Allah (swt) says in the Qu’ran, 

“And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], “Worship Allāh and avoid the Tāghout” [TMQ 16:36]

And He (swt) also says, 

“There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become distinct from the wrong. So whoever disbelieves in Tāghout. and believes in Allāh has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allāh is Hearing and Knowing.” [TMQ 2:256]

In the two verses above, Allah (swt) makes it clear that anyone who wants to accept Islam wholeheartedly and become a true Muslim must first avoid, disbelieve in, and reject the Tāghout. 

Hence, as Muslims, we must have a clear understanding of what the Taghout are in order to hold on to the rope of Allah (swt) – and never break from it. 

After the colonization of the Muslim Lands, and the weakening of the Arabic language and Islamic concepts, we find that as Muslims there are fundamental concepts that have been affected by the Capitalist Western thinking. Part of that is to make Islam a religion similar to Christianity where it is simply a personal faith for the individual. 

The colonization of the Muslim lands, poorer understanding of Arabic, and weaker grasp of Islamic concepts led to many problems. One problem has been the growing adoption of Capitalist and Western thinking in our deen. For example, one wrongful, but popular, concept is practising Islam as an individual or personal faith rather than a way of life for society.

Such wrongful concepts are due from, in part, to not properly or fully understanding the meaning of “Taghout.”

What is “Taghout?”

“Taghout” can be defined in two ways: one is linguistic, and the other is a technical terminology meaning defined by the Shariah. 

In its linguistic meaning, Taghout comes from “TaGaa,” which is the verb that means in excess. In Lisan al-Arab, it is defined as, “to go beyond all limits and boundaries.”

Ibn Faris says it means “passing all boundaries in disobedience”. 

When it is said “TaGaa Al-Sayl,” it means when the water has reached beyond its boundaries. Ibn Atheer says Taghiyah means the idols that used to be worshipped in the past. 

From a Shariah definition, Taghout is defined by Ibn al-Qayyim: 

“The Taghout is everything that surpasses its limits from what is worshipped, what is followed or what is obeyed”. 

“From what is worshipped” refers to idols. “From what is followed” refers to priests, sorcerers, or evil scholars. And “From what is obeyed” refers to leaders who no longer obey Allah (swt). 

As for the Kuhan – i.e., priests of the Idol worshippers being Taghout – it is narrated by Jabir (ra) that Rasul’Allah (saw) says:

“The Tawageet that they used to seek judgement from was in Juhayna, and in town of Aslam, and in every town there was a Kahin who was inspired by the Shaytan” {Bukhari}

As for Taghout referring to idols it is narrated by Abu Hurraira (ra) that the Prophet (saw) said:

“The hour will not be established until the women of the Daws tribe will be going around an idol named Dhi-Khisla the Taghiyah of Daws that they used to worship in Jahilyyah” {Muslim}

Imam Malik (ra) is reported to have said:

“The Taghout is everything that is worshipped other than Allah”.

As for the Taghout referring to leaders who rule by other than what Allah (swt) has revealed:

“Have you not seen those who claim to have believed in what was revealed to you, [O Muḥammad], and what was revealed before you? They wish to refer legislation to ṭāghout, while they were commanded to disbelieve in it; and Satan wishes to lead them far astray.” [TMQ 4:60]

Ibn Kathir states:

“It was reported that the reason behind revealing this Ayah was that a man from the Ansar and a Jew had a dispute, and the Jew said, “Let us refer to Muhammad to judge between us.” However, the Muslim man said, “Let us refer to Ka`b bin Al-Ashraf (a Jew) to judge between us.” It was also reported that the Ayah was revealed about some hypocrites who pretended to be Muslims, yet they sought to refer to the judgment of Jahiliyyah.”

As-Sa’di, the Mufassir, comments:

“anyone who judges by other than what Allah has revealed is a Taghout”. He also states; “Allah says they were commanded to disbelieve in the Taghout because how can Imaan (faith) reconcile with going to the Taghout for ruling; as Imaan necessitates submission to the Shariah of Allah and going to it in judgement in every single matter.” He also states, “Whoever claims he is a believer but chooses the law of Taghout above the law of Allah is a Liar and this is who the Shaytan has misguided him”. 

Reconciling the Linguistic and Shar’i (technical) meaning

Indeed, Taghout comes from the word Tughyan which means to go beyond all bounds in terms of disobedience. So, anyone who judges by other than what Allah (swt) and his Messenger (saw) revealed or goes to other than what Allah (swt) has revealed is going beyond all limits in disobedience and has become a Taghout. 

