Thursday, April 19, 2007

MOVEMENTS $ ACTIVISM

THE ISLAMIC REVIVAL:

AL-TAJDEED AL-ISLAMI

"And when We told the angels, 'Prostrate yourselves before Adam!', they all prostrated themselves, save Iblees, who refused and gloried in his arrogance: and thus he became one of those who denied the truth." [al-Baqarah 2:34]

Thus began the history of the struggle between al-haq (truth) and al-baatil (falsehood). Although Iblees was from amongst the jinn he was allowed into the company of the angels, but this honor granted by Allah made Iblees arrogant, so much so, that he felt able to deny Allah's request. Furthermore, since then he has pledged to direct mankind away from the path of submission to Allah. This is the history of the struggle between al-haq and al-baatil.

Mankind required guidance to prevent them from falling prey to the whispers of Iblees (also known Shaytaan) and Allah provided this guidance through books and men. Some men were honored by Allah to convey his message and some of these men were honored further with books of guidance e.g. the Zaboor of Dawud, the Tawrah of Musa, the Injeel of 'Isa and the Qur'an of Muhammad (peace be upon them all). The death of Muhammad (saw) ended the process of revelation. Allah then guided his creation through his book: the Qur'an which is protected by Allah so that it can reach the generation beyond Muhammad (saw). Although Messenger-ship has ended some men have continued to uphold al-haq in the face of al-baatil after the death of the prophet - these being the mujaddidoon - i.e. the revivers of Islam.

"Allah will raise at the head of each century, such people for this ummah as will revive its deen for it." [Abu Dawud]

The process of revival (tajdeed) has been shouldered by many great personalities like 'Umar bin 'Abdul-Aziz, Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Malik, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Imam as-Shafi'i, Imam al-Ghazzali, Salahuddin al-Ayyubi, Imam ibn Taymiyyah Shah Waliullah, and others. The greatness of these personalities lies not only in the vastness of their knowledge but in the way that they applied both their mind and their knowledge to the prevailing situation of their age and then in the way that they strove to revive the deen (way of life). So, they would examine the situation of the Muslims and then they would compare this situation with the demands of Islam and if they found any discrepancies then they would work on this particular weakness to make the situation fulfill the demands of Islam. Thus movements have arisen concentrating variously on jihad, morality, asceticism, prayers, politics, philosophy, belief and dedication to the Sunnah depending upon what was particularly lacking in the Muslims of that time.

It is obvious though, that today, we are not only lacking in just one aspect of Islam but rather, we are lacking in almost every aspect. This has been the natural conclusion of many of the century's great revivers. They maintain that today's comprehensive disease requires a comprehensive cure. Consequently, we have witnessed this century the emergence of Islamic movements in almost every country all essentially aiming to return mankind in a comprehensive manner back to the worship of Allah.

'I have only created jinns and men that they may serve Me' [ad-Dhaariyaat 51:56]

From Palestine to the Phillippines and from Tunisia to the Tajikistan, these movements are today one single global Islamic movement united by a common Cause and a common Struggle.

The history of the Islamic movement in this century dates back to the 1920s when Imam Hasan al-Banna and Sayyid Abul 'Ala Mawdudi began their work. Their inheritors have continued their work through the decades and we have witnessed many trials and periods of hardship. Sayyid Mawdudi was jailed on several occasions, once he was even sentenced to death! The Ikhwaan al-Muslimeen in Egypt suffered 20 years of imprisonment with many being executed (Sayyid Qutb, Shaykh Farghali, and Shaykh Abdul-Qadir Awdah being some example). The Ikhwan in Syria were killed in the thousands in 1982 and only recently the Tunisian movement, an-Nahda, suffered at the hands of the Tunisian regime. Backed by scholars such as Shaykh Sayyid Sabiq (author of Fiqh us-Sunnah) and Sayyid Amin Ahsan Islahi (author of Tadabbur al-Qur'an), the movement has progressed closer and closer towards achieving its various objectives. Today, Egypt and Turkey are examples of the modern-day progress of the Islamic movement. We hope and pray that Allah will bless and honor the work of His soldiers.

Young Muslims is a limb of this global movement sharing its understanding with all the other major worldwide movements. Our situation here in UK reflects the domination of ignorance and the absence of Islam. Iblees is still working very hard to divert mankind away from the path of Allah so that he may remain trapped within today's abyss of depression and misery. Anyone who may care enough to cease acting out their daily routine and look for one second into this abyss will only be horrified by the suffering and despair that is so common. Most people today are content in planning for the provisions that they require for the journey yet they do not know or maybe they do not even care where this journey is taking them. They live as the poet says:

I came, I know not from where,
But I came,
I saw before me a path, so I walked,
I will continue walking, whether I will or not,
How did I come?
How did I see my path?
I do not know,
And why I do not know, I do not know.

Unfortunately, for the people of this country baatil reigns. One of its manifestations is the prevalence of shirk (associating partners with Allah - the greatest injustice of all). It's our responsibility that Islam should now be introduced to the people of this country not as the religion of the Saracens (descendants of Sarah), nor as the next threat to the West, but rather as the cure to its many diseases. Therefore, it becomes our duty as upholders of al-haq to take Islam to the people of this country, our aim being to help create and maintain in Britain a society in which the people live by Islam. By doing so, we would be fulfilling the order of the Prophet (saw) since he himself said in his farewell speech:

"Those of you who are present here convey the message to those who are absent." [Bukhari]

This is the vision of our movement, a movement which aspires to tread the very same enlightened path of the Prophet (saw) and his noble companions towards the promised victory insha-Allah, so that we can be from amongst those who helped revive the deen in this century.

It is as Imam Hasan al-Banna said:

"My brothers, you are not a welfare organization, nor a political party, you are not a limited goals organization but a new spirit that moves in the nerves of the people. You are the new light that will destroy the darkness of materialism. You are the voices that echo the message of Prophet Muhammad (saw)".

(courtesy of http://www.ymuk.net)

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
ISLAMIC MOVEMENT

The term 'Islamic Movement' (al-Harakah al-Islamiyyah) conjures up differing images in the minds of the people of today, Muslim and non-Muslim alike. For some, it is a source of pride and hope; the truest reflection of the unique Qur'anic generation; the pre-eminent vehicle by which Islam is to be re-established in this world. For others it is seen as a stubborn block to progress and freedom; it is labeled as an international terrorist organization driving the Muslims farther away from the 'sacred' principle of secularism.

In the wake of the downfall of the Ottoman Khilafah, the Muslim Ummah was reduced to its lowest position since it's inception some thirteen centuries ago. This struck a severe blow to both scholars and common-folk alike. Confusion and despondency was endemic in the down-trodden, fragmented remains of the state. Out of this rubble emerged the new phoenixes of Islam, expressed in the thoughts and activities of Imam Hasan al-Banna Shaheed, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood (al-Ikhwaan al-Muslimoon), and Sayyid Abul 'Ala Mawdudi, the founder of Jama'at-e-Islami. They managed to re-introduce the Islamic paradigm in it's entirety, to a fading community, and thus lay the foundations of a global Islamic order. Today the same fikr, or thought, connects Islamists all across the globe, creating a unity of purpose, means and ideas.

The Islamic Movement takes Islam in it's most comprehensive and universal expression, as "creed and state, Book and sword, and a way of life...". The objectives and some of the characteristics of the Islamic Movement are explained below.

Objectives

The Islamic Movement seeks to bring about complete change in the society, taking it from Jahiliyyah (ignorance) to Islam. It is not merely satisfied with increasing the moral fiber of a few individuals or groups of people - it strives for a metamorphosis of the very infrastructure of society; it's institutions, it's culture, it's political order and it's creed. These objectives may be broken into the five shown below:

  1. Building the Muslim Individual - to have a strong body; exemplary character; cultured thought; to be able to earn; to have deep faith and correct worship; to be conscious of time; to be able to benefit others; to be organized and striving.
  2. Building the Muslim Family - to have righteous parents who educate their children to be brought up Islamically.
  3. Building the Muslim Community - by building the individuals and the families, addressing the problems of the society.
  4. Building the Muslim State - by instituting and electing an Islamic social and political governance.
  5. Building the Khilafah - by gathering and unifying the Islamic governments all around the world.
  6. Witnessing to Mankind - becoming the leader of humanity taking it away from the clutches of Shaytaan.

Objectives 1-4 run parallel and overlap and continue until the Day of Judgment. The Khilafah is dependant upon the satisfactory results of the first 4 objectives at which time Allah's promise will, insha-Allah come to pass:

"Allah has promised to those among you who work righteous deeds that He will, of a surety, grant them inheritance of the land.' [24:55]

Characteristics

1. Rabbaniyyah (Godliness)

The Cause of the Islamic Movement is founded on divine injunctions laid down in the Qur'an. Ultimately, it's goal is to bring everyone in line with the primordial purpose of all creation, which is to worship Allah. The Islamic Movement requires all its soldiers, to first and foremost, strive for the pleasure of Allah and the acceptance of his or her efforts, securing themselves a place in the highest echelons of the Hereafter. It derives all it's aims, means and principles from the Qur'an and Sunnah which are the guiding lights of the Ummah [see 61:14, 51:56, 10:24, 5:50, 4:65].

2. Jama'ah (Collectiveness)

Much of the demise of the Muslims can be attributed to the lack of leadership and cohesiveness of the Muslims. The organizational structure of the Islamic Movement is modeled around that existing at the time of the Prophet (saw), who was the Imam and guide of that community, taking Shura (consultation) from the members of his Islamic movement. Allah is with the jama'ah and Shaytan accompanies those who insist on remaining singular. We understand that constructive work, today, cannot be done by any other means other than through organization, leadership and consultation [see 61:4].

3. Shumuliyyah (Comprehensiveness)

Islam came to regulate all affairs of man, leaving nothing aside. There is no contradiction between spiritual and material, individual and society, dunya and al-akhira. One need only look through the Qur'an to see a confirmation of this. Thus the Islamic Movement comprises of the following:

  1. Salafi Da'wah - because they are calling man back to the two sources in Islam, the Qur'an and Sunnah.
  2. Sunni Way - because they adopt the path of the Prophet (saw) in all spheres, especially in matters of 'Aqeedah (creed) and 'Ibaadah (worship).
  3. True Tasawwuf - because it recognizes the importance of purifying the heart and becoming closer to the Creator, through repentance and supererogatory acts in accordance with the Sunnah.
  4. Political Organization - as it demands the reformation of Muslim Governments and seeks to re-establish the Islamic political order.
  5. Physically Trained Team - because it understands that the development of the physique in preparation for Jihad and further struggle is an essential part of the training of the individual.
  6. Institute Of Culture And Learning - encouraging it's members to acquire knowledge of Islam and also other areas, building institutions for the education of the masses.
  7. Commercial Firm - Islam orders earning by lawful means and in this world economic strength defines status and power.
  8. Welfare System - because it attends to the maladies of the society, discovering their cures and keeping the nation healthy.

The Islamic Movement does not sway to one pole or another, be it politics, Sufism or Jihad. It recognizes that all these areas are essential parts of the deen and need attention accordingly.

4. Binaa' (Construction)

The Islamic Movement is not obsessed with the more controversial issues in Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) which can lead Muslims into hating one another and rendering them incapable of uniting and carrying out any constructive work. There are greater goals and more pressing issues which are leading to the destruction of our Ummah such as the occupation of the Muslim lands, the illegitimacy of the rulers of the Muslim lands, the domination of secularism and irreligiosity. We do not seek to destroy society and individuals but rather to develop them, breeding the good qualities and eschewing any harmful signs. We look for active, positive work which will bring an overall benefit to humanity and which will lead to strong roots for the future [see 14:24, 9:105].

5. 'Aalamiyyah (Universality)

The Islamic Movement is a global force, because Islam did not come to a single group of people but to the whole of humanity. In an age where the global communities are becoming one with the advent and proliferation of the information highway, the Muslims are still far behind, although the Qur'an and Sunnah exhort them to unity and a sense of togetherness. We are concerned with the affairs of all the Muslims around the world. Also the Islamic movement is linked globally by a strong network of brothers and sisters who are working on a universal strategy to bring about a world-wide change.

6. Tadarruj (Gradualness)

Centuries of decadence and decay culminated in the the fall of the Ottoman Khilafah in 1924. To regain the glory of earlier times will take many further decades. We do not seek a temporary solution to the problems of today's world. There is no point in fighting the sunan (ways) of Allah which necessitates many years of hard work and struggle before power is given [2:124]. Immature solutions can lead to disastrous results which can set the Islamic revival back even further.

