|
20 January 2015 By
Sheikh Dr Tariq
Abdelhallem & Sheikh Dr Hani Al-Sibai
Allah SWT says: "لَتُبَيِّنُنَّهُۥ
لِلنَّاسِ وَلَا تَكْتُمُونَهُ"
(You must make it clear to the people and not conceal It. 3:187)
Statement on the reality of Islamic State
Organization and their leader Ibrahim Awwad
Characterization of the organization and the true-nature of its beliefs
Written by:
Sheikh Dr Tariq
Abdelhallem & Sheikh Dr Hani Al-Sibai
All praise to Allah and may peach and blessings be upon His messenger, his
follower and companions.
The strife of the organization known as The
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has
spread like wild-fire and thrived into a bitter reality for many reasons beyond
the focus of this statement. Many lives have been lost senselessly, many
families and homes destroyed, many sincere leaders of Mujahedeen assassinated,
the image of Islam tarnished and smeared, and many laymen Muslims are left
confused as result of ISIS's boom. ISIS presented the worst possible picture of
Jihad to the world and made a mockery of Islam globally; while Islam and Jihad
are innocent of ISIS's action and unlike anything they present or stand for. The
only true achievement of this group is to distort the reality of the true
Islamic State and Islam itself. They and their so-called Khalifa, Ibrahim
Awwad, served and achieved the objective that the West of ultimately
smearing the image of Islam and presenting a distorted and ugly representation
of it; something that the West with all its might, media and treachery have
failed to achieve on their own.
We tried through tens of articles, recorded video and audio messages to explain
the true nature of ISIS and that it presented a new form of an old sect
historically known as Khawarij or Harooriya.
They are a new offshoot of Khawarij in their worst manifestation and extremist
ideology of killing Muslims and sparing idol worshippers. We noticed that
there's lots of debate amongst those concerned about the Islamic affairs about
the nature of their ideology and we decided without hesitation to state our
clear view beyond any shadow of doubt. It's our duty to Allah to clarify what
ISIS stands for relative to the aqeeda of Ahlul Sunnah and to clarify the
Islamic ruling in dealing with them and consequences of their actions especially
because many youth in Syria and around the world are fooled by their own
misguided morality and ISIS' false lustre. This type of misguided morality
particularly after the spread of this evil and the wide killings of many sincere
Muslims can never deter or dissuade those whom Allah SWT has entrusted with
knowledge to clearly articulate and clarify the truth regarding the proper
characterization of "The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" and the correct ruling
in dealing with their swords, daggers and guns that are collectively aimed at
Muslims especially the Mujahedeen amongst them.
Thus we decided to publish this statement to clarify our opinion and clearly
state our position so that we may answer to Allah SWT on the day of judgement
when asked if withheld our knowledge for any worldly gain or if we clearly
presented the truth to the people and exhausted all possible efforts to
disseminate our knowledge regardless of any threat from ISIS or its supporters.
Moreover, this statement is not meant to cite all scholarly references of our
scholars, rather its intended purpose is to present the principles and usool and
supported by evidence on the ground to categorically prove our previously stated
position; "لِيَهْلِكَ
مَنْ هَلَكَ عَنْ بَيِّنَةٍ وَيَحْيَىٰ مَنْ حَيَّ عَنْ بَيِّنَةٍ"
(so that those who perished would perish upon evidence and those who lived would
live upon evidence 8:42)
Necessary Introductions:
In order to establish our evidence, we will start with some necessary
introductions that are essentially established intellectual, historical, and
Shariah facts:
1. The
most important principle and the essential foundation for all matters in faith s
to follow the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger ﷺ.
This is the way of the Prophet ﷺ and
his companions as established by the respected scholars of thisUmmah.
Allah SWT says: "فَسْـَٔلُوٓا۟
أَهْلَ ٱلذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ"
(So ask the people of the message if you do not know. 16:43). Thus, Allah
decreed to refer to men who know the truth in order to understand it. Allah SWT
also said: "هَلْ
يَسْتَوِى ٱلَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَٱلَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ"
(Are those who know equal to those who do not know? 39:9) and "شَهِدَ
ٱللَّهُ أَنَّهُۥ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ وَٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ وَأُو۟لُوا۟
ٱلْعِلْمِ قَآئِمًۢا بِٱلْقِسْطِ"
(Allah witnesses that there is no deity except Him, and [so do] the angels and
those of knowledge 3:18). So Allah ordered his servants to obey the people of
knowledge and remembrance, not the people of falsehood and those who follow
their own whims.
