Introduction
The stage of weakness
is when the muslims do not have power, it is when they do
not have darul Islam. The Quran described the opposite of
weakness as when Muslims have tamkeen on the earth. This is
synonymous with the existence of darul Islam, that being a
land which believers are maintaining the security and where
they are applying the shari’ah. When we look to the
seerah of Rasool Allah (saw) we see that the Muslims were
in the weakness stage for the first thirteen years. They did
not have power and they were oppressed and the shari’ah
was not the dominanat law in the lands of their residence.
Also the vast majority of the ahkaam had not yet been revealed.
Due to these factors, some people erroneously thought that
there should be no Imaam in the stage of weakness 1. As for saying that
the shari’ah is not applied by an Imaam in the stage
of weakness this is wrong. The shari’ah is applied because
the shari’ah are the divine commands and are only applied
according to the judgement of Allah upon those particular
circumstances. The laws are not applied all at once in one
place at the same time but rather for every circumstances
there is a particular hukm (rule) and minhaaj (methodology)
for its implementation. This means the circumstances need
to be considered and then the commands of the Imaam in that
situation need to be considered and if the commands and acts
of the Imaam are correct for that situation and they are based
upon Islamic texts for that situation then he has applied
Islam, this is with regards to each specific issue.2. As for the general
situation, we see that the shari’ah verdict for the
Muslims is one of unity whether the Muslims possess power
or not. The methodology of applying this unity in reality
is for the Muslims to unite under the command of one man who
is the Imaam. The methodology to establish the deen is also
for the Muslim ummah to operate as one group under the Imaam.
From all of this we see that the Imaam in the stage of weakness
is without doubt applying the shari’ah because the existence
of this Imaam is the shari’ah judgement for unity and
organisation in the stage of weakness and this is the stage
the ummah is experiencing.3. The shari’ah
is to be applied by the Imaam in every situation and the shari’ah
is applied according to capability, we did not see any evidence
that the shari’ah is to be suspended in the time of
weakness. Allah (swt) says “Enter into submission
completely and do not follow the footsteps of Shaytaan for
he is an open enemy.” (al Baqarah 2:208) So
by this verse the whole of the shari’ah was made obligatory.
Allah (swt) says “This day, I have perfected
your deen for you, completed My favour upon you and have chosen
for you Islam as your deen…” (al Maa’idah
5:3) So by this verse the shari’ah wa completed and
this stage when the shari’ah is completed is what is
properly called Islam. Therefore the shari’ah must be
applied according to what the shari’ah applied for the
circumstances. This means if the Imaam can implement a rule
then it should be applied.4. The shari’ah
laid down the principle of Istitaa’ah which is to do
as much as possible. This principle is part of the shari’ah
so whoever acts upon this principle is applying the shari’ah
because this principle was clearly commanded by the shari’ah.
This principle was to be applied to all commands generally
as it is reported that Nabi (saw) said “…If
I command you to do something then do as much as you can (maastat’atum)…” (BUKHAARI, MUSLIM from Abu Hurayrah) and Allah (swt) says “So have taqwa of Allah as much as you can (maastata’tum)…” (at Taghaabun 64:16) and taqwa means to protect yourself by
fulfilling all of the commands of Allah. This principle applies
to the Imaam just as it applies to all other Muslims and it
relates to the ahkaam concerning Imaamah just it applies to
other commands of the shari’ah. In addition to this
the principle of istitaa’ah was applied specifically
to Imaamah Umayma bint Ruqayqa said, "I went to the Messenger
of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with the
women who took an oath of allegiance with him in Islam. They
said, 'Messenger of Allah! We take a pledge with you not to
associate anything with Allah, not to steal, not to commit
adultery, not to kill our children, nor to produce any lie
that we have devised between our hands and feet, and not to
disobey you in what is known.' The Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'In what
you can do and are able.' " (MAALIK [‘al
Muwatta’ book 55.2]) and Jareer bin A’bdullah
said ‘I gave baya’h to the Prophet (saw) that
I would listen and obey and he told me to add “In
as much as I am able (feemaa-stat’atu) and to give nasiha
to every Muslim.” (BUKHARI Eng/Arabic vol.9
[no.311]) Abdullah ibn A’mru reported that Nabi (saw)
said “He who takes a baya’ah to an Imaam
and gives him the clasp of his hand and the fruit of his heart
let him obey him as much as he can (istitaa’ah)…” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4546]IBN MAAJAH kitaabul Fitan
[no.3956]) So all of these clear ahadeeth proved that istitaa’ah
was also to be applied to the contract of Imaamah. In addition
to this Allah (swt) commaded to istitaa’ah generally
and then immediately commanded listening and obeying Allah
(swt) says “So have taqwa of Allah as much as
you can and listen and obey…” (at Taghaabun
64:16). So all people under the Imaam are commanded to listen
and obey as much as they are able and so this establishes
the fact that the this principle also applies to the duties
of the Imaam because he will only be able to achieve his duties
to the ummah by those who are listening to him and obeying
him and they can only do what they are able to do.5. The shari’ah
can only function with the obedience and co-operation of the
ummah with the Imaam. Thus the punishments, the judiciary,
the zakaat and jihaad would not occur if all those who were
commanded did nothing themselves to obey the Imaam but said
‘The Imaam can not do his duties so he is not an Imaam’.
