Khilafah magazine may 2014 by Khilafah Magazine

O you who believe, respond to the call of Allah and His Messenger when He calls you to that which would give you life...

m a g a z i n e RAJAB

SHABAN

1435A.H.

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MAY

2014

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ISSUE:

201405

THE SAUDI AMERICAN RELATIONSHIP OBAMA’S SAUDI VISIT l IS AMERICA’S DECLINE REAL OR IMAGINARY? (PART II) l IN PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS l TAFSIR l PART 1: HOW CAN THE ULEMA MAKE STATEMENTS THAT APPEAR TO CONTRADICT WITH ISLAM? l WHAT CAN MUSLIMS IN THE WEST DO TO HELP THE WORK FOR RE-ESTABLISHING THE KHILAFAH? l THE REASSURED SOUL l

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NEWS

BITES

unrest in which supporters of the former president reacted violently to the clearance of a pro-Morsi sit-in in Cairo when more than 900 people were killed. In addition to the murder, the 529 were accused of attempting to kill two other police officers and attacking a police station. Ever since Sisi’s coup, he has been carrying out a purge of potential opposition forces using any means necessary. The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) leadership is still in prison and its members are constantly being arrested. Even supporters of the MB are being targeted in this purge. Sisi has been able to achieve this due to the complete US support who described his coup as ‘restoring democracy.’

The arrest of former Guantanamo detainee Moazzam Begg and the arrest of a raft of Muslims returning from Syria have led Britain to outlaw any support of the Muslims of Syria. Since the start of 2014, officials from across the government have weighed in with their dogmatic opinions on any UK citizen who travels to fight in Syria. Since November 2013 various British officials have been making it clear that Britain will consider anyone who travels to Syria as a terrorist. The hypocrisy is in the fact that those who went to fight in Libya were portrayed as “resistance” and “rebels,” whilst those going to fight in Syria are being labeled as “terrorists,” “insurgents” and radicals. British citizens of Libyan origin were interviewed and lauded for their bravery and sacrifice – leaving the comfort of their lives in the UK to fight for what they believed in. However, Syria is being viewed in the same light as Palestine, Kashmir and Chechnya, where those fighting are being labelled ‘terrorists.’ Whilst the removal of Gaddafi was viewed as liberation, Syria is being portrayed very differently.

// RUSSIA ANNEXES CRIMEA America’s Secretary of State, John Kerry described Russia’s actions in Ukraine as: “You just don’t invade another country on phony pretext in order to assert your interests. It’s really 19th century behaviour in the 21st century.” Ever since this hypocritical statement by the US official, the US and Europe have been forced to watch Russia’s assertiveness as it possesses most of the ace cards. Despite using sanctions, propaganda and threatening Russia, both America and Europe could do nothing as a quickly called referendum led to the people of Crimea joining Russia and separating from Ukraine. Ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the West brought all the former Soviet republics under their influence through NATO and the EU. It was not until the emergence of Vladimir Putin in 1999 that this decline was reversed as well as the colour revolutions. What is taking place in Ukraine is just a continuation of the competition between states.

// SISI’S PURGE CONTINUES As Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the general who ousted Egypt's first freely elected leader, declared his candidacy for the country’s upcoming presidential election, a judge in Southern Egypt took just two court sessions to sentence to death 529 supporters of Muhammed Morsi for the murder of a single police officer. The defendants were arrested in August 2013 during the wave of

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// BRITAIN MAKES SYRIA A FORBIDDEN CAUSE

// BASHER AL-ASSAD TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT Amid the destruction of Syria, which has left more than 140,000 dead, it was revealed that Bashar al-Assad is quietly preparing the ground to hold elections by early this summer to win another 7-year term. All of this takes place as the Syrian conflict rampages into its fourth year with large parts of the country either in ruins or under opposition control, and nearly a third of the population scattered by civil war. Hilal Khashan, a political science professor at the American University of Beirut said: “There is a gap between what goes on in the mind of the Syrian president and reality. He has a fixation on the presidency and he doesn't see beyond it.” Unable to defeat the rebels as the Syrian uprising reached three years in March 2014, al-Assad has struggled to maintain territory and has all but lost the North of the country.

// THE TRUTH IS OUT: MONEY HAS NO VALUE In March 2014, something remarkable happened. In a paper called “Money Creation in the Modern Economy,” The Bank of England (BoE) let the cat out of the bag by stating outright that most common assumptions of how banking works are simply wrong. The BoE admitted that there is absolutely nothing behind currencies today and that central banks in reality just print 100% of the money that exists in the world. The conventional view that some money does really exist, but banks lend over and beyond this and just ensure everyone doesn’t withdraw their money at the same time is no longer the case. Banks create money by lending, thus all money is created by creating debt on a computer, and through the imposition of the state, a country is forced to accept this ‘paper,’ as payment. It was bank lending that created the real estate bubble, which burst in 2007 and led to the great recession the world still cannot get out of.

//////////////////////////////////////// 3 Residents of Syria's besieged Yarmouk refugee camp, south of Damascus, crowd a destroyed street during a food distribution drive on Jan. 31. U.N. investigators said Tuesday they had enough solid proof of war crimes committed by both sides in the Syrian civil war to prepare any indictment. | AFP-JIJI

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Obama’s Saudi visit HOW AMERICA PLAYS WITH THE IRANIAN REGIME AND SAUDI MONARCHY

he USA, the world’s superpower, has been extremely busy in the first few months of 2014. The US initiated new plans and gave fuel to other plans to protect, maintain and expand America’s array of interests around the world. Whether it’s the upcoming presidential elections in Egypt, the Geneva 2 conference in Switzerland, rapprochement with Iran or the crisis in Ukraine, the US faces a delicate task as it attempts to deal with a number of emerging challenges in the Middle East. It was in this context the White House announced on Monday February 3rd 2014 that US president Barak Obama will visit Saudi Arabia in late March 2014. This is Obama’s second trip to the country. His only other visit was in June 2009, when he stopped briefly in Saudi Arabia, on the eve of his speech in Cairo. White House spokesmen Jay Carney said at his briefing: “Saudi Arabia is a close partner of the United States, and we have a bilateral relationship that is broad and deep and covers a range of areas, and the president very much looks forward to the visit,

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where all of those areas will be discussed in his meetings…Whatever differences we may have do not alter the fact that this is a very important and close partnership.” Most of the media were surprised at this sudden announcement, as Obama would be visiting Saudi within two months. This indicates that it was a sudden decision and has the hallmarks of something urgent. Three issues caused the US administration to organize this urgent meeting and these are Egypt, Syria and US-Iran rapprochement. SAUDI’S SYRIAN TREACHERY The uprising in Syria officially reached its 3 year anniversary in March 2014 and despite numerous attempts to derail the uprising of the Ummah of Syria, the US has failed to halt the flames of change in the country. Saudi Arabia has played a key role in diverting, altering and diluting the demand for real change by the Ummah in Syria.

Saudi Arabia has played a key role in the Western strategy of supporting specific groups over others in order to weaken the Islamic resistance against Basher al-Assad. Saudi played the role of financing and delivering arms to specific groups in order to weaken those calling for an independent Islamic state in Syria. Saudi Arabia’s role has been to provide arms to some rebels in order to create a relationship of dependency. Whilst Saudi Arabia has its own aims of ensuring Iran is not strengthened through the outcome in Syria, both Iran and Saudi are in agreement that no Islamic alternative should emerge. Whilst Iran openly supports and aids the al-Assad regime, Saudi Arabia is strengthening the al-Assad regime by infiltrating and weakening the resistance against him. Prince Turki, the former Saudi intelligence chief and envoy to Washington, said in a recent interview in February 2014 that the mainstream opposition must be strengthened so that it could protect itself from, "these extremists who are coming

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WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMEN JAY CARNEY SAID AT HIS BRIEFING: “SAUDI ARABIA IS A CLOSE PARTNER OF THE UNITED STATES, AND WE HAVE A BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP THAT IS BROAD AND DEEP AND COVERS A RANGE OF AREAS, AND THE PRESIDENT VERY MUCH LOOKS FORWARD TO THE VISIT, WHERE ALL OF THOSE AREAS WILL BE DISCUSSED IN HIS MEETINGS… WHATEVER DIFFERENCES WE MAY HAVE DO NOT ALTER THE FACT THAT THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT AND CLOSE PARTNERSHIP.” ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// from all over the place" to impose their own ideologies on Syria. As a result, Saudi has financed the large purchase of infantry weapons, such as Yugoslav-made recoilless guns and the M79 Osa anti-tank weapon, from Croatia via shipments shuttled through Jordan. Saudi Arabia played a central role in arming and funding the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the Syrian National Coalition and its military wing the Syrian Military Council (SMC). In addition, Saudi Arabia also helped organize the unification of roughly 50 rebel brigades into “Jaysh alIslam,” under the leadership of Zahran Alloush, a commander whose father is a cleric based in the kingdom. Saudi Arabia is now the main country financing and arming the rebels. This strategy has however failed to strengthen a moderate, Western friendly opposition. The FSA has more or less lost all credibility as it failed to govern effectively in areas that were under its control in the North of Syria. Many complained of their incompetence and corruption. The SMC was completely undermined when its headquarters in Northern Syria were raided and taken over by rebel fighters when its leader Salim Idris was in Turkey and has never returned. With the Geneva 2 talks failing in late January 2013, aligning US aims with Saudi money and actions is essential for the US if it’s to stop real change coming to Syria. BROTHERS IN CRIME Egypt has played a central role in the Middle

East ever since the US emerged as the world’s superpower after WW2. Successive leaders from Nasser, to Sadat to Mubarak all protected US interests by subjugating their own people to a life of misery. For the US, Egypt’s role is to maintain the 1979 normalization treaty with Israel which ended state-to-state war between Israel and Egypt and thus established a permanent presence in the region for the Israelis. The Arab spring however challenged America’s architecture and as a result Washington decided to turn its back on Mubarak but the architecture Mubarak and his predecessors constructed remained untouched. The army was forced to watch from the sidelines as the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) swept to victory and when Muhammed Morsi confirmed he would be respecting all prior treaties, the US set about strengthening his rule as he confirmed he would protect US interests. With the economy on the brink of bankruptcy and with regular stand-offs on the streets of Cairo, throughout the rule of Morsi the domestic political scene was never stable and was worsened by the confusion brought about by the Morsi government over decision-making. The US needed domestic political stability in Egypt in order for the country to play a role in the region and Morsi failed at this and made matters worse the longer he remained in office. With the MB unable to protect US interests due to their inability to bring political stability to the country, the US changed the leadership of the country. Once the coup had taken place on 3 July 2013,

Obama said: “The Egyptian armed forces should move quickly and responsibly to restore full power to a civilian government as soon as possible.” Obama approved of the coup by not condemning it, he even refused to call the overthrow of a democratic government a coup. Secretary of State John Kerry confirmed the return of the military regime as: “restoring democracy.” Ever since Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi took power, the US set about strengthening his rule. America's massive financial assistance to the Field Marshal continues despite the technicality that "restoring democracy" occurred through an undemocratic, and very bloody, military coup against a democratically elected government. For the US, the fact that the rule of Field Marshal Sisi is built upon the arrests and detention of thousands of Egyptian children and upon the brutal killings of unarmed protesters is secondary. Saudi Arabia’s role is to prop up the Sisi government and give it regional legitimacy. In the wake of the ouster of President Muhammed Morsi, Saudi Arabia moved to provide Egypt with $12 billion in financial assistance. Saudi, along with the the Gulf States deplored the fall of Hosni Mubarak in 2011. With the economy of Egypt in freefall from decades of incompetency from pro-US leaders, Egypt will need significant finance to stay afloat and once again it is Saudi Arabia that the US will be relying upon to protect US interests.

