In The Name of Allaah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.

Food For Thought When Secularists and Their Stooges at ArabNews and Alarabiya News Praise Reforms – In Muslim Societies – That Violate The Infallible Islamic Shariah

Allaah [The Mighty and Majestic] said:

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَأۡمُرُكُمۡ أَن تُؤَدُّواْ ٱلۡأَمَـٰنَـٰتِ إِلَىٰٓ أَهۡلِهَا وَإِذَا حَكَمۡتُم بَيۡنَ ٱلنَّاسِ أَن تَحۡكُمُواْ بِٱلۡعَدۡلِ‌ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ نِعِمَّا يَعِظُكُم بِهِۦۤ‌ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ سَمِيعَۢا بَصِيرً۬ا
يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ أَطِيعُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُواْ ٱلرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِى ٱلۡأَمۡرِ مِنكُمۡ‌ۖ فَإِن تَنَـٰزَعۡتُمۡ فِى شَىۡءٍ۬ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ وَٱلرَّسُولِ إِن كُنتُمۡ تُؤۡمِنُونَ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلۡيَوۡمِ ٱلۡأَخِرِ‌ۚ ذَٲلِكَ خَيۡرٌ۬ وَأَحۡسَنُ تَأۡوِيلاً

Verily! Allah commands that you should render back the trusts to those, to whom they are due; and that when you judge between men, you judge with justice. Verily, how excellent is the teaching which He (Allah) gives you! Truly, Allah is Ever All-Hearer, All-Seer. O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger (Muhammad), and those of you (Muslims) who are in authority. (And) if you differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if you believe in Allah and in the Last Day. That is better and more suitable for final determination. [Surah An-Nisaa. Aayaat 58-59]

The scholars say that the first verse was revealed regarding the rulers – that it is obligated on them to render back the trusts to those whom they are due and that when they judge between the people they do so with justice. And the second verse was revealed regarding those under the ruler’s authority, the armies and other than them- that it is obligated on them to obey the rulers who establish justice in their distributions, rulings, military expeditions and other affairs, except when they command one to commit an act of disobedience to Allaah, because there cannot be obedience to the creation in disobedience to Allaah. And if they differ in any matter, they should return to the book of Allaah and the Sunnah of His Messenger. If the rulers do not do this, then they are only obeyed in that which is in agreement with obedience to Allaah and His Messenger, their rights are fulfilled just as Allaah and His Messenger commanded and they are aided in righteousness and piety, but not in sin and transgression. [An Excerpt from ‘As-Siyaasah Ash-Shar’iyyah 16-18. Slightly paraphrased]

Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri [may Allaah be pleased with him] said, “The Prophet [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him] said, “Allaah never sends a Prophet or gives the Caliphate to a Caliph, except that he (the prophet or the Caliph) has two groups of advisors: A group advising him to do good and exhorts him to do it, and the other group advising him to do evil and exhorts him to do it. But the protected person (against such evil advisors) is the one protected by Allah”. (1)

Few Reminders From The Above Hadeeth

a: With regards to a prophet, there maybe those who seek to divert him from what is good, but it can never be the case that he will listen to them, because the Prophets are protected by Allaah and at the end of the hadeeth it is stated, “But the protected person (against such evil advisors) is the one protected by Allah”. Therefore, the presence of one who seeks to direct a Prophet to evil does not necessitate that the Prophet will accept what he says.

It is also said that the intent behind the two advisers (mentioned in this hadeeth with regards to their relationship) to a Prophet are the angles and shaytaan, (as the Prophet said in a hadeeth), “There is no one among you but a companion from among the jinn has been assigned to him.” They said, “Even you, O Messenger of Allaah?’ He said, “Even me, but Allaah helped me with him and he became Muslim (or: and I am safe from him), so he only enjoins me to do that which is good.” (2)

In another narration, it is stated that the person is assigned a companion among the jinn and a companion among the angels. (3)

b: “But the protected person (against such evil advisors) is the one protected by Allah” – Meaning Allaah is the one who protects whoever He wishes. So, in reality you cannot find anyone who can protect himself except if Allaah protects him.

c: It is incumbent upon a ruler to have a person who unveils to him the circumstances of the people in private, and this person should be trustworthy, reliable, smart and sensible, because calamity befalls a reliable ruler due to accepting speech of one who is not trustworthy.

Also, the one who is given responsibility over the affairs of the people may always accept the speech of good advisers and not that of evil advisers. This is what is suitable to attribute to a Prophet and it is established by the word [ عصمة – protection] at the end of the hadeeth.