This would mean these matters would never be applied to reality
because it is not the Imaam who performs all of these deeds
by miracles but rather it is the people who apply them by
obeying the Imaam. The people who collect and distribute the
zakaat are obeying the Imaam, the judges are obeying the Imaam,
the mujaahideen who seek to establish or expand or protect
darul Islam are obeying the Imaam. This is a very simple point
that clarifies the whole matter. So the Imaam will be effective
only if the people listen and obey and do their duties towards
him, they can only do this first if they recognise him as
Imaam in the first place and give him baya’h. So those
who command the ummah to reject the Imaam and wait until he
becomes powerful are calling the Muslims to wait forever because
the power and the ability emanates through the peoples obedience.
Whoever does not understand and admit this fact does not possess
the basic intellect to be discussing important Islamic affairs
but rather they are people who need caring for just as children
need caring for due the dangers associated with their immature
minds.6. As for when Nabi
(saw) was not applying ahkaam such as hudood and jihaad in
Makkah, this is not necessarily due to the absence of darul
Islam. The ahkaam relating to these matters had not been revealed
then and so this is why they were not applied at this time,
because they did not exist. As for the reasons why these ahkaam
had not been revealed at this point, only Allah knows this.
There could be one reason or many reasons. So on the basis
of this, it can not be said that there is no ahkaam for the
stage of wekness, this would mean neglecting much of Islam,
such as neglecting the payment of zakaatul fitr, zakaatul
maal, not praying four rakats for the one who is resident
(as opposed to travelling) etc. We see in fact, that Nabi
(saw) and the sahaabah did not fight before the ayaat were
revealed relating to it and this was after the baya’h
for nussrah was taken but this does not mean that it is prohibited
to fight before this nussrah is gained nor before the establishment
of darul Islam and this is because the reasons for fighting
in defence may still exist before the existence of nussrah
and darul Islam. Allah (swt) says “Permission
to fight is given to those who are fighting them because they
have been oppressed and surely Allah is able to give them
victory. Those who have been expelled from their homes unjustly
only because they say ‘Our Lord is Allah’ For
had it not been that Allah checks one set of people by means
of another monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques wherein
the Name of Allah is mentioned much would surely have been
pulled down. Verily, Allah will help those who help Him. Truly
Allah is Qawiun A’zeez.” (al Hajj 22:39-40)
So we can see from this and other ayaat that these reasons
for fighting exist whether darul Islam exists or not. So if
Nabi (saw) did not do something at a certain time this does
not necessarily prove that such actions are prohibited for
these circumstances. Rather, the completed shari’ah
with all its principles, reasons and objectives must be looked
at.
7. We also see from
a hadeeth related by Nabi (saw) that there even existed certain
commands in the time of Nabi (saw) during the stage of weakness
that were delayed until the capability was aquired. This proves
that one who does not apply existing commands due to the overwhelming
circumstances is not accountable but rather the rules for
this situation is that the rules are applied according to
capability. A’mr bin A’basa reported ‘When
I was in the state of Ignorance (before embracing Islam) I
used to think that the people were in error; they were not
on anything (that might be called the right path) and they
worshipped idols. Meanwhile I heard of a man in Makkah who
was giving news (on the basis of his prophetic knowledge);
so I mounted and rode to him. The Messenger of Allah (saw)
was at that time hiding as his people had made life hard for
him. I adopted a friendly attitude (towards the Makkans and
thus managed) to enter Mecca and go to him (the Holy Prophet).
