Hisbah: A Historical Overview:

   The Hisbah concept is applied when a 'Muslim' individual volunteers to interfere in the lives of others once they commit a 'crime' or 'sin' against God or against people. The rights of God include doctrines and beliefs such as believing in God, His angels, His books, His prophets, as well as praying on time and giving alms, performing pilgrimage, fasting, repenting, and reading the Quran. The rights of people are protecting their money, lives, and honor as well as their right to ownership. What happens then when a person violates one of God's rights? Everyone tends to more or less agree as to the punishments for murder, burglary, theft, defamation, and adultery (although the latter is controversial). But the real controversy arises when one of God's rights is violated through heresy, apostasy, ignoring prayers and abstaining from giving alms. Should the ruler punish this person? Should others interfere in this person's personal life and force him/her to adopt a certain faith under the pain of death? Should anyone force this person to pray or to perform pilgrimage? In other words, is the Hisbah concept applicable here? And if the Hisbah were legitimate, and means interfering in someone's life, what are the limits of that intervention? Is it merely offering advice or should it include employing force through both moral and physical punishments? It is here that we find the vast difference between the Quranic sharia, which Prophet Muhammad applied, and the sharia applied by the clergy since the Abbasid Era. This difference lies in the political system itself. Of course, the Muhammad's city-state of Yathreb was founded on Shura (i.e., direct and democratic consultation), justice, and all types of freedom, whereas the Umayyad and the Abbasid caliphates were founded on power, violence, injustice, and the banning and flagrant violation of rights. The Umayyads were not bothered with acquiring fatwas (i.e., religious rulings or edicts) to justify their evil actions, even while murdering Al-Hussein and his followers, or while violating the Kaaba during the reign of the caliph Yazeed Ibn Mu'aweiya. The Abbasids established their caliphate under the slogan of gaining approval from the family/household of Muhammad, claiming to be his relatives and descendants. They clearly needed a legitimate and justifiable reason that would entitle them to murder their enemies on demand. This is why they created new religious notions and concepts that reinforced their power and authority, the most notable of which was creating the notion of Hisbah, performed by the Muhtasib (i.e., inquisitor, inspector, or supervisor).

   Hisbah was therefore a new term never mentioned in the Quran at all nor in any of the approved hadiths made 'holy' by Sunnites, and rejected by Quranists who deny all hadiths and Sunna. The clergy of the Abbasid Era found in the concept of (Al Amr bel Maaroof wal Nahy an Al-Monkar) (i.e., to enjoin 'good'/right and forbid 'wrong'/vice) a supportive basis for their Hisbah, making it an official religious concept that would operate politically in favor of, and at the service of, the State/caliphate. This was approved despite the fact that the Quranic command about people offering pieces of advice to one another about right and wrong is a volunteer work that by definition, and this contradicts official employment and paid work of the so-called 'religious' police. It has been historically established that the concept of Hisbah was unknown during the lifetime of Muhammad and also during the reign of the four pre-Umayyad caliphs, although the latter killed their enemies within Al-Khawarij, Shiites, and non-Arabs on the grounds of mere suspicions. Al-Hajaj, the powerful Umayyad governor of Iraq, killed his opponents just for doubting their loyalty, without the need for legal justification of fatwas from judges or courts. This state of affairs continued until the Abbasids destroyed the Umayyads with the help of the Persians. In the wake of the rise of the Abbasid State/caliphate with the help of Persian leader Abou Muslim Al-Khorasany, immediate suspicions began to surface between him and Abou Jaffer Al-Mansour, the Abbasid caliph. The latter felt insecure about his own power in the presence of Al-Khorasany until he finally murdered him with his own hands in 137 A.H. Despite the precautions he took, he could not prevent the Persian rebellions in Khorasan and the Eastern provinces under the leadership of Fatima Bint Abou Muslim Al-Khorasany, daughter of the slain leader. At the same time, followers of Al-Khorasany within the Abbasid caliphate and in Baghdad, its capital, began conspiring against the caliph in order to attempt to assassinate him. The caliph knew that among his administrators and military leaders there were many followers of Al-Khorasany. Those of them who announced their loyalty to the caliph were still treated with suspicion. Being a military caliph who founded his caliphate on religious grounds, needing to protect it and defeat his enemies, he sought a religious legislation that would accomplish two objectives: 1) getting rid of his enemies and the conspirators against him within the State, and 2) portraying him as a defender of the faith who would massacre and put to death all 'apostates', 'heretics', and 'enemies' of faith.

