Taaddud al-Khulafa wa Wahdat al-Umma Fiqhan wa Tarikhan wa Mustaqbalan
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- Taaddud al-Khulafa wa Wahdat al-Umma Fiqhan wa Tarikhan wa Mustaqbalan
Taaddud al-Khulafa wa Wahdat al-Umma Fiqhan wa Tarikhan wa Mustaqbalan ("The Plurality of Caliphs and the Unity of the Ummah: Jurisprudentially, Historically, and in the Future") is a doctoral dissertation in Islamic jurisprudence and its foundations by the Syrian scholar Muhammad Khaldun Ahmad Nawras Maliki .
Background and Purpose
The work was prepared as a doctoral thesis at Damascus University under the supervision of Muhammad Sa'id Ramadan al-Buti, and was defended on 28 Rajab 1431 AH (10 July 2010 CE) before an academic committee consisting of al-Buti, Hamza Hamza, Usama al-Hamawi, Abd al-Latif al-Shirazi al-Sabbagh, and Taysir Barmo .
The author conceived the study amidst the events of the Second Palestinian Intifada in 2000 following the visit of Ariel Sharon to al-Quds, as well as the subsequent invasion and occupation of Iraq by American and British forces . Observing the fragmented and ineffective reactions of Arab and Islamic states, Maliki sought to examine the historical and legal dynamics of political fragmentation versus unity in Islamic thought, addressing the juristic rulings on multiple simultaneous caliphates and outlining pathways to rebuild Muslim cohesion .
Methodology and Structure
In analyzing the subject across jurisprudential, historical, and modern political dimensions, the book employs an inductive approach to survey legal texts and rulings, a comparative method to contrast scholars' positions, and an analytical framework to examine historical developments . The book is organized into four main parts:
- Part One (Definitions and Jurisprudential Preliminaries): Examines the lexical and technical definitions of the terms khalifah, khilafah, imam, and imamah, along with the legal obligation to establish the caliphate, whether leadership belongs to speculative theology (kalam) or legal branches (fiqh), and on whose authority the office is held .
- Part Two (Plurality of Caliphs from the Juristic Perspective): Distinguishes between complete and incomplete caliphates, analyzes the qualifications and duties of the ruler, and outlines the doctrine of necessity (nazariyyat al-darurah) alongside the juristic dispute between those who prohibit multiple caliphs absolutely and those who permit it under specific spatial or temporal conditions .
- Part Three (Plurality of Caliphs in Islamic History and its Jurisprudential Characterization): Investigates historical instances of concurrent claimants to the caliphate, notably the conflict between Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr and the Umayyads, as well as the coexistence of the Abbasid Caliphate, the Fatimid Caliphate, and the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba .
- Part Four (Plurality and Unity in the Future): Evaluates contemporary political bodies, specifically the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Arab League, and the Muslim World League, while proposing practical means for achieving unity across the Muslim world .
Conclusions
The book concludes that the caliphate is a religious duty aimed fundamentally at the unity of the Muslim community, and that instances of multiple caliphs across Islamic history represented rare departures from this norm rather than the standard rule . The author argues that classical arguments allowing multiple caliphs based on immense geographical distance are no longer valid in the modern era, that current national borders and rulers are justified only under the legal maxim of necessity, and that contemporary international Islamic organizations serve as preliminary steps toward greater political and institutional unity .
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