Edhi and the State of Pakistan

Abdus-Sattar Edhi has now reached to a destination where we all are going to, one by one. It is only Allah, the Supreme, whose Magnificence is above such limitations. May Allah (swt) compensate the shortcomings and sins of Edhi against the numerous charitable works he did for others and grant him a high status in the hereafter.

What needs to be questioned is for how long will men and women like Edhi carry the burden of this failed state? The Edhi Foundation was an institution in its own self, yet Edhi was an individual. At maximum, he could reach thousands or a few hundred thousand and that too in limited domains. Edhi, of course, in an individual capacity cannot provide security, education, justice, jobs, roads, health or manage inflation, nor is it his individual duty. Even what he did was not his duty in origin. It was the duty of the state which the state has neglectfully abandoned, almost entirely. Education is to be provided by private institutions, security by private security guards, electricity and gas by corporations, health by fraudsters or private hospitals, housing is a private duty or at the mercy of housing colonies, support in calamity is the duty of charities and for the ambulance service and orphanages, there is Edhi. The government is there to do one job, usurp our Halaal income with back breaking levels of taxation, which is legalized extortion.

Charities can only provide limited meager support to a small fringe of the masses of impoverished. The question arises, as to what is the state's role when it has 4 trillion rupees of taxation revenues at its disposal? The current rulers are elated that they can bleed four trillion rupees from the sweat of the people, whilst the people establish charities, donate money and look after themselves. Establishing charities and supporting them is no solution, it’s a patchwork solution. The real solution comes from the state.

The solution to the issues of the masses is to stand up to these corrupt governments, expose them, confront them and account them. The solution lies in replacing these treacherous regimes with that of a Khilafah "Caliphate" (Caliphate) on the Method of the Prophethood. It was under Islam that the Muslims were blessed with a state which witnessed a time when there was none to distribute Zakat to and a serious crime would occur only after several years. In the 1342 years of the Khilafah "Caliphate", we never established a charity of such nature as there was no need for it.

The solution does not lies in presenting a 19-gun salute to Edhi. Rather it lies in seizing these rulers by their thieving necks. The solution does not lies in issuing statement praising Edhi services, instead it lies in reversing the looted money from these rulers and spending on the Ummah, and demolishing the capitalist system and establishing the Khilafah "Caliphate" state which is the protector, responsible and shield of the Ummah. RasulAllah (saaw) said,

«إِنَّمَا الْإِمَامُ جُنَّةٌ يُقَاتَلُ مِنْ وَرَائِهِ وَيُتَّقَى بِهِ»

“Indeed, the Khaleefah is a shield, from behind whom you fight and by whom you are protected.” (Muslim)

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Muhammad Yasir – Pakistan