Ibn Khaldun on governance, Mutazalites and Kharijites.

By
Ahmad Imran
May 7
th
, 2014.
We ( the Muslims) reserve the right to riti!ue I"n #haldun on the "asis o$ his theoretial
%ositions as laid out in his "oo& ' (he Mu!addimah) An Introdution to *istory. *o+ever, +e must
ma&e note o$ one o$ his o"servations regarding the Muta,alites and #hari-ites ( a&a #ha+ari-) on their
love and res%et or la& there o$ , to+ards %olitial authority.
Modern day Muslims and general laity in the Middle .ast have lost touh +ith their history and o$ late,
due to the ations o$ grou%s li&e Al/0aeda and Bo&o *aram, are only "eginning to understand the
notions o$ the #hari-ites, "ut some $ations still ignorantly hold on to some $la+ed notions on the
Muta,alites.
In ha%ter three setion t+enty $our +hih regards governane he has the $ollo+ing to say a"out the
Muta,alites and #h+ari- )
1 2ome %eo%le have ta&en the e3e%tional %osition o$ stating that the %osition o$ Imam (ali%h) is not
neessary at all, neither according to intellect nor according to religious law (1). 4eo%le +ho have held
that o%inion inlude the Mu5ta,ilah al/Asamm and ertain #har-ites , among others. They think that it
is necessary only to observe religious laws (2). When Muslims agree u%on ( the %ratie o$ ) justice
and observance of divine law, no Imam is needed, and the Imamate is not necessary. (hose (+ho so
argue) are re$uted "y the onsensus (3). (hey ado%ted suh an o%inion "eause they +ere (attem%ting
to) esa%e the royal authority and its over"earing, domineering and its +orldly +ays (4). (hey had
seen that the religious la+ +as $ull o$ ensor and "lame $or suh things and o$ the %eo%le +ho %ratied
them , and that it enouraged the desire to a"olish them (5)..6....(A)
(he e3amination o$ #haldun5s desri%tion o$ the tenets o$ the Muta,alite and #ha+ari- and I"n
#haldun5s o+n ta&e on it needs to "e disussed here.
1) 1 Imam cali!h) is not necessar" at all, neither according to intellect nor according to
religious law. I"n #haldun here $ails to di$$erentiates the nomenlature o$ Imam and 7ali%h,
in that the 2unni +orld only uses the term Imam $or the most +eighty religious sholar, either
deeased or living, at the time and not $or %olitial leadershi%, +hereas 2hia Islam usually re$ers
to their %olitial leader as Imam "eause $or them the %olitial leader is also religious leader
similar to t 7hristendom and the %osition o$ Ma3imus 4onti$ius (4o%e) during the reign o$
Im%erium 2arum 8omanum (*oly 8oman .m%ire). (he e3istene and %raties o$ the
.gy%tian 2hia 9atimid state should have "een ommon &no+ledge to someone o$ the alleged
mythial re%ute historian as I"n #haldun. #haldun should "e e3used to some degree in the
2hia Islam +e &no+ o$ today only ame a"out in its $ormal $orm during the 2a$avids muh
later. *o+ever, $or a "eing an alleged "rilliant historian soial sientist I"n #haldun should
have made some re$erene to the 9atimid as a re$erene in "eing another su"/ategory in the
di$$erene o$ %olitial and religious notions +ithin the "roader Muslim soiety. (he 9atimid
+ere essentially the 4roto/2hia at the time and should have deserved a mention. (his over sight
in reading the nuanes in religion and %olitis sreams utter inom%etene.
I"n #haldun also $ails to ategori,e the Muta,alites as #h+ari-is. (he olletive %osition o$ the
Muslims at the time had delared the Muta,alites as having e3ited the $old o$ Islam thus the
terminology #hari-ites. (he root +ord $or e3it in Ara"i is 1&har-: $rom +hih the grou% derives its
nomenlature. Its a"undantly lear that the religious grou% &no+n as Muta,alites sat in o%%osition to
the ma-ority o$ Muslims in religion and %olitis. (hey denied the e3istene o$ a %olitial authority "y,
meaning sat in o%%osition to "asi tenets o$ Islami -uris%rudene as in I-tihad ( Inde%endent
reasoning), 0iyas (Analogial reasoning), A!l (Intellet) , and I-ma (onsensus).
2) #They think that it is necessary only to observe religious laws.
*o+ an the t+o grou%s laim themselves to "e Islami +hen they re-eted the "asi tenets o$
la+ (2hariah); 2o +hat did they mean +hen they allegedly sho+ed an om%liane +ith !uasi/
religious la+; (he statement is an oultist e3erise in that it is sel$ ontraditory. What the
#ha+ari- inluding the Muta,alites +anted +as to %ratie their o+n version o$ Islami la+ in
thier o+n %olitial domains. (he situation +ould have "een no di$$erent than the modern
#h+ari- grou%s li&e Bo&o *aram, Al/2ha"a", (ehree& e (ali"an 4a&istan and Al/0aeda in
<i"ya and 2yria. (hese t+o grou%s +anted a over or thin %atina o$ Islam to do +hatever they
+anted a"sent a entral %olitial authority. (he religiosity o$ their %olitial ations +ould have
an Islami veneer giving them an e3use to ra%e +omen, on$iate %ro%erty and livelihoods o$
non/Muslims and non/om%liant Muslims ali&e in the name o$ their o+n o"$usated %seudo/
Islam, something the #h+ar-i grou%s are urrently doing. (he #ha+ar-i %rolivities $or
una"ated arnal greed and material greed is &no+n in Muslim history. 4lease re$er to the
a%%endi3 at the "ottom o$ the artile to disover +ho the #h+ar-i +ere and +hat +ere their
goals.
=) 1$hose %ho so argue) are re&uted b" the consensus. 'hen Muslims agree u!on the
!ractice o& ) justice and observance of divine law, no Imam ( Caliph is needed, and the
Imamate (Calphate is not necessary.
Ara"ia "eing a land +here tri"al anarhy %revailed meaning it loo&ed li&e A$ghanistan.
4rominent tri"es and lans and their lients de$ined the status !uo. When 4ro%het Mohammed
(4B>*) seemed to "e at the lo+est %oint in his e$$orts to re$orm Ara"ia , the all ame $rom
?athri" ( Medina) to lead the ity in ad-udiating %olitial stri$e in e3hange $or ontinuing his
e$$orts to re$orm. (he ity o$ ?athri" +as over shado+ed "y Mea, and there e3isted a genuine
organi and indigenous need to have sta"le %olitial governane. 2o +hen Mea shunned him
the most , ?athiri", not only too& him in "ut, re!uired him to lead the ity as a %olitial leader to
"ring some $orm o$ sta"le governane. (he Muta,alites and the #h+ar-i there"y sho+ e$$orts
to o/o%t the rising tide o$ Islam "ut +ant to do +hat they &ne+ "est i.e, tri"al anarahism and
there"y da$ato "eame o%%osition. (hus the #ha+ar-i and the Muta,alites may"e deemed as
old shool anarhists in that they did not desire a %olitial entity nor religious la+ o$ Islam.
.mma @oldman, Ba&unin and Ayn 8and +ould "e %roud o$ "oth the Muta,alites and #hari-ites.

(4) !They adopted such an opinion because they were (attempting to escape the royal
authority and its overbearing, domineering and its worldy ways.
What on earth does I"n #haldoun mean +hen he narrates the a"ove %assage; Anly one +ho
agrees +ith the #hari-i and Muta,alite %osition +ould say something li&e this. (he Islami state
u%to that %oint +as a li"ertine state, something riti!ued "y Western ritis, meaning the state
olleted no ta3es $rom the Muslims sine an e3%anding em%ire had enough revenue "eing
olleted in the state o$$ers as not $eel the need to ta3 , and rimes li&e murder et. +ere not a
rime against the state "ut the individual. (he state had duty to "ring the ul%rit to -ustie on
"ehal$ o$ the side o$ the vitim and not itsel$. (here +ere no "arriers to trade or %ro$its. All
things ontrary to ho+ it +as in +estern 7hristiandom. I"n #haldoun5s love a$$air $or the $ree
roaming tri"als is &no+n along +ith his disdain $or the settled ity sli&er. I"n #haldoun reveals
himsel$ to "e the #hari-ite he is +ith la"elling the Islami state as over "earing and domineering
along +ith the Muta,alites. A"viously I"n #haldoun along +ith the seeeder grou%s do not
li&e even the rudimentary $orms o$ government nor their -urisdition o$ the +orldy matters let
alone religious.
