Monarchy and Mercy

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

اللهم صلى على سيدنا ومولانا محمد وبارك وسلم وصلى عليه

Among the signs of the veracity of the Prophesy of our master Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم was his accurate prediction about the sequence of rule that would materialize subsequent to his passing away from this world. He صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم said:

أَوَّلُ هَذَا الْأَمْرِ نُبُوَّةٌ وَرَحْمَةٌ، ثُمَّ يَكُونُ خِلَافَةً وَرَحْمَةً، ثُمَّ ‌يَكُونُ ‌مُلْكًا ‌وَرَحْمَةً، ثُمَّ يَكُونُ إِمَارَةً وَرَحْمَةً، ثُمَّ يَتَكادَمُونَ عَلَيْهِ تَكادُمَ الْحُمُرِ فَعَلَيْكُمْ بِالْجِهَادِ، وَإِنَّ أَفْضَلَ جهادِكُمُ الرِّبَاطُ، وَإِنَّ أَفْضَلَ رباطِكُمْ عَسْقَلَانُ

The first of this affair is Prophesy and mercy, then there shall be Caliphate and mercy, then there shall be Kingship and mercy, then there shall be Emirate and mercy. Then they shall scramble for it like donkeys. So upon you is Jihad, and the best of your Jihad is Ribat [guarding the border] and the best of your Ribat is in Ashkelon. (Mu’jam al-Kabir; v.11, p.88, #11138):

al-Haythami said that all of the narrators of this Hadith are thiqāt (Majma az-Zawa’id).

According to this prophecy when kingship or monarchy first appears in this Ummah it shall be a manifestation of mercy for it, just as the institutions of Prophesy and Caliphate prior to it were manifestations of Allah’s mercy upon the Ummah. Of course, the degree of mercy is not as great as that which was associated with Prophesy and with Caliphate. Mu’awiya bin Abi Sufyan رضى الله عنه was the first king or monarch to rule the entire Umma. The Negus رضى الله عنه who cnoverted to Islam was a monarch over Ethiopia and likewise Badhan رضى الله عنه , the king of Yemen, whose seating on the throne was confirmed by the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم himself. However, those two kings رضى الله عنهما were not kings for the Umma collectively, therefore, Mu’awiya رضى الله عنه was technically the first king of the Muslims. And his kingship was certainly a manifestation of mercy for the Umma, as per the prophecy from the Hadith I have quoted. The appearance of ‘Emirate’ within the Umma refers to the breakup of the political unity of the Umma during the later phase of the Abbasid dynasty. Powerful emirates emerged in various lands exercising a degree of independence from the supposed caliphate in Baghdad. The righteous emirs and rulers from among them were certainly a continued manifestation of mercy from Allah, albeit to a lesser degree. However, in modern times we have entered a phase in which the rule over the Muslims is, generally speaking, not to be understood as a mercy from Allah, which is why the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم compared it to the scrambling of donkeys. The second great prophecy of this Hadith is that the best Jihad in the latter days shall be the defense of the borders in the region of Ashkelon, which is today situated in the Israel/Palestine area near the Gaza strip. Historically, the Muslims faught here against the Crusaders, and in present times or in the near future it may refer to a Jihad or armed conflict against the Zionists.

Concerning the prophecy of monarchy being a manifestation of Allah’s mercy for this Umma, some individuals I have come across object to it on the basis of another Hadith which states:

تَكُونُ النُّبُوَّةُ فِيكُمْ مَا شَاءَ اللهُ أَنْ تَكُونَ، ثُمَّ يَرْفَعُهَا إِذَا شَاءَ أَنْ يَرْفَعَهَا، ثُمَّ تَكُونُ ‌خِلَافَةٌ ‌عَلَى ‌مِنْهَاجِ النُّبُوَّةِ، فَتَكُونُ مَا شَاءَ اللهُ أَنْ تَكُونَ، ثُمَّ يَرْفَعُهَا إِذَا شَاءَ اللهُ أَنْ يَرْفَعَهَا، ثُمَّ تَكُونُ مُلْكًا عَاضًّا، فَيَكُونُ مَا شَاءَ اللهُ أَنْ يَكُونَ، ثُمَّ يَرْفَعُهَا إِذَا شَاءَ أَنْ يَرْفَعَهَا، ثُمَّ تَكُونُ مُلْكًا جَبْرِيَّةً، فَتَكُونُ مَا شَاءَ اللهُ أَنْ تَكُونَ، ثُمَّ يَرْفَعُهَا إِذَا شَاءَ أَنْ يَرْفَعَهَا، ثُمَّ تَكُونُ ‌خِلَافَةً ‌عَلَى ‌مِنْهَاجِ نُبُوَّةٍ ثُمَّ سَكَتَ

“Prophesy shall remain among you as long as Allah shall will. He will bring about its end and follow it with Caliphate on the precepts of Prophesy for as long as He shall will and then bring about its end. A biting monarchy will then follow and will remain as long as Allah shall will and then come to an end. There will follow thereafter monarchial despotism to last as long as Allah shall will and come to an end upon His decree. There will then emerge Caliphate on precept of Prophesy.” Then he [the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم] became silent. (Musnad Ahmad)

The objection is that in this latter Hadith the monarchy that emerges after the Caliphate is described as a ‘biting’ monarchy whereas in the former Hadith it is described as ‘monarchy and mercy’. The answer to this apparent confusion is that monarchy by its nature is ‘biting’ meaning that it is an institution that seeks to subsist above all else, yet that is not necessarily a dispraise of it, not does it necessarily mean that such monarchy cannot be a manifestation of Allah’s mercy. A proof for this is the fact that monarchy was established by Allah Himself among the nation of Israel. Their first king Talut [Saul] was appointed directly by Allah through the agency of the Prophet Samuel على نبينا وعليه السلام. Subsequently, two of the Israelite kings, David and Solomon على نبينا وعليهما السلام were Prophets themselves. With respect to King Solomon in particular, the Queen of Sheba said about him and other kings:

قَالَتۡ اِنَّ الۡمُلُوۡکَ اِذَا دَخَلُوۡا قَرۡیَۃً اَفۡسَدُوۡہَا وَ جَعَلُوۡۤا اَعِزَّۃَ اَہۡلِہَاۤ اَذِلَّۃً ۚ وَ کَذٰلِکَ یَفۡعَلُوۡنَ

She said, ‘Surely, kings, when they enter a country, despoil it, and turn the highest of its people into the lowest.’ And thus will they do

(Sura 27:34)

Even the righteous kings like Solomon عليه السلام were no exception to the general rule that when kings enter a country they despoil it and humiliate those of that country who are considered high and honored. This too is not necessarily a dispraise or condemnation of monarchy but only a description of its reality.