The following is an article written by a brother in America in February 1997, it has many points that are still applicable today.
"They
desire to put out the Light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah rejects and
He insists that His Light prevails even if the Kuffar detest it. It is He Who
has sent His Messenger with the Guidance and the Deen of Truth to make it
prevail over all other ways, even if the idolaters detest it." [TMQ
As-Saff:8-9]
Tuesday, February 04, 1997
Allah (swt) created this life and
subjected it to a specific system from which it cannot deviate. He (swt) said:
"And the system of Allah will not be
altered." [TMQ Al-Ahzab:62]
"And the system of Allah will not be
changed." [TMQ Al-Israa':77]
Part of this system is the struggle
between the Truth (Al-Haqq) and Falsehood (Al-Batil). Never will the Haqq
tolerate the Batil, nor will the Batil ever accept the Haqq. The struggle is
continuous and ever-lasting and may take various forms, ranging from
intellectual to physical or political.
A quick look at the Seerah of Prophet
Muhammad (saaw) shows that he struggled against the Batil. In Makkah, he (saaw)
was invalidating their beliefs and ridiculing their value system and culture
with no fear or compromise. In fact, all the prophets and messengers carried
this mentality and followed this procedure, and, as a result, every prophet and
messenger was opposed by the Kufr surrounding him. In Madinah, when Muhammad
(saaw) established the Islamic State, it was used as a platform for carrying
Islam to other nations and challenging the Kufr systems and ways of life with
the Islamic world order. The Prophet (saaw) was continuously interacting with
other nations with the intent of making the Haqq supreme over all other ways of
life.
This struggle continued immediately after
his death. The Muslim Ummah struggled against other nations, be they idolaters,
Persians, Romans, Tatars, Moguls, Crusaders, or Communists. Today, the Ummah is
still struggling against the Secular Capitalist nations. Therefore, struggling
between the Ummah of Islam and other nations is a natural occurrence due to the
fact that the Muslim Ummah's fundamental task is to carry the Islamic Da'wah to
the world as a creed from which a comprehensive system emanate. Such a task
mandates that the Ummah challenge the ideas of Kufr and exposes their
invalidity for the purpose of making Allah's system and ideology the supreme
ideology for all humanity. Thus, the fundamental task of the Ummah defacto will
be to engage itself in a struggle between Islam and Kufr, between the Haqq and
the Batil.
Although the struggle is part of the
reality of Allah's creation, the means, methods, and shapes of the struggle
vary. For example, the West called upon the Muslims to embrace Christianity and
Secularism directly by using missionaries but failed miserably. The Ummah
refused to abandon its Deen and embrace the Kufr ideas of Christianity and
Secularism. Consequently, the West replaced this direct approach with a
clandestine one from which it reaped tremendous success. This approach
introduced Western ideas as being compatible with Islam, and rather than
relying on missionaries and Orientalists to convey these ideas, it relied on
polished and prepared Muslim individuals and groups that were thrust into the
limelight. Jamal ud-Deen al-Afghani, Muhammad 'Abduh, and Khayr ud-Deen
at-Tunisi were but a few examples of such Kufr tools that were used at the turn
of this century.
These characters introduced Western ideas
as being Islamic knowing that they are serving the interests of the West, and
therefore become traitors to Allah (swt), His Messenger (saaw), and the Ummah,
such as al-Afghani and his student Muhammad 'Abduh, as their correspondences to
each other and to the British envoy in Egypt reveal. They also served the
Western interests by carrying Western ideas and points of view in life out of
ignorance. Regardless of the intentions and motives of such individuals, the
end result is the same: Furthermore, they established the roots of Kufr in the
ideological soil of the Ummah, and kept the Muslims away from the correct
method of revival.
