Vital Issue for Muslims

Shaikh Abdul Qadeem Zallum

The Vital Issues and the mesaure of life and death.

The instinct of survival makes it incumbent upon every nation in the world and every people on Earth to have its own vital issues, for which a nation or a people would give its blood with consent and with utmost fervour, without any hesitation or any argument or debate. These issues are those related to either perishing or staying alive, or related to the removal of a people from existence or the safeguard of its survival. Such measures are unique and almost identical to all people and the measures undertaken towards them are similar or very similar to all people, because they are tangibly life threatening. Hence, the measure is the same and the issues are also the same. However, these issues related to the survival instinct are not all the vital issues, nor the vital issues are only those related to the survival instinct; for there are other vital issues related to related to the spiritual instinct or to the procreation instinct. However, people differed in these issues according to the difference in their viewpoint about life; thus they differed in the measures undertaken towards them; this is so because what makes these issues vital is the specific viewpoint about life; thus they differ and the measure also differs. Therefore, the vital issues differed between peoples and nations according to this difference in the viewpoint about life. The Muslims are one Ummah and they undoubtedly have a host of vital issues. The Ummah’s vital issues, whether these were related to the survival instinct, or the spiritual instinct or the procreation instinct, should be according to their viewpoint about life. Their viewpoint about life is determined by Islam alone. Hence, it is Islam that determines the vital issues and also determines the measure.

Islam has come and explained to people the vital issues and made the measure of life and death towards them an obligation. Hence, the Muslims have no choice in determining their vital issues. That which is considered by Islam to be a vital issue must be viewed by the Muslims as such. Likewise, they have no choice in the measure of life and death undertaken towards such issues; because when Islam determined the vital issues, it also determined the measure that Muslims should undertake towards them. For Islam to have faced events which threatened it and for Muslims to have come up against what threatened their existence, in their capacity as Muslims, was self evident; for it is self evident for any movement in life to face that which threatens its existence, especially the movements of reform and more specifically the sound movements.

Ever since the dawn of Islam, the struggle has been at its fiercest between Islam and Kufr; this struggle has been about the fate of Kufr and the fate of Islam. The bloody struggle that has been added to the intellectual struggle since the establishment of the Islamic State in Madinah was in defence of the vital issues. Hence, the existence of vital issues was to the Muslims inevitable and axiomatic, and their undertaking of the measure of life and death towards them was also inevitable and axiomatic. It is a matter for which Jihad has been made one of the most important duties, in which the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: The head of the matter is Islam, its pillar is the Salat and the peak of its hump is Jihad. It is also a matter for which Jihad will continue until the Hour comes, for he (saw) said: And Jihad has been constant since Allah sent me until the last generation of my Ummah fight the Dajjal, it will not be revoked by the tyranny of a tyrant nor by the justness of a just. The Messenger of Allah (saw) also said: Jihad is constant with the pious and the dissolute. Hence, the Muslims did not slacken for one moment in defending the vital issues, nor did they ever hesitate in undertaking the measure of life and death towards every vital issue.

Therefore, when they were face with what threatened their fate as a Ummah and as a State during the crusades, they undertook towards this the measure of life and death; thus they engaged the Kuffar crusaders in a fierce war for more than a century. Islamic Ummah managed to repel the fatal blow that threatened her. Likewise, the Muslims acted in the same way when the Mongols invaded the Islamic lands. The Islamic Ummah considered this invasion as a matter that threatened her existence, thus she undertook towards it the measure of life and death, and the Muslims engaged the Mongols in a war in which they sacrificed their lives without seeking any worldly gains until the decisive victory was theirs.

Therefore, the Muslims used to perceive the vital issues and used to undertake towards them what was obligatory upon them, that is the measure of life and death. This was so because that which Islam had explained in terms of vital issues was considered as facts by the Muslims, which they clutched with a tight grip, and the clear perception of their danger was clearly manifested to them. Hence, it was inconceivable for them to face a situation that threatened their existence without undertaking towards it that which Islam has obliged upon them, that is the measure of life and death. Neither the Islamic Ummah, nor the Islamic State ever failed in the past to perceive and be aware of the vital issues, thus failing to perceive and to be aware of the measures, and hence neglecting them. However, when the perception of Islam receded to the level of deviation and when the piety in the souls weakened to the level of keeping silent over the flagrant Kufr, these vital issues lost their consideration as being vital, and the measure of life and death was not undertaken towards them. Consequently, the threat to the existence loomed and the Muslims failed to give their blood and their lives generously in order to repel this threat. Hence, the Khilafah was destroyed, the system of Islam was abolished and the whole of the Islamic Ummah was threatened with extinction.