   In such political environment, the apostasy punishment/penalty (which is being put to death) was invented and fabricated and the concept of Hisbah emerged for the very first time. The Abbasid caliphate sent its forces to fight the Persian rebels led by Fatima, while concurrently steering its religious scholars inside Baghdad to issue fatwas to allow killing of opponents under the guise of being accused of apostasy. Since there is no penalty for apostates in Islam (the Quran), the clergy invented and phrased two hadiths about punishment of apostates, and the state immediately began inflicting such punishments. The war between the two parties continued, and the Abbasid caliphate sent its army to fight the Persians in the East. Fatima and her followers announced that they were adopting their old faith again which was Mazdakism. They therefore fought the Abbasids under that umbrella, and the Abbasids continued to pursue Fatima's followers and supporters, who were murdered for being heretics and apostates. Among those murdered were the poet Bashar Ibn Burd and poet Ibn Abdel-Quddus. The caliph Al-Mansour advised his son and successor, Al-Mahdi, to pursue and put to death all apostates, and Al-Mahdi in his turn advised his own son and successor, Al-Hadi, with the same piece of advice. The Abbasid caliphate therefore was clearly founded on pursuing and massacring the opponents and enemies of the Abbasids under the guise and claim of apostasy.

   It noteworthy that many other 'apostates' were left completely unharmed since they did not criticize the Abbasids; chief among them were poets named Abou Al-Ataheya, Ibn Saba, and many others, some of whom were even close to the caliphs in their palaces. Historians therefore agree on the fact that the term Muhtasib appeared for the first time during the reign of Al-Mahdi (158 – 169 A.H./ 774 – 785 A.D.) and the first Muhtasib was called Abdel Jayyar, otherwise known as 'Friend of the Apostates', whose duty was to seek and hut down apostates and to put them to death, when he was appointed in his post in 163 A.H. This therefore was the scene that created the concept of Hisbah, and it is no wonder that it is contradictory with the Quranic sharia laws. Since the Abbasid Era witnessed the beginning of writing down authored 'Muslim' thought (which was previously accumulated orally) including the fiqh (i.e., religious jurisprudence), the hadiths, and the interpretations of the Quran, we have therefore inherited this deception and lived with it as though it were part of Islam itself, although God has given us the Quran and said that He would protect it so that we would always get back to it as a basis for our faith and belief.

Asking People to Repent and Postponing Judgment till Resurrection Day:

   Is it acceptable that a human being demand that another person or group of people must repent under threat of punishment? This Sunnite notion known in Arabic as "estetaba" (literally, forcing someone to repent). The term 'repent' and its derivatives are mentioned in the Quranic text 87 times, and the word estetaba is NEVER mentioned at all. Repentance is a special and private relationship between each human being and God, and no human being not even Muhammad himself, may come between man/woman and God in matters of repentance or indeed any other religious matters and affairs. Whoever makes himself or herself a go-between or mediator, who demands from people to repent in in the name of God, is indeed a sinner, as this person has clearly misunderstood Islam. We ask this person to provide us with the proxy he/she has from God to receive repentance in His name or to force others to repent in His name. In the Quran, there are sufficient details concerning repentance for real believers. We provide below some of those verses linked to repentance.

1- In matters of faith and the secrets of people's hearts which no one knows but God, repentance is to God alone. God has commanded Muhammad in the Quran  to announce that: "...Say, "He is my Lord; there is no God but He; in Him I trust, and to Him is my repentance."" (13:30). This means that to Him alone do we repent, trust and believe. These are the words that Muhammad have uttered, and this is what every believer should say as he/she repents and turns to God alone.

2- Because Muhammad was a human being who never knew the secrets inside people's hearts, and because God the Omniscient alone knows what is hidden from the eyes and hidden in the chests, repentance is directed to God alone. God says the following in the Quran: "But whoever repents after his sins, and reforms, God will accept his repentance. God is Forgiving and Merciful." (5:39). Who could know the truthfulness of such repentance but He who knows the unknown?

3- Because repentance concerns God alone, one of His Divine Epithets is that He is a 'Forgiver'. This is repeated 11 times in the Quranic text. Because repentance is only to God and no one may join Him in accepting it, it is closely related to His will. God says the following in the Quran: "...God redeems whomever He wills. God is Knowledgeable and Wise." (9:15). "That God may reward the truthful for their truthfulness; and punish the hypocrites, if He wills, or accepts their repentance. God is Forgiving and Merciful." (33:24). No human being is therefore allowed to interfere in God's will and make someone repent or punish someone for not repenting.