I said to him: Who are you? He said: “I am a
Prophet.” I again said: What is a Prophet?
He said: “I have been sent by Allah.” I said: What have you been sent to do? He said: “I
have been sent to join ties of relationship, to break the
idols, and to proclaim the oneness of Allah (in a manner that)
nothing is to be associated with Him.” I said:
Who is with you in this (in these beliefs and practices)?
He said: “A free man and a slave.” He (the narrator) said: AbuBakr and Bilal were there with
him among those who had embraced Islam by that time. I said:
It intend to follow you. He said: “During these
days you will not be able to do so. Don't you see the (hard)
conditions under which I and (my) people are living? You had
better go back to your people and when you hear that I have
been granted victory, you come to me.” So I
went to my family. I was in my home when the Messenger of
Allah (peace be upon him) came to Medina. I was among my people
and used to seek news and ask people when he arrived in Madeenah.
Then a group of people belonging to Yathrib (Medina) came.
I said (to them): How is that person, who has come to Madeenah,
faring? They said: The people are hastening to him, while
his people (the polytheists of Mecca) planned to kill him
but they could not do so. I (on hearing it) came to Madeenah
and went to him and said: Messenger of Allah, do you recognize
me? He said: “Yes, you are the same man who
met me at Makkah.” I said: It is so. I again
said: Prophet of Allah, tell me that which Allah has taught
you and which I do not know, tell me about the prayer. He
said: “Observe the dawn prayer, then stop praying
when the sun is rising until it is fully ,risen for when it
rises it comes up between the horns of Satan, and the unbelievers
prostrate themselves to it at that time….”’ (MUSLIM [no.1812]) So Nabi (saw) was first described as hiding
due to the difficulty that the kuffaar had created in response
to him. Secondly, Nabi (saw) said that he was commanded to
break the idols but we are unaware of any reports that this
was done during this time but through other ahadeeth we are
told this happened after the conquest of Makkah. Thirdly,
Nabi (saw) advised A’mr bin A’basa to go back
to his people due to the difficult conditions. Similarly in
another incident it is reported that Nabi (saw) warned about
acting in the wrong, time and this from the Prophetic wisdom
which is part of the wahi. Al Qaasim bin Muhamaad reported
that Aishah said ‘When the companions of the prophet
(saw) gathered they were thirty-eight men in number. Abu Bakr
urged the rasool Allah (saw) to proclaim Islam openly but
he (saw) replied “O Abu Bakr we are only few
in number” However, Abu Bakr kept urging until
rasool Allah (saw) did (allow them to) appear openly. Then
the Muslims separated off into different areas of the mosque,
each man going to his own tribe, and Abu Bakr arose to address
the assembly, while rasool Allah (saw) remained seated. He
was the first man to make a speech calling to Allah and His
messenger (saw). The mushrikoon were very angry at Abu Bakr
and the Muslims and they caused violent fights all over the
mosque. Abu Bakr was trampelled underfoot and was severely
beaten…” (IBN KATHEER [‘as Seeratun Nabawiyyah’vol.1]
AS SUYOOTI [‘Tarikhul Khulafaa’ section on khulafaa’
raashideen])
8. Even with the existence of darul Islam and much power,
this still would not guarantee the submission of the people
to the shari’ah. This is because those commanded by
the khaleefah could either i) Not give baya’h in the
first place and not recognise the Imaamah of the Imaam for
some doubt or fabricated or genuine reason. For instance in
the Saheeh of MUSLIM it is mentioned that A’li deliberately
delayed his baya’h to Abu Bakr, additionally Faatimah
bint Nabi (saw) passed away without giving baya’h and
it is also related in the ‘Tabaqat ul Kabeer’
of IBN SA’D that Sa’d ibn Ubaadah, one of the
prominent ansaar passed away and deliberately did not give
baya’h to Abu Bakr neither to U’mar ibn al Khattab.
ii) They could simply flee to avoid being commanded or in
order to avoid being forced or punished. iii) They may at
any time rebel against the legitimate khaleefah and try to
overthrow him. And this of course happened much during Islamic
history and even in the time of the sahaabah as the Imaams
U’thmaan ibn Affaan and A’li ibn Abi Talib were
both killed by people claiming to be Muslims. A’li ibn
Abi Talib was unable to deal with the murderers of U’thmaan
due to the fitnah of division and instability that occurred
at this time but nobody claimed he was not the legitimate
Imaam because of this.