As the system of Allah (swt) mandates,
the struggle and confrontation must continue. Therefore, the propagation of
Kufr ideas to the Ummah must continue. As long as the Muslim Ummah has no
immune system - the intellectual elevation that would enable the Muslims to
differentiate between Islam and Kufr, and the political entity that would
prevent the dissemination of Kufr concepts among the Ummah - to prevent the
penetration of these ideas, such ideas will continue to exist among the
Muslims. The following are the main ideas that are carried to the Muslims as
being Islamic while in reality they are ideas of Kufr which have no
relationship with Islam:
Idea #1: The Separation of Deen from Life
The concept of separation of Deen from
life and state constitutes the basis of Western civilization and the foundation
of its point of view in life. Religion, in the Western vocabulary, is a set of
rituals that pertains to the individual and does not concern itself with
society. In the West, religion addresses specific things like marriage,
divorce, prayers, and some morals, but has nothing to do with the economic,
ruling, educational system, foreign policy, or political affairs. This concept
is being introduced to the Muslims, not by the Secularists alone but by the
"Du'ah" of Islam (Islamic activists) and the Shuyookh (religious
scholars) and even by some Islamic groups, regardless of whether it is done
knowingly or unknowingly.
The propagation of Secularism among
Muslims is achieved through two methods which use the same tool: Polished
Muslim scholars. The first is where scholars command Muslims to refrain from
interfering in their society's affairs. Statements such as, "You should be
concerned with yourself," "Leave politics now and build your
Iman," or "The Youth should not concern themselves with these matters
(the imprisonment of some scholars and Du'ah by the Saudi regime) and should
focus on seeking knowledge," manifest this tactic. These scholars also
give Fatawa that mandate the obedience to the Sultan (legitimate authority) and
prohibition of going against him on grounds that it would cause fitnah. By
dividing Islam into immediate rules and ultimate ones, they give the image that
Islam is to be followed in stages, the first of which is "working on
oneself." For decades, the Ummah has been "working on itself"
and it has not been ready to engage in Islamic work that addresses the societal
problems of the Muslim Ummah
The second approach of these scholars has
been to focus on teaching the rules that pertain to the individualistic aspects
of Islam. They have occupied the Ummah almost exclusively with the rules of
Salah, Zakat, Hajj (in their personal sense as opposed to the one who has the
right to collect the zakah and distribute it or the legitimate one who has the
authority to conduct the Hajj, etc.), and morals. The method followed to teach
these rules is incorrect; they are not introduced as part of a complete way of
life that is connected with the 'Aqeedah of Islam. Instead, they teach these
rules in a priestly way isolated from the people's daily affairs. They
completely ignore the rules that pertain to the Hudood (penal code), Jihad,
Jizyah (head tax), Kharaj (land tax), the Bay'ah, the reality of whether the
land is Dar ul-Islam or Dar ul-Kufr, and other topics. In addition, they leave
out the Islamic rules regarding treaties and completely ignore the illegitimate
treaties held by the governments of the Muslims today.
The success of this focused approach is
extremely obvious. Islam has become nothing but mere rituals in the minds of
the Ummah. The Muslims today would howl in anger at a person entering the
masjid with his left foot, and they see no harm in having the rules of Kufr
governing their society instead of the rules of Allah (swt). They speak against
a person who did not comply with the Mandoub (actions if done, the Muslim will
be rewarded, but if not, will not be punished) but remain quiet against Kufr
being implemented upon them, which is not only Haram but in contradiction with
the essence of their existence. They have been taught that the first is a
violation of Islam with no concept of the latter. Even those who see that
ruling by Kufr is a problem, they do not view it the way Islam views it.
Allah's (swt) Messenger (saaw) viewed it as a matter of life and death.
Al-Bayhaqi reported: "When the Mushrikeen of Makkah approached Abu Talib
to tell his nephew to stop attacking their beliefs, Abu Talib approached the
Messenger (saaw) with their demand. Muhammad (saaw) replied, 'O Uncle, if they
put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left hand, for me to leave this
matter, I will not until Allah makes it dominant or I die for it.'" Unlike
the Messenger (saaw), the Muslims today see the re-establishment of the Islamic
system as a distant goal that will eventually descend from the sky on a silver
platter while the immediate focus should be on the morals and the individualistic
aspects of 'Ibadah. Such an approach is nothing more than a detachment of
religion from life. There is no difference between a people whose religion
covers the individual aspects of life exclusively and others who choose the
individual aspects of their comprehensive Deen and neglect the collective
aspects.
