Core Principles of the Islamic Polity

• Sovereignty (Hakimiyyah)
  • Belongs to Allah alone, exercised through the community's vicegerency (Khilafah) bound by the Shariah (12:40).
  • Human authority (Sultah) is a delegated trust, never an original right.
• Bay'ah (consent)-based legitimacy — authority flows from the community's pledge, renewable and conditional.
• Shura-based leadership — consultation is a structural requirement, not optional courtesy.
• Rule of law — binding equally on rulers and ruled.
• Separation of judiciary from executive influence — an independent Qada.
• Accountability — institutionalised checks (Hisbah, Mazalim, public questioning).

Shura (Consultation)

• A structural requirement of legitimate governance in classical theory (3:159, 42:38).
• Historically exercised through councils of senior companions.
• Today widely debated as the Islamic basis for parliamentary/consultative democracy.

Legislation (Tashri')

• Ultimate legislative sovereignty (Hakimiyyah) belongs to Allah (12:40).
• Human legislative bodies operate within the Shariah's framework, mainly in areas Islam left open (Mubah) or requiring fresh Ijtihad.

Sources of Islamic Law (Usul al-Fiqh), in Order of Authority

1. The Qur'an
2. The Sunnah/Hadith
3. Ijma (consensus of qualified jurists)
4. Qiyas (analogical reasoning)

Supplementary sources: Istihsan (juristic preference), Maslahah Mursalah (unregulated public interest), 'Urf (custom).