9. The duty of Imaam and of those who give baya’h to
him is not caused by the possibility of being forced or punished
by the Imaam. Rather the baya’h must be given and obedience
must be given because Imaamah has been commanded by Allah
(swt) and to neglect it is sinful. This is why the ahadeeth
and mention the sin of the one who does not give bay’ah
and the sin of the one who disobeys the amir. i.e. The fact
that the ahadeeth talked about the sin of disobedience prove
that obeying Imaams is not due the Imaams ability to force,
because the sin applies to the matter which is possible to
occur. It is not impossible to disobey the Imaam but it is
possible and this is why the ahaddeth warn about it, they
do not warn about that which is impossible. The correct motivation
for obeying the Imaam is to please Allah (swt) by obeying
the shari’ah commands. Similarly, these ahadeeth did
not mention that the Imaam becomes invalid once the people
disobey him, yet this disobedience proved that the Imaam was
not capable of forcing them to obedience in every situation.
10. U’baadah bin as Saamit said ‘The Prophet called
us, and we pledged our allegiance to him. He imposed on us
the duty to listen and obey in what pleases us and in what
displeases us, in hardship and in ease whatever our personal
preference, and that we should not withdraw authority from
those who have been entrusted with it “..unless
you see open kufr (kufraan buwaahan) from which you have from
Allah a clear proof (burhaan)” (MUSLIM kitaabul
Imaarah [no.4541] and similar from BUKHAARI Eng/Arabic [vol.9
no.178]) and Auf bin Maalik reported that Nabi (saw) said “The best of your rulers are those whom you
love and who love you, who invoke Allah’s blessings
upon you and you invoke His blessings upon them. And the worst
of your rulers are those whom you hate and who hate you, and
whom you curse and who curse you.” It was asked
‘Shouldn’t we overthrow them with the sword?’
He (saw) said “No, as long as they establish
the Salah among you. If you then find anything detestable
in them, you should hate their administration but do not withdraw
yourselves from their obedience." (MUSLIM [4573])
and Umm Salamah reported that Nabi (saw) said “Amirs
will be appointed over you and you will find them doing good
as well as bad deeds. One who hates their bad deeds is absolved
from blame, one who disapproves of their bad deeds is also
safe. But one who approves of their bad deeds and imitates
them (is not blameless).” People asked ‘Rasool
Allah! Shouldn’t we fight against them?’ He (saw)
replied “No, as long as they pray [‘laa
maa salloo’].” (MUSLIM [4570]) So these
three ahadeeth proved that even neglect in the amirs was not
cause to remove them but only kufr. So if this was the case
with things less than kufr being tolerated then what is the
case with the Imaam who is not neglecting but is striving
to do bring shari’ah and darul Islam but is unable to
achieve some matters due to the circumstances? Secondly, it
proves that power is not something the Imaam exclusively controls
otherwise the call for his removal in these ahadeeth would
have been unachievable, but rather it is possible to remove
him and this shows that the Imaam himself is not the one who
has the capability to control all power.
11. A’bdullah reported that Nabi (saw) said “This
matter (i.e. imaarah) will remain among the Quraysh even if
there are only two people left” (MUSLIM [4476])
This hadeeth proved that Imaamah is correct even in the absence
of power to force shari’ah over all the people, this
is because the hadeeth said “…even if
there are only two…” and two people is
not a basis of power.
12. The hadeeth of Hudhayfah ibn al Yaman also is an indication
that the power to force the shari’ah over the people
is not a condition of Imaamah. This is because the hadeeth
described a time of tafarruq in which certain groups were
capable of existing which were calling to the Fire. If the
Imaamah was powerful it would be able to prevent these groups
by force. The second indication in the hadeeth is that it
commanded the Muslims to cling to the Imaam and this would
indicate the separation of affairs between the Imaam and the
jama’ah and other sections who are attributing themselves
to the Muslim ummah but are outside of the control of the
Imaam. Hudhayfah ibn al Yaman said ‘The people used
to ask rasool Allah (saw) about the good, but I used to ask
him about the evil for fear that it might overtake me, so
I said, ‘O Rasool Allah, we used to be in ignorance
(jaahileeyah) and evil (shari) then Allah brought this good
to us. So is there any evil after this good? He (saw) said “Yes” I said ‘And is there any
good after that evil?’ He (saw) said “Yes,
but it will be tainted (literally by ‘smoke’)” I asked ‘What will that smoke be?’ He (saw) said “A people adopting ways other than my sunnah, guiding
others with other than my guidance, you will recognise some
(of their deeds) and not recognise others.” I asked ‘Then is there any evil after that good?’
