A New Turning Point in Western Economies?

Global stock markets have started the year badly (New York Stock Exchange down 8%, MSCI World Market Index down 10%, Japan down by 19%). While many will view these markets as little more than gambling tools as they do not involve direct responsibility and ownership in the same way that Islamic company structure dictates, nevertheless, hundreds of millions of people globally depend on these markets for their retirement wealth and pension funds. They have also become a barometer for the success of the economies in which these companies operate. Central planners view the success of stock and bond markets as key to long term stability and the viability of Capitalism. As a result the main US and European markets have established “plunge protection teams” who will invest government money to ensure day to day stability, and the ability to suspend markets if they fall too far too quickly. But when short term intervention in markets (which are supposed to be free to go up and down!) becomes core government policy, it is a recipe for a major collapse. It is arguable that Central Bank policies in the US. Europe and Asia (Japan) in excessive money printing (Quantitative Easing) largely went into propping up stock and bond markets and consequently recent cut backs in QE have coincided with the fall offs in the stock markets, particularly in the US.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen in testimony to Congress this past week stated that negative interest rates are still very much an option in the US. So after 7 years of virtually zero interest rates failing to stimulate sufficient growth, the next step is to go to negative rates, where banks will be charged if they hold reserves – charges which will be passed onto savers. Negative interest rates now form official policy in Japan, Sweden, Switzerland and Denmark (23% of all Capital markets!). This represents forced confiscation of wealth from the middle classes. Banks will continue to charge high rates of interest (usury) for loans and mortgages, but will force those with money to invest it (into the stock market or government bonds ideally according to policy) in order to avoid charges on their capital (the negative rate). In reality this is a pre-cursor to removing all paper based money and the introduction of electronic money (as the public will move to hold cash rather than be charged to keep their money in the bank). Governments will argue they are working against crime and terrorism in banning cash, but the truth lies in controlling all monetary transactions.

The other major danger to Central Bank plans is gold and silver – which is the ultimate in real money. As you cannot print new gold and silver in the same way that a bank merely prints more money or creates virtual electronic money like bitcoin; gold and silver acts as a real control over government policies. Other than storage fees, gold and silver has no counterparty risk (for example a major bank failure as threatened in 2008). It is little wonder that gold is up 18% since the start of the year (and silver 14%). Despite consistent efforts in suppressing the price of gold and silver over the past 4 years via paper based derivative trading, it now appears that the markets for real physical gold and silver (not paper derivative contracts – which merely represent a promise to provide G/S at a future date) are beginning to take greater control in the price setting. China and India alone bought the equivalent of the world’s new gold production in the past year with it flowing from West to East.

A true role for Gold and Silver

The many Quranic references to gold and silver not only as money but as a measurement for zakat, hudud limits, etc, serve as clear evidences that these are to be used as currency in the future Khilafah state (Caliphate).

وَالَّذِينَ يَكْنِزُونَ الذَّهَبَ وَالْفِضَّةَ وَلاَ يُنفِقُونَهَا فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ فَبَشِّرْهُم بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ

“And those who hoard gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah – give them tidings of a painful punishment.”

(Surah Tawbah 9:34)

The prohibition of hoarding currency together with forbidding interest of any type (including negative) acts as strong motivators for the circulation of wealth. Rather than gamble wealth in derivative or stock markets, Muslims seek investment in tangible businesses in which they are accountable for the correct running of those businesses. Generous spending in society is a natural course for peoples that understand that their rizq is truly from Allah سبحانه وتعالى, rather than the contradictory gimmicks that secular governments dream up to try and cajole populations into spending and “investment” into yet more haram schemes (stock, bond, derivative markets). With gold and silver acting as a true store of value rather than the shifting foundations of sand which paper and electronic currencies represent.

Jamal Harwood

Written for Ar-Rayah Newspaper – Issue 65

Q&A: Salatul Istikhara

Question:

Assalamu alaikum, I want to know what is Salatul Istikhara, and does the person who made Istikhara see something in his dream after performing the Istikhara? Please answer as soon as possible, Jazakoum Allah Khayran.

From Joud Ridwan Ridwan

---

Answer:

Wa alaikoum l salam wa Rahmatu Allah wa Barakatuh,

The Prophet ﷺ showed Salatul Istikhara via a thorough and adequate demonstration in a Hadith narrated by Bukhari and others on the authority of Jaber bin Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with both of them, he said: The Prophet of Allah ﷺ would teach us to pray for guidance in all matters, as he ﷺ used to teach us a chapter from the Quran, he ﷺ said:

«إِذَا هَمَّ أَحَدُكُمْ بِالأَمْرِ، فَلْيَرْكَعْ رَكْعَتَيْنِ مِنْ غَيْرِ الفَرِيضَةِ، ثُمَّ لِيَقُلْ: اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْتَخِيرُكَ بِعِلْمِكَ وَأَسْتَقْدِرُكَ بِقُدْرَتِكَ، وَأَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ العَظِيمِ، فَإِنَّكَ تَقْدِرُ وَلاَ أَقْدِرُ، وَتَعْلَمُ وَلاَ أَعْلَمُ، وَأَنْتَ عَلَّامُ الغُيُوبِ، اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الأَمْرَ خَيْرٌ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي – أَوْ قَالَ عَاجِلِ أَمْرِي وَآجِلِهِ – فَاقْدُرْهُ لِي وَيَسِّرْهُ لِي، ثُمَّ بَارِكْ لِي فِيهِ، وَإِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الأَمْرَ شَرٌّ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي – أَوْ قَالَ فِي عَاجِلِ أَمْرِي وَآجِلِهِ – فَاصْرِفْهُ عَنِّي وَاصْرِفْنِي عَنْهُ، وَاقْدُرْ لِي الخَيْرَ حَيْثُ كَانَ، ثُمَّ أَرْضِنِي» قَالَ: «وَيُسَمِّي حَاجَتَهُ»

“When one of you has a decision, he should perform two cycles of prayer other than the obligations, then let him say: O Allah, I seek guidance from your knowledge and power from your might, and I ask you from your tremendous favor. Verily, you have power and I do not have power, and you know and I do not know. You are the knowing of the unseen. O Allah, if you know that this matter is good for my religion and my livelihood and my ending (or he said: if it is better for my present and latter needs), then decree it for me and make it easy for me and bless me in it. But if you know that this matter is evil for my religion and my livelihood and my ending (or he said: if it is worse for my present and latter needs), then divert it from me and keep me away from it, and decree for me what is good for me and make me content with it.” The Prophet added that the person should then mention his need.

It is clear from this Hadith how to perform the Salatul Istikhara (prayer for guidance), so whoever wanted to seek guidance from Allah سبحانه وتعالى should pray two cycles (rakah) of prayer other than the obligations (nafaleh) with the intention of seeking guidance and after completion from the prayer he should make Supplication of seeking guidance (Istikhara) that is mentioned in the Hadith. By this, he would have performed the prayer for guidance or the Supplication for guidance, as this is the method of performing the prayer for guidance… However, there are other matters pertaining to the prayer for guidance, which are:

1. If a person has a decision to make, after he has studied the matter from all sides, and he is inclined towards a certain act and wanted to go with it, by then he prays two cycles of prayer (rakah) and makes Supplication of guidance and does them while he prays to Allah سبحانه وتعالى to facilitate it for him if it is good or divert it away from him if it is bad. This means that he should not pray for guidance except until he studies the matter from all of its sides and is inclined to go for it, that is when he prays and makes the Supplication for guidance and then goes for it… He should not pray for guidance except after studying the matter and is inclined to go forward with it. Look at the Hadith: «إِذَا هَمَّ أَحَدُكُمْ بِالأَمْرِ، فَلْيَرْكَعْ رَكْعَتَيْنِ مِنْ غَيْرِ الفَرِيضَةِ، ثُمَّ لِيَقُلْ: اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْتَخِيرُكَ بِعِلْمِكَ…» “When one of you has a decision, he should perform two cycles of prayer other than the obligations, then let him say: O Allah, I seek guidance from your knowledge…” (Narrated by Bukhari).
2. It is not proper to relate from the Prophet ﷺ that he ﷺ has connected prayer for guidance to a vision seen during a dream as far as I know that even though he ﷺ recommended people to pray for guidance, he ﷺ didn’t connect its result to dreams, as it was reported in a Hadith from Jaber who said:«فَاقْدُرْهُ لِي وَيَسِّرْهُ لِي، ثُمَّ بَارِكْ لِي فِيهِ» وقوله: «فَاصْرِفْهُ عَنِّي وَاصْرِفْنِي عَنْهُ، وَاقْدُرْ لِي الخَيْرَ حَيْثُ كَانَ، ثُمَّ أَرْضِنِي» “then decree it for me and make it easy for me and bless me in it” and said: “then divert it from me and keep me away from it, and decree for me what is good for me and make me content with it” which show that he ﷺ did not connect prayer for guidance with a vision seen in the dream. He rather made the matter connected to the facilitation and decree of Allah سبحانه وتعالى, meaning that the person seeks to go with the matter which he prayed guidance for, so if there was good in it, Allah سبحانه وتعالى will decree it for him and facilitate it for him, else He سبحانه وتعالى will divert it away. Therefore, prayer for guidance is shifting the matter and the choice to Allah سبحانه وتعالى so that He سبحانه وتعالى chooses for the person praying for guidance, and to facilitate the matter which He سبحانه وتعالى sees as good for him. So, if He سبحانه وتعالى doesn’t deem it as good for him, He سبحانه وتعالى will divert it away from him.
3. The saying of the Prophet ﷺ in the Hadith of Jaber:«فَاصْرِفْهُ عَنِّي وَاصْرِفْنِي عَنْهُ، وَاقْدُرْ لِي الخَيْرَ حَيْثُ كَانَ، ثُمَّ أَرْضِنِي» “then divert it from me and keep me away from it, and decree for me what is good for me and make me content with it”. Some people understand from it that the feeling of relief is considered a sign for the choice of Allah سبحانه وتعالى, meaning that if someone feels relieved then he should go for the matter, but if he feels unsettled and he diverts from it then he should keep away from it, since the diversion of the person praying for guidance occurs when the heart feels unsettled and wants to stay away… Ash-Shawkani reported in the book “Neil Al-Awtar” from An-Nawawi who said:“It is supposed that after performing the prayer for guidance to do what makes one relieved, so he is not supposed to rely on a feeling of relief that he had prior to the prayer for guidance. Instead, the person praying for guidance should leave his choice directly or else it would not be praying for guidance from Allah سبحانه وتعالى, it would rather be praying for guidance according to his wishes. He might also be dishonest in asking for a choosing and acknowledging lack of knowledge and ability and affirm their presence in Allah سبحانه وتعالى, so if he honest in this, he would acknowledge his lack of ability and strength and of choosing for himself.” However, what I am tending for is that this sign is not correct because there is no text about it, and the Hadith which some people rely on in this matter is a Hadith with a very weak chain of narration as the researchers mentioned, and the Hadith is:

Ibn As-Sinni reported in “The Work of the Day and Night” stating Abu Al-Abbas bin Qutaiba Al-Asqalani informed us, and told to us by Obeid Allah bin Al-Himayri, praised by Ibrahim bin Al-Alaa bin An-Nadr bin Anas bin Malik, praised by my father, on the authority of his father, on the authority of his grandfather, said: The Prophet of Allah ﷺ said: «يَا أَنَسُ، إِذَا هَمَمْتَ بِأَمْرٍ فَاسْتَخِرْ رَبَّكَ فِيهِ سَبْعَ مَرَّاتٍ، ثُمَّ انْظُرْ إِلَى الَّذِي يَسْبِقُ إِلَى قَلْبِكَ، فَإِنَّ الْخَيْرَ فِيهِ» “O Anas, if you have decided about a matter, then pray for guidance about it from your Lord seven times, then look at what your heart is inclined towards, then there is goodness in it”. Ibn Hijr in Fatih Al-Bari “… An-Nawawi said in “Al-Athkaar” to do after prayer for guidance what brings the sense of relief to the person, and his evidence for that is a Hadith reported by Anas at Bin As-Sunni: “If you have decided about a matter, then pray for guidance about it from your Lord seven times, then look at what your heart is inclined towards, then there is goodness in it”, if it could be confirmed then it could be relied on, but its chain of narration is very weak…”

Therefore, what only remains is what we have mentioned in the first point that the Hadith mentions that prayer for guidance occurs after going for a matter, meaning that after making the decision of doing something based on a holistic study of it and all aspects suggest the inclination towards it… What testifies to the validity of this understanding is the Hadith narrated by Al-Hakim in his Mustadrak upon the account of Abu Ayyoub Al-Ansari that the Prophet of Allah ﷺ said:

«اكْتُمِ الْخطْبَةَ ثُمَّ تَوَضَّأْ فَأَحْسِنِ وُضُوءَكَ، ثُمَّ صَلِّ مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لَكَ، ثُمَّ احْمَدْ رَبَّكَ وَمَجِّدْهُ، ثُمَّ قُلِ: اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ تَقْدِرُ وَلَا أَقْدِرُ، وَتَعْلَمُ وَلَا أَعْلَمُ، وَأَنْتَ عَلَّامُ الْغُيُوبِ، فَإِنْ رَأَيْتَ لِيَ فِي فُلَانَةٍ، – يُسَمِّيهَا بِاسْمِهَا – خَيْرًا لِي فِي دِينِي وَدُنْيَايَ وَآخِرَتِي فَاقْدُرْهَا لِي، فَإِنْ كَانَ غَيْرُهَا خَيْرًا لِي فِي دِينِي وَدُنْيَايَ وَآخِرَتِي فَاقْدُرْهَا لِي»،

“Keep the engagement a secret, then perform ablution and perform it well, then pray as much as Allah سبحانه وتعالى has written for you, then praise Allah and glorify Him, then say: O Allah You are Able and I am not, You know and I do not, You know the Unknown, so if You see that this person – name her by her name – is good for me in my Deen, my life, and my afterlife then decree her for me, but if there is another person who is better for me in my Deen, my life, and my afterlife, then decree her for me”. It is clear from this Hadith that the person praying for guidance has decided to get engaged to a certain woman, but he didn’t publicize it rather kept it a secret, then he prayed for guidance from Allah about it and left it in the Hands of Allah سبحانه وتعالى so that He decrees her for him if there is goodness in her, or to decree someone else for him if there is goodness in someone other than her, and he didn’t connect what he saw in the dream or in the feeling of relief…

In conclusion, what I am tending towards in the topic of prayer for guidance is:

If a person decided about something after he has studied it from all its angles, and he is inclined towards going for it and is aiming to do it, only then that he pray two cycles and say the Supplication of praying for guidance and to do that while he is supplicating to Allah Almighty to facilitate it for him if there is goodness in it or divert it away if there is evil in it.

This means that he doesn’t pray for guidance only until he studies the matter from all angles and is inclined towards going for it, then he prays and supplicates for guidance and then goes for it… Look at this Hadith: «إِذَا هَمَّ أَحَدُكُمْ بِالأَمْرِ، فَلْيَرْكَعْ رَكْعَتَيْنِ مِنْ غَيْرِ الفَرِيضَةِ، ثُمَّ لِيَقُلْ: اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْتَخِيرُكَ بِعِلْمِكَ…» “When one of you has a decision, he should perform two cycles of prayer other than the obligations, then let him say: O Allah, I seek guidance from your knowledge…” (Narrated by Bukhari).