Idea #2: The Criterion of Benefit.
The criterion for actions in the West is
benefit. This yardstick naturally resulted due to the separation of religion
from life. The West has determined that happiness translates into achieving the
greatest material pleasure. Consequently, they decide upon what actions to
perform based on their benefit, as their minds understand it. This idea is
being carried to the Ummah not only by individual Du'ah but also by Islamic
groups. They have made benefit as their criterion for actions, after coating it
with an Islamic flavor. They embark on actions on the basis of either
al-Masalih Al-Mursalah (benefits that have no Daleel that address them), Shar'u
man Qablana (the divine laws of those Ummat of previous messengers and
prophets), Maslaha tu-Da'wah (the interest of the Da'wah), or Fiqh ul-Muwazanat
(balancing the priorities). All of these methods have resulted in detaching the
Muslims from the Ahkam Shari'ah as a yardstick for actions. As a result, many
Islamic rules, even conclusive ones, are violated.
For example, some groups call for
Democracy, not out of conviction but out of hope that they will achieve benefit
from such calls. They see that Democracy guarantees them freedom of Da'wah and
movement. Sometimes they declare that "We are not against the
system," or "We seek our existence from the system." One finds
them participating in the very system they are out to change, or form
coalitions with Secular movements to become an opposition. A good example that
demonstrates this point was published by the daily newspaper Al-Hayat recently
showing a parliament member from the Islamic bloc in Jordan giving his vote of
confidence to the government because it promised him to construct a tunnel in
his area and another because he was promised that his area will be changed to
be a "Liwaa," which would ensure his success in the next elections.
Such actions are purely interest-driven and have no relation to Islamic methods,
and those who undertake such actions are no different than Western politicians
who strike deals to win extra terms to ensure success in upcoming elections.
In addition to employing the dirty and
filthy politics of Niccolo Machiavelli and insulting Islam by claiming that
such filth is Islamic politics, the same groups attack those who confront the
regimes as being a Kufr one and expose the plots of the rulers against the
Muslim Ummah on the basis that such persons are being careless and are lacking
"Hikmah." In addition, they order people not to confront the evil of
the Muslim rulers and expose their treason with the excuse that this threatens
the interests and jobs of the Du'ah. The situation of the Muslims in the West
is no different. Muslims are encouraged by certain Muslim activists and
organizations to participate in the political process. Benefits are always
cited as incentives to take this path, regardless of how much Islam must be
forfeited or compromised. The experiences of the Jews and other minority groups
are brought up to support their argument.
As a result, they busy the Muslims in
arguments and discussions centered around how to achieve the most benefit
regardless of the Islamic stance on these issues. Those who say that such
actions are Haram because they legitimize the Kufr systems and result in the
integration of Muslims in this society and loss of their identity are labeled
by these groups as unrealistic, impractical, and traitors to the Ummah. They
attack those who call the Ummah towards the Islamic agenda of working to
establish Islam in its totality and carrying its call to the people as an
obstacle towards guaranteeing Muslims their constitutional rights as a
minority. In addition, they attempt to ban such persons from "their"
masajid, and they try to stop them from speaking and distributing their Islamic
literature - all for no reason but because it threatens their personal benefits
and would set them on a long, tiring path of confrontational Da'wah that
Muhammad (saaw) and every other prophet and messenger undertook.
Through this method, Islam no longer
becomes the basis for action. The Islamic Da'wah is carried out only if it
agrees with personal interests, and its carriers are not subject to harm or
hardship. This is not the Islam which was brought by Muhammad (saaw). It is an
alien Islam that is designed and tailored in accordance with the Western
yardstick of benefit. Such actions serve nothing more than strengthening the
Western ideas among the Muslims. It comes as no surprise that these groups and
individuals are always under the spotlight and made to appear as if they were
the great scholars and genuine leaders of the Ummah.