He (saw) said “Yes, callers at the gates of
Hellfire, whoever responds to their call will be thrown into
it.” I said ‘O rasool Allah describe
them to us.’ He (saw) said “They will
be from our own people and speak our language.” What do you order me to do if I should see that?’ He
(saw) said “Cling (talzamu) to the jama’atul
Muslimeen and their Imam.” I said ‘And
if there is no Jama’ah and no Imam?’ He (saw)
said “Then keep away from all those sects (firaq)
even if you have to bite upon the root of a tree until death
overtakes you in that condition.” (BUKHAARI
English/Arabic version vol.4 [no.803] and vol.9 [no.206],
MUSLIM [no.4553])
13. Any muslim in any part of the world should look to his
own situation. He lives in a land dominated by the forces
of taaghoot, and yet he prays, fasts, gives da’wah.
Why does he does he do that in darul kufr? Because it is the
shari’ah rules and he must implement that. He may object
that these are individual duties, but that is inaccurate,
these are both individual and collective duties. The establishment
of the salah is a duty addressed collectively in the Quran
with the commands often appearing in the plural form. In addition
to this, the salah includes salah in jama’ah and Salaatul
Jumua’h, we can al;so add the salah of e’id, all
of these are collective duties in the sphere of I’baadaat
and the people do not suspend them. However we know that these
duties are under the Imaamah as the hadeeth says “and
no-one should lead where another has authority” (NASAA’I
and others) and from the Sunnah is that the collective I’baadah
was under the authority of the prophet (saw), whether in the
stage of weakness or in the stage of strength.
14. The phrase ‘establish the salah’ can not be
said to be referring to only individual prayer as the phrase
is often commanded in the plural form and addressed to the
collective in the Quran. This command was revealed in Makkah
before the hijrah. In addition to this, the specific ahdeeth
enjoined this collective duty in all situations and whether
weak or few, just as the hadeeth says by way of the specific
indications Nabi (saw) is reported to have said on the authority
of Abu Dara’a “There are not three people
that are in a city or desert except that they must establish
the Salah, otherwise they are overcome by Shaytaan. Stick
to the Jama’ah for the wolf eats the sheep that is remote
from the pack.” (ABU DAWOOD, AN-NASAA’I
and others)
15. Imaarah is the shari’ah method for organisation
of all the shari’ah affairs both relating to I’baadaat
and mua’malaat. This has been commanded for the time
of weakness and thus is not restricted to matters of I’baadaat.
A’bdullah ibn A’mru ibn al A’ss reported
that Nabi (saw) said “It is not halaal for any
three of you to remain in a deserted place without appointing
one of you as ameer” (AHMAD) So this remains
the system of organisation wherever, you are, Muslims in East
and West are not allowed to be leaderless, disorganised and
divided. Rather, even if you are on desert island, imaarah
is fard.
16. The revelation of hudood in madeenah and other matters
of shari’ah does not mean that we do not follow those
shari’ah rules in the time of weakness. Rather all of
the shari’ah is upon us unless there is a specific daleel
which restricts a matter of shari’ah for a specific
time or something in the subject matter which possesses rationally
necessary requirements. To claim that rules only apply in
the time when they were revealed would mean that people in
the stage of weakness should not fast ramadaan and should
not pray the salah five times a day and should not pray four
raka’t for the resident for zuhr, asr and I’shaa.
All of the Quran and Sunnah is a guiodance for us whether
revealed in Makkah or Madeenah, a matter is only abrogated
with an abrogating daleel. Whatsmore, the shari’ah was
not completed after hijrah but rather when the prophet (saw)
passed away.
17. In the weakness stage the whole foundation of the ruling
system was revealed and that is the ayaat of tawheedul haakimeeyah.
18. In the weakness stage there were many ahkaam revealed
at least fifty ahkaam were revealed. This included matters
of I’baadaat and mu’amalaat, they included individual
duties as well as collective duties. Thus the Makki ayaat
of the Quran and the practise of the Sunnah and the sahaabh
in the time before the hijrah totally refute the concept that
shari’ah is not to be applied before the time of strength.