Hence, it is imperative to perceive the vital issues from the Islamic viewpoint as Islam decreed in the Book and the Sunnah. It is also imperative to perceive the compulsory measures which ought to be undertaken towards them as outlined by the Qur’an and by the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (saw). Only then awareness of the vital issues and of the compulsory measure towards them would be generated and their neglect would then become inconceivable.

The Vital Issue according to Islam

If one were to review the Book and the Sunnah, he would find that Islam has determined these vital issues in an explicit manner and that has also determined the compulsory measures towards them as being a matter of life and death. Islam has for instance considered apostasy from Islam, be it by an individual or a group, as a vital issue and made the measure undertaken towards it one of life and death, that is either repentance or death. Hence, Islam has determined the issue and also the measure. The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “He who changes his Deen must be killed.” It is also reported on the authority of Ibn Masud who said: “The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: The blood of a Muslim person who professes that there is no god but Allah and that I am the messenger of Allah is not violable except in three instances: the adulterer, the slayer of another person and the apostate who abandons the group.” This issue was to the Muslim a dominant concept and a fact to which they held on with a tight grip. The Muslims used to implement it, thus they would kill the apostate who refused to repent. The Sahaba did this in Yemen in the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (saw), they also did this after him (saw) and those who succeeded them did the same. In the Hadith of Abu Moussa, it is reported that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said to him: “Go to Yemen!” Then he (saw) sent Muath Ibnu Jabal to join him. When he reached him Abu Moussa threw him a pillow and said to him: “Get down.” As Muath was about to dismount, he noticed a man who was tied up; so he asked: “What is this.” Abu Moussa replied: “He had been a Jew, he then embraced Islam and then he Judaised again.” Upon this Muath said to him: “I shall not sit until he is killed. He who revokes his Deen must be killed.” Abu Dawood reported this as follows: “A man who apostatised from Islam was brought to Abu Moussa, so he invited him to repent for twenty nights or so; then Muath came and invited him to repent but he refused so he struck his neck.” Al-Darqutni and Al-Bayhaqi extracted the following: “Abu Bakr invited a woman called Umm Qarfah to repent, having embraced Islam and then apostatised, but she refused to repent, so he killed her.” Also, when many of the Arab tribes rejected the obligation of Zakat, Abu Bakr ® considered this to be apostasy from Islam; thus he brandished the sword against them and fought them until he brought them back to the fold of Islam.

It is reported in Al-Fatah on the authority of Abdullah Ibnu Sharik on that of his father who said: “It was said to Ali: There are people here at the door of the mosque who claim that you are their god. So he ® summoned them and said to them: “Woe to you! What are you saying?” They said: “You are our god, our creator and our provider.” He said: “Woe to you, I am but a servant like you. I eat just like you and I drink just like you do. If I obeyed Allah He would reward me if He wished, and if I disobeyed Him I feared that He punished me.” So fear Allah and repent. They still refused to repent. On the following day, they were brought to him and Qanbar came and said: “By Allah they went back to saying the same thing.” So Ali said: “Let them in.” So they again said the same thing. On the third day Ali said to them: “If you were to say the same thing again I shall kill you in the worst possible way.” They still refused. So Ali ordered for a hole to be dug for them between the entrance of the mosque and the palace; then he ordered for wood to be thrown in the hole and lit up. He then said to them: “I shall throw you in if you do not repent.” They still refused, so he threw them in.”

When Ibnu Abbas heard of their burning, he expressed his disagreement over their burning and said that they should have been killed. Akrama reported: A group of apostates were brought to the Amir of the believers Ali ® so he burnt them; Ibnu Abbas heard of this and said: If I had been him, I would not have burnt them because the Messenger of Allah (saw) has prohibited this by saying: “Do not punish with the punishment of Allah.” I would have killed them because the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “He who changes his Deen must be killed.” In the days of Al-Mahdi the number of atheists and apostates increased; and he used to invite them to repent, and he who refused used to be killed. Al-Mahdi killed a considerable number from them.