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SAUDI ARABIA’S ROLE IS TO PROP UP THE SISI GOVERNMENT AND GIVE IT REGIONAL LEGITIMACY. IN THE WAKE OF THE OUSTER OF PRESIDENT MUHAMMED MORSI, SAUDI ARABIA MOVED TO PROVIDE EGYPT WITH $12 BILLION IN FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

DIVIDED IN THEIR ‘UNITY’ The Saudi monarchy has been running wild ever since the US announced its normalization with Iran. As Iran’s ambitions in the region include dominating it and ensuring it remains the power in the region, Saudi Arabia has always viewed Iran as a threat and tensions between the two go back decades. Iran has tried to dominate the Persian Gulf – considered one of the most strategic locations in the world due to its oil and gas reserves. Saudi Arabia views this as a threat to its existence and has attempted to defend itself by supporting, arming and funding militant groups to fight and weaken the Iranian regime. Iran considers the oppression of all Shi’ah in the region an attack on Iran itself and as a result has utilized the large Shi’ah presence in the Eastern provinces of Saudi Arabia (where most of its oil fields are) to interfere in Saudi in order to weaken it. When the Arab spring arrived in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia instantly sent its forces to prop up the Sunni monarchy as it feared Iran would take advantage of the demands of the majority Shi’ah population to destabilize Bahrain which is linked by a causeway to Saudi Arabia. It came as somewhat of a shock when pictures beamed around the world of Secretary of State John Kerry directly talking with the foreign minister of Iran Mohammad Javad Zarif and agreeing on US-Iran ties. The Wall Street Journal reported at the announcement of Obama’s visit

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to Saudi Arabia: Arab officials briefed on the coming summit, which was pulled together quickly in recent days, said it would be crucial to aligning American and Saudi policies as political change and sectarian strife continue to sweep the Mideast and North Africa. “This is about a deteriorating relationship” and declining trust, said a senior Arab official in describing the need for the summit. The Wall Street Journal also reported Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal: "What was surprising was that the talks that were going forward were kept from us.” The US needs Saudi Arabia in order to achieve its multitude of interests in the region and shoring up Saudi support is one of the key reasons the US president will be personally visiting Riyadh. The Saudi monarchy was upset that America is now turning to Iran to achieve its interests in the region. The various anti-US statements by Saudi officials have been due to its astonishment that it no longer is the slave that will execute US interests as it has now chosen Saudi’s arch Persian neighbor, who is now a more attractive asset is subjugating the region. Whilst Saudi Arabia and Iran may have their own regional ambitions and view each other as enemies, they are both united in their slavery to the US. The Saudi monarchy is upset that it has been replaced by the Persian slave. CONCLUSIONS The Arab spring challenged the status quo in the Middle East and challenged America’s number one tool – agent rulers. The sudden announcement of Obama’s visit to the region also shows that the US fundamentally achieves its interests in the Middle East through agent rulers who serve the US rather than their own people. Whether it’s the Saudi Monarchy, Jordan’s king, Iraq’s fledging government or Iran’s clerics, all of them compete amongst each other to gain America’s favor and all fall over themselves to strengthen America’s plans. Saudi Arabia has used its historical links to the birth place of Islam to give itself some moral authority, even though in

reality it is selective in its actions. Saudi Arabia turned the other way when the Muslims in Myanmar were being massacred, similarly Saudi Arabia did not move against the slaughter of the Ummah in the Central African Republic (CAR) despite possessing the capability to do so. Saudi Arabia like all the Muslim nations, has national interests, not Islamic interests and this is the lens through which it views the world. What is significant to note is how America is exacerbating the divide between the Shia in Iran and the Salafists in Saudi. Both these regimes are only interested in serving America’s designs of dividing the Ummah along sectarian lines. America courts both regimes whilst ensuring a degree of tension remains between the two so she can manipulate the affairs of the region. What is required for the sincere sons of this Ummah is to realize how America in collusion with the clerics in Iran and the sheikhs in Saudia are fuelling the fitnah of division in the Ummah. Only an Islamic Khilafah built on the Islamic Aqeeda and not on any sectarian or nationalist line can bring true unity and challenge America’s designs in our lands. This is the call that needs to be raised in the Ummah today. This is the only call that can defeat America’s plans in the region. The Saudi monarchy has for the moment survived the Arab spring. However both Mubarak and Gaddafi for long survived opposition against their rule and were able to hide their treachery, but in the end, it was just a matter of time before the Ummah united together and took their destiny into their own hands.

Adnan Khan

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Is America’s decline real or imaginary? (Part II) IN THE SECOND ARTICLE IN THE SERIES OF THREE, ABID MUSTAFA BRIEFLY DISCUSSES SOME OF THE IDEAS EMPLOYED BY THINKERS TO CHART OR EVEN PREDICT THE DEMISE OF GREAT POWERS, ESPECIALLY AMERICA. MUSTAFA THEN GOES ONTO DEFINE A NOVEL WAY OF UNDERSTANDING REVIVAL AND DECLINE OF MAJOR POWERS. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

society into a class system, imprisoning people in the circumstances of their birth—a rebuke to the very idea of the American dream. Inequality corrodes trust among fellow citizens, making it seem as if the game is rigged. Inequality saps the will to conceive of ambitious solutions to large collective problems, because those problems no longer seem very collective. Inequality undermines democracy .” Whilst these ideas offer insight into what constitutes decline, what is required is a model that not only helps to define decline, but can be used to chart the decline of major powers.

ccording to Paul Kennedy in his book The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, major powers rise and fall based on the growth rates of their industrial base and the costs of their imperial commitments relative to GDPs. Kennedy asserts: “If a state over extends itself strategically...it runs the risk that the potential of benefits from external expansion may be outweighed by the great expense of all .” A

more contemporary writer Jared Diamond postulates in his book Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, the idea that societies destroyed themselves because they abused their natural environment. On the specific subject of America’s decline, George Packer argues that America’s decline is due to the economic inequality between rich and poor. He states : “Inequality hardens

Decline cannot be understood without understanding revival. According to the Oxford Online dictionary, revival means ‘an improvement in the condition, strength, or fortunes of someone or something’. In Christianity, revival is understood as ‘when a Community of the faithful responds to God’s Message’. But in the context of considering the revival of nations the linguistic and the Christian definitions of revival are incomplete and inadequate. Islam defines revival as the ‘intellectual elevation based upon a spiritual basis’. This definition has two conditions before the revival of the nation can be considered complete and correct. First, the basis for the revival has to be ideological i.e. it must be

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/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// DECLINE CAN BE VIEWED AS REVIVAL IN REVERSE I.E. IT IS A DEVIATION FROM THE IDEOLOGY. GREATER THE DEVIATION FROM THE IDEOLOGY, MORE ACUTE IS THE DECLINE FELT BY SOCIETY. LIKE WITH REVIVAL, DECLINE IS ALSO ASSOCIATED WITH THE THREE DIFFERENT TYPES OF THINKING PHASES. FOR A REVIVED SOCIETY, DECLINE STARTS WITH THE WEAKNESS IN POLITICAL THINKING, WHICH LEADS TO A WEAKNESS IN INTELLECTUAL THINKING AND THIS IS FOLLOWED BY A WEAKNESS IN LEGISLATIVE THINKING. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

based on a comprehensive thought about man, life and the universe, and its inter-relationships i.e. what proceeded them and what is to come after them. This comprehensive idea gives rise to a body of thoughts and systems pertaining to all walks of life. However, the comprehensive idea together with the thoughts and systems exist only in books and words unless there is a method to bring them into existence i.e. to give life to the thoughts and systems. This can only be accomplished if the method is of the same nature as the comprehensive idea i.e. it must emanate from the comprehensive idea. Anything short of an ideological thought and method will confine the revival of a nation to particular area e.g. Singapore is considered to be a leading logistics hub, South Korea is a leader in digital technology and Kenya is regarded as the best nation when it comes to producing longdistance runners. Secondly, revival must have a spiritual component i.e. it must acknowledge the existence of a Creator. In other words the comprehensive thought must lead to the acknowledgement of a Creator. The only correct ideology in the world today is Islam. Islam stipulates that man, life and the universe were all created by Allah (SWT). Allah (SWT) sent His messenger Muhammad (SAW) with the correct Deen for all of mankind. Hence, Muslims looking to revive the Islamic way of life throughout the Muslim world must whole-heartedly embrace the Islamic ideology both as thought and method. Only then will their journey towards reviving the Muslim Ummah be successful. Revival thus has three distinct thinking

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phases: intellectual, political and legislative. In the phase of intellectual thinking, intellectual thinking is used to form the comprehensive idea, which is then used as the basis to produce thoughts that address mankind’s problems from a specific viewpoint as well as the method for their implementation. During this phase, the new ideas clash with the existing ideas of society, and care is taken to contrast the relevance and the superiority of these ideas against the prevalent decadent ideas of society. This is followed by the phase of political thinking, where political thinking is used to impress upon society the new ideas and to struggle with the existing political authority in order to demonstrate its inability to look after the affairs of the people. In this phase, the existing political leadership of the society is displaced and a new leadership emerges which supervises the implementation of the new idea. Lastly, in the third phase— once the new idea has political authority and power—legislative thinking takes on the central focus as a myriad of solutions are produced and enacted to solve life’s innumerable problems.

prominent. This is because the focus is on imposing the new idea on society and this cannot be achieved unless political work is undertaken and subsequently political thinking dominates. The same applies to the other phases. Figure 1.0 demonstrates the relationship between the three phases of thinking that constitutes revival.

Once the nation is revived, it then becomes necessary to maintain its revived state. This can only be achieved by ensuring that the political thinking supervises all other types of thinking in the society such as intellectual, legislative, linguistic, scientific etc.

The life of the Messenger of Allah (SAW) which encompassed both Makkaan and Madani periods can be divided into three different thinking phases. In the beginning, the dawa in Makkah, had a strong intellectual prominence and intellectual thinking dominated the work undertaken by the Messenger of Allah (SAW). This was followed by a period of intense political activity directed at the leaders of Quraish and this phase was dominated by political thinking. Once the Messenger of Allah (SAW) had established the first Islamic state in Madinah, legislative thinking became prominent as rules pertaining to solving problems of life were revealed.