This is what I have outweighed from the Hadith, that he should not pray for guidance while waiting to see something in a dream, or wait until he sees what he is inclined to do from either matters, because the Hadith says: «إِذَا هَمَّ أَحَدُكُمْ بِالأَمْرِ…»“When one of you has a decision…”. As I mentioned earlier, this is what I found most preponderant from some of the sayings, but only Allah سبحانه وتعالىknows what is most right.

Your Brother,

Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah

01 Jamadi Al-Oula 1437 AH

10/02/2016 CE

The link to the answer from the Ameer’s Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/AmeerhtAtabinKhalil/photos/a.122855544578192.1073741828.122848424578904/444663125730764/?type=3&theater

The link to the answer from the Ameer’s account on Google Plus:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/100431756357007517653/100431756357007517653/posts/JTsW6jfJQoR

The link to the answer from the Ameer’s account on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/ataabualrashtah/status/700017773234225152?lang=ar

Good News for those who are interested in Books from the Islamic ideological viewpoint

Maktaba Islamia is now hosting English & Arabic print editions of some really important books by Sheikh Taqiuddin Nabhani, Sheikh Abdul Qadeem Zalloum, Sheikh Hafez Saleh, Sheikh Fawzi Sunuqrut,  Sheikh Ata Abu Rashta, Sheikh Ahmad Mahmoud and others.

They have over 10 books by Sheikh Taqiuddin Nabhani including the English translation of the first 2 volumes of his master piece on Aqeedah & Fiqh , The Islamic Personality volume 1 and The Islamic Personality Volume 2. They are also hosting Volume1 & 2 of the Draft Constitution and its evidences issued by Hizb ut Tahrir. Click here to see all of Sheikh Taqiuddin's books available for sale. 

One of the expected books to be out soon is the Commentary and Explanation (sharh) by shekh Hafez Saleh for the book Takattul Hizbi, Structuring a party by Sheikh Taqiuddin Nabhani. You can Sneak Peek it here- http://www.maktabaislamia.com/sharh-takattul-hafez-saleh

For those who do not want to purchase the books, the brothers have been courteous to provide free PDF versions of some of the books to download from their website. You can contact them for PDF's of other books they have at info@maktabaislamia.com

The site is continuing to bring some amazing stuff which will be of immense benefit for the work to revive the Islamic Ummah and restarting the Islamic way of life.

Links to some of the interesting books on the website.

The Draft Constitution and its evidences Part 1 & 2 - http://www.maktabaislamia.com/draft-constitution-dastoor

The Islamic Personality vol 1 & 2 by Sheikh Taqiuddin Nabhani - http://www.maktabaislamia.com/shaksiya1-2

Drawing close to Allah by Sheikh Fawzi Sunuqrut - http://www.maktabaislamia.com/taqarrub-drawing-close-allah

War of Civilizations has begun by Aabed Moustapha - http://www.maktabaislamia.com/war-civilizations-begun

Dawah to Islam by Sheikh Ahmad Mahmoud - http://www.maktabaislamia.com/dawah-islam

Here is a link to the website - www.maktabaislamia.com

Valentines Day

Valentine's Day

 

The Ummah is Bleeding,can We be Celebrating???

Roses are Red, Violets are Blue

 

…Valentines Day is definitely not for YOU!!!

 

 

"And whoever seeks a religion (a way of life) other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers" (Quran-Aal 'Imraan 3:85)

 

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told us that groups of his ummah would follow the enemies of Allah in some of their rituals and customs. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "You will certainly follow the ways of those who came before you, span by span, cubit by cubit, until even if they were to enter a lizard's hole, you would follow them." We said, "O Messenger of Allah(pbuh), (do you mean) the Jews and Christians?" He said, "Who else? !" (Hadith-al-Bukhaari )

 

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Whoever imitates a people is one of them." (narrated by Ahmad)

 

History: Who was Valentine? Why is this day observed? Valentine's Day began as a pagan ritual started by Romans in the 4th century BCE to celebrate "Feast of the Wolf" on February 15, also known as the Feast of Lupercalius to honor the god Lupercus.The main attraction of this ritual was a lottery held to distribute young women to young men for "entertainment & pleasure"-until the next year's lottery. Christianity tried, without success, to stop the evil celebration of Lupercalia. The only success it had was in changing the name from Lupercalia to St. Valentine's Day. It was done in CE 496 by Pope Gelasius, in honor of some Saint Valentine. There are as many as 50 different Valentines in Christian legends.

