All Praise be to Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala and Salat and Salaam on His Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam). May Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala protect you and me from the evils of my soul and from those of my surroundings and circumstances and guide you and me to that which is pleasing to Him and which is for our benefit on the Day of Judgment. Anything good in what I am going to say is from the guidance of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala and any mistakes are from the evil of my self and the whisperings of shaitaan. I seek the refuge of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala from the shaitaan and ask for His forgiveness for you and for me. Thereafter:

In these strange times that we live in, it is critical to our Imaan and our very humanness to periodically question the stances that we take, lest we become victims to the whisperings of shaitaan who seeks to ease our path to Jahannam.

First, let me share my understanding of what is happening in the world today.

After the fall of the Russian Empire and political power, America (read Zionist-Christian clique that rules the USA) is seeking to extend its hegemony in the whole world. For this, it is starting with the Muslim lands for two reasons:

1.       Islam and the Muslims are seen as the only serious threat to American domination.

2.       Muslim lands are the only ones, which have the richest natural resources in the world.

There are two ways in which they seek this domination:

1.       Through a political process where they place rulers who are their puppets in charge of these countries and then exploit the natural resources, while the rulers are allowed to indulge their desires in the fleshpots of the West (You-know-who’s latest 4 million pounds a day holiday in Costa Del Sol in Spain, where the biggest flash industry that came up was prostitution. Is it only accidental that his palace there is a replica of the White House?? You want more proof of slavery??)

2.       And when and if that fails, then ‘Daisy Cutters’ from 10,000 feet above to liberate the people from such recalcitrant despots to pave the way for the earlier mentioned kind of rulers (after all Western women have their rights and freedoms, you see and capitalism is all about generating business.)

Their goal is always the same:

1.       Not to allow the Muslim Ummah to unite under one leader or one council of leaders

2.       To take what belongs to the Muslim Ummah (resources) and use it to enslave them.

So the way I see it, what happened in Afghanistan and what is happening in Iraq are both the same thing; annexation of Muslim lands and exploiting of their wealth. That is why though the rulers in these two places were at two opposite poles of the ideological continuum, both were attacked with intention to destroy.

From the point of view of America and the forces of Zionist – Christian fascism that it represents, it is not about the morals or human rights record of the Taliban or Saddam.  There is overwhelming historical evidence to show that America gladly supported both the Taliban and Saddam when it suited them and actually sold Saddam the chemical weapons that they are now ‘accusing’ him of having.

Not to mention even more evidence of America supporting and propping up brutal, fascist regimes in many different countries when it suited their political agenda of opposing Russia during the Cold War. This is about political and economic domination; it is about colonizing the Muslim lands and enslaving their populations, albeit in a sophisticated and polished manner. That is how I (and millions of people around the world who are protesting against this war) see it.

In this context when I look at the attitude of the Muslims, including the published statements of various scholars (I have seen 7 from the Middle East) I can see three main stances:

1.       That what is happening in Iraq is really a result of the actions of Saddam Hussain and his Ba’ath Party. Their socialist ideology is against Islam and is Kufr. And so what is happening is really to be expected and is from Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala.  

2.       That the average Muslim has nothing more to do than to first examine his own aqeeda and a’amal and to return to the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) and then to make dua for the deliverance of the people of Iraq from their predicament.  

3.       That the Ummah should seek the guidance of the scholars (which is mentioned above – return to the Qur'an and Sunnah and make dua) and obey their rulers who know best what is good for them.

May Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala forgive me but one scholar even claims that to boycott American and British goods is prohibited.

Shaykh 'Ubayd al-Jaabiree on the Position Towards Iraq; From a Paltalk Session today 31/03/2003 at 8:30pm UK Time

“And as it is appropriate, I also say that those who call to cutting off from the products of America and Britain and others, then those people have a resemblance to the Raafidah. Shaykh ul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah mentions in Minhaaj us-Sunnah, in the first volume, and I believe it is page 38, "From the stupidity of the Raafidah is that they do not drink from the river that was unearthed (i.e. dug out, like a well) by Yazeed". So those Harakiyyoon and Hizbiyyoon, have resembled the Raafidah. And what an evil model (that is). And the most repugnant for a person that his model, and way is that of the Raafidah.”

