بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Speaking the Truth in Front of Tyrants with Purity of Intention, Patience and Perseverance is an Obligation and a Matter of Life and Death
Salaam to the foresighted and wise ones; who show the Truth as Truth and follow it, and who show the falsehood as false and who refrain from it and protect others from it, who will rescue the Ummah of Muhammad from this darkness, and from the oppressors and tyrants, who prevent it from the path of Truth and from servitude to Al-Haqq, the Lord of the Worlds, who will implement the provisions of Islam, who will work for their implementation, and who will lead this Ummah and the entire mankind to the justice, peach and prosperity, safety and glory of Islam.
ONLY WE, the "best nation produced for mankind", will do that! If we sincerely want from Allah (swt) to change our current situation, then we must first and foremost account the rulers; expose their faults, betrayals and traps to the Ummah and to those of power and call them to join the work of commanding the good and forbidding the evil in order to resume the Islamic life and supporting it with their Nusrah. This work is an obligation and a matter of life and death. Our Lord, who is المنتقم Al-Muntaqim, wants us to change ourselves in order to escape darkness and enter the Light. He says in Surah ar-Rad, Verse 11:
﴿إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُوا۟ مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ﴾
“Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.”
Rasulallah (saw) says:
«الدِّينُ النَّصِيحَةُ قُلْنَا لِمَنْ قَالَ لِلَّهِ وَلِكِتَابِهِ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَلِأَئِمَّةِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَعَامَّتِهِمْ»
“The deen (religion) is naseehah (advice, sincerity).” We said, “To whom?” He (saw) said, “To Allah, His Book, His Messenger, and to the leaders of the Muslims and their common folk.” [Muslim] And He (saw) said:
«أَفْضَلَ الْجِهَادِ كَلِمَةُ حَقٍّ عِنْدَ سُلْطَانٍ جَائِرٍ»
“...The best fighting (jihad) in the path of Allah is (to speak) a word of justice to an oppressive ruler.” It is also reported that the Messenger (saw) said:
«والذي نفسي بيده لتأمرن بالمعروف ولتنهون عن المنكر أو ليوشكن الله أن يبعث عليكم عقابا منه ثم تدعونه فلا يستجاب لكم»“By the One in Whose Hand is my soul! Either you command good and forbid evil, or Allah will soon send upon you a punishment from Him, then you will call upon Him, but He will not respond to you.” [Tirmidhi]
It was narrated from Qais bin Abu Hazim, narrated Abu Bakr As-Siddiq:
«أيها الناس إنكم تقرءون هذه الآية يا أيها الذين آمنوا عليكم أنفسكم لا يضركم من ضل إذا اهتديتم وإني سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول إن الناس إذا رأوا الظالم فلم يأخذوا على يديه أوشك أن يعمهم الله بعقابه»
"O you people! You recite this Ayah: Take care of yourselves! If you follow the guidance no harm shall come to you from those who are astray (5:105). I indeed heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) saying: 'When the people see the wrongdoer, and they do not stop him (from doing wrong), then it is soon that Allah shall envelope you in a punishment from Him.'” Ibn Majah reported the same as follows: Rasulallah (saw) said,
«إن الناس إذا رأوا الظالم فلم يأخذوا على يديه أوشك أن يعمهم الله بعقابه»
“If people see some evil but do not change it, soon Allah will send His punishment upon them all.” [Ahmad]
Of course it is not easy to change the state of a people. Throughout history, the Prophets and Messengers and those who followed their path were ostracised, persecuted and subjected to all kinds of torture. We know that from numerous verses in the Noble Quran, from the life of the Messenger (saw) and the life of his companions, and from thousand of scholars and dawah carriers from the past and present. Therefore, the dawah carrier will face countless tribulations and pressure from his/her family, surrounding, and the governments. He/she must resist these pressures, must be convinced of the Truth of his/her Dawah, and must be convinced of the correctness of his/her path. Allah The Almighty expressed in countless verses that the Dawah carrier will face tribulations but at the same time promised the patient victory in this world and the Jannah in the Hereafter. For example, He (swt) said:
﴿لَتُبْلَوُنَّ فِىٓ أَمْوَٰلِكُمْ وَأَنفُسِكُمْ وَلَتَسْمَعُنَّ مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ وَمِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوٓا۟ أَذًى كَثِيرًا وَإِن تَصْبِرُوا۟ وَتَتَّقُوا۟ فَإِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ عَزْمِ ٱلْأُمُورِ﴾
“You will surely be tested in your possessions and in yourselves. And you will surely hear from those who were given the Scripture before you and from those who associate others with Allah much abuse. But if you are patient and fear Allah - indeed, that is of the matters [worthy] of determination.” [Al-i Imran 186]
It must be noted that there has not been found a single evidence that a single Prophet, Messenger or those who followed their path gave up their trust, abandoned the carrying of the dawah in face of ostracisation, persecution, humiliation and torture.
