Pray and Strive for an Islamic State

Allah T'ala has given us a prayer in the Holy Quran:

Our Lord! Grant us good in this world and good in the life to come and keep us safe from the torment of the Fire (2:201)

There is so much good that you can ask Allah T'ala, as His goodness and mercy has no bounds. Of course it should be clear from the Quran , the Sunnah and the lives of Sahabah that Muslims are not supposed to be mere supplicators. We must obey Him and do righteous deeds. We need to work for our dreams, our mission, goals and objectives. We should not be couch potatoes clicking on the prayer channel.

Today I want to share a dream with you and a prayer which we all ought to make. Imagine a society in which your life and property are safe. You can roam about safely in the country any time of the day or night. Women and men are properly dressed. People greet each other with smile and salam and they mean it. Azan is heard five times daily every where and people go to the neighborhood Masjid to pray. There is no crime, but if someone does make a mistake, he or she voluntarily goes to the judge for punishment, thinking that the punishment of this life is better than the punishment of the Hereafter. The Law is the Law of God, such as cutting off thieves hands, if proven guilty. No one gives false witness in and outside the courts.

No alcoholic beverages are served, no wine, no bear, no gambling, no lottery and no video poker. Banks do not charge interest and there are no ugly programs on the TV. Politicians do not amass $90M or so and launch campaigns to become the next president and try to convince us how good they are and how bad their opponents are. Instead, it's the people who find the best person to serve without raising a dime for a campaign.

Imagine an Islamic state! A state where the Law of God is the law of the land. That is my dream not just for me but also for my children and every one else.

As said before, prayers alone wouldn't do. Allah does not change the condition of a people unless they themselves strive for a change. I also need to convince you that we can not and will not have complete freedom to practice our Faith unless we have an Islamic state. We must conduct our affairs by the Law of God, otherwise we are not applying the Islam in total. Yes, we are free to pray, fast, read Quran and preach Islam, and that we must do. We have to have the missionary spirit leading us to the establishment of an Islamic state.

What does the Quran, sunnah and the lives of sahabah tell us in this regard? This is important, since we must mould our thoughts and actions according to Islam. Allah T'ala says in the Quran:

Whowallazi arsala rasoolahu bilhuda wa deenil Haq, li-yzhiraho 'ala deene kullehe wa lo karihal mushrikoon (also kafiroon.). [It is He Who sent His messenger with guidance and the religion of Truth to overcome all other religions, regardless of how distasteful it may be for the polytheists and unbelievers.]

The arabic word used for "religion" is in fact the word, "Deen." This word means, "complete way of life," as a Quranic term. Allah T'ala in this verse tells us that His religion, Islam, is better for you than capitalism, communism, western democracy, the American system, the united nations manifesto (call it divided nations manifesto), and kingdoms. As Allah T'ala says, "Innaddina 'indallahil Islam." The way of life before God is Islam. Islam as a complete way of life means inclusion of governmental agencies, the legislative, police, army, navy, air force, marine, the courts, the judges, the city, state and federal governments, the congress, the IRS and so on. All these must be in accordance with Islam.

In Surah Al-Isra (17:80), Allah T'ala teaches a prayer to the Prophet while he was engaged in inviting the people of Makkah towards Islam and was severly persecuted by the disbelievers.

"Say: 'O my Lord! Let my entry be by the Gate of Truth and Honor, and likewise my exit by the Gate of Truth and Honor; and grant me from Your Presence an authority to aid me.'"

This is what the Prophet prayed in Makkah and Allah T'ala gave him Madinah as an Islamic state in which he became the ruler and a teacher of Muslims.

In Surah An-Noor (24:55-56),

024.055 God has promised, to those among you who believe and work righteous deeds, that He will, of a surety, grant them in the land, inheritance (of power), as He granted it to those before them; that He will establish in authority their religion - the one which He has chosen for them; and that He will change (their state), after the fear in which they (lived), to one of security and peace: 'They will worship Me (alone) and not associate aught with Me. 'If any do reject Faith after this, they are rebellious and wicked. 024.056 So establish regular Prayer and give regular Charity; and obey the Apostle; that ye may receive mercy.

We need to pay attention to the security and peace we can enjoy in an Islamic state and we are told that its existence is an act of "Rahmah" (mercy) from Allah T'ala, which we need to cherish.

