The Difference Between Us
It should be clear that we, as Muslims, are different from the peoples of the
West with their kufr. Why are we different? Because we do not - or should not -
think or behave or live like them. This difference is crucial, and to understand
it is to become strong - to be able, InshaAllah, to withstand the campaign the
kuffar have launched to change and break us; the campaign to change our Islam,
to break that total submission to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala which is the essence
of our Deen, our Way of Life.
The kuffar have made it quite clear that one of their aims in the war - the
crusade - they have launched is to change our Deen; to, as they see it in their
terms, "secularize" it; to accommodate Islam to their kaffir ways,
evident as these ways are in democracy, in the concepts of the nation, the
State. That is, they want - and even demand - that we think in their kaffir
terms, and use their kaffir concepts. Thus do they demand that we have laws
based upon their kaffir ideas; thus do they demand that we have separate,
so-called "nation States" whose boundaries they and their treaties
will define; thus do they demand that we have "democracy" in these
so-called "States" and that we must accept the overlordship of their
kaffir organizations such as the so-called "United Nations".
But we are commanded to avoid imitating the kuffar:
"And whosoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, such are the Kāfirūn."
5:44 Interpretation of Meaning
It is reported that the Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam)
said: "Whoever imitates a people, then he is one of them. (Related by
Ahmad and Abu Dawood)
This applies not only to imitating the kuffar in their outward appearance, in
their customs, in their way of life, but also imitating the way that they think
- how they perceive the world, and how theey act upon that perception. That is,
we Muslims must know and accept the fundamental truth that Islam means that we
do not - should not - think in the same way as the kuffar. We must know and
accept and act upon the fact that Islam and the ways of the West, the ways of
kufr, of the kuffar, cannot ever be reconciled. There is either Belief - there
is either that submission which is Islam - or there is kufr. There is no middle
ground; no accommodation with the ways, the thinking, the concepts, of the
kuffar, for as Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala has revealed, truth has been
distinguished from falsehood, and our Way, the Way of Islam, is complete and
perfect:
"This day I have perfected your Way of Life for you and completed My
Favour upon you and have chosen for you as your Way of Life Al-Islam"
5:3 Interpretation of Meaning
"In the Messenger of Allah you have the perfect example to follow."
33:2 Interpretation of Meaning
How does this fundamental difference in our ways of thinking manifest itself? It
manifests itself in our refusal to think of Islam in the terms of the kuffar. It
manifests itself in our refusal to compromise with the ways of thinking of the
kuffar, manifest as these ways are in their terms and their concepts.
What does this mean, in practical terms? It means we must accept that Islam is
incompatible with "democracy", incompatible with the kaffir concept of
"the State" and the kaffir division of the world into
"nations". It means that there is not and can never be any such thing
as Islamic "politics". It means that Islam is not a
"religion".
It means that Islam is our Deen - our Way of Life, complete and perfect - and
that our Deen is the way of making the Quran and Sunnah manifest in the world.
It means that the only division we accept in the world is the division into
Believer and Unbeliever; between Dar al-harb and Dar al-Islam. It means that we
accept that the Quran and Sunnah can be made manifest, in the world, through
Shariah, through Siyasah (the practical application of Quran and Sunnah, as Ibn
Taimiyyah said) - through Bayah to an Ameer who upholds Islam, who
implements Islam. It means that the only purpose of Dar al-Islam is to uphold,
to propagate, Islam and Islam only.
We do not need "democracy". We do not need "nations". We do
not need "governments". We do not need "politics" and
"religion" and the artificial, kufr, division the kuffar have made
between them. We need only Islam - pure, simple.
"O Muhammad! Allah is sufficient for you and for the Believers, who
follow you." 8:64 Interpretation of Meaning
The reality is that the kuffar fear us - they fear the strength that Islam gives
us; they fear our purity. Yes, let us not be afraid of using this word - purity.
It is because of their fear that the kuffar strive so hard to humiliate us, to
have us bow down before them, in person, and bow down before their idols of
democracy, of the State, of the Nation. Thus their attempt to humiliate the
Mujahideen they have captured and imprisoned - in places like Guantanamo Bay,
and Abu Gharib; thus their torture of captured Muslims, and their disrespect for
the Quran, and their disrespect for the outward signs of our total submission to
Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala such as Hijab. Let us always remember what one of the
apostate allies of the head of kufr, Amerika, said when a Muslim he was
torturing (Benyam Mohammed) asked him "why?". This lackey of the
kuffar in his insolence said: "It is to degrade you. So when you leave
here, you'll have these scars and you'll never forget. So you'll always fear
doing anything but what America wants..." Let us remember this
dishonourable apostate bowing down to the kuffar, and the tens of thousands -
the hundreds of thousands - like him in Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, the Land of
the Two Holy Places, and elsewhere, and let us remember our duty of Al-wala
wal-bara.
