Ihtisab

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Ihtisab

According to the Zaidiyyah, if the land is devoid of a person who can fulfil all or most of the conditions of Imamah, then a righteous man should rise for the purpose of reformation and accountability by enjoining good and forbidding evil. He should forbid wrong with his tongue and, if necessary, his sword, according to its degrees, and command good with his tongue without the use of the sword. He should guard the borders, mobilise armies to defend the Muslims, protect the weak among them, safeguard endowments, inspect wells, Masjids, and roads, and prevent oppression. It is not a condition for him to be an Alawid or a Fatimid. [This is termed Ihtisab.] It is obligatory for the one fulfilling this role to step down upon the appearance of the Imam, because Imamah is a general leadership in both religious and worldly matters. The difference between the one carrying out Ihtisab and the Imam is that the Imam is distinguished by four characteristics: establishing the Jumu’ah prayers, taking funds by force, mobilising armies to fight oppressors, enforcing legal punishments on those deserving them, and killing those who refuse to submit to them. The person carrying out Ihtisab has no legal authority over the wealth of Allah, the Exalted, and it is not permissible for him to take it unless its owners permit and command him to do so.[1]

NEXT⇒ Sects of the Jarudiyyah of Yemen 

[1] An anonymous manuscript, author unknown, page 73, located in the State Library in Berlin, Number: 4944.

BACK⇒ Return to Table of contents

Ihtisab

According to the Zaidiyyah, if the land is devoid of a person who can fulfil all or most of the conditions of Imamah, then a righteous man should rise for the purpose of reformation and accountability by enjoining good and forbidding evil. He should forbid wrong with his tongue and, if necessary, his sword, according to its degrees, and command good with his tongue without the use of the sword. He should guard the borders, mobilise armies to defend the Muslims, protect the weak among them, safeguard endowments, inspect wells, Masjids, and roads, and prevent oppression. It is not a condition for him to be an Alawid or a Fatimid. [This is termed Ihtisab.] It is obligatory for the one fulfilling this role to step down upon the appearance of the Imam, because Imamah is a general leadership in both religious and worldly matters. The difference between the one carrying out Ihtisab and the Imam is that the Imam is distinguished by four characteristics: establishing the Jumu’ah prayers, taking funds by force, mobilising armies to fight oppressors, enforcing legal punishments on those deserving them, and killing those who refuse to submit to them. The person carrying out Ihtisab has no legal authority over the wealth of Allah, the Exalted, and it is not permissible for him to take it unless its owners permit and command him to do so.[1]

NEXT⇒ Sects of the Jarudiyyah of Yemen 

[1] An anonymous manuscript, author unknown, page 73, located in the State Library in Berlin, Number: 4944.