Hence, the Muslims, among them the Sahaba, those who succeeded them and the Khulafa’ used to kill the apostate. They were firm in the matter without any slackness. However, when the Khulafa’ became weak and the understanding of Islam also weakened, slackness in the killing of the apostate occurred, until atheism and apostasy spread and this reached the point where some of the apostates established groups and adopted a Deen alien to Islam; as a consequence, the fear crept into the hearts of the Muslims, despite the fact that this was a vital issue on the one hand and a matter in which intercession and forgiveness were out of the question on the other hand.

Hence, it was not surprising for a man like Mustafa Kemal to declare war against Islam, i.e. apostate against Islam with no one to execute the rule of Shari’ah upon him; because the issue of apostasy was no longer a vital issue, and this is what happened. Therefore, it is imperative to put back this issue in its rightful place and consider it to be a vital issue, by killing every apostate, even if they numbered millions.

However, this does not mean that we can be casual in judging a person to be an apostate because he carries a doubtful opinion; we ought to be decisively certain before we can judge him to be a Kafir and an apostate. If what he says makes him 99% an apostate and 1% does not make an apostate, then the 1% should take precedence and he should be considered a Muslim, and he should not be judged as an apostate; because the Muslim in essence is a Muslim and he should not be judged to be a Kafir or an apostate unless this were conclusive. Likewise, we should not make excuses for him or seek pretexts to remove the rule of apostasy from him if he were conclusively an apostate, because this would impede the measure of life and death to be undertaken in a vital issue.

Hence, if a Muslim were to perpetrate that which renders him an apostate, such as praying in a church, with the Christians and in the way they pray, or if he were to utter something that renders him an apostate, such as: “The story of Ibrahim mentioned in the Qur’an was not narrated by history, thus it is a false story.”, or if he were to believe in that which renders him an apostate, such as believing that Islam is not valid for this age, or such as believing in the separation of the Deen from the state, or if he were to doubt a conclusive fact, thus becoming an apostate, such as doubting that the Qur’an is the word of Allah, in all such cases and in other similar cases, he would conclusively become an apostate. Then the issue must be treated as a vital one, thus the measure of life and death must be undertaken towards it, i.e. either repentance or death.

Likewise, Islam has made the unity of the Islamic Ummah and the unity of the State one of the vital issues, and made the measure undertaken towards it a measure of life and death; thus it has determined the issue and the measure.

This is manifested in two cases: one is the issue of the plurality of Khulafa’ and the other is the issue of the rebels. It has been reported on the authority of Abdullah Ibnu Amr Ibnul-A’as that he heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “He who pledged his Bay’a to an Imam giving him the clasp of his hand and the fruit of his heart shall obey him as long as he can, and if another comes to dispute with him, you must strike the neck of that man.” It has also been reported on the authority of Abu Said Al-Khudri that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “If a Bay’a has been taken for two Khalifah, kill the latter of them.” Hence, he (saw) made the unity of the State a vital issue when he prohibited the plurality of the Khulafa’ and ordered the killing of the one who attempts to establish a plurality in the Khilafah, unless he retracts. It has also been reported on the authority of Ajrafa who said: “I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) say: He who comes to you while your affair has been united under one man, intending to drive a wedge between you or fragment your group, kill him.” Hence, he (saw) made the issue of the Ummah’s unity and the issue of the State’s unity a vital issue when he prohibited the fragmentation of the group and ordered the killing of he who attempts to do so, unless he retracts.

As for the rebels, Allah (swt) says: [49-9]“If two factions from among the believers fall into a quarrel, make peace between them; and if one of them transgresses against the other, then fight the one that transgresses until it complies with the Command of Allah.” T.M.Q. This is so because he whose Imamah of the Muslims has been established, i.e. he who has been established as Khalifah of the Muslims, rebellion against him is forbidden, due to the fact that rebellion leads to the disunity of the Muslims, the shedding of their blood and the squandering of their wealth; the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “He who rebels against my Ummah while they are united strike his neck with the sword whoever he may be.”

Hence, those who rebel against the Imam are considered rebels. They should be invited to repent and their doubts should be dissipated, but if they persist, they should be killed.

