A person forwarded a link for a Web Site concerning a group which seemed to focus on, among other things, the re-establishing of the Caliphate. The individual felt that the group in question had a hidden agenda and that a number of people who this person knew to be involved with the group seemed to be brainwashed.

I have had a brief look at the Web Page to which you have directed me. First, I should let you know that I am not familiar with the group - that is, your reference to it is my initial introduction to their teachings.

However, on the basis of just a cursory glance, the group is similar in tone to a variety of individuals and groups who are busying themselves with trying to re-establish the whole idea of the Caliphacy. These individuals are reminiscent - at least to me - of the fervor displayed by those people who wish to advance, or are pre-occupied with, the appearance of the Mahdi (may Allah be pleased with him). Both groups, or those who are committed to such things, see the return of the function of Caliph and the emergence of the Mahdi (may Allah be pleased with him) as signs of the Latter Day which are spoken about in the Hadithic literature.

While the Hadith do speak of these events, nonetheless, the individuals who get caught up in these issues frequently do so - in my opinion - through a spiritually unhealthy and presumptuous manner. Among other things, they often refer to themselves in terms which depict the people in the group as an elite, or special, or 'chosen', or 'in-the-know', or better than everyone else.

I am somewhat familiar with one, very well-known, alleged shaykh who has, on three separate occasions, predicted the precise date (down to the day, month, and year) of the return of the Mahdi (may Allah be pleased with him), and, yet, on each occasion this individual's claims have been incorrect. Nevertheless, as in Festinger's monumental study of: When Prophecy Fails, the people surrounding this so-called shaykh are even more fervent in their commitment to this alleged spiritual guide after these gaffes than they were before the pronouncements - not seeming to remember that this 'shaykh' had made claims about having been brought into the company of the Mahdi (May Allah be pleased with him) while the latter was still in occlusion - or spiritual hiding - and, supposedly, knowing all about what was to transpire, based on their 'insider' knowledge ... which turned out not to be knowledge at all because it led to false pronouncements.

Allah knows best what this particular individual knows or does not know. However, the very fact such claims were made in a way which appeared to be intended to impress and persuade people that the Path of the alleged shaykh's spiritual Order was the best, and the most spiritually advanced among all the Orders (which is itself a statement wholly lacking in humility and modesty, and, in point of fact, quite out of keeping with the teachings of the Qur'an where taqwa, alone, is the deciding factor in matters of quality of faith, and taqwa does not belong to Orders but to individuals, by the Grace of Allah), as well as the fact that the individual was wrong on three separate occasions, together with the fact that this shaykh continues to speak about the imminence of the Mahdi's appearance (may Allah be pleased with him) and that those who are with this shaykh and his Sufi Order will be saved and all others will be in deep trouble -- all of these factors tend to create a certain problem of credibility for me with respect to such a gentleman, along with those who speak like him (and the people associated with the group about whom you have told me remind me of that alleged shaykh).

In going down through the list of points which are to be found at the web site to which you have directed me, a couple of them caught my attention. For example:
"Every claim of the Quran is based on reason and knowledge, and its truths are beyond space and time. In order to comprehend Quranic truths, it is essential to keep abreast of the advances made in human knowledge. And since God has endowed human beings with the ability to conquer the forces of nature, it is necessary that these forces be conquered only to fulfill God's program for humanity."

While I would agree that the Qur'an gives expression to the truth, and while reason is one of the ways through which truth may be manifested, I would, in no way, accept the idea that the Qur'an is based on reason since this limits the Qur'an to the qualities of discursive logic which is only one of the paths through which knowledge may be acquired. Aql cannot be reduced down to reason, but rather, reason is just one of the manifestations of aql.

Moreover, the truths of the Qur'an encompass the truths of time and space - since the Uncreated Word of God has been described as a book from which nothing has been omitted. As such, the truths of the former are both transcendent and imminent with respect to the qualities of time and space.

Secondly, I would also categorically reject the idea that in order "to comprehend Quranic truths, it is essential to keep abreast of the advances made in human knowledge." In fact, the initial item listed on that Web Page is: "Human intellect alone cannot solve life's problems. God's revelation is required for human guidance in the same way that vision requires light" - so, if what they are saying is true, then, what do advances in human knowledge have to do with understanding revelation?

One can only understand revelation through Divine light which is wholly independent of so-called human knowledge. Indeed, the latter is, in truth, little more than connected systems of information which masquerade as real knowledge even as such systems distract us from seeking after the truth, and entice us to be satisfied with the ephemeral and relative.

In addition, I tend to disagree with the premise that: "God has endowed human beings with the ability to conquer the forces of nature." Islam is about the peace which arises through submitting to the purpose of life and working in harmony with the forces of nature to struggle toward realizing that Divine purpose - a purpose which transcends physical nature. The term "conquer" is from the vocabulary of arrogance and ignorance which does not seem to understand that the Vicegerant of Allah does not conquer nature, but, rather has been vouchsafed a fiduciary responsibility with respect to all of Creation.