7. Tawaazun (Balance)

Islam requires us to be balanced in the practise of our faith [2:143, 25:67]. Each aspect of Islam must be understood as according to its relative priority; being excessive in one aspect of Islam may result in the neglect of another important part [5:90].

8. Waaqi'iyyah (Pragmatism)

Islam demands its adherents to be always practical - to do only as much as one is able to do - and part of this pragmatism entails us pressing momentous changes gradually. Islam does not require us to do anything unless we are reasonably capable of doing it; if something is beyond our ability to do then we will not be called to account for it [2:173].

The task of the Islamic movement is bold and prodigious. No organization or body of people has managed to bring back Islam to the world as the Islamic movement has helped to change the hearts and minds of millions, al-Hamdulillah. The achievements of the Islamic movement are clearly manifest for all to see. One needs only study the transformation of the people in Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Sudan, Yemen, Tunisia, Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, etc.

(courtesy of http://www.ymuk.net)

Islamic Movements
Self-Criticism and Reconsideration

Shaykh Rashid al Ghanuchi
Head of the Al-Nahda Islamic movement of Tunis

Looking at the Islamic revival worldwide today - a revival aiming to rebuild the individual and society and recompose the nation's thought and politics based on Islam - we find it making progress. It is making victories that no other ideology is making in today's world.

The progress is not limited to the idea, because the idea itself is improving. The Islamic movement has been able to discover new areas of Islam, and the discoveries continue along the path forged by men of the last century like Jamal al-Din al-Afghani and continued by men like Hasan al-Banna and Abu Al-A'la al-Maududi. The ideas of these men gave birth to modern Islamic movements which rediscovered the Islamic basis upon which to build life. Islam is not a group of individual beliefs, rituals, or mannerisms.

It is a comprehensive way of life. Islam was around before the modern Islamic movement, but it had been thought of as a preparation for one to get to heaven, not a system to mold society.

Today Islam is progressing forcefully while secularism is falling rapidly. While Islam attracts people who are looking for justice, secularism is loosing major footholds and has lost its ability to defend itself except by violence. When you see a secular state using more and more violence, know that it is bankrupt. The secular state has lost its legitimacy. Instead of being based on popular support, these states are based on international support and on violence. Meanwhile, Islam is progressing vertically and horizontally. Its idea deepens daily while spreading from fields such as politics and economics to art, human resource development (including women), and institution-building. Despite this remarkable progress, however, I must make some negative remarks, emphasize some shortcomings in the performance of the Islamic movement, and warn against some pitfalls, because we cannot always focus on the positive side of things.

One of the elements of repentance is reconsideration. We must reconsider our actions every day. Are we really on the truth path, or can we be described by the Qur'anic verse: "We found our forefathers doing something and here we are doing the same" (Zukhruf: 23). This verse was intended to describe the polytheists, but Muslims should learn to understand the meaning of continuous evaluation. So repentance is not something limited to our relationship to God; it includes reconsideration of the self at every step in life. This is why self-criticism is so important. The Prophet (PBUH) says, "Hold yourself accountable before you are held accountable."

It is imperative that every movement correct its performance. It should ask: is our plan fulfilled? Why were we late in fulfilling it? What can we do to avoid delays next time? If a movement has 20 members in the parliament in one election, and five in the next, shouldn't it ask why? If the state has conspired against us, why and how? Such a movement should not get angry because we ask that it re-evaluate itself. We have performed such re-evaluations in our movement, and were able to put our finger on a number of mistakes that we made in dealing with the regime in our country.

What I am proposing is a group of comments that have a lot of room for personal interpretation. Some might agree, disagree, or partially disagree.

My first comment is about the strategy of the Islamic movement in dealing with minorities. Muslim minorities are 45 percent of the entire world population of Muslims. They are a major value for Islam, and they are the pioneers of Islamic propagation. Either they help open the path or else they become extinct. Supporting these outlying regions must be a priority before extinction. Look at what happened in the Balkan region. In the days of the Ottomans, the spread of Islam was rapid. After the demise of the Caliphate, the Islamic presence there is like puddles of water where the sea has left, waiting to dry out.

The balance of international power is not on the side of these minorities. They should not have to over-extend their resources and carry the burden of Islamic governance. This is a role for the countries with a Muslim majority. If these Muslim minorities adopt the ideas of Islamic governance laid out by Sayyed Qutb and others at this point, they will have signed their own death warrant. The role I suggest for Muslim minorities is to reinforce the Islamic presence in the countries they live in. There is a big difference between maintaining a presence and working to establish an Islamic government. The most a minority can hope for is participation in politics. In fact, their entry into the realm of politics is sometimes a major reason for the attention minorities get. So they better focus on social work. Politics is a grinding arena. The race for government is the race for wealth and influence.

Sometimes we find Muslim minorities asking for independence or a separate state. Of course this is allowed from a legal point of view, but in reality it must not be allowed. We can ask: is the quest for independence necessary? Or can we accept a lesser arrangement, like self-rule, in preparation for the return to Islam? This goes for the Chechnyans, where the Muslim minority is demanding independence from Russia. Russia is a decaying empire; Islam can get to it in time. So why should we prevent that by splitting from it especially if independence is simply not viable and would lead to the annihilation of the Muslim minority? Also, the incessant demand for independence might damage the relationship between the Muslim world and the nation that the Muslim minority wants independence from. If the Muslim minority in China adopts the demand for independence one day, and the Muslims find an interest in allying with China against some mutual enemy, the Muslims will be faced with a major dilemma.

The Islamic nation has an interest in not picking fights with China, India, or even Yugoslavia these days. Wherever Muslim minorities can live safely, and practice their religious rites freely, independence is not necessary. In fact, the pursuit of independence could be deadly. Generally speaking, Muslim minorities are not requested to govern the countries they live in by Islam, nor to think about independence, because this will lead to their genocide and put the entire Islamic nation's interests in danger.

The second comment is about priorities. Is our priority social work or reaching power? These two items might not be mutually exclusive - Islam wants to Islamize politics and society simultaneously - but if the interests of social missionary work (da`wah) contradicts political interests, the social interests must be put before anything else. It has been proven that what is achieved socially is more permanent and better than what is achieved politically. Modern experience has taught us that things achieved through the state are quick but short-lived, because they depend on force. But what is done through social activity lasts, because it depends on persuasion. Humans do not like to be forced. The Makkans offered Muhammad (PBUH) the government but he refused it, preferring instead to establish his calling.

The Islamic movement must not have the government as its first priority. Takeover of government should not be the biggest achievement possible. A bigger achievement would be if the people would love Islam and its leaders. Our entire activity is based on the Islamic state of `Umar Ibn `Abdul `Aziz, which lasted only for two years, and the Guided Caliphate before him. Who remembers anything from the Umayyad or Abbassid caliphates? `Umar Ibn `Abdul `Aziz was a beacon because he renewed the prophetic form of government. The issue is not how long you governed, but what you did. The years of `Umar left a long-lasting effect in the hearts of Muslims for the rest of history. The most dangerous thing is for the Islamists to be loved by the people before they get to power and then hated afterward.

The third comment deals with civil society. The Islamic movement should be keen on developing and strengthening civil society even after the state is established. Even the Islamic state doesn't have control over everything under it. Government is a small part of the institutions of civil society. It is there to support and strengthen society. There must be more institutions of civil society, enough so that the people don't need the state. The Islamic movement must return power to the society through grassroots institutions. These institutions must be led by elected officials.

There shouldn't be institutions exclusively for Islamists. It's better to have nationwide institutions where everyone competes for their leadership. It is a waste of time to have a leftist student organization, an Islamic student organization, etc. The Islamic movement should not be an excuse to divide the people. All are Muslims, but the Islam of some needs a little rejuvenation. Even the idea of Islamic parties should be given up. While the word "Islamic" usually is prohibited for political reasons from being in the name of Islamic parties, that might actually be a blessing. Any party that the Islamists participate in must be an open, national party.

The fourth comment is on the current conflict between the Islamic movement and the secular state. The movement is being subjected to horrific amounts of violence and suppression. The question is: how should the movement respond to oppression by the secular state? Is state violence a justification for popular violence? There are many religious replies to this question; most do not condone violence against a government that calls itself Islamic. Pragmatically speaking, however, all of the episodes where Islamists responded violently to state violence have been negative. Popular violence, whether Islamic or otherwise, has not been able to damage any regime's standing. Leftists and Islamists have carried out violence, and it has led to nothing but disaster, as in Syria.

The Islamic movement must abide by peaceful methods. It must refuse all forms of military activity. This is the lesson we can learn from the Rafah Party in Turkey. The achievements of the Islamic movement were confiscated more than once by the military. Had the Islamists called for revolution against the army, it would have been utter stupidity and it would have been a catastrophe. Today the Islamic movement in Egypt suffers from hard times, but its leaders refuse to be misled into violence. These regimes want the Islamists to enter the fighting arena, because the government has more resources. Violence is what these regimes specialize in, and they are rather creative at it. The arena of the Islamists is thought, and that is where the rulers are bankrupt. We should not be pulled into a field where they will surely win.

The fifth comment deals with democracy. Many Islamists associate democracy with foreign intervention and non-belief. But democracy is a set of mechanisms to guarantee freedom of thought and assembly and peaceful competition for governmental authority through ballot boxes. The Islamic movement's negative attitude toward democracy is holding it back. We have no modern experience in Islamic activity that can replace democracy. The Islamization of democracy is the closest thing to implementing Shura (consultation). Those who reject this thought have not produced anything different than the one-party system of rule.

The Islamists have two examples: Iran and Sudan. Both are searching for identity, searching for a modern Islamic form of government. We have no modern example for implementing Islamic government. The uneducated think that the Islamic program is a ready-made entity: stick it on the ground and implement it. I don't see any choice before us but to adapt the democratic idea. It might even be dangerous to ignore democracy. Even more dangerous is for the Islamic movement to reach a state where either it remains in power or it dissipates. The movement's options must be open to guarantee its existence. The ones who can gain the most from democracy are the Muslims; they should be the most keen for it. They might come to power whenever free elections are held. The secularists are in the minority these days. They are the ones who have problems with democracy. They are preventing democracy in the Islamic world, because they would lose.

The Islamic mind must adjust until it sees things in their real light. America, the Zionists, and the secularists are the ones afraid of democracy in the Islamic world. So why do you, brother in Islam, share this fear with them? Why are you helping them destroy this beautiful thought?

The Islamists must realize that, despite the achievements of the Islamic movement, the balance of power is simply not in their favor. The balance is in the secularists' favor. Governance might be something the Islamic movement cannot do alone. Maybe the better option is to participate in government as long as the balance of power is what it is. This would maintain the achievements that the movement has gained over time. Governing single-handedly would put the Islamists in the spotlight, and then isolation. Rather, they must open up to all the political forces and forge alliances with all national parties. Islam is facing the threat of Zionism. The Islamists must be looking for common ground to establish a dialogue with the national forces, even Western non-xenophobic streams of thought, to face the Zionist threat together. The Zionist threat is endangering the Islamic nation and the world, and is a threat to values, family and religion. It aims to get rid of ev erything good about humanity.

We must work to lessen the conflicts between the Islamic trend and other political trends in the Muslim world. May God help us.
"If anyone fears God, He will find him a way out for him that he never thought possible. If one trusts God, He will be enough for him" (Talaq: 2-3).

Such promises must remain in our souls, and in the souls of the generations to come. The sun of Islam will shine the world over.
But we must affirm the need to educate ourselves in Islam, fear God, observe the prayers, read Qur'an, and find time to feel God in our everyday lives. We must believe that, without God's presence, we cannot change any balance of power. "And God will have His way, but most people do not believe" (Yusuf: 21).


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shaykh Rashid al Ghanuchi is head of the Al-Nahda Islamic movement of Tunis and is one of the most important Islamic thinkers today. After obtaining political asylum, he has resided in Britain. He is considered one of the more pragmatic Islamic leaders and supporters of coexistence and cooperation among cultures.

Taken from www.islamonline.net

The Process of Islamization

The aim of the Islamic movement is to bring about somewhere in the world a new society wholeheartedly committed to the teachings of Islam in their totality and striving to abide by those teachings in its government, political, economic and social organizations, its relation with other states, its educational system and moral values and all other aspects of its way of life.

Our organized and gradual effort which shall culminate in the realization of that society is the process of Islamization.

This naturally leads to the question: Is there an Islamic process of Islamization? In other words, does Islam only specify the aim to be reached and leave the method of achieving that aim to the intelligence of individuals or does it also specify the means by which that aim is to be reached?

