More quotes on Khilafah by the Classical Scholars

Abu Ya'la (d. 458 AH) a leading Hanbali scholar along with Ibn Taymiyyah, resembled Mawardi(d. 450AH) in his thought about the Khilafah. Abu Ya'la quotes Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal that the Muslims would be in a state of Fitnah if there was no Khaleef. Page 125, Mahmood A. Ghazi's Book 'Political and Constitutional Thought of Islam'

Qadi Abd al Jabbar (d. 415 AH,1025AD)
He wrote extensively on the subject, some of his works include:

Sharh al-Usul al Khamsah
Al-Mughni fi Abwab al-Tawhid Wa'l Adl

The establishment of the Khilafah according to the Qadi in compulsory upon the Ummah, because many of the obligations of Islam cannot be fulfilled without the Khilafah, stating the well known principle: Ma la Yatimmu'l Wajib Illa Bihi Fahuwa Wajib [Whatever the wajib cannot be accomplished without is itself a wajib]

He also discusses the concept of Imamah in the context the Quranic principle of Amr bi'l Maruf wa'l Nahy An al-Munkar[Enjoining of the Good and the Forbidding of the Evil]. After extensively quoting from the Qur'an and the Hadith he establishes that the Enjoining of the Good and the Forbidding of the Evil is incumbent(Fard) on the believers. Then he says that individual Muslims cannot meet the full requirements of the principle of Amr bi'l Maruf wa'l Nahy An al-Munkar because it cannot be established without the State.

Sharh al-Usul al-Khamsah p.759
Sharh al-Usul al-Khamsah p.749
Sharh al-Usul al-Khamsah p.750
Sharh al-Usul al-Khamsah p.751

Abd al Qahir baghdadi
Abu mansur Abd al-Qahir ibn Tahir al-Shafi was among the among the most noted theologians of the late fourth and early fifth century AH.
He taught as many as 17 sciences including Fiqh, Usul al Fiqh, Arithmetic and Fariad.

He critically examines the viewpoint of the Ahl al-Sunnah Wa'l Jamaah on the issue of the Khilafah. According to him it is obligatory upon the Ummah to establish the Khilafah, and also states that this obligation is universally accepted by all the Muslim scholars. He also criticises Abu Bakr al Assam and Hisham al-Ghuti who are from the Mutazilites.

Al-Farq Bayn al-Firaq, p271

Al-Sharastani
Abu'l Fath Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Karim al-Sharastani(479-458 AH)
According to Sharastani, the establishment of the Khilafah is obligatory in all situations. In no case, in no time and no situation can the Muslim Ummah be relieved of the responsibility of establishing the institution of the Khilafah according to the injunctions of Islam.

Al-Milal wa'l Nihal, Vol 1, p.109

Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH)

Ibn Taymiyyah ideas about the Khilafah can be found in:

Minhaj al_sunnah al-Nabawiyyah fi Naqd Kalam al-Shi'ah wa'l Qadariyah
Al-Siyasah al-Shari'yyah
Al-Hisbah fi'l-Islam

Ibn Taymiyyah states that the main purpose of the Prophet(saw) was to establish a social order on the basis of a universal, permanent, consistent and all-Prevailing ideology. He states that the establishment of the state is more than necessary. Ibn Taymiyyah holds the opinion that it is one of the greatest obligations of the Din.

'The aim and objective of politics is to seek nearness to Allah. A Muslim adopts politics only to establish the Din which guarantees such a nearness by providing a suitable psychological and spiritual climate in which man achieves a spiritual perfection and, hence, the Divine Nearness. That is why a political activity divorced from the guidance of the Din is a curse for humanity and entails all sorts of evils and immoralities.'

