Jihad And Immediate Implementation Of Shariah
27 March 2016By Sheikh Hamid
Kamaluddin (H.A)
Translated by: Anwar
There are some places of the Muslim world where the current jihad is not in a
position to immediately implement Islamic Shariah after defeating the Kuffar.
To this, some of our sincere Muslim groups raise the question that even if you
succeed in this conflict, we do not see an ''Islamic system'' coming. And in
such a case would it even be right to call it ‘jihad' or even allowed in Islam
to give blood for it?
While there is no doubt that the establishment of the Islamic Shariah is the
one of the very fundamental obligations of Muslim societies. This fact is also
beyond doubt that ''A'la-e-Kalimutullah'' (raising the word of Allah) in it's
true and deep meaning is to implement and execute each and every command of
Allah S.W.T and without it, the situation of no country can be referred to
with ''wayakoon aldeen kulluhu lillah'' (and all religion belongs Allah alone.)
Beyond any doubt, the idea of Muslim societies without Shariah has never even
been imagined in our entire history ever. Even in the worst of conditions the
implementation of Shariah was never a doubtful matter in the eyes of Muslims.
So consequently, if such questions are coming into the minds of our youth
today and they attach the idea of ‘jihad' with the ‘implementation of Shariah'
then it is only natural.
However, there are some particular aspects from the perspective of Shariah
which cannot be ignored in a situation like today which is extraordinary or
rather abnormal. Because today, the protection of Muslim honour and welfare or
a similar situation in itself demands the cause of Qitaal (fighting). For
example there are many Muslim dominated areas throughout the globe where the
Infidels who have held a grudge against Islam for thousands of years step up
to violate the honor o Muslims and start massacring the helpless masses merely
due to their malice and grudge with the religion of Allah. So at this point,
are we going to bury ourselves in deep calculations of possibility of Shariah.
Even after we succeed in causing deep and painful wound to the Kafir, we find
the possibility of establishment Shariah problematic and unlikely. So in such
a scenario, shall we be arguing ''why should it even be allowed to take a
jihadi step? Even though the prospects of establishing Shariah it is not even
remotely possible?'' therefore we shall we say to ourselves and other Muslims
''why don't we just let happen whatever is happening to the helpless Muslims of
these areas.'' Because obviously in this line of thinking it is prohibited for
us to take a jihadi step ‘according to Shariah'. Or if you remember, when the
savages of Serbia were let loose on our Muslim brothers in Bosnia, the
situation at that time was also demanding a quick reaction to the situation
stated above. And there are many examples like this. Can we afford such
calculations at the cost of the life and honor of our Muslim brothers even
though the blood of a Muslim is worth more than the Ka'aba according to the
hadith?
Some people create another confusion about this matter with regards to a
particular Hadith. This hadith is 1421 from Sunan At-Tirmidhi.
عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ زَيْدٍ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ
وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ مَنْ قُتِلَ دُونَ مَالِهِ فَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ وَمَنْ قُتِلَ دُونَ
دِينِهِ فَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ وَمَنْ قُتِلَ دُونَ دَمِهِ فَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ وَمَنْ قُتِلَ
دُونَ أَهْلِهِ فَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ
Sa'eed ibn Zaid reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings
be upon him, say, ''Whoever is killed protecting his wealth is a martyr, and
whoever is killed protecting his religion is a martyr, and whoever is killed
protecting his life is a martyr, and whoever is killed protecting his family
is a martyr.''
These people equate this very clear jihadi conflict with the normal situation
mentioned in the hadith to the extent that they are not ready to give it due
credit by calling it ‘Jihad-e-Hurriyyat' or ‘jihad for freedom' to most or all
of the current jihad happenings today.
As far as it is concerned, a situation like ''who ever is killed while
protecting his wealth'', such a situation can occur even when the person being
fought is a Muslim. This is why we see that this hadith not been quoted in any
books of hadith under the subject of ‘jihad'. In fact Imam Bukhari quotes it
in the book of Oppression, in Muslim it is in the book of Eeman (Faith), in
Tirmidhi it is in the book of Blood Money, in Abu Dawud Book of Sunnah, in
Nisai the prohibition of bloodshed and in Ibn Majaa the book of legal
punishments. We do not know of any muhaddith who has brought this hadith under
the chapter of ‘jihad'. So even after we know that this hadith allows a person
to defend his land, his life, his wealth, his honor and his nation and also
allows him to fight for it and gives him the reward of martyrdom if he is
killed for it. Even then the jihad of our mighty Mujahideen, which they have
been ongoing in the regions of Afghanistan and others, this jihad holds a much
higher stature than the ‘protection of life and wealth'.
