Transcript: The Atrocities in Syria and Egypt

The following is a transcript of a circle delivered on 1st September 2013, as it is in bullet point form please excuse grammatical errors.

إِنَّمٌا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ

“Without doubt the believers are brothers” [Hujarat:10]

The Prophet (saw ) said: “The Believers are like one man, if his eye becomes sore then the whole (body) feels pain, and of his head is in pain then his whole (body) feels the pain.”

·        In the last few weeks we have witnessed the intensifying killings and atrocities in Syria and Egypt

·        On 21^st August we definitely would have heard about the cowardly Chemical weapons which killed over a thousand Muslims according to official reports (most likely to be more) in Ghouta, an area in Damascus. Thousands more are suffering in pain. Witness statements to The Guardian about symptoms included "people who were sleeping in their homes [who] died in their beds," headaches and nausea, "foam coming out of [victims'] mouths and noses," a "smell something like vinegar and rotten eggs," suffocation, "bodies [that] were turning blue," a "smell like cooking gas" and redness and itching of the eyes. This all consistent with the use of a nerve agent.

·        Anyone of us who watches the news or reads the newspapers would not have failed to hear about this issue. As it has been a topic debated in the parliament of this country, discussed extensively in the press. Has been discussed by the President of the USA as they have stated that they intend now to launch an attack on targets in Syria.  

·        A few points should strike us.

1.   Why all this talk of war now?

·        Over 100,000 people have been killed and millions displaced over the last 2 years by the butcher Bashar al Assad and his forces.

·        Bombing of cities, Allepo, Homs, Dar’aa, Damascus

·        Men, women and children have been brutally slaughtered

We should not be naive and believe the public statements of Obama, Cameron and the West. They talk about launching war for the sake of achieving peace and to help the people. Then why have they done nothing for all this time?

Rasool (saw) taught us to be sharp and not be duped when he (saw) said, “the believer is not bitten from the same hole twice.”

Have we not seen Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanomo, Abu Ghraib?

Allah (swt) told us in the Quran:

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ لاَ تُفْسِدُواْ فِى الأَرْضِ قَالُواْ إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ مُصْلِحُونَ

“And when it is said to them : Do not make mischief in the earth, they say : Verily we are in fact peacemakers.” [Baqara: 11]

·        We should be very clear that the western powers undertake actions for their own interests and do not care about humanity. We will discuss their real agenda which is in fact their fear that a true Islamic state could be established in Syria and hence they want to attack the mujahideen there and establish their own agents in power.

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا يُنْفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ لِيَصُدُّوا عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ

“The disbelievers spend their wealth to hinder men from the path of Allah” [TMQ 8:36]

·        They are the ones who colonised our lands and created these puppet regimes. Syria was created after the Sykes Picot agreement, after the First world war it was ruled by the French then given false independence by puppet regimes after that.

2.   Are we as concerned about Syria as they are?

·        I want us to ask ourselves has Syria and the events there been on our minds as much over the last few days as Cameron and Obama? Even they have been thinking about it for other reasons. Have we been paying attention to the events there, has it been affecting us?

·        We must realize that our responsibility.

كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ

“You are the best of the nation raised up for mankind because you enjoin what is right and forbid the wrong and believe in Allah” [TMQ Ale-Imran: 110]

·        We should never see it as a matter that is far away from us and that we are too busy in our own issues, family and work. The Prophet (saw) said:

“The Muslims are one Ummah, there land is one land and there is one war”

·        The war against the Muslims there is a war against us. We cannot turn a blind eye to it. It is our brothers, children, sisters and elderly dying.

بِيَدِهِ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِلِسَانِهِ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَ مَنْ رَأَى مِنْكُمْ مُنْكَرًا فَلْيُغَيِّرْهُ

سْتَطِعْ فَبِقَلْبِهِ وَذَلِكَ أَضْعَفُ الإِيمَانِ

The Prophet (saw) said in a hadith narrated from Imam Muslim from Abu Sa’id al Khudri: “Whosoever sees a Munkar (an evil or wrong) let him change it by his hand, if he could not let it be by his tongue. If he could not let it be by his heart, and this is the weakest of Iman”

·        Are we really liable if we don’t work to change it?

Ahmad narrated on the authority of Abu Bakrah that the messenger said: "If the people see the Munkar (evil, wrong doing) and they do not change it, Allah will take them with a punishment".

We are seeing the Iman of the people who have stood up to defend themselves and those who have the capability are attempting to change the munkar by the hand. What are they are calling for?