So it can be said that revival of a nation has three distinct thinking phases i.e. intellectual, political and legislative. This does not mean that these styles of thinking are mutually exclusive and do not proceed together in the aforementioned phases. On the contrary, in the political thinking phase, intellectual and legislative thinking take place alongside political thinking, but political thinking is more

Figure 1.0 Framework for understanding revival

Having arrived at this model, it is now much easier to chart the revival of nations. Three examples are considered in the light of this model.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// In Europe, the renaissance marked the intellectual awakening of Europe against the practices of the Papacy. This was followed by the reformation period which signalled the beginning of intense political activity until the power of the Church was separated from the State and secularism was born. This was superseded by the enlightenment period, which was the age of both intellectual and legislative thinking. It was during this period that two main traditions of modern European law were born: codified legal systems used by most of continental Europe, and the English tradition based on case law. In the early nineteenth century, Karl Marx developed the main tenants of Communism and a new idea was born. This was superseded by a short period of political activity which resulted in the 1917 October Revolution in Russia by the Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks inherited a backwater state that suffered from many problems and this required legislative thinking to produce solutions. In all three cases, once the nation was revived, political thinking takes over to supervise not only the affairs of the people but also to look after the other types of thinking in society. Thus the level of maintenance of intellectual and legislative thinking in society is entirely dependent on political decisions undertaken by the state. Decline can be viewed as revival in reverse i.e. it is a deviation from the ideology. Greater the deviation from the ideology, more acute is the decline felt by society. Like with revival, decline is also associated with the three different types of thinking phases. For a revived society, decline starts with the weakness in political thinking, which leads to a weakness in intellectual thinking and this is followed by a weakness in legislative thinking. The decline frame work is described in Figure 2.0.

Figure 2.0 Framework for understanding decline

It is true that the different styles of thinking overlap in each of the phases, but it is the prominence of decline in one type of thinking over the others that determines the nature of the thinking phase. In other words, weakness in one style of thinking is the root cause of the apparent weakness in other types of thinking. So in the political thinking phase, weakness in political thinking automatically affects intellectual and legislative thinking. For instance, if the state provided insufficient funds towards educating its citizens or did not properly guard the thoughts from the invasion of foreign culture, the level of intellectual thinking in society will suffer and decline. Similarly, if the state regularly interfered in the appointment of judges or only sponsored a specific school of thought to dominate society and persecuted the followers of other legitimate schools of thought, then legislative thinking will be impacted. In these examples, weakness in intellectual and legislative thinking is as a direct consequence of incorrect political decisions executed by the state. Another feature of both the forgoing frameworks for revival and decline is that they are cyclical. Having said this, it is however possible to measure to some degree the absolute decline or revival based on the complete life of the nation and its state. For instance the peak of the rightly guided Khilafah coincided with the end of Umar’s (RA) rule. This was followed by a brief decline until the Umayyad Khilafah, which then gave way to the Abbasids until the last Ottoman Khilafah During the reign of Uthman (RA), many of the Companions of the Prophet (SAW) were permitted to leave Madinah and travel to other lands. In this manner, the political party of the Messenger of Allah (SAW), which was the very first Islamic political party was disbanded, and this boosted the morale of enemies of Islam. These people were vehemently opposed to Uthman’s (RA) rule and they galvanised people in the different provinces into a rebel force, which eventually marched on Madinah. Uthman’s (RA) refusal to crush the rebellion in preference to dialogue with its leaders resulted in his assassination and plunged the state into turmoil, which Khalifah Ali (RA) tried to redress. Another matter that accompanied taking power through violence was the misapplication of the bayah. Under the rule of Muawiyah I, Muawiyah forced the people of influence to give the bayah to his son Yazid. These political

judgements gravely affected the Muslim Ummah for centuries until the Khilafah was abolished in 1924. Some of the Islamic concepts of ruling were severely weakened, and the correct legislative judgement was misplaced with erroneous understandings. Other poor political judgements include allowing the reconciliation of Islam with foreign philosophies, ignoring the importance of the Arabic language and closing the doors of ijtihad, and the complete abandonment of jihad. Such political decisions contributed to the decline and weakened the Islam in the minds of the people. Britain’s demise as the world’s leading state was hammered home after the independence of India followed by the Suez crisis. Both events not only demonstrated the limits of British power overseas but rather conveyed the impression that Britain was a fading world power. However, these events and others— where Britain gave up its oversea conquests or territories to a wave of anti-colonialism sweeping the globe—were rooted in Britain’s desire to see America join World War II. The British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill and his advisors, grossly under estimated America’s strength and her aspirations to become the leading state. This political decision cost Britain dearly in the years that followed; she lost several of her colonies to America, her capacity to promote British culture abroad was impeded by America’s popular culture, and Britain’s ability to propagate its ideology was severely hampered by America’s growing preeminence as well as the role played by international institutions like the UN, WBO, IMF etc., which only operated within America’s ambit of control. In 1961, the Soviet Union sought coexistence with America the world’s leading capitalist state. This was in direct contravention of its communist ideology. The agreement between Khrushchev and Kennedy accelerated the demise of the Soviet Union from an intellectual perspective, since communisms eschews all forms of coexistence with capitalism. By replacing destruction of capitalism with its accommodation, many people became aware of the impracticality of communism in regulating external relations between states. In the third article, Mustafa will examine whether America’s standing in the world is really in decline or is it just minor lapse after which America will make a full recovery.

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In Pursuit of Happiness “THERE IS A PARADOX AT THE HEART OF OUR LIVES. MOST PEOPLE WANT MORE INCOME AND STRIVE FOR IT. YET AS WESTERN SOCIETIES HAVE GOT RICHER, THEIR PEOPLE HAVE BECOME NO HAPPIER”. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

hese are the words of Lord Professor Richard Layard, whose book on “happiness” highlights the increasing problem of unhappiness and discontentment in western societies, despite their apparent wealth. He argues, this is no longer a myth. His effort to consolidate considerable research shows that whilst average incomes have more than doubled in the last sixty years, people are no happier - and in the US, Britain and Japan, people have in fact become less happy. UNHAPPINESS IN THE WEST – THE REALITY Professor Layard points to a range of evidence to suggest that happiness in western societies has not improved despite rapid changes in living standards. The first is a series of surveys conducted over the last 60 years in which people were asked how happy they felt. They show that in the US, for example, there has been no change in the proportion of the richest quarter of the population who say they are “very happy“ (45%) since the 1950s. This is despite the fact that over the same period, this group has seen a doubling in living standards. A similar trend is observable for the poorest quarter who say they are “very happy” (33%) - this too has barely changed. The second body of evidence is a set of comparisons between countries of differing levels of wealth and living standards. It found that wealthier countries in Europe for example are no happier than poorer countries. Thirdly, key indicators used by western researchers to measure unhappiness have all increased rapidly in the post war period. These include depression, crime and alcoholism. In the US for example, 15% of the population by the

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age of 35 will experience clinical depression. In the 1960s, this figure was 2%. In any given year, 6% of the entire US population will experience major depression. Deaths from the effects of alcoholism have been up in the US and every country in the Europe bar one since the 1950s. Between 1950 and 1980, crime increased by 300% on average across western countries, and although in some countries crime started to fall in the late 80s (and later still for Britain), it is still way above the levels seen in the 1950s. This is despite the assumption having always been that through lowering unemployment and increasing wealth, crime would fall. WHAT IS CAUSING UNHAPPINESS IN THE WEST? Western researchers point to a number of trends and attitudes they believe lie at the heart of some of this modern unhappiness: • Increase in the number of broken families. In the 1950s, divorce was largely uncommon but now nearly half of all Americans, for example, by the age 15 will not be living with their biological father. • Declining levels of trust in society brought on by the advent of rampant individualism. The Harvard academic Robert Putman described this phenomena in his book “Bowling Alone”, which sought to understand why people were increasingly “going it alone” and living lonely lives disconnected from family and community. • The role television and advertising has played in normalising sex and violence, and unrealistic expectations around health and beauty as the cause of particular anxiety.

But surveys also provide insight into attitudes that underpin unhappy lives in the West – specifically when trying to understand why people are rich yet so unhappy: • Economic and Social Rivalry: One of the foremost findings was that social and economic comparisons led to unhappiness. Despite abundant wealth, one may feel less successful and less happy simply because they have not achieved as much as their peers. One of the studies put a question to a group of Harvard students – they were asked if they would prefer to earn $50,000 when everyone else earned $20,000 or $100,000 when everyone else earned $200,000. They preferred the first – to earn less, provided it was more than others. • The wealth “treadmill”: This is the direct impact of those who base their happiness on materialism. A person may feel happiness at the acquisition of some wealth, but the feeling soon wears off. This urges man to acquire new wealth to regain the sense of happiness, then again and again. Observations found possessions had to be better each time to provide the same level of happiness. This clearly does not secure happiness and only places man in a perpetual race for wealth, only to find happiness evasive as he rides the “treadmill”. Whilst the above provide outward observations of happy and unhappy people, to holistically explain such observations or get to their root causes, it is increasingly clear that a set of ideas and values lie at the core of the problem; the priority given to material gain at the expense of all else, the pursuit of self-interest and the advent of individualism has all led to an increasingly selfish and materialistic society that distrusts itself. THE VIEW TOWARDS HAPPINESS IN THE WEST Economic growth has been the primary goal in Western societies since the early twentieth century. The single-minded focus on market efficiency has promoted the unashamed pursuit of self-interest and individualism. Indeed Adam Smith, who laid the foundations of much of current Capitalist thinking, originally suggested: “It is not the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves not to their humanity, but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities, but of their advantage”. There have however been recent calls to reinclude ‘happiness’ as a measure of society’s overall wellbeing. Even David Cameron briefly