Of course in a situation where the reason of conflict is simply due to someone
starting to grow a liking for one's property or wealth or he has laid his
hands on the honor and dignity of a Muslim to fulfill his human or rather
inhumane desires regardless of the fact if this person is a Muslim or a Kafir
then in this scenario one's fighting will be considered under the category of
''protection of wealth, life and honor''. But consider a scenario where the
problem actually lies in disliking of one's Religion. This situation is not
just limited to life, wealth and honor only but this is where the issue has
risen beyond the discussion of ‘life and wealth' and is now an issue of
''Islamic Interests'' and it is directly associated with the ''War between Kufr
and Islam'', for which the established term in the terminology of our Shariah
is ''Fee Sabeelillah.
For example, take another scenario where the grudgeful Serbs of Serbia are
taking out their 5 centuries old anger. An entire debt worth of 500 years is
going to be directed against our innocent daughters of Bosnia. In this
situation it is clearly a matter of hatred for our Religion. This war is a
continuance of a very old conflict in which we had the better position for a
very long time (our caliphate was present and our Shariah was established).
Today we are not in a position to completely restore that entire scenario of
Islam or even after defeating the Kafir in Bosnia or Kosovo we are not capable
of establishing the Shariah. Or you can even say that these daughters of
Bosnia themselves are not very practicing of Shariah at the moment and the
problem (with regards to following Shariah) demands a lengthy
educational/reformist process because the communist reign had ruined all the
features of this society. Therefore even if the standard of ‘practicing
Shariah' is not applicable in Bosnia or Kosovo, the war of the Bosnian people
with the crusaders and their brutalities are directly associated with hatred
for our religion. A religion which has a very comprehensive background as well
as a future in this region with regards to the ‘conflict between
civilizations'. It has an undeniable past to it as well as a very examinable
future in the Islamic renaissance.
So here this conflict is directly associated with the very same Jihad Fee
Sabeelillah which is done to raise the banner of Allah high and subdue the
word of the disbelievers on this earth. We could say that the ‘establishment
of Shariah'' is the peak of this process but because of some extraordinary and
abnormal circumstances there can be some desperate situations and steep turns
down this road. And ‘roadmaps for Shariah' will not be demanded from the
Mujahideen groups where we come across such situations.
Hence wherever the issue is purely of hatred of the Deen of Islam and all
places where helpless and ill-equipped Muslim societies are paying the price
for merely being ‘Muslims' and due to this specific ‘crime' are being ripped
apart by the crusaders, in all these places lies the clear and deep meaning of
the war between Kufr and Islam; not a normal meaning of ‘protection of
wealth'.
Do we not realize that if today we leave these helpless Muslims to fend for
themselves in such miserable circumstances whilst the Kuffar enjoy toying with
their honor and dignity, then what kind of humiliation is this for the Deen of
Muhammad S.A.W and what boastful meaning lies in it for the enemies of Islam?
And not just this, so many of these feeble and weak Muslim societies are very
likely to start walking towards the path of apostasy as a result of this as
their children begin seeking safety in displaying the symbols of Kufr. So how
did this issue remain confined to ''protection of wealth''. Over here we have a
civilization being eliminated completely (with regards to a specific region)
and another civilization laying the foundations of its grandeur on top of it.
Therefore this clearly is the protection of one's ‘religion' before life and
wealth. In fact these very things being discussed here i.e. the wealth, life
and honor, demand the question ''why are they being taken in the first place?''
These most despicable of creatures who are bent upon taking the life of these
helpless Muslims are doing so because they are Muslims. And these savages
desperately want to violate the honor of this girl for no other reason but due
to the fact this is honor being snatched in that of a Muslimah. Consequently
this life, this wealth and this honor is no longer of humans but in this
scenario it is the life and honor of ''Islam''. And what meaning does
''protection of wealth and life'' carry where when the honor of Islam is at
stake?
In reality the people who do not accept this conflict as war of freedom and
are not even ready to listen to the reference of Jihad Fee Sabeelillah, many
such individuals are not aware of the terms like ''Qitaal e dafa'' and ''Qitaal e
Nukayah'' in Islamic Jurisprudence. In their minds if a certain Qitaal
(fighting) does not immediately lead to an Islamic system then it is a Qitaal
of Jahilliyah (ignorance) and if somehow attempts are made to include such a
war within Shariah then it can only by done under the ''protection of wealth''
hadith. Although in the case of this hadith, the matter is very
individualistic i.e. it does not have anything to do with the benefit of
Islam, the dignity of Islam or the future of Islam and Muslims. Whereas in the
current jihad, we see that the situation is entirely different. Take into
consideration a certain region, where a war between the Deen of Muhammad S.A.W.
and the Deen of Polytheists has taken countless turns over a period of a
thousand years and is probably going to take some very steep turns in the
future as well. Every leaf and stone of this region could be very relevant to
this conflict in these circumstances let alone just the honor and lives of the
people of this region. Therefore it is not right that we only take on aspect
of a process into consideration despite the fact that it could be very sacred
and important (like the clear establishment of the Islamic System) and
completely ignore the other factors in the equation. Things are sometimes
associated with their short-term consequences and in other times their long
term goals and the principle explained to us by the fuqaha ''al umooru bi
maqasiduha'' (things are judged with their goals) applies in both situations.
