To Restore the Khilafah, first Restore the Authentic Jama´ah

To Restore the Khilafah, first Restore the Authentic Jama´ah

In order for the Khilafah to be restored, the Jama´ah must first be restored! It must be an authentic Jama´ah under the leadership of an authentic Ameer/Imam who has a commanding knowledge of the Qur´an and Sunnah. Authenticity requires that the members of the Jama´ah give the Baiy´ah to the Ameer/Imam and must then strictly adhere to the discipline of “listening and obeying” in all matters which do not involve disobedience of Allah (SWT) or His Messenger (SAW). Such a Jama´ah is needed so as to wage an organized and collective struggle for the restoration of the Khilafah and of Dar Al-Islam, for the purpose of establishing the Islamic socio-political system (Iqamah Al-Deen).

The methodology for the restoration of the Khilafah is that a revolutionary struggle has to be waged. The Islamic Movements in Turkey, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Algeria need to be urgently, yet gently, reminded of this fact. That Jama´ah will cease to be an authentic Jama´ah which registers itself as a political party in a secular State, and then participates in democratic elections on the basis of acceptance of a Constitution which claims sovereignty for itself. Although the Pakistani Constitution has an Objectives Resolution attached to it, the painful truth is that, since the birth of the State, de facto sovereignty has always been located with the State. It has never been accorded to Almighty Allah (SWT). And so there has been no practical difference between the shirk of the Pakistani Constitution and the shirk that is inherent in the claim of sovereignty in the Constitutions of all secular States.

The authentic Jama´ah must be engaged in a struggle to build power, such power as would permit it to sustain its control over any territory which may be restored to status of Dar Al-Islam, and to wage the struggle form that territory to liberate the Haramain and Hejaz. When it does so, the authentic Jama´ah will be re-realizing that historical process and golden age which witnessed the Prophet (SAW) establishing his base in Madinah and then struggling from there to liberate Makkah.

The authentic Jama´ah cannot be engaged in sectarian strife. On the contrary, it must establish itself on that authentic foundation of Aqeedah, and must function with that Hikmah of tolerance, as can attract Muslims form every dimension of the authentic belief spectrum. Then, having attracted them, it must weed out manifestly un-Islamic beliefs and then maintain tolerance in respect of harmless differences which exist at the periphery of the belief spectrum. The authentic Jama´ah would reach out to the Shi´ah Muslims and to Islamic Iran, and search for the authentic common bond of Aqeedah with which to build a foundation for strategic cooperation and solidarity in the pursuit of a common goal.

It should be quite clear that today´s intolerant Salafi Muslims, who take their primary inspiration from Ibn Saud´s stringent Wahhabi Ikhwan, can hardly function as an authentic Jama´ah. They wage a thoroughly obnoxious Jihad against harmless differences located at the periphery of the belief spectrum, while shamelessly betraying the very substance of the revolutionary struggle for the liberation from oppression and for the triumph of the truth of Islam over the falsehood and evil which today dominate the world, and which is descending upon mankind from every direction (min kulli hdabin yansiloon).

The authentic Jama´ah, finally, must be engaged in the effort for moral and spiritual purification and growth (Tazkiyyah) of its members. Without the spiritual magnetism and rapture which comes from the mobilization of the heart, the Ameer and the leaders of the Jama´ah will not succeed in attracting the masses of Muslims for active, spontaneous, and dynamic participation in the revolutionary struggle. This, indeed, was one of the weaknesses of the Jama´ah founded by Maulana Sayyid Abul A´la Maududi, the Jama´at-e-Islami. May Allah (SWT) guide the Jama´at-e-Islami to correct this weakness. And may Allah (SAW) bless the learned Maulana whose great service to the cause of Islam will never be forgotten. Aameen!

Source: One Ameer, One Jama'ah

To be Continued....

Conspirators in the destruction of Dar Al Islam

Conspirators in the destruction of Dar - Al - Islam

Shareef Al-Husain, the great-grandfather of the present King Husain of Jordan, claimed the Khilafah on March 7, 1924, four days after the announcement from the Turkish Grand National Assembly abolishing the Khilafah. He was appointed by the Ottoman Caliph as the Shareef of Makkah, but had rebelled against Istanbul and, as a client of the British, had fully cooperated in the British effort to defeat the Ottoman Empire. His reward was a princely seven million Sterling pounds payoff from the British Treasury. In claiming the Khilafah, however, he ran afoul of the basic British and Zionist objective in the war against the Ottoman Empire. The war was not just a war against the Turks. It was a war against Islam. The objective was the destruction of the Khilafah and the emasculation of the Muslims world so that the Jewish State of Israel could be restored, and the faith of Muslims destroyed.

Shareef Al-Husain´s claim to the Khilafah threatened the entire scheme of the British and the Zionists. And so they had to get rid of him. They did it with diabolical cunning. They gave the green light to another British client Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud, head of the Saudi-Wahhabi alliance (which had briefly captured Makkah about a hundred years previously) to attack Husain. Abdul Aziz had cooperated with the British in the destruction of the Ottoman Empire through concluding a Treaty of Benevolent Neutrality with the British in1916. His payoff from the British Treasury for his treachery to Islam was a less princely sum of five thousand Sterling pounds a month. He explained to his gullible Salafi Ikhwan that this was Jizyah. They accepted this explanation!

The British-Zionist political strategy succeeded in replacing Husain with a Saudi-Wahhabi monarchy which effectively prevented the restoration of the Khilafah. The plan was simple yet brilliant. No one could possibly be recognized as Khalifa and win legitimacy for his Khilafah unless he controlled the Haramain and the Hajj. No one could succeed in controlling the Haramain and the Hajj so long as the Saudi regime, supported militarily by the West, remained in control of Arabia. And the Saudi-Wahhabis could never be so stupid as to claim the Khilafah for themselves. After all, what happened to Shareef Al-Husain was supposed to function as a warning. It did! And the Wahhabis abandoned the Khilafah!