4- All people are equal in imploring God to accept their repentance and beg for His mercy. All human being ask for God's pardon, whether they be ordinary people or prophets/messengers, even hypocrites, sinners, and wrongdoers. God says the following about Abraham and Ishmael when they lifted the foundation of the Holy House, the Kaaba, and implore their Lord, saying: "Our Lord, and make us submissive to You, and from our descendants a community submissive to You. And show us our rites, and accept our repentance. You are the Acceptor of Repentance, the Merciful." (2:128). Hence, even these two prophets implored their Lord to accept their repentance, without mediators, clergy, or intercessors, and this must apply to all people everywhere. God says the following about Muhammad: "God has redeemed the Prophet, and the Emigrants, and the Supporters-those who followed him in the hour of difficulty-after the hearts of some of them almost swerved. Then He pardoned them and accepted their repentance. He is Kind towards them, Compassionate." (9:117). We conclude then that accepting repentance is confined to God, not to any mortals, for He alone knows what is inside people's hearts and how truthful their repentance is. Asking others to repent therefore is a divine command clearly shown in the Quran, and human beings cannot give themselves the right to demand from people, when usurping this divine command, to declare repentance before mortals in private or in public to avoid being put to death.

Postponing Condemnation until the Judgment Day:

    The Quranic sharia laws do not give any human beings the right to judge others concerning their beliefs and faiths. It clearly urges real believers to wait and postpone condemnation till the Judgment Day. God's will entails to create people who freely adopt different opinions, beliefs, and trends, as we deduce from the Quran itself: "Had your Lord willed, He could have made humanity one community, but they continue to differ." (11:118). The history of the humankind is a series of nonstop differences among religions worldwide, within each religion and every sect. Jews and Christians differ, and each claim to have the Truth while others are wholly in the wrong. God will judge among them on the Judgment Day like the rest of humanity: "The Jews say, "The Christians are not based on anything;" and the Christians say, "The Jews are not based on anything." Yet they both read the Scripture. Similarly, the ignorant said the same thing. God will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection regarding their differences." (2:113). There are still differences among the Jews even after the Torah was revealed, referred to in the following verse as ''knowledge'' from God: "And We settled the Israelites in a position of honor, and provided them with good things. They did not differ until knowledge came to them. Your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection regarding their differences." (10:93). Concerning their differences around the Sabbath that God will judge among them as well. We read the following Quranic verse "The Sabbath was decreed only for those who differed about it. Your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection regarding their differences." (16:124). The Christians have similarly differed, and they include those who adhered to the Truth and those who were misguided and stuck to falsehoods; God has postponed their judgment till the Day of the Resurrection: "God said, "O Jesus, I am terminating your life, and raising you to Me, and clearing you of those who disbelieve. And I will make those who follow you superior to those who disbelieve, until the Day of Resurrection. Then to Me is your return; then I will judge between you regarding what you were disputing." (3:55).    

     Concerning the differences among those who believe in Allah as the One True God and those who take other deities alongside with Allah/God, we read the following verse: "Say, "Our God, Initiator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of all secrets and declarations. You will judge between your servants regarding what they had differed about."" (39:46). Regard the relationship between believers and the People of the Book (i.e., Jews + Christians), we read this divine command in this verse: "...Had God willed, He could have made you a single nation, but He tests you through what He has given you. So compete in righteousness. To God is your return, all of you; then He will inform you of what you had disputed." (5:48). Concerning the relationship between Muhammad and those who fought against him, we read the following verse: "You will die, and they will die. Then, on the Day of Resurrection, you will be debating before your Lord." (39:30-31). This means that Muhammad  himself will dispute with his enemies, on equal footing before the Lord God. That is why God has commanded Muhammad to tell them the following: "Those who believe, and those who are Jewish, and the Sabians, and the Christians, and the Magi, and the Polytheists-God will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection. God is witness to all things." (22:17). Hence, settling all religious conflicts, disputes, and differences have therefore been postponed until the Day of Resurrection. God says the following about all people: "...No soul gets except what it is due, and no soul bears the burdens of another. Then to your Lord is your return, then He will inform you regarding your disputes." (6:164). Concerning judgment among people on The Judgment  Day, God has commanded Muhammad in the Quran to announce the following "Say, "Our God, Initiator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of all secrets and declarations. You will judge between your servants regarding what they had differed about."" (39:46). Those many verses are enough to show that religious differences among people are left only to God, the Eternal Judge, on the Day of Resurrection, Who will judge all human beings, including Muhammad and the rest of prophets and messengers as well.

   After all this, is a real believer who loves Islam cannot possibly be judgmental of faiths of others or to demand from them to repent, let alone forcing, threatening, or coercing them, and we know that compulsion in religion is absolutely forbidden in Islam: "There shall be no compulsion in religion; the right way has become distinct from the wrong way..." (2:256); "Had your Lord willed, everyone on earth would have believed. Will you compel people to become believers?" (10:99). Hence, matters of faith are God's concern alone on the Day of Resurrection, and never the concern of mortals to judge one another. But there are rights of people to preserve their lives, property, dignity, and honor, and when such rights are violated, violators must be  punished in this world, and this is part God's Quranic sharia laws. This is the field where the human judiciary systems must interfere to protect people and society while abiding by the divine laws.