Since 1924, the world of Islam has existed without Dar Al-Islam,
consequent upon the abolition of the Khilafah by the Turkish Grand National
Assembly. Why did Dar Al-Islam have to collapse because the Turks abolished the
Khilafah in Istanbul? Was there no other part of the earth where Dar Al-Islam
still existed, i.e., where Muslims had control over territory and Allah´s
commands remained absolute and sovereign? If there was still Dar Al-Islam
elsewhere, then the Khilafah could have been restored in such territory! The
answer, of course, was that the forces which planned and executed the
destruction of the Khilafah in Istanbul, made certain that Khilafah itself, as
the central institution of the Islamic public order, cannot be restored. But
more of this later!
Nowhere on the earth today do Muslims have control over territory
in such a manner that Allah´s sovereignty is recognized and applied. In this
respect, at least, Muslims have now returned to the pre-Hijrah stage described
previously. And while the goal is, of course, to return to Madinah — From
Makkah to Madinah One More Time — the fact is that while Muslims still remain
in the pre-Hijrah stage they face a predicament. They recognize that it is in
the essence of the Prophetic model that they must be organized as a Jama´ah
with an Ameer/Imam who must be obeyed as a religious obligation. But that
single Jama´ah which embraces all Muslims does not yet exist, and all efforts
to restore it have so far failed. What, then, should North American Muslims do?
Indeed, what should Muslims around the world do? That is the predicament!
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) himself prophesied the emergence of the
present sorry situation when he declared that his Ummah would be divided into
73 different firaq (divisions), and that all of them except one would be
misguided. How can we recognize the one group which is rightly guided? The
rightly guided group would be the one that follows the Sunnah of the Prophet
(SAW) and his Companions (RAA), which means that this group, among other things,
would be organized as an authentic Jama´ah, and would function under the
direction of an Ameer/Imam who has adequate knowledge of Islam. Of course, the
Ameer/Imam must conduct the affairs of the Jama´ah in accordance with the
Qur´an and Sunnah. And, secondly, the Jama´ah must be under a religious
obligation to obey the Ameer/Imam.
Additionally, while there was no pledge of obedience (Baiy´ah) to
the Ameer/Imam in the pre-Hijrah model, that pledge was universally present in
the post-Hijrah model. All the Sahaba (Companions of the Prophet), all the
Taba´yeen (the generation after the Companions), all the Taba Taba´yeen (the
generation after the Taba´yeen) gave that pledge to the Ameer/Imam. Sayyedina
Imam Husain (RAA) gave that pledge to Hadrat Mu´awiyah (RAA). It was the
refusal of Imam Husain (RAA) to give the pledge to Yazeed — and he was
absolutely correct in that decision — which led to the tragedy of Karbala.
And so, the rightly guided group will be those Muslims, wherever
they may be the earth today, who, among other things, are constituted as a
Jama´ah, directed by an Ameer/Imam, who conducts the affairs of the Jama´ah in
accordance with the Qur´an and Sunnah, and whose authority over the Jama´ah is
legitimized by the Bai´yah (pledge of obedience). The rightly guided group will
also be of those who recognize the Qur´an as the primary source of guidance as
to what constitutes Islam.
The Tanzeem-e-Islami is one such Jama´ah. It may not be the only
such Jama´ah today. But it recognizes and is committed to a morrow in which all
“the people of Allah” will be unified as one Jama´ah under one Ameer/Imam.
Indeed this must be recognized as one of the basic characteristics of a Jama´ah
whose affairs are faithfully conducted in accordance with the Qur´an and Sunnah;
to wit, such a Jama´ah is constantly struggling to unify all “the people of
Allah” as “one Jama´ah” under the direction of “one Ameer.”
It is also a matter of critical importance that we recognize the
Tanzeem-e-Islami as a Jama´ah which has accepted and projected the Qur´an as
the primary source of guidance of Islam. Perhaps no one alive today has
rendered greater service to the cause of the Qur´an as Dr. Israr Ahmad, the
Ameer of Tanzeem-e-Islami.
To be Continued....
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