Idea #3: The Role of the Mind
The West is of the opinion that religion
and intellect are not related to each other. For them, religion must be taken
in an emotional, non-intellectual way. According to Western thought, religion
and intellect are in constant struggle against each other. This struggle is
represented in the centuries-old conflict between the church and the
intellectuals, which resulted in setting the religious affairs exclusively in
the hands of the churches and keeping the mind solely concerned with worldly
affairs and science.
This Western concept of religion is being
introduced to the Ummah by some Muslims who have misunderstood their Deen. They
aim at teaching Islam to the Muslims as a heritage that is received from their
predecessors (Salaf) without any intellectual evaluation. Muslims are supposed
to submit without questioning. Even the 'Aqeedah, which is the foundation of
Islam, is validated solely on the basis that it is the 'Aqeedah of the Salaf.
They attack anyone who says that the 'Aqeedah must be based on intellect and
that intellect proves the validity of Islam and the invalidity of other
beliefs.
In addition to the fact that they do not
understand the methodology of accepting the 'Aqeedah and the role of the mind
in Islam, they contribute to spreading the Western concept about religions as
being a non-intellectual theology. They also work to implant the idea of
conflict between intellect and religion, as well as make Islam the exclusive
property of specific people as in the West.
Idea #4: Obscuring the Fact that the
Rulers are Agents
It is a known fact that history has not
witnessed a situation where the rulers are agents to other countries. In the
past, rulers were always situated on the same side as their people against the
enemies. Even if they were defeated, the rulers would work with their citizenry
against the enemies. The current situation is unique because the rulers are
working to direct the political, economic, and military resources of their
people in the interest of other countries and, hence, they are the eyes and
ears of their colonial masters against their own people. This situation is one
of the greatest calamities facing the Ummah as it keeps the sleeping giant in a
feeble state. When the colonial powers occupied the Muslim lands, they were
very cautious not to let the Ummah feed on the thought that its rulers are
agents. If they allowed the Ummah to sever its relationship with these puppet rulers,
then the colonialist countries would be compelled to engage the recalcitrant
nation and thus expose its own people to peril and loss of life in order to
maintain their dominance over the Ummah. The best scenario for the colonialist
powers was to install their agent in authority and act as if they were forced
to leave by the agent's influence. They would also provide their agents with
weapons to arm some mercenaries within the Ummah in order to secure and
maintain the interests of the colonialist countries by the blood of Muslims,
rendering a brother to fight his own brother.
The colonial powers were cautious not to
disclose their agents, until the day came when the agents would stand beside
their masters in broad daylight. For example, Yasser Arafat was portrayed as a
symbol of Jihad and hope for the Muslims, until the day came when the facade
was dropped and he was standing with America and Israel and participating in
the selling of Muslim lands to Israel. The agents confronted the real Islamic
da'wah carriers, who were, and still remain, the only real threat to Western
influences in Muslim lands. Other movements did not show enmity to the West,
but only served to deceive some Muslims for a short period of time.
Even during times of severe fighting among
the agents, the agents did not disclose each other's treachery, except in small
portions. During the most critical times of conflict among the agents, they did
not reveal the facts to the Ummah in order to conceal the truth that such
conflicts among the agents were only intended to serve the interests of their
masters.
During the Gulf War, when the Muslims of
Egypt stood side by side with the Muslims of Najd and Hijaz (Saudi Arabia) and
the Muslims of Syria under the leadership of the United States to fight Iraq,
Hosni Mubarak was asked a question in a press conference about the reason
behind King Hussein's frequent visits to Britain. Even when King Hussein
travels to the United States or any other European country, the first stop in
his route, as well as his last stop before returning to Amman, is London. Hosni
Mubarak answered the question be saying: "Oh yes, this is true, this is
really strange." At the time, Hosni was lying because he knew the right
answer, but he would never reveal it. Even if the fighting with the British
agents was glowing, Hosni would never let the Ummah know the facts. He would
sacrifice his own soul to mislead the Ummah.
The West and its agents deemed that the
Ummah would forget how such states were established, and would forget that the
rulers are running their countries for the interests of other countries. For
example, the rulers now can claim that they are really ruling their people
according to the people's best interests. They make fun of anyone who talks
about colonialism and colonialists, as if he was telling a fairy tale. They
accuse those who attack them and try to reveal the fact that they are agents as
fanatics obsessed with the so-called "Conspiracy Theory" who try to
smear their images. They claim that nothing has been planned for and plotted
beforehand and that all political actions they embarked upon were decided by
their own initiative, and that their decisions were based upon their ijtihad
and the interest of the people.
The Muslims must not be deceived by the
ploys of these agents, no matter how convincing their words may seem, no matter
how hospitable they try to display themselves, and no matter how many tears
they may shed. Those who are aware among the Ummah must constantly address this
subject and keep it a live topic of discussion for the Ummah and must continue
to disclose the agents implanted in the Muslim World and to reveal the truth of
their existence as well as their actions. The difference between us and the
rulers is not only ideological, but also sincerity, as they are nothing but
traitors to Islam and the people they rule over.
Idea #5: Obscuring the Reality of the
Struggle between Islam and Kufr
It is well known that if thoughts and
concepts are kept concealed in books and not conveyed to the society in order
to effect a struggle, the ideology will remain ineffective in reality and will
be nothing but fossilized information. As a result, the regimes spread ideas
and concepts to dilute the struggle between Islam and Kufr in order to keep the
Muslims ignorant of the reality that Islam and Kufr can never coexist.
Examples of such ideas include the
Interfaith Dialogue (with the objective of fusing Islam, Christianity, &
Judaism into one Abrahamic religion); the Multicultural Dialogue (such as the
proposed racial harmony in Malaysia between the non Muslim Chinese & the
Muslim Malays, to such an extent that the Muslims should participate in the
polytheistic Chinese New Year celebrations, and the Chinese in turn should
participate in the 'Eid ul Fitr and 'Eid ul Adha celebrations), the end of the
ideological era (such as when Hafez Assad stated that the era of Jesus and
Muhammad is over) as well as the concept of religious tolerance.
The diffusion of such ideas will
neutralize the Islamic Ummah and incipiently compel it to abandon its role in
carrying Islam to challenge all other religions and ideologies. Islam
intentionally challenges all other religions and ways of life:
"It is He who has sent His Messenger
with Guidance and the Religion of Truth to dominate over all other
religions."
If Muslims accept the idea of
relationships based on such false and misleading perspectives of life such as
humanism, they will undoubtedly abandon Islam. Today, some Islamic movements
are leaning towards this idea because, as they argue, they share common grounds
with other non-Islamic movements. They preach about accepting the other opinion
and the importance of multilateralism. They claim that Muslims have a creed and
a culture, while non-Muslims have only a culture. Perhaps such groups imply
Christianity, but they cannot exclude the Jews from multilateralism and
culture. Even if they exclude them today, tomorrow they will find common ground
with them.
The presence of these ideas in the
society forms an obstacle in the way of revival. To further complicate matters,
these ideas are carried and propagated by many of the Islamic activists and
groups. The aware, sincere, and active group that is working to revive Islam in
the minds and hearts of the Muslims as it was revealed to Muhammad (saaw) must
clarify these ideas to the Ummah as well as to other Islamic organizations and
activists. Those who call Islam as individualistic rituals must be made aware
that Islam is a complete and comprehensive Deen that encompasses all aspects of
life:
"It (the Qur'an) is not a forged
statement but a confirmation of Allah's existing Books and a detailed
explanation of everything..." [TMQ Yusuf:111]
"And We have sent down to you the
Book (the Qur'an) as an exposition of everything..." [TMQ An-Nahl:89]
In addition, it must be made clear to
them that Allah (swt) orders the Muslims to take Islam as a whole and not in
pieces, and that He curses those who do so:
"Enter into the fold of Islam
completely, and follow not the footsteps of the Shaytan." [TMQ Al-Baqarah:208]
"Do you believe in a part of the
Book and reject the rest? Then what is the recompense of those who do so among
you, except humiliation in this life, and on the Day of Resurrection, they will
be consigned to the most grievous torment !" [TMQ Al-Baqarah:85]
Muslims are forbidden to divide Islam and
to assign priorities to the Islamic rules based upon their own intellect or
interests. Allah (swt) sets the Islamic rules and establishes what to consider
a significant priority and what not to consider a significant priority. They
should be reminded of how the Sahabah entered into Islam and immediately
accepted all of its rules. It must be made clear to them that one cannot be a
good Muslim or "build one's Iman" unless they are obedient to all of
Allah's commands. Thus, obeying "Establish Salat," is the same as
obeying "And give Zakat," or "The male and female thief, cut
their hands." Also, obeying Allah (swt) in telling the truth is the same
as obeying Him in the collection of taxes or establishing the Khilafah. Allah
(swt) would punish the Ummah for not praying or lying just as He would punish
the Muslims for not cutting the hand of the thief or prohibiting taxes or not
having the Khilafah.
