What does it mean to say Islam is political and intellectual in nature?

Islam is intellectual because it addresses the thoughts that human-beings must have towards the life, on the basis of Deen. There are Islamic rulings regarding the aqeedah, which are convictions, such as belief in the finality of Prophethood. There are Islamic rulings regarding the criterion upon which to measure things and actions, which are Usool, such as the origin of actions is abiding by the Hukm Shar'i. There are Islamic rulings regarding the manner that Islam treats the problems of humans, which can be described as solutions, such as company structure and marriage contracts. There are Islamic rulings regarding the manner of the practical implementation of these thoughts, which can be described as rulings of the method, such as the punishment of the intoxicated. Thus Islam is far away from the intellectual nature of the Western materialistic philosophy, which is based on compromise in the aqeedah, benefit in the criterion for actions and numerous values, roles and norms determined by the limited human mind. Each of these Islamic rulings have evidences and they are a judgement for the human being to carry. These judgements are collectively the thoughts that constitute the intellectual aspect of Islam. They define a particular culture upon which the Islamic civlization has a distinct character. The current generation has lost the correct judgements, or they have become ambiguous and confused. They have adopted Western criterion and rulings, believing them to be in agreement with Islam. So there is a need for an intellectual striving, in order to clarify the thoughts and their evidences. The intellectual striving has two elements. Firstly the tardeed, refutation of the kufr ideas, which is the Quranic style of refutation. Secondly, the presentation of the Islamic thoughts with their evidences so that they are linked with the Aqeedah of the Muslims strongly. Islam is political because it governs the affairs of humankind collectively upon the basis of Iman. The Khulafa'a have the role of the Prophets (as) with respect to looking after the affairs of the people by the Deen of Allah (swt). They do so by ensuring the practical implementation of the Islamic rulings and so they are a political authority. Politics is thus enjoining the good and forbidding the evil. Looking after the affairs of the Ummah is by an Imam who ensures that the citizens to abide by the Islamic commandments and abstain from the Islamic prohibitions. Thus, Islam is far away from the political nature of the Western democracy, which is based on deceit, compromise, exchange of Dunya benefits and ruling by whims and desires. In origin, the political medium in Islam consists of the umaraa and the ulema. The umaraa are the rulers who implement Islam. The ulema are those who advise and account the rulers on the basis of Islam. That is how the political medium was in the time of the Khilafah and that is how it will be in the time of the Second Khilafah Rashida. However, today, the political authority is in the hands of those who usurped it, without taking an Islamic Bayah for ruling by Islam. The Ummah must return the political authority to Islam and must not submit to the rulers. So, there is a need for a political struggle, in order to clarify how the implementation of the rulers deviates from Islam, highlighting the grave sin in being silent before their munkaraat and inciting the Ummah in general, through its people of power in particular, to seize the rule. As for the matter of political analysis, it is a part of the political struggle, but not its entirety or even its greatest portion. It is to understand the colonial plans of the West against Islam and Muslims, and to expose the agency of the rulers to the Western colonialists, in order to expose their actions being in accordance to the plans of the colonialists.