I informed you about the site which said that we do not have to emulate Prophet Mohammed(S) in political establishment of Islam. You answered to this the verse 33:21 which says in the Messenger(S) of Allah you have a good example to follow. I send this answer to the site and this is how they gave the reply-The Holy Prophet(S) is indeed a perfect example for us to follow, however, the referred verse does not say that he is to be copied even in those things which are specific to his person or position. If you keep in mind the context of the stated verse then you shall notice that it is referring to the Prophet's(S) moral behavior and also his belief and his trust in God especially during a battle. It is in that he has been termed a most excellent example for his(S) followers. There clearly are exceptions in which we would not act exactly like the Prophet(S).These would be things which are exclusively for him as God's Messenger(S), and not as an example for us to follow. The establishment of Islam and the removal of Kufr (rejection of Absolute Truth) was obviously one of the spheres which belong exclusively to him as a witness of God's justice to his addressees. The position of being witnesses of God's truth to the world was then given to the collectivity of the companions(R) after the Prophet(S).However after this nobody else had such a status. Similar to the above we know that the Holy Prophet(S) is not for us as to the number of wives (R) he had. He is most certainly an example as to how he treated his wives and led his family life but the number of wives that he was permitted is forbidden for us. So it should be clear that there are certain areas in which the Prophet(S) did things that were exclusive to him as a Messenger of GOD. This was how they answered. In addition I told them the Ayat-2:208-Enter Islam perfectly (completely, not deficient)-To this the site said it had nothing to do with the question. Hope you will give the answer to the reply of the site. Thank you.

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.

In principle the actions of the Prophet () should be imitated and copied.

Al-Bukhari wrote a chapter in his book entitled: "The chapter of imitating the actions of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam)."

Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar, may Allaah have mercy uon him, when commenting on this chapter stated the following verse as an evidence (interpretation of meaning): "Indeed in the Messenger of Allah (Muhammad ) you have a good example to follow for him who hopes in (the Meeting with) Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah much. "(Al-Ahzab 33:21)

Some of the people of knowledge are of the view that it is obligatory to imitate the Prophet () as this is explicit in the Order of Allaah as He says (interpretation of meaning): "And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad ) gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it), and fear Allah. Verily, Allah is Severe in punishment". (Al-Hashr 59:7)

Allaah also says (interpretation of meaning): "Say (O Muhammad to mankind): "If you (really) love Allaah then follow me (i.e. accept Islaamic Monotheism, follow the Qur'aan and the Sunnah), Allaah will love you and forgive you of your sins. And Allaah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (Aali Imran 3:31)

Allaah also says (interpretation of meaning): "and follow him (Muhammad ) so that you may be guided." (Al-A'raf 7:158)

Therefore, we have to imitate him in his actions and his words unless there is evidence that a specific action of the Prophet (sallallahu Alayhi wa sallam) was only desirable to imitate or that it was peculiar to him. Therefore, you should know that the evidence of imitating him in his words and actions, are not restricted only to the above verses, because the principle in his actions is that they are to be imitated unless there is evidence that they are peculiar to him.

This includes also running the affairs of the Muslims while in peace or during wars, and this is what is called 'politics'.

The companions understood this principle, which is to imitate the Prophet 's actions and words. Al-Bukhari stated in his chapter (already mentioned) that Ibn Omar, may Allaah be pleased with both the father and the son, said: "The Prophet ) wore a golden ring, then all the people wore golden rings. Then the Prophet said: "I made use of a golden ring, then he threw it away and said: "I will never wear it again", so the people threw their rings away as well."

As regards the actions that are peculiar to the Prophet ) only, these cannot be confirmed except with an evidence. The matters that are peculiar to the Prophet are known and the scholars wrote few books about that. And we do not know of any scholar who said that running the affairs of the people is something peculiar to him, and that this matter is the same as marrying more than four women, and so on.

Here it is worth mentioning that one should note what the meaning of politics in religion is. We mention here a debate which is mentioned by Ibn Al-Qayyim in his book Badai Al Fawaid, between Ibn Aqeel Al-Hambali and a Shafii scholar:

He says in his book: "There is no politics except what is in accordance with the Shariah." Ibn Aqeel said: "Politics is any action that people do and which is closer to righteousness and further from evil and mischief even if this action was not established by the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) or sent down as a revelation."

Ibn Al-Qayyim considered that what Ibn Aqeel said was good, as he says: "If the signs of justice appear, and its purpose become evident in any way, then this is the Shariah and religion of Allah".

There is no contradiction between this and what we have mentioned previously about imitating the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam), because, if the means by which a benefit is achieved is not in contradiction with a religious text, then this is in accordance with what Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) was sent with and is not contrary it.

Those who keep on repeating such things, as stated in your question, want to restrict the religion to acts of worship only, and want to eradicate religion from practical life so that secularism will be applied in the life of the Muslims. They do every thing they can to provide any justification that confuses the Muslims about this matter.

To conclude, we say that we mentioned the opinion of the scholars in relation to the order concerning imitating the actions of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) and what is peculiar to the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) only and not to his Ummah. So what is mentioned in the website you stated is not based on true knowledge. So it should not be taken into consideration.

Allaah knows best.