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// flirted with the idea, proposing a General Wellbeing Index. But there is serious pressure from economists in these gloomy economic times not to stray away from growth as society’s primary focus. They fail to realise that the West is sitting on a ticking time bomb of mental and physical health issues brought on by stresses and anxieties of modern working life and economic pressures that may one day – and indeed already do – result in equally disastrous consequences for national budgets. But whilst some argue it’s time to re-balance society’s priorities and adopt happiness not growth as its success criteria, the question remains – what is happiness for the West? There is no agreed framework to answering that question in the West. People are left to define happiness for themselves. ISLAM AND HAPPINESS Professor Layard’s surveys suggested that one of the major causes of happiness was having a stable set of values and, more fundamentally, a purpose in life. Interestingly, this is where the Islamic position starts. In Islam, happiness is achieved first through settling the most fundamental questions about life, correctly: Where did I come from, what am I doing here and where am I going? The failure to satisfactorily answer these questions leads to man’s most fundamental anxiety, whilst answering them correctly satisfies the mind and provides tranquility in the heart, the foundations of any sustained contentment. The issue is not however left here –there are beliefs that specifically relate to happiness and preventing discontentment. Islamic culture is immensely rich with literature on this topic. Imam al-Ghazali dedicated a whole book to the topic: Qimiah as-Sa’adah – the Alchemy of Happiness. Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyah wrote on the topic of the “ways to happiness” in his book Al-Wabil al-Sayyib min al-Kalim al Tayyib – the Invocation of God. If one believes in Islam, but doesn’t understand these specific ideas, their dayto-day lives may be left to follow western attitudes and therefore make them just as susceptible to the anxieties, stresses and worries that plague so many in the West. Indeed, perhaps we sense that Muslims can sometimes hold the same worries over the same issues as those who are immersed in the western way of life. Some of the many specific beliefs are summarised as follows. (1) Pleasure vs happiness Pleasure – as opposed to happiness - is merely the excitement of the senses, which results in

feelings of enjoyment. This pleasure ceases when the sensory excitation diminishes. Those who believe this is happiness are constantly in need of stimulation - eating, drinking, doing, seeing, listening, because without it there is no pleasure. This is clearly temporary and does not explain how people can feel hardship and physical pain yet not feel unhappy, like the Sahaba (RA)) during battle and during the difficulties in Makkah. The Prophet (SAW) never saw his father, lost his mother at an early age, then his grandfather, uncle, wife and then six of his seven children. Such severe personal tragedy did not lead at all to the consequences such a life would in the modern West. (2) Al-Qadaawal-Qadr It is key for Muslims to understand that there are many things in life one cannot control. In the sphere of life in which we do not control things – such as when things happen to us or on us that we cannot control - we believe the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ is from Allah (SWT). This has the effect of reducing the things man worries about. One does not concern himself with what is not in his control, with what happened to him, what may happen to him, why things are the way they are, why they are not as wealthy as others and the like because these are not in their control. The Prophet (SAW) advised us: “Do not say: ‘If I had taken this step or that step, it would have resulted in such and such’, but say only: ‘Allah so determined and did as He willed. The word ‘if ’ opens the gates of satanic thoughts.” [Muslim] Those bereft of this idea are also characterised by dwelling over the past - opportunities missed or lost as these thoughts eat away at their mental capacity. (3) Contextualising wealth and status Given the influence of western materialism, beliefs related to wealth are particularly important in our current age. It is clear that a lot of the findings related to unhappiness highlighted in this article are wealth-related. Whilst some simplistically conclude this points to an inherent evil characteristic of wealth itself, Muslims believe in no such material-spirit dichotomy. The issue is about the attitudes one takes to towards wealth, not possession of wealth itself. In Islam, there are many texts that relate to wealth, the foremost amongst which are related to our fundamental belief that Rizq (Provision) is from Allah (SWT). The Prophet (SAW) also gave much practical advice. He advised us: “Do not look to those above you. Look to those below you, as it will more likely remind you of the favours Allah has bestowed upon you” [Muslim]. Islam also warns against envy and

jealousy, both ideas that produce feelings of considerable discontentment with one’s own state, as one fails to count their blessings simply because they feel deprived of things others have. The Prophet (SAW) warned: “"Beware of jealousy, for verily it destroys good deeds the way fire destroys wood." [Abu Dawood] (4) Do not become attached to the life of this world But more importantly, if one were to understand and contemplate their goal in life, they would soon realise that there is no time to become engrossed or too attached to the life of this world. That clearly doesn’t mean we become monastics, but that our hearts are not attached and therefore not too troubled if things don’t go well, badly, unexpectedly, if we suffer gain or loss. Most Islamic literature on this topic starts with this as its opening gambit. All too often, people forget their stay here is temporary, take events too seriously and worry too much over stuff that just does not matter in the long run. To this end the Prophet (SAW) advises us: “Be in this life as a stranger, or a passer-by!”. CONCLUSIONS Perhaps, beyond the statistics, we anecdotally sense the “happiness” problem all around us. People long to exit the rat race, to be liberated from their mundane jobs and lives, to give life greater purpose, to achieve their potential and to be rid of their financial burdens. But their ideas don’t let them, and place them in a trap, in a prison that makes them fearful of the future, anxious over things they can never do anything about and paralysed to act. The West is bereft of a way to fix this problem - the plurality of moral codes prevalent in society obstructs agreement on a way forward. People are trying to fill the moral and ethical void created by the rejection of religion in the West, but they have been unable to find an alternative that sticks - as a result some have peculiarly called for the return of religion in this space, even if it were without God, like in Alain De Boton’s book “Religion for Atheists”. But more importantly, in a capitalist system economic targets will always trump, and so a more balanced measure of society’s wellbeing will continue to remain elusive. It is perhaps for Muslims then, not only to holistically embrace the Islamic way of life and avoid the pitfalls of pursuing a liberal Capitalist life, but to project and present their values to those around them, in the hope others too are led to a path that liberates them from the shackles of misery and discontentment.

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TAFSIR ALLAH NEVER CHANGES A PEOPLE’S STATE UNTIL THEY CHANGE WHAT IS IN THEMSELVES [TMQ AR-RA'D: 11] /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

This verse cannot be understood correctly without the meaning of ƢƦǳ¦ (baa) in

¿ÇȂÌ ǬÈÊƥ (bi-qawmin) and ǶÌ ȀÊ ǈÊ ǨÉ ºÌǻÈƘÊƥ (bi-anfusahim - plural of al-nafs, meaning themselves or the self) and also the meaning of

¿Ȃǫ (qawm) and ƢǷ (maa). The Ƣƥ baa (with) is used to mean accompanying, as if the Legislator considers that the change of what is in the qawm is accompanied by or goes together with the necessary change in al-nafs. The ¿Ȃǫ qawm (people) means the individuals and it also means the group (society). In the qawm section of the dictionary Al-Qamoos alMuheet it states ‘a group of both men and women, or men (specifically), or women are included on the basis of being subordinate to the men’; so this includes individuals and also includes

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the society. You say ¿ȂǬǳ¦

ƢƳ

(the people came) and you mean the three men. So, qawm, means the society, referring to the above explanation as stated in the dictionary and also in accordance with the traditional usage: you say:

¿Ȃǫ Ǌȇǂǫ (Quraish are a people) and you mean by that the Quraishi society. The ƢǷ maa (what) is from the words of generality, so the generality here refers to the change of anything in the people with all the necessary change in al-nafs. This is the reality of the verse from the linguistic perspective, i.e. “Truthfully, Allah is not going to change anything in the individual or the community until they change all that is necessary in al-nafs”. As for the reality of the verse from the intellectual

perspective, it is that change occurs either in thought or in action. The change in the other aspects of people, like their behaviour or their situation, such as victory or defeat, is due to the thought and action, because thought or action are the origin and the remaining matters are branches from the origin. If we understood that, then what is necessary to change in al-nafs becomes apparent; it is the concepts. This is because it is the concepts that affect thought and action and direct the thought and the action. As for the concepts that direct the thought and affect it, it is because the concepts are the meanings of ideas; i.e. they are perceived meanings having a reality in the mind, because ideas are judgements upon realities, and these meanings for the one who senses them and believes in them will be concepts for him. Undoubtedly, what the human believes in and has a

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// sensed reality in his mind, directs his thinking. As for the concepts that direct the actions and affects them, then it is because the actions are the fruits of the concepts. The basic principle in relation to concepts is that they produce action. The concepts of a person about another whom he loves, has appreciation for and respects, will direct his actions towards him according to this concept about him. Now the reality of the verse has become understood: “Truthfully, Allah is not going to change anything in the individual or the community until they change what is necessary from the concepts”. Now, we cite examples of change in an individual and change in the situation of a society. The first example: If I do not pursue the current political news that takes place in the world, this may be due to what is in myself and in my mind that this collective obligation (Fard al-kifayah) is not an individual duty (Fard al-ayn). When changing this situation it is necessary to change the necessary concepts. We say that weighing up is not allowed with the collective and individual obligations, because weighing up occurs

only when they are in conflict from all sides. Also, among the collective obligations are what are great obligations on the ummah, like the Khilafah and Jihad. This is on the one hand. On the other hand, it is essential to recognise the importance of following the political events and actions that take place in the world. It must be understood that the lack of political awareness destroyed nations and the presence of political awareness raised others, making them live a blessed, well off life. In other words, it is essential to be aware that political awareness is an extremely important issue. Therefore, changing the situation of the individual necessitates changing what is in himself. The second example: The land where Muslims live now is dar al-kufr, because the rules of definite origin and definite meaning, such as those related to adultery, usury, prayer and jihad, are not implemented. When converting this land to dar alIslam, the group studies the necessary change in concepts to transform society into dar al-Islam. It examines the reality of the dar, the reality of society and its components that give it its colour. If the importance of the thoughts, the feelings and the systems becomes clear, then it focuses on the concepts related to them to

change it, until these concepts become a reality, felt and applied and believed in, so the dar becomes dar alIslam and the society an Islamic society. Therefore, the change from one situation to another, whether the change of an individual or a community, needs change in the concepts in the souls (al-nufoos) that control the behaviour and then the change occurs with the new concepts. Allah Almighty said the truth:

¦ÂǂÉºďȈÈǤÉºȇ ŕċ ƷÈ ¿ÇȂÌ ǬÈÊƥ ƢǷÈ ǂÉºďȈÈǤÉºȇ ȏÈ ÈǾċǴǳ¦ Àċ Ê¤ ǶÌ ȀÊ ǈÊ ǨÉ ºÌǻÈƘÊƥ ƢǷÈ Allah never changes a people’s state until they change what is in themselves [Ar-Ra'd: 11] Rasool Allah (SAW) is reported to have said:

Ê ȇ ǺÌ ǷÊ ǶÉ ǷÉÈ ȋ¦Ì ǶÌ ǰÉ ȈÌÈǴǟÈ Ȅǟ¦ É ǋȂ È ƾÈ Èƫ ÀÌ È¢ Ǯ É ȄÈǴǟÈ ÉƨÈǴǯÈ Èȋ¦Ì Ȅǟ¦ È ƾÈ Èƫ ƢǸÈ ǯÈ ǪÇ ÉǧÉ¢ ǲď ǯÉ ǺÌ ǷÈÊ ¢ ǾÊ ċǴǳ¦ ¾Ȃ È ǇÉ °È ƢÈȇ ƢÈǼǴÌ ºÉǫ ¾ƢÈ Èǫ ƢȀÈ ÊƬǠÈ ǐ Ì Èǫ ÇÊ Ê Ç Ê Ê ÇÊ ÆŚưǯÈ ǀƠǷÈȂÌ ºÈȇ ǶÌ ÉƬºÌǻÈ¢ ¾ƢÈ Èǫ ǀƠǷÈȂÌ ºÈȇ ƢÈǼƥ ƨċǴǫ ǲÊ ȈÌǈċ ǳ¦ ƢÊ ÈưÉǤǯÈ Å ƢÈưÉǣ ÀÈ ȂÉǻȂǰÉ Èƫ ǺÌ ǰÊ ÈǳÂÈ Ê ÉǴºÉǫ ǺǷÊ ÈƨƥƢȀǸÌǳ¦ É¸ǄÊ ÈƬǼÌºȇ ǶÌ ǯÉÂď ƾÉ ǟÈ §Ȃ Ì È ÈÈ È ƢÈǼǴÌ ºÉǫ ¾ƢÈ Èǫ ǺÈ ǿÌȂÈ Ìǳ¦ ǶÌ ǰÉ ÊƥȂÉǴºÉǫ ĿÊ ǲÉ ǠÈ ŸÌÈÂÈ Ì Ƥ Č ƷÉ ¾ƢÈ Èǫ ǺÉ ǿÌȂÈ Ìǳ¦ ƢǷÈÂÈ ÉƨÈȈǿ¦Ê ǂÈǯÈÂÈ ¨ƢÊ ÈȈÈū¦ ©Ê ȂÌ ǸÈ Ìǳ¦ www.khilafah.eu

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"The People will soon summon one another to attack you from every place in the same way that a pack calls around its prey" Someone asked, "Will that be because of our small numbers at that time?" He replied, "No, you will be numerous at that time: but you will be froth like that carried down by a torrent (of water), and Allah will take the fear of you from the breasts (hearts) of your enemy and cast al-wahn into your hearts." Someone asked, "O Messenger of Allah, what is al-wahn?" He replied, "Love of the world and dislike of death." The Ummah today feels the oppression and dominance of kufr today like never before. All the world’s nations are focused on the Muslim Ummah to take her resources and to make her subservient to their designs. The Muslims hate this situation that they are in, so they ask Allah (SWT) to change their condition and send to them a leader who will take them out of their misery, establish Islam again and bring honour to Islam and the Muslims. Yet, will such a saviour descend from the sky? No, he will not, as the arrival of such a person is conditional upon the work to change the situation and upon iman.

