On the 28th of Rajab 1342 AH, corresponding to the 3rd March 1924 CE, the Khilafah was destroyed at the hands of the colonial powers with the assistance of collaborators such as Mustafa Kemal. Allah (swt) has obligated us to rule by His Law and ordered us to shield the Ummah with the Khilafah state. As an Ummah, we must strive for the return of the Khilafah using the Prophet’s (saw) method of engaging the thoughts and emotions of Muslims and obtaining nusra (support) from the people of power in the Muslim lands. This week on the 28th of Rajab, the Ummah will mark the 87th anniversary of the fall of the Khilafah. We should use this anniversary as a reminder of our obligation – as an Ummah – to resume the Islamic way of life through the re-establishment of the Khilafah.
Since the abolishment of the Khilafah in 1342/1924, the Ummah has witnessed a succession of despotic rulers whose sole concern has been to please their Western masters. These dictators, the Assads, Mubaraks, and Musharrafs of this Ummah, are eagerly financed, armed, and supported by the parliaments of North America and Europe to ensure that this Ummah remains under the heel of Western colonialism and imperialism.
Furthermore, only after the fall of the Khilafah did the West plot to implant “a foreign body”, namely Israel, into the Muslim lands. As British Prime Minister Campbell Bannerman noted in 1902, “a foreign body should be planted in the heart of this nation [i.e. the Khilafah] to prevent the convergence of its wings in such a way that it could exhaust its powers in never-ending wars. It could also serve as a springboard for the West to gain its coveted objects”. The creation of Israel only occurred after the Khilafah fell and has been, in fact, just another tool (in addition to the installation of tyrant rulers) of the West in subjecting the Ummah to colonization and oppression.
Lack of Islamic Leadership: The Critical Issue
In this era where the Ummah is in state of subjugation and poverty, sincere members of this Ummah have attempted to identify the root causes of the problem. Some may say the Ummah lacks resources and economic power. However, these are the root causes of the problem; rather they are only symptoms of the larger problem. From a resources perspective, we are well aware that approximately 60% of the world’s energy resources reside in the Muslim lands. Furthermore, if we analyze Pakistan – just one of the 54 “state-lets” that the Ummah was dismembered into – we find that it possesses land area of both France and Britain combined. Pakistan also has the 6th largest population in the world: larger than the combined populations of Russia, Britain and France. The Islamic Lands together contain more than 18 times more oil than the Western countries. Furthermore, uniting the armies of Muslim countries such as Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Indonesia, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Morocco would gather over 3 million soldiers – more than 20 times larger than the American forces in Iraq. As a result, the resources (i.e. wealth of people, minerals, and land mass) are squarely located in the Muslim world. One may ask, if there is an abundance of resources then why do we find the Ummah in economic difficulty? The economic problems are linked to the lack of leadership. The current rulers do not govern this wealth according to the book of Allah (swt). They instead govern it based on the dictates of their American and European masters.
Thus, the real issue is not a want of resources or a troubled economy but a want of Islamic leadership. What we lack is the shield that RasulAllah (saw) prescribed for us to use to protect ourselves. The shield is described in the following hadith:
“Indeed, the Imam (Khaleefah) is a shield, from behind whom you fight and by whom you are protected.” [Muslim]
Allah (swt) has made it an obligation on us to refer solely to the Quran and the Sunnah of His beloved Messenger in matters of ruling, economy, and settling the affairs of the people. As long as we tolerate the rule of the despots all over the Muslim world – who do not rule by what Allah (swt) has revealed – we can only expect our present-day condition to persist. Allah (swt) has revealed:
"And rule between them by that which Allah has revealed and follow not their vain desires, but beware that they may turn you away from some of what Allah has revealed." [TMQ 5:49]
Re-establishing the Khilafah – a comprehensive system of governance, education, courts, and other societal institutions which are based on the Quran and Sunnah in the Muslim lands – is the only way of bringing Islam back into our daily lives, free from the influence and dominance of kufr.
Khilafah: One of the Highest Obligations
The fardiyah (obligation) of Khilafah is well known to the Ummah, but some may consider it a low priority. Allah (swt) has revealed:
"And no, by your Lord, they will not believe until they refer to your judgment in all disputes between them then find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission." [TMQ 4:65]
This means that if we differ on an issue – such as the priority level of the Khilafah – we must refer to the Quran and Sunnah to resolve our disagreement.