What strikes the poor intelligence of an idiot like me is the lack of similarity between drinking water from a well and using products from companies who openly announce that they are donating a part of their revenues to Israel and to the whole war effort against the Muslims.

Let me make myself very clear that I don’t seek to disobey the scholars or to go against what they have said or against the orders of the rulers. I merely want to ask some questions that arise in my mind when I see what is happening and understand its causes.

So I have these questions about the above stances:

1.       That what is happening in Iraq is really a result of the actions of Saddam Hussain and his Ba’ath Party. Their socialist ideology is against Islam and is Kufr. And so what is happening is really to be expected and is from Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala.

(Is this not an ‘Islamic version’ of President Bush’s statement? Do we really believe that this war is about Saddam? Or are we willing to see it for what it is; for the oil and mineral wealth of Iraq and the enslaving of its people? Are we really so blind? Or are we cowards?)

2.       That the average Muslim has nothing more to do than to first examine his own aqeeda and a’amal and to return to the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) and then to make dua for the deliverance of the people of Iraq from their predicament.

(Is Jihad a part of aqeeda? Is it a part of Sunnah? What is the prophecy of the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) about what will happen to this Ummah when it leaves Jihad and follows the tails of oxen? What is our duty when we see our brothers and sisters being slaughtered? What is the likelihood of acceptance of the duas of cowards?)

3.       That the Ummah should seek the guidance of the scholars (which is mentioned above – return to the Qur'an and Sunnah and make dua) and obey their rulers who know best what is good for them.

(I don’t say that we should disobey the scholars or rulers, but do we have a right to question them on their actions? If so then how about the fact that they allow the enemies of Islam to use the lands in their control to attack the Muslims? How about the fact that they pay for the upkeep of the army of the kuffar so that they can slaughter the Muslims? How about the fact that they squander the wealth of the Muslim Ummah given into their guardianship to enjoy themselves in zina, alcohol, gambling and israaf – building palaces and whatnot? How about the fact that despite what they see happening to the Muslim Ummah in Palestine, Chechnya, Afghanistan, Gujarat and elsewhere, they continue to sell oil to the enemy and maintain relations with him and give his nationals special preferential status in their countries which they don’t give to their own Muslim brothers and sisters. The list is very long. But the final message is the same: with such a track record is it reasonable to ask thinking people to still trust the same people to lead them to success?)

Islam is an ideology and as such can only be attacked and harmed ideologically. The enemies of Islam have understood this very well and have concentrated their efforts on attacking the basis of our Deen: Amr bil ma’aroof wa nahi anil munkar (Enjoining good and forbidding evil). This struggle between good (maa’roof) and evil (munkar) is an age-old struggle and will go on till the day when Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala establishes the Judgment. It is the duty of the Muslim to continue to fight to establish what is good and remove what is evil, irrespective of how difficult it may be and the price he may have to pay in this world. All the Prophets did this work and this is the work of this Ummah of our Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) which Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala clearly stated in His Book:

3: 104            Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to al that is good (Islam) enjoining Al Ma’aruf and forbidding Al Munkar. And it is they who are successful.

3:110             You are the best of peoples raised up for mankind; you enjoin Al Ma’aruf and forbid Al Munkar and you believe in Allah.

One of the consequences of the September 11 bombing of the World Trade Center by unknown people is a huge increase in the anti-Islam propaganda in the West and India. Islam has been maligned and Muslims demonized, as being the propagators of ‘terrorism’. And the chief ‘fault’ of Islam and the Muslims is shown as their ‘jihadi’ mentality. New words have been coined in the lexicon of anti-Islam terminology among which, Talibanisation, jihadi, and such others represent what the West likes to call the “Stone Age” mentality of the Ummah. This entire effort has been done so efficiently and with such force that gradually some of us, especially the ones who have little or no knowledge of Islam, have started internalizing this message, resulting in an apologetic self-image at the least level and an almost openly anti-Islam stance at the highest level of indoctrination.