It may be that a ruler accepts the speech of evil advisers, especially someone who is a disbeliever. So, he may accept the speech of these people at times (i.e. evil people) and the speech of those at other times (i.e. good people). (4)

Imaam Muhammad Bin Saaleh Al-Uthaymeen [may Allaah have mercy upon him] stated regarding the ruler and appointing people for jobs: ”It maybe that a person is suitable for this specific job and not suitable for that another job, so it is obligatory to appoint- in every job – the one who is more suitable. Likewise with regards to specific appointments, such as the position of headteacher and other than it, rather we can even say – if we wished – this in relation to a person’s responsibility in looking after the affairs of his family, that if he wants to give responsibility to his young children, then indeed he chooses the one who is more suitable. He does not choose – for example – the older one just because he is older; rather he chooses the one who is more suitable, because it may be that the young one amongst his children is more suitable than those older than him”. (4.1)

The Imaam [may Allaah have mercy upon him] also stated: ”It is obligated on the ruler to appoint both the young and the older – appoint for a job the one who is more suitable and the one who will fulfil the requirements of this job. This necessitates fulfillment of trusts. As for the one who appoints someone who is close to him or his relatives or a noble person due to his nobility or because he has a high qualification, such as a doctorate and what is similar to that, and he is either not trustworthy or not suitable for the job, then this is not permissible”. (4.2)

The Imaam [may Allaah have mercy upon him] also stated: ”If he were to say, ‘I am not able to know them by their characteristics. Are these certificates not closer way of (judging) the competence of a person?’ We say, ‘Yes, but if we found that this man is untrustworthy or not suitable in the job, then it is obligatory to remove him and replace him with someone who is more suitable because this is necessary in the affair rulership, just as Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab and other than him amongst the Khulafaa [may Allaah be pleased with them] removed those who were not suitable. Umar [may Allaah be pleased with him] applied this principle in the khilaafah. He feared dishonor after his death, so he did not appoint a specific person, except that he said, ‘If Abu Ubaydah [may Allaah be pleased with him] was alive, I would have given him the affair, because the Prophet [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him] said, ‘The trustworthy man of this Muslim nation is Abu Ubaydah [may Allaah be pleased with him]”’. (4.3)

Regarding the statement of the Messenger: “The trustworthy man of this Muslim nation”, this is a testimony from the Messenger [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him]. (5)

Umar Bin Abdil Azeez [may Allaah have mercy upon him] 

Az-Zubayr Bin Bakkaar said, “Muhammad Bin Sallaam informed me that Sallaam Bin Saleem said, ‘When Umar Bin Abdil Azeez became the Khaleefah, he climbed the Minbar – and that was the first Khutbah he delivered, then he praised and exalted Allaah, and said, ‘O people! Whoever accompanies us, then let him accompany us with five affairs otherwise let him disassociate from us: Let him inform us of the needs of those who are not able to inform us, help us to do good by his guidance, direct us to good by way of that which he guides himself, refrain from backbiting anyone in our presence and not engage in that which does not concern him’. After this speech of his, the poets and sermonisers disassociated from him, but those who abstained from the unnecessary worldly pleasures and the jurists kept close company with him and said, ‘We cannot disassociate from this man until he opposes what he has stated’”.
Sufyaan Ibn Uyaynah said, “When Umar Bin Abdil Azeez became the Khaleefah, he contacted Muhammad Bin Kab, Rajaa Bin Haywah and Saalim Bin Abdillaah and said to them, ‘You have seen that which I have been put to trial and indeed it has fallen upon me, so what advice do you have?’ Muhammad Bin kab said, ‘Consider the old man a father, the young person a brother and the little one as your child, so be good to your father, keep ties with your brother and be kind to your child’. Rajaa said to him, ‘Wish for the people what you wish for yourself, hate for them what you hate for yourself and do not approach them except in manner you would like them to approach you’. Saalim said, ‘Concentrate on one affair by degrading the lusts of the worldly life and let your innate disposition be directed towards reflecting upon death’. Umar said, ‘Laa Hawla Walaa Quwwata illaa Billaah’”.

Whenever he faced a difficult matter, he would gather the jurists of Madeenah, particularly ten of them and would not firmly decide on an affair without them or some of them, and they were Urwah, Ubaydullaah Bin Abdillaah Ibn Utbah, AbuBakr Bin Abdir Rahmaan Ibn Al-Haarith Ibn Hishaam, AbuBakr Bin Sulaymaan Ibn Khaythama, Salaymaan Bin Yasaar, Al-Qaasim Bin Muhammad Ibn Hazm, Saalim Bin Abdillaah, Abdullaah Bin Aamir Ibn Rabee’ah and Khaarijah Bin Zayd Ibn Thaabit. He never used to hold a view that was different from that of Sa’eed Ibnul Musayyib, and Sa’eed did not use to visit any of the caliphs besides Umar Ibn Abdil Azeez in Madeenah. (5)

