In recent days there has been much discussion about the subject of seeking the Nusrah and especially after the revolutions that have become known as the Arab Spring in general and the revolution in the lands of Ash-Shaam specifically. The following idea and question has been circulating amongst the general Ummah including some of the Shabab who carry the Da'wah: Why does the party bloc which is the most aware in matters of the Shar'a (Islamic legislation) and most aware politically insist upon the issue of seeking the Nusrah? And why does this bloc not establish and form a specific force that can be utilised relying upon it to reach the position of ruling? And why does it not form armed regiments and brigades in the land of Ash-Shaam so as to become the nucleus of the army that establishes the Islamic Khilafah? All of this is especially so particular so as this is the only block that is spread throughout the whole world whether in the Islamic or non-Islamic world, across the five continents and proceeds according to a single unified vision and one leader. And it is the only bloc in the entire world that extends across such areas whilst maintaining cohesion and unity in its thoughts and sensations.
And before answering and responding to these questions we would like to highlight that the issue (Mas'alah) of seeking the Nusrah is not a matter of choice for the Kutlah (party bloc) but rather it is a matter of Hukm Shari' (legislative ruling) deduced from the Shari'ah evidences. And when there is a Shar'i ruling then it is necessary upon every Muslim to abide by it and even if this opposes what all the people combined are upon. And it is Haraam to move to another different ruling as long as this original is taken from the Shar'a of Allah:
وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ وَلَا مُؤْمِنَةٍ إِذَا قَضَى اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَمْرًا أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِمْ وَمَنْ يَعْصِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَالًا مُبِينًا
"And it is not for a male and female believer when Allah and His Messenger have decided upon a matter to have any choice in it and whosoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger then they have clearly strayed away."
(Al-Ahzaab, 33:36)
This is the reason for the insistence of the block upon the act of seeking Nusrah as it represents the insistence upon the implementation of the Shar'i ruling and this is the reason alone.
And we ask those who have put forward this questioning: Are the Muslims obliged to follow the Seerah of the Nabi صلى الله عليه وسلم or are they not bound to follow by it? And are the Muslims obliged to work to establish the Islamic Khilafah according to the Prophetic guidance or are we only obliged to take the manners of going to the bathroom, the nullifiers of Wudoo' and noble morals from his life صلى الله عليه وسلم?
And as for the issues relating to ruling and the politics of the Ummah and the method of arriving to the rule then we are not bound by his life صلى الله عليه وسلم, rather we choose from it what we wish according to the circumstances and reality?
And in response to those who say that the method to arrive to the rule is only a style from amongst the styles that Allah سبحانه وتعالى has given to us to choose from, then we say: Hold on, do not make big claims with the Deen of Allah and attribute to Allah in your words that which you are not knowledgeable about. If the issue was related to the acts that nullify the Wudoo' then nobody would have a right to give his view without knowledge and therefore how can this be the case in respect to the issue of the method to establish the Khilafah? And if the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم has explained to us everything related to our Deen, then is it plausible that he صلى الله عليه وسلم did not explain to us the manner of achieving and reaching the rule? Did not the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم say: I have for you a clear white path, its night is like its day: The Kitaab of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet? Or does the issue of establishing the Khilafah not fall within this clear white path and is not from the Sunnah of the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم?
And we say to every Muslim: As for the evidences indicating that the Nusrah is a method that we are bound to follow and not merely a style that we choose whenever we desire, then they are as follows:
Firstly: We do not have a Shar'iy model to reach the rule except for that which he صلى الله عليه وسلم did in Makkah. It is not found in the statements or actions of the Sahaabah (rah) or those of the Taabi'oon (the generation after the Sahaabah) and it is not found in any book of Fiqh. This means that it is the only Shar'iy model and blueprint that we have at our disposal that explains the manner and way of arriving to the rule and as such we are obligated to abide by it.