The answer will become clear once we begin to see some of the major issues that are involved in this question.

How does certain social order come to be? The answer to this question has to depend, in the last analysis, one's view of the nature of reality. This is so because the achievement of certain social results depends on the correct performance of certain actions which, in turn, are based on the belief that there is a causal connection between these action and the desired result. The choice of these causal actions will depend on your conception of reality as a whole. A materialists who believes that there is ultimately nothing in the world except matter and its movement will not include in such actions anything like prayer, intentions or moral values. These are for him mere names which do not designate any reality and thus cannot in any way be effectual.

If the means of achieving an aim are thus connected with one's view of the world the process of Islamization must be related to the Islamic view of life. This is confirmed by the fact that Islam is both a message and a method. It is a body of facts which a believer should translate into reality, and it is a method by which this translation is to be effected. The principles of this method are outlined in the Qur'an, but they cannot be rightfully understood without the perspective of the sira of the Prophet which was a successful translation of these principles into action.

In what follows I shall give a brief but, I hope, comprehensive account of that method, starting from the basic conceptual issues and coming down to some practical details.

Determinist Theory of History

Our method of Islamization has to be based on our concept of social causation and historical explanation, i.e. on our view of the process whereby nations and civilizations rise and fall. To identify the Islamic explanation of this important type of social change, it might help to contrast it with a contemporary philosophy of history which, though influential, is misguided. According to this philosophy, history is a movement which follows a single and definite path that leads progressively and inevitably from one stage to a more developed one. Men can influence this movement by either increasing or decreasing its tempo but they do not have the power to arrest it or change its direction. Those who try to stop it or change its direction and thus slow it down are the reactionaries; those who give it a push and accelerate it are the progressives. If one's efforts are to materialize one has to find out this historical movement, see to what future state it is leading and identify his aims and ideals with that stage and direct all his efforts to the goal to which that historical movement is inevitably leading; otherwise his days will be lost in futile reactionary efforts.

We know that the Communists subscribe to such a view, but it is not they alone who do so. Many staunch enemies of Communism unwittingly assume the truth of such a view. Among them are Western and Westernized men and women who believe that the stage which the West, and especially the United States, has now reached is , in its entirety, a more developed stage both materially and culturally. More over if it is the stage towards which all nations that aspire to be both industrialized and civilized must inevitably move. This position, which has many adherents in the Muslim world both in its Communistic form and Western cloak, takes the endeavor to Islamize society to be a futile one because it goes against the historical trend. For the Communists the historical trend leads toward the Soviet Union and to the ideal Communist state; and for the agents of Westernization it moves toward the United States and thence to what will become of the United States.

Islamic Theory of Social Change

Perhaps the best way to introduce the Islamic philosophy of social change, in light of which we should make our program of Islamization, is by way of a commentary on that famous Qur'anic verse.

"Surely God does not change that in which a people are until they change that which is in themselves." (Qur'an xii,11)

The main points we find in this verse are:

1. A God who has absolute freedom of action.

2. Human beings whose freedom of action is limited.

3. A change which man brings about inside himself.

4. A change in man's condition which God brings about as a result of that human change.

These four points constitute the Islamic explanation or philosophy of social change. Let us therefore examine their implication briefly.

The first point distinguishes our conception of social change from the materialistic and naturalistic theories which assume the non-existence of God and therefore adopt the principle of the self-sufficiency of this world i.e. the principle that phenomena of this world, whether they be social or otherwise, can be sufficiently explained with the help of laws pertaining to it. This atheistic assumption has unfortunately been identified with scientific method as such, so much so that any reference to God in the explanation of phenomena is immediately ruled out as unscientific and not merely un-atheistic. We must beware of this unjustified confusion and insist on the justifiability, necessity and desirability of seeing the role of the Divine in the explanation of the natural and social phenomena of our world.

This point also distinguishes our conception from those atheistic viewpoints according to which the Creator is a mere prime mover whose only role was merely to start creation and then leave it to take care of itself.

The second point shows the advantage of our conception of social change over the deterministic theories which assume that man has no real efficacy or freedom of choice and that everything he does is imposed on him by a divine power or by natural or social causes. Man cannot indeed do anything against the will of God, but God has willed to give him the freedom to choose and the power to realize some of his intentions even if they go against the guidance given by God. One of the very important areas on which God gave man the freedom to act is his internal state. But since much of what happens to man depends on what kind of internal state he has, man can be said to be largely responsible for his destiny.

The third point tells us about a change that man brings about inside himself. What kind of change is this? Is it a change from good to bad or vice versa or could it be any of them. This last one is now the popular interpretation of the verse. Almost everyone now understands by this verse that when people change from good to bad, God punishes them by changing their condition from good to bad and vice versa. But this is not the interpretation that we find in the older commentaries. The older commentators seem to be agreed that the change referred to in the verse is a change from good to evil. This seems to me to be the correct interpretation because it is the only one that is comparable with a basic Islamic principle and because it is supported by many other verses.

The fourth point tells us that when a people so change, God punishes them by withdrawing from them some of the spiritual and material bounties which He had bestowed upon them and thus causes them to face hardship.

Bounties are Allah's Grace

Why do I prefer the interpretation which says that the change mentioned in our verse is a change from good to evil? I say so mainly because according to the Qur'an, bounties are not bestowed on men as a result of any good they do. They are given to them as a grace from God. God is Rahman, which means that He initiates good and gives it gratuitously, and does not wait until people take the initiative of doing something good and only then reward them for it. Bounties, whether they be spiritual or material, are given to men by their Lord out of pure rahma and fadl or grace. If they are grateful the bounties shall be maintained and even increased. But if they commit acts which express ungratefulness, then He punishes them by withholding from them some, if not all, of His bounties. But if they repent and return, the bounties also return.

This is very well exemplified by the case of Adam. At his creation God put him in the best of conditions. He granted comfort. But when he ate of the forbidden tree (which was not a tree of knowledge) he lost some of this.

The same principle applies to other communities and nations who are often referred to in the Qur'an as qura or ahl al-qura. Let us start with the sunan that govern the decline or destruction of ungrateful nations, and then turn to those that govern the survival and ascendancy of grateful ones. Here are some examples of what happens to ungrateful nations.

The people of Saba who lived between two gardens were told to eat of the provision of their Lord and to be grateful to Him. But they turned away and so the flood of Iram was sent to them and in exchange for their two gardens they were given two other gardens bearing bitter fruit, the tamarisk, and here and there a lote tree. Commenting on what happened to them God says," We awarded them because of their ungratefulness. Punish We never save the ingrates" (Qu'ran xxxiv, 17)

We are also told about "a township that dwelt secure and well content, its provision coming to it in abundance from every side, but it disbelieved in God's favors, so God made it taste the garment of death and fear because of what they used to do." (Qu'ran:xvi,112)

Decline or destruction is therefore the ultimate and inevitable destiny of any ungrateful nation, any nation which rebels against God and follows the path of immorality.

But this ultimate destruction is brought about in accordance with principles. Here are some of them.

a. Destruction or chastisement does not befall a nation until it is sufficiently warned. This warning can come to them through the medium of a Messenger from God:

"And never did Thy Lord destroy the townships, till He had raised up in their mother-town a messenger reciting unto them our revelations. And never did we destroy the townships unless the folk thereof were evil doers." (Qu'ran:xxvii,59)

"Never did We destroy a population, but had its warners------by way of reminder; and We never are unjust." (Qur'an xxvi,208-209)

Or they may be caused to know in some other way that they are guilty and should therefore expect to be punished.

"Many a town have we destroyed, our punishment visiting them by night or while they are resting at midday. When our punishment thus visited them they had nothing to say but 'We were indeed unjust.' '' (Qur'an vii,4-5)

The meaning of this verse is made clearer by a hadith of the Prophet which affirms that no nation is destroyed until it admits that it has no one but itself to blame for such destruction. This is confirmed by the verse;

"That is because thy Lord would never destroy the cities unjustly, while their inhabitants were heedless." (Qu'ran vi,131)

We may deduce from this Divine principle or Sunna that given two societies which are equally corrupt and ungrateful, the one which has been sufficiently warned will be destroyed before the one which has not been warned. Hence we see in the stories by bygone nations related in the Qur'an that their destruction and downfall followed their rejection of God's Prophets.

b. Destruction is not immediate, i.e. not every nation is destroyed or caused to fall immediately after it shows signs of ungratefulness. Again this is a result of God's rahma. He gives gratuitously and in plenty but does not take away immediately.

"How many a city I have respited in its evil-doing; then I seized it and to me was the homecoming." (Qur'an xxii,48)

"But thy Lord is the all-forgiving, full of mercy. If He should take them to task for that they have earned, He would hasten for them the chastisement; but they will have a tryst from which they will find no escape. And those cities, we destroyed them when they did evil and appointed for their destruction a tryst." (Qur'an xviii, 58-59)

c. The fall of every nation as we read in the verse above has a definite time which can neither be deferred nor hastened.

"Never a nation have we destroyed, but it had an assigned term and no nation outstrips its term or puts it back." (Qur'an xv, 4-5)

d. Before a nation is destroyed it might be put to serve hardships that might cause it to repent and return to the right path:

"Corruption has appeared in land and sea, for that men's own hands have earned, that He may let them taste (the consequences of) some part of that which they have done, that haply so they may return (to the right path)." Qur'an xxx, 41

e. Punishment is not meted out for all sins in this world otherwise all people would have been destroyed:

"If God should take men to task for (all) their evil-doing, He would not leave on the earth one creature that crawls." Qur'an xvi, 61

Those were the causes of hardship, unhappiness and fall of nations. What then are the causes for the rise of nations and their material and spiritual prosperity?

Primarily there are the normal human conditions in which all of us should be and in which God loves to see us. God creates everyone of us at the hour of birth with a good nature, the essence of which is the acknowledgment that he or she is the servant of only one Creator. This acknowledgment constitutes the essence of our humility, and is both the spring and the lifeblood of everything that is good in us: sound reasoning, moral sense, aesthetic taste, brotherly feeling, etc. Moreover God created everything around us for the purpose of serving us. Our normal state is therefore one of internal happiness and peace of mind which come as a result of a natural acknowledgment of our servitude to God, an acknowledgment which finds justification in the Divine message which is conveyed to us through God's messengers. It is also one of external bliss which is the result of everything being subservient to us and meant for the satisfaction of our needs. Every one of us is born with that internal state of happiness, but alas none of us finds himself in that material comfort. Many of those who went before us have changed that internal state internal state of happiness, but alas none of us finds himself in that material comfort. Many of those who went before us have changed that internal state in which God created them and have thus caused Him to withhold many of his bounties from the world. But God is too merciful to make the situation a hopeless one. Still the door is open for every group of people who returns to the path of God to enjoy that material bliss. Here are some of the kinds of happiness that such a people are promised in the Qur'an.

A. Material comfort:

"If the people of the towns had but believed and kept from evil surely we should have opened out to them blessings from the sky and from the earth. But they rejected the truth and so we caused them to suffer for their misdeeds." (Qur'an 7:96)

"If they had observed the Torah and the Gospel and that which was revealed to them for their Lord, they would surely have been nourished from above them and from beneath their feet. Among them are people who are moderate, but many of them are of evil conduct." (Qur'an 5:66)

B. Spiritual Happiness:

"Whosoever does right, man or woman, and is a believer, we shall cause to live a good life." (Qur'an 16:97)

C. Victory Over Their Enemies:

To the extent that a people have faith in God and trust in Him, and to the extent that they obey Him, to that extent will He be with them.

"God is with those who believe." (Qur'an 3:68)

And when God is with them, He will defend them.

"God defends those who believe." (Qur'an 22:38)

He will come to their help.

"If you help God He will help you." (Qur'an 47:7)

"We do help our Messenger, and those those who believe in this world and on the day when the witnesses arise." (Qur'an 40:51)

And if God defends them and helps them, then nothing can conquer them.

"Already has Our word been passed to our servants who are sent (by us) that they shall be assisted and that our forces shall be victorious." (Qur'an 37: 171-173)

"How often by God's will has a small force vanquished a big one? God is with those who steadfastly persevere." (Qur'an 2:249)

And so long as they keep their covenant with God, they shall always be their own masters and never shall they be subjugated by unbelievers.

"And never will God grant to the unbelievers a way (to triumph) over the believers." (Qur'an 4:141)

"Might belongs to God, to His Messenger, and to the faithful." (Qur'an 63:8)

The core of our philosophy of social change has now become clear. Nations do not rise and fall haphazardly and without any laws that govern their coming into being and passing away. History is not a single track which every nation has to tread whether it likes it or not. Our social world is governed by its Creator who causes nations to rise or fall, to prosper or suffer, to be victorious or subjugated, in accordance with the moral law of gratitude.