19. The Hajj is a good example of the collective duty that
is still being performed. The Muslims have been commanded
to perform the hajj if they are able, i.e. as much as they
can. The Hajj is a duty that is not organised by each individual
but it requires the collective organisation under the unitary
authority, therefore we look to the hajj in the Sunnah and
we see that it is always under the authority of the head of
the ummah, i.e. the imaamah of Nabi (saw), and indeed the
classical hadeeth and fiqh books address the hajj as being
under the authoriy of the Imaam. The people take a contradictory
position when they say there can be no application of shari’ah
and no Imaamah for the stage of weakness when they themselves
engage in duties such as the hajj which should be under the
authority of the Imaam. They not only perform the collective
duty and thus contradicting their own principles but also
accept it while it is being organised by the leadership of
a taaghoot regime.
20. The sahaabah took the bayah to establish the truth and
speak the truth wherever they are. This includes the truth
of unity and leadership. Indeed the sahaabi narrating the
hadeeth is one who took bayah in the stage of weakness. Ubaadah
bin as Saamit narrated “We gave the baya’h
to Rasool Allah (saw) to listen and obey in ease and in hardship
and in what we like and what we dislike and not to fight against
the people of authority and to speak or to establish the truth
wherever we are without worrying about the blame of the blamer” (MAALIK kitaabul Jihaad [vol.1 no.977] similar from BUKHAARI)
21. The Prophets came to govern the affairs of the people,
this involves organising and leading the people on the basis
of a belief and law, the prophets were often in weakness as
confirmed by Quranic narratives about the past prophets, the
sunnah which explicitly described their weakness, the generality
of those ahadeeth which described the role of the prophets
and the example of the final prophet who lead the ummah upon
shari’ah in weakness and in strength.
22. Even to adopt the position that no hudood must be implemented
in the stage of weakness, this does not mean that there should
be no Imaam. Rather, this would only mean that no hudood is
implemented, but all the other shari’ah duties of Imaamah
would remain. The prophet (saw) was not implementing hudood
in Makkah as it was not revealed but without doubt he was
organising all the other affairs of the Muslims according
to the shari’ah that had been revealed whether that
was relating to I’baadaat or mua’malaat. The hudood
is not the condition of Imaamah but rather it ia one of its
duties. The Imaamah has the main objective of organising the
affairs of the Muslims, the Muslims require their affairs
to be organised in the stage of weakness even more so than
in the time of strength. Allah (swt) commands us “And
prepare against them all you can of power” (al
Anfaal 8:60) This is a command of the ummah to build all means
of power, how can that be done without unity and leadership?
How can any resourcces be gathered and directed without one
leader? How can power be maximised if a plethora of independent
individuals and independent authorities is aloud to exist?
If darul Islam is an objective, then that is a matter of building
power, and that can not be done without leadership and unity
just as is confirmed from ration and from specific divine
text and from the life of nabi (saw).
23. The sphere of takleef [legal responsibility] is the whole
earth. The Quran declared that the whole of the earth is a
place for the shari’ah to be applied. Allah (swt) says “And when your Lord said to the Angels ‘Verily,
I am going to place a khaleefah on the earth.’..” (al Baqarah 2:30) and “O My slaves who believe!
Verily, My earth is vast, so worship Me.” (al
A’nkaboot 29:56) and “And from wheresoever
you start forth, turn your face in the direction of al Masjid
al Haram and wheresoever you are turn your faces towards it
so that men may have no argument against you except those
of them that are wrongdoers…” (al Baqarah
2:150) Not only Arab lands, not only East……No,
the whole earth is for shari’ah and wherever you are
on earth you are obliged to abide by shari’ah and you
will be accounted for that.