At another point, the Web Site, for which you have provided the link, stipulates: "The goal of the Deen is to promote obedience to the laws of Allah by freeing human beings from obedience to other human beings. Such obedience to the laws of Allah is only possible through the establishment of a system of government based on these laws. Without this, the Deen (or the system of life based on the Quran) is not possible." In truth, the goal of Deen is to provide a methodology or way or path to realize both our essential identity, together with, our unique spiritual capacity through which we come to know, love, and worship Divinity.

Moreover, we will never be able to free ourselves from others until we, by the Grace of Allah, can be freed from the entanglements of dunya, and the machinations of the unredeemed nafs, and the enticements of Iblis and his whispering shaytans. The way to external freedom is through internal freedom, and we will never be free to be our essential selves as long as we do not exercise choice through essence - a process toward which Deen is dedicated to helping us struggle.

All an external government can ever do is to provide an existential space for living through which Deen can be pursued on an individual basis, not a group basis. Others can help establish the conditions which are conducive to individual striving, but no government can take the place of the need for individuals to strive after the realization of Deen in one's life - which is why there can be no compulsion in matters of Deen.

People who start talking about establishing governments that are going to ensure compliance with Deen are not only against the spirit of the Qur'an and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), but, unfortunately, these individuals tend to be highly authoritarian in nature and consider obedience to anything or anyone but them as a form of betrayal. I am always amazed that Muslims mouth the truism that there is no clerical class in Islam, and, then, proceed to create precisely that in the form of imams, or mullahs, or a distorted notion of the Caliphate, or shaykhs, of one description or another.

Government, shaykhs, imams, the Caliphate are intended to be nothing more than aids and support for the establishing of an environment in which individuals may struggle toward realizing Deen within a peaceful, protected, supportive, encouraging, harmonious, insightful, and knowledgeable context which is conducive to spiritual realization according to one's God-given capacity. Anything more than this tends to border on shirk - that is, the attributing of partners to God ... partners who are, somehow, considered necessary quite apart from their functions of being merely the loci of manifestation of Divine succor.

Further down the list of principles which are cited at the Web Page in question, one finds the following: "The prophet (P) established this system of Deen for the first time in Medina. In this system, obedience was due to the laws and injunctions of the Quran. Matters of government, for which the Quran outlines only principles, were decided within the limits of those principles by mutual consultation of the Ummah."

Deen was not established by the Prophet (peace be upon him). The system of Deen was established through revelation, which, in turn, was realized through the states and stations of the Prophet's (peace be upon him) long and difficult struggle to implement the Divinely-gifted Deen in his own life, and from this sunnah, humanity was provided with the shining, beautiful example of what al-insan al-kamil (the perfectly balanced human being) means in the context of everyday life.

Contrary to what the people behind the Web Page in question state - that is, "Matters of government, for which the Quran outlines only principles, were decided within the limits of those principles by mutual consultation of the Ummah" - the Qur'an does not just 'outline' principles, and, in fact, the foregoing quote demonstrates a lack of understanding of both the idea of 'principle', in general, as well as a Quranic principle, in particular.

Principles are not rules. Principles are non- linear, complex, rich, subtle, flexible, layered, transferable to a wide variety of contexts and problems.

If one understands the structural character and logic of a principle, such an understanding does not constitute just an outline of process or procedure, but, in fact, provides insight into how to proceed amidst changing circumstances - something with which rules have great difficulty. The depth of a principle depends on its source or origins and the capacity of the one who engages such a principle.

Since the Qur'an is the uncreated word of God, its principles know no limits, per se, and the Hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him) which indicates that there are seven levels of significance in every facet of the Qur'an is an allusion to precisely the limitless depths of Quranic principles. Limitations on such principles come from the nature of human capacity.

While ijma or consensus is one of the tools that, traditionally, has been used to arrive at communal agreements about how to proceed in certain respects, the consensus of human beings can never serve as an accurate barometer of the depths of Divine knowledge. At best, such instances of consensus can only serve as a working approximation which, God willing, serves human interests to the extent such consensus reflects Divine guidance - and, in this respect, the Prophet encouraged people to discuss matters among themselves and to try to secure consensus wherever possible, but, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said that 'my community will never agree in error', and, so, while the struggling toward consensus serves as a methodological protection against rushing to erroneous judgment - such consensus was never meant to be imposed upon people as being obligatory ... it is a methodological principle, not an epistemological fiat accompli.

Human beings striving toward consensus on matters of spiritual importance are people who are engaged in a hermeneutical exercise. Truth is best served when that exercise merges horizons, within its capacity to do so, with reality or Haq, and, consequently, the quality of any given form of consensus is entirely dependent on not only the spiritual capacities of the individuals who are participating in such a process of consensus seeking, but, as well, it is dependent on the degree to which such capacities have been realized in an appropriate manner - and only Allah knows the answer to such issues.