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The rulers today are a great balaa’ (trial) and the cause of this humiliating situation, yet that does not mean that the Ummah does not have a responsibility too. It is not allowed for the Muslims to be silent over this balaa’, and nor is it allowed to fear the rulers instead of fearing Allah (SWT), for it is not from iman to fear them more than Allah (SWT). Allah (SWT) says:

ÊÊ Ê ś È ǼǷƚÌ ǷÉ ǶÌ ÉƬǼÌǯÉ ÀÌ Ê¤ ÀȂÉǧƢƻÈ ÂÈ ǶÌ ǿȂ É ÉǧƢÈţÈ ȐÈ Èǧ But do not fear them – fear Me if you are muminun. [Aal-i-Imraan: 175] The matter is linked to iman – “you are muminun”. Then iman that weakens and weakens until it becomes for many froth like that carried down by a torrent of water, so that al-wahn takes its place. Love of the world and its pleasures, even if it angers Allah (SWT) and a fear of death and al- balaa’ even if it came while in the way of Allah (SWT), both lead to cowardliness, inability, humiliation and suffering. Allah (SWT) said:

¦ÂǂÉºďȈÈǤÉºȇ ŕċ ƷÈ ¿ÇȂÌ ǬÈÊƥ ƢǷÈ ǂÉºďȈÈǤÉºȇ ȏÈ ÈǾċǴǳ¦ Àċ Ê¤ ǶÌ ȀÊ ǈÊ ǨÉ ºÌǻÈƘÊƥ ƢǷÈ Allah never changes a people’s state until they change what is in themselves [Ar-Ra'd: 11]

But many fall into error when they misunderstand this ayah and limit ǶÌ ȀÊ ǈÊ ǨÉ ºÌǻÈƘÊƥ

ƢǷÈ ¦ÂǂÉºďȈÈǤÉºȇ

“change what is in themselves” to some of the rules of worship, gaining knowledge or only some of the personal shariah rules. The meaning of

ƢǷÈ ¦ÂǂÉºďȈÈǤÉºȇ

ǶÌ ȀÊ ǈÊ ǨÉ ºÌǻÈƘÊƥ “change what is in themselves” is to adhere to all that Allah (SWT) ordered and to abstain from all that Allah (SWT) forbade; not only some of it. The change that Allah (SWT) ordered includes all actions until the word of Allah (SWT) is highest and the word of the disbelievers is made low. No Islamic rule is a replacement for any other rule. Performing as-Salah does not replace paying azZakah, for example, and nor can the reading of the Qur’an replace any of the other good actions. Similarly, practising any of these rules will not become a replacement for carrying the dawah to remove the munkar, at the head of which are the rulers, or for the establishment of the Khilafah and the ruling by what Allah (SWT) revealed. The text of the ayah

ƢǷÈ ¦ÂǂÉºďȈÈǤÉºȇ

ǶÌ ȀÊ ǈÊ ǨÉ ºÌǻÈƘÊƥ “change what is in themselves” uses ƢǷ maa

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (what) from the words of generality and so it is not correct to restrict the application of the text to some of its individual components without a shariah evidence, i.e. it is not correct to specify (takhsees) some of what is included in the general expression, without a mukhassis (specifying text). Hence, if they were not able to change the munkar of the rulers presently and immediately, then they must work seriously to get the ability to do that to bring about the change. The text says:

ƢǷÈ ¦ÂǂÉºďȈÈǤÉºȇ ŕċ ƷÈ

ǶÌ ȀÊ ǈÊ ǨÉ ºÌǻÈƘÊƥ “until they change”, while change happens directly and presently, so the change may require some planning and work, gathering of efforts, and some patience and carrying affliction. But, it is not allowed to be silent over the munkar and leaving the work to change it, let alone being pleased with it, as this is then leaving iman. Rasool Allah (SAW) is reported to have said:

(by speaking against it), and if he is unable to do so then he should reject it in his heart - and this is the weakest of Iman” The misunderstanding of ‘change´ leads to abandoning the work for it and in particular leaving the actions that actually bring about change, and after that there is no benefit in the duaa of those who are sitting. Rasool Allah (SAW) is reported to have said:

ǂǰǼŭ¦ Ǻǟ ÀȂȀǼƬǳÂ »ÂǂǠŭƢƥ ÀǂǷƘƬǳ Ƕǯ°¦ǂǋ¢ ǶǰȈǴǟ ƅ¦ ǺǘǴǈȈǳ Â¢ Ȃǟƾȇ Ľ §¦ǀǠǳ¦ ȂǇ ǶǰǻȂǷȂǈȈǧ ÀǂǷƘƬǳ ǶŮ §ƢƴƬǈȇ Ȑǧ Ƕǯ°ƢȈƻ Â¢ ǂǰǼŭ¦ Ǻǟ ÀȂȀǼƬǳÂ »ÂǂǠŭƢƥ ǶƷǂȇ ȏ ǺǷ ǶǰȈǴǟ ƅ¦ ǺưǠƦȈǳ ǶǯŚƦǯ ǂǫȂȇ ȏÂ ǶǯŚǤǏ “You must enjoin the good, and you must forbid the evil, or Allah will make sovereign over you the worst of you, who will afflict you with the worst of punishment, then the best of you will make Du'a and it will not be answered.”

ǽÊ ƾÊ ÈȈÊƥ ÉǽǂÌ ºďȈÈǤºÉȈǴÌ ºÈǧ ¦ǂÅǰÈ ǼÌǷÉ ǶÌ ǰÉ ǼÌǷÊ ÃÈ¢°È ǺÌ ǷÈ ÊÊ Ê Ê ÌŃÈ ÀÌ ƜÊÈǧ ǾǻƢǈÈ ǴÊƦÈǧ ǞÌ ǘÈƬǈÌ Èȇ ÌŃÈ ÀÌ ƜÊÈǧ Ê Ê ÈŻȍÊ ¦ ǦǠǓÈ ÀƢ È ǳ¯È ÂÈ ǾÊ ÊƦǴÌ ǬÈ ÊƦÈǧ ǞÌ ǘÊ ÈƬǈÌ Èȇ É ÈÌ ¢ Ǯ “Whoever from amongst you sees an evil should change it by his hand, if he is unable to do so then he should change it by his tongue www.khilafah.eu

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Part 1: How can the Ulema make statements that appear to contradict with Islam? /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

efore anything else we must remember the words of Rasool Allah (SAW)

ǲƴȇ Ë Ƕǳ ǺǷ ȆƬǷ¢ ǺǷ ǆȈǳ» »ǂǠȇÂ ƢǻǂȈǤǏ ǶƷǂȇÂ ƢǻǂȈƦǯ .«ǾǬƷ ƢǼǸǳƢǠǳ

“He is not from my Ummah who does not acknowledge the honour due to our elders, who shows no mercy to our younger ones and nor recognises the right of our scholar.” The purpose of this article is not to question the sincerity of any individual, as Muslims must always assume the best of each other.

ÀÈ ȂÉǼǷÊƚÌ ǸÉ Ìǳ¦ Ǻċ ÈǛ ÉǽȂǸÉ ÉƬǠÌ ũÊÈ ¯Ì Ê¤ ÈȏȂÌ Èǳ Ê ¦ǂÅºȈÌƻÈ ǶÌ ȀÊ ǈÊ ǨÉ ǻÈƘÊƥ ©Ƣ É ÈǼǷƚÌ ǸÉ Ìǳ¦ÂÈ “Why then, did not the believers, men and women, when you heard it (the slander) think good of their own people.” [an-Noor: 12] Rather, the purpose of the article is to raise a question that occurs to many Muslims who see the ulema make statements that appear to so completely contradict with Islam – how can they get it so wrong while they live their lives reading the book of Allah (SWT) and the sunnah of His Messenger (SAW)?

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To begin with, we must acknowledge that the intellectual decline that afflicts this Ummah today has its roots reaching as far back as the second hijri century of Islam. After the period of the tabi’tabi’een, as was promised by Rasool Allah (SAW), began a period of misinformation and confusion about the deen, as the role of the mind became unclear and the knowledge of the Arabic language became weaker among the Muslims. This lead to the emergence of different groups that debated the Islamic aqeedah in ways that was unheard of among the Ahl as-Sunnah. Had the limited role that Allah (SWT) gave to our minds been understood and adhered to, such debates could never have happened, yet they did happen and became a focus of many learned men, from the Mu’tazilah to Ahl as-Sunnah. Over time Ahl as-Sunnah came to dominate, although the rationalising approach of the Mu’tazilah had left its mark. The ulema preserved the Arabic language and Islamic scripts diligently, expanded upon the codification of its principles and laws and passed it all onto the later generations, such that it reaches us here today. With the closing of the doors of ijtihad in the fifth hijri century, the scholarly work became a highly academic discipline, as the masses of Muslims disengaged from depth in the Islamic sciences of fiqh, usul and Arabic. A scholarly class of ulema engaging in academic discourse about Islam emerged alongside a general population of less learned Muslims. The ulema guided and preached to the general population and its rulers, although

they were not always listened to. The pragmatic approach to life and politics came to be the norm for most people, while the academic ulema appeared increasingly out of touch with life’s affairs. The decline that began over twelve centuries ago reached its deepest depth around the beginning of the twentieth century of the Gregorian calendar. There had long been ulema who were too close to the rulers, giving legal opinions to suit the ambitions of a particular amir; many of the great ulema’s books contain warnings about such ulema assultah, which shows us that there was an opposing force ready to account and check such excesses. By the beginning of the twentieth century however, the whole Ummah, including its ulema, had become confused by the great material advances of the disbelieving Western nations, such that it became common to hear learned men proposing Western solutions to the economic, societal and political problems. Despite their complete contradiction with Islamic solutions, many of the ulema began to find justifications for such solutions from their reading of the Islamic texts, whether older scholarly opinions, or from the Quran and sunnah itself. The rationalising approach of these modernist scholars had much in common with the ancient Mu’tazili approach, although they were not considered Mu’tazilah. The major characteristic of this approach is that clear Islamic rules and solutions are able to find themselves suspended or abandoned in