With regards to the future of Islam and its protection there is another factor
which must be understood. When we talk about the scientific factors with
regards to domination of civilizations over one another, a very important
factor we come across is ‘demography'. We might see the current situation of
our Muslim societies as extremely worrying but the west refers to it as the
‘Muslim Demographic Bomb'. This is in fact a huge potential to our benefit due
to which we are able to shift the global balance in our favor. Therefore
saving Muslim societies present at the moment from going into the hands of
Kuffar and also any natural, mineral or human resources present in them or
more broadly each and every thing present in them, or not letting any of these
turn into a source of benefit for the enemy or from keeping them from falling
into a worse condition if they cannot possibly be used for the betterment of
Muslims, these are all the long-term interests of Islam. And these are very
crucial factors in the war of civilizations since this war is not a year or
two old, but a war which has been going on for centuries. If one has to fight
in close combat with the Kuffar for the protection of these long-term
interests of Islam, or if one is in a position of rescuing these resources
from the jaws of Kuffar then certainly it comes under the category of Jihad.
Because what is jihad but to subdue the Ntion of the disbelief and raise high
the Nation of Islam. Needless to explain, some aspects of this process will
cause immediate results while others will carry long lasting benefits.
If a picture is too large and the situation very much out of control, one can
certainly draw some parts of it. This obviously is not a game of a decade or
two but there is going to be ups and downs in this conflict and can take
generations and centuries. Just as some parts of this picture appear, along
with it we will also begin seeing the beautiful markings appearing before us
while a totally different people, a totally different generation may exert
even more efforts on it than those who started the drawing. But due to limited
vision and lack of insight many people only see a certain part of the picture
being drawn and they cannot help but say ‘Oh no, we should be seeing something
already'. How can a large picture be created if the small parts are not drawn?
It becomes a little unfathomable for the common man when he sees that if a
situation is not turning to our favor, we are also not letting it benefit the
Kuffar. Or if a very strategic asset which is not currently benefiting us, is
also not being let by us be pushed to a worse situation. Or even if we cannot
help that we are not letting it worsen as much as the Kuffar want. And
certainly even to achieve this little result, we are exerting an enormous
amount of effort. A shallow mind in this scenario could very well become
restless and unsatisfied especially when he cannot imagine any lesser
reference than Muhammad Bin Qasim, Mahmud Ghaznavi and Tariq Bin Zaid for the
success of a Jihadi process in his region.
We should certainly not forget that we are waking up from a deep and old
slumber. In fact, majority of us are still bent upon sleeping. Standing up on
our own feet after 200-year-old oppression of the colonial masters and
reviving our historical standing as a nation is no small challenge. There are
huge mountains of disbelief before us which we shall bypass at some places,
find a tunnel through at some points and some we will shall blow to
smithereens with dynamite; we shall wage war at some places and wait at
others; we shall ambush like fearless lions while at some places we will
consider it beneficial to merely save our existence. Hence we would be
adapting to different positions, forcing us underground in some scenarios
while in others forcing us to the mountains. Where one group cannot suffice,
another could also be stepping in. This is an area where a very high standard
of foresight and understanding of matters is required.
Because of not understanding many of these perspectives of Shariah and
especially because of ignorance regarding long term goals, we have to hear
sarcasm and mockery by even some very religious individuals. We have heard
many fiery orators and faith-improving speakers say while discussing the
clothing of the women of Bosnia and Kosovo ''See, look at the condition of
their Deen and you're want to set off for jihad there!''. The areas of
Palestine which have annexed as part of Israel for the last 70 years have gone
through a horrible brain washing process. If these Muslims come out on the
streets then these protests hold an enormous level of importance for the
jihadi process. The fact of the matter is, no one really knows the amount of
effort taken to bring the Muslims of these societies to the streets. The same
applies if we are successful in bringing out the populations on streets but
our shallow speakers cannot glance beyond the ‘jeans' of the girls and boys of
these regions and in a blink of an eye, the jihad of Palestine is thrown into
the bin. As if it is virtually impossible to find any deeper and more
important problems in our religion. Also on these exact same lines the Islamic
interests demand that entire Muslim societies come out in protest on the issue
of blasphemy and the honor of our Prophet S.A.W and this issue does not remain
confined to a small circle of people with an ''Islamic appearance'' rather the
entire Muslim street should start furious on it and the entire nation should
be shaking the ground beneath them. However we have seen some of our religious
figures humiliating the people and telling them that they shave off the Sunnah
of the Prophet and now they are outside shouting his name on the road. This is
no way of showing ''honor for Islam'' nor it is a way to correct the people.
This cannot be called anything but shallowness and short-sightedness. Nothing
has destroyed the long-term interests of Islam more than such a mindset.
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