Indispensable Qualities of A Dawah Carrier
The believing Dawah Carrier in his strive for Allah's Nusrah and Victory must be equipped with certain indispensable qualities. Without these, the Dawah Carrier will stumble, fail in his work and will lose his commitment.
1.Accurate Volition:
Accurate Volition is regarding the "commanding the good and forbidding the evil" for the re-establishment of the shield of Islam and the Ummah - the Khilafah - as a matter of life and death, prioritising this dawah above all other worldly affairs. The idea of "victory or martyrdom" is the indispensable factor in this cause. The Volition To Accomplish The Goal is to prepare the Ummah for the change through political work, as well as strictly holding on to the method of the Dawah and its related Ahkam Shari'. Indeed, the Mushriqoon of Mecca tried many ways and resorted to various proposals in order to deter Rasulallah (saw) and to dissuade him from his goal. But each time, the Messenger of Allah (saw) rejected their proposals once Allah refuted their proposal with the revelation of Surah Al-Kafirun, and another time Rasulallah (saw) answered to his uncle as follows:
«يَا عَمّ، وَاَللّهِ لَوْ وَضَعُوا الشّمْسَ فِي يَمِينِي، وَالْقَمَرَ فِي يَسَارِي عَلَى أَنْ أَتْرُكَ هَذَا الْأَمْرَ حَتّى يُظْهِرَهُ اللّهُ أَوْ أَهْلِكَ فِيهِ مَا تَرَكْتُهُ»
“O, Uncle! by Allah, even if they placed the sun on my right hand and the moon on my left, I will not abandon this work until either Allah makes this deen the dominant one or I perish on this path.”
2. Sincerity (Ikhlas) in Talk and Deed:
The Dawah Carrier should talk according the commands of Allah and hold on to His (swt) commands in his deeds, while continuosly striving to achieve His pleasure. It was narrated that Abu 'Umamah Al-Bahili said that Rasulallah (saw) said:
«إِنَّ اللَّه لا يَقْبَلُ مِنَ الْعَمَلِ إِلا مَا كَانَ لَهُ خَالِصًا وَابْتُغِيَ بِهِ وَجْهُهُ»
“Allah does not accept any deed, except that which is purely for Him, and seeking His Face..” [Sunan an-Nasa'i]
Carrying the Dawah is a worship (ibadah). And any aspect of worships applies to carrying the Dawah too. Thus, the carrying of the Dawah must only be conducted for the sake of Allah and with sincerity (ikhlas). The Dawah must be carried to fulfil Allah's command and gain His pleasure. Any deeds without sincerity carry the risk of falling into Shirk. Thus the Dawah Carrier has to pay utmost care and importance to this issue.
3. Patience in Face of Tribulations:
With increasing sincerity, activity and dynamics the Dawah Carrier, the intensity of the tribulations and persecution will increase too, and with it the Dawah Carrier's need for patience and resistance.
