The Obligation OF khilafah

Though the evidences for Khilafah are many, we start with a daleel that perhaps better than any other describes our reality today, a time when no Khaleefah exists. The hadith was reported by Imam Muslim on the authority of Nafi' that the Messenger (Sallalahu Alaihi Wasallam) said:

''The one who removes his hand from obedience he will meet Allah without a proof for himself' and Whosoever dies without a bay'ah on his neck dies the death of Jahiliyyah.''

From this hadith can be deduced the Hukm Shar'i for a situation when Muslims die without the presence of a Khaleefah to rule over them. Perhaps it is the unusual nature of such a situation that explains why so few Fuqahaa (jurists) addressed this hadith while the numerous other evidences which establish the obligation of Khilafah have received greater attention and scrutiny. They could not have imagined a situation when a Muslim would die without the presence of a Khaleefah. Hence most of their discussions tended to centre on the obligation of appointing a Khaleefah after the death of the previous Khaleefah; or that it was obligatory to obey the existing Khaleefah and so having a Khaleefah must be obligatory. Yet, the unthinkable happened, the Khilafah was destroyed, and consequently generations of Muslims have died while having no Khaleefah over them. This noble hadith of the Prophet SAW assumes a relevance that those scholars did not envisage.