The Muslim Lands Are Ruled by Taghout

After the fall of the Khilafah in 1924, the Muslim lands have been ruled by the systems of Taghout. The creation of nationalistic states with monarchies, republics, democracies are all systems where the legislation is that of the Taghout, which make the laws of everything other than Allah (swt) superior. 

As Muslims, we must reject the systems of Taghout in our hearts This is a condition of our Faith as Allah (swt) says:

“So, whoever disbelieves in Tāghout. and believes in Allāh has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it.” [TMQ 2:256]

This should be natural to us. As when we understand the verse previous to this verse – which is Ayat al-Kursi – it gives us distinct characteristics about Allah (swt) which make it impossible for us to go to other than Him for judgement. 

In that verse Allah (swt) lets us know that He is the AlHayy, the Ever-Living, while everything besides him has limited life, and al-Qayyum, that He is the maintainer and sustainer of the universe. All matter, and laws that govern the universe are directed by Him, and dependent upon Him, and hence everything in the universe belongs to Him. “Who can intercede with Allah except with his permission?” 

No one can intercede except with His permission, such as Him designating Prophet Muhammad (saw) as our intercessor on the Day of Judgement. “He knows what is in before them and after them and none can encompass his knowledge except for what He wills” Hence Allah (swt) has the knowledge to legislate laws for mankind without bias unlike man who is limited to his reality and time, while Allah (swt) created time and knows what is best for His slaves. He is the most high and Great.

Hence, after looking at Ayat-al-Kursi, it becomes clear that anything that is competing with Allah (swt) in terms of veneration, or providing legislation, is rationally rejected. 

This includes worshipping idols, going to sorcerers for knowledge about the future, or participating in systems that empower man to usurp Allah (swt)’s sole right to legislate (like Democracy).

As Muslims, we must thoroughly reject the Taghout, and truly believe in Allah (swt) as the one who is exclusively Worshipped by taking guidance and laws only from Him. 

How to Remove the Taghout

When Rasul’ Allah (saw) became victorious in Arabia, he eliminated all of the Tawagheet from the region. In his Farewell Pilgrimage, Rasul’ Allah (saw) said, according to Jabir ibn Abdullah (ra): 

“Everything pertaining to the Jahillyah (pre-Islamic period) has been put under my feet. {Muslim}

The question is, how did the Prophet (saw) put an end to the Taghout in Arabia, and what can we learn from his life as to how to achieve that same goal today?

What we see is that the System of Khilafah is what is needed as a beginning point for protecting Muslims from the systems of Taghout. The Prophet (saw) said. 

“The Imam is only a shield behind whom fighting is engaged in and by whom protection is sought.” {Bukhari and Muslim]

The Imam here refers to the Khilafah of the Muslims. It is only when the Prophet (saw) established the first Islamic State in Madinah that the Tawagheet rulers whether in Arabia, Rome or Persia started to take the Muslims seriously in the global political stage. Based on this we need to keenly observe what actions did the Prophet (saw) and his Companions undertook in the Makkan stage to eventually establish the Islamic State in Madinah? When we observe the Makkan Stage, we see that the Prophet (saw) carried out three tasks

1. 1. Form a group around an ideological bond. This group would understand the reality of Worshipping Allah (swt) and also understand all the false gods (Taghout) present.
   2. Interact with their society and challenge them to expose the weakness of Tawagheet intellectually and show why Islam is the only guidance and Haq from the Creator of mankind.
      

Seek Nusrah (Material Support). Allah (swt) ordered Rasul’Allah (saw) to seek support from the Arab tribes to establish the authority of Islam and the Prophet. It is narrated by Ali ibn Abi Talib (ra) that:

“When Allah commanded his Prophet (saw) to present himself to the Arabian tribes, Abu Bakr RA and I went with him to Mina.” (Bayhaqi)

Hence, it is with organized group effort and with an Ideological Islamic party that we can work and follow the path of the Prophet (saw) to remove the systems of Taghout from the Muslim Lands and establish the Deen of Allah (swt) through the establishment of the Khilafah system. 

So let us continue the work of the Prophets, to whom Allah (swt) gave the mission of calling people to the submission to Allah (swt) and to the rejection of all the Taghout that exists on the Earth today. 

“And We certainly sent into every nation a Messenger, [saying], “Worship Allāh and avoid the Tāghout.” And among them were those whom Allāh guided, and among them were those upon whom error was [deservedly] decreed. So, proceed [i.e., travel] through the earth and observe how was the end of the deniers.” [TMQ 16:36]