Since the destruction of the Khilafah in 1924, the security within the Muslim world became absent, making Muslim countries exposed to invasion by global and regional powers, externally sponsored inter-Muslim fighting and drone bombing, making Muslim blood cheap. Moreover, the existence of foreign security agencies within the Muslim lands and the use of armed forces within the Muslim land to attack their own people illustrates exactly how the current rulers in the Muslim world have abandoned any duty to secure the lives of ordinary people.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ – called the Khaleefah ‘a shield’ and only with the return of this shield will peace and security within its borders become the highest aim of the state again.
“Politics is taking care of the nation’s affairs inside and outside the State. It is performed by the State and the nation. The State exercises this politics practically and the nation accounts the State about it.” (Article 181, The Draft Constitution, Hizb ut Tahrir)
Taking care of the affairs of the Ummah internally and externally is discharged through the implementation of the ideology (Islam). Taking care of the affairs of the Ummah externally consists of its relations with other states, peoples and nations, and propagating the Islamic ideology to the world, this will represent the foreign policy of the Khilafah state. The basis of the Islamic foreign policy, which is based on a fixed concept that does not change, consists of taking the message of Islam to every people and every nation. For Allah (swt) says: يَا أَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ مَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ وَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلْ فَمَا بَلَّغْتَ رِسَالَتَهُ وَاللَّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْكَافِرِينَ “O Messenger! Proclaim (the Message) which has been sent to you from your Lord. And if you do not, then you have not conveyed his Message.” [Al-Ma’idah, 5:67]
“Allah (swt) has honoured the Muslims by making them the conveyors of the Message of Islam to the whole world and He (swt) has determined for them the method of carrying its message by means of D’awa and Jihad.” (‘The Army’, The Ruling System in Islam, Taqiuddin an-Nabhani, Hizb ut Tahrir)
The Muslim Ummah is the Ummah of Jihad and has the obligation of carrying Islam to all of humankind. It will be characterised as the one that removes tyranny and oppression from the necks of the people.
Carrying Islam to the world is primarily a political action, however the strength of one’s military, that contributes towards this process. The Khilafah will therefore aim to have the best military in the world as this will allow the Khilafah to maintain peace and security within Dar al Islam and to open the lands of Kufr to Islam.
The Khaleefah is the one who has the political and military leadership. Therefore, he will orientate the armed forces to fulfil their role in Jihad and protect the Ummah from the hostile non-Muslim states.
“The Khaleefah is the Commander of the Army and he appoints the Chief of General Staff, a general for each brigade, and a commander for every division.” (Article 65, The Draft Constitution, Hizb ut Tahrir)
The construction of the Khilafah’s foreign policy will also take into account the prevailing international situation. Islam has established the blueprint for this and how to conduct its relations with the states of the world, and on this basis the Khilafah will draw a variety of political plans to achieve its aims. Crucial is the fact that “the most important political methods is the manifestation of the greatness of the Islamic thoughts in taking care of the affairs of individuals, nations and states.” (Article 186, The Draft Constitution, Hizb ut Tahrir).
From the first hours of its establishment, the Khaleefah will work for the end of borders between the Muslim, unifying all the Muslim lands into a single state and establishing a single armed force.
The focus will also be on strengthening these armies through the Islamic culture and to restore the role of the armed forces to serve Islam and the Muslims:
The Khaleefah will personally supervise the matters of the armed forces, creating a marriage between political vision and military assets. Moreover, being a politician and a statesman, the Khaleefah is not limited by the narrow scope of military thinking and will exercise political styles to augment military capability to realize objectives.
The training of the armed forces will develop its army with all the skills necessary for this, from military expertise to Islamic awareness. The Islamic awareness is essential for the correct motivation in both battle and to consolidate the victory by winning the populations of newly opened lands over to Islam and its justice.
“It is obligatory to provide the Army with the highest level of military education and raise its intellectual level as far as possible. Every individual in the Army should be given Islamic culture that enables him to have an awareness of Islam, to at least a general level.” (Article 67, The Draft Constitution, Hizb ut Tahrir)
It is obligatory to provide the Army with weapons, supplies and equipment, as well as all necessities and requirements, which enable it to carry out its mission as an Islamic army. وَأَعِدُّوا لَهُمْ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ مِنْ قُوَّةٍ وَمِنْ رِبَاطِ الْخَيْلِ تُرْهِبُونَ بِهِ عَدُوَّ اللَّهِ وَعَدُوَّآُمْ وَآخَرِينَ مِنْ دُونِهِمْ لاَ تَعْلَمُونَهُمُ اللَّهُ يَعْلَمُهُمْ “Make ready against them all you can of force including steeds of war, to cast terror into the hearts of your enemy and the enemy of Allah and besides those whom you do not know but Allah knows.” [Surah Al-Anfal 8:60]
It is obligatory that each base should have sufficient numbers of officers of the General Staff who possess expert military knowledge and experience in drawing up plans and running battles. The Army as a whole should possess as many of these officers as possible.
Every male Muslim who has reached the age of 15 is obligated to undertake military training in order to prepare him for Jihad.
Military pay should reflect the high value that is placed in Islam on having a competent and professional military. The selection process for both officers and rank and file soldiers should ensure the selection of the best fit individuals for the task. Nepotism will not be allowed to weaken the armed forces of the Islamic State.
The military will not be involved in politics, business or any other aspect of the State administration that distracts it from fulfilling its roles.
“The Army has two sections: the reserve section, which is all those Muslims who are capable of carrying arms, and the section of regular soldiers, who receive salaries from the State budget in the same manner as the civil servants.” (Article 63, The Draft Constitution, Hizb ut Tahrir)
Besides creating a strong cultured Islamic army, the foreign policy will strengthen the independent nature of the Khilafah and its army by:
Ending all technological dependency on hostile states, by establishing a programme of rapid industrialization for attaining military superiority, supported by a superior economic system which provides huge revenues for all of the duties obliged upon the Khilafah state.
Ending all training dependency on hostile states, by instituting local military training and Islamic awareness programmes for the armed forces.
Cutting all contact with the officials of hostile states and all resultant relationships such as foreign military training, intelligence sharing and military to military contact.
Treating hostile non-Muslim states on a war stance. These are nations who have occupied Muslim Land or committed other acts of similar aggression. The Khilafah will focus the resources of the Ummah upon liberating occupied Islamic Lands, such as Kashmir and Palestine.
Diminish the threat from the hostile states by ending the presence of all their bases, embassies and personnel within Muslim Lands.
Sever all political and military contact with hostile states, who use such contact to order and forbid their agents within the military and political leadership and fish for new ones
All this will enable the Khilafah to defend its lands, citizens and those Believers who are being brutalized and oppressed, as well as to take the justice and mercy of Islam to the nations of the world.
Allah (swt) said:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلاَّ رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ
“And we have not sent you but as a mercy to the worlds.”
[Surah al-Anbiya 21:107]
Yasmin Malik