By prohibiting the plurality of the state and the rebellion against it, and by prohibiting the division of the Ummah, the unity of State and that of the Ummah becomes a vital issue, because the Legislator (swt) has decreed that the measure to be undertaken towards them a measure of life and death. Hence, he who perpetrates such an act should either repent or be killed. The Muslims had implemented this and used to consider it to be amongst the most important and most critical of matters. They never used to be lenient in this towards any Muslim whoever he might have been. Ali was never lenient with Muawyyah, nor was Ali, the Ommiads and the Abbasides lenient with the Khawarij, and the established facts pertaining this are innumerable. However, when the Khilafah became weak and the understanding of Islam weakened, Muslims kept silent over the breakaway of Islamic lands from the body of the Khilafah; thus a wedge was driven between the Muslims and they turned into several states, despite the fact that the breakaway of any country from the body of the State is a vital issue that stipulates either the repentance of the rebels or the waging of war against them, regardless of the cost in lives or in wealth.

The situation reached the point where Muslims lived in several states and the Khilafah became one of these states; the situation even worsened to the point where some Muslims started to call for an Islamic league, i.e. to have the Khilafah state enter into agreements with the states which broke away from her, thus the Khilafah State would approve of their separation and of becoming several states; i.e. to support the disunity of the Muslims so that they turn into several peoples and nations, despite the fact that this was a vital issue and despite the explicitness of the Ahadith about repentance or death. Hence, it came as no surprise when Mustafa Kemal declared the dismemberment of Turkey from the rest of the lands of Islam, and even declare his approval of surrendering the Islamic lands of the Kufr states to decide their fate because the issue was relegated from the level of being a vital issue, thus the calamity took place and the Muslims became indifferent towards having to live in several states, and being divided into several peoples and nations. This was only because the issue of the Ummah’s unity and the issue of the state’s unity were no longer regarded as vital issues and the measure undertaken towards them was no longer a measure of life and death.

Hence, it is imperative to restore this issue at its rightful place and to consider it a vital issue, thus preventing the dismemberment of any country from the body of the Khilafah, even if this led to several years of fighting and even if it led to the killing of millions of Muslims.

Likewise, Islam has made the displaying of flagrant disbelief (Kufr) one of the vital issues, and made the measure undertaken towards it a measure of life and death; thus Islam determined the issue and the measure. Muslim reported in the Hadith of Auf Ibn Malik that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “Amirs will be appointed over you, and you will find them doing good deeds as well as bad deeds. The one who hates their bad deeds is absolved from blame, the one who disapproves of their bad deeds is also safe, but the one who approves and follows is doomed.” It was said: “O Messenger of Allah! Should we not fight them with the sword?” He said: “No, as long as they continue to establish prayer amongst you.” In another narration : “They said: “O Messenger of Allah, should we not fight them then? He (saw) replied: “No, as long as they continue to establish prayer amongst you.” Bukhari reported on the authority of Ubadah Ibn-us-Samit who said: “The Messenger of Allah (saw) invited us so we pledged our Bay’a to him to hear and to obey in weal and woe, in ease and in hardship and evil circumstances; that we would not dispute with the people in authority, unless you witness a flagrant Kufr of which you have a conclusive proof from Allah.” In Al-Tabarani’s narration it said: “evident Kufr.” and in a narration by Ahmed, it said: “As long as he does not order you to commit a flagrant sin.” It was also reported on the Auf Ibnu Malik Al-Ashjayi who said: “The best of your Imams are those whom you love and they love you and who pray for you and you pray for them, and the worst of your Imams are those whom you hate and they hate you and you curse them and they curse you We asked: O Messenger of Allah shall we not then resist them? He said: , as long as they continue to establish prayer among you. Establishing prayer is reflected in the establishment of the Deen; it is also tantamount to the rule by Islam and the manifestation of its rites. The flagrant Kufr is the Kufr manifested in the actions performed by the ruler, i.e. the rule by Kufr. Hence, the concept behind these Ahadith is that we ought to resist the rulers if they fail to establish the rule of Islam and if they fail to uphold its rites, and that we ought to fight them if they establish the rule of Kufr; also, to challenge the people in authority if we witness a flagrant Kufr. Challenging them means generating the challenge even if this led to fighting them. It is mentioned in Al- Fatah: “The scholars have agreed upon the obligation of obeying the dominant Sultan and of performing Jihad alongside him; that his obedience is better than rebellion against him, for this would spare lives and appease the populace; however they excluded from this the case where the flagrant Kufr is displayed by the Sultan, in which case it would be forbidden to obey him, he should rather be fought by those who are capable, as mentioned in the Hadith.”