"It is only the Shaitan who causes you to fear his awliyaa [supporters
and friends]. Do not fear them; rather, fear Me, if you are indeed of the
Believers." 3:175 Interpretation of Meaning
"The Jews and Nazarenes will never be satisfied with you until they
have changed your way of life." 2: 120 Interpretation of Meaning
Our Way of Islam is the Way that understands wisdom as submission to Allah -
this is the true, the Islamic, meaning of wisdom, of knowledge, for us, as
Muslims. To fear Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala; to know the Signs of Allah Subhanahu
wa Ta'ala; to humbly submit to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, for thereby we can
attain the purpose of our lives, here on Earth. This is most perfect, the most
important, knowledge of all.
"Among His subjects, it is those that fear Allah who have
knowledge." 35:28 Interpretation of Meaning
"And those who have been given knowledge have been given that so that
they may know that it (this Quran) is the truth from their Rabb, and that they
may believe therein, and that their hearts may submit to it with humility.
For, in truth, Allah is the Guide, of those who believe, to the Straight
Path." 22:54 Interpretation of Meaning
"And this (Islam and the Quran) is the straight path of your Rabb. For
those who take heed of Our clear revelations there shall be that dwelling
which is peace (Jannah). 6:126-7 Interpretation of Meaning
Yet the kuffar expect and demand that we praise what they praise; that we follow
them and their profane ways. They expect and demand that we change; that we
renounce our purity - a purity, a beauty, which arises from Allah Subhanahu wa
Ta'ala, and which He gives, should He so wish it, to those of His slaves, who
obey, who submit, not only outwardly but in their hearts, in their minds, in the
way they think.
Let us therefore make Bayah of Jihad; Bayah of amr bil ma'roof wa nahy
anil munkar; Bayah of establishing the Khilafah; Bayah of Istishad, so
that we may do our duty as Muslims - a duty given to us by Allah Subhanahu wa
Ta'ala - a duty to oppose the kuffar in their kufr; to oppose those who ally
themselves with the kufr, and a duty to make our Deen, our Way of Life,
triumphant in this world. If we do this duty, we are the ones who will, as Allah
Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, says, achieve success:
"Do not think that those who are killed in
the Way of Allah are dead. Rather, they are alive, fulfilled, and with their
Rabb. They rejoice because of what Allah has bestowed upon them in His
generosity. They rejoice because of those who have not yet joined them, but have
been left behind - that no fear, no grieving should come to them. They rejoice
because of the favour that Allah has shown them in His mercy: for no dishonour
touched them and Allah always rewards the Believers. Thus for those who heard
and answered (the Call of) Allah and His Messenger Muhammad after harm touched
them - for those of them who did honourable deeds and feared Allah - there will
be the best reward of all." 3: 169-172 Interpretation of
Meaning
"Whosoever dies without a bay'ah on his neck dies the death of Jahiliyyah"
Shahih Muslim, 20 (Kitaab Al-Imara) 4562
"You who believe! What is wrong with you that you did not rush forth when
called [to aid] the Way of Allah? Or is it that you love this earth so much -
that you crave its comforts so much - that you forget the next life where such
earthly things are revealed for the insignificant comforts they are?" 9:
38 Interpretation of Meaning
"In exchange for their lives and their goods, Allah has given those who
believe Paradise. Thus will they fight in Allah's cause, and thus will they
kill, and be killed." 9: 111 Interpretation of Meaning
"Allah Tabarak wa'Tala said: "To counter them, use whatever force
you can, including steeds of combat, that you might terrify the enemies of
Allah who are your enemies." (8:60 Interpretation of Meaning)
Therefore, He made terrifying them an obligation for us. Thus anyone who
assists them, by supplying them with anything, is not terrifying them -
rather, they are assisting them in their insolence and their sin." Ibn
Hazm (Rahamullah): Ilam al-Muwaqqin (2/121)
"Jihad is continuous with every group of the Muslims and a person can
wage Jihad by himself or with leaders.... Jihad is an act of worship and an
obligation that is legislated until the Day of Judgement. Nothing invalidates
it." Sheikh Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi
"We are not fighting for a handful of dirt, nor for some imaginary
borders... just as we are not fighting here to replace a Western Taghut, with
an Arab Taghut. Rather, our Jihad is noble and honourable and sacred. For we
fight to make the Word of Allah, Tabarak wa'tala, supreme and to make the Way
of Life entirely for Allah... Anyone who opposes this aim, or stands in the
way of this goal is an enemy of ours, and a target of our swords." Sheikh
Az-Zarqawi (hafidahullah)
May Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) protect us from all forms of Al-asabiyyah Al-Jahiliyyah,
forgive us for our mistakes, and guide us to and keep us on the Right Path.
Abdul-Aziz
12 Rajab 1426