Hakimiyya means the sovereignty of God, and it is a neologism coined by the Indo-Pakistani Islamist Abu al-'Ala Maududi. Hakimiyya is used to justify the necessity of an Islamic state. Since God is the sovereign of the universe, God is therefore the sovereign of the state. Only laws that God has revealed are legitimate and human made laws that contradict these divine laws are illegitimate. It has become a fundamental concept in Islamist thought and Jihadi-Salafi ideology.
Maududi and the formation of hakimiyya
editAbul A'la Maududi was the first Islamist to use this term and is generally recognized as the thinker that popularized the term.[1][2] Maududi writes that hakimiyya is a simple consequence of view of God as the sovereign of the universe:
The Quranic concept of sovereignty is simple. God is the creator of the universe. He is its real sustainer and ruler. It is His will that prevails in the cosmos all around. As all creation is His, His command should also be established and obeyed in man’s society. He is the real sovereign and His will should reign supreme as the Law[3]
Sayyid Qutb and the incorporation of hakimiyya
editSayyid Qutb borrows the concept of hakimiyya from Maududi.
Hakimiyya in Islamist discourses in Saudi Arabia
editJihadi-Salafi views on hakimiyya
editHakimiyya is a core part of Jihadi-Salafi views. Jihadi-Salafis go further than Islamists such as Qutb and Maududi and argue that hakimiyya should be considered as a category of tawhid, the oneness of God. This idea championed by Abu Hamza al-Masri and Abu Basir al-Tartusi. Mainstream Salafis were critical of this attempt by Jihaid-Salafis to develop a new category for tawhid since they believed that it was tantamount to bid'ah or innovation.[4]
Notes
edit- ^ Lacroix.
- ^ Zaman 2006, p. 100.
- ^ Maududi 1960, p. 166.
- ^ Maher 2016, p. 200-201.
References
edit- Maududi, Abu al-'Ala (1960). The Islamic law and Constitution. Translated by Ahmad, Khurshid. Lahore: Islamic Publications Ltd.
- Lacroix, Stéphane. "Ḥākimiyya". EI3.
- Zaman, Muhammad Qasim (July 2015). "The Sovereignty of God in Modern Islamic Thought". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 25 (3).
- Maher, Shiraz (2016). Salafi-Jihadism: The History of an Idea. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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