One of their key characteristic that is hardly not found in them is what Bukharireported
based on a narration of Ali ibn
Abi-Talib who said: "I heard the
Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:
'they are immature youths who quote the sayings of the best of humanity. They
depart from Islam like an arrow departs from a bow".
Amongst what they are famous for as narrated in Sunan
Al-Nissa'e by Abu-Saeed
Al-khodary, may Allah be pleased with him, that "they kill the people of
Islam and spare the people of idols. If I live to see them, I will kill them
just like the killing of the people of Aad".
The reason behind quoting these hadiths is to show that they are immature,
irrational and reckless youth who are to cross the limits of truth just like
their predecessor Thil-Khowaysera when
he commanded the prophet to be just! They over-crossed their boundaries while
debating with major companions including making Takfir of Ali
bin Abi-Talib and other Sahaba and
pronouncing them as apostates. They are also described as reciting Quran and
quoting Hadith without comprehending the meaning beyond its literal words. They
are very strong in their Ibada (worship)
to the point that a Muslim will feel like his prayers and fasting are inferior
to any of these Khawarij. This is the key behind why many youths are fascinated
and fooled by them because they only see their great acts of Ibada and
don't consider the warnings about their bidaa (innovation).
Many of the scholars of Ahlul Sunnah warned in the strongest words against this
sect and their ideology. As an example, Al-Aajory (d.
360 H) said "the scholars of the past and present have all agreed that the
Khawarij are an evil sect who disobey Allah SWT and His Prophet ﷺ even
as they pray, fast and strive in Ibada.
None of these actions are of benefit to them even if they appear to enjoin good
and forbid evil, none of it is of benefit to them because they interpret the
Quran based on their own whims and desires and they obscure the truth to
Muslims. Allah SWT and his Prophet ﷺwarned
us against them as have the rightly guided caliphs and the companions, may Allah
be pleased with them all, and all those who followed them in righteousness.
Khawarij are wicked and atrocious across all generations of past and present and
all those who follow their ideology and rebel against the leaders and scholars
and legitimize the killing of Muslims"[1]
2. All
sects of innovation started based on a common idea and then they expanded, split
off, and branched off in different ways and beliefs. Each one of those branches
has its own offshoots with different opinions and principles; to the point that
one may think it is not part of the original sect. In fact, these sub-sects
often argue and contest among themselves and in certain cases, like Khawarij,
they will even make takfeer of each other and fight against one another. There
are even some Khawarij who claimed that they are not from the Khawarij! Such is
the case with Ibadhiya (الإباضية)
sect who don't consider themselves as a sub-sect of Khawarij; when in fact what
they mean is that they are not from Al-Azariqa (الأزارقة)sub-sect
which was the common name for Khawarij during the first half of the first Hijri
century. So Al-Ibadhiya is
correct in saying that they are not from Al-Azariqa,
but they are certainly a sub-sect of Khawarij; and later even they split
furthermore into sub-sects.
3. The
original and common principle of the sect Khawarij (or Harooriya الحرورية),
before its sub-sects introduced additional principles, is that "They make Takfir
of other Muslims based on false premises that is invalid in Sunnah and not a
correct reason for apostasy. Then, they legitimize the blood of Muslims based on
their false premises and rebel to fight and kill Muslims." This principle is
based on the original sect that revolted against Ali, may Allah be pleased with
him, and claimed that both he and Mu'awiyah,
may Allah be pleased with both of them, became apostates. Ali, may Allah be
pleased with him, consequently fought them in Nahrawan andHarooraa[5].
This original principle was later expanded and modified over the centuries, but
it remains that the main principle used by ISIS today is to make Takfir of those
who abstain from ruling that ignorant Muslims are apostates, applying the
premise of wala'a and bara'a in
incorrect scenarios, and making Takfir to Muslims and leaders of Mujahedeen and
legitimizing their blood (there are some among ISIS who ruled that all ignorant
Muslims are apostates but not those who refuse to call them as such).