Al Siyasa al-Shariyyah

Ibn Qayyim also held the same opinion as Ibn Taymiyyah:

al-Turuq al_Hukmiyyah Fil Siyasah al-Shariyyah
I'lam al-Muwaqqin

Badruddin Ibn Jamaah
Ibn Jamaah is noted as the Shafi jurist of the seventh century AH. He served as a Qadi in Palestine and a teacher of Fiqh. In his treatise 'Tahrir al-Ahkam- fi Tadbir ahl al-Islam'
he establishes the obligation of the Khilafah through the Quran. He starts his work 'Tharir al-Ahkam with the verse:

"O David: We did indeed make you a vicegerent on earth: So judge between men with truth and justice and follow not the lusts and desires: for they will mislead you from the path of Allah"

Diya al-Din Barani (683-758AH)
Diya al-Din Barani lived in India. His works mentioning the issue of the Khilafah include:
Tarikh Firoz Shahi
Fatawa-i-Kahandari

He says that 'the very creation of Man on earth is meant only for the worship of Allah(swt). And His true worship is only possible when mankind is guaranteed peaceful and secure conditions of life. To successfully discharge the divine obligations a secure and organised life in order and well-organised that Allah created the Khilafah.'

Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Musa al-Shatibi (d. 790 AH)
One of the greatest juristic minds in the history of Islam. A Maliki jurist he was one of the most outstanding Faqih of the eighth century AH. He says that the Khilafah is an obligation and further states 'in the absense of the khilafah, a state of anarchy and lawlessness would prevail and this would usher in a great corruption and disorder. And it is evident, that the establishment of the Din is quite impossible in a state of anarchy and disorder.'

Kitab al-Din

Abu Zayd Wali al-Din Abd al Rahman Ibn Khaldun (732-808 AH)

Ibn Khaldun taught in Al-Azhar, was a scholar of the Maliki Jurisprudence and also worked as a judge in Cairo.

He states 'the best kind of state is the Khilfah, which is a system based on the Shariah.This is the only system based on the Shariah. This is the only system which guarantees the fulfilment of all natural and genuine human needs both in this world and in the hereafter. It also guarantees full equality between the ruler and the ruled. The Khilfah is the divine method of politics. Initially it is established by the Prophets and Apostles of God and then run by their successors - the Khulufa. This is the system which has been laid down by God the Almighty Himself, and, hence, no other system can be at par with it.'

Shah Waliyullah Dehlavi (1703-1762 CE)

According to Shah Waliyullah, it is a collective obligation (Fard Al-Kifaya) upon the Muslims for all times to come to elect and install a Khilafah. To support this Shah Waliyullah give various arguments:

'the collective reason of mankind requires that a Khilafah should be there to lookafter the interests which cannot be achieved without a Khilafah. The Khilafah is appointed for achieving two categories of objective and purposes. The Holy Prophet(saw) was also sent to achieve these two calsses of objectives. Therefore after passing away of the Prophet, a Khilafah is needed to succeed him and to implement his orders and commandments. That is why the obedience to the imam id equal to the obediance to the Prophet and the disobedience of the Khaleef amount to disobedience of the Prophet:

"Whosoever obeys an Amir, verily he has obeyed me; and whosoever disobeyed the Amir he disobeyed me."[hadith]

"the Imam is a sheild from the back of which the muslims fight and protect themselves. if the Imam commands to fear Allah and guides his will be a big Reward, if he orders other than this he will bear the burden of it."[hadith - Muslim]

In Izaalat al-KhafaShah Waliy Allah quotes another hadith which he says is clear textual evidence (An-Nass in proving that the establishment of the Khilafah is an obligation:

"Whosoever dies without a bayah on his neck dies the death of Jahiliyyah" [Muslim]

'The sahaba also rushed to establish the khilafah immediately, after the death of the prophet(saw) and delayed his burial. Moreover there are matters which cannot be accomplished without the Khilafah: the Jihad, the administration of Justice, the revival of Islamic science, the establishment of the pillars of Islam, the defence of Dar al-Islam and such other things that have been collectively enjoined upon the Muslim Ummah.'

Hujjat Allah al-Balighah Vol 1
Hujjat Allah al-Balighah Vol 2
Izalat al-Khafa, Vol 1
Izalat al-Khafa, Vol 2