Application of the Theory

In what way can this theoretical explanation of the rise and fall of nations help us in finding our way to the Islamization of society?

Firstly, since Islamization has to be planned and planning is based on prediction of future happenings, this Qur'anic explanation of social change helps us to look behind the facade of the physical strength of any nation to the real factors that hold it together or cause it to disintegrate. We know that the only way to ensure the continuity of God's bounties is to follow the path which He has chosen for His creatures. Any nation that deviates from that path is sure to be weakened if not utterly destroyed. No wealth, worldly knowledge, or physical power of any kind can save it from this inevitable end.

"What, have they not journeyed in the land and beheld how was the end of those before them? They were stronger than themselves in might, and they plowed up the earth and cultivated it more than they themselves have cultivated it; and their Messenger came to them with the clear signs; and God would never wrong them but themselves they wronged. Then the end of those that did evil was evil for that they cried lies to the signs of God and mocked at them." (Qur'an 30:9-10)

Our duty is not to sit back and rejoice in the expectation of this inevitable downfall of deviant communities. No, this is not the attitude of responsible people. Our duty is to warn such communities in a sincere, compassionate and convincing manner, helping them to see the similarities between their ways and the ways that led to the downfall of other communities, and by expounding in some detail the mechanism whereby deviation from the path of God causes unhappiness, results in hardship and leads ultimately to the downfall or even utter destruction of a community.

This attitude of sincere and convincing warning should be our attitude towards all communities and nations whether they belong to Islam or not. Our aim and duty is not to destroy Western civilization and build on its debris but to attempt to save and guide it to the correct path. If it refuses to heed our warning, or listen to our advise its downfall is inevitable and we shall not be responsible for it.

Secondly, and more importantly, with the knowledge that nearness of God is the secret of success we should resolve to do everything that helps us to achieve that goal and firmly refuse to be distracted from it by tactics and stratagems which to the blinked and shortsighted may seem the short cut to success. If by success we mean the mere seizure of power by any group of people, something that we see happening around us every other day, then we do not need to seek guidance from Islam on how to do it. But if we intend that power to be held by people who shall use it to create and maintain a community which shall enjoy the favors promised by God to virtuous communities, then there is only one way of doing it. Before any group of people becomes worthy of favors which would mark it out as the best of nations, it has to prove that it is on the side of God. The essence of being with God is something that resides in the heart, and as such is not accessible to direct observation by other people. But it is known to God and God looks at our hearts to see whether we deserve His help and support. Every element of shirk and insincerity is a potential hindrance in our path and a potential cause of setbacks. Thus, whenever the Muslims at the time of Prophet suffered any temporary defeat or setback in their battles against the unbelievers, God directed them to look for its cause in their hearts. For example, the cause of their temporary defeat at Uhud was traced to the fact that some of them desired this world and at Hunayn to the fact that they were proud of their vast numbers.

We should therefore be on our guards lest such impurities creep into our hearts, and when they find their way to them, do our best to cleanse ourselves of them by istighfar , repentance, performing acts of generosity, and other acts of worship. Our sins are our real enemies and sincerity is our real indestructible weapon.

Emphasis on this point can lead to apprehension that this might be an invitation to a kind of passive sufism, a negation of all public and especially, political activities. An erroneous conclusion might be drawn from it that the desire by any group of Muslims to hold the reins of power is a sinful desire.

Hence I hasten to say that such is not my purpose. I should also add that this kind of fear is itself the result of an incorrect conception of the relationship between our mental state and our actions and activities. Our effort to purify our hearts should not be conceived of as a diversionary act which hinders or slows down our public activities; nor should the latter be shunned as secular enterprises unworthy of a pious person. A purified and God-conscious heart is a driving force and directing wheel of good external actions. The nature of our public activities is the external expression of the kind of a faith that resides in our hearts.

I have said before that a person's method of achieving a desired aim depends on what he considers to be its effective causes and on his concept of the relation that exits between those causes.

The atheists confine themselves to a natural causes and human effort, thinking that these alone are real efficient causes of any change in the world. We add to these our belief that since everything in the world is created by God, He alone is the Ultimate cause of everything that happens in the world. It would be natural for us therefore to include prayer, istighfar, repentance, doing what God enjoins and avoiding what He forbids, in our system of efficient causes. It is through such acts of worship that one attains the status of awliya allah. And when the favor and love of the Being who governs this world has been won, nothing can stand in our way.

Our approach will sound strange when compared to the ideas and philosophies now prevailing in our world. In the words of the prophet Islam seemed strange when it first appeared and shall seem so again.

If we wish to be on the side of God and win His favor, it is necessary but not enough to be sincere and pure of heart. To the right actions and ways that please Him and which He judges to be the best means to achieve the ends we have set before us. This applies to our desire for a model Muslim state. Since it was one of the aims of the Prophet, while at Mecca, to create such a state, his authentic sira and sayings should be studied in addition to the Qur'an.

Fundamental Importance of the Islamic State

Turning to the Prophets sira, it is necessary to justify the statement that I have just made about his objective of an Islamic state. The Prophet's aim as a messenger of God was to convey His message to His servants. This is true, but it is also true that the attempt to create such an Islamic state is an important part of that message. It has been said that had it been one of his aims to create such a state the Prophet would not have turned down the Meccan offer of kingship. The prophet did reject that offer, but he did so because its acceptance would not have made him the head of a Muslim state. He would have become king of a people who did not even believe in his Message, and who in fact offered him status as a bribe to abstain from propagating it. A man, who accepted such an offer would not be a genuine Prophet but a man possessed by lust for power, who would be using the claim to prophethood only as a means to gratify that desire.

The fact that the Prophet was desirous of creating a Muslim state comes out clearly in the fact that besides his attempt to convert individuals to the new faith he was doing his best to win over the power of an organized and independent community to be the stronghold of this faith. To that end, he used to contact the chiefs of different tribes, especially at the annual Makkan fairs, and ask them to accept him as Prophet and be the protectors of the new faith. Finally two tribes of Madina, al-Aws and al-Khazraj, did so, and made possible the first Muslim state to be in their land.

Let us now assume that a number of Muslims have decided to work towards that end. In what way can they benefit from the Sira of the Prophet at its Makkan stage?

Two Extremes

Two extreme positions have been adopted by various people. The first one is that since the Prophet's message was finally brought to completion in the form of the Qur'an and the collections of authentic Hadith that are now at our disposal, the earlier stages through which this message passed are now irrelevant to the kind of method that we should follow in propagating or practicing it. Our religion is complete and must be practiced in its totality. No part of it can be, for any reason, suspended or deferred in application.

The other position is that people have now relapsed to the kind of Makkan Jahiliyya which prevailed at the time of the Prophet's mission. We have therefore to start at the point from which the Prophet started and pass through all the stages through which he passed until we finally create our Muslim State.

Both of these are untenable positions. The first because it ignores the important fact, mentioned above, that Islam is both a message and a method. The way the message is to be conveyed or practiced is an inseparable part of that message and as such cannot be ignored. If this is accepted then we can always find guidance in the methods the Prophet adopted at any period of his life.

The second position is untenable because it is impossible to transfer an entire historical situation from one period and superimpose it on a later one. But this is exactly what the second position demands. The consequences of such an attempt can be seen in the living example of some young men I know who tried to follow this method as a result of a literalist understanding of the great Muslim writer and martyr Sayyid Qutb. They started by forming a group and electing a leader. This group was supposed to be like that of the early Muslims. But it ignored the fact that those who gathered around the Prophet were the only Muslims on earth. To match their group exactly to that of the Prophet's they called it Jamaat-al Muslimin, an expression which suggests that they are the only Muslims, and they did believe that one who did not belong to their group was not a Muslim, or as the more moderate among them would say, majhul-al-hal i.e. his case is doubtful. When I once asked some of them what right they had to deny Islam to a person who professes the shahada, who performs his prayers, and whom they know to be morally upright. The reply was "But to be a Muslim you have to belong to the Muslim community and these people are living in the Jahiliyya community." "If by a Muslim community you mean a society like yours" I said, "then there are many other Islamic societies." "They are not Islamic," they said, "because they accept as Muslims those who live in the Jahiliyya community and anyone who considers such people to be Muslims is himself a non-Muslim."

They believed that being at the Makkan stage they should follow the example of the Prophet in inviting people only to the principles of belief and tell them nothing about things like economics, politics, social justice, etc. The question arose that should they themselves practice that part of the shari'a which was revealed at Madina. On this issue the group split into two, at least one of which considered the other to be non-Muslim.

The group who believed that they should not practice the Madinan part of the Shari'a went to the extreme of neglecting the study of the Qur'anic Madinan verses.

That part of the group which believed in the practice of shari'a in its entirety went to the extent of whipping a member who confessed to have committed adultery.

I think that the example of these enthusiastic and in many ways sincere young men serves as a good warning against this kind of extremism.

Similarities and Differences

The correct standpoint, I think, is that one should look for similarities but also acknowledge the differences between a contemporary Muslim group in a particular country and the Prophet and his companions at the Makkan as well as the Madinan periods. Whenever such a group finds itself in a situation similar to that of the early Muslims, it should follow the exemplary behavior of the Prophet in that situation.

A few examples will illustrate this point.

1. The people who accepted Islam in Makka were not left to live as isolated individuals. They formed an organized group. I think the wisdom behind this is:

Firstly, that Muslims according to the Qur'an are an ummah, they are brothers and as such can not be proper Muslims if they live separately. It may seem paradoxical, but it is true that when we live as isolated individuals, our individuality will not be realized and will not be complete because there is a vacuum inside each of us that cannot be filled except by other Muslim brothers.

Secondly, that if our ultimate aim is to form a community of our own, then the embryo of that community has to be formed in the womb of the community that we desire to change. Only in this way can we face the challenges of the community to which we are opposed. Thus we can experience something of the blessings of living in a Muslim society and give others a living example of that society.

The lesson from this for any people who want to work for a proper Muslim community, which could develop into a Muslim state, is that:

a. They must organize themselves into a group and have a leader

The proper thing is that there should be only one such group of Muslims working in a particular community of Jahiliyya or semi-Jahiliyya. The more groups we have, the further we go from the example of the Prophet, and thus the more we delay the process of Islamization.

If for some reason or the other many more than one group exists then the second best attitude is that these groups should be friendly and should cooperate in working towards common ends and coordinate this work. They have to remember that the bond that ties them together, la ilaha il-la Allah is more important than the petty differences that divide them.

b. They must remember that their leader is not a Prophet whose every word is to be believed and followed. He is himself a follower of the Prophet and is therefore to be followed only so far as he follows the Prophet. An enlightened follower of such a leader must do his best to have direct access to the criterion by which he judges his leader i.e. the Qur'an and the Sunna. Such a leader is not only not a Prophet, he is not even an Amir of the Faithful in the sense that Abu Bakr, Umar or any of the Muslim khalifs were. To be an Amir in this sense one must be the actual ruler of the Muslims, i.e. the person who actually holds the reins of power and who can therefore implement the Islamic law. Our leaders are indeed amirs but they are amirs in a much more limited sense. It would therefore be wrong on their part to claim the powers which the Prophet gave to rulers, and wrong on our part to invest them with such powers.

c. They should do their best to preserve their brotherhood which is the lifeblood of their unity, and remember that Satan will do its best to corrupt that unity by what the Qur'an calls nazgh , and be sure that quarrel and conflict bring nothing but frustration and disintegration.

d. In accordance with the same ideal, there should also be cooperation between Muslim organizations and present Muslim state that is willing to help and aid. One hopes that there will come a time when a Muslim state will consider its land the abode of all genuine Muslims, and open its doors for them. It would accept them as full citizens, and accelerate the process of Islamization all over the world as part of its duty, and thus give it all the moral and material support and backing that it needs.

2. At Makka, the Prophet, following the guidance of the Qur'an started by inviting people to the basic principles of the faith. I think that he did that because Islam is not a mere collection of orders and prohibitions. It is a system that is both rationally and psychologically ordered. So unless you strengthen the internal foundations, you cannot have any strong external building i.e. unless some Iman is firmly established in the hearts of men, it is futile to ask them to do what God enjoins or avoid what He forbids. This comes out clearly in the words of Aisha who, according to al Bukhari, said that when the Prophet came he started by telling the people about God and the hereafter and only after they believed in this, did he tell them not to drink and not to commit adultery. Had he started by the latter, they would have adamantly refused to comply with his orders and abstain from these sins.