4. Making
Takfir based on acts of disobedience and large sins (kabair كبائر),
such as stealing, murdering or fornicating is not the main principle that
commonly describes Khawarij. Indeed, it became established much later than the
original Khawarij, whom were called Harooriya by
the companions; as in the Hadith reported byBukhari that
"a woman asked Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, if a menstruating woman has
to make up her missed prayers after she purifies herself? Aisha replied: Are you
from Harooriya? We used to
menstruate during the time of the Prophet ﷺ and
he never commanded us to make up the missed prayers; or she said: he never
commanded us to perform prayers."
5. The
other characterization of Khawarij is their emergence to fight Muslims like they
did at the time of Ali. This was stated clearly in the hadith of the Messenger
of Allahﷺ that
they "Kill the people of Islam". So whoever is associated with Khwarij but did
not fight, doesn't change the original characterization which is based on making
Takfir based on actions that are not acts of apostasy then fighting based on
that (as found in the authentic hadiths of the Messenger ﷺ).
6. Differences
and deviations is a natural result of an innovation, because innovation at its
nature is based on following the whims of individuals not a sound methodology.
7. The
evolution of innovation continues even in our own times and as such it is very
naive to think that the sects mentioned in the history books are the only
innovative section and that no other group can be associated with their
ideology. The names of the sects and sub-sects reported in the books of sects
and misguided ideologies (like the books by Al-Tabari,
Ibn Hazm, Al-Shahrastani, Al-Baghdadi and
others) are not the only groups to ever emerge. For example, Al-Mutazila was
a sect established on the premise that the intellect is superior to the text of Shariah.
Later, it evolved to establish five main principles in the second century after
its inception. But since ideologies do not die with the people who invent them,
this same ideology appeared during our modern day in individuals and forums
based on its original premise, which is the superiority of intellect above the
text of Shariah, even if
they did not follow all of the other principles. We see this in some of writers
who adopted theMutazila School
and other institutes that are affiliated with this thought, such as "the
International Institute of Islamic Thought" in Washington DC.
8. The
characterization of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ of
this sect encompassed specific description of this group and other descriptions
that are shared with other groups. The specific characterization is that "they
kill the people of Islam and spare the people of idol-worship" as reported by Abu
Dawood and that they do not
comprehend the Quranic text and that "it doesn't pass their throats" (a euphuism
to describe that the meaning of the Quran doesn't enter their hearts).
9. When
we attribute a certain group to a sect, it doesn't necessarily mean that this
group must adhere to all the characteristics of this sect, rather the name of
the sect applies to those who follow some of its characterization or all. In
some cases, a group is attributed to a sect metaphorically as a warning or
literally based on Islamic text. The proof of this is found in the hadith
reported by Muslim and Bukhari as
narrated byMu'ath al-Adwiya that
"Aisha may Allah be pleased with her was asked: should a menstruating woman
makeup up her missed prayers? Ayesha replied: Are you from the Harooriya?
We used to menstruate during the time of the Messenger ﷺ and
we never made up the prayer or commanded to make it up." This rhetorical
questioning from Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, who lived during the time
of Harooriyaand knew well
who deserves this labelling proves our earlier point. She used the name Harooriya in
regards to a question about making up prayers for a menstruating women; how
about those who legitimize the bloodshed of Muslims and the killing of them
based on suspicions of apostasy?
10. Dominance
and establishment of control and rule over a land and gains on the ground is not
evidence to a correct ideology and sound methodology. People of innovation have
ruled over different parts of the Muslim world throughout history, as in the
example of Mutazila during
the time of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Maamoon till
the time of Al-Mutawakil and
the rule of Ubaydi Ismailis (العبيدية
الاسماعيلية) for two and a half centuries. Similarly, some Khawarij states in
West Africa were established on the ruins of Ahlul Sunnah when the khawarij
convinced some of the Berber tribes, who were recent converts to Islam, to
revolt against the rulers assigned by the Caliph of Ahlul Sunnah. The Berber
tribes became acquainted with the ideology of Khawarij especially Al-Sufriya and Al-Ibadhyia. These
ideologies were adopted by the tribes of Zinata,
Hawara, Maknasa, and Mughrawa and
others until they commanded most of the Western Sahara and some of the mountains
in West Africa.