One of the principle indicators of this is the attitude of the Muslims towards Jihad. From being something that we used to be proud of and had a desire to take part in and fight for the sake of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala and His Deen and give our lives for the sake of establishing His law in the land, we have reached a stage where we have ourselves converted Jihad to a philosophy of personal struggle against one’s own desires only. And we have now even started speaking publicly against the Jihad of the battlefield.

I think it is necessary therefore to sit back for a bit and see what jihad is in the light of the Qur'an and what our own responsibility is today towards this fardh in Islam. It is time for us to take stock of our own duty to future generations of Muslims. It is time to remember that one day, the Angel of Death will come for us and then we will face the One who created us and who sent the Qur'an and to Him we will answer for what we did to that message. Let us fear the day when the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) will say about us to Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala:

25: 30      Then the Prophet will say: "O my Lord! Truly my people deserted this Qur'an (neither listened to it nor acted on its laws and teachings).

The basic reality of what is happening today is that Muslims are being attacked and the enemies of Islam are looting their lands and wealth. My question is, what is the duty of the Muslim in such circumstances?

1.       To sit in muraqaba and introspect about his own imaan and criticize his brothers and sisters and say that what is happening to them is really the result of their own actions and thereby justify his/her own inaction and cowardice?

2.       Or is it to demonstrate his/her own imaan on Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala and follow the Sunnah of His Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) by standing up against the oppressors and fighting them, even until he lays down his life in that endeavor?

There are many ayahs that clearly show those who want to see, what the path is. I am quoting a few below, which amply make the point:

9: 12     But if they violate their oaths after their covenant, and attack your religion with disapproval and criticism, then fight (you) the leaders of disbelief - for surely their oaths are nothing to them – so that they may stop (their evil actions).

9:13      Will you not fight a people who have violated their oaths and intended to expel the Messenger while they did attack you first? Do you fear them? Allah has more right that you should fear Him if you are believers.

9:14      Fight against them so that Allah will punish them by your hands and disgrace them and give you victory over them and heal the breasts of believing people.

9:15      And remove the anger of their (believers) hearts. Allah accepts the repentance of who He wills. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.

9:16      Do you think that you shall be left alone while Allah has not tested those among you who have striven hard and fought and have not taken Walijah (Bitanah – helpers, advisors, consultants from disbelievers, pagans – giving openly to them their secrets) besides Allah and His Messenger and the believers. Allah is well acquainted with what you do.

The degree to which the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) himself loved Jihad and considered it important can be understood from the following hadith:

Narrated Abu Hurairah (Radhiallahu anhu): The Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) said, “By Him in Whose Hand my soul is! Were it not for some men amongst the believers who dislike to being left behind me and whom I cannot provide with means of conveyance, I would certainly not remain behind in any Sariyya (army unit) going out for Jihad in Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala’s Cause. By Him in Whose Hand my soul is! I would love to be martyred in Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala’s Cause and then come back to life and then get martyred and then come back to life again and then get martyred and then come back to life again and then get martyred.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 2797)

Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala warns those who discourage others from Jihad in very strong terms by threatening them with the Hellfire and by ordering the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) not to pray for them nor to participate in their funerals. What can be more frightening for one who has faith in the Hereafter that the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) himself has been forbidden from asking forgiveness for those who not only don’t take part in Jihad themselves but also discourage others.

9: 81-82   Those who stayed behind (from Tabuk expedition) rejoiced in their staying behind the Messenger of Allah; they hated to strive and fight with their possessions and their lives in the Cause of Allah; and they said: “March not forth in the heat.” Say: “The fire of Hell is more intense in heat”; if only they could understand. So let them laugh a little and (they will) cry much in recompense of what they used to earn (by committing sins).

9:83-84 If Allah brings you back to them (the hypocrites) and they ask your permission to go out (to fight) say:” Never shall you go out with me or fight an enemy with me; you were pleased to sit (inactive) on the first occasion, then you sit (now) with those who lag behind.” And never (O Muhammad Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) pray (janazah) for any of them who dies, nor stand at his grave. Certainly they disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger and died while they were Fasiqun (rebellious, disobedient to Allah and His Messenger).

Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala promises those that are prepared to sacrifice their lives and wealth in His path, the Jannah, which He says, that He has purchased in exchange for the lives and wealth of the Muslims. What a wonderful promise of success, that in exchange for our lives and wealth, which in any case belong to Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala Himself and are not really our own; when we are prepared to give them up in the cause of the Deen, Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala promises such people the Jannah for ever. The basic question is, how much faith do we have in the Hereafter?

9: 111   Verily Allah has purchased from the believers, their lives and their possessions in exchange for Paradise. They fight in Allah’s Cause, so they kill (others) and are killed. It is a promise in truth, which is binding, on Him in the Taurat  (Torah) and Injeel (Gospel) and the Qur'an. And who is truer to His covenant than Allah? Then rejoice in the bargain, which you have concluded. That is the supreme success.

It is a reality that if the Muslims only do dua from the safety of their own homes and philosophize about the need to return to the Qur'an and the Sunnah, without actually returning to both in terms of their action (going out in the path of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala to fight against oppression) then they will be imitating the hypocrites.

Let us understand clearly that this is exactly what the enemies of Islam want us to do: to sit in introspection and to make philosophical statements and find fault (long distance) with our own brothers and sisters who are being attacked and killed and beg the oppressor for mercy. That way they will have no resistance against their actions and can complete the destruction and enslavement in peace.

I have no idea where we have learnt this action of begging the oppressor for kindness. I don’t know of any ayah in the Qur’an, which asks the believer to do this, nor do I know of any hadith where the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) did this. However, that is what we seem to do more than anything else.

What we don’t do and are even afraid to talk about, is what the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) did and what the Qur'an asks us to do: fight the oppressor, so that he is punished by Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala at our hands and so that we can get victory.

We are good at making dua for victory without going out to fight. And the pathetic incongruence of this does not strike us. The ayah (which I quoted above) is clear.

If we go out and fight then Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala guarantees us victory. But we want victory without sacrifice, without leaving our homes and without spending our lives and money. To my knowledge that is not possible.

Indeed we need to correct our aqeeda and return to the Qur'an and the Sunnah. To me, what that means is to reaffirm my faith that one day I will stand before Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala, to fear nobody except Him and to follow the Sunnah of His Messenger by going out in His path and fighting to defend the lives and homes of the Muslims, when they are being attacked by their enemies.

Islam does not recognize, borders and boundaries and talks of One Ummah of Brothers in the Faith. It is not a brotherly act to sit in introspection while your brother is being slaughtered and say to yourself, “He’s getting what’s due to him because of his aqeeda or amal.” Let Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala be the judge of aqeeda and amal for only He knows what is in the heart. Let us deal with what we can see and what we know; that our brothers and sisters are being attacked and slaughtered and their homes and lives are being destroyed. And then let us ask ourselves what our duty is in accordance with the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam).

And let us remember that one day, these Iraqis who we left alone for 13 years to suffer the sanctions and who today are content to leave to be slaughtered saying that their aqaa’id are bad and whatnot, will stand before Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala and ask why we did not come to their aid. Prepare your answers, for on that day we will have to give them. If we don’t defend the Iraqis because their aqaa’id are bad (or so we say) why did we sit at home when the Afghans were being attacked? After all they were clearly on the shari’ah!!

I am reminded of a scene from a National Geographic film showing a lion attacking a wildebeest from a herd of thousands. The others first run and then when their brother is down, they stand and watch the lion tear it to pieces. Buffalo on the other hand, though far fewer in number stand up to the charge and together drive the lion away. It is not by accident that lions kill more wildebeest than buffalo.

Today the enemies of Islam attack us yet again. Then they will divide the spoils and dismember the land so that the people can never stand up again. I wish I don’t live to see such a day. And for those who still want to follow the muraqaba policy; take solace from the fact that when your turn comes to be slaughtered there will be others who will sit in muraqaba and wonder what you did to get what you deserve.

At least that can be answered truthfully.