Secondly: There is an explicit evidence (Daleel Sareeh) that holds no ambiguity indicating that the seeking of the Nusrah was from that which was revealed from Allah سبحانه وتعالى. This Daleel has been mentioned in the Seerah of Ibn Katheer (163/7), the Dalaa'il An-Nabawiyah of Al-Bayhaqi (297/2), the Seerah of Ibn Hibbaan (p 93), the Ma'rifah of the Sahaabah of Abu Na'eem Al-Asbahaaniy (274/18) and in Al-Iktifaa which discusses the expeditions of the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم and three Khulafaa (337/1 Abu Ar-Rabee' Suleymaan Bin Musaa Al-Kalaa'iy Al-Andulusiy).
Ibn 'Abbaas related that 'Ali Bin Abi Taalib told me: "When Allah commanded His Messenger to present himself to the Arab tribes, he went out with whilst I accompanied him with Abu Bakr to Minaa..."
In regards to this Hadeeth Al-Kalaa'iy Al-Andulusiy the author of Al-Iktifaa said:
This is a Mash'hoor (well-known) Hadeeth that I have left due to its fame. Meaning that the author of Al-Iktifaa only mentioned a part of it due to it being a well-known Hadeeth amongst the 'Ulamaa.
Thirdly: The following was mentioned in the Tafseer of Ibn Katheer:
Allah سبحانه وتعالى said:
أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ قِيلَ لَهُمْ كُفُّوا أَيْدِيَكُمْ وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآَتُوا الزَّكَاةَ فَلَمَّا كُتِبَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقِتَالُ إِذَا فَرِيقٌ مِنْهُمْ يَخْشَوْنَ النَّاسَ كَخَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ أَوْ أَشَدَّ خَشْيَةً وَقَالُوا رَبَّنَا لِمَ كَتَبْتَ عَلَيْنَا الْقِتَالَ لَوْلَا أَخَّرْتَنَا إِلَى أَجَلٍ قَرِيبٍ قُلْ مَتَاعُ الدُّنْيَا قَلِيلٌ وَالْآَخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لِمَنِ اتَّقَى وَلَا تُظْلَمُونَ فَتِيلًا
Have you not seen those who were told: "Restrain your hands [from fighting] and establish prayer and give Zakaah"? But then when fighting was ordained for them, at once a party of them feared men as they fear Allah or with [even] greater fear. They said: "Our Lord, why have You decreed upon us fighting? If only You had postponed [it for] us for a short time." Say, the enjoyment of this world is little, and the Hereafter is better for he who fears Allah. And injustice will not be done to you, [even] as much as a thread [inside a date seed]."
(An-Nisaa, 4:77)
Ibn Abi Haatim said: 'Ali Bin Al-Husain told us that Muhammad Bin Abdul 'Azeez told us that Abu Zur'ah and 'Ali Bin Ramhah both said: 'Ali Bin Al-Hasan related from Al-Husain Bin Waaqid from 'Amr Bin Deenar from 'Ikramah from Ibn 'Abbaas that 'Abdur Rahman Bin 'Auf and his companions came to the Nabi صلى الله عليه وسلم in Makkah and they said: O Nabi of Allah we were in a position of honour whilst we were Mushrikoon (polytheists) in Makkah and then when we believed we were made to be low. So he صلى الله عليه وسلم said: "I have been commanded to be pardoning so do not fight the people." Then when Allah turned him towards Al-Madinah he commanded him with fighting and resistance when Allah سبحانه وتعالى revealed: "Have you not seen those who were told: "Restrain your hands [from fighting]..."
An-Nasaa'i, Al-Haakim in his Mustadrak and Al-Bayhaqi in his Sunan Al-Kubraa all recorded similar to this.
From the above it is understood that this issue is a matter of Wahy (Divine inspiration and revelation) in the form of obligation and not in the form of providing a choice.
Fourthly: The continuation of the Nabi صلى الله عليه وسلم upon the act of seeking the Nusrah without diverging from this course despite the presence of hardship experienced whilst attempting to attain it. Had the seeking of Nusrah been an Usloob (style) then the Nabi صلى الله عليه وسلم would have changed it and especially because he was exposed to harm as a result of it in At-Taa'if, in addition to his attempts of negotiation with the tribes of Banu 'Aamir Bin Sa'sa'ah and Banu Haneefah and the rejection of the remaining tribes to his thought time and time again.