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// favour of a perceived more fundamental value, as understood in the mind of the scholar. The challenge of the Western nations was mostly in the field of politics, foreign policy and economics, so this is where most of the unIslamic solutions were adopted, leaving the personal rulings and worships more-or-less untampered with. The general masses of Muslims were by now completely unaccustomed to questioning the ulema’s statements, so the situation spiralled until today, where the scholarly clerical class are mostly completely out of touch with the political and economic affairs of the world, only providing rationalised justifications for foreign solutions, regardless of their contradiction to the Islamic texts or not. It is important to understand after this brief summary of the decline of the Ummah’s thought, that the decline did not only affect the general masses of the Ummah, but her ulema as well. But, Alhamdulillah, He (SWT) who did not make for His (SWT) deen religious scholars who permit and prohibit, yet are not accounted. Rather, He (SWT) made for His (SWT) deen learned men who know what is permitted and what is prohibited, who know the truth, yet the truth is not known through them. The truth is independent of the ulema, so we take from them if it is the truth, but we reject from them if it was false. Alhamdulillah, He (SWT) who commanded us to reject those who differ with His (SWT) deen and His (SWT) rules, whether they be scholars or rulers. The Messenger of Allah (SAW) is reported to have said:

:ƨƯȐƯ ǶǰȈǴǟ »Ƣƻ¢ ƢǷ »Ȃƻ¢ À¤ ǾǼǷ ƞǘƼȇ ȏ À¡ǂǬǳ¦ ¢ǂǬȇ ǪǧƢǼǷ Ǿǻ¢ ²ƢǼǳ¦ ¾®Ƣƴȇ ÅƢǨǳ¢ ȏÂ Å¦Â¦Â ÃƾȀǳ¦ Ǻǟ ǶȀǴǔȈǳ ǶȀǼǷ ǶǴǟ¢ ÀȂǴǔǷ ƨǸƟ¢Â ǶǳƢǟ ƨǳ±Â “What I fear most for you are three: a hypocrite who reads the Quran does not make mistakes with even a wow or an alif, arguing with the people that he knows more than them to deceive them away from guidance; the mistakes of the scholar, and misguiding imams” After considering our intellectual decline it is

not surprising that ordinary Muslims are sometimes more aware of the deen than many of the ulema, who have become accustomed to rationalising the Islamic rulings according to what their own minds find more suitable. While ordinary Muslims feel the problems of life and are increasingly affected by the dawah of groups that call to a revival and better way of life for Muslims. Nowadays many Muslims have tired of the indignity of lives dominated by Western colonialism and noticed the contradiction between this and what is in the Quran of calling them the best Ummah, their superiority and them being witnesses over mankind:

Ç Ê ǼǴÊǳ ƪ ²Ƣċ Ì ƳÈ ǂÊ ƻÉ Ì ¢ ƨǷċÉ¢ ǂÈºȈÌƻÈ ǶÌ ÉƬǼÌǯÉ Ê ǂǠǸÌǳƢÊƥ ÀÈ ÂǂǷÌƘÈƫ ǺÊ ǟÈ ÀÈ ȂÌ ȀÈ ºǼÌºÈƫÂÈ »Â ÉÌ È ÉÉ ÊǾċǴǳƢÊƥ ÀÈ ȂÉǼǷÊƚÌ ºÉƫÂ ǂÊ ǰÈ ǼÌǸÌǳ¦ È É “You are the best Ummah ever to be produced before mankind. You enjoin the right, forbid the wrong and have iman in Allah.” [Al-Imran: 110]

ǶÉ ÉƬºÌǻÈ¢ÂÈ ¦ȂÉǻǄÈŢÌÈ ȏÈÂÈ ¦ȂÉǼÊēÈ ȏÈÂÈ ÊÊ ś Ì ȋ¦Ì È ǼǷƚÌ ǷÉ ǶÌ ÉƬǼÌǯÉ ÀÌ Ê¤ ÀÈ ȂÌ ÈǴǟÈ “Do not give up and do not be downhearted. You shall be uppermost if you are muminun.” [Al-Imran: 139]

ǶÌ ǰÉ ȈÌÈǴǟÈ ¦ƾȈÅ ȀÊ ǋÈ ¾Ȃ É ǇÉ ǂċǳ¦ ÀÈ ȂǰÉ ÈȈÊǳ Ê Ǽǳ¦ ȄÈǴǟÈ È ¦ƾÈ ȀÈ ǋÉ ¦ȂÉǻȂǰÉ ÈƫÂÈ ²Ƣċ “so that the Messenger could be witness against you and you could be witnesses against all mankind.” [AlHajj: 78] They came to know that the great ulema of the past encouraged the Muslims to stand with the truth in opposition to falsehood and of the duty to have one Khaleefah, and they now see that this is actually within their grasp. They are becoming aware of the contradiction between the current societies in Muslim lands and the society of the Islamic State, as established by Rasool Allah (SAW), so many of them have started to work earnestly for change and revival. They understood that change must come from themselves, as it is not enough to passively wait for change to be bestowed upon them:

ŕċ ƷÈ ¿ÇȂÌ ǬÈÊƥ ƢǷÈ ǂÉ ºďȈÈǤÉºȇ ȏÈ ÈǾċǴǳ¦ Àċ Ê¤ ǶÌ ȀÊ ǈÊ ǨÉ ºÌǻÈƘÊƥ ƢǷÈ ¦ÂǂÉ ºďȈÈǤÉºȇ “Allah never changes a people’s state until they change what is in themselves.” [Ar-Ra'd: 11] Yet, the paths taken to achieve that goal are numerous, and are often not based upon a clear understanding of the reality, the Quran and the sunnah. Many are vaguely defined activities, focusing on good actions, but with no clear route to societal change. Others are more specifically related to political change, but still suffering from vagueness about the form of the change required. Amongst this confusion lie many mistakes, which the ordinary Muslims of this Ummah are being made aware of; even becoming victims of. In this atmosphere, the ulema class are struggling to remain relevant, as their learning has mostly been academic and not related to practical solutions to such momentous change. Moreover, their role has largely been to pragmatically ignore, or even to rationalise and justify, the secular solutions to life’s affairs implemented by the political classes and foreign agents. If such ulema are confused, it is understandable, given their background and learning. The pious among them would often elect to remain silent, as they are aware of their limited understanding and so do not wish to be among the ulema who misguide, after knowing the advice of Rasool Allah (SAW):

ǂƻȉ¦ ¿ȂȈǳ¦Â ƅƢƥ ǺǷƚȇ ÀƢǯ ǺǷ» «ƪǸǐȈǳ Â¢ Å¦ǂȈƻ ǲǬȈǴǧ “Whosoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, then let him speak good or remain silent.” Sadly however, some ulema have started to make statements about the work for change which actually prevents the productive work, if they are listened to. These statements have a pseudo-Islamicness about them, as they appear to focus on higher Islamic goals. For the one who already adopts the modernist rationalising mentality such statements will appear justified. For the majority of Muslims who are becoming more aware of the unique Islamic way of thinking, such statements appear alien. We heard scholars, for example, discouraging

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/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Ê É ÈƬǬÊ Ìǳ¦ ǶÉ ǰÉ ȈÌÈǴǟÈ Ƥ ÆǽǂÌ ǯÉ ȂÈ ǿÉÂÈ ¾Ƣ È ƬǯÉ ƢÅƠȈÌǋÈ ¦ȂǿÉǂÌÈǰÈƫ ÀÌ È¢ ȄǈÈ ǟÈ ÂÈ ǶÌ ǰÉ Èǳ ¦ȂČƦŢÊÉ ÀÌ È¢ ȄǈÈ ǟÈ ÂÈ ǶÌ ǰÉ Èǳ ǂÆºȈÌƻÈ ȂÈ ǿÉÂÈ ǶÉ ÈǴǠÌ ºÈȇ ÉǾċǴǳ¦ÂÈ ǶÌ ǰÉ Èǳ ǂĎǋÈ ȂÈ ǿÉÂÈ ƢÅƠȈÌǋÈ ÀÈ ȂǸÉ ÈǴǠÌ ºÈƫ ȏÈ ǶÌ ÉƬºÌǻÈ¢ÂÈ “Fighting is prescribed for you even if it is hateful to you. It may be that you hate something when it is good for you and it may be that you love something when it is bad for you. Allah knows and you do not know.” [AlBaqara: 216]

“WHOSOEVER BELIEVES IN ALLAH AND THE LAST DAY, THEN LET HIM SPEAK GOOD OR REMAIN SILENT.” /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// resisting the American and British invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan; justifying peace negotiations with Israel; and even some bold enough to suggest that accepting the oppression of the murderous General Sisi and Bashar al-Asad is better for the Muslims than rebellion against them.

mistaken. It should be remembered that Rasool Allah (SAW), as the example to be followed, did not speak of his own desires

The deep routed rationalisation approach is part of the scholars’ personality, which needs reforming on an Islamic basis. This is not easy for anyone, let alone a learned scholar who is advanced in years and who already assumes his vast knowledge of Islamic scholarly works equates to him having an Islamic personality. Yet the warning of Rasool Allah (SAW) about the corrupt scholars should be enough for us to dispel the myth that knowledge and understanding are the same, or that knowledge alone guarantees that a scholar will always be referring to Islam:

So it is not farfetched to expect every learned man, let alone every Muslim, to re-examine all of his statements and thoughts, to ensure that they too are not influenced by desires, justifications and corrupted foreign thoughts. As stated before, the intentions of the ulema should not be questioned, only the reality of the statements and the way of thinking that produced them.

¾ƢǬǧ ²ƢǼǳ¦ ǂǋ Ǻǟ ǾċǴǳ¦ ¾ȂǇ° ǲƠǇ «¦Âƾǈǧ ¦¯¤ ƢǸǴǠǳ¦» Rasool Allah (SAW) was asked about the worst of people, so He said “The ulema, if they are corrupted.” Corruption could be wilful, such that the intention itself is corrupted, or it could be

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ÃȂÈÈŮÌ ¦ ǺÊ ǟÈ ǪÉ ǘÊ ǼÌºÈȇ ƢǷÈÂÈ “Nor does he speak from whim.” [An-Najm: 3]

The Western way of thinking is primarily based upon following desires and benefits. Sometimes they are justified with vague moral principles to make them more palatable and less self-centred. This approach is not in contradiction with the Western secular aqeedah, rather it is born out of it. However, it is in contradiction to the Islamic aqeedah, which does not make the perceived benefits the criteria for actions. That is not to say that Islam is not beneficial to the people, rather it is, but the perceived benefits are not the Islamic criteria for deciding whether an action is good or bad. This is made explicitly clear when Allah (SWT) says:

What is important for a Muslim when deciding what to do is whether Allah (SWT) is pleased or angry with an action. Ulema of the past have written that Islam is beneficial for the people, some have even stated that every shariah rule achieves a benefit for the Muslim, or repels a harm, whether material or spiritual. Yet, there is a big difference between making this observation of the practical effect that shariah rules have on life, and considering that benefits are the criteria of right and wrong, identified by the mind alone, i.e. saying “wherever you see a shariah rule you will find a benefit” is not the same as saying “wherever you find a benefit you will see a shariah rule.” Today with the ideological battle between Islam and the Western secular ideology in full motion, ordinary Muslims need to be very cautious of un-Islamic ideas and values being given an pseudo-Islamic justification. The fundamentals of the ideology of Islam need to be understood by all Muslims, so that they can openly challenge anyone who speaks to undermine them, whether scholar or not.

