# Did al-Ghazali say Muslims must establish a caliphate?

*What al-Ghazali meant by a caliph: order as opposed to anarchy*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/4wuwtjqamx0/s/4/
- Date: 2018-09-03 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Response to Abdullah al Andalusi (14:42–18:31)
- Status: a more recent answer exists: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/8xuhmcz2n3u/s/14/; general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WUwTJQAmx0&t=882s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/4wuwtjqamx0/

**Topics:** Caliphate; Scholars and imams of the past

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** When al-Ghazali argued for a caliph he meant a king who keeps law and order, as opposed to anarchy, not a system to be set against democracy.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says that when al-Ghazali and scholars of his time wrote of the caliph they meant kingship as opposed to anarchy, not as opposed to democracy.

**Evidence, his words at 15:57:** “when those people in the past wrote about rule when what they meant was as opposed to what as opposed to anarchy Khilafah simply meant Kings” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WUwTJQAmx0&t=957s)

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth asks why caliphate activists cite Imam al-Ghazali when they follow him in nothing else, neither fiqh, usul nor tasawwuf. He says al-Ghazali wrote to the ruler of his time, as scholars commonly wrote to the kings of their day, while there were several caliphates. He says that when such scholars wrote of a caliph they meant kingship as opposed to anarchy and barbarism, not as opposed to democracy, which they had no concept of, and that al-Ghazali argued for a king because with a king there is law and rights can be restored. He adds that when the Crusaders took Jerusalem late in al-Ghazali's life, he neither fought nor called people to reconquer it, but returned to Baghdad to teach and write. He returns to mocking unlearned converts who want to teach Muslims.

## Sources and names cited

- al-Ghazali
- the Crusader capture of Jerusalem (1099)
- khalifah (caliphate)
- tasawwuf
- Abdullah al-Andalusi

## Transcript (machine tier, 14:42–18:31)

[14:02] hadith oh but my there is a convenient Editha that I must kill you Wow you're telling me the Sahaba don't know that when they started saying who should be the ruler they said well you should have a ruler between from the Ansar and a ruler between the from the muhajireen they were they were dumb and stupid they didn't know all year but the hadith said you should if there's two you should kill one the Sahaba never knew that the Companions never knew that but oh but you know so this is what I mean and then Imam he says o Imam was as early a mammal has Riley wrote in his book Imam Ghazali epic I'm a maahes Ali

[14:41] Rezai Lilith I we gather sadly ha ha ha ha what's going on here you know what do you want about your mama is that you don't follow Imam Ghazali in anything you don't follow Imam you don't follow him in thick you don't follow him and after you that you don't follow him in a soul you don't follow him in anything have you ever redismo sus pies where Jesus was seed what do you follow him in you know follow Imam has I mean anything and then Oh buddy wrote a book to the ruler of his time the ruler of his time just food a petty little area in the Middle East in Baghdad around but that

[15:20] Eden and this was like every scholar just wrote something to suck up to the king of their time all the scholars did it it's nothing new you know it didn't become the Word of God oh mama as early mammal as early they don't follow society on anything yes this is the irony they don't follow a man was early on anything do you follow him on a Sood is that where you take your sort of fifth from do you follow him in thick how he told you to practice the Dean did you follow him in tasawwuf is that what you do do you follow what do you follow her sadly in nothing oh I follow him in he said there must be

[15:57] a caliphate look he said to the king of his time there were multiple caliphates in his time he's you see when those people in the past wrote about rule when what they meant was as opposed to what as opposed to anarchy Khilafah simply meant Kings the Kings used to call themselves qualify especially one of the bus they just called himself full of her now they make Kings dynasts as opposed to anarchy dynasts as opposed to barbarism they didn't mean Kings as

[16:36] opposed to democracy they didn't have an alternative this wasn't something they were you see when you say oh how come a man was early never own democracy well because they didn't have a system of democracy so he wasn't then he was only comparing it to his discourse his discourse was lands with his havoc and there's no ruler and the civil war between lands where there's a king so obviously it must be a king because with a king there is a rule sorry there is the rule of law in fact in his art book he actually goes on to say if you could

[17:14] read our record damn it he goes on to say why this should be a king he says because with the king he says that we can have count we can have laws we can have who cook if people are pressed we can take back rights because there is law and order law and order that's what they wanted they just want to live a normal life in my mother's early in the last decade of his life Jerusalem was conquered by the Crusaders he lived in sham that is the region of Jerusalem did Imam Ghazali ever part dissipate in that battle no did he even cool people to reconquer from the Crusaders no he totally just left he

[17:54] didn't want anything to do with this he went back to birth dad and just started to teach again he wrote his book on a surah v he could have been writing at a rally to let's do jihad others some of the scholars did did he mama Sally no Canizales Ali this is what happens when we get you know illiterate islamically illiterate jhil kind of like converts it will come to islam and they want to teach us islam never read a single surah in their life

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment 4WUwTJQAmx0/s/4. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/4wuwtjqamx0/s/4/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.