The Vital Issue For the Muslims

In the month of Rabi al-Awwal, 13 AH, the Islamic State centred at Medina was plunged into the most serious crisis since its establishment…the death of the Prophet (saw). Having conquered the forces of Kufr, subjugated the elements of shirk and established a governing state; the Prophet (saw) passed away having completed his mission. The news of his death quickly spread to all parts of the city. On hearing it, some wept, some were dumbstruck and others refused to believe that the Messenger of Allah (saw) had died.

Amidst the confusion, several other critical issues arose. News reached the capital that large numbers of people had publicly refused to pay the Zakah. Others were rallying around an impostor prophet by the name of Musailima. On the borders of the state far to the North the armies of the Roman Empire were preparing to fight while the army of Jihad, having just been given its orders to march, had encamped outside Medina. Within this atmosphere of unrest another issue, perhaps the most critical of all still remained to be solved; the burial of the Prophet (saw).

It was at this most serious of junctures that the most outstanding personalities of the Islamic State, the Sahabah(companions), took control.

The Ansar of Medina had gathered in the saqifa of Banu Sa’ida, to discuss the issue of ruling and government after the Prophet (saw). Abu Bakr (ra), along with Umar bin al-Khattab (ra) and Abu Ubaidah (ra) made their way to the meeting place. A long and fierce debate then ensued which continued beyond two nights. At its conclusion the Sahabah who had gathered decided that Abu Bakr (ra) be given the bay’ah and chosen as Khalifah for the Ummah. Thus, the successor to ruling and implementation of Shari’ah was chosen. The critical issue to note is that during these three days and two nights of discussion all the other problems that the Ummah faced were still in existence. However the Sahabah (ra) prioritised the selection of a Khalifah as the most critical issue. Following Abu Bakr’s (ra) appointment, units were organised to fight against the false prophet, those refusing to pay the Zakah were punished, the army of Jihad was dispatched to deal with the Romans and the Prophet’s (saw) body was buried.

It is vital that the actions the Sahabah took at this time are closely examined, for the Ijmaa(opinions) of the Sahabah indicates a Shari’ah rule for us. What they were faced with was a collection of issues which all required solving. All the issues were either Fard(obligatory( to carry out or were hudood to be implemented; neither could be delayed. Thus the burial of a body is Fard, the punishment of those who refuse to pay Zakah is obligatory, Jihad must continue and impostor prophets attacking the foundation of the Islamic State must be dealt with. However, the action prioritised above these actions was the selection of a Khalifah.

Rasoolallah (saw) had in fact already commanded what the Muslims should do upon his death and had laid down the hukm regarding the issue of rule. His (saw) hadith recorded in the Sahih of al-Bukhari states, “And after me there will be no more prophets, but there will be Khulafah, and they will be many”. The Sahabah asked, “What do you order us regarding them”. He (saw) replied, “Fulfil the Bay’ah(elect a leader) to them, one after one.” Rasoolallah (saw) also emphasised the obligatory nature of this bay’ah(vote). The Sahih of Muslim narrates, the Prophet (saw) said, “Whoso dies whilst there was no Bay’ah (pledge of allegiance) on his neck, he dies the death of jahiliyyah (ignorance).” Thus the Prophet (saw) made it compulsory on every Muslim to have the pledge of allegiance to a Khalifah.

It is this bay’ah that the Sahabah sought to establish. They immersed themselves in this work and gave it the priority it deserved. That is, being the most important issue above other issues, even over the burial of the Prophet (saw) himself. For it is by the establishment of the ruling system of Allah (swt) that the Shari’ah is implemented, the Hudood is enforced, the rights are upheld and the Deen is made dominant.

This idea has remained with the Muslim Ummah throughout its history. Wherever Islam spread, the rule of Allah (swt) was implemented and the bay’ah to the Khalifah was maintained. After the age of colonialism when the Ummah was given an opportunity to assert itself, to implement a law, to profess a belief, it was always Islam. Thus the hundreds of millions in the Indo-Pak subcontinent who were roused, did so in the name of Islam, did so behind the slogan,  What is the meaning of Pakistan? There is no God but Allah!

It was the desire to re-establish an Islamic ruling authority, to restore the Shari’ah, and to implement the Deen that moved the masses, that led to the sacrifices, that convinced millions to migrate. Their goal was one, a land where a Mu’min could live under the shade of the Shari’ah.

That aspiration today still remains unfulfilled. In its place are a host of issues, problems and calamities that affect the Muslim Ummah, globally and locally. In government the rule of Allah (swt) is replaced with the rule of Insaan, economically our lands lie chained to debt, militarily our vast arms gather dust while our brothers and sisters are butchered. Once again the Ummah questions itself. What issue should we pursue? What problem should we solve first? Where does the solution lie? We are in fact at that critical juncture faced by our predecessors, the Sahabah (ra). The guidance given to them applies to us today, the rule given to them applies to us today, and the actions undertaken by them apply to us today, to re-establish the Khilafah. The lack of the rule of Allah (swt) is indeed the most critical issue, for in its absence, Kufr reigns supreme. In order to arrest this situation, lead this Ummah to revival and fulfil our Fard, the re- establishment of the Khilafah is the vital issue.

Link to our reality today
 

What we learn from the example of the Sahabah radhiallahu anhum, is that while there may be a myriad of issues assaulting the Ummah, what must be done is to analyse, understand and prioritise the issues according to Islam. Thus they focused on the leadership for and unity of the Ummah. It resolved the problems, of the Muslims, stabilised their situation and brought victory to Islam and the Believers.

In our situation of today, our blood is spilled in Afghanistan, Jenin, Hebron, Chechnia and now again in Palestine. There are murders and cruel tortures of Muslims in Uzbekistan and China. We know of the poverty in Africa and Indonesia, of the killings and persecutions in India, Chechnia, Palestine, Kashmir. What do we attend to first? The Ummah are in shock - angry, saddened and confused.

We had the same reaction to the destruction of the Khilafah on the 3rd of March, 1924. We had the same reaction when Israel was established on our blood and our land. And now, after September the 11th Muslims all over the world, are having to answer Bush’s question - are we with them or against them. The response is confused:


Some suggest embracing the west - although decreasingly so

Some suggest rejecting modernity and technology - retreating into some exotic orthodoxy

Some suggest reshaping ourselves to the Western / American mould of Islam - through
compromise, integration, assimilation, and secularising.
 

The reality is however, that the kuffar too are in deep trouble. Look at the suffering in the world today. This, in the ‘golden age’ of capitalism, when the kuffar have only one dominant ideology and yet, there is global poverty, famine, pollution, exploitation of human suffering and majority economic deprivation. The West fashion weapons of mass destruction and great cruelty. Then manufacture wars to sell those weapons - it’s a trillion dollar industry this ‘organized violence’ - prospering on misery the sublime achievement of Western civilisation, the fruit of ‘enlightened Western thought’. Kufr, capitalism, and taghut have enslaved us and have failed the kuffar themselves. Enron, Arthur Andersen, WorldCom, and recently rumblings about AOL-Time Warner - this at the height of their power. The very bastions of capitalism are collapsing before our eyes - without us lifting a finger. If the global consequences weren’t so seriously tragic, it would be hilarious.

The correct response to the onslaught on the Believers

None of the 3 options bulleted above are correct nor are they acceptable to Islam. The answer lies in embracing Islam comprehensively and exclusively - that is to establish our lives on our Iman, our aqeedah, and to have sabr (not just patience, but also being steadfast, being calm and positive and continuing with what is fard and refusing what is haram). Islam itself is the solution - this Deen, came as a solution to all of life’s issues. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala mentions in the Qur’an the translation of the meaning of which reads,

And We have sent down to you the Book (the Qur'an) as an exposition of everything, a guidance, a mercy, and glad tidings for those who have submitted themselves (to Allah as Muslims)
[ An Nahl: 89]

Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala describes the Messenger sallallahu alaihi wasallam as a ‘mercy to all the worlds’.