And here we ask: Was it not possible for him صلى الله عليه وسلم in the Makkan stage to form a secret group whose task was to assassinate those who brought harm against the Muslims and especially in the case where the Muslims were being afflicted with a level of suffering that drove some of them to agree with the Quraish in some statements of disbelief and to insult the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم?
Why did he صلى الله عليه وسلم not form a group secretly that would assassinate whoever stood in the face of the Da'wah as an obstacle like Abu Lahab, Abu Jahl and Waleed Bin Al-Mugheerah amongst others?
Why did the Nabi صلى الله عليه وسلم not ask Abu Dhar Al-Ghifaari to return to his people inviting them to Islam and from there form a group from those who embraced Islaam, who would then cut and block the trade routes of the Quraish and take their wealth and properties as a booty for the benefit of the Muslims, leading to the economic strangling of the Quraish whilst the Muslims would have all the wealth that they required and more?
Was the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم not a skilled trader and his wife Khadijah (ra) had much wealth that could be used for trade? Was Abu Bakr not wealthy, Uthmaan rich, Abdur Rahman Bin 'Auf a skillful tradesman whilst Suhaib Ar-Roomi had wealth at his disposal (rah)? So in these circumstances why did the Nabi صلى الله عليه وسلم not organise the financing of a brigade or regiment made up the strongest and most fierce men like 'Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab, Hamzah, Zubair Ibn Al-'Awwaam and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqaas (rah) who would declare war against the Quraish in order to establish the Islamic State? And this was in the case where those who were weak and oppressed would have stood with the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم against the Quraish?
Why did the Nabi صلى الله عليه وسلم continue to present his Da'wah to the tribes and ask them to provide the Nusrah despite the presence of many alternative different paths and styles that could have been utilised like those mentioned above? Does this not indicate that this action represents a Tareeqah (method) that it is obligatory to commit to and that it is not a style that we can choose whenever we wish or desire?
Why did the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم not establish a force that could stand up to the Quraish? Was the Nabi صلى الله عليه وسلم and his Sahaabah (rah) not boycotted with Banu Haashim in the Sha'b of Abi Taalib? So why did the Nabi صلى الله عليه وسلم and his Sahaabah (rah) not make an alliance with Baani Haashim and declare a military war against the rest of the Quraish?
And so: We know that it is passion for Islaam and the Muslims that has motivated those who say that it is necessary for the Kutlah (party bloc) to change the act of seeking Nusrah to another course of action. However we say to them that passion (Al-Ghairah) alone is not enough. Rather it is necessary to link this passion (Al-Ghairah) to the commands of the Shar'a and it is necessary for whoever wishes well for the Muslims to take into account that Allah سبحانه وتعالى is more zealous in respect to His Shar'a and the well-being of the Muslims.
Reflect upon the saying of the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم:
"Verily Allah has zeal and vehemence (Al-Ghairah) in regards to approaching what He has made Haraam."
And he صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
"Does the passion and zeal (Al-Ghairah) of Sa'd impress you? By Allah I am more zealous than Sa'd and Allah has more Ghairah than me."
So as long as the seeking of Nusrah is a Shari'ah rule then other ways of attaining the rule are Haraam and in addition it is not permitted to violate this rule ever because Allah سبحانه وتعالى has warned us from breaching and overstepping His Hudood (limits):
Allah سبحانه وتعالى states:
تِلْكَ حُدُودُ اللَّهِ فَلَا تَعْتَدُوهَا
"Those are the limits (Hudood) of Allah so do not transgress them"
(Al-Baqarah, 2:229)
The one who has zeal and passion for the Shar'a whilst not being disciplined and ordered by the Shar'a is like the one who does not know how to swim and throws himself in the water to save someone who is drowning to save him, but as a result he drowns alongside him.
ABU UBAIDAH – SYRIA
Source: Al-Waie Magazine Issue 318-320
No comments:
Post a Comment