Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Islamic Dominance |
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| nawaz |
| 06/29/01 at 12:24:25 |
| Islamic Dominance Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim Allah said in the Holy Qur'an, "It is He who sent the Messenger with the guidance and the deen of haq, that it may prevail over all other deens…" In this oft quoted ayah, we are informed by the Creator of all mankind and the universe, of one of the fundamental tasks that has been laid before this noble Ummah, that is, to make the deen of Islam the dominant deen in the world. In regards to this Islamic notion, several issues arise, which are of vital importance for Muslims to clarify, if the injunction is to be understood correctly. Firstly, the term 'deen', must be understood. Many people perceive Islam as being a religion, like Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, etc. However, Islam is a guidance that is unlike these religions, which are creeds that pertain to the areas of human beliefs, personal worships and matters of personal morality only. In essence, the difference lies in the fact that religion is a concept whose sphere is restricted to the personal arena, whereas deen embodies much more than this. The word 'deen' is more correctly translated as 'way of life.' In its capacity as such, deen addresses not only issues of individual concern, but also matters of societal and political concern. Therefore, the deen of Islam organises not only personal conduct and worship, but also relates to affairs of government, economics, judiciary and all other affairs of societal life. Accordingly, the Prophet Muhammad was not only sent to teach the ritual worships, such as when he said, 'Pray as you see me pray', and the moral codes of conduct, as when he ordered, '…whoever cheats us, he is not one of us…'. But he also commanded obedience to Allah in the economic affairs, for example, when he said, 'The people are partners in three, the water, the pasture and the fire,' or the political affairs when he said, 'If you are united behind one Imam and another comes to disunify you, kill the latter,' or the judicial affairs, when he said, 'By Allah, if Fatimah the daughter of Muhammad stole, I would cut her hand,' or the military affairs, when he said, 'Do not delay the army of Usamah,' as he had ordered this force to be dispatched against the Roman army. These are a handful among many evidences from the Qur'an and authentic sayings of the holy Prophet Muhammad (saw), that indicate the nature of the Islamic deen as being far more than a mere religion, rather a complete and comprehensive way of life, ordering all affairs of human life, from worship, to morals to economics to government. The second aspect which the ayah highlights, is that the term 'prevail' must be defined, as there may exist disparity amongst Muslims as to what this term actually means. Some may consider that it means that there should be Muslims liring in all parts of the world. Or it may be understood that the call to Islam is heard throughout the globe, and that every human being has heard of this call, or such like ideas. However, as with any word that is conveyed in the Qur'anic texts, it must be understood in the context of the Islamic Shariah, and the manifestation of this through the example of the Prophet Muhammad (saw). Study of the Seerah (life of the Prophet Muhammad (saw)), indicates clearly that prevalence in the Islamic context implies far more than merely a diaspora of Muslims, or the accessibility of the Islamic message. Rather, it is clear that from the moment that he was commissioned with the task of prophethood, until his death, the Prophet struggled to bring into existence the Islamic way of life in the form of the Islamic State, which was first established in Madinah, and then went on to expand the frontiers of this state, with the ultimate aim of spreading the political authority of Islam throughout the entire globe. This, indeed, is the true meaning of prevalence that is mentioned in the noble Qur'anic ayah quoted above. The fact that the authority of Islam was not based upon an individualistic or personal guidance alone, and nor was it sent to be restricted to the Arabian Peninsula from where it originated is clear from many evidences, such as the numerous letters sent by the Prophet (saw) to the leaders of the Persians, the Romans and the Arabs in which he ordered them and their peoples to embrace Islam, or to be willingly governed by Islam and pay the jizya (tax paid by non-Muslim citizens of the Islamic state), or to be fought until they did so. He wrote to the rulers of Oman, 'To Jaifer and Abd, Peace be on him who adopts the right course. Thereafter, I invite both of you to Islam. Embrace Islam. Therein lies security! Allah has sent me as a prophet to His creatures, in order that I may instill the fear of Allah in His disobedient creatures and thus there may