The fact is that tribulations and patience are absolutely inseparable in the sincere, righteous and upright Believer. The status of the servant, who responds with patience to tribulations, in the view of Allah (swt) is indescribably high. It was narrated by Abdullah ibn Abbas (ra) that the Messenger (saw) described it as follows:
«يُؤْتَى بِالشَّهِيدِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فَيُنْصَبُ لِلْحِسَابِ، وَيُؤْتَى بِالْمُتَصَدِّقِ فَيُنْصَبُ لِلْحِسَابِ، ثُمَّ يُؤْتَى بِأَهْلِ الْبَلاءِ، وَلا يُنْصَبُ لَهُمْ مِيزَانٌ وَلا يُنْشَرُ لَهُمْ دِيوَانٌ، فَيُصَبُّ عَلَيْهِمُ الأَجْرُ صَبًّا، حَتَّى إِنَّ أَهْلَ الْعَافِيَةِ لَيَتَمَنَّوْنَ فِي الْمَوْقِفِ أَنَّ أَجْسَادَهُمْ قُرِضَتْ بِالْمَقَارِيضِ مِنْ حُسْنِ ثَوَابِ اللَّهِ لَهُمْ»
“A martyrer will be brought on the Day of Judgement and he will be given his share (reward). A person, who gave plenty of charity, will be brought and he will be given his reward. Then the one, who was continuously patient towards tribulations, will be brought, but he will be showered with an abundance of rewards even before the libra is set up. Such; that even those, who already received their rewards, will pawn their bodies in exchange for the rewards that Allah gives to him.”[Tabarani and Abu Naim]
Allah The Almighty promised;
﴿إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصَّابِرُونَ أَجْرَهُمْ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ﴾
“Indeed, the patient will be given their reward without account.” [Az-Zumar 10] And Allah is the One, Who keeps His promise.
4. Perseverance in Carrying the Dawah
Carrying the Dawah is an obligation (fard) upon every Muslim, and perseverance in carrying the Dawah is obligatory (wajib). The enemies of Islam and Dawah seek to undermine perseverance through stigmatizing Islamic laws and concepts, and through mixing non-Islamic ideas with Islamic ideas. For example, they seek to cause chaos in the Deen and confusion of Haqq and Batil (باطل) through democratizing the Islamic Dawah and blurring Islamic concepts with concepts like "freedom, social justice, gender-equality". They also fight persevere Dawah Carriers through arrests, torture, poverty and even executions with all their means at any occasion. Whoever falls into the traps of Fitnah will be a loser and one who realizes the aims of the vile enemies of Islam. Allah (swt) warned us from not being persevere in carrying the Dawah:
﴿وَإِن كَادُواْ لَيَفْتِنُونَكَ عَنِ الَّذِي أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ لِتفْتَرِيَ عَلَيْنَا غَيْرَهُ وَإِذًا لاَّتَّخَذُوكَ خَلِيلاً * وَلَوْلاَ أَن ثَبَّتْنَاكَ لَقَدْ كِدتَّ تَرْكَنُ إِلَيْهِمْ شَيْئًا قَلِيلاً * إِذاً لَّأَذَقْنَاكَ ضِعْفَ الْحَيَاةِ وَضِعْفَ الْمَمَاتِ ثُمَّ لاَ تَجِدُ لَكَ عَلَيْنَا نَصِيرًا﴾
“And indeed, they were about to tempt you away from that which We revealed to you in order to [make] you invent about Us something else; and then they would have taken you as a friend. And if We had not strengthened you(granted you perseverance), you would have almost inclined to them a little. Then [if you had], We would have made you taste double [punishment in] life and double [after] death. Then you would not find for yourself against Us a helper.” [Al-Isra 73-75]
So in conclusion: complying with the demands of the enemies of Islam and Dawah, inclining towards them, making sweet-talks, not challenging kufr ideas, laws and signs contradictory to Islam, not continuing to expose agendas and traps against Islam and Muslims, complying with and approving their deeds, ignoring their oppressions and pardoning their crimes, remaining silent to defamations towards Islamic ideas and laws, complying with their demands and thus attempting to change any of the provisions of Islam... All of this is the opposite of perseverance, abandoning the Dawah and consequently causing the anger of Allah!