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What can Muslims in the West do to help the work for re-establishing the Khilafah? THE MUSLIM UMMAH TODAY IS GOING THROUGH UNSPEAKABLE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS. ALL ACROSS THE MUSLIM WORLD THERE IS SUFFERING – FROM THE VICIOUS WAR IN SYRIA, TO THE CHAOS IN EGYPT, IRAQ, YEMEN, PAKISTAN AND BANGLADESH – THE MUSLIM UMMAH IS GOING THROUGH ONE OF ITS WORST PERIODS IN ITS 1400 YEAR HISTORY. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

he Muslim Ummah today is going through unspeakable trials and tribulations. All across the Muslim world there is suffering – from the vicious war in Syria, to the chaos in Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, Pakistan and Bangladesh – the Muslim Ummah is going through one of its worst periods in its 1400 year history. All of us feel the pain and anguish in our hearts seeing our brothers and sisters suffering across the world. Sometimes this pain leads to frustration – how will this situation change? When will the victory of Islam come? When will the Muslim Ummah be united and become strong and face her enemies? No doubt the Muslim Ummah has been through many trials and tribulations before and has managed to overcome those and become the leading nation amongst nations. What pain and anguish we suffer today is little compared to that suffered by Muslims who lived through the fitnah that engulfed the Ummah after the Khulafah Rashida or the occupation of Palestine by the Crusaders prior to the emergence of Salahuddin Ayubi. A time will surely come when this Ummah will have overcome her problems and once again reassert her true role as a leading light for mankind.

In the midst of these trials and tribulations, we know that Muslims in their millions across the Ummah are realising that the only solution to her problems lies in re-establishing Islam as a complete Deen. Millions are leaving nationalism, secularism and capitalism and embracing the call for the Khilafah. Across the Middle East, in Tunisia, Syria, Egypt, Yemen more and more are calling for Islam post the Arab Uprisings. In Central Asia, the former Soviet Republics, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia, millions are rallying behind the call for Islamic change. These are no doubt signs that real change is taking place in the Ummah and it shows the inevitable Islamic change that is coming to the Muslim world. Whatever measures the rulers and their patrons take in our countries in terms of arrests, torture and murder of the dawah carriers, these do nothing more than fuel the passion for the call for Khilafah. This inevitable change is now a global phenomenon that is happening by the Will of Allah (SWT). The Western powers are plotting and planning how to stem this tide. One of the major arms of their policy to combat this call is to create a negative propaganda against political Islam. By demonising Islam globally they acquire the political capital to keep rulers

like Bashar Assad and King Abdullah in power. This demonising agenda is all too familiar for Muslims living in the West. Terrorism, Islamism, radicalism etc are all terms to vilify political Islam or in other words the call for reestablishing the Islamic Khilafah. Unfortunately, some Muslims in their extreme naivety have undertaken violent actions that are haram in Islam, killing innocent civilians. This has played very well for Western governments who have used these events to justify their intense propaganda and oppressive anti-terror laws to curb the work for Islam. The world we live in today is a globalised world. Events taking place in Bangladesh, in Syria, Egypt are talked about all over the global news media. As the intensity of the work for Khilafah increases there, so does the Western government’s policies and propaganda against Islam here in the West. Muslims living in the West cannot be detached from the events taking place in the Muslim world. The propaganda against Islam is and will no doubt continue to affect the Muslims in the West. It is therefore important for Muslims here to think, in the light of these global events, how we should live here and what we should be doing. This issue has become a vital issue for Muslim communities living in the West.

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////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// What the Western governments are trying to do here is to create a global narrative against political Islam and hence Khilafah. They want to create a public opinion against Islam so that the movement for Islamic change in the Muslim world is stemmed. They intend by creating fear and negativity about political Islam that people will be turned away from Islam as a real alternative to the ongoing political crises in the Muslim world. Ideas such as Khilafah, Shariah, hudood, Islamic views on women and marriage are constantly vilified so that people do not look towards Islam for change. The Muslim populations in the West are seen as the front line in the propaganda war against Islam. Several think tanks and policy makers talk about how the Muslim communities in the West need to be integrated into the secular way of life. If the Muslim populations in their own countries cannot be won over, what chances do they have of winning Muslims in the Muslim world? Western governments need prominent Muslim personalities in the West to drive the change for secularism in the Muslim world. In this way the Muslim communities in the West become key targets in the battle for Islam globally. Over the last few years, we are therefore seeing increasing pressure on Muslim communities to conform to Western values and standards. What we are seeing in the West is an increasing attack not just on the political aspects of Islam but on the whole Deen of Islam. Attacks on the personality of the Prophet (SAW), attacks on the Qur’an,

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hudood, niqab and hijab, segregation etc etc. These attacks reveal the nature of the attack. Western governments see Islam from its Aqeeda to its systems of life as something alien to Western secular values and systems. Western secularism is built upon man’s freedom to do as he pleases in both his individual life and political life. Political life is organised through the system of democracy where man legislates for himself what he considers right and wrong at any given time. This determines their philosophy about life. They see Islam in conflict with their philosophy of life and hence the need to attack and undermine it. Islam considers that the truth is that there is one Creator Allah (SWT). Islam considers Muhammad (SAW) as the final Messenger and the Qur’an as the final Guidance. Islam forbids extra marital relationships, free mixing and homosexuality. Islam considers Allah (SWT) the Legislator and man the implementer of Allah’s laws. Islam considers Allah (SWT) Sovereign whereas democracy considers man as sovereign. In every aspect, Islam presents a way of life different and independent to that adopted by the West. As a result, the West, in the name of the war on terror, has launched a battle to undermine these Islamic concepts and values, to weaken them and to pressure Muslims to reshape their Deen in the light of secular concepts and values. Western governments also need to justify their policies of occupation and interference in the Muslim lands to their own populations. To do this they need to constantly feed their

populations negative stereotypes of Islam and maintain fear of Islam returning as a state in the Muslim world. What we see from the above is that the Muslim communities living in the West are at the centre of this battle today. As a result, Muslims living in the West play a vital role in this struggle to re-establish Islam in the world today. If Muslim communities are weak in the West and start to shape Islam in the light of secular Western values, this will aid the West in their struggle against Islam. On the other hand, if the Muslim communities are strong, and rather than being integrated, proactively carry the correct ideas of Islam to the people of the West, this will do a great deal to undermine the West’s plans against Islam. This is the critical juncture Muslims find themselves in the West today. We can continue living as passive ghettoised communities or we can raise our heads high and carry the Dawah for Islam to the people of the West, undermining the narrative against Islam. What Muslims must realise is that this battle between Islam and the West is an ideological battle. This means that the West has a problem with every idea of Islam from the Islamic Aqeeda, Islamic values, criteria’s, laws and systems of life. All of Islam stands in contradiction to Western secularism. Hence the battle is not simply that Muslims want an Islamic government for the Muslim world and the West another. The entire ideology that underpins the Islamic State needs to be undermined and weakened so that Muslims do not look towards an Islamic Khilafah state for

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////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// the Muslim world. This is the reason why over the last few years, creedal ideas of Islam and Islam’s social values have been attacked as extremist and a precursor for terror. Muslims need to be open minded so that attacking and ridiculing the personality of the Prophet (SAW) needs to be seen as freedom of speech. Segregation between the sexes is considered oppressive to women. Homosexuality needs to be accepted on the basis of freedom of the individual. Islam Shariah Laws are barbaric and medieval that need to be reformed. Democracy needs to be embraced to allow secular parties to co-exist with Islamic parties. These ideas are constantly being discussed from policy makers to popular TV and radio shows in the West. Many Muslims are confused how to answer these questions. Muslims don’t want to be constantly attacked and vilified – in their naivety they sometimes answer these questions conforming to Western concepts and values. We can see what is happening in the world today is not too different from the events at the time of the Prophet (SAW). The Prophet (SAW) launched his dawah in Makkah. The leaders of Quraysh launched a vicious propaganda campaign against the Prophet (SAW) and his (SAW) message. They ridiculed him (SAW), described him (SAW) as a soothsayer, madman, magician etc to prevent people to perceive the true meaning of Islam. In response the Prophet (SAW) with the help of Allah (SWT) and armed with the miracle of the Qur’an engaged in an intellectual struggle against the thoughts, values and system of

Quraysh. He (SAW) was insulted and lied about but he (SAW) responded with intellectual argument, kindness and compassion as Allah (SWT) instructed: “Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has strayed from His way, and He is most knowing of who is [rightly] guided.” (TMQ Sura An Nahl 16-125) Furthermore he (SAW) also did not confine his dawah in Makkah – he (SAW) sent his esteemed Companions (RA) to far lands such as Abyssinia and Madinah. This created a wide discussion and public opinion in the entire Arabian Peninsula although he (SAW) continued his struggle in Makkah. Similarly, whilst Muslims are struggling in the Muslim world to re-establish the Deen, Muslims all over the world have a duty to raise the correct discussion and build the correct opinion regarding Islam as a complete ideology. In this way the work in the Muslim world and the West is not disconnected but part of one work to re-establish Islam. What is therefore needed is preparing the Muslim community to engage in this ideological struggle in the correct way. Following the Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW), we need to take the discussion of Islam, boldly and confidently to the wider non-Muslim society who are talking about Islam. Whilst interacting with the society with the Islamic akhlaq and adhab, we must not shy away from presenting the unique intellectual basis of Islam. Islam is different to Western secularism. Islam has a different viewpoint towards life –

it has a different social, political and economic system. It came to shape the world in a different way. Islam is the alternative to the global political, economic, environmental disaster that capitalism has caused. The Muslim community in the West, therefore needs to be cultured with Islam in a way she is confident and can correctly explain and counter the negativity against Islam. People in the West are looking for an alternative as they see the world engulfed in a myriad of wars and crises. We have a duty as community living amongst these people to positively present Islam as an alternative for humanity. This positive agenda for Muslims in the West will aid the global effort for re-establishing the Khilafah. The future Khialfah is not simply a state for Muslims. It will represent a new beginning for humanity, a new of life, a new way of conducting humanity’s social, economic, political and international life. It will be a beacon of light in the darkness the world is in today. As Muslims, we have a duty to prepare the ground wherever we are for the world to embrace this new way of life. The more this preparation is done, the more value it will have once the Khilafah is established. Surely this will help and aid the future Khilafah. “O you who believe! If you help (in the cause of) Allah, He will help you, and make your foothold firm” (TMQ Sura Muhammad 47:7)

