure in addition to the obligatory tax which is zakat. Sadaqah shows how voluntary sector can play vital role in welfare and development of the Islamic economy. Conclusion This piece of research paper has presented brief description on what is Islamic State and how Islam’s first State came in to existence. This paper has highlighted basic principles and doctrines of Islamic state and explained roles and function of the state as well. References Ariff. M, 1991, The Islamic voluntary sector in Southeast Asia: Islam and the economic development of Southeast Asia, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies Azmi S, 2002, Islamic Economics: Public Finance in Early Islamic Thought, Goodword Books Berween, M, 2003, Al-Wathiqa: The First Islamic State Constitution, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 23, No. 1, Carfax Publishing Rahnema A, 1994, Pioneers of Islamic revival, Palgrave Macmillan Safi, L, 1990, The Islamic State: A Conceptual Framework, American Journal Of Islamic Social Sciences, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 177-91, Retrieved from http://lsinsight.org/articles/1998_Before/IslamicState.htm Temperman, J 2010, State-religion relationships and human rights law: towards a right to religiously neutral governance, BRILL Read More