24. Amr bil Ma’roof wan Nahi anil Munkar was revealed
in Makkah. This require that shari’ah is applied and
not suspended in general, that means the completeness of the
rules, and those rules revolve around Imaamah, also the Imaamah
itself is part of shari’ah and must be applied and called
to, the opposite of that is a munkar of leaderlessness, division
and incomplete rules and thus must be forbidden. Indeed the
hadeeth sais clearly, that if munkar is not forbidden then
division is a result A’bdullah ibn Masoo’d, that
Nabi (saw) said “Nay, By Allah. You must command
ma’roof and forbid munkar and you must stay the hand
of the zaalim, bend him to conformity with the truth and force
him to do right or else Allah will the set the hearts of you
all against one another.” (ABU DAWOOD)
25. The command for da’wah was revealed in Makkah before
the hijrah. That da’wah is to Tawheed [Dawah ilallaah]
and also to the full Islamic laws and system which includes
unity and leadership [D’awah ilal Khayr] Allah (swt)
(swt) says “So unto this then call and go straight
as you have been commanded and do not follow their desires…” (ash Shoora 42:13) This da’wah is of course to the people
in every land, East or West, Allah (swt) says “Say:
‘O mankind! Verily I am sent to you all as the messenger
of Allah…” (al A’raaf 7:158) and “And We have not sent you except to all of mankind as
a giver of good news and a warner but most men know not” (Saba 34:28)
26. Allah (swt) is Lord of East and West. The whole world
today is under the control of continuously fail to understand
that the whole world today is under the control of disbelievers
and Taaghoot, but that Muslims must always reject their basis
of legislation and only accept the ahkaam of Allah (swt) wherever
they are, Allah (swt) is Lord over all earth and thus must
be obeyed in all shari’ah commands wherever they are,
Allah (swt) says "Moosa said 'Lord of the east
and the west and all that is between them if you did but use
your intellect" (ash Shua'aarah 26:27)
27. Settling of Disputes is still required as the social and
economic transactions still exist, the shari’ah principle
states ‘The decision of the Imaam settles disputes’
This principle is extracted from the obligation of obedience
to the Imaam as transmitted in numerous ahadeeth and as indicated
in ayaat such as the following "O Dawood! Verily,
We have placed you as a khaleefah on the earth, so judge you
between men in truth…” (Sad 38:26) Indeed
that was applied before hijrah as proven by the Makki ayah “And in whatsoever you differ, the judgement
thereof is with Allah… .” (ash Shoora
42:10)
28. The shari’ah principle states, ‘The Imaam
is appointed to be followed’, indeed this is the meaning
of Imaamah in language and the shari’ah texts. It is
not for the ummah to build the system of Islam, struggle to
establish power with scattered resources and efforts only
then to place the Imaam on top of all this as a completion
of the affair. Rather, the ummah requires leaderhip and organisation
in order to establish the deen and that was the path of the
sunnah. Therefore in the time of weakness there is a role
for Imaamah just as there is a role for Imaamah in the stage
of strength. The nature of this leadership changes according
to circumstance but it does not cease to exist, the priorities
may change but the shari’ah continues to deal with each
situation in the best manner.
29. Only the Imaam has been commanded with the responsibility
of organising the affairs for the ummah. Those affairs are
always existing and everyone has their own sphere of responsibility.
A'bdullah ibn U'mar reported that Nabi (saw) said "Beware,
everyone of you is a guardian and everyone of you is accountable
for his guardianship. So the Imaam over his people [naas]
is a guardian and he is accountable for his guardianship and
the man is a guardian over the people of his household [ahli
baytihi] and he is accountable for his guardianship and the
lady is a guardian over the people of the household [ahli
baytihi] of her husband and his children and she is accountable
for them and a slave [a'bd] of a man is guardian over the
wealth of his master [sayyidihi] and he is accountable for
it. Beware, because everyone of you is a guardian and everyone
of you is accountable for his guardianship." (BUKHAARI kitaabul Ahkaam [vol.9 no.252]) and in another version
A'bdullah (ibn U’mar) reported that Nabi (saw) "Everyone
of you is a guardian and is accountable for his guardianship
so the ameer over his people is a guardian and is accountable
for them. The man for his family is a guardian and is responsible
for his guardianship. And the lady is a guardian over the
house and children and she is accountable for them and the
slave [a'bdu] is a guardian over the wealth of his master
[sayyidihi] and he is accountable for it so everyone of you
is a guardian [raa'in] and everyone of you is accountable
for your guardianship." (BUKHAARI [vol.3 no.730]This
hadeeth was narrated with several different versions by BUKHAARI