Al-Shawkani wrote in his book entitled Nayl-ul-Awtar :, “Those who hold the opinion that it is obligatory to resist the wrongdoers with the sword and struggle against them, they used as evidence the general texts in the Book and the Sunnah .”

Hence, the issue pertaining the obligation of ruling by Islam and preventing the rule by Kufr is a vital issue, because the Legislator (swt) has made the measure that should be undertaken towards it a measure of life and death; thus he who does not rule by Islam and rules by a Kufr system should either retract or be killed.

The Muslims are ordered not to keep silent over the rule by other than what Allah (swt) has revealed, because it is a vital issue. However, when piety weakened in the souls of the Muslims and their understanding of Islam also weakened, it became easy for them to keep silent over the Khulafa’ and the rulers if they ruled by Kufr in one single matter; and when their weakness increased, they found it easy to keep silent over the rulers if they rules by Kufr in several matters. The long term consequence of this silence was that the rulers had the audacity to implement Kufr in a flagrant manner. The Muslims in Egypt kept silent when the ruler implemented the French civil law and abolished the Shari’ah rules. The Muslims kept silent in the Islamic State when the rules of Kufr were established as a constitution for the Muslims in 1909; though they revolted against them at first, but they went silent afterwards. Hence, it came as no surprise when Mustafa Kemal destroyed the Khilafah and all the rules of Islam and declared the rule of Kufr. This was so because the Muslims no longer regarded this issue as a vital one, thus the calamity occurred and it became easy for the Muslims to witness the flagrant Kufr without brandishing the sword to remove it; it even became easy for them to be ruled by Kufr without condemning it; and worse than that still, the majority of Muslims accepted the rules of Kufr, became accustomed to them and relinquished the rules of Islam by choice. This situation reached the point where Muslims accepted Kufr and called for it, in addition to keeping silent over it and not brandishing the sword against it. All this was only because the issue of ruling by a Kufr system was no longer a vital issue, and the measure undertaken towards it was no longer that of life and death.

Hence, it is imperative to reinstate this issue in its rightful place and to consider it a vital issue, thus the rule by a Kufr system would be prevented even if this led to several years of fighting and even if it led to the killing of millions of Muslims and to the martyrdom of millions of believers.

Therefore, the perception of all the vital issues which the Legislator (swt) had outlined and determined, and which He made the measure to be undertaken towards them a measure of life and death, this perception has weakened, then the linkage of these issues to the Islamic Aqeedah has also weakened, then they were relegated from their position to the point where they were no longer perceived as being very critical Sharia’h rules, for which arms should be taken up; thus they were relegated from the position in which the Legislator (swt) had placed, i.e. they were relegated from the position of the vital issue. Consequently, the measure which Shari’ah had decreed towards them was no longer deemed to be the resistance by force and the brandishing of the sword to remove the rule of Kufr and restore the rule of Islam. Therefore, this issue, i.e. the issue of destroying the Khilafah and removing the system of Islam was not perceived as a vital issue, thus the fact that the issue was a vital one was not dominant over the atmospheres and the souls. So Mustafa Kemal went ahead with his action, destroyed the Khilafah and wiped out Islam from the political map without anyone taking up arms against him and fighting him; thus the Kuffar’s destruction of the Khilafah and their removal of the system of Islam from existence occurred with this ease and simplicity, before the eyes of millions of Muslims. Had the Muslims been at the time aware of the fact that this issue was a vital one, upon which the fate of the Muslims and the fate of Islam depended, and that the inevitable measure towards it was to take to take up arms and fight Mustafa Kemal, the Muslims would not have been dealt this blow, and this horrific calamity and this major tragedy. Hence, the Muslims’ failure to perceive that this issue was a vital issue which necessitated a measure of life and death, was the cause of this calamity that befell them.

Establishing the Khilafah and the rule by what Allah has revealed is the vital issue for the Muslims.

The Muslims are at present experiencing the severest of trials and the worst of ordeals. The effective remedy for them lies in the perception of whether their issues are vital or not, and in undertaking of a life and death measure towards every vital issue, especially if the issue in questions encompasses all the vital issues put together. As long as this perception is not achieved in a manner that dominates over the souls and the atmospheres, the Muslims will continue to be in a constant decline and degeneration, and they will never rise among the nations. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the Muslims to discern their vital issues and to have their perception of these issues find its way to the hearts, the souls and the general atmospheres so that it becomes a perception that drives them towards undertaking what the vital issues necessitate in terms of life and death measures with an unshakable resolve and unrelenting zeal. This is the point at issue, and this is the basis of all that which the Muslims are attempting to undertake to deal with the reality they are currently facing.