Saudi Imaam Abdul Azeez Bin Baaz [may Allaah have mercy upon him] said: “The latter part of this Muslim nation will not be rectified except through that which rectified its early part”, just as the people of knowledge and sound faith have stated. This is a statement of Imaam Maalik [may Allaah have mercy upon him]- the well-known scholar of sound understanding and piety. Many other people of knowledge reported this statement during and after his era and they all agreed that the latter part of this Muslim nation will not be rectified except by way of that which rectified its earlier part. This means that the path followed by its earlier generations -the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of His noble Messenger – is what will rectify its future generations until the Day of Judgement. The one who wishes to rectify an Islamic society or any other society in this worldly life through other than the path and practical steps that rectified those who have preceded, then such a person is mistaken and has spoken untruth. There is no path other than the path (of the Messenger and his companions). The only path of rectification and uprightness is the one that was followed by our Prophet and his noble companions, and then those who follow them exactly in righteousness till this era of ours. And this necessitates:

-To give close attention to the Great Qur’aan and the authentic Sunnah of Allaah’s Messenger and convey them to the people.

-To acquire understanding of the Qur’aan and authentic Sunnah and convey both of them with knowledge and clear-sightedness.

-To clarify the rulings found in the Qur’aan and the Sunnah, including – first and foremost – the sound creed and the views that must be accepted by the Islamic society. On the other hand, one should clarify the forbidden creeds and views that are to be avoided.

-To clarify the boundaries of Halaal and Haraam that have been legislated by Allaah and His Messenger, so that they are not violated. Allaah [The Mighty and Majestic] said: [تِلْكَ حُدُودُ اللَّهِ فَلَا تَقْرَبُوهَا – These are the limits (set) by Allah, so approach them not] [Soorah Al-Baqarah: Ayah 187].

These limits are the unlawful deeds forbidden by Allaah because they lead to sins. And just as Allaah forbade mankind from going beyond the boundaries of Halaal and Haraam, He also legislated acts of worship and rulings in the religion. (6)

Saudi King Abdul Azeez Bin Abdir-Rahmaan [may Allaah have mercy upon him] said, “The foundation of the Islamic Creed is the Book of Allaah, the Sunnah of His Messenger [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him] and that which the Sahaabah were upon; then the pious predecessors after them (see appendix a), and then after them the four Imaams of the Muslims- Imaam Maalik, Imaam Shaafi’ee, Imaam Ahmad and Imaam Abu Haneefah. The creed of these people is one in the foundation of the religion and that is the three categories of Tawheed- the Oneness of Allaah in His Lordship, the Oneness of Allaah in that He (alone) has the right to be worshipped and His Oneness in His Names and Attributes”.

Saudi King Abdul Azeez said, “It is obligatory that we adhere to the Rope of Allaah [i.e. the Qur’aan, Sunnah etc] and that which the Salafus Saaleh [pious predecessors] were upon. If we adhere to this, we will be callers to Allaah [i.e. Callers to Tawheed, the Sunnah and everything Allaah has commanded], establish our affairs based on what Allaah has revealed, speak and establish our economic affairs based on Taqwaa [i.e. fear of Allaah by fulfilling everything Allaah has commanded and keeping away from everything Allaah has forbidden], so that Allaah may show us kindness. However, if we do not do so and we are abandoned to our own selves, then we might become like what Ali [may Allaah be pleased with him] that Allaah said: [نَسُوا اللَّهَ فَنَسِيَهُمْ – They have forgotten Allah, so He has forgotten them]”. [Surah Al-Anfaal. Aayah 67]

Saudi King Abdul Azeez said, “O Muslims! It is obligatory that we hold onto the Rope of Allaah (i.e. the Qur’aan), follow the Sunnah of Allaah’s Messenger Muhammad [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him], follow the guidance of the Messenger, act on Allaah’s orders and keep away from what Allaah has forbidden. Indeed, every speech that is not followed by action is false. There can be no rectification for the Muslims except through their unity upon singling out their Lord in [His Lordship, Names and Attributes and worshipping Him alone and associate none to Him as a partner in Worship]. And during every differing that leads to splitting and division, the Religion commands us to hold onto Allaah’s Sharee’ah, enjoin one another with the truth and patience, just as Allaah [The Most High] commanded us in the Qur’aan. We should be truly acquainted with our Lord and seek His Aid and Assistance. We do not fear except the (consequences of) our sins and it is obligated on the Muslims to follow Allaah’s Religion and obey all that Allaah has ordered, practically. In this is the (means of) rectifying their worldly affairs and the upright establishment of all their (other) affairs”.

Saudi King Abdul Azeez said, “Deeds that are in opposition to the Sharee’ah can never be beneficial for anyone and all harm (is found) in following other than the foundation brought by our Prophet Muhammad [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him]”.