 

How can anyone in the Ummah really enjoy this occasion when there is so much brutality and suffering going on in the world today. The rivers of blood flow freely from the veins of our brothers and sisters from across the Muslim world. Celebrating unislamic occassions like Valentines Day , New year, Christmas and shouting the names of musical heroes and watching Bollywood & Hollywood Movies drown out the screams coming from the dungeons of Uzbekistan where brothers and sisters are boiled alive in vats of water. How many will take out valuable time and spend it for the upliftment of Islam? How many will sacrifice for our kin in Gaza , Syria,Kashmir, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Palestine, and Iraq? There are many more killing fields as well across the Asian and Arab world. Will you climb on theatre chairs and express your rage over Guantanamo Bay and other gulags where our brothers and sisters are being tortured, raped, sodomized, beaten, and burned? Or will you just switch off and enjoy with the Kuffar in celebrating this evil custom?

 

Oh,Muslims,wake up! The Ummah is not bleeding; it is haemorrhaging.

 

Anas Bin Malik (ra) said; "When the Messenger of Allah Muhammad(pbuh) came to Medina, the people had two holidays from the days of Jahiliyyah(ignorance). He (pbuh) said, "When I came to you, you had two holidays you used to celebrate in jahiliyyah. Allah has replaced them for you with better days, the day of Fitr and the day of slaughter (Adha)."

 

VALENTINES DAY IS AN UNILSAMIC CUSTOM THAT HAS NO BASIS IN ISLAM AND IS PRESENTLY BEING PROMOTED BY CAPITALIST FOR COMMERCIAL REASONS....Listen to the pain of your global family! The enemies of Allah are destroying Islam and we are following in their footsteps!

Be pro active and DO NOT- ENGAGE, SUPPORT OR ENCOURAGE THIS EVIL....!!!

 

If you were intending to engage in this haraam practice and Now changed your mind, then do a noble deed by donating the money to an ISLAMIC CHARITABLE CAUSE which will make you the BELOVED of ALLAH and will earn you an immense reward in the everlasting life of the hereafter!

How the Islamic State would Rise - Sheikh Taqiuddin an-Nabhani

The following is a chapter from the English translation of the book, 'The Islamic State' by Sheikh Taqiuddin an-Nabhani (rh).

The strength of the Islamic thought coupled with its methodology would be sufficient to establish an Islamic State and to resume the Islamic way of life, provided that this thought is deeply rooted in the hearts and deeply embedded in the souls, and provided it materialised itself in the Muslims and became a living Islam working in all walks of life. However, despite all this, some colossal tasks have to be achieved before the existence of the State, and phenomenal efforts must be made in order to resume the Islamic way of life. Desire and optimism would not, therefore, be sufficient for the State to arise, nor would hope and enthusiasm be enough to secure the resumption of the Islamic way of life. The mother of all duties would be to duly assess these colossal obstacles which stand in the way of Islam in order to make their removal possible.

It is also most important to warn the Muslims about the heavy load which awaits those who rise to this objective and to bring to the attention of the people, especially the intellectual ones, the serious consequences of any opinion which is voiced concerning this hugely serious issue, so that words and actions move together with awareness, desire, resoluteness and courage. Those who tread the path in order to resume the Islamic way of life should be aware that they would be carving their way into hard stone, but that with great resolve and dedication they would be able to break the stone. At the same time they should be aware that they would be treating a delicate matter, however, their kindness would help them treat it perfectly. They should be aware that they would clash against major problems, yet they would overcome them. They should not deviate from the path because it is the path which the Messenger of Allah (saw) trod, and if the path is trodden correctly the results would be inevitable and victory would be certain without a shadow of a doubt. It is this path which the Muslims should tread carefully today, provided that the example of the Messenger of Allah (saw) is carefully followed, and his steps carefully and correctly copied so that anyone who treads upon this path does not stumble, because every error in the analogy and every deviation from the path would result in a stumble and introduce sterility into the work. It therefore follows that holding conferences on the issue of the Khilafah would not of itself lead to the establishment of the Islamic State, nor would a federation of countries ruling Muslim peoples be a legitimate method to establish the Islamic State, nor would congresses of Muslim peoples help in the resumption of the Islamic way of life. None of these, nor anything similar to them, should be considered correct, instead they would merely represent rhetoric aimed at soothing the anger of the Muslims. Rather, these would contain their feelings and neutralise their zeal, and consequently lead them astray from the real task, in addition to the fact that they contradict the Islamic method. The only way to establish the Islamic State is to carry the Islamic Message and to work towards the resumption of the Islamic way of life, this necessitates taking the Islamic countries altogether as one unit because the Muslims are but one Ummah, which represents a human group linked by one ‘aqeedah from which emanates her system. Any task carried out in any Muslim country, touching on the emotions and concepts, should therefore have its effects in all the other Muslim countries, thus, it is imperative that all Muslim countries be considered as one and that the da‘wah is carried to all these countries so that it affects their respective societies. This is because, the one society which represents the Ummah would be like water in a pot, if a fire was lit under it the water would warm up and reach its boiling point, then the boiling would cause the society to move and work. This is why the da‘wah should target the Islamic world so that work towards resuming the Islamic way of life could be initiated; this would be done by means of publications of books and leaflets, and by means of communication and all other means of publicity, especially (direct) contacts since they are one of the most successful methods of da‘wah. However, the initiation of da‘wah in this open manner is merely a fuel for the society in order to turn the frozen state, which it suffers from, into energy. It cannot reach the boiling point unless the practical da‘wah is confined in its political orientation within one single country from where the work would begin. Then the da‘wah would be launched from there to mushroom all other parts of the Islamic world. This country, or several countries, would be taken as the support point where the Islamic State would be established, following which work would begin to expand and establish the greater Islamic State, which in turn would carry the Islamic Message to the whole world. This would be just like what the Messenger of Allah (saw) did; he (saw) conveyed his da‘wah to all the people and the steps of conveyance reached the practical phase. He (saw) invited the people of Makkah and all the Arabs in the hajj season. His da‘wah spread all over the Arabian Peninsula, as if he (saw) had lit a fire under the society of the Peninsula, a fire which was aimed at releasing the energy in the Arabs as a whole. The Messenger of Allah (saw) called the Arabs to Islam by directly contacting them and by inviting them to Islam during the hajj season, and by visiting the tribes in their homes and calling them to Islam. The da‘wah reached all the Arabs as a result of the clashes which took place between the Messenger of Allah (saw) and Quraysh, the echoes of those impacts reached the Arabs and triggered their curiosity and their desire to learn more about the da‘wah. However, although the da‘wah targeted all the Arabs, the scope of the da‘wah was confined to Makkah, then it stretched to Madinah until the Islamic State was founded in Hijaz. Only then did the heat of the da‘wah and the victory of the Messenger of Allah (saw) cause boiling resulting in real action, so that all believed and the Islamic State grew until it engulfed the whole of the Arabian Peninsula from where it carried its Message to the world.