be left no excuse for those who deny Allah. My prophethood is about to reach your country. If you two accept Islam, your country will, as usual, remain with you. But if you refuse or object, it is a perishable thing." This is also clear form the actions of the Rightly guided Khulafaa, such as the leader Umar ibn al-Khattab, under whose leadership the lands of Persia, Sham and Egypt were opened to the governance of the Islamic state. We see, therefore from the example of the Prophet (saw) and the Sahaba (ra), that the practical way to achieve the prevalance of Islam in the world, is by establishing the Islamic state, which would convey the message of Islam to the other nations by daawah – the call to embrace the belief of Islam, who would thereafter submit to its political authority. Failing this, the Islamic state would wage jihad against those in authority over these kufr lands, thereby removing the obstacles to the implementation of Islam over the people living therein. The Prophet wrote to the cheifs of Aqaba '…To the people of Aqaba. May peace be on you. I praise Allah who is one and except whom there is nobody else to be worshipped. I do not intend to wage war against you till you receive my written reason for it. It is better for you, either to accept Islam or agree to pay jizya and consent to remain obedient to Allah, His Prophet and his messenger…' Indeed this Jihad to expand the area of implementation of Islam is the best form of practical da'wah, as evidenced from the Seerah of the Prophet (saw), who after 13 years of da'wah in Makkah established only a small group of Muslim followers, but who after the Hijrah and establishment of the Islamic state in Madinah saw tens of thousands of people embracing Islam and living under the Islamic authority. While this meaning of prevalence becomes clearly linked with the political authority of Islam, the basis upon which this political authority is founded should never be neglected. For the aim of the expansion of the Islamic state was not merely to subjugate people to its authority. Rather it was for the purpose of calling people to the belief and practice of Islam, willingly and with full understanding, so that those newly embracing the deen would be the very ones to facilitate its prevalance, while at the same time establishing in themselves the firm practice (nafsiyya) that their belief required. So, the true basis of prevalance is the deep understanding in the minds of the Muslims of the Islamic Aqeedah, which is the basis of all Islamic guidance; the profound knowledge of how this Aqeedah relates to the practical affairs of human beings in the form of the Shariah (Islamic law) and the comprehensive application of this Shariah by the Muslims in their individual and collective daily life. For it is absolutely the case, that these issues are all pre-requisites of the political revival of the Muslims, and the making of their deen prevalent in the world this political conception of Islam being the pinnacle of the correct understanding of Allah's message to mankind. Accordingly, it is only when the Ummah is moved with enlightenment in all of these aspects of Islamic understanding that the objective of Islamic dominance, in the prophetic model, may be achieved. As regards the Islamic Aqeedah, this is the comprehensive belief that the Muslim has about man, life and the universe, answering all the questions of where they came from and to where they will proceed. That being the belief in Allah (swt), the Qur'an, the Messengers, the Books, and all they point to regarding the true knowledge of this life and the hereafter. If understood correctly, it becomes the solution to the greatest question facing mankind – what is the purpose of life, and answers this question, by revealing that the function of the human being is to worship his Creator by obeying His commands (swt). As regards the Shariah, this is what the Aqeedah points to as the practical knowledge of the actions that human beings should perform in their obedience to Allah (swt). Its details are extracted from the Islamic texts, fundamentally being the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (saw). These laws encompass the entire range of human actions, and must be applied by all Muslims in all aspects of individual and collective life. When these notions are clearly understood by Muslims, and they are correctly linked with the political actions of Islam in the manner demonstrated by the Prophet Muhammad (saw), the framework is set for the true meaning of 'Islamic dominance' to be realised. Accordingly, the world will see the re-birth of the Khilafah state, and its spreading to encompass the entire globe, dominating it until all ways of life other than the deen of Islam are subjugated. Humanity will be freed from the oppression and tyranny of man-made law, and all the worship will be for Allah (swt), Rabb al-alameen. |
| NS |
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