The reality of the Muslims today is sensed by every Muslim, it does not require any explanation nor does it necessitates any elaboration. Their lands are ruled by Kufr systems, thus they are conclusively a Kufr household. Their are divided into more than four entities, ranging from States, Emirates, Sultanates and Sheikhdoms. They are weaker than being capable of standing up to the Kuffar. Hence the issue of every country in the Islamic world is to turn it into an Islamic household and then unite with the rest of the Islamic countries. This issue is a vital issue; it is even the whole of the vital issues put together; thus it is imperative to undertake towards the measure of life and death.

However this vital issue, i.e. the issue of transforming the lands into the Islamic household and uniting them with the rest of the Islamic lands is an objective the Muslims aim to achieve, and the method which ought to be undertaken to achieve this objective is establishing Khilafah and restore back to existence. Hence the issue facing the Muslims today is the establishment of the Khilafah as a ruling system through which the transformation of the lands into an Islamic household is achieved and consequently unite them with the rest of the lands of Islam. However, it should be made absolutely clear that what is facing the Muslims today is not the appointment of a Khilafah so as to say that this is a duty of sufficiency upon the Muslims, according to what Ibnu Omar reported that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “And he who dies without an Imam for the group ruling over him, his death is a death of Jahilyyah.” , thus making it a non vital issue; what is rather facing the Muslims today is establishing the Khilafah, i.e. generating the Khilafah system as a ruling system, and the reality of this task is other than the appointment of a Khalifah although the establishment of the Khilafah necessitates the appointment of a Khalifah.

Establishing the Khilafah is conclusively a vital issue, because in addition to being a method to transform our lands from a Kufr household into an Islamic household. Its establishment is also aimed at destroying the Kufr systems i.e. aimed at removing the flagrant Kufr, which is a vital issue, for the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “ Unless you witness a flagrant Kufr.” and because it is mentioned in the Hadith : “ … They said: “ O Messenger of Allah, should we not resist them with the sword? He (saw): No, as long as they continue to establish prayer among you.” Therefore, the method to achieve the Muslims’ issue is a vital issue, because it is the method of a vital issue, and because the Shari’ah evidence from the Sunnah indicates that it is a vital issue; thus it is imperative to undertake towards it the measure of life and death. However, since the Kufr has been sitting on the Muslims’ chest and since their affairs became in the hands of the Kuffar, the hypocrites and the apostates, they have not ceased to attempt to break free from the noose of the Kufr authority and the hegemony of its masters and agents. However, they failed to realise that the issue for which they were struggling was vital, and that it had no other measure but the measure of life and death. Hence, it was the lack of perception among the group of Muslims, that stripped them in their quality as a group or an Ummah from their readiness to endure harm, imprisonment and torture, in addition to enduring poverty, devastation and death, something which can never be detached from the battles of struggle over the vital issues. Hence, these attempts had been predestined to inevitable failure and they failed to move one single step forward towards achieving the issue they were fighting for.

The Muslims were not in need of added thought and contemplation in order to perceive that their issue was a vital one, for it was evident from the first moment, as it is evident today to any sighted person that it is rationally and usually impossible for the Kuffar to enable Islam from returning to the political scene, i.e. to the rule, as long as they had one iota of oppression against those who work towards this. the rank of the apostates and the hypocrites is not lower in terms of crime and oppression. They will throw everything they in terms of power in the battlefield to fight those believers who aim at exacting the power from them in order to establish the rules of Allah and to protect the sanctities of Allah through establishing the “Hudud” (penal codes) of Allah.

Therefore, it would be impossible for any attempt, undertaken by the Muslims for the sake of this issue, to bear fruit unless they considered it to be a vital issue, whose achievement depends on the measure of life and death. Due to the fact that the Muslims failed to perceive the nature of the battle and the sound rule of Allah (swt) pertaining this battle, they set about liberating themselves in a method unworthy of the vital issues. Hence, their measures towards this was below the measures of life and death. Nevertheless, the fact is that the issues whose nature is vital, such as the removal of the Kufr system and the establishment of the system of Islam, regardless of whether they were perceived on this basis or not, one could not succeed in achieving them, no matter how great were his force and no matter how tremendous the efforts he exhausted were, unless he considered them during his process and illustrated them as being vital and unless he undertook the measure of life and death towards them.