In the absence of reliable consensus, one has ijtihad - that is, individual striving toward sound, spiritual judgments. Ijma is the collective result of individual ijtihad which reinforce one another and coalesce in a common resonance around certain themes, and when such concurrence does not exist, then, we, as individuals, still have the responsibility of exercising ijtihad as best we are able and for which we will be held accountable on the Day of Judgment.

Leaders - at least good ones - provide an environment that is conducive to the free, creative flow of both processes of ijma and ijtihad. Leaders - at least good ones - promote tolerance, flexibility, exploration, respect, mutuality, and spiritual rigor in the exercise of both ijma and ijtihad such that ijma is not subjugated to individual fiat, nor is individual striving eclipsed by group dynamics and biases.

On the Web Page in question, one reads: "As Muslims, our job is to establish once again the "Khilafat 'Ala Minhaj-e-Risalat" which requires people to follow Allah's laws. However, those who want to lead this effort must first bring their own lives under the fold of the laws of Allah."

Anyone who desires to lead others and tell them how to run their lives ought not be permitted to lead. Once anyone gets the idea that his or her role is something more than a locus of manifestation for constructively directing Divine support which helps people in accordance with the spiritual capacities, circumstances, problems, and needs of the people who are to be assisted, then, one is entering into the realm of compulsion - which the Qur'an explicitly forbids.

Moreover, the Prophet (peace be upon him) never said that our duty as a Muslim is to "establish once again the "Khilafat 'Ala Minhaj-e-Risalat." This idea is wholly invented by someone's interpretation of historical events.

In addition, if Khilafat 'Ala Minhaj-e-Risalat is to be established - or, whether it should be established (and the Prophet's saying that such will occur is not necessarily the same as his advocating that it should happen, anymore than his asserting that many of the other signs of the Latter Days are 'good things' even as he noted that they will happen), then, God will bring this about according to Divine purposes, not human purposes, and through means which are Divinely authorized not humanly selected and sanctioned.

Finally, the Web Page in question says: "The system of Deen ("Khilafat 'Ala Minhaj-e-Risalat") which encompasses all aspects of life, if established, will cause the current dualism to disappear. Instead of turning to the government to decide political matters, or to the priesthood for personal and religious matters, people will turn to the Deen or laws of Allah, since both these institutions will be absorbed in the system of Deen."

Apparently, these individuals are creating their own interpretation of forthcoming events. There are two future periods about which we know as a result of what the Prophet (peace be upon him) has told us on the basis of Prophetic kashf or unveiling - one concerns the appearance of the Mahdi (may Allah be pleased with him), and the other concerns the return of Isa (peace be upon him) - and, in neither case, will dualism disappear, for as long as human beings exist on Earth we must struggle with nafs, dunya, Iblis, and unbelievers.

The Mahdi (may Allah be pleased with him) and Isa (peace be upon him) will be aides to the development of spirituality - they will not be guarantors of such development, anymore than the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) could serve as a guarantor of spiritual realization for the people of his time. Furthermore, in each case, their beneficial impact will be circumscribed by Divinely ordained events which lead to the dissolution of spirituality in human kind when these two are taken away from humanity by Divine Decree.

These two periods of assistance are de-limited by Divine Plan. Khilafat 'Ala Minhaj-e-Risalat will not alter any of what is Divinely ordained concerning the eventual, complete disappearance of spirituality on Earth, when humankind becomes worse than the beasts, and which serves as a harbinger for the Day of Judgment unfolding as described in the Qur'an.

People who seek the return of the Caliphacy often speak in glowing terms of an Earthly paradise - a Utopia. Such people neither seem to understand what the Prophet (peace be upon him) has foretold in this respect - that the respite will be relatively brief, and, more importantly, they do not appear to understand that the nature of life was always meant to be a struggle and, as such, one can never completely remove the conflicts and stresses which are manifested through the forces within us, and without us, that are in opposition to the realization of our essential identity and unique spiritual capacity.

If one removes this dualism, one removes the very methodology which, God willing, makes spiritual realization possible. All spiritual progress is made in the context of struggle.

The issue is not now, nor has it been, nor will it be at the time of Isa's (peace be upon him) return, a matter of institutions, or governments, or leaders or a Caliphate ensuring that human kind is obedient to Allah. This has always been, and will continue to be, a matter between the individual and Divinity - a matter for which there can be no intermediary, although there can be different modalities of assistance and support for this individual struggle.

Deen is not waiting to be established. Deen is made manifest through the Qur'an, through the life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and through the signs within us and on the horizons - we, as individuals, must strive to acquire the eyes through which to see these truths, and the ears with which to hear them, and the hearts through which to have faith in such realities. The Khilafat 'Ala Minhaj -e-Risalat can not do this for us, no matter what its quality.

Life is not just a matter of being shown what the nature of truth is. Life is a matter of struggling to choose to submit to such truth, and if one is compelled to choose in a certain way, one obviates the entire purpose of life and its Divinely sanctioned dimension of struggle.

The foregoing have been a few of the thoughts that have occurred to me as I read through the Web Page to which you have directed me. I hope, God willing, this has been of some value to you.