He said, “Indeed, the progress and advancement of the Muslims is among those affairs we (pursue) – we call to it by the will of Allaah. (However), there cannot be advancement for the Muslims without a return to their religion, adherence to their sound creed and holding onto the Rope of Allaah (i.e. the Qur’aan and the Sunnah). The path towards this is clear and provided for the one who wants to follow it, and that is to single out Allaah in worship – to be free from shirk and bidah- and act on that which the religion has commanded us, for indeed there is no benefit in speech if not (accompanied) by action”. (7)

Sound Revival Every Hundred Years By Upright Scholars

Allaah’s Messenger [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him] said:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَبْعَثُ لِهَذِهِ الأُمَّةِ عَلَى رَأْسِ كُلِّ مِائَةِ سَنَةٍ مَنْ يُجَدِّدُ لَهَا دِينَهَا

Allaah will raise for this Ummah at the end of every hundred years the one who will revive its religion for it. (8)

[إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَبْعَثُ لِهَذِهِ الأُمَّةِ – Allaah will raise for this Ummah]- meaning the Ummatul Ijaabah [i.e. the Muslims].

[عَلَى رَأْسِ كُلِّ مِائَةِ سَنَةٍ – At the end of every hundred years]- meaning at the end of every hundred years when there is little knowledge of the Islamic legislation and the authentic Prophetic Tradition, whilst ignorance and religious innovation is rife. [مَنْ يُجَدِّدُ لَهَا دِينَهَا – One who will revive its religion for it]- meaning a scholar who is alive and well known. He will clarify the authentic Prophetic Tradition and distinguish it from the innovations in religious affairs. knowledge will be abundant again and its adherents will be aided, and the proponents of innovation in religious affairs will be overcome and degraded. This reviver is non else but a scholar who has sound understanding of the religious sciences that deal with acts of worship, the underlying wisdoms of the religion and the texts that deal with beliefs of the heart. (9)

Believer’s Relationship With Muslim Rulers

Umm Salamah [may Allaah be pleased with her] reported that Allaah’s Messenger [peace and blessinsg of Allaah be upon him] said: “There will be rulers from whom you will see both goodness and corruption. One who recognizes their evil and hates it will maintain his innocence, but one who is pleased with it and follows them will be sinful”. It was said, “Shall we not fight them?” The Prophet said, “No, as long as they estalish the prayer”. [Muslim 1854]
https://salaficentre.com/2021/02/10/believers-bahaviour-towards-muslim-rulers-advise-given-in-private-supplicate-for-them-and-refrain-from-rebellion-so-beware-of-spiteful-foreign-instigators-and-some-dangerous-social-media-networ/

How to Behave When The Rulers Give Precedence to Themselves and Others

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There Is No Such Thing – In Islam – As Separation Between State and Religion
https://salaficentre.com/2022/08/12/i-consider-myself-a-secular-muslim-statement-of-damn-fools/

[Ref 1: Saheeh al-Bukhaari 7198]

[Ref 2: Fat’hul Baaree 14/234-236. Publisher: Daarus Salaam. 1st edition 1421AH (2000)]

[Ref 3: Saheeh Muslim 2814]

[Ref 4: Fat’hul Baaree 14/234-236. Publisher: Daarus Salaam. 1st edition 1421AH (2000)]

[Ref 4.1: At-Taleeq Alaa As-Siyaasah Ash-Shar’iyyah. Page 24-25. slightly paraphrased]

[Ref 4.2: At-Taleeq Alaa As-Siyaasah Ash-Shar’iyyah. Page 24-25. slightly paraphrased25-26. slightly paraphrased]

[Ref 4.3: Al-Bukhaari 3744]

[Ref 5: An Excerpt from Al-Bidaayah Wan-Nihaayah. Vol 9. Pages 193-202. Publisher: Maktabah Al-Ma’aarif and Daar ibn Hazm. 9th Edition. 1414 AH (1994)]

[Ref 6: An Excerpt from ‘Awaamil Islaah Al-Mujtama’ah pages 1-2]

[Ref 7: An Excerpt from “Haqeeqah Manhaj Al-Mamlakah Al-Arabiyyah As-Su’oodiyyah”. Pages 26-33]

[Ref 8: Al-Bidaayah Wan-Nihaayah. Vol 9. Pages 303-309. Publisher: Maktabah Al-Ma’aarif and Daar ibn Hazm 9th Edition. 1414 AH (1994)]

[Ref 9: Sunan Abee Daawud. Hadeeth Number 4291. Declared authentic by Imaam Al-Albaanee [rahimahullaah] in Saheeh Abi Daawud. Publisher, Maktabah Al-Ma’aarif. Awnul Ma’bood Sharh Sunan Abee Daawud. Vol 11. Pages 259-260. Publisher: Daar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyyah. 1st Edition 1419AH (Year 1998)]