Larger Issues

But there are two points to observe here:

a. The Prophet did not confine himself to talk about matters of belief only, but also and like other Prophets before him, explained the moral and social consequences of this belief. It is this, more than theoretical talk about a belief that resides in the heart, that usually causes people with vested interests in an anti-Islamic Jahiliyya system to strongly oppose and persecute Prophets.

b. In calling people to new faith, the Prophet did not address them in a dogmatic or purely emotional way. He used a rational argument as well as material evidence. He challenged them intellectually and warned them sincerely. He asked them to ponder over and learn the lessons of history, and explained to them the fact that he was inviting them to the only way that would lead to their material and spiritual happiness in this and the life to come.

c. The fact that this wise way of introducing Islam to people is not to be confined to the Makkan period is alluded to in the Prophet's Hadith about the strangeness of Islam.

This Hadith explains and confirms what I said about the similarities of situations. It tells us that there will come a time when people shall view Islam in the same way that the Makkans viewed it when it first appeared. Ibn Taymiyya, with his usual deep insight, deduced from this Hadith that when Islam becomes strange the second time we must adopt the same methods in propagating it that were used when it was strange the first time. That is to say we must concentrate on the main basic issues, use reason and rational argument in establishing the truth of these principles and prove the falsity of opposing ideologies.

In conformity with the sunna of the Prophet we should therefore do our best to explain the social and moral consequences of these basic truths, formulate a comprehensive critique of our society, and offer it a convincing alternative.

In doing so, it would be unrealistic, and unnecessarily rigid to confine ourselves only to the Makkan teachings of Islam. It is unrealistic because like early Makkans, many people including non-Muslims, are now familiar with the details of Islam that were revealed at Madina. We cannot therefore treat them as if they were ignorant of the Madani surahs and we cannot, without weakening our position, refuse to answer some questions such people raise. Such rigidity is harmful because it deprives us of an advantage which God put at our disposal. Each of the messengers before the Prophet Muhammad, besides calling people to the basic truth of religion, was concerned with the particular social problem of the particular people to whom he was sent. Thus Moses concerned himself with liberating his people from the sent. Thus Moses concerned himself with liberating his people from the oppressive rule of a dictator, Shu'ayb with the problem of eradicating economic injustice and Lot with a social perversion. Islam is meant to be for all people and all ages to come, so is dealt, in its completed form, with all the basic human problems. Now that all this treasure is at our disposal, and since people at a particular and a particular place may feel the urgency of any one of these problems, we can win them over to the right path by offering the solution to the problem which concerns them. I see no reason why we should not make use of this advantage. To do so effectively, to present Islam to any society in a convincing manner, we have to beware of confusing principles of Islam with the particular historical form which those principles took at some period in the past, including that of the Prophet. The principles are the essence, their application at a particular time is the external changing from. But we should also beware of imposing on them an unsuitable form just because it happens to be that of a contemporary materially advanced society like that of the USA

3. I now consider briefly in the light of the Sira a collection of misconceptions of the Islamization process

a. Some groups while not going to the extent of consciously believing that they are the only Muslims, work and plan on that assumption, and so refuse to acknowledge the valuable contribution of other groups, individuals and official bodies and try to isolate themselves from them. There was indeed nothing Islamic at the time of the Makkan period except that which the Prophet and the few Muslims around him did. But the Prophet acknowledged as good, and encouraged everything which, in accordance with his Islamic standards, was good. Thus while at Madina he remembered and praised hilf al fudul, a confederacy whose aim was to defend the oppressed and help the poor and in whose formation he took part when he was twenty. Why should we then refuse to acknowledge the Islamic nature of a thing or work just because someone else did it? I believe that the right attitude is to acknowledge the Islamic nature of a thing or work just because someone else did it? I believe that the right attitude is to acknowledge and encourage everything Islamic irrespective of who did it, and consider it an asset for the Islamization process.

b. There are some who think that we cannot have an Islamic state in a particular country,

i. until we have made almost everyone who is to be a member of it a genuine and perfect Muslim. But the Prophet did not do that; and it is certainly wrong and utopian to think that such a state cannot be created in a country until a majority of its people have been convinced or even until we have given a proper Islamic education and training to all the personnel who are to man its institutions.

ii. until we have prepared a blueprint of that future society. Again the Prophet did not do that; and it has not been done by any reformist or revolutionary movement at any time.

iii. until we have as rulers, men as knowledgeable and pious as Abu Bakr and Umar. But we do not perform any act of worship at the high standard of Abu Bakr and Umar, nor did they themselves reach the higher standard of the Prophet. Let our state therefore be as imperfect as our prayer; it will still be better than a non-Muslim state, just as our imperfect prayer is better than no prayer at all Let us now assume that a group of Muslims working for the creation of an Islamic state somewhere in the world are,

a. sincere; and

b. are adopting the right method of Islamization

Does this mean that they are sure to achieve their end? If not why? And what then is the use of their work?

The answer is that their success depends upon one other condition, which is that the number of those who are fairly genuine among them must be fairly reasonable in comparison with those who are opposed to them. Otherwise they may be killed by their enemies, or compelled to leave their land for another as we were other Prophets and many genuine believers like the ashah al Ukhdud.

Even then their efforts will not be without value. Firstly, because God says "if you help God, He will help you" and since in this case His help does not--- for the reason we mentioned---come in the form of victory over their enemies, it is bound to come in the form of punishment for those enemies, as a revenge for the wrong they did.

So if the sincere small group of Muslims does not succeed in replacing the larger groups of unbelievers, it at least causes their downfall. In so doing it succeeds in lessening the amount of evil in the world and thus in giving good another chance to flourish.

Secondly they shall of course have their real reward in the real life, the eternal life after death, and enjoy the greatest happiness of being forever in the presence of Allah Subhanahu Wa ta'la.

Activism At School

Malaeka Ghayyur

We, as young Muslims at school, have heard many things about Islam: “Its all about peace…all about love…all about believing in Allah.” But what does all this mean for us in real life? How many things is Islam about, after all? The answer is sweet and simple; it’s about all, yes that’s right, all! It is about peace and compassion, it is entirely based upon God Consciousness, and it is about faith. How do they all connect? Simple as well. There has to be something that encompasses all these factors, and more; it’s activism.

"Proclaim openly all that you have been bidden [to say], and leave alone all those who continue to associate partners with God.” [15:94]

The idea of being active in the community is thought to be very primitive by some as if it’s something done by those teenagers who have nothing to do in school; or that being ‘active’ means you can’t be ‘cool’. Others believe in order for a person to be involved in the community, he or she has to be super-knowledgeable about Islam. The balanced approach to looking at activism is the way the Prophet Muhammad (S) did. He spent most of his life struggling. Through his activism began a change, which soon changed the whole Arabian Peninsula. It was his courage, his determination, his peaceful and loving nature, and above all his trust in Allah that brought him success. Not the success that we think of in terms of money or glory, rather the success of the next life, the eternal life and the reality.

As Umar (R), the Prophet’s beloved companion once said, “A man’s actions are judged by his intention, if his intention for migration is to marry, then that’s what he will earn, and if his migration is to please Allah, then that is what he shell reap.” If we closely examine these words, it should strike us; are our intentions right? For example, do we pray in the perfect manner to impress others around us, or to truly connect with Allah (SWT)? This is the first step to activism, getting our intentions straight, and if they aren’t, we should start all over; forget what we have done, and start clean.

"Man shall have nothing except for what he strives for" [53:39]

Now you might sit there thinking, what’s the point of talking about our intentions and inner feelings? Wasn’t this supposed to be about activism at school? The reality of the issue is that your MSA will not just start up on its own, and nor will it do it the right way by it self. There has to be a vision, a goal that it wants to achieve, and more importantly there has to be a mature leader. The leaders must have the correct intentions and objectives. What is this vision, you might ask? Well it’s basically it is defined by our intentions.

We have already established our intention; it is to strive for Allah’s sake, and to please Him. The real question is how to achieve our goals. How do we act upon it? Will everything happen automatically, after the correct intention? NO! We must now create an action plan of our personal life in accordance with our intention. Think of things that fit into this broad guideline, it doesn’t necessarily have to be Islamic as such, but something that is fun and Halal. Come up with a checklist, something that includes daily and periodic activities.

If we really put our brains to this, we should get something as follows:

  • Reading Quran daily (5-10mins)
  • Praying all 5 daily prayers on time
  • Give Charity as much as possible whether with money or simply as an energetic smile to others
  • Getting more active in the Muslim community, school, and the Masajid (Mosques).

Obviously there could be a lot of things added, or done in a different manner, but on the whole this is a good start!

Now lets focus on the last part of the list, the involvement in the community. We probably have heard a lot about the other things, so lets just stick to the topic :-)

Activism, as said earlier, should be exercised the way the Prophet Muhammad (S) did. He dedicated his life to it, until his very end, and it was due to his activism and Allah’s Mercy that he accomplished what he did. For many people activism is considered to be just doing the work, which may mean just helping out at the mosque in your community. It may also mean establishing a Muslim club or organization even if there is absolutely no need for one, since there might be already a couple in that area!

However, such youth often lack the true purpose behind all this work. True activism involves the hard part: being social. That means getting out in the public, meeting new people, even those that you may not like very much, and befriending them. To make them feel that they can depend on you when they need help, and ask you for advice. You shouldn’t be “just another boring religious dude” in their eyes, instead a guiding light! Activism is not about building an empty structure or organization at school with 10 exec members.

Activism may include fund raising for the needy and unfortunate in the community, helping the seniors with shoveling their driveway, and getting the teenagers at your school involved in Islamic activities. For most of us the last scenario suits the most.

We probably know many of our friends who hang out in a bad crowd, or perhaps do the wrong things as well; it is our duty as true Muslims, with that right intention, is to help these brothers and sisters. We must be that guiding light, helping them out of that ditch that they have been stuck in for so long. All this requires creativity; the conventional Friday Khutbahs after school or the monthly talks by an outside speaker are not enough. We have to adopt new methods to attract the common teenagers.

Some ideas for such activities:

  • Starting a short Halaqa after every Friday Prayer, where people can ask and say what they want, not having to be looked at strangely, and discuss Islam.
  • Have fun sporting events to increase brotherhood / sisterhood, after which there would a short Islamic reminder
  • Organize a weekly Islamic Video session, in which you show Islamic movies, such as “The Message”, and others.

So what is the solution? There is no one answer. It depends on the people you are dealing with, and how you think they would react to certain things. The pace at which you will move with your ideas also depends on how enthusiastic they might be. However the most important thing to remember is that we keep checking our intention, and observe if the initiative is following the guidelines. True guidance only lies with Allah (SWT), but we should be the workers who spread that guidance, because He says:

Therefore give warning. Your duty is only to warn them: you are not their keeper. (88: 21-22).

In short before we plan anything for any Muslim activity we should think to our selves of these two points:

1) Why am I doing it? The answer should be to only please Allah SWT.
2) How am I doing it? Our method should not go against the teachings of the Quraan or the Sunnah. Certainly we don’t want our actions to go in vane by displeasing Him.

The Prophet (pbuh) once said that my Ummah is like a body, when one part of it hurts the whole body feels the pain/sleeplessness. He also said that those who are not concerned with the affairs of other are not from us (i.e. Muslims). So dear brothers and sisters if we think that the troubles and misguidance of “that looser there” has nothing to do with us, think again.

May Allah (SWT) always keep us under his light, and guide us to the straight path and give us young Muslims the ability to work for His cause. May He grant us the patience to bear with all the different people and the wisdom to be true leaders of Islam.

GUIDELINES FOR ISLAMIC ORGANIZATIONS

Mike Ghouse



Much of the maligning of Islam we see and read in the news papers stems from
the speeches and the management of our Mosques, and it also fuels the talk
show hosts. The best way to fix the problem is straighten out ourselves
first.

The first battlefield of change is our institutions. We need to plan long
term and short strategies/ solutions to our issues if we have not already
done it.

In the interest of our community's long-term peaceful un-fearful
co-existence, we may have to take up this topic and discuss it within our
organizations. A national policy would be of greater value. Most of us are
familiar with our problems, and as such I have not explained the background
for each item, you can complete the list with your own situation. Here are a
few solutions to consider.