If you look at their statements they are clearly calling for the establishment of an Islamic Khalifah state. Many of the brigades also signed a declaration that they want to establish this and have accepted an Islamic constitution that has been prepared by scholars.

We had seen the Syrian foreign Minister himself said clearly on Television that these people want to establish Dowla Khilafah Islamiyah.

From Abdullah Ibn Omar (radiya allahu anhuma) he said: The messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “I saw a pillar of the book was taken from underneath my pillow and I looked and it was an extending light directed toward Al-shaam. Verily al-iman (the faith), at the time of fitan (turmoil) is in Al-shaam.” [Authentic according to Al-Albani]

In fact this is the reason that America and the West initially allowed Assad so much time to commit slaughter hoping that he would wipe out the mujahideen there. But their plan failed and even though they tried to build an alternative secular leadership within Syria in the form of the Syrian national council (SNC). This has no credibility on the ground. So now they have concocted this plan to launch attacks, these attacks will be upon whom? With this excuse they aim to wipe out the Islamic opposition who clearly wants the establishment of Islam.

·        READ FROM DECLARATION OFBRIGADES

·        They realise that when we look at the problems plaguing the Muslim world – we can see clearly that the root problem is the absence of the Islamic Khilafah state

·        They understand the hadith of the Prophet: “The Imam is a shield behind which you fight behind and protect yourselves.” [Muslim]

·        We cannot sit as spectators, our hearts and minds need to be focussed on what is happening in al-Sham!

The narration is on authority of Jubair bin Nufeer al Hadhrami who said: I heard Abu Dardaa (ra) say, I heard the Prophet (saw) say:

يوم الملحمة الكبرى فسطاط المسلمين، بأرض يقال لها الغوطة، فيها مدينة يقال لها دمشق، خير منازل المسلمين يومئذ

“The day of the great massacre [malhamatal kubra] (day of great number of deaths) is in the camp of the Muslims. In a land which is called al ghouta. Within it is a city which is said of it Damascus. The great homeland of the Muslims.” [Sahih according to Al Hakim]

«فسطاط المسلمين يوم الملحمة بالغوطة إلى جانب مدينة يقال لها دمشق من خير مدائن الشام »
أبو داود : الملاحم (4298) , وأحمد (5/197).

"The headquarters of the Muslims on will be in Ghouta on the day of al-malhama (the massacre), besides the city of Damascus is among the best towns of Ash Shaam" [Abu Dawud: Al Malhama: 4298 & Ahmad 5/197]

·        Allah alone knows whether these ahadith relate to the recent incident or about events in the future. However what is clear is the land of al-Sham is repeatedly mentioned in the ahadith.  

How do we work to change the munkar? What do we need to do?

·        It is not enough to do some general good deeds like charity, helping others, salah, general da’wah

·        We are obliged to work for a true solution which will remove the munkar and establish the maruf – the hadith tells us to change the munkar

Is Fard upon us to work to re-establish

Muslim narrated from Ibn ‘Umar that the Prophet (saw) said: “Whosoever dies whilst there was no bay‘ah (allegiance or a pledge) on his neck (to a Khaleefah), he dies a death of jahilliyah.”

¨     To understand this Hadith and the meaning of no Bay’ah on the neck becomes clear when we look at the following Hadith:

The Prophet (saw) said: “The One who dies without an Imam he dies the death of Jahiliyyah”. [Reported on the authority of ‘Umar by at-Tabarani and Abu Nu’aym. The latter declared the hadith as authentic]

Before I discuss the practical actions we can do from here. I want to first address also the situation in Egypt which must act as a lesson to all those who are involved in Islamic work.

·        Mohammed Morsi from Ikhwan Muslimoon was deposed as President by an effective military coup.

·        We saw that unfortunately brutal killings of hundreds by the military regime against some of the Muslim protestors, even masajid were attacked by the shameless regime. The Messenger of Allah peace be upon him said: “The demise of the dunya is easier in sight of Allah than killing a Muslim.” [Muslim and Nasa'i]

·        Some Muslims when they saw these events became disheartened as they felt that Morsi would bring some form of Islamic government.