The reality, therefore, is that the Khilafah could not, and still cannot, be restored until Arabia is liberated and Dar Al-Islam is restored. And while the struggle to restore the Khilafah must never (Insha Allah) cease, we also recognize the possibility that the liberation of Arabia may not take place until the advent of Imam Al-Mahdi.

When the Imam Al-Mahdi does emerge, however, he will need the Jama´ah of Muslims to support him and to struggle with him. This, then, is the imperative for the creation of the authentic Islamic revolutionary movement or Jama´ah. There is a greater need for that Jama´ah in South Asia than in other parts of the world since this is the implication of the appearance of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in South Asia. In other words, the evil force which is paving the way for the coming of the Al-Masih Al-Dajjal itself recognized the enormous potential which South Asian Muslims possessed for waging a successful struggle for the renaissance of Islam in the modern godless age, and it was because of this that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad emerged in South Asia rather than in the Arab world or Africa, etc.

Source: One Ameer, One Jama'ah

To be Continued....

Hostility towards Tasawwuf - The Reality of Tasawwuf

Hostility towards Tasawwuf

In my opinion, the second disastrous outcome of the displacement of the term Ihsan  by the term tasawwuf  has been even more damaging. An attitude of aversion towards tasawwuf  developed among certain enthusiasts committed to the Qur’an and Sunnah. The result of this reaction against tasawwuf  was an overemphasis on the externalities of Islam — the specific, minute details of religious rituals and dogma. In other words, most of the emphasis was placed on the exoteric and formal dimension of Islam whereas its esoteric and spiritual dimension began to disappear from view. Although the aversion was initiated by the label of tasawwuf, which was perceived alien and therefore unauthentic, it is important to note that there were other significant factors as well that contributed in this regard, as discussed later. In this regard, the personality of Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab (RA) is the most prominent manifestation of the aversion towards tasawwuf. 

When it is argued that tasawwuf , as it is found among the Muslims, is a product of the post-Prophetic period, the point is countered by noting that many other areas of Islamic studies are also products of the post-Prophetic era. In this regard, it should be noted that the titles or labels of other areas of Islamic studies have been derived from the Qur’an and hadith. The word tasawwuf  is unique among all other fields of Islamic studies because it is the only title or label that cannot be located in the Qur’anic or Prophetic vocabulary. 

For example, the word tafseer  (Qur’anic exegesis) is used by the Qur’an itself and it was in usage among the Companions (RAA). The word hadith is also used by the Qur’an to describe itself — the Qur’an is the hadith  of Allah (SWT) — although the term hadith, as it came to be used later, refers to the speech and actions of the Prophet (SAW) and the Companions (RAA). In the same way, the word Fiqh  is found in certain sayings of the Holy Prophet (RAA), where it refers to a proper and profound understanding of Islamic teachings. These areas of Islamic scholarship locate their titles or labels in Qur’anic and/or Prophetic vocabulary. In stark contrast, however, the title or label of tasawwuf  is nowhere to be found in these primary sources. Consequently, the assertion that tasawwuf  is just like other areas of Islamic studies is totally baseless. 

It is only natural that an individual who has deep affection for, and attachment to, the Qur’an and Sunnah, would feel some reservations regarding the word tasawwuf, especially when it is asserted that tasawwuf  represents the “soul of Islam.” It is strange indeed that the label of something claiming such a noble stature cannot be found in the vocabulary of the primary sources of Islam. While the alien and unknown origin of this word produces reservations and doubts, the fact that foreign ideas and concepts influenced the development of Sufi thought further intensifies this reservation, till it leads to outright aversion. 

It has been noted that Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab (RA) is the most notable example of an individual who manifests aversion towards tasawwuf. However, I still include him among the reformers of Islam. Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab (RA) made significant headway in purging the religious practices and beliefs of the Muslims in the Arabian Peninsula of innovative and un-Islamic elements. He also eradicated many of the un-Islamic cultural norms that had taken on the veneer of religiosity among the Arabs. It must also be acknowledged that he made significant achievements in presenting an authentic and purified version of the exoteric and ritualistic dimension of Islam. Therefore, he must be included among the reformers of the Muslim Ummah. However, if we compare his accomplishments to his Indian contemporary, Shah Waliullah Delhvi (RA), it is obvious that there is no comparison between the two. Shah Waliullah accomplished at both the esoteric and exoteric level what Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab (RA) could only achieve at the exoteric level. Shah Waliullah’s work in philosophy, spirituality, and social thought is unparalleled by any other thinker from either the classical or the medieval age of Islam. In other words, the work and personality of Shah Waliullah (RA) is much more holistic, integrated, and profound than that of Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab (RA). 

Here it should be noted that the ideas and achievements of Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab (RA) are at least partially responsible for the almost total disregard for the spiritual dimension of Islam that is a defining characteristic of modern Islamic revivalist movements. For the modern day revivalists, the accomplishments of Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab (RA) have remained a model of a successful effort to restore the Shari‘ah  of Islam after a long period of decay. Even though the support of the House of Sa‘ud was indispensable for his mission, the fact that his reformist movement did attain success in implementing the Islamic Law made the Najdi Movement an ideal for the later-day Muslim revivalists — and they inherited the aversion towards tasawwuf  that was so characteristic of Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab’s thought. 

Source: The Reality of Tasawwuf

To be continued....