By the mercy of Allah (swt), the Shariah has identified certain issues as “vital issues”; i.e. matters of life and death for the Ummah. If such issues are not attended to, then the Ummah’s existence is at stake.
According to the Quran and Sunnah, when a hadith or ayat refers to taking of life, it signifies a vital issue. That is, the life of the human being is sacred and can only be violated under very specific circumstances. On the authority of Ibn Mas’ud who narrated that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
“The blood of a Muslim person who professes that there is no god but Allah and that I am the messenger of Allah is not violable except in three instances: the adulterer, the slayer of another person and the apostate who abandons the group.” [Bukhari]
Islam has made the unity of the Islamic Ummah and the unity of the State as one of the vital issues. This is manifested in two cases: plurality of Khulafaa’ and rebellion against the Islamic State. Muslim reported on the authority of Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-’ Aas that he heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) say: “He who pledged his Bay’ ah (oath) to an Imam giving him the clasp of his hand and the fruit of his heart shall obey him as long as he can, and if another comes to dispute with him, you must strike the neck of that man.”
It has also been reported on the authority of Abu Said Al-Khudri that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
“If a Bay’ah has been taken for two Khaleefah’s, kill the latter of them.” [Muslim]
Hence, he (saw) made the unity of the State a vital issue when he prohibited the plurality of the Khulafaa’ and ordered the death penalty for the one who insists (i.e. after being advised against it) on establishing multiple leaders within the Islamic State. It has also been reported on the authority of Arfaja who said: ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) say:
“He who comes to you while your affair has been united under one man, intending to drive a wedge between you or fragment your group (Jama’ ah), kill him.” [Muslim]
Now that the Islamic State no longer exists, these ahadith indicate the level of priority we must give to ensure that the Islamic State is united. That is, we must understand that the unity of the State and that of the Ummah is a “life and death matter” and therefore we must exert our utmost effort to re-establish the Khilafah using the Prophet’s method, which is solely based on discussion and intellectual interaction.
The Return of the Khilafah
The current era of tyrannical rule over the Ummah was prophesized by Prophet Muhammad (saw) in the famous hadith narrated by Imam Ahmed (rh) where: “…there will be dictatorships that will last as long as Allah is willing.” However, the same hadith predicts that (after this tyrannical era): “…then there will be a Khilafah on the way of the Prophethood.”
More importantly, Allah (swt) has promised victory to the Ummah. As Allah (swt) has revealed:
"Allah has promised such of you who believe and do good deeds that He will surely make them to succeed (the present rulers) in the earth even as He caused those before them to succeed (others); and He will surely establish for them their religion which He has approved for them, and will give in exchange safety after their fear". [TMQ 24:55]
Allah (swt) never fails in His promise. However, this does not give us the excuse to sit back and wait for the Khilafah. Instead we must reflect on the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) and follow his method in establishing the Khilafah, which includes culturing, interacting with society, and seeking the nusra (support). As a result, we must culture ourselves as the Sahabah did in Dar-Al-Arqam in order to rid ourselves of the influences of Capitalism and adopt the measures of halal and haram in our decision making. We must also work with the Ummah to convince her that Islam is the sole source of legislation and that Islam alone is sufficient: we do not need the ideas of Karl Marx, Adam Smith, or Barack Obama. Finally, we must work to convince the people of influence in the Muslim lands to give the nusra to Islam – just as the Ansar gave nusra to Islam. Only intellectual means (e.g. discussion, leaflets, conferences, etc) can be used in the struggle to re-establish Khilafah, as RasulAllah (saw) forbade the Sahabah from using armed struggle in establishing the Islamic State. He (saw) also did not participate in the political system of the Quraish: Dar-al Nadwa. Therefore, we are also forbidden from work through the political systems that are currently in place. If our goal is to implement the Deen of Allah (swt), we must take the Quran and Sunnah as a reference point instead our own desires.
May Allah (swt) grant this Ummah victory, so that we may worship Him as He has ordained us to worship.
"And say: Truth has come, and falsehood has vanished away. Lo! Falsehood is ever bound to vanish".
[TMQ 17:81]
Source Members of Hizb ut-Tahrir Canada
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