5. Being A Role-Model and Example:
Allah (swt) created the human with a nature that is more disposed to believe in tangible, physical elements rather than in non-visible, abstract ideas. Throughout history, while Islam was represented through a state, i.e. the Khilafah, we witnessed how masses of people entered Islam. However, the weaker Islam was represented, and finally the Khilafah abolished, the less people entered Islam. This is why Allah (swt) commanded the Muslims to establish the Khilafah. Making Islam a tangible, physical entity through the establishment of the Khilafah is the most important duty upon Muslims. For then, the number of Muslims will increase. Hence, in this world where Islam is not applied actually, the Dawah Carrier is the only tangible model of Islam. Therefore, the Dawah Carrier must become the tangible role-model and pioneer of Islam just like the Companions of Rasulallah (saw). He/she must be the representative of Islam with all his/her words, deeds and qualities and must be ambitious in conducting legitimate deeds and possessing the qualities determined by Shariah.
Additionally, he/she must possess praiseworthy attributes, like distinguished ethics, righteousness, ikhlas, devotion, patience, perseverance, humbleness, and philanthropy, fearing Allah, loving Allah and despising what Allah despises and hoping the best for and from people. He/she must avoid bad qualities and bad ethics. Stingy, arrogant, malice and oppressive people are not eligible for carrying the Dawah. Allah will not lead them to success. He (swt) will not accomplish the good (khayr) through their hands, for people will not take these people as role-models for their actions and words.
Carrying the Dawah is a heavy responsibility and a hard and exhausting work. Allah (swt) will grant victory only to the Dawah Carrier, whose aim is the Jannat-ul Firdaws, and who aims at achieving the honor of liberating the Ummah and mankind from darkness and to leading to the Light. Therefore, the Dawah Carrier must express his/her Islamic ideas and method in an open, clear, and pure manner, without fearing the blame of a critic.
Finally, my sisters and brothers in the Dawah, If we face the torture and oppression by the enemies of Islam and Dawah, then let us remember the Dua (invocation) of our unique example and role-model - our belove Prophet Muhammed Mustafa (saw) - when he faced torture by the people of Taif.
Muhammad b. Ka'b al-Kurazi reported:
«اللّهُمّ إلَيْك أَشْكُو ضَعْفَ قُوّتِي، وَقِلّةَ حِيلَتِي، وَهَوَانِي عَلَى النّاسِ، يَا أَرْحَمَ الرّاحِمِينَ! أَنْتَ رَبّ الْمُسْتَضْعَفِينَ وَأَنْتَ رَبّي، إلَى مَنْ تَكِلُنِي؟ إلَى بَعِيدٍ يَتَجَهّمُنِي؟ أَمْ إلَى عَدُوّ مَلّكْتَهُ أَمْرِي؟ إنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ بِك عَلَيّ غَضَبٌ فَلَا أُبَالِي، وَلَكِنّ عَافِيَتَك هِيَ أَوْسَعُ لِي، أَعُوذُ بِنُورِ وَجْهِك الّذِي أَشْرَقَتْ لَهُ الظّلُمَاتُ وَصَلُحَ عَلَيْهِ أَمْرُ الدّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ مِنْ أَنْ تُنْزِلَ بِي غَضَبَك، أَوْ يَحِلّ عَلَيّ سُخْطُكَ، لَك الْعُتْبَى حَتّى تَرْضَى، وَلَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوّةَ إلّا بِك»
“To You, my Lord, I complain of my weakness, lack of support and the humiliation I am made to receive. Most Compassionate and Merciful! You are the Lord of the weak, and you are my Lord. To whom do You leave me? To a distant person who receives me with hostility? Or to an enemy You have given power over me? As long as you are not displeased with me, I do not care what I face. I would, however, be much happier with Your mercy. I seek refuge in the light of Your face by which all darkness is dispelled and both this life and the life to come are put in their right course against incurring your wrath or being the subject of your anger. To You I submit, until I earn Your pleasure. Everything is powerless without your support.” [Muslim, Ahmed b. Hanbel]
Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Zehra Malik