بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Fear Leads to Success or Ruin
Everyone in this world is fearful of something. The emotion is a powerful one. It can drive you to ruin or enable you to achieve great things. Understanding this is important, especially when we consider the reality that we are currently faced with.
On one side, we have the Muslim rulers who are not only oppressing their own people. They are allowing a genocide to take place in Gaza, while also actively working to stall the spread of Islam; harassing, arresting, torturing, and in some cases killing the Muslims who are working against them.
These rulers are not different from the Quraysh at the time of the Prophet (saw), whose fear of Islam led them to commit heinous acts against the Muslims living in Mecca, subjecting the first Muslims to torture, humiliation and death as well as exile and seclusion in the Valley of Abu Talib.
They, like the rulers of today, understood that if the Muslims stood firm in their belief of Islam, it would threaten the power and influence that they clung to. They feared this loss, and this fear led to their eventual ruin in this life and the next.
We can see choices of the Quraysh echoed in the rulers of today. When, in the case of Uzbekistan, they have punished the Shabab who are working to free the world from this oppressive, hypocrite system. 23 men were re-arrested after 20 years in prison – on the same charges for which they had already served time!
This is not the act of someone who is in the right- it’s the act of a regime who fears the loss of power and influence, and works to circumvent any action that will lead to that end. It’s the act of a regime that is willing following the lead of the USA and ‘Israel’ – despite having previously claimed that they wanted to move away from the oppression and brutality of the previous regime.
They have made it clear that they are firm in their support of secularism, and will do whatever it takes to try to secure it.
“For the past decade, with increasing intensity, the government of Uzbekistan has persecuted independent Muslims. This campaign of religious persecution has resulted in the arrest, torture, public degradation, and incarceration in grossly inhumane conditions of an estimated 7,000 people.
The campaign targets nonviolent believers who preach or study Islam outside the official institutions and guidelines. They include independent imams and their followers, so-called Wahhabis”. The most numerous targets were adherents of the nonviolent group Hizb ut-Tahrir (Party of Liberation), whose teachings in favor of an Islamic state the government finds seditious. In the early and mid-1990s, the government justified the repression of independent Islam as an effort to preserve secularism. Beginning in 1998 it referred to the need to prevent terrorism, and today the Uzbek government places the arrests firmly in the context of the global campaign against terrorism begun in response to the events of September 11, 2001.” (Source)
“President Shavkat Mirziyoyev received credit early on for initiating reforms granting more religious freedoms in Uzbekistan, but what we’re seeing today is a mixed record, in which serious abuses occur with impunity...The Uzbekistan authorities still consider legitimate expression of religious sentiment or belief ‘extremism,’ and peaceful religious communities and individuals are paying the price.
In late April, Human Rights Watch wrote to the Uzbek government to share its preliminary findings and request information about restrictions on religious freedom in Uzbekistan. In a written response, the Uzbek government did not acknowledge any restrictions and claimed that the “legal framework [in Uzbekistan] fully meets international standards and ensures the rights of everyone to freedom of conscience and religion...” (Source)
This fear, and arrogance, will lead to their downfall. The world is shifting, and the Ummah is waking us. Their actions allow us all – Muslims, and non-Muslims- to see the true colors of the guardians of Capitalism, guardians who claim to be ‘civilized’ proponents of law, justice and human rights. This makes it harder for them to hide behind ‘ideals’, as people realise that the hypocrisy is embedded in the system. And thus, begin to rethink their support of it.
But the fear that is in the hearts of these regimes also stops them from seeing the truth – that while they fight to keep control of their wealth and influence, if and when Allah wills, they will lose it all. They will lose it, despite their efforts to keep hold of it, just as the Quraysh did at the time of the Prophet (saw). They forget, or willfully ignore, the fact that they can only control their own actions – the results are in Allah’s hands. They forget that Rizq and Ajal are also from Allah (swt), and when they return to Him they will be made to answer for their choices.
They forget – but the strong Muslims in the Ummah do not. Nor do those who work to speak out against the atrocities that are being committed in Gaza, and the rest of the world. A Muslim understands why he has been placed on this earth, and understands that when we return to Allah we will answer for our actions. It’s this understanding that fills the Muslims with fear – not of this world, or of the people within it. It fills us with fear of Allah (swt) and encourages us to abide by His Laws so that we will be successful in this world and the next.
[الَّذِينَ يُبَلِّغُونَ رِسَالَاتِ اللَّهِ وَيَخْشَوْنَهُ وَلَا يَخْشَوْنَ أَحَدًا إِلَّا اللَّهَ]
“Those who convey the message of Allah and fear Him, and fear none except Allah...” [al-Ahzab; 39]
It’s this fear that allows the Muslims of today to persevere and stand strong despite the atrocities that are being committed against them. It’s this fear that led the Muslims of the past to establish the First Islamic State, which ruled over this world for 1400 years. It’s this fear that led the Muslims of the past to adhere to Islam in their everyday life, caring for the affairs of the people, while also making scientific achievements – achievements which allowed the Islamic State to have an era of advancements while Europe was struggling through the Dark Ages.
The fear of Allah is not one that keeps them behind, it does not stop him from leaving the house or protecting their loved ones. It does not tell us to ignore the world, or to stay in our homes praying.
It tells us to strive for success in this life and the next by applying Allah’s commands to every aspect of our life. The command of Enjoining the Good (Marouf) and Forbidding Evil (Munkar), the commands of individual acts of worship, and the command to wage Jihad when our Muslim brothers and sisters are being attacked by the enemy. It tells us to strive to provide for our family while also remembering that Rizq if from Allah (swt). It tells us to account the rulers and establish Islam as a system in this world.
The fear of Allah (swt) is one that drives us to stick to the truth – no matter what. It’s what gives the Muslims in Uzbekistan the strength to continue with their call. They know that in the end, Allah will grant us success when He deems it to be the correct time, and will reward them for their efforts in the Hereafter – both of which the evil people in this life will be unable to stop, no matter how many Muslims they arrest, torture and kill.
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said,
«إِنَّ أَحَبَّ الْكَلاَمِ إِلَى اللهِ أَنْ يَقُولَ الْعَبْدُ: سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ، وَتَبَارَكَ اسْمُكَ، وَتَعَالَى جَدُّكَ، وَلاَ إِلَهَ غَيْرَكَ، وَإِنَّ أَبْغَضَ الْكَلاَمِ إِلَى اللهِ أَنْ يَقُولَ الرَّجُلُ لِلرَّجُلِ: اتَّقِ اللَّهَ فَيَقُولُ: عَلَيْكَ نَفْسَكَ»
“Verily, the most beloved statement to Allah is for a servant to say, ‘Glory be to You, O Allah, and Your praises. Blessed is Your name, exalted is Your majesty, and there is no God besides You.’ The most hateful statement to Allah is for a man to say to another man, ‘Fear Allah!’ and he replies, ‘Mind yourself!’” (Sunan al-Kubrá lil-Nasā’ī 10619)
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Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Fatima Musab
Member of the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir