3.3 The method to re-establish the Khilafah requires Ijtihad
In order to arrive at the methodology to re-establish the Khilafah Ijtihad is required since this issue is a unique reality that is not comparable to any situation that the Muslim Ummah has come across in the past. This is because for thirteen centuries she lived in the shade of the Khilafah and under the authority of Islam. It is a unique situation that requires us to derive the Hukm Shari’i for this problem, from the Qur’an and Sunnah through a detailed process of Ijtihad. This should detail the steps to the re-establishment of the Khilafah, and thereby practically address the Vital Issue that Islam defined.
Hence what is required is to have detailed understanding of this Ijtihad like any other. For example, Salah is definitely Fard but the details of Salah are derived via Ijtihad. However it is still required to have a detailed understanding of its rules otherwise it would be impossible to know how to undertake the actions that are prerequisites for and components of Salah such as Wudu, Niyyah, Ruku and so on. Similarly it is required to have a detailed understanding of the method to re-establish the Khilafah otherwise one would not know Allah’s (swt) Hukm on the matter, and as a consequence one would be unable to resume the Islamic way of life, by giving the Bay’ah to a Khaleefah to rule the Muslims according to Islam.
Likewise, if a Muslim was unaware of the rules of fasting he would be unable to fast properly. If he did not know the detailed rules of Zakah it would be impossible for him to implement this obligation. In the same manner, he would not be fulfilling Allah’s (swt) command to re-establish the Khilafah unless he had derived the Hukm Shari’i connected to it. Vague statements, rhetoric, and slogans of just following Qur’an and Sunnah without understanding would never be enough.