·        For those who are politically aware and aware of the Islamic shariah they were not surprised by these events. They knew that no real change could come through the un-Islamic system, that even if people have sincere intentions – the kufr system of democracy which has put human beings as sovereign as opposed to Allah cannot be changed from within.

o   We saw the same happen in Algeria in the past when the FIS, came to power and said they wanted to implement Islam and were removed by the army

o   We saw in Sudan, a leading member of Ikhwan and a so-called scholar, Hassan al-Turabi become a leading figure in the government but it did not change the situation

·        Allah (swt) told us in the Quran “They wish to compromise with you, do not compromise with them” [TMQ]

·        How can you achieve Islam by going against the methodology of Rasool (saw). We saw that in reality America allowed Mursi to come to power, we saw him close the tunnels, we saw him accept the existence of Israel according to 1967 borders, he said openly on TV that there is no need to enforce the Muslim womens dress code, he was warm with the American officials who visited him regularly, he continued the relationship with the biggest Riba based organisations in the world – the IMF and the world Bank!

·        When America realised that the situation internally was unstable, they allowed for the army to intervene and replace him. America failed to call this a military coup all though this was blatantly the case.

·        So we have seen in effect the old regime of the Pharaoh Mubarak come back. They also fear the rise of Islam and are now working to crush those calling for Islam, they even want to ban any all Islamic political groups.

·       How do we think that we will achieve Islam and the victory for Islam through other than Islam?

We should not be defeated

The return of the Khilafah Rashida has been mentioned in many texts, some are general such as:

“Allah has promised, those among you who believe and work righteous deeds, that He will, indeed, he will make them the Khalifah’s on the earth, as he established those before them” [TMQ An-Nur: 55]

Hadith: “The Khilafah will return on the path of the Prophethood”. [Musnad Imam Ahmad]

There are also many which specify al-Sham. The Prophet (saw) said:

ألا إن عقرَ دارِ الإسلامِ بالشام

"Be aware, the centre  of Dar al-Islam (land of Islam) is in Sham." [Narrated by Al-Tabarani, in 'Al-Kabeer,' on the authority of Salamah b. Nufayl]

It was narrated by Abu Dawud in ‘Al-Sunan’, on the authority of Abdullah b. ‘Amr (ra): “There will be a Hijrah after a Hijrah, so the best people on earth are those who keep to the (land of the) Hijrah of Ibrahim (i.e. Al-Shaam).”

The purpose of Hijrah is to leave Dar Al-Kufr (land ruled by Kufr) and to emigrate to Dar Al-Islam (land ruled by Islam). The first emigration was to Al-Madina, and the second emigration will be to Al-Shaam. This understanding supports the hadith regarding the ‘Uqr of Dar Al-Islam.

Narrated by Ibn ‘Asaakir, from Maseerah b. Jaleese, where he heard the Prophet (saw): “This matter (the Khilafah) will continue after me in Al-Madina, then (move to) Al-Shaam, then to the peninsula, then to Iraq, then to the city, then to Bait-ul-Maqdis. So if it reaches Bait-ul-Maqdis, then it would have reached its (natural resting place); and no people who remove it (i.e. the capital of the Khilafah) from their land will ever get it back again (for them to be the capital again).” Scholars say what is meant by ‘the city’ is the city of Heraclius (Constantinople).

Practical steps

We have to do work for this change – if not by the hand then by the tongue, exhaust all efforts

That system will return – it is our duty to work for it in the way the Prophet (saw) worked for it – through non-violent intellectual and political struggle, so that the laws of the Quran are established. So what are the practical steps for us?

1.   Gaining knowledge – Tabul Ilm fareedatun ala kulli muslim – is a fard

Knowledge comes before action. How can you work for something you know nothing about – so you must study Islam and the topic of Khilafah, its evidences and the methodology to re-establish it.

There are many styles to do this including attending circles, reading books, discussions etc.

2.   Dawah: The Prophet (saw) said: “Convey from me even if it is one ayah”

We have to work to change the situation and part of that is to build a strong opinion amongst Muslims for Islam and Khilafah

All of us have the ability to raise awareness about the Khilafah and the comprehensiveness of Islam. Today if we ask any normal Muslim from the street about the rules of Salah, they will know them and explain them to us – but ask them about the Ahkam relating to the ruling system/Khilafah or the economic system – many will not know. How come in many of the Khutba’s all we hear is about the personal Ibadat and Akhlaq and we do not hear them speaking about the blood of the Muslims being spilt globally and the issue of Khilafah? We need to raise the awareness about these issues.

Bukhari and Muslim narrated on the authority of Abu saeed (ra) that the messenger (saw) said: "Let not the fear of people prevent one of you to utter the truth when he sees it (i.e. sees the munkar) or hears it".

3.   Collective work

وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَى وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ

 “Help one another in al-Birr and Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression.” [TMQ 5:2].

We can’t establish it by ourselves, we need to work together with others who have the same mission. We need to be part of this global momentum for Khilafah that the Muslims on the streets of Syria are calling for.  

Abu Ismael

1/9/13