Explanation of the Book ‘Mafaaheem Hizb ut Tahrir’
Ash-Sheikh Haafizh (Fareed) Saalih (rh)
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Allah Ta’Aalaa created the human and distinguished him over all other
created things by the ‘Aql (mind/intellect) providing him with great
capabilities and possibilities which if utilised as they should with a
correct realisation and understanding would make him worthy of being a
Khaleefah of Allah upon His earth in truth. The priority of carrying the
Deen of Allah Al-‘Azheem and conveying it to mankind would then be a
priority for him and how could this not be the case when Allah (swt) has
said:
كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ
You are the best Ummah (nation) to have been raised up for mankind, you
order the Ma’roof and you forbid the Munkar and you believe in Allah
(Aali ‘Imraan 110).
Having said that, there are however, bases
and principles that he must comprehend and understand, so that he can
revive upon their basis. He would then be aware of what he is doing
having defined and specified his aim. He would then follow the steps and
path of the beloved Al-Mustafaa Muhammad (saw) without diverting from
that by even the smallest amount whilst placing at the top of his scale
of priorities the greatest objective that every Muslim strives for and
that is attaining the pleasure of Allah (Ta’Aalaa). (Note: This is where
the speech of Al-Marhoom Haafizh As-Saalih begins).
In this
way he would have then proceeded in accordance to the practical and
constant methodology which is: ‘A thought followed by action for the
sake of an objective within the atmosphere of Imaan’. This requires a
clear vision of the aim, specifying and defining it and connecting every
thought with the Aqeedah. If a clash was to then occur between a
Maslahah (benefit) and an objective or between an obstacle and an aim in
addition to what can possibly result from the whispers of Shaytaan and
what is attached to this in terms of bargaining and making decisions,
then this connection to the Aqeedah and adherence to the Hukm
Ash-Shar’iy would act as the ultimate barrier in the face of Shaytaan
and would prevent him from being taken over by the Nafs that commands
itself with badness. All that emanates from the Aqeedah or the pillars
which the Aqeedah brought which make clear that which Allah (swt) has
promised His believing servants in terms of everlasting bliss, gardens
the breadth of which are the heavens and the earth and the pleasure of
Allah which is the greatest of all, all of these aspirations would
represent his reference point and focus at the time when bargaining and
evaluating decisions arise. How can this not be the case for the one who
believes in the Qawl (speech) of Allah Ta’Aalaa:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ
اشْتَرَى مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُمْ بِأَنَّ
لَهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَيَقْتُلُونَ
وَيُقْتَلُونَ وَعْدًا عَلَيْهِ حَقًّا فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَالْإِنْجِيلِ
وَالْقُرْآَنِ وَمَنْ أَوْفَى بِعَهْدِهِ مِنَ اللَّهِ فَاسْتَبْشِرُوا
بِبَيْعِكُمُ الَّذِي بَايَعْتُمْ بِهِ وَذَلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ
Verily Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their
wealth (in exchange) so that they will have Jannah. They fight in the
way of Allah, so they kill and are killed. (It is) a true promise
(binding) upon Him in the Torah and the Injeel and the Qur’aan. And who
is truer to his covenant than Allah? So rejoice in your transaction
which you have made and that is the great success (At-Taubah 111).
The meaning of the above is that we envision the reality that we wish
to be moved to with a vision that dispels every ambiguity and vagueness
and removes every obscurity. This is exactly what an architect does when
he wants to build a house or a building. The very first thing that he
does is to envisage that building and to consolidate that vision upon
paper producing what is called a blueprint. He would then make this
vision or plan concrete and clear as it would represent the blueprint
for every correct action related to the building. This planned action
would require knowledge of the nature of the ground which he wants to
build upon and as such he would study it in a precise and detailed
manner so as to known its condition, circumstances, all that is related
to it and would neighbours it. The same applies to a society that one
intends to move or transform to being another society that has been
envisioned in the mind and for which a blueprint had already been placed
down. Knowledge of the make-up of the society that one intends to work
in is necessary and this includes knowledge of the relationships that
regulate it, the bases upon which these relationships are established,
the public custom (‘Urf ‘Aamm) that it has embraced, the thoughts that
dominate it, the extent that the people are bound by these thoughts and
the extent of the connection of these thoughts to the Aqeedah of the
people. This is addition to questions around this such as: Is the
Aqeedah of the people still clear and pure or has it been afflicted by
obscurities and defects and flaws become attached to it? What are these
defects? What formed these obscurities and lack of clarity and how is it
possible to get rid of them?