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[TO THE RIGHTEOUS IT WILL BE SAID], “O REASSURED SOUL, RETURN TO YOUR LORD, WELLPLEASED AND PLEASING [TO HIM], AND ENTER AMONG MY [RIGHTEOUS] SERVANTS, AND ENTER MY PARADISE.”(TMQ AL-FAJR [27-30) /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The Reassured Soul W

hen someone is asked, "What can comfort you in this world?" Maybe one would reply, "a spacious house with modern furniture and latest gadgets." Or someone else may answer, "A car with a luxury leather interior and high-tech equipment would make me feel content and comfortable. Some may say a higher education degree could give security, having healthy and intelligent children would make me peaceful and having a lot of savings is reassuring.” A lot of things could soothe the heart of a human being in this world. BUT CAN THESE THINGS REALLY SOOTHE OUR SOUL AND MIND? The wealth we have could disappear at any moment. Our titles and official positions could always be revoked. Our children or our husbands and wives could leave us, and we ourselves will die and leave all the things we have collected, organized and treasured in this world. We will leave behind all the contraptions we have accumulated, the decorations for our living rooms, the kitchen gadgets, the clothes for every season and every occasion. We will leave behind all the things of sentimental value, which we treasure and preserve. We will leave behind the colour-

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coordinated kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms. We will leave behind the ipads, Samsungs and Laptops. Allah (SWT) has reminded us of it in Surah Al-Hadiid (57) verse 20: “Know that the life of this world is but amusement and diversion and adornment and boasting to one another and competition in increase of wealth and children - like the example of a rain whose [resulting] plant growth pleases the tillers; then it dries and you see it turned yellow; then it becomes [scattered] debris. And in the Hereafter is severe punishment and forgiveness from Allah and approval. And what is the worldly life except the enjoyment of delusion” It turns out that the world and everything in it, no matter how great the amount, no matter how beautiful the things are, they are just games and amusements that make us careless about the Hereafter. These material things have no value at the end of the day. We will leave it all behind, no suitcase packed with possessions we loved but rather a suitcase packed with all the deeds, good and bad, that we have done in our lives. In Sura Al-Isra (17) verse 36 Allah (SWT) says:

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// sincere. This is also confirmed by al-Qurtubi, that the reassured soul includes all the faithful souls, muklish (sincere) and obedient and is general in nature. SO WHAT MADE THIS SOUL CONTENT? The Surah further explains to the reassured soul:

or when we see the many struggles in the Dawah and the difficulties the Ummah is going through, the reassured soul finds tranquillity in thinking of Allah (SWT), remembering Him (SWT) and relying on Him (SWT). It is this close relationship with Allah (SWT) that gives him true tranqulity. [To the righteous it will be said],

“And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight and the heart - about all those (one) will be questioned.” If all the assets that we have, which we thought could help our lives in this world are not worthy before Allah (SWT) Almighty, then do we dare still remain secure? Should we be at peace within ourselves and be in a position of serenity knowing none of it will matter! Allah (SWT) has formulated the ultimate definition of peacefulness or serenity, which can only be achieved by Taqwa. How does a mu’min attain peacefulness and serenity? Even when the life could be full of hardship and full of sacrifices it could be ‘pleasing to Allah (SWT).’

“O reassured soul, return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him]” In this worldly material life – everyone else was trying to achieve other forms of pleasure. But what was this tranquil soul yearning for? Only to meet Allah (SWT), only to please Allah (SWT)!!

Let us refer to these verses of Surah Al Fajr: [To the righteous it will be said],

‘‘Surely with the remembrance of Allah do hearts find calmness?’ (TMQ Ar Raad:28) The reassured soul would therefore think of Allah (SWT) and find peace in His (SWT) remembrance in this life, so he is now returning to Allah (SWT) in a tranquil state. Having not taken his finger off the pulse for a second for he kept his remembrance as his calmness for life’s trials, test and tribulations.

“O reassured soul, Return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him], And enter among My [righteous] servants, And enter My Paradise.” This verse provides good news from Allah (SWT) for all the people who will be entered into His Jannah on the tremendous Day of Judgment. (This is after Allah (SWT) discusses the fate of those who stubbornly disbelieve earlier in the Surah) The believers are those who are devout and

The steadfast Muslims and the carriers of the Deen for Allah’s cause will inevitably face struggles in this life. This is part and parcel of this Deen. Our family, friends, colleagues, neighbours and the society around us will place many obstacles in our path. But when we know we will return to Allah (SWT), and everything is carried out for His (SWT) pleasure alone– that is when one finds the most tranquillity in life – A tranquillity that no other way of life can bring. So when the believer feels he can’t go on and that there is no time to fit all his commitments into the day

“O reassured soul, Return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him], And enter among My [righteous] servants, And enter My Paradise.” (TMQ Al-Fajr 27-30) This person, as mentioned in the verse, is pleased with Allah (SWT) in all situations, unlike the person described in the early parts of the surah who was always showing arrogance and ungratefulness against Allah (SWT). Looking at the final parts of the Surah “and enter among my (righteous) servants” According to al-Qurtubi, this is as Allah (SWT) says:

“And those who believe and do righteous deeds - We will surely admit them among the righteous”[into Paradise], (TMQ al-Ankabut [29]: 9). This reassured soul mentioned has read about the righteous before him. He has read about

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‘THEIR REWARD WITH ALLAH WILL BE GARDENS OF PERPETUAL RESIDENCE BENEATH WHICH RIVERS FLOW, WHEREIN THEY WILL ABIDE FOREVER, ALLAH BEING PLEASED WITH THEM AND THEY WITH HIM. THAT IS FOR WHOEVER HAS FEARED HIS LORD’ (TMQ AL-BAYYINAH [98]: 8). ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// the stories of the Prophets - Adam, Nuh, Salih, Ayuub and many more. He was inspired by the lives of the great Companions who devoted themselves to Allah (SWT), and he always wished to be with them and the Messenger (SAW). So Allah (SWT) mentions how this tranquill soul will meet other righteous slaves of Allah (SWT). In the final part of this glorious ayah, Allah (SWT) promises the reward for the righteous soul:

THE FORTUNE OF THE REASSURED SOULS

them. This is as revealed in the words of Allah (SWT):

These verses are among the verses that preach good tidings to the believers who do good deeds and remain committed until their deaths. Whilst the unbelievers and the sinners will receive their never ending punishment in Jahannam, the believers are saved of this dreadful torment. They are called to join together with the other righteous servants of Allah (SWT). They are best of friends as defined in His Words:

And enter My Paradise Allah (SWT)says:

“Their reward with Allah will be gardens of perpetual residence beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever, Allah being pleased with them and they with Him. That is for whoever has feared his Lord” (TMQ al-Bayyinah [98]: 8).

“Circulated among them will be plates and vessels of gold. And therein is whatever the souls desire and [what] delights the eyes, and you will abide therein eternally” (TMQ az-Zukhruf 43: 71). All the gifts are given to them as rewards for what they did in the world.

“And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger - those will be with the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed favor of the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the martyrs and the righteous. And excellent are those as companions” (TMQ an-Nisa’ [4]: 69). The believers are satisfied with the gifts from Allah (SWT). Allah (SWT) is also satisfied with

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They are the fortunate ones. The rewards that they receive are much more than what they have sacrificed. When they are in this world, they continued steadfast in their faith and in increasing their good deeds. They are the ones who fought hard to curb their desires and refrain from indulging in pleasures. They are the ones who were patient fulfilling all His (SWT) commands and avoiding all His (SWT) prohibitions. Similarly, when facing temptations, trials and tests, they remained

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IT IS THE STEADFAST PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT FOOLED BY THIS WORLD. THEY ARE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ALWAYS COLLECTING REWARDS AS MUCH AS THEY CAN TO SAVE THEMSELVES IN THE AKHIRAH. THEY ARE THE ONES WHO GO THE EXTRA MILE AND MAKE THE NECESSARY SACRIFICES. THEY ARE THE ONES WHO ARE NOT DISTRACTED BY THIS DUNYA. THEY ARE THE ONES WHO GIVE THEIR UTMOST TO IMPROVE THEMSELVES, DO RIGHTEOUS DEEDS AND WORK FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THIS DEEN. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// firm and steadfast. Alhamdulillah all of the heavy burdens will disappear instantly when they taste the pleasures of Jannah! This is their situation in contrast to the unbelievers and the perpetrators of evil. All the fun that they enjoyed in the world is not comparable with the enormity of the punishment they will receive. Anas bin Malik (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: the Messenger of Allah (May Allah exalt his mention and protect him from imperfection) said: “Among the inmates of Hell, a person who had led the most luxurious life in this world will be brought up on the Day of Resurrection and dipped in the Fire and will be asked: ‘O son of Adam! Did you ever experience any comfort? Did you happen to get any luxury?’ He will reply: ‘By Allah, no, my Rubb (Lord).’ And then one of the people of Jannah who had experienced extreme misery in the life of this world will be dipped in Jannah. Then he will be asked: ‘O son of Adam! Did you ever experience any misery? Did you ever encounter difficulty?’ He will say: “By Allah, no my Rubb, I neither experienced misery nor passed through hardship”. (Muslim) This is the bigger picture of the pleasures of Jannah and the fierce torments of Jahannam. It is the steadfast people who are not fooled by this world. They are the people who are always collecting rewards as much as they can to save themselves in the Akhirah. They are the ones who go the extra mile and make the necessary sacrifices. They are the ones who are not

distracted by this dunya. They are the ones who give their utmost to improve themselves, do righteous deeds and work for the establishment of this Deen. The true believers are the ones who are always conscious of that moment when their soul will be stripped from their body. They fear that moment all the time. They are not distracted from thinking about it even though they are busy in their day to day life. They worry how they will present themselves to Allah (SWT) with all the sins they have earned. This thought constantly makes them ask for forgiveness from Allah (SWT) for their sins so that Allah (SWT) grants them the status of the ‘reassured soul.’

We ask Allah (SWT) to make us among those who are aware of the importance of time and are serious about the pursuit of the Hereafter. We also ask Him (SWT) to count us amongst the ‘reassured souls’ on the Day of Judgment forgiving our sins and rewarding us with Jannatul Ferdous. Ameen.

Ibn Abi Hatim recorded from Ibn `Abbas concerning Allah (SWT)’s statement:

“O tranquil soul! Come back to your Lord, wellpleased and well-pleasing!” He said, "This Ayah was revealed while Abu Bakr (RA) was sitting (with the Prophet ). So he said, `O Messenger of Allah! There is nothing better than this!' The Prophet (SAW) then replied: This will indeed be said to you!

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On the Way between Old and New Cairo, Citadel Mosque of Mohammed Ali, and Tombs of the Mamelukes, 1872. Oil on canvas. Louis Comfort TiďŹ&#x20AC;any (American, 1848-1933).

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