see [vol.3 no.592, 733] kitaabul Juma'h [vol.2 no.18] kitaabul
Wasayyah [vol.4 no.14] kitaabun Nikah [vol.7 no.116,128] and
similar was narrated by MUSLIM in his ‘Jaami’us
Saheeh’ kitaabul Imaarah MUSLIM [no.4496-4499])
30. The whole earth is subjected to man, this means all of
the resources of the world are open to the Muslims and especially
the Imaam who looks to the interests of the ummah. In the
absence of darul Islam, the utilisation of the muslim people
and the resources of the land is to continue in accordance
with shari’ah rules and principles. Allah (swt) says "And He has subjected to you from Him all that is in
the heavens and on the earth, indeed in that are signs for
those who reflect" (al Jaatheeyah 45:13) the
earth belongs to Allah (swt), East and West is all for our
benefit, Allah (swt) says “He it is, Who has
made the earth subservient to you, so walk in the path thereof
and eat of His provision and to Him will be the Resurrection” (al Mulk 67:15)
31. Hijrah is to whole earth “And as for those
who made hijrah in the cause of Allah (swt) after suffering
oppression, We will certainly give them goodly residence in
this word but indeed the reward of thehereafter will be greater,
if they but knew” (an Nahl 16:41) Many of the
salaf said this refers to the hijrah to Abyssinia as mentioned
by Ibn Katheer in his tafseer. Allah (swt) also says “He
who makes hijrah in the cause of Allah (swt) will find on
earth many dwelling places and plenty to live by…” (an Nisaa’ 4:100) and “Verily, as for
those whom the angels take while they are oppressing themselves
they say ‘In what (condition) were you?’ They
reply ‘We were weak on earth’ They say ‘Was
not the earth of Allah (swt) spacious enough for you to make
hijrah to?’ Such men will find their abode in hell what
an evil refuge” (an Nisaa 4:97)
32. Hijrah of Zulm was made to Abyssinia on command of Nabi
(saw). They were under Imaamah of nabi (saw), did not compromise
deen and were living in non-Muslim land.
33. Allah (swt) says “…establish the deen
and do not make divisions in it…” (ash
Shoora 42:13) Establishing whole deen without tafarruq means…..1)
applying all beliefs and laws 2) applying in unified structure
under an Imaam. Relate the tafseer of Ibn A’bbaas.
34. Hold fast to rope of Allah (swt) all together and don’t
divide is continuous command and means to apply all shari’ah
as community under one imaam.
35. The prophets were sent to judge between people by wahi
as is mentioned in several ayaat. Therefore that requires
i) Imaarah ii) application of laws
36. To be seeking nussrah in the absence of darul Islaam is
to apply the shari’ah as i) That is shari’ah for
stage of weakness ii) The shari’ah rules have a foundation
of capability, so bringing about that capability is actually
a part of applying those rules, for it is their foundation
and that is based upon the shari’ah principle ‘That
which is necessary to achieve a duty is a duty in itself’
or from another angle it is based upon the usool ‘Fath
adh Dharaa’I’ [Opening the means] Allah (swt)
(swt) commanded to seek all of the means to His obedience
as in the ayah “O you who believe! Have taqwa
of Allah (swt) and seek the means of approach to Him and strive
in His cause so that you may be successful” (al
Maa’idah 5:35) and Allah (swt) says “O
you who believe! Take your precautions…” (an
Nisaa’ 4:71) Imaam Quraafi said ‘Just as the closing
of the gate is binding, its opening is binding, disapproved
and permitted because the method adopted constitutes the means.
As the cause of the prohibited is itself prohibited, the cause
of the obligatory is also obligatory e.g. the effort necessary
for the hajj or the Salaatul Jumua’ah’ (Kitaab
al Furooq [2/32])
37. Finally, those who object to Imaamah by saying that the
absence of the whole shari’ah have contradicted the
fact that the only system given to the ummah to unify and
run the affairs was prophethood and Imaamah which succeeded
it. The prophethood operated in weakness and instrength and
this is also for Imaamah as indicated by specific principles
and texts that have already been mentioned and due to the
example of prophethood which is the source and example for
guidance in principles relating to Imaamah. So there is no
alternative to these two, individualism nor division into
groups can achieve unity because thereality of both of these
things contradicts unity and they are not based upon Quran
and Sunnah. Without the Imaamah zakaat jihaad and many other
matters become weakened and unco-ordinated and may cease all
together. Islam is much better than what these people are
thinking as Islam continues in the weak time and the matters
such as the zakaat and jihaad under the Imaamah are needed
in the weak time more so than they are needed in the strong
time and it is only under Imaamah that they can function properly.
In reality it is the people who are refusing to give baya’h
and refusing to listen and obey who are suspending the shari’ah. |