We ought to adopt the carrying of the da‘wah and the work towards resuming the Islamic way of life as our method to establish the Islamic State. We ought to consider, also, all the Muslim countries as one single society and as a target for the da‘wah. We must, however, concentrate our scope of work to one province or specific provinces where we undertake to educate people with Islam so that it springs to life within themselves and so that they live by it and for it, and we ought to create public opinion by Islam and for Islam so that a response is generated between the carriers of the da‘wah and society, a response which would be fruitful, effective and moving, and which would be able to transform the da‘wah into interaction and result in output. Interaction of this nature would be translated into a struggle aimed at establishing the Islamic State, which emanates from the Ummah, in that part of the Islamic world. The da‘wah would then have developed from being an idea in the mind to existing in society, and from a popular movement to a State. By then it would have concluded its stages and moved from the starting point to the launching point, and then to the point of support where it would be rooted in the State, which fulfills all elements of the State and the strength of the da‘wah. Then the practical task, which Shari’ah commands the State and the Muslims who live outside its authority to fulfill, will have begun. The duty of the State would be to rule comprehensively by that which Allah (swt) has revealed and to make the merging of the other provinces with it or its merger with the other provinces part of its home policies. It would therefore initiate the conveying of the da‘wah and the call for the resumption of the Islamic way of life all over the other provinces. It would lift the imaginary political borders which the colonialists drew up between them and who were responsible for making the rulers of those provinces the watchdogs of the borders. The State must therefore remove and cancel the borders even if the other provinces choose not to follow suit. Visas would be canceled, so would the customs checkpoints, and its doors would be left wide open to the citizens of the other provinces. This would make the citizens of the other Muslim provinces feel that this State was indeed an Islamic State, and it would make them witness the implementation and the execution of the Islamic rule. As for the duty of the Muslims, they should work towards turning their land where Islam is not implemented, and which is considered as Dar al-Kufr, into Dar al-Islam. This would be achieved by aiming to merge their household with the Islamic State by means of da‘wah and publicity. This would ensure that the whole of the society within the Islamic world had reached boiling point, which would drive it towards the right action and which would ensure in turn the unification of all the Muslims under the one State. Thus, the greater Islamic State would be established, and so the Islamic State, which represents a universal intellectual leadership, will have come back into existence. By then it will have gained its stature and the weight necessary to enable her to convey its Message and to work towards saving the world from the evils it has been plunged into.

If the Muslim Ummah, had in the past, lived in a country which did not stretch beyond the Arabian Peninsula, and which at that time numbered only a few millions, and despite that when she embraced Islam and carried its Message she represented a world superpower in the face of the two major camps at the time, whereupon she struck them both simultaneously, conquered their lands and spread Islam over almost the whole of the inhabited parts of the world at that time, then what are we to say about the Ummah today - numbering more than one billion, spread over countries that are geographically linked together - if she were a single country, stretching from Marrakesh to India right up to Indonesia, occupying the best part of the world in terms of resources and strategic points, and carrying a single ideology which is the only correct ideology in the world? She would undoubtedly form a front which would be stronger than the two present camps put together, in every domain.

It is therefore the duty of every Muslim to work from this moment on in order to establish the greater Islamic State which would convey the Message of Islam to the world. Ones work should start by carrying the Islamic da‘wah with the aim of resuming the Islamic way of life in all the Muslim countries; concentrating ones practical scope in one country or some selected ones in order to achieve the point of support so that this serious task can be resumed. Such a cause with its high objective, which the Muslim should aim to achieve by treading this practical and clear path and which he must follow, should be worth enduring all types of hardship and should be worth sparing no effort for. One should rely on Allah’s help, seeking no reward for it except to gain the pleasure of Allah (swt).

Al-Hamdu lillahi Rabbil a’alameen.