It is only obvious and natural
that an examination should take place in relation to the reasons for
these defects and their ramifications in addition to understanding when
the factors of this obscuring began, what brought them into being or
assisted their existence. This must be undertaken so that we can make
clear and get rid of these obscurities and remove these defects so that
the thought (i.e. the Aqeedah) can return to being clear (Saafiy) and
pure (Naqiy). It would be Saafiy in terms of it being clear that every
Hukm (legal ruling) is attached to its evidence and every thought or
opinion is attached to the Qaa’idah (basis) from which it emanated from
or was built upon and it would be Naqiy (pure) as every thought,
opinion, Hukm or Qaa’idah that is not from it is distanced and removed
from it. This applies whether the thought, opinion, ruling, basis or
principle was in opposition to it or not in opposition and whether it
resembled it or did not resemble it. This is because every thought,
opinion, Hukm, or principle must have been brought by the Aqeedah, built
upon it, been encompassed by it or emanated from it. This then is the
approach that anyone who believes in the obligation of making change
must follow and I will summarize it in the following:
Firstly:
(Acquisition of) Knowledge related to the causes that led to its current
condition, the obscurities that overtook its fundamental thought and
the defects that became attached to it.
Secondly: Knowledge of the reality of the society that he is living in, with all that it contains and all that surrounds it.
Thirdly: Embody (make concrete) the objective that is sought after to
be accomplished and put down the Qawaa’id (principles) and the Usus
(fundamentals) that it must be undertaken upon.
These
fundamental Mafaaheem (concepts), which must be provided in a clear
manner, so that the person who believes in the obligation of changing
his reality, can be in compliance to the statement of Allah (swt):
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُوا مَا
بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ وَإِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ سُوءًا فَلَا مَرَدَّ
لَهُ وَمَا لَهُمْ مِنْ دُونِهِ مِنْ وَالٍ
Verily Allah will not
change the condition of a people until they change what is in
themselves. And when Allah intends ill for a people there is no
repelling it and they do not have beside him any helper (Ar-Ra’d 11).
An examination of the causes or reasons that led the society to reaching the state and condition that she is currently in:
Since two centuries the Islamic world has been declining at a
phenomenal speed from the level and standing that is fitting for it. It
has fallen to the abyss of decline in a terrible and shocking way and as
such it is essential to make a quick examination of the factors that
drove it in to such a deep condition of decline and present the events
or incidents that aided its decline and led to the fall of its State and
the destruction of the Khilafah within it.
The intellectual
and industrial revolution that took place in Europe in that same period
of time and led to the transformation of thoughts and the ruling from
Monarchical despotism to democracy and the sovereignty of the people.
The people saw the certainty of the need to rid themselves from being
under the yoke of slavery and feudalism and to liberate themselves, a
matter that they began to believe in and adopt it as a Mabda’ (ideology
or fundamental principle) to go forward and implement and carry
(spread). In contrast the Islamic world was in a state of stagnation and
in a condition of bad understanding and misapplication which weakened
and enfeebled the body of the State and its entity and this does not
even take into account the events that took place prior to that and
accompanied that in a continual manner. The most prominent of these
events, realities or instances are the following:
1) The effects of the crusader wars that continued for more than one hundred years.
2) Napolean’s campaign against Egypt and its occupation.
3) The exploitation of internal strife and attempts by the West to
interfere in the internal affairs of the State like the strife
instigated between the Christians and the Druze of Lebanon in the year
1840 lasting until 1860.
4) The war with Russia and which continued
between 1762 and 1796 and the Russians occupied the Crimea and reached
the shores of the Black Sea. It then raised itself as the protector of
Christianity within the Uthmaani State and then severed Turkistan and
the lands of the Caucusus.
5) France’s occupation of Tunisia in 1881.
6) Italy’s occupation of Libya in the year 1911.
7) Britain’s occupation of Aden (Yemen) in 1839.
8) Taking the Muslims away from the authority in India and handing it over to the Christians and the Hindus.
9) Britain taking over control of Egypt in 1882.
10) Britain taking over control of Sudan in 1898.
11) The Wahaabi uprising in the Arabian Peninsula.
12) The attempts of Muhammad Ali to make Egypt independent and the
attempts of his sons to take over control of the lands of Ash-Shaam (the
Levante).
As for Eastern Europe:
Uprisings in Eastern
Europe began to attempt to become independent from the body of the
State and the Western States alongside Russia extended assistance until
their separation and severance from the body of the State was
accomplished. The uprisings began in 1804 and continued until 1878 at
which time all of the countries of Eastern Europe had become severed
from the body of the State. The same occurred in respect to the Greek
uprising in 1826 which ended with Greece’s independence in the year
1830.
For Part 2 click here
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