As for those who hold the idea of benefit
as the criterion for actions, it must be made clear to them that Islam has a
unique view of benefit. Islam dictates that benefit revolves around the divine
rules. Wherever Islam is, benefit is found, and not the other way around.
Muslims are obligated to carry out the orders of Islam, regardless of the
benefit or harm it entails. The benefit is that which is dictated by the
Shar'iah and not the limited mind. In other words, the benefit for a Muslim
resides in obeying Allah (swt) and adhering to Islam. Allah (swt) says:
"Fighting is prescribed upon you
while you detest it. And you might detest something while it is good for you,
and you might like something while it is bad for you. Allah knows, and you know
not."
[TMQ Al-Baqarah 2 : 216]
This ayah clearly means that Allah (swt)
legislates things that are not viewed as beneficial by the people and that
Muslims are obligated to carry out the rules despite their view of them. In
addition, this ayah states that the ability to decide what is good and bad, or
what is right and wrong, or what is just and unjust, is beyond the capabilities
of the human being. The following ayah emphasizes this point:
"And if Haqq had been in accordance
with their desires, verily, the heavens and earth, and whosoever is within
them, would have been corrupted." [TMQ Al-Mu'minun:71]
The Muslim must view the Islamic rule as
the only valid and just rule and submit to it intellectually, emotionally, and
physically. There is no perceived benefit in complying with the Messenger's
saying, "The leader of martyrs is Hamza and a man who stood up to an
unjust ruler, gave him the advice, and the ruler killed him," or in the
hadeeth, "The best type of Jihad is the pronouncement of Haqq to an unjust
ruler."
The Muslims should look to the Sahabah in
Abassiniyah when summoned by the King of Abassinyah to ask about 'Eesa (as).
After they discussed their response, their conclusion was clear: "We shall
say what our Messenger told us about him, regardless of who he is (referring to
the Christian King)!" Like the Sahabah, Muslims should not consider their
personal benefit and safety. In addition, 'Umar's (ra) statement exemplifies
the understanding of the Sahabah towards benefit. When he was performing Tawwaf
around the Ka'ba in Makkah, he said to the Black Stone, "I know that you
are a stone that can neither do me any harm nor any good, but if I did not see
the Messenger of Allah (saaw) kissing you, I would have not done so." If
there is any benefit in Islam, it is to enter Paradise and to avoid Hell-Fire,
which can only be accomplished by accepting Islam and submitting to Islam
completely:
"And whosoever is removed from
Hell-Fire and placed in Jannah, he will have succeeded." [TMQ
Al-Imran:185]
Muslims should focus on giving the
non-Muslims Da'wah to Islam, regardless of the rewards this society is willing
to give them to abandon their agenda and to become another "color in the
American mosaic," or another block in the "international
village."