SPEAKERS/ SPEECHES/ MEETINGS

- We must keep a record of what we say in public forums.
- We must keep records of speeches or scripts to go on the website.
- We must invite all the major media outlets, even if it is a vain
exercise.
- We must cultivate the habit of having the same speech in public and
private domains.
- We must have a formal system to appraise the values of our
organization to
- We must follow the Islamic tradition of good record keeping - every
thing our prophet has said is recorded.
- We must ask the new Imam speaker to present the scripted outline of
the Khutba prior to speech
- We must ask all our speakers to provide an outline to keep it as a
record and perhaps put it on the website.
- We must trust our speakers, but having a record of the speech is
greater trust we owe it to the Ummah.
- We must advise our speakers to open up the eyes and understand that
they are not speaking to a monolithic group.
- We must advise our speakers to cut down any kind of incitement,
microphone will be turned off for violations.
- We must let them know their boundaries - let it be in a manual, and
every speaker has to follow the guidelines.
- We must advise our speakers to be Women sensitive and guest
sensitive (as non-Muslim guests attend Juma)
- We must acknowledge that no one is above the long term goodwill of
our community.

ACCOUNTABILITY & ADMINISTRATION

- A major overhaul needs to be considered in Administration of
Mosques and Islamic Centers.
- Qualifications must be verified by a paid third party CPA for
serious accountability.
- All the financial transactions must be audited by a CPA.
- Women and Youth must be represented on the board.
- Board Voting must be confidential and un-identified to keep the
freedom alive.
- No one should run the Mosque like the Patriarch of the family does -
i.e., no unilateral decisions.
- The Board members must have the experience in management of
professional, civic or community based organization, preference must be
given to those who have served in non-Muslim organizations. We live in a
real World, let's our actions be based on real world interactions.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

- We need to hire a public relations firm on a part time or full
time.
- We need to verify all literature that is put out there.
- We need to *remove* the Hilali Translation of Quran from our
Mosques.
- We need to learn to explain our Deen in more understandable terms,
not the old English.
- We need to make our mosques visitors friendly.

IMPORTANCE OF COLLECTIVE WORK

Why should we today work in a jama'ah? Surely, all these different groups today are a disease in the Ummah, and if anything they are serving to increase the problems. Yes, there are many sincere people working in these jama'ahs but at the end of the day they end up fighting each other so how can they be a good thing, and why should I join these jama'ahs when this will probably mean that I will end up arguing against other Muslim brothers. These are the arguments of the Muslims today against all the different groups that are operating within the Ummah. Many people use these arguments as a basis for them to work individually by giving a few hours and a few pounds here and there and insha-Allah this will be sufficient to deal with the problems of the Ummah.

Well, let's ask a question. How many Muslims today are working to solve the problems of the Ummah? One million out of one billion? Ten million? How many? And the problems that we are facing today, are they small-scale or are they very large and serious problems? So these ten million people will they help the Ummah by working individually or by working collectively? Will the Ummah be able to solve its problems by all these people acting in an individual manner and then somehow these actions would coincide to provide the all-encompassing and eagerly anticipated solution. How likely is it that we will be able to solve our problems by everybody working separately? Would we win the wars, would we establish the hospitals, would we build our mosques as individuals? Even in our Islamic Societies, what would happen if every member of the Islamic Society decided to do his own thing as he saw fit, quite simply there would be chaos and we would never achieve what Allah demands of us. So collective work is necessary, and individual work is a disease affecting our Ummah.

What is it that these jama'ahs are trying to achieve? Well, there are certain things which Islam makes fard (obligatory) on us to do collectively. These include the spreading of the message of Islam (da'wa), the establishment of the Islamic State (khilafah) and the defence of Muslim lands (jihad). All of these are fard on the Ummah and surprisingly enough we have not fulfilled any of these. The Shari'ah states that all of these duties are fard and a quick scan of some of the Islamic Movement's texts on these subjects would make this quite clear (this can be found in the key books of any of the following: Hasan al-Banna, Abul A'la Mawdudi, Ahmad ar-Rashid, Assam al-Bashir and Abdullah Azzam).

For example, the Qur'an in Sura al-Maidah from verses 48-50 makes it clear that the implementation of the Shari'ah is fard. Therefore, the Ummah has to implement the Shari'ah and since the Khilafah is the only way to implement the Shari'ah in its totality then it is fard on the Muslims to establish the Khilafah. Now today the only way that the Khilafah can be established is through collective work, and there is an usul-ul-fiqh which states that "anything which leads to something which is necessary is in itself necessary". Since the implementation of the Shari'ah is fard, establishment of the Khilafah is fard, and therefore collective work is also fard, if this is the only way to establish the Shari'ah. Some of the scholars are of the opinion that the situation of the Ummah is so bad that collective Islamic work is fard 'ayn i.e. if somebody is not working as part of a group then he is sinning. Although this is the opinion of some scholars and not all of them agree.

So Muslims have to unite around the Qur'an and the Sunnah so that they can relieve this fard. But today there are many groups that are working to establish Islam so how does one decide between the various groups? First of all, everybody should keep an open mind whether they are part of a group or not, and secondly, they should observe the ethics of disagreement and then they should measure each group by the Qur'an and the Sunnah and the opinions of the scholars. Essentially, an Islamic group should not focus onto one issue in itself but rather should focus onto Islam as a whole and work to implement all of it. The criteria which form this group are therefore the criteria of other Muslims as a whole, i.e. the characteristics of ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah. One attempt to clarify the key points of ahlus sunnah has been made by Imam Hasan al-Banna in his twenty principles which define the understanding of the Islamic movement (this has been supported and explained by many scholars, one of them is Shaykh Abdullah Khateeb).

There are though many problem between groups today in [North America], but we should ask ourselves a question here. Are these problems the fault of the groups by definition or are they the problems of the people within these groups. The answer is simple. As long as the brothers and sisters have open minds and as long as they observe the ethics of disagreements then there will not be a problem. Nowadays, most people join different groups because of their friends or their situations, not because they have measured all of the groups by the Qur'an and the Sunnah, so there is no need for this extremism in the first place. But if people close their minds to their own scholars and their own friends, and argue with their brothers and sisters on this basis then there really is little hope because this is a victory for ignorance.

Finally, one has to ask everyone one question. Is it possible that we will be able to keep ourselves Islamic by ourselves alone? Do we not need the help of our brothers and sisters to keep us on the right path? Does Islam not encourage collectivity in prayer, pilgrimage, and in our societies for any other reason except to provide strength to the Muslims? And is it not the case that Shaytan attacks the lonely but leaves those who unite for the pleasure of Allah? Even when we walk through town, why is it that we can look at a girl when we are by ourselves but we we would never do so when we are with our brothers. It is because we are stronger as brothers and sisters than we are as individuals. And in today's increasingly individualistic society we need a mechanism by which we can keep ourselves in touch with other good Muslims. Yes, group-ism is wrong because anybody can be wrong, but collective work with modesty and an understanding of the ethics of disagreement is the only way for us to achieve the duties that Allah has made obligatory for us.

(courtesy of http://www.ymuk.net)

ISLAM IN A CHANGING WORLD

Thoughts and powers. This revolution was to nullify the efforts of all those conquerors of the past who had won the land for Islam. It also meant the invalidation of the labours of Khwaja Moin Uddin Chisti and his pure hearted disciples who had on the one hand preached the message of love and humanity and social justice to the people and, on the other, provided moral and spiritual guidance to rulers to run the country as conscientious, true-hearted and God-fearing servants of the country. This was not all, for this revolution threatened to destroy the entire educational system and intellectual fabric of the land which had been laboriously built up by these men of God.

What happened next? A star rose not from the political or materialistic horizon but from the celestial skyline of Faith and spirituality which always comes to the aid of falling humanity, in the person of Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi Mujaddid Alf Thani (971-1034 AH), who was paid a tribute by Iqbal in these words:

He was the custodian of Millat?s wealth in Ind,

Whom Allah had awakened at high time.

Before Jahangir who refused to bend his neck,

His breath was a touch to the quick.

This mendicant, sitting in his retreat, resolved to fight the most gruesome conspiracy hatched against Islam by highbrow intellectuals. He decided to raise his voice against the fetters placed on Islamic thought and an Islamic way of life, and the Muslims right to live and prosper in this country.

The outcome of his efforts is known to you all. When the seventh century began, the atmosphere was somewhat changed. The future of Islam was by then protected in this country for the next two or three centuries. The Shaikh had fallacies of neoplatonist spacious reasoning against the apostle ship of Muhammad and the transcendence of the Shariah and Sunnah and, thereby, the restrengthened confidence in them. Thus, the danger sweeping Islam off its feet in India was averted. But, what was his strategy? No propaganda, no beating of drums and no armed resistance to Akbar?s power was planned. The Qur?anic wisdom had told him that he would be crushed in no time if he came forward as an adversary of established power and that he would not get the opportunity of performing the task he had taken upon himself. Instead, the Shaikh decided to entreat before God, to collect the most sincere and capable persons around him, to train and guide them in such a way that they could not be purchased at any price, to teach them to disdain power and self and to touch the heart-strings of those who occupied the highest positions in the court of Jahangir. He tried to make them realise that Islam was passing through a critical time in the country, its life and death was hanging in balance and that they ought to do something in an intellectual and constructive manner to save the situation.

Mujaddid started writing letters to those who were in authority. The list of his addresses is long enough but two of these notable persons who deserve to be mentioned here were Abdur Rahim Khan Khanan and Nawab Murtaza Khan, alias Syed Farid. The result was that within a quarter of a century the whole atmosphere was changed. Indian Muslims came to the intellectual forefront and not only in this country but in the entire world of Islam. India came to occupy the central place in pursuits pertaining to perfection of the spirit as well as in intellectual fields with erudite scholars of Arabic lexicography and the traditions, which were earlier regarded as the preserve of the Arabs. It was because of Mujaddid that India became a temple of learning and produced great scholars and researchers.

This tradition of learning continued until a scholar of Shah Wali Ullah?s (1114-1176 A.H.) stature was born in India who gave a new look to the science of dialectics, explained the essentials of the Caliphate and produce a blue-print of Islamic government as was never attempted before. he also tried to inject new vigour and fresh blood in the decaying Muslim Empire, for he had already foreseen the dangers of political and moral anarchy likely to overtake India after the downfall of that Empire.

She Wali Ullah?s sons, among whom Shah Abdul Aziz was the most outstanding, popularised the education of the traditions and the scripture as well as endeavoured to reform the morals and rituals of the people. The Jihad movement of Syed Ahmad Shaheed (d. 1246 A.H.) and Maulana Muhammad Islami (d. 1246 A.H.) was an extension of this same spirit of reform and regeneration. This great movement was so eminently successful building up popular enthusiasm for virtuous living and perfection of spirit and morality that it caused the deeds performed in the earliest phase of Islamic history to be re-enacted again in this subcontinent. It was, in fact, such a great and comprehensive revivalist movement aiming at the transformation of the entire Muslim society of this part of the global as had never been witnessed before in any land of the Islamic world.

Thereafter came the educational movement which resulted in the establishment of the Darul Uloom Deoband, Madrasa Mazahiril Uloom, Shaharanpur, Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow and numerous other institutions propagating the teachings of the Kitab and the Sunnah.15 These religious education institutions went to long way, as their founders had originally envisaged, in reforming the erroneous beliefsand customs of Indian Muslims and imparting a sense of Islamic identity to them. The products of these religious institutions not only had the privilege of contributing to the intellectual endeavours of Indian Muslims but also of participating in the struggle for the freedom of the country. Because of them contrary to the situation in certain other Muslim countries, there was no cleavage between Religion and politics and nor did the modern educated classes disown the leadership of the religious scholars.

The endeavours of India?s religious scholars made this country the centre of culture and learning. There was even a time when students came to India from Yemen and Morocco to learn the science of traditions. Similarly, one desirous of spiritual perfection normally took the road to India. Maulana Khalid Rumi, born in the northern area of Iraq and Syria, now forming part of Turkey received his education in the cities of Shahrzor and Damascus, yet when he wanted to learn about the facts of mute reality for the perfection of his Faith and spirit, he came to the hospice of Shah Ghulam Ali (d. 1240) in Delhi. With the training and guidance in mysticism which he obtained in this country, he was able to infuse a new life of virtue and spirituality in Iraq, Syria and Turkey; the marks of which are still visible in these lands today.