Now that we've established these necessary introductions, let's evaluate the
situation of the group led by Ibrahim
bin Awwad Al-Iraqi.
The Correct Ruling on ISIS:
a. ISIS
made Takfir based on evidence that are not considered apostasy. They
misinterpreted and generalized verses of the Quran and applied them to
suspicious actions to denounce their opponents as apostates then kill them in
hideous manners. Their murderous actions against Mujahedeen that disagree with
their opinions and ideology is a common fact; like the killing of Abu
Saad Al-Hadhrami, Abu Khalid Al-Soory, Abu Mohamed Al-Fatih, and hundreds
of others from the Muslim in Syria specially.[7]
b. ISIS
did not fight against Al-Nusayriya (Alawites)
or Rawafidh (Shiites)
and declared that fighting "Apostates" is of higher priority than fighting Al-Nusayriya (Alawites)
or Rawafidh (Shiites).
It spread terror in villages like Deir ez-Zor and displaced the tribe of Shuaitat and
mutilated its dead like they've never done to idol-worshippers. It specifically
ravaged the Syrian people which support the argument that its leadership is
infiltrated by Iraqi Baathists
c. We
are certain based on its actions that ISIS is aligned to and consistent the
principle of the original Khawarij during the time of Ali, may Allah be pleased
with him.
d. It
has become a fact that lying, deceit, dishonesty, manipulation, duplicity and
wicked manners are common traits of this group; as demonstrated by one of their
heads, Al-Adnany, in his
lies and slander of Shaikh Ayman
Al-Zawahiri and as they
pretended to align with Shaikh Osama
bin Laden, may Allah have mercy on him, even though it was proven to us and
everyone else that he disagreed with them and warned against them and praised
aspects of the Arab Spring that ISIS would decree as apostasy. In this sense,
ISIS did not conform to the traits of Khawarij but that does not preclude them
from the sect because in a sense it is going deeper into villainy than rising
above it.
e. It
is proven that the trait of rebelling against the scholars whom are considered
among Ahlul Sunnah and of knowledge and righteousness based on a claim that "we
are men like they are men" and "following evidence" above all is an excuse that
is used by those in ISIS who have never opened a single book, let alone read it,
let alone understand it, let alone benefit from it. This has led to their
misguidance starting with their head Ibrahim
bin Awwad whom is not known to
have any proper knowledge or scholarly writing. In fact, he was never known to
anyone before he percolated in the group during Shaikh
Abu-Omar Al-Baghdadi's days. Followed by their spokesmanAl-Adnani who
is definitely unknown in name and form, especially after his weird biography
that one of his followers published.
Conclusion
Firstly,
it is apparent to us beyond any doubt after hearing many just and fair witnesses
over the past year that The
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria committed
organized crimes, not individual acts as some initially thought, in which they
legitimized innocent bloodshed in Syria by murdering leaders of Mujahedeen and
those who disagreed with them. Such crimes included:
· entering
hospitals where Mohamed Fairs, who is one of the Mujahedeen in the Free Syrian
Army, and decapitating his head with a knife
· murdering
Shaikh Abu-Solaiman Al-Hamawi, the leader of Jund Al-Sham
· Torturing
and killing a medical doctor called Abu-Rayan who was from the Free Syrian Army
· Murdering
the Amir of Raqqa from Al-Nusra, Abu- Saad Al-Hadhramy
· Assassinating
a leader in Al-Nusra, Abu Huthayfa Al-Mashhadany
· Killing
Shaikh Abu-Khalid Al-Soory, one of the leaders of Sunnah Mujahedeen and Free
Syrian Army
· Assassinating
the ruler of Idlib, Abu Mohamed along with his wife and kids and other who were
in his home
· Committing
a massacre in Markada and others
· Torturing
Muslims specially the leaders of Mujahedeen and some of the scholars and
slaughtering them by decapitation
· And
many more atrocities, some of which we have included in the appendix; and whose
actions resulted in dividing the front of the Mujahedeen, defiling Jihad and
dishonouring Islam.