" !They had seen that the religious law was full of censor and blame for such things and of the
people who practised them , and that it encouraged the desire to abolish them .
Ane again I"n #haldoun5s intellet goes missing +hen he re$ers to the $ringe grou%s as $ello+
Muslims +hom the ma-ority onsensus $ound a%ory%hal and irrational. I"n #haldoun $ails
utterly in di$$erentiating relgious la+ verses the sel$ ontraditory rigid emotional +anton
desires o$ meme"ers o$ these grou%s %rolamation o$ same religious la+ to +hih they sat in
o%%osition. (he re$utation o$ the 7lassi Islam la+ "y these grou%s is learly in its use o$
I-tihad ( Inde%endent reasoning), 0iyas (Analogial reasoning), A!l (Intellet) , and I-ma
(onsensus) +hih they deemed as +orldy. (hey +ould have desired a "la& and +hite rigid
Budaeo/7hristian variety o$ la+ emanating out o$ Islam to mimi their 3eno%ho"ia and
misogynism as a %rete3t to o%erate +ith Islami veneer on it. And a"olishing it they have "een
trying to do ever sine. (he modern day terrorists o$ today negate all relgious and soio/%lotial
norms o$ 7lassial Islam in all indees o$ Middle .astern and Muslim e3istene.
While the idiosynraies o$ I"n #haldoun and the grou%s he tal&ed a"out have "een "rought to light,
+hat is lear here is the tendeny to overthro+ 7lassi Islam sine its e3istene. In the lassial %eriod
the 7ali%hs struggled +ith them +hile suum"ing to them at times as in the A""asid %eriod +here t+o
ali%hs su"sri"ed to Muta,alite heterodo3y and the Moroan state o$ the Almohids ( a&a Al/
Mo+ahiddun) the original name the Waha"is o$ modern times, "ut later on +ith the rise o$ the (ur&o/
Mongol 2unni Arthodo3y suessor states, the #hari-ites and Muta,alite $ade a+ay $rom the regional
limelight.
With the oll%ase o$ 7lassial Islam and oloni,ation, there seems to "e a virulent resurgene o$ the
grou%s +ho are alled Ceo/Muta,alites and Ceo/#hari-ites and +ould inlude the leardershi% o$ 2audi
Ara"ia, 0atar, Bahrain and +ould inlude militant $ations as Al/0aeda, (ehree& e (ali"an 4a&istan,
Bo&o *aram. (he %osition o$ %o+er and %restige and %rotetion en-oyed "y 2audi Ara"ia in Western
a%itals, and the oil money $unds many radial religious shools in many ountries aross the glo"e.
(he Ceo/Muta,alite grou%s have %ro3ies in 4a&istan , <e"anon and Moroo and the militany and
violene leaving $ello+ Muslims as %rimary vitims +ith other minorities among vitims as +ell. (o
the Muslims o$ today, the militany and violene s%read aross the glo"e +ith Muslims as %rimary
vitims o$ it, seems li&e the mini/version o$ the sourge o$ the Mongol hordes all over again,
un$ortunately this time around there is no one to de$end the ideologial, %olitial and eonomi
interests o$ the Muslim "ody %oliti and the Ceo/Muta,alites and Ceo/#hari-ites are en-oying
un%ralleled suess +ith no signs o$ a"atement. As regards I"n #haldun, he may "e deemed the Ayn
8and o$ the Middle .ast. *e remained o"sure in his li$etime and in the "roader intelletual li$e o$
Muslims and ho%e$ully stays in the dust "in o$ history. (he Muslims did ta&e note o$ %restige "esto+ed
u%on him "y ertain Western Ceo/<i"eral irles +ith onern.
2oure)
A) I"n #haldun, (he Mu!addimah ) An Introdution to *istory. (ranslated and introdued "y 9ran,
8osenthal. Bollingen 2eries. 4u"lished "y 4rineton >niversity 4ress 200D, Ce+ Bersey 0ED40
A%%endi3
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htt%)FFo$thedevil.omFIslamF&ha+ari-i/ty%ology.html