When we look around in the world, we mostly find governments which are un-Islamic or countries with Muslim majority but whose laws are contrary to the Law of God given in the Holy Quran. These rulers and their supporters and implementers are kafirun (disbelievers), zalimoon (wrong-doers) and fasiqoon.(transgressors). This is not my judgement and why would any one care for my judgements, but it is the judgement of Allah T'ala which we all need to take it as is, no questions asked. Let us look at the last parts of three verses in the Holy Quran, Surah Al-Maidah (verses 44, 45, 47):

And if any fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are (No better than) wrong-doers.

 Three Strikes and you are Out

Here three judgements are issued against those who do not judge by Allah's Law. The first is that they are Kafir (unbelievers); the second, that they are Zalim (wrong-doers); and the third, that they are Fasiq (transgressors). This clearly means that one who, in disregard of Allah's commandments and of the Laws revealed by Him, pronounces judgements according to man-made laws (whether made by himself or by others) is guilty of three major offences. First, his act amounts to rejecting the commandment of God, and this rejection is equivalent to  Kufr (infidelity, unbelief). Second, his act is contrary to justice, for only the laws made by God are in complete accord with the dictates of justice. Any judgement in contravention of Allah's injunctions amounts, therefore, to committing injustice (Zulm). Third, when he enforces either his own or any one else's law in disregard of the Laws of his Lord he steps out of the fold of subjection and obedience, and this constitutes Fisq (transgression).

Abu Sa'id Khudri related that Rasulullah (s.a.w.) said: If one of you sees something evil he should change it with his hand. If he can not, he should speak out against it, and if he can not do even that he should at least detest it in his heart, this being the weakest form of faith. (Sahih Muslim)

We must at the least detest the wrongs committed by governments who follow un-Islamic laws. If we don't, we have no Iman (Faith). Prophet's mission was to invite people towards Islam and those who accept obey him as a ruler, judge and a teacher. Sahabah followed the footsteps of the Prophet. They did not say to the Prophet that it is his job to do Dawah and they are just going to do worship five times a day. After the death of the Prophet, Sahabah did not say that our ruler is now dead, so we go our own ways. They established a Khilafah and worked very hard for it. We need to move from our belief in heart towards a faith in action.

Abdullah ibn Masood was an eminent Sahabi of the Prophet. He accepted Islam as a boy and was one of the early Muslims. He was the best reciter of the Quran among the companions and he understood it better than them all. Abdullah ibn Masud was not only a reciter of the Quran, a learned man or a fervent worshipper. He was in addition a strong and courageous fighter, one who became deadly serious when the occasion demanded it.

The companions of the Prophet were together one day in Makkah. They were still few in number, weak and oppressed. They said, "The Quraysh have not yet heard the Quran being recited openly and loudly. Who is the man who could recite it for them?'

"I shall recite it from them," volunteered Abdullah ibn Masud . "We are afraid for you," they said. "We only want someone who has a clan who would protect him from their evil . "

"Let me," Abdullah ibn Masud insisted, "Allah shall protect me and keep me away from their evil." He then went out to the mosque until he reached Maqam Ibrahim (a few meters from the Kabah). It was dawn and the Quraysh were sitting around the Kabah. Abdullah stopped at the Maqam and began to recite:

"Bismillah irRahma nirRahim. Ar-Rahman. Allama-l Quran. Khalaqal insan. Allamahul bayan... (In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful. The Merciful God. He has taught the Quran. He has created man and taught him the clear truth...)"

He went on reciting. The Quraysh looked at him intently and some of them asked: "What is Ibn Umm Abd saying?" "Damn him! He is reciting some of what Muhammad brought!" they realized.

They went up to him and began beating his face as he continued reciting. When he went back to his companions the blood was flowing from his face.

"This is what we feared for you," they said. "By God," replied Abdullah, "the enemies of God are not more comfortable than I at this moment. If you wish. I shall go out tomorrow and do the same." "You have done enough," they said. "You have made them hear what they dislike."

Let us pay attention to the last sentence. Make the people hear the message of Islam, even if you think they would dislike it. You never know whose heart you may touch. Guidance only comes from God. Our task is to spread the word. May Allah T'ala forgive our sins and give us the desire to do Dawah and work for establishing an Islamic state. May Allah T'ala provide us an Islamic state, a great sign of His mercy. Ameen.