The following is the translation of an article from the book by Hizb ut-Tahrir entitled 'Introduction to the Constitution and the necessary evidences for it' which is the explanation of its draft constitution for the Khilafah state. This draft translation is from the second edition published in 2009 which was updated from the original published in 1963. Numerous brigades in Syria have agreed to the implementation of this constitution after the removal of the corrupt system that has brutally suppressed the people for decades.
Article 11
Conveying the Islamic
Da’wa (call to Islam) is
the fundamental task of the State.
This article has been drafted because as well as being
an obligation upon the Muslims, conveying the Islamic Da’wa is also an
obligation upon the State. Although conveying the call to Islam forms a part of
the implementation of Shari’ah in the relationships and although it is a
Shari’ah rule that the State must implement as the individual Muslim
does, it is considered as the basis upon which its relationships with other
states is built. In other words, it is the basis upon which the whole of the
State’s foreign policy is built. Therefore, conveying the Islamic Da’wa
is the State’s main task.
The evidence that conveying the call to Islam is an
obligation is reflected in the words of Allah (swt) “And this Quran has been revealed
to me so that I warn you with it and those whom it reaches” (TMQ 6:19);
meaning to warn whoever this Quran reaches. Hence, the warning is to you
Muslims and it is also a warning to those whom you convey it to; thus, it is an
invitation to them to convey it on behalf of the Messenger of Allah
. In other words, it is not only a warning to you but rather a
warning to you and to all those whom the Quran reaches. The Messenger of Allah
said: “May
Allah brighten a person who had heard my saying, perceived it, memorised it and
conveyed it; for one may be conveying Fiqh (knowledge) to someone who is more
of a Faqih than him” (in Musnad Al-Shafi’i through ‘Abd Allah
Bin Mas’ud). Allah (swt) also said "Let
there arise from among you a group calling to the goodness” (TMQ 3:104), and the goodness
is Islam. He (swt) also says "Who is better in speech than one who
calls to Allah" (TMQ 41:33), in other words to the Deen of
Allah. All of these texts indicate that conveying the call to Islam is
obligatory and this obligation is general and encompasses the State as well as
the Muslims as a whole.
As for the fact that conveying the Da’wa must
be the State’s main activity, its evidence is derived from the words and
actions of the Prophet
. He
said “I
have been ordered to fight people until they profess that there is no god but
Allah. If they said it, their lives and their wealth would be inviolable to me,
except that which is by right, and their account is with Allah” (agreed upon,
with the wording from Muslim). Al-Bukhari reported from ‘Urwah B.
Al-Ja’d from the Prophet
: “The horse which is tied to its forelock
is good until the day of Judgement” and the horse is an allusion to the
continuation of the obligation of Jihad. Additionally, Jihad is not restricted to whether the leader
is righteous or immoral since it also indicates the continuation of the Jihad with the righteous and immoral as
long as they are Muslim. Al-Bukhari used this narration as evidence for Jihad continuing with the righteous and the immoral leader when he
separated a section with the title “Chapter Jihad Continues with the Righteous and the Immoral due to the words of
the Prophet
“The horse which is
tied to its forelock is good until the day of Judgement””. Ahmad also used it as an evidence in the same
manner as Al-Bukhari. And in the same manner, it is
reported by Said Bin Mansur through Anas who said that the Messenger of Allah
said “and
Jihad has been on-going since Allah sent me and will continue until the last
generation of my Ummah fight the Dajjal; it shall not be discontinued by the
tyranny of a tyrant nor by the justice of a just”. This Hadeeth was
also narrated by Abu Dawud and Al-Tirmidhi didn’t comment on it). So the
order to fight until those who resist say that there is no god but Allah and
that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, serves as evidence about the
obligation of conveying the call to Islam upon the State. The fact that this
conveying, which is Jihad, is ongoing
until the last of the Ummah fights
the Dajjal is evidence that the
State’s constant activity is Jihad
that is not permitted to be disrupted. The two narrations together indicate
that the call to Islam is a constant action that is not to be interrupted;
therefore, it is the main duty because the main duty is the action that is
constantly performed under all circumstances and without any disruption.
Besides, the Messenger of Allah
was in a constant state
of Jihad ever since he settled in
Madinah until he
departed this world and
Jihad was the main activity. The
rightly guided Khulafaa’ came after him and followed in his footsteps
assuming Jihad as their main duty. So
the State that the Messenger of Allah
founded and headed
undertook Jihad as its main duty;
when he (saw) departed, the State was headed by the Khulafaa’ from among
the Companions and similarly the State’s main task was Jihad. Therefore, the evidence stipulating that conveying the
Islamic Da’wa is the State’s main task is derived from the Sunnah
and the Ijma’ of the Companions.
Additionally, the Messenger of Allah
used to convey the call
to Islam since Allah (swt) sent him as a Prophet until he departed this world.
He
was the Head of State
in Madinah and since he settled there he made his foreign policy the main
activity and the State’s focus of attention. The activities undertaken ranged
from raids, expeditions, intelligence gathering and signing treaties. All these
activities were for the sake of conveying Islam and its Da’wa to all
people. When the Messenger of Allah
sensed the strength of
the State and its ability to convey the Da’wa internationally, he
dispatched twelve envoys simultaneously to twelve monarchs inviting them to
Islam, amongst them the Kings of Persia and Rome. Muslim reported from Anas Bin
Malik: “The Prophet of Allah wrote to Kisra and Caesar and Al-Najashi and
to every powerful one calling them to Allah”. When he
was satisfied about the
might of the State within the Arabian Peninsula and about the spread of the Da’wah
among the Arabs and people started to embrace the Deen of Allah (swt) in
droves, he
looked towards
conquering the Romans; hence, the battles of Mu’ta and Tabuk took place. This
also serves as evidence that conveying the Da’wa is an obligation upon
the State and that it is its main task.
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