So far, I have told you about the reformatory and revivalist movements of India. Now I propose to speak about the great reformer of Arabia, Shaikh Abdul Wahhab (115-1262), who was a contemporary of Shah Walilullah.16 His movement was singularly successful owing to a variety of causes, political and historical as has seldom been achieved by others. His movement gave birth to a school of thought which influenced a whole generation and the state of Arabia in particular as also that of other countries too. At the same time Yemen enjoyed the influence of Allama Muhammad Ali ibn Ali al-Shaukani (1172-1250 A.H.); in Asir there was Ahmad ibn Abdullah ibn Idris Hasani, the founder of the Idrisiyah order; and Syed Muhammad ibn. Ali al Sinnausi (1206-1276) who was born in Libya. All of them took up the task of reformation and the propagation of Islamic teachings, and in so doing infused a spirit of Jihad among their people. European Orientalists normally dub all these reformers as the followers of Shaikh Abdul Wahhab. Their attempts, however, are unsuccessful, as they cannot produce any evidence in support of such contention. In actual fact Western scholars cannot appreciate the fact that the study of the Qur?an and the a hadith, coupled with sincerity of purpose, can produce reformers in every age reformers who are always willing to fight the forces of vice and waywardness.

This will continue to be the case in all times. Now, to return to my theme, Syed Jamal Uddin Afghani (d. 1314/1897) came on the scene shortly thereafter to raise his voice for the unity of the Islamic world with such vigour and force that it caused a flutter in the hills and deserts of Egypt, Syria and Turkey. His worthy disciple, Mufti Muhammad Abduh of Egypt (d. 1323/1905) also played a memorable role in the intellectual awakening of the rising generation of Muslims in his time.

The fourteenth century of Hijrah, viewed from the standpoint of Muslims, in a century of both success and defeat, mistakes committed and efforts to make amends, the naiveness of the Muslim peoples in being duped by the West as well as the emerging political consciousness and freedom won by a number of Muslim countries. It is also a century which had seen several powerful Islamic movements; the variety and contradictions evinced by the events and happenings of this century are not to be found in previous centuries.

When this century opened its eyes it saw the glory of the Ottoman Empire, an empire which provided the protection of the Caliphate to the Islamic world, with Sultan Abdul Hamid Khan II (1291-1327 A.H.)19 as the reigning monarch. He was severely criticised and be smirched by Western writers in the first half of the twentieth century, yet facts recently brought to light in several research articles published in Arabic and Turkish journals go to show that in spite of his weaknesses (perhaps due to his being at hereditary monarch or resulting from the internal and external conspiracies against him), he was a courageous man and a zealous Muslim. During his rule European powers were unable to succeed in fragmenting the Turkish Empire or to carve out a national home for the Jews in Palestine. He disdainfully rejected the offers of the Jewish deputation, saying: "Baitul-Muqaddas is much too precious; I am not prepared to give even a lump of Palestine?s dust. In short, the Sultan inspired new zeal, gave a new life to the Caliphate and created the urge for unity in the Islamic World.

The Ottoman Empire was the custodian of the holy places and was further honoured with the mantle of the Islamic Caliphate. With all its internal weaknesses and external conspiracies to dismember its possessions, it was a citadel of power and protection to the Arab world. Had it been there, the lands of the Arabs would not have been apportioned like evacuee property. At the beginning of this century by Ottoman Empire extended from Yemen and Asir in the east to Albania in the west and included Tripoli, Tunisia and Fazzan in Africa. Its southern limits encompassed Aswan, Egypt and Barqa, while all the lands of Bulgaria, Balqan, Trabzun and Idrianople in the north were within its limits. The Ottoman Empire held a major portion of Asia Minor and Syria including present day Palestine, Lebanon and Transjordan, the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq and Cyprus. This sick man of Europe then represented something of a terror to the West. Alas, the Muslims could not appreciate this blessing of God given to them in the shape of a vast Empire. The dethronement of Sultan Abdul Hamid Khan, in 1901, was by no means a tragic event of such proportions that Islamic history should have changed its course as a result. His deposition might have been brought about by conspiracies against him, but Sultan Rishad, Sultan Wahid Uddin Khan and Sultan Abdul Majid Khan each ascended the throne after Sultan Abdul Hamid Khan?s demise. But a greater calamity was yet to follow these happenings one which brought adversity, shame and humiliation to the entire Islamic world and resulted in the loss of Jerusalem. It was this unfortunate event which, according to Maulana Shibli, gave the enemies of Islam the opportunity to cast their covetous eyes even on the holy Mosques of Mecca and Madina. It was this happening which turned the Arab lands of Egypt, Syria, Iraq and the northern portion of Africa into protectorates of Western powers? perhaps the Arabs are still serving the term of punishment for this? and it consisted in the actions taken by the Arabs during the First World War. Duped by the Christian minorities of their own lands who raised the cry of Arab nationalism, the Arabs were taken in by false promises made by the Allied Powers. They took up arms against the Turks on 10th June, 1916, with the net result that Syria and Palestine were lost by the Turks in 1917. Egypt the became a dependency of the British, who also occupied Jerusalem on the 9th December, 1917. On the 1st October, 1918, Sharif Husain?s son, Amir Faisal, and General Alenby entered Damascus triumphantly, but the French General Guru kicked the grave of Sultan Salah Uddin, saying: "Salah Uddin, we are here now, we have conquered Syria. How long would you sleep?" by October 1918, all the Arab lands of Hijaz, Syria, Lebnon and Iraq had passed from Turkish hands to the Allies.

The entire world of Islam felt disturbed by this state of affairs but the Indian Muslims were even more agitated. They also gave expression to their discontent in a powerful manner: this was the time when the great Khilafat movement launched under the leadership of Maulana Abdul Basri, Shaikh-ul-Hind Maulana Mohammad Hasan, Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar, Maulana Shaukat Ali and Maulana Zafar Ali Khan shook the whole of India. The subconscious impulses of Indian Muslims, coupled with their lofty idealism, charged them with such intense emotion that it burst out like a volcano against Western domination. it awakened the spirit of India and created a hatred for everything Western. Mahatma Gandhi actively cooperated with this movement and toured the country with the Khilafat leaders to revive the moral and self-confidence of Indian Muslims.

However, the declaration terminating the Caliphate made by Mustafa Kamal on the 3rd March, 1924 came as a bolt from the blue so far as Indian Muslims were concerned. Iqbal said on that occasion:

Simpleton Turk tore apart the Khilafat mantle;

How naive is Muslim and see the enemies wangle!

The times I am referring to were as depressing and gloomy as the first half of the seventh century when the savage Tartars destroyed Muslim kingdoms and their centres of culture and civilisation. But this was only an onslaught of a barbarous people, a debacle which had ensued because of the inability of ease-loving Muslims to withstand their charge. The Tartars had nothing to offer by way of intellectual thought or culture. By contrast, the offensive launched by Western powers during the first half of the fourteenth century of Hijrah or the twentieth of the Christian era was entirely different. The enemy was now armed with a one philosophy of life, had a new system of education, brought with it a new set of values based on rejection of God and was the propagator of a new religion, namely materialism.

Then came the Bolshevic Revolution of March, 1917, as if to put the finishing touches on Western depredation. This Revolution was not only to change the political scene by cutting across the history and geography of the world, nor was it confined to economic and political thought, but it also endeavoured to pull down all the accepted principles of creed and morality. It laid claim to a new edifice, one which demolished the existing pattern of life and human consciousness. Naturally, Islam was to suffer most from it because it believed in asset of unalterable values which required positive faith in ultimate reality. Unfortunately, there were few among the Muslims who could sense the danger or could do anything to contend it. They perhaps lacked the "wisdom of Faith" that had always warned them of even lesser dangers on earlier occasions. In the western part of the Islamic world, the ex-Defence Minister of Turkey, envar Pasha (1881-1892), was the first to perceive the danger. He organised the people of Turkistan and fought a number of battles against the Bolshevics during 1921 and 1922. On the 4th August, 1922, he attacked the Russians near Kochgin village; the enemy was overwhelmingly large in size, and Envar Pasha fell fighting valiantly on Friday, the seventh of Zil Hijja, 1340 A.H.

The Bolshevic Revolution extended its sway over all the Muslims lands in Central Asia including Chinese and Russian Turkistan and laid open its population not only to cultural and intellectual apostasy but also endeavoured to make the Muslims under its domination renounce their Faith. The history of Spain during the ninth century was thus re-enacted. This communist danger confronts not only this sub-continent, but has cast its shadow on the entire Islamic world and forced to take a position of friend or foe to its power. Certain Arab countries not only import its manufactured goods and armaments but also its ideology and philosophy and have became its trusted votaries. Very recently, it trampled down Afghanistan which had been a reservoir of Islamic zeal and valour and which had supplied India with able administrators, scholars and godly saints in bygone ages. Afghanistan was also once the outer line of defense against onslaughts and India and this has now been laid open; the danger now looms large at on doorstep.

However, in the darkness that engulfed the Islamic world by the middle of the fourteenth century, a ray of new hope, a silver lining of new awakening also became visible. Iqbal has truly said:

Fresh blood was flushed in the dead limb of East,

It is a secret incomprehensible to Avicina and Alfarabi:

Muslims discovered themselves by the tempest of the West,

The circling waves of water bring out the precious pearl.

Bit by bit, positive signs of political awakening all over the world of Islam and standards of freedom against alien domination were raised which caused Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco to regain their independence. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan also came into existence, and furthermore Indian Muslims also took part in the struggle for the freedom of their country and made sacrifices for it. Now there are 45 independent Muslim countries of which 24 members of the United Nations and their flags flutter proudly at its Headquarters. Muslims now carry weight in international affairs but if they were to unite, they could stop several injustices and help poor and weak nations the world over. If God were to bless these countries with sincere and deep-hearted leadership, they could enforce Islamic laws within their countries and reform their societies according to the precepts of Islam. They could create the ideal spiritual-moral society, now seen in the pages of history alone. Such a social order can show a new path to humanity, bring about a real understanding between the Eastern and Western Blocks and pave the way for the propagation of Islam. If these leaders were to realise their own political importance and use it in a wise and effective way, they could save humanity from the destruction towards which it is heading. The leaders of the Indian Muslims can also serve their community through their own unity and sincerity of purpose and provide a morally conscious leadership to the country. They can, thus, save their country from the intellectual and moral anarchy which is now assuming gigantic proportions.

We must also not forget that this century gave birth to several reformist and revolutionary movements in this Islamic world. Some of these have been more powerful and comprehensive than in bygone centuries, and they are capable of influencing the educated and intellectual classes of Muslims and satisfying and created a new confidence in Islam. They provide an intellectual base and transcend the limits of geographical boundaries. It is also noteworthy that the educated among these movements are very often more eager to restore the fundamental bases of Islam than even those who are religious minded. The Al-Ikhwan of Egypt, the Nuri movement of Turkey, Hizb ut-Tahrir of Jordan and Palestine, the Majsumi Party of Indonesia and the Tablighi Jamat and Tahrik Islami of the Indian sub-continent are some of the movements that we can cite in this context. One may differ with one or all these movements but no one can deny their popularity and effectiveness. Apart from these organisations, the spirit of revivalism seen in the present day Islamic World owes its existence, to a large extent, to the powerful and elegant verses of Iqbal; a poetry which is without parallel in the Islamic literature of previous centuries.

The fifteenth century has now spread its wings. Had the Islamic world been deprived of the great treasurers of Faith and thought, political influence and material wealth, independent states and powerful movements and also its great manpower, there was still nothing to make one despair of God?s mercy for the Muslims still possess the Divine Scripture and His Eternal Message in the shape of Islam. These two are still capable of working miracles and of giving new life to even listless peoples.

The Muslims are the only refuge for suppressed humanity, they are the custodians of the last Message of God. perhaps, this century will bring a turning point when the whole of mankind will realise the worth and importance of Islam. There is, thus, no reason to despair of God?s Mercy. Humanity has reached the lowest ebb of its degradation, and it can only attract Divine Compassion for a major change in the existing state of affairs.

Western civilisation is doomed. It has become rotten to the core, and if it is still surviving it is not at all due to its latent qualities of strength and endurance but because no other civilisation is at present ready to take its place. Other civilisations in the world are, at the utmost, its own hazy carbon copies or third class caricatures or they are so weak and decrepit that it is beyond their power and ability to stand against it, face to face. Now, if a Muslim country or the world of Islam, as a whole, can muster enough strength and competence to fill the void that will be created by the fall of Western civilisation then it can re-establish its claim to the leadership of mankind which, according to the unchanging practice of the Lord, always goes to those who are earnest, deep-hearted and resolute. Muslims, therefore, ought to decide whether it is more honourable to approach the West with a begging bowl or assume the exalted position of the stewardship and guidance of humanity, a role in which there is no greater glory in the world after Apostleship.

I will now conclude this brief survey of the past with the call given to you by the poet of the East.