Those who want to create conflict between
religion and intellect, as in Christianity, should understand Islam as being a
universal Deen. Once the intellect is removed, there is no basis for inviting
humanity to Islam. Without utilizing the intellect to arrive at facts and to
prove their credibility, Islam will be reduced to the level of Christianity or
Buddhism, and Muslims will never know with certainty the existence of the
Creator, the validity of their Book , or the credibility of the prophethood of
Muhammad (saaw). Without certainty in the Islamic 'Aqeedah, the foundation of
Islam will be weak and subject to doubt and false ideas that will render it
incapable of addressing humanity in a clear, coherent manner.
Using the intellect does not mean in any
way to give it the absolute power. Islam has clearly specified the role of the
mind as neither absolute nor non-existent. Eliminating the mind completely
conflicts with the reality of the Islamic 'Aqeedah and the fact that it is
based on intellect. The Qur'an, in hundreds of ayat, addresses "Ulil Albab,"
"Ulin Nuha," and "Ulil Absar," inviting them to contemplate
and ponder upon the universe to come to the realization that it is all created
by Allah (swt), and consequently He Alone should be worshipped. Allah (swt)
says:
"Do they not think about the camels,
how they are created, and the sky, how it is lifted, and the mountains, how
they are erected, and the earth, how it is flattened.!" [TMQ Al-Ghashiyah:
17-20]
"And if you ask them: 'Who created
the heavens and the earth, and subjected the sun and the moon to (your)
service?' They will say, 'Allah.' So why do they turn away (from worshipping
Him Alone)?"
Also, Allah (swt) commands the people to
think about the miracle of Muhammad (saaw), the Qur'an:
"And if you have doubt in that which
We revealed to Our Slave, then bring one Surah like it, and call all your
Shuhadaa' (helpers) if you are truthful." [TMQ Al-Baqarah:23]
"Do they not ponder upon the Qur'an,
or is it that their hearts are sealed?!" [TMQ Muhammad:24]
Therefore, Islam tells the people to
think about Allah's existence and the prophethood of Muhammad (saaw) in order
to reach the inevitable fact that the Islamic 'Aqeedah is correct. Once the
person reaches this conclusion and believes in Islam, the Qur'an restricts the
role of the mind as a tool to understand the divine text but not to determine
its validity or to pass judgment upon it. The mind of the believer must submit
to the laws of the Creator contained in the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Allah (swt)
addresses those who embraced this belief to obey and submit:
"O you who believe. Obey Allah, and
obey His Messenger, and those in command among you. If you dispute any matter,
then bring it back to Allah and His Messenger if you believe in Allah and the
Day of Judgment." [TMQ Al-Nisa:59]
"No, by your Lord, they will not
become believers until they place you as a judge among themselves, and they
find no hardship in their hearts from that which you judged by and submit
completely." [TMQ Al-Nisa:65]
Muhammad bin Hazm expressed this position
beautifully is his book Al-Ihkaam fi Usool il Ahkam, p. 18: Abu Muhammad said,
"The one who says that nothing is to be accepted unless taken from a
Khabar (report or divine text), we ask, 'Tell us, are all reports correct or
are they all false? Or is it that some reports are correct and some false?' If
he says all reports are false, then he will have nullified what he had just
said, for he recognizes nothing but by that report. [Such a statement]
nullifies his saying as well as all types of knowledge. If he said '[All reports]
are valid,' then opposing reports to the one he accepted would be brought up.
He would be obligated to abandon his opinion and embrace the opposing one or
would have to believe in his opinion and its opposite at the same time, which
is impossible. Every opinion that leads to the impossible or to falsehood is
necessarily invalid. The only answer that would remain is that a report may be
true and it may be false. If this is the case, then it is impossible to know
the validity of a report from the report itself, because no truth or falsehood
can be detected in it. Therefore, there must exist a Daleel that would
differentiate between them. This cannot be done but by the intellectual Daleel
that would differentiate between the Haqq and the Batil."
He then continued on the same page by
saying: Abu Muhammad 'Ali said, "All of them should be asked, 'How did you
know the validity of what you call for, the authenticity of Tawheed and
Prophethood and the Deen you follow? Did you use the intellect to know its validity
or not?'"
Then, on p. 28, he says regarding the two
parties (those who rejected the mind totally and those who gave it absolute
power), "We do not know anybody who is further from the intellectual way
than these two groups: The first nullifies the intellectual evidences
completely, and the second is that who places itself as the Creator, claiming
that Allah did not give things rules.... Both have lied to Allah horribly, and
said things that give goose bumps to those who have intellect. We have
explained that the reality of the mind is that it distinguishes the things that
are sensed by the senses and understood. It only knows the attributes of things
as of what they are, such as this world must have a Creator, the Creator is an
ever-lasting one, the authenticity of the prophethood of the one whom the signs
point to his prophethood... As for the mind making pork Haram or Halal, or the
male goat Haram or Halal, or the Dhuhr Salat being four and the Maghrib being
three, there is no room for the mind in it, not to mandate it or prevent it.
The mind is only to understand the commands of Allah (swt)."
As for those who fail to grasp the
reality of the rulers and current regimes as agents to the Kuffar, it does not
need a lengthy argument to prove otherwise. Incidents such as King Fahd wearing
a Christian Cross, or King Hussein weeping over Rabin's grave while not
shedding a tear of remorse over the thousands of Muslims and Muslim families
who have been broken, tortured or killed as a result of calling for Islam by his
regime, or the millions of Muslims who have been imprisoned, tortured, and
executed by the regimes and their rulers as a result of working for Islam,
should suffice for any sane person to realize the reality of these rulers. If
this is not sufficient, then a more detailed explanation of their history, what
ideas they called for and propagated, how they collaborated with the
colonialist powers to propagate Kufr and to suppress the rise of Islam among
the Muslims, as well as many of their statements that point to that effect,
should be illustrated. In addition, the educational curricula that they sponsor
in the Muslim lands, which aims at designing personalities loyal to the Western
culture and civilization, should dispel any notion among any Muslim that these
rulers are anything but agents to the Kuffar and to their interests.
Those who have a problem with the
conflict between the Haqq and the Batil must be informed that such a conflict
is an inherent part of Allah's Creation:
"Nay, We hurl the Truth (Islam)
against the Falsehood (Kufr), so it (the Truth) knocks out its brains, and
behold, it (Falsehood) vanishes." [TMQ Al-Anbiya:18]
Furthermore, it is clear that no two
systems can coexist, and this observation can be deduced by examining the
reality. Throughout history, nations with different thoughts and ideas have
been in constant struggle with one another, and every system was removed
through a process of struggle. As a result of this reality, every prophet and
messenger, including Muhammad (saaw) was opposed by the system, and every
prophet and messenger struggled against the prevailing systems and ideas during
his time. Thus, there is no reason for the Muslims to expect that they can
avoid this reality or believe that the nature of Allah's creation will suspend
itself or make an exception in their case.
The presence of these thoughts has not
come about by accident or by evolution, but were designed and implanted with
care. If the Muslims embrace these ideas, the Ummah will no longer be the
Islamic Ummah but will be a Western nation populated by Muslims. Islam would be
reduced to a religion like Christianity or Buddhism, and the Ahkam Shari'ah
which specify the Islamic yardstick for actions will be eliminated from the
lives of Muslims. In addition, the Muslim Ummah will have abandoned its mission
in this world, which is to live according to Islam and to carry it to humanity
as a message of guidance.
Because such ideas contain the seeds of
destruction for the Ummah, the carriers of these ideas (knowingly or unknowingly)
are serving the interests of the Kuffar and prolonging the supremacy of Kufr in
the lands and minds of the Muslims. They are also working to keep Islam away
from life and preventing it from returning as a system for regulating all of
life's affairs. These ideas, therefore, must be attacked and destroyed,
regardless of the consequences. The Kuffar and their agents among the Muslims
might succeed in distracting and polluting the Ummah for a period of time. They
might be able to place obstacles in the way of revival, but as long as there
exists a group that reminds the Ummah of its forgotten Deen, exposes the hidden
conspiracies against the Ummah, and works tirelessly to resume the Islamic way
of life, surely the Kuffar can never prevent revival:
Tuesday, February 04, 1997
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