Hence, the Muslims should be frankly told, be it individuals or groups, that they have no other choice, but to carry out the struggle against Kufr on the basis of the life and death measure, because the nature of their issue necessitate such measure and because Shari'ah has in the Book and the Sunnah decreed this measure. Besides, the Messenger of Allah (saw) has taught us how to determine our issues and ordered us to undertake the measures of life and death towards every vital issue. When Allah (swt) sent him with the Message of Islam, and when he started conveying the Da'awah through the intellectual struggle, he (saw) determined his issue as being the triumph of Islam and he undertook towards it the measure of life and death. It is reported that when he (saw) was told by his uncle Abu Talib what Quraysh had wanted from him, i.e. to make Muhammad refrain from attacking them and when he said to him: “Spare me and yourself, and do not put on me a burden greater than I can bear.” The Messenger of Allah (saw) said to him: O uncle, by Allah, if they were to put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left on condition that I relinquished this matter, until Allah has made it triumphant or I perish therein I would not relinquish it.”

When he (saw) established the State and performed Jihad by the sword, he also determined his issue as being the triumph of Islam and he undertook towards this issue the measure of life and death. It has been reported that when he (saw) was in Usfan, two junctions away from Makkah, on his way to perform Umrah, he met a man from Bani Ka’ab and asked him whether he had any news about Quraysh. His answer was: “There are Quraysh who have heard of your coming and have come out wearing leopards’ skins and have encamped at Dhu Tuwa vowing that you shall never enter Makkah in defiance of them. This man Kahlid Ibn-ul-Walid is with their cavalry which they have sent in advance to Kura-Al-Ghamim.” Upon this the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: Woe unto Quraysh! War has devoured them. What harm would they have suffered if they have left me and the rest of the Arabs to go our own ways? If they should kill me, that is what they desired, and if Allah should give me victory over them they would enter Islam in flocks. If they do not do that they will fight while they have the strength; so what are Quraysh thinking of? By Allah, I shall not cease to fight for the mission with which Allah has entrusted me until He makes it triumphant or this Salifah gets severed. The Salifah is the surface of the neck, and its severance is tantamount to death. Then the Messenger of Allah (saw) continued his March until he reached Al-Hudaybiya.

In these two cases: the case of carrying the Da’awah through intellectual struggle, and the case of carrying it through Jihad, the Messenger of Allah (saw) determined his issue as being the triumph of Islam, and he (saw) made it a vital issue, thus undertaking towards it the required and inevitable measure in both cases, that is the measure of life and death. Therefore, the Messenger of Allah (saw) said in the first instance: O uncle, by Allah, if they were to put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left on condition that I relinquished this matter, until Allah has made it triumphant or I perish therein I would not relinquish it.” , and he (saw) said in the second instance: “By Allah, I shall not cease to fight for the mission with which Allah has entrusted me until He makes it triumphant or this Salifah gets severed.”

Had the Messenger of Allah (saw) not made this issue a vital one and had he not undertaken the measure of life and death towards it, Islam would not have triumphed, neither by conveying the Da’awah through intellectual struggle, nor by conveying it through Jihad with the sword. This is similar to the Muslims’ reality today, that is the dominance of the Kufr systems over them and the hegemony of the Kuffar and the hypocrites over them, if they do not treat their issue as vital issue, and if they do not undertake the measure of life and death towards it, their endeavour would not yield anything and they would not be able to move one single step forward.

Therefore, we call upon every single Muslim, amidst this Kufr dominating the Islamic lands, to work towards establishing the Khilafah as a method to transform his own country into an Islamic household and unite it with the rest of the Islamic lands and to carry the Da’awah to the world in order to make Islam triumphant, while reiterating with truthful belief, enlightenment and awareness the saying of the Messenger of Allah (saw) : “by Allah, if they were to put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left on condition that I relinquished this matter, until Allah has made it triumphant or I perish therein I would not relinquish it.” , and his saying: “By Allah, I shall not cease to fight for the mission with which Allah has entrusted me until He makes it triumphant or this Salifah gets severed.”

Rajab 1382 Hijri.

Excerpt from "How the Khilafah was destoryed," Abdul Qadeem Zallum

Book Available from Al-Khilafah Publications, English, Arabic and Turkish.

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