Secondly,
it has been proven to us that ISIS kills Muslims based on suspicions and
misguided interpretations and make Takfir based on baseless conclusions that
their foes have never accepted. It is become a fact to us that there hasn't been
a village that they entered except that they spilled innocent blood an they've
gained infamy for slaughtering, decapitating and even handing decapitated heads
in main intersections, as they did in Deir Az-Zur and Raqqa and with the people
of Sho'aytat and in Reef Halab (Aleppo) and others.
Thirdly,
it has become a fact to us that most of the members of this group are immature
youth who belittle bloodshed and take it lightly. They don't respect a scholar
or leader no matter how much experience and effort he exerted in Jihad or in
disseminating scholarly knowledge, to the point that the "State" has become an
idol that they revere and honour. Allegiance and wala'a to
them is only allegiance to the "State" that they claim is the new Khilafa and
hatred (bara'a) and enmity is to those whom do not give allegiance to
their state regardless of his Knowledge, righteousness and Jihad.
Fourthly,
It is clear to us that the leadership of this group slander and make Takfir of
those who disagree with them either directly or indirectly as was clearly stated
in their statement entitled "This was not our Manhaj" dated 18 Jamada II 1435H
or 18 April 2014. A response was published to this statement by our own
statement entitled "Enmity and Divergence" dated 19 Jamada II 1435H or 19 April
2014. When ISIS released a statement titled "Apologies to the Amir of Al-Qaeda",
we responded to their statement through a recorded message on Al-Maqrese station
and a number of written articles.
Fifthly,
it is clear to us that their Khilafa that
was declared on the first of Ramadan 1435H is invalid and we have responded to
on Al-Maqrese station on 3 Ramadan 1435H and many other articles and writings by
other scholars who responded to every claim about this Khilafa.
We do not believe that this is a khilafa of
mercy and peace for Muslims as their spokesman claimed in their declaration and
warned and threatened those groups and factions around the world even if these
groups are defending against an invader in their own home as they were all
commanded to give allegiance to this so-called khilafa and
its leader.
Sixthly,
we are publishing along with this statement an appendix that shows some of the
crimes committed by ISIS against Muslims and Mujahedeen that proves their
ideology of slaughtering Muslims which is consistent with the Prophet's
description that they "Kill Muslims"; in other words the majority of their
victims are Muslims even if they sometimes fight non-believers.
Seventhly,
the methods of this group are the same methods as Al-Harooriya and they also
followed the ways of Qaramita and
the group historically known as "Hashasheen"[8] by
implanting suicide among Muslims troops and mujahedeen groups to assassinate
their leaders and spreading terror and fear in the hearts of Muslims and
spilling innocent blood that Allah has forbade. They have not spared a woman,
child or elderly man from their explosives and bombs under the claim that they
are either secular or apostates.
Eighthly,
we bare witness, a testimony that we shall be asked about in front of Allah,
that these people who associate with this group known as ISIS have the same
ideology as the Khawarij especially regarding the issue of Takfir and
legitimizing the bloodshed of the innocent as a consequence.
Ninthly,
we stress on the importance of describing things as they really are and using
the correct characterization in order to make the truth apparent and clear and
snub falsehood and discard it; whoever doesn't do this has falsified the truth
and misled people
Tenths,
we also warn the Ummah especially
its scholars and Daiyas from
the spread of this misguided ideology, not only between those who support ISIS,
but among any other factions because it threatens the true ideology of Ahlul
Sunnah and diminishes the movement of true Jihad and strays its objective and as
such all must address and thwart its misguided ideology in every way as much thy
can.
Eleventh,
we call upon the leaders of ISIS to repent to Allah and depart from the
extremist ideology and ways of Khawarij that they are adopting and following.
Their self-denial does not fend off the truth just like Al-Ibadhyia deny
that they are from Khawarij. We call them to return to Allah, spare the
bloodshed of Muslims and return all that was unrightfully taken to their genuine
owners. We also call upon them to submit and abide by a proper judgement in the
blood that has been spilled unjustly by them and their supporters.
Allah is witness to what we stated. We ask Allah success, rightness and
guidance. We hereby declare that we delivered the message, O Allah you are our
witness.
29 Shawwal 1435, 25 August 2014.
Appendix This is a link to some of the
heinous crimes of ISIS and its leader Al-Baghdadi
|
Add Comments