True Revival is Impossible Without Establishing an Islamic State

The following is the translation of an Arabic leaflet from the time of Sheikh Taqiuddin an-Nabhani (rh).

How Will the Islamic Ummah Revive Today?

Revival is the intellectual elevation. While the economical elevation is not a revival. An evidence of that isKuwait which is economically much more elevated than some of the European states like Sweden, Hollandand Belgium: Yet Sweden, Holland and Belgium are elevated and Kuwait is not. The ethical elevation is not a revival as well. An evidence of that is that Madina today is superior to any country in the world ethically (morally), yet it is not elevated. Thus revival is the intellectual elevation.

But this revival could be true (proper) revival or untrue. So America, Europe and Russia are revived countries, but their revival is incorrect. Because it is not established on a spiritual foundation, since the true revival is the intellectual revival which is established on the spiritual foundation. If the intellectual elevation is not based on the spiritual foundation then it is not a revival but an incorrect one. Thus there is not any true revival except that based on the foundation of the Islamic thought, i.e. except the Islamic revival, because it is alone the intellectual elevation based on the spiritual foundation.

The way to initiate this revival is to establish the ruling (government) upon a thought, not upon systems and laws and legislation. Establishing the state upon canons and laws will not create a revival, on the contrary it will be deluded and a distraction from the revival. Revival will not occur unless the ruling and authority is established upon a thought, then the daily solutions (treatments) of life's problems emanate from this thought; that is the systems and legislation and laws emanate from it. So when Europe revived this was upon a thought which was the detachment of the religion from the State, adding the liberties (freedoms) as well. The revival of Russia was based on a thought, which was materialism and the materialistic evolution, that is the transference of things (naturally) from one situation to a better situation. So Russia established the ruling (government) on this thought in 1917 and thus revived. When Arabs revived they also revived on the Islamic thought which the Prophet (SAW) brought as a message from Allah (SWT), and established the ruling and authority (sultan) upon it. So the revival occurred to the Arabs when they embraced it and established the ruling (government) upon it. All this is (decisive) evidence that the way for initiating the revival is establishing the ruling upon a thought.

The evidence that establishing the ruling on systems and legislation does not initiate revival is what Mustafa Kamal made in Turkey where he established the ruling (government) on systems and canons to create a revival. So he adopted the Western systems and laws and started to implement them, and implemented them actually by force, but he did not create a revival, and accordingly Turkey did not revive; rather it declined from the level which it held before. Look at Turkey nowadays, it is one of the most declined countries. While Lenin who came in the same period in which Mustafa Kamal came managed to elevate Russia effectively, and look at it today as one of the strongest states (N.B. before its recent collapse). The reason for that is that Lenin established the ruling on a thought which is the communist thought. From this thought the solutions of the daily issues emanated, i.e. the systems and the canons. That is to say, he started to treat the problems by laws adopted from the thought, upon which he established the ruling. Therefore Lenin established the ruling inRussia in 1917 upon a thought thus he revived Russia. And Mustafa Kamal established the ruling in 1924 upon systems and legislation to revive Turkey but he failed, rather it declined. Establishing the government upon the systems and legislation was the reason that prevented Turkey from revival because it was deluded with it.

The most recent example of this is what: Jamal Abdul Nasser has done in Egypt. Since 1952 he established the government on systems and legislation. At the beginning he established it upon hanging the ruling system by replacing the monarchical system with the republican system and upon distributing the farming lands. Then he moved further to adopt social systems of what is called the state socialism, but he did not initiate a revival. On the contrary, Egypt nowadays from intellectual, economic and political aspects is more declined than it was before 1952, i.e. before the military coup. When comparing its members of parliament today, i.e. the National Council, with its parliamentary members before 1952 from the angle of their intellectual and political capability, the intellectual and political difference appears quite clear. The situation in Egypt prevents the revival, because establishing the ruling upon the systems and legislation does not initiate revival. What creates the revival is only establishing the ruling upon a thought.

However, establishing the government upon a thought does not mean to make a military coup and seize the power and establish the government upon the thought, since this will not found a revival, and moreover is unlikely to settle in power. Rather it means to explain to the Ummah or the stronger group of the Ummah the thought upon which it is intended to revive the Ummah, and direct itself in the battle of life on the basis of this thought; then the government is established upon this thought by the Ummah and thus the revival occurs surely. So the essence of the revival is not seizing the power, rather it is unifying the Ummah on the thought and making it direct its life on this thought. Then the power is taken and the government is established upon that thought. Seizing the power is not an aim in itself, and it is incorrect to be an aim. Rather, it is a method for the revival by establishing the government upon the thought. Therefore the ruling is taken to establish it upon the thought, in order that the revival ours. The proper example for that is that which the Prophet (SAW) did. When he was sent by Allah the Supreme with the Message of Islam, he invited the people to the Islamic creed, i.e. to the thought. And when he gathered the people of the Madina, Al Aws and Al Khazraj, on the Islamic creed, i.e. on the thought, and made them direct their life according to it, he took the ruling (power or authority) in the Madina and established upon the Islamic creed and started to say: "I was ordered to fight against the people until they say: La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadur Rasool Allah. If they said it, they protected of me their blood and property except for the right upon their property." Thus he started to call for the thought, and accordingly the revival occurred in Madina, then in the Arabs, then in every people who entered Islam, i.e. embraced the thought and had the authority which takes care of its affairs established upon it.

