It is on the basis of this view of the matter that one of...

It is on the basis of this view of the matter that one of the great Sunni scholars expressed himself as follows concerning the caliph: "The caliph cannot be removed from office on account of contravening God's laws and commands transgressing against the property of individuals or killing them or suspending the laws God has decreed.

In such a case it is the duty of the Islamic community to set his misdeeds aright and to draw him onto the path of true guidance." ( 1 ) However if such an atmosphere predominates in the institution of the caliphate with the caliph having no sense of responsibility based on his own religiosity toward Muslim society how can those who wish to reform the situation constantly watch over the deeds of a corrupt leadership evince the appropriate reaction on every occasion and purge Islam of deviation?

Can rulers be persuaded by mere advice to change their ways? If God had wished to entrust the destinies of the ( 14 ) community to unworthy rulers to impious and selfish oppressors it would not have been necessary for him to bestow messenger hood on the Prophet or to reveal the ordinances needed for the stability of society. Did those caring self-sacrificing and noble souls who throughout the centuries rebelled against evil and oppressive rulers act contrary to God's will? Dr.

'Abd al-'Aziz al-Duri a Sunni scholar writes as follows: "At the time the sovereignty of the caliphate was being established the political theory of the Sunnis with respect to this institution was not based simply on Qur'an and hadith. Rather it rested on the principle that Qur'an and hadith must be understood and explicated in accordance with whatever events subsequently occurred.

Thus every generation left its mark on the theory of the caliphate because that theory assumed a new shape with each new occurrence and was colored by it. An obvious example is the case of Qadi Abu 'l-Hasan al-Mawardi who served as chief judge under the caliph. When writing his book al-Ahkam al-Sultaniyyah he kept the concerns of the caliph in mind at a time when the caliphate was at its most degenerate.

He employed all his mental powers to reconcile the views of earlier jurists with the situation existing in his own time and the developments that were occurring then. His sole talent was in eschewing any kind of free and original thought. He wrote: "'It is permissible for an unfit individual to be the leader even if a fit individual is also to be found.