The bond to our Aqeedah

We as Muslims, have declared that we witness, that we know, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala exists, that Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam is His Messenger, that Al Qur’an is indeed the Word of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala links our belief to the implementation of Islam in every fabric of our daily lives. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala commands that judging by Islam in our life’s affairs is linked to Belief in Islam,

“But no, by your Lord, they can have no (real) Faith, until they make you (Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam) judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, but accept them with the fullest conviction.”
[ Surah An Nisa: 65]

Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam said in his last sermon, (Khutbah al-Wada’a)
“…I am leaving with you that if you hold fast to, you will never go astray. The Book of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala and the Sunnah of His Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam”

Islam is a system and way of life that was implemented globally for over 1300 years. They did not do this because it was of ‘great benefit’ they did this because its creed, its foundation, the basis of life was absolutely and simply true. From this correct basis emanated a system of ruling, of economy of societal interaction, duties and responsibilities, of systems of relations between men and women. This system of life, took care of the world. The fruits of our Deen, was truly an illumination and enlightenment of the world. It contributes to all the high values existing today. None paralleled it.

Bernard Lewis, in his book ‘What Went Wrong?’ writes, ”Islam represented the greatest military power on earth… It was the foremost economic power in the world… It had achieved the highest level so far in human history, in the arts and sciences of civilization”.

In talking about world civilisations, and contrasting it with the Chinese, he observes, “Islam in contrast created a world civilization, polyethnic, multiracial, international, one might even say intercontinental.”

He also writes, “It is often said that Islam is an egalitarian religion. There is much truth in this assertion. If we compare Islam at the time of it’s advent with the societies that surrounded it - the stratified feudalism of Iran and the caste system of India to the east, the privileged aristocracies of both Byzantine and Latin Europe to the West - the Islamic dispensation does indeed bring a message of equality. Not only does Islam not endorse such systems of social differentiation; it explicitly and resolutely rejects them. The actions and utterances of the Prophet, the honored precedents of the early rulers of Islam as preserved by tradition, are overwhelmingly against privilege by descent, by birth, by status, by wealth, or even by race, and insist that rank and honor are determined only by piety and merit in Islam.”

Further on, he conceded, “The Muslim women had property rights unparalleled in the modern West until comparatively recent times. Even for the slave, Islamic law recognized human rights - the term “civil rights” has no meaning in the context of those times and places - unknown in classical antiquity, in the Orient, or in the colonial and post colonial societies of the Americas.”

We failed, because we moved away from Islam

We need to return to Islam. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala promises and informs us, that the objective of Islam and the Muslims who carry it, is to establish it and for it to supersede over all other ways of life,

They intend to put out the Light of Allah (i.e. the religion of Islam, this Qur'an, and Prophet Muhammad) with their mouths. But Allah will complete His Light even though the disbelievers hate (it).

He it is Who has sent His Messenger (Muhammad) with guidance and the religion of truth to make it victorious over all (other) ways of life even though the Mushrikun (polytheists) hate (it).
[ As Saff: 8 - 9]

Conclusion

And so, what is the answer to those who gleefully fire missiles at innocent babies? Who aim their powerful guns at the skulls of children? At the kafir soldiers who rape and beat pregnant women? At cowardly treacherous leaders like Karimov and Mubarak who torture and electrocute the Believers in Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala and Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam? What must the Islamic Ummah do (first) to deal with the myriad of problems that stalk us? The answer is the re-implementation of Islam. The method from Shara’a is to work with a group to re-establish the structure - the Khilafah (Islamic ‘State’) and to establish the one single leader for the Islamic Ummah - the Khalifah on that structure. Then he, empowered by Allah’s Deen, will mobilise the Believers to correct all the wrongs, insha Allah.

If we are indeed Believers, and we believe in Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam and Islam, then we will never apply any solution from taghut and kufr nor anything other than Islam. We will apply the solution from the Deen of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala upon the root problem. Not because it brings benefits or it works but because it is the Command of the Creator of man, life and the universe.

Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam said, "I have five names. I am Muhammad. I am Ahmad. I am al-Mahi (the effacer), by whom Allah effaces (obliterates) kufr. I am al-Hashir (the gatherer), before whom people are gathered. I am al-Aqib (the last)."
[Related by Malik, from Ibn Shihab from Muhammad ibn Jubayr ibn Mutim]

We are the followers of that Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam, we are the Ummah of the Effacer of falsehood. Islam is the solution, Khilafah is the Method. It is time for us to implement the Truth.

"Say (O Muhammad): If you love Allah then follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful"
[ Al-i-Imran 3:31]


Hamzah Abdul Mu’iz