Today, the Islamic Ummah in all its countries is undoubtedly declined, and it was trying to revive for more than two hundred years, and it failed to revive until now. The reason is because their governments are built on systems and legislation. And the ruling whether established on non-Islamic systems, i.e. kufr systems as it is the case in most of the Islamic countries, or established on Islamic systems and divine rules as was the case in some few countries as Yemen before the revolution of As-Sallal, they are all declined, and have no revival. The reason of this is that the ruling is established on systems not on a thought. Even establishing the ruling upon Islamic systems and divine rules does not create a revival. That which initiates the revival is establishing the ruling upon the Islamic thought, i.e. upon the Islamic creed. So establishing the State upon "La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadur Rasool Allah" is that which creates the revival. But establishing it upon the Mazhab of Abu Hanifa or upon the book of Tahtaoui or upon the divine rules does not create a revival. Instead, it must be established upon "La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadur Rasool Allah", then after that the divine rules are adopted in their capacity as commands from Allah, and they are implemented as His orders and prohibitions, not because they are good and beneficial or because they contain a benefit or the like. Rather because they are revealed from Allah, that is derived from "La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadur Rasool Allah", and by such the revival occurs.

So in order to revive the Islamic Ummah today, she must make the Islamic creed the basis which directs its life, and establish the ruling and authority upon it, and treat the daily affairs by the rules which emanate from this creed, i.e. by the divine rules in their capacity as prescriptions from Allah only not due to any other description. Thus the revival definitely occurs, rather the correct revival not any revival. Thus the Islamic Ummah returns back to hold the seat of the highest glory and to take the initiative to the world again.

This is the way to revive the Islamic Ummah truly, and along this path Muslims have to proceed.

Syria Negotiations Represent Selling Martyrs’ Blood in the Market of the Disbelieving West

In accordance to what was agreed upon in the Vienna conference America is working to complete the chapters of the conspiracy. So after summoning those personalities and bodies that please it in addition to some of the leaderships of the groups to the Riyadh conference and after what came out of this conference in terms of a negotiating body that took it upon its shoulders to select a delegation which will sell the blood of the Muslims and their honours within the Market of the disbelieving West; with the direction of the American middleman Staffan De Mistura and under the supervision of the UN, after that, America is working to dilute the crime and divert the Muslims from the real danger represented in sitting with the child killer and violator of honours upon the same table. The cards have been shuffled and the attention has been directed towards the participating delegation so that their media machine can give the picture that the area of difference revolves around who will participate in the delegation and upon the supposed disagreement between Russia and America. This is to enable, in the end, the creation of an illusionary victory for the body’s delegation that emanated from the Riyadh meeting and through that it would have covered over and buried the crime of negotiating with the executioner murderer.

O Muslims in the Blessed Land of Shaam:

The theatre of the recurrent ebb and flow that America utilises in respect to the issue of the negotiating delegation will never fool anybody. That is because what is the difference between so and so selling the blood of the martyrs and their sacrifices and somebody else doing that as America is satisfied and content with all of them and none reached Riyadh without the agreement of America and the invitation from their agents. Going to Geneva 3 will never end your sufferings and indeed the opposite is true as it will increase them. That is because the origin of the suffering is the secular system that dominates over our necks and not just those who run it. Allah سبحانه وتعالى said:

وَمَنْ أَعْرَضَ عَن ذِكْرِي فَإِنَّ لَهُ مَعِيشَةً ضَنكًا وَنَحْشُرُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَعْمَىٰ

”And whoever turns away from my reminder then for him is a life of misery and We will raise him on the Day of Judgment blind”

(20:124)

Going to Geneva to negotiate with the butcherer (American Agent) means falling into the trap of making concessions which those who handed their necks over to the agents of the West have begun. They have accepted and consented to fall under the remits of the democratic secular state; to produce a man-made constitution from it and to hold elections under the supervision of the UN. So in the end, the one who is sincerest in devotion to the disbelieving West will be the winner and the one who is the greatest agent to them, all under what is called free and fair elections. The revolution of Shaam would then have been wrecked and wiped away like what they did with the issue of Palestine which was sold through conferences of humiliation and shame, all within the market space of negotiations held with the enemies of Allah.

The disbelieving (Kaffir) West has realised well that the sun of the Khilafah is rising once again. For that reason, it is putting all of its weight and capabilities into preventing its return. This is what we see clearly in respect to the revolution of blessed Shaam however they will never be able to prevent the promise of Allah سبحانه وتعالى and the glad tidings of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in regards to the return of the rightly guided Khilafah after the tyrannical rule that proceeds it. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«ثُمَّ تَكُونُ خِلافَة عَلى مِنْهَاجِ النُّبُوَّة، ثُمَّ سَكًتَ»

”Then there will be a Khilafah upon the path of the Prophethood, then he remained silent…”

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Wilayah Syria

Thursday, 08th Rabii’ ll 1437 AH

28/01/2016 CE

No: 009/1437