The Corona virus pandemic has yet again shown the utter failure of the Muslim rulers and governments in the Muslim world.
On the one hand they lack even the basic know-how of dealing with a pandemic like this, whilst on the other hand this pandemic has yet again demonstrated their disregard to the tenants of Islam, with the jum’ah and congregational prayers being the first victims in this time.
On the international stage – it is not a surprise that no one in their sane state of mind around the world is looking to the Muslim world for any potential solution (treatment or vaccine) for the ongoing pandemic, when in fact it is this part of the world that was looked up to for centuries in the past as the leader in every facet of life.
On the religious aspect – the Muslims are outraged, rightfully so, over the closure of mosques and abandonment of jum’ah throughout the Muslim world without giving any thought as to whether various measures could have been taken to keep the people safe whilst still having the masajid open and jum’ah conducted.
All of this is the result of a political leadership that is disconnected from the natural aspirations of its subjects and a religious leadership that acts as a rubber stamp to serve the ruling class.
This and every other failure in the Muslim world is but a symptom of a bigger problem and that is the absence of a true leadership that carries the Islamic ideology and is a direct reflection of the Islamic aspirations of the Muslims. A leadership that leads the Muslims both on the political and the spiritual front based on Islam and Islam alone.
The Prophet Mohammed (ﷺ) said in one hadith:
“Bani Israel used to be ruled and guided by prophets: Whenever a prophet died, another would take over his place. There will be no prophet after me, but there will be Caliphs and they will number many.”
In the above hadith narrated in Bukhari, Rasool Allah (saw) not only informs us that politics – i.e. looking after the affairs of the people (both worldly and spiritual) – is the work of the prophets, but also that this task, which is a duty upon us as Muslims, can only be performed by the Khalifah.
It is a duty upon us as Muslims to establish the Khilafah that will enable us to take our rightful position in this world and rescue not just the Muslims but humanity at large.