O Builder of Haram, rise to re-construct the world anew,

Awake out of your deep slumber, and rise again.

PRINCIPLES OF ISLAMIC LEADERSHIP

Morshed Abul Ala

What is Islamic Leadership?

  • a person or a group that will lead humanity from the brink of destruction to the way of Allah the Almighty.

Importance of Islamic Leadership

  • Every movement has a need for leadership.
  • Importance of leadership is like the engine of a train. The train doesn't move anywhere without the engine moving.
  • Only Islamic leadership can solve the problems of humanity.

Difference between Islamic and secular leadership

  • Secular leadership's target is self-establishment. Islamic Leadership's target is Jannatul Firdaws (Highest position in Paradise)
  • Secular leaderships work for the respect of people. Islamic Leaderships work for the pleasure of Allah.

Why is there scarcity of Islamic Leadership?

  • The basic qualities of leadership are inherited by birth. Allah creates few people like the engine.
  • Most of those who are born leaders do not want to sacrifice for any ideology. They spend their intellect and ability for self-establishment.
  • Most of those among them who come to Islamic Movement also try to establish themselves.

How to overcome this problem?

  • Those born leaders are to be searched and organized while they are young and haven't acquired the addiction to self-establishment. They should be encouraged to follow Islam.

A LEADER IS AN IDEAL WORKER

Primary assets of an Ideal worker

  1. I'lm (Knowledge): al-Qur'an, al-Hadith, Islamic Literature
  2. Iman (Faith): taqwa (consciousness of Allah)
  3. A'mal (Deeds): salah with khushoo (humility), night prayers, remembrance of Allah, du'a (supplication), infaaq (spending in the way of Allah), voluntary fasting, etc.

Basic qualities of an ideal worker

  1. Courageous
  2. Sincere (ikhlaas)
  3. Humane
  4. Organized
  5. Determined
  6. Hard-working
  7. Punctual
  8. Good conduct
  9. Good habit
  10. Good in lecture and writing

Assets to improve qualities of an ideal worker

  1. Sabr (Patience)
  2. Hikmah (Wisdom)
  3. Tawakkul (Reliance on Allah)
  4. Bai'yah (Allegiance)
  5. Ihtisab (Accountability)

QUALITIES OF ISLAMIC LEADERSHIP

Basic Qualities

  1. Ability to command with respect
  2. Trusted on sincerity of purpose
  3. Confidence on ability
  4. Approachable for suggestion
  5. Acceptability as a leader
  6. Ready to sacrifice
  7. Open-minded
  8. Understanding of responsibilities
  9. Optimism

Practical Qualities

  1. Ability to help understand efficiently
  2. Ability to answer questions adequately
  3. Ability to acquire love and affection of the members
  4. Habit of making decisions after consultation
  5. Courage to encourage criticism
  6. Dynamic
  7. Serious
  8. Keen perception

Technical Qualities

  1. Planning – balance between idealism and realism, target and resource
  2. Organizing – utilizing the resources to achieve target
  3. Implementing – guidance, supervision, and control

Special Qualities of Islamic Leadership

  1. Example for Iman (faith), I'lm (knowledge), and A'mal (action)
  2. Awareness of the responsibilities of the Deen
  3. Give preference to the task of iqaamat-ad-Deen (establishment of Islam) over others.

Scale to measure the increase of the qualities

  1. Ability to increase the number of people with the qualities of Islamic Leadership in the Jama'ah (organization)
  2. Selection as a rightful person for higher responsibilities of the Jama'ah (WARNING: One should never aspire to it)

RESPONSIBILITIES OF ISLAMIC LEADERSHIP

Search for Leaderships

  • Those who already have the responsibilities of leadership must look for people more suitable for their position.

Self-development

  • Should try to increase / improve the qualities of leadership in himself.

Area-development

  • Should try to organize the area he is responsible for.

Leadership-development

  • Should try to develop more people for Islamic leadership.

Establish Bait-ul-Maal

  • Should strengthen finance of the organization.

Community-Development

  • Should help out in the community with proper planning.

Establish Unity

  • Should have good relation with all Islamic personalities of his locality.
  • Should try to unite Muslims.

Islamic Leadership should be aware of the diseases that affect Islamic Workers

Diseases

  1. Pride and arrogance
  2. Boast
  3. Faulty Intention
  4. Self-worship
    1. Self-love
    2. Jealousies
    3. Suspicion
    4. Backbiting (Gheebah)
    5. Slander
  5. Imbalance of attitude
    1. stubborn
  6. Narrow-mindedness
  7. Weak determination

Cure

  1. Repentance
  2. Disclosure of truth

What about those who are not born leaders but have responsibilities?

  • They should try to acquire the required qualities of leadership.
  • We don't ask for position, yet it's not allowed to escape from the responsibility.
  • We know that the position is not attractive, but full of responsibilities.
  • We should have firm faith in Allah. He is the one who gave us this responsibility and he will help us to fulfill it.

Sources:

"Movement, Organization, and Workers" (Bengali) by Sayyid Abul 'Ala Mawdudi
"Study Circle" (Bengali) by Ghulam Azam
"Islamic Organisation" (Bengali) by Sirajul Islam
"Self-development, Worker-development, and Leadership" (Bengali) by Nazeer Ahmed
"Problems faced by the Da'wah and the Da'yiah" by Fathi Yakun

Why the Silence

Where are the leaders of the so-called Muslim nation states and where

Are the religious leaders of Islam?

Why this silence? Where are the Muslims Who should protest against the sacrilege, the murder, the destruction and The Fithnah that is taking place right at this very moment in Palestine and Lebanon and in other countries around the world?

What answer will we give to Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala on the Day of Kiyamah?

Standing Before the Holy Ka'abah in Makkah, our Beloved Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam is reported to have told the Holy Ka'abah, 'Oh you sacred Ka'abah, the Blood of a human being is more sacred than you'. Do we who profess to be the Ummah of Almighty Allah's Prophet Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam understand the Meaning of these words?

Hendrik von Loon in "The story of the Bible" writes, "The Jews who were To play such a great role in the history of the human race, began their Career as one of the quarrelling, fighting, wandering, stealing little tribes Who were trying to maintain themselves in the land of the Highlands. Unfortunately we really know next to nothing of the beginning of their

History, many learned men have made many learned guesses, but a Plausible guess does not fill an historic gap."

"The Old Testament, well versed in the art of blunder and destruction, Introduces a God (Jehovah) who has been bullied and beaten by Jacob. It Portrays a (exclusive) Jewish God who commands them to attack the Affluent cities and kill the inhabitants. "And the Lord said to Joshua, see I Have given Jericho into your hands, its king and mighty men of valour". [Joshua 6.2]. And Joshua did comply with the command of Jehovah and attacked Jericho; "And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both Man, woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey with the edge of the Sword". [Joshua 6.21].

"And they burned the city with fire and all that was in it". [Joshua 6:24].

After the destruction of Jericho the Lord of Israel commanded his Harbingers of death and destruction to attack another city, with special instructions to slaughter the entire population and to justly distribute the looted cattle and gold; "And the Lord said to Joshua, do not be afraid, nor

dismayed, take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its cattle you shall take for yourselves."

[Joshua 8. 1-2].

Joshua did the divine bidding and achieved the following "glorious" result.

"And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and behold, the smoke of the city ascended to heaven. So they had no power to flee this way or that way, and the people who had fled to the wilderness turned back on the pursuers. Now when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that the smoke of the city ascended, they turned back and

Struck down the men of Ai. And it came to pass when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness where they had pursued them, and when they had all fallen by the edge of the sword until they were consumed, that all the Israelites returned to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword. So it was that all who fell that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand - all the people of Ai." [Joshua, 20-25].

The God of Israel, time and time again spoke to his living juggernauts. His orders to kill and destroy all the "non-chosen" people were carried out by the Jews with sacred zeal and brutal force. What kind of a diseased mind could accept that God Almighty would order the wanton murder and destruction of an innocent people solely for the sake of plundering? It was Judaism

That constituted the Jewish criminality and of course they were Jews who did constitute Judaism. The Jewish mind is the product of Judaism and Judaism is the product of the Jewish mind. (Hendrik von Loon).

"Humanity is shocked at the recital of the horrid cruelties which they committed in the cities of Egypt, of Cyprus and Cyrene where they dwelt in treacherous friendship with the unsuspecting natives. In Cyrene they massacred 220,000 Greeks; in Cyprus 240,000; in Egypt a very great

multitude. Many of these unhappy victims were sawn asunder, according to a precedent to which David had given the sanction of his example. The victorious Jews devoured the flesh, licked up the blood and twisted the entrails like a girdle round their bodies." (Gibbon).

"The apocalyptic writing, stressed a message of vengeance on the enemies rather than of hope for mankind; their hope was for the faithful among the chosen people. The Hellenized Jews could be just as presumptuous. Some tried to prove that their culture was the oldest in the world, the source of all others. One Artapanus made Moses the inventor of almost everything, from

weapons and ships to philosophy." (Herbert J. Muller, The Loom of History).

The Lord of Israel did not describe any purpose of creation except the establishment of a Palestinian kingdom for his chosen people. Here is a Talmudic shibboleth about the status of the Jews in the word: "Israel was in the thought of God before the creation of the Universe (Gen. R.1.4) that heaven and earth were only created through the merit of Israel. As the world

could not exist without the winds, so it is impossible for the world to exist without Israel." (A. Cohen, Everyman's Talmud).

Prof. A. Zidan in his book "World Arrogance" mentions: "For the last two thousand years the Jews have been engaged in all sorts of crimes against humanity. And the worst sufferers have always been those nations who committed the blunder of opening their doors to this highly insidious

cabal. If we look at the history on only the recent past the truth of this statement would be quite manifest. They were turned out of Portugal and Spain. They were driven out of England in 1290. They were twice pushed away from France, once in 1306 and again in 1394. They were exiled from Belgium in 1370 and from Czechoslovakia in 1380. Holland drove them out in

1444, and Italy rid itself of them in 1540. Germany pushed them out in 1551. Russia exiled them in 1510. Indeed being exiled has been their lot since the beginning; and if we look at the earlier history too, we will find that they have met the same fate all along. It is a punishment and a curse over them although they like to remain under the self-deception of being "God's

Chosen people".

Prof. Zidan tells us: "the Jews after their expulsion from many places felt the need of unity, aggregation and togetherness, by herd instinct and hatched the idea of a private god to regard them as the chosen people. Hence they became a deceitful religious community. They lived in different countries and everywhere weaved a net of intrigue and incited wars, conflicts and upheavals. Through the ages men have learned to live as human beings, but the Jews have perpetuated their black arts of deception, exploitation and international demoralisation. They have dominated the economic resources of the most powerful and over-affluent nations of

The world. They have acquired the power and means to corrupt and exploit the entire mankind. They have employed a vast army of Christian writers to write books on Jews and reconstruct them as something more than the chosen people. They are working to dominate the whole world and to create a world of the Jews, by the Jews, and for the Jews." (Prof. A. Zidan - World

Arrogance).

O Beloved Muslims of the World! Please raise your voices against the senseless killing of innocent men, women and children. Please raise your voices against these horrible crimes that are being perpetrated against Islam and the Muslim Ummah. I beg you in the name of all all those who

Have died, the thousands who have been injured, the desecrated graves, Destroyed Masajids, schools, hospitals, homes and places of worship, help and assist our brethren in their great hour of need.

Pray to Almighty Allah Most Merciful for theirs and our salvation. In every home and Masjid convey the great tragedy that is unfolding of innocent people whose only crime is that Islam is their Din and their way of life and who declare "La Illaha Illalahu Muhammadar Rasullullah" (We testify that Allah is our Creator and that Muhammad is His Messenger). We are dying and will continue to die as Muslims. Our only hope is Almighty Allah Tabaraqka Wata'ala. We humbly pray for His help for He Alone is Gafooroor Raheem.

O enemies of Islam and of the Muslim Ummah! Without arms to defend ourselves, we will rise up from the blood that you had spilled, from Our devastated homes and from the fire and ashes we will someday soon Insha'Allah arise as a united Ummah, under one flag and with one voice to confront you and your entire coalition who make up the international Islamic conspiracy. Your day is coming!

"Do not be faint of heart, and do not grieve; for you shall gain the upper hand if you are truly believers. If misfortune befalls you, a similar misfortune has befallen other people as well. Such days [of fortune and misfortune], We deal out in turn among men. Allah wants to mark out

Those who truly believe and choose from among you such as [with their lives] bear witness to the truth. Allah does not love the wrongdoers".

(Quran 3: 139-40)


No comments: