One Ameer, One Jama'ah

One Ameer, One Jama'ah
Islam and Politics | Written by Ebrahim Ismail
Extracted from the Book - One Ameer, One Jama'ah by Imran N. Hosein (c) 1997




All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds, the Compassionate, the Merciful. And may Peace and Blessings of Allah (SWT) be bestowed on His unlettered Prophet, Muhammad (SAW), who was sent by Almighty Allah (SWT) with Al-Huda (the Divine Guidance) and Deen Al-Haq (the way of life which is established on Divinely Revealed Truth) that it might prevail over the totality of life, private as well as public, life here as well as life hereafter. Its basic function in respect of life in this world is to be a force for liberation of mankind from oppression. And its basic function in respect of life hereafter is to be the means of salvation and fulfillment of the very purpose of life. Allah, Most High, also sent Deen Al-Haq so that it might prevail over all rivals. All these functions of Deen Al-Haq were fulfilled in the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). And after the death of the Prophet (SAW), the noble struggle and mission of ensuring that all the functions of Deen Al-Haq continue to be fulfilled, now devolved upon the Ummah.

Allah, Most High, emphatically declared to the believers that the life (i.e., the Sunnah) of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is a perfect concrete model for them to follow if they are to attain salvation and the fulfillment of the purpose of life hereafter, and if they are to succeed with their mission in this life:

Certainly you have in (the life) of the Messenger of Allah a beautiful model (of conduct) for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day (i.e., who looks with hope to Allah and to the Final Day) and who engages much in the remembrance of Allah (Al-Ahzab 33:21).




That Prophetic model has two basic dimensions an individual/personal dimension and a collective/public one. The first dimension would be that which relates to the Prophets life in his personal and individual affairs and in his personal relationship with Almighty Allah (SWT) and the believers, etc., while the second would be that which relates to his conduct as the head of a community which he established. In order to conform with the Prophetic model, Muslims must organize their lives in accordance with both the dimensions of the life of the Prophet (SAW), the individual as well as the collective. Only those who thus model their lives in accordance with the Sunnah, individually as well as collectively, can look with hope to Almighty Allah (SWT) and to the Last Day.

Whatever is authentic as Sunnah is, of necessity, in conformity with the Quran. Hadrat Ayesha (RAA), the mother of the believers, declared of the Prophet (SAW) that his natural disposition or nature was an embodiment of the Quran. The Companions of the Prophet were, of course, assured that conformity with the Sunnah implied, ipso facto, conformity with the Quran. This was so because the Prophet (SAW) was physically present in their midst. For us, however, who live in the post-Prophetic period (i.e., when the Prophet is no longer physically present in our midst), the Quran has become the primary source of guidance, and this is why we have used the above quoted Quranic verse to establish the abiding importance of the Sunnah. And this underscores the need for the penetration of the Quranic guidance so that it may function as the very foundation and structure of the Muslim society.

{mospagebreak title=How were Muslims collectively organised}

How were Muslims collectively organized in the time of the Prophet (SAW)?





Let us look, first of all, at how the Muslims were organized in their collective lives in the life-time of the Prophet (SAW).

The life of the Prophet (SAW) is divided into two distinct and separate historical phases. The first may be described as the pre-Hijrah, and the second the post-Hijrah stage. The basic difference between the two is as follows: in the post-Hijrah phase, the Prophet (SAW) and the Muslim community were in control of the territory in which they possessed freedom to submit to the Supreme Authority of Allah, Most High, in their individual and collective lives, and to enforce the Commands of Almighty Allah (SWT) upon the public order. This was called Dar Al-Islam.

During the initial phase after the Hijrah, when the Muslim community did not have exclusive control over territory, a constitutional agreement known as the Meethaq of Madinah provided the basis for an initial plural model of Dar Al-Islam. The Meethaq regulated matters between the units of the State Muslim and non-Muslim pertaining to defense, foreign affairs etc., which were critical to the security of the Muslim community. All parties to the agreement, Muslim as well as non-Muslim, were supposed to honor their obligations under the agreement.

At a later phase, however, after the collapse of the Meethaq, and the emergence of a Muslim community powerful enough to exercise exclusive control over the territory, that exclusive model (in contrast to the pervious plural model) of Dar Al-Islam emerged which was destined to survive until 1924.

The pre-Hijrah stage, of course, was characterized by the lack of control over territory. And so there was no Dar Al-Islam in the pre-Hijrah stage.

The basic similarity, on the other hand, between the two stages is that in both stages the Muslim community was organized by the Prophet (SAW) as a Jamaah under the leadership of an Ameer. In other words, in both stages the sheep were organized as a flock under the direction and control of a shepherd. And the shepherd tended to the flock in accordance with Divine Guidance. It was, therefore, a Sunnah for the Muslims to be collectively organized as a Jamaah, for the Jamaah to be led by an Ameer, and for the Ameer to conduct the affairs of the Jamaah in accordance with the Quran and the Prophetic example. And obedience of the Ameer was a religious obligation.

It was the pre-Hijrah period that the Prophet (SAW) was taken one night on a miraculous journey from Makkah to Jerusalem and into the heavens (called Al-Isra and Al-Miraj). During that journey into the heavens a remarkable event occurred, insofar as the revelation of the Quran was concerned. It was during the Miraj that Almighty Allah (SWT) revealed the last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah (second chapter of the Quran). All the rest of the Quran was revealed to the Prophet (SAW) here on earth. In those two verses (Al-Baqarah 2:285-286) Allah, Most High, described the believers as a people who:

...all had conviction in their belief in Allah, and His angels, and His (revealed) Books, and His Messengers...

The Quran then went on to place on the lips of the believers the following statement:

...we make no distinction between any of His Messengers. And they (go on to) say: We (are a people who) listen and obey...

The implication of these two verses being revealed to the Prophet (SAW) during the Miraj, and of the above statement being placed on the lops of the believers by Allah Himself, is that listening and obeying forms part of the very essence of the faith of a believer. Additionally, it is through listening and obeying that the discipline can be established which protects the Jamaah and its members from internal and external attacks and guarantees the integrity and survival of the Jamaah.

The Kuffaar of Makkah once proposed a compromise formula which would, if accepted, have restored the unity of Makkan society, but would have had the effect of dismantling the Jamaah of Muslims. If you will worship our gods, we will worship your God. That was the formula which they offered. It was rejected. Almighty Allah (SWT) responded to that formula by sending down Surah Al-Kafiroon in which he commanded the Prophet (SAW) to declare to the Kuffaar:

Say: O you who reject faith (in Islam), I worship not that which you worship, nor will you worship that which I worship. And I will not worship that which you have been wont to worship, nor will you worship that which I worship. To you be your way, and to me mine (Al-Kafiroon 109:1-6).

Almighty Allah (SWT) thus made it clear that the Jamaah of Muslims in pre-Hijrah Makkah had to be preserved, and that the purity of the Jamaah should not be diluted or corrupted through the secularization of the Islamic social order. Had the offer of the Quraiysh been accepted, not only would the Truth have been compromised, but also the exclusively Muslim Jamaah would have been diluted and eventually absorbed into Makkan Jahiliyyah.

The purity of the post-Hijrah Jamaah was also preserved in Madinah because the Meethaq regulated matters between the Muslims and the non-Muslims pertaining to defense, foreign and strategic affairs and this in no way compromised the integrity of the Jamaah or its freedom to submit to the Supreme Authority of Allah (SWT).

And so our conclusion is as follows:

The organization of the collective body of Muslims as a Jamaah under the direction and control of an Ameer/Imam is an integral part of the perfected model of the Prophet (SAW).
The Ameer is obliged to conduct the affairs of the Jamaah in accordance with the Quran and Sunnah, and indeed, to apply and enforce Islam. In this connection we recall the parting words of the Prophet (SAW): I leave behind me two things so long as you hold on to them you will never go astray the Book of Allah and my Sunnah.
The Ameer has to be a male Muslim with an adequate knowledge of the Quran and Sunnah. That Jamaah will cease to be an authentic Jamaah which admits of the possibility of a woman being the Ameer. This is so because of the Quranic statement that men are guardians over women (Al-Nisa 4:35), and also because the Prophet (SAW) established the Sunnah of appointing only men to all positions of authority over the Jamaah.
The Ameer has to be someone who is applying that Divine Revelation and Prophetic model in his own life and in the lives of his family members.
The Ameer would be called upon on the Last Day to answer to Almighty Allah (SWT) for his conduct of the affairs of the Jamaah.
3. The members of the Jamaah have a religious obligation to obey the Ameer so long as it requires no disobedience to Allah (SWT) and His Prophet (SAW). Listening and obeying is located at the very substance of the Islamic way of life. Disobedience of the Ameer would constitute a sin!
Now let us look at the implications of these findings for Muslims resident in North America and, indeed, in other parts of the world as well.


{mospagebreak title=Implications for North American Muslims}
Implications for Muslims in North America

Muslims resident in North America need to devote careful attention to this subject since the overwhelming majority of them are collectively organized as Islamic Associations and Islamic Center, etc. These organizations have been established on the basis of Articles of Incorporation and Constitutions which provide for the creation of Management Committees, Executive Committees, Boards of Directors, Boards of Trustees, etc., which control and direct the affairs of the associations. These committees and boards are invariably established through elections in which only financial members may participate. Individuals have their names nominated for a particular post and then they "run" for that post. It is not unusual that there is active campaigning for an election. The campaign and elections, more often than not, create factions and divisions, and election day can sometimes take on the appearance of a fish market. The divisions created can sometimes lead to court battles. That is the reality in North America and elsewhere in the world.

The constitutions place no obligation on the President or the Management Committee to apply and enforce the Islamic way of life on the members, individually or collectively, nor do the constitutions require of the members that they listen to and obey the President as a religious obligation. And so, disobedience of the President does not constitute a sin.

One day We shall call together all human beings with their respective leaders; those who are given their record in their right hand will read it (with pleasure), and they will not be dealt with unjustly in the least. But those who were blind in this world (and, as a consequence, neglected to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet), will be blind in the Hereafter, and most astray form the path (Isra 17:71-72).

Muslims take pride in the fact that they are increasing in numbers in North America. And since the establishment of masajid is important for both immigrant and indigenous Muslims in the context of preserving a sense of identity, large number of masajid are now being established. But the painful reality is that despite all these new masajid, Islam is a receding force in the lives of the majority of Muslims in North America. And it may not take more than a generation or two before they are absorbed into the melting pot of an essentially godless modern Western civilization.

The overwhelming majority of immigrant Muslims will offer the pledge of allegiance to the American Constitution to obtain U.S. citizenship. And that is shirk! The majority will borrow money on interest to buy houses, cars, refrigerators, washing machines, etc. The majority will use credit cards. And that is riba! Indeed it will only be a matter of time before many of their children, or grand-children, will eat bacon and eggs for breakfast, drink wine, and use paper instead of water for personal hygiene after using the toilet!

That is the painful concrete reality which I perceive after having served the cause of Islam in North America since 1989.
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The Present Predicament

Since 1924, the world of Islam has existed without Dar Al-Islam, consequent upon the abolition of the Khilafah by the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Why did Dar Al-Islam have to collapse because the Turks abolished the Khilafah in Istanbul? Was there no other part of the earth where Dar Al-Islam still existed, i.e., where Muslims had control over territory and Allahs commands remained absolute and sovereign? If there was still Dar Al-Islam elsewhere, then the Khilafah could have been restored in such territory! The answer, of course, was that the forces which planned and executed the destruction of the Khilafah in Istanbul, made certain that Khilafah itself, as the central institution of the Islamic public order, cannot be restored. But more of this later!

No where on the earth today do Muslims have control over territory in such a manner that Allahs sovereignty is recognized and applied. In this respect, at least, Muslims have now returned to the pre-Hijrah stage described previously. And while the goal is, of course, to return to Madinah From Makkah to Madinah One More Time the fact is that while Muslims still remain in the pre-Hijrah stage they face a predicament. They recognize that it is in the essence of the Prophetic model that they must be organized as a Jamaah with an Ameer/Imam who must be obeyed as a religious obligation. But that single Jamaah which embraces all Muslims does not yet exist, and all efforts to restore it have so far failed. What, then, should North American Muslims do? Indeed, what should Muslims around the world do? That is the predicament!

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) himself prophesied the emergence of the present sorry situation when he declared that his Ummah would be divided into 73 different firaq (divisions), and that all of them except one would be misguided. How can we recognize the one group which is rightly guided? The rightly guided group would be the one that follows the Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW) and his Companions (RAA), which means that this group, among other things, would be organized as an authentic Jamaah, and would function under the direction of an Ameer/Imam who has adequate knowledge of Islam. Of course, the Ameer/Imam must conduct the affairs of the Jamaah in accordance with the Quran and Sunnah. And, secondly, the Jamaah must be under a religious obligation to obey the Ameer/Imam.

Additionally, while there was no pledge of obedience (Baiyah) to the Ameer/Imam in the pre-Hijrah model, that pledge was universally present in the post-Hijrah model. All the Sahaba (Companions of the Prophet), all the Tabayeen (the generation after the Companions), all the Taba Tabayeen (the generation after the Tabayeen) gave that pledge to the Ameer/Imam. Sayyedina Imam Husain (RAA) gave that pledge to Hadrat Muawiyah (RAA). It was the refusal of Imam Husain (RAA) to give the pledge to Yazeed and he was absolutely correct in that decision which led to the tragedy of Karbala.

And so, the rightly guided group will be those Muslims, wherever they may be the earth today, who, among other things, are constituted as a Jamaah, directed by an Ameer/Imam, who conducts the affairs of the Jamaah in accordance with the Quran and Sunnah, and whose authority over the Jamaah is legitimized by the Baiyah (pledge of obedience). The rightly guided group will also be of those who recognize the Quran as the primary source of guidance as to what constitutes Islam.

The Tanzeem-e-Islami is one such Jamaah. It may not be the only such Jamaah today. But it recognizes and is committed to a morrow in which all the people of Allah will be unified as one Jamaah under one Ameer/Imam. Indeed this must be recognized as one of the basic characteristics of a Jamaah whose affairs are faithfully conducted in accordance with the Quran and Sunnah; to wit, such a Jamaah is constantly struggling to unify all the people of Allah as one Jamaah under the direction of one Ameer.

It is also a matter of critical importance that we recognize the Tanzeem-e-Islami as a Jamaah which has accepted and projected the Quran as the primary source of guidance of Islam. Perhaps no one alive today has rendered greater service to the cause of the Quran as Dr. Israr Ahmad, the Ameer of Tanzeem-e-Islami.

{mospagebreak title=The Problem of Baiy'ah}
The Problem of Baiyah and the Implications of refraining from Baiyah

Let us, therefore, direct our attention to the concern of those who would prefer to give that Baiyah to the Ameer only when we have one leader directing the affairs of all Muslims. Such people express a legitimate concern and deserve an appropriate response. Our response is that they should recall the prophecy of the Prophet (SAW) regarding the divisions within the Ummah and that only one group amongst 73 firaq would be rightly guided. Those divisions have now appeared in the body of the Ummah, and it seems that the situation is going to grow worse. It would therefore be inappropriate and, indeed, foolhardy to demand or to expect that all Muslims can today be united under one Ameer.

Our advice to such Muslims is that they should not wait for a day which may not arrive in their life-time, in order to conform with this essential part of the Sunnah, i.e., to join an organized group which is an authentic Jamaah, and which is led by an authentic Ameer whose authority is constituted through Baiyah and who directs the affairs of the Jamaah in conformity with the Quran and Sunnah.

Other Muslims hold the view that they have conformed with the requirement of Baiyah by giving their pledge to a Sufi Shaikh. This would be true only in that instance (which is very rare today) where the Sufi Shaikh is engaged not only in the moral and spiritual training and development of his disciples but also in leading the Jamaah in the revolutionary struggle for the restoration of Khilafah and triumph of the Deen of Islam over its rivals. Such a Sufi Shaikh was Muhiyuddin Abdul Qadir Al-Jeelani (RAA). Even today we see the Murabitun, for example, under the capable leadership of Shaikh Abdelqadir as-Sufi, waging that Islamic revolutionary struggle in a manner which commands respect. This Sufi order is far in advance of the rest of the Muslim world in their study and articulation of the problem of riba. The recent work by Umar Ibrahim Vadillo, entitled The Return of the Gold Dinar should be read by all those who are serious about dealing with riba. They are also making serious efforts for the restoration of Khilafah. Their efforts are concentrated in Turkey and they are making progress. The recent work by Shaikh Abdelqadir as-Sufi entitled The Return of the Khalifate is indicative of the progress which they are making!

What is the price which the Muslims will have to pay if they fail to respond to the obligation of sticking to the Jamaah and to the Ameer? What price will the Muslims pay, in this age, if they fail to give the Baiyah to the Ameer of the Jamaah and then comply with that pledge through listening and obeying?

In the first place, such Muslims will be violating Allahs command in the Quran as follows:

O you who believe, obey Allah and obey the Prophet and those in authority from among you (Al-Nisa 4:59).

The pledge (Baiyah) is the instrument which places a Muslim formally into the third part of the Quranic command, i.e., and (obey) those in authority form among you. It would not suffice to declare that there is no one in such authority over the Muslims today. If there is no such authority over the Muslims, then they are under the obligation to promptly establish that authority and then submit to it. This is precisely the reason why the Tanzeem-e-Islami was established with an Ameer who demands that the members give the Baiyah to him. I myself placed my hands in his hands and gave the Baiyah to him Rawalpindi (Pakistan) in October, 1996.

Secondly, there is incontestable evidence that we are living in the age of fitan prophesied by the Prophet (SAW) as the age of great evil before the end of the world. The evil of the age of fitan is such that it will eventually reduce the overwhelming majority of mankind to godlessness. It should be quite apparent that the age of fitan has already commenced. In the Hadith Al-Qudsi narrated by Hadrat Abu Saeed Khudri (RAA) and included in the Sahih of Imam Bukhari (RA), we are told that 999 out of every 1000 persons (of this age) will eventually enter into the Hell. What should we do in this age to save ourselves from Jahannam, to preserve faith, and to earn Jannah? Did the Prophet (SAW) address this subject? If he did, what advice did he give? The answer is to be found in another hadith of Sahih Bukhari in which the Prophet (SAW) responded to questions posed by one of his Companions, Hadrat Hudhaifah (RAA):

Hudhaifah Ibn Al-(RAA) said: People used to ask Allahs Messenger (SAW) about good but I used to ask him about evils lest I be overtaken by them. So I said: O Allahs Messenger, we were living in ignorance and in an (extremely) bad atmosphere, then Allah brought to us this good (i.e., Islam); will there be any evil after this good? He said: Yes. I said: will there be any good after that evil? He replied: Yes, but it will be tainted (i.e., not pure). I asked: What will be its taint? He replied: (There will be) some people who will guide others (but) not according to my guidance. You will approve of some of their deeds and disapprove of some others. I asked: Will there be any evil after that good? He replied: Yes, (there will be) some people who summon others at the gates of Jahannam into which they will cast those who respond to them. I asked Allahs Messenger (SAW) to describe them to us and he said: They will be from our own people and will speak like us. I asked what command he had to give me if that happened in my time and he replied: You must adhere to the Jamaah (i.e., the community of Muslims which is organized as a Jamaah) and the Imam (i.e., the Ameer or leader of the Jamaah whose authority is established through the act of Baiyah). I said: if there is neither a Jamaah nor an Imam? He said: Then turn away from all those firaq (i.e., misguided Muslim groups which have failed to constitute themselves as a Jamaah with an Ameer/Imam whose authority is established through an act of Baiyah) even if you have to eat the roots of a tree until death overtakes you while you are in that state. (Bukhari and Muslim)

This hadith makes it quite clear that salvation in this age of fitan is dependent upon Muslims adhering themselves to the authentic Jamaah and authentic Imam.

Thirdly, there are several Ahadith of the Prophet (SAW) which all declare that he who dies in a state of exclusion from the Jamaah, or dies without Baiyah, or without an Imam, etc., actually dies in a state of Jahiliyyah. The overwhelming majority of the Muslims today stand aloof from the Jamaah. They have no Ameer/Imam whom they are obliged to obey as a religious duty. And they have not given the Baiyah to any Ameer/Imam. The following Ahadith warns them of a death of Jahiliyyah which awaits them if death comes upon them in that state:

Umar (RAA) said that the Prophet (SAW) said: Be with the Jamaah and avoid firqah (misguided Muslims who have failed to constitute themselves as an authentic Jamaah) for surely Satan is with the (one who remains) alone and he stays far from two (believers who jointly constitute a Jamaah). Whoever wishes to experience the fragrance of Paradise must cling to the Jamaah. (Tirmidhi)

Ibn Umar (RAA) reported that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: The hand of Allah is on the Jamaah. Whoever separates (i.e., remains outside of the Jamaah) will be separated for (dispatched to) the Hell. (Tirmidhi)

Umar (RAA) said: There is no Islam without the Jamaah; and there is no Jamaah without (the obligation of having to) listen; and there is no listening without (the obligation to) obey (Mishkat). Abu Daud adds: there is no Jamaah without an Ameer.

Harith Al-Ashari (RAA) said that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) declared: I order you (to adhere to) five (things): the Jamaah, listening, obeying, Hijrah, and Jihad in the way of Allah. Whoever departs from the Jamaah by as much (distance) as the span of a hand, he has removed the guardianship of Islam form his neck, except in case of his return (to the Jamaah). And whoever calls with the call of Jahiliyyah, such is from the ashes of Jahannam. Even if he fasts and performs Salaat and (thereby) considers himself a believer (he will still enter into the Hell). (Ahmad, Tirmidhi)

Abdullah Ibn Umar (RAA) said that he heard the Allahs Messenger (SAW) say: Whoever removes a hand from (the pledge of) obedience he will meet with Allah on the day of Qiymah with no evidence (of being a believer); and whoever dies without Baiyah on his neck (i.e., without having given the pledge of obedience to the Ameer/Imam and, as a consequence, submitted himself to the obligation of having to obey the Ameer/Imam), has died a death of Jahilliyah. (Muslim)

Muawiyah (RAA) said that the Prophet (SAW) said: Whoever dies without an Imam (i.e., without having become a member of the Jamaah and, thus, accepted the authority of an Ameer/Imam over him) dies a death of Jahiliyyah. (Ahmad, Tabarani)

Ibn Umar (RAA) said that the Prophet (SAW) said: Whoever dies (while) separated from the Jamaah, dies a death of Jahiliyyah. (Hilli, Tabarani)

There are some who will read these Ahadith for the first time and, because of shock, might doubt them. Others will declare that they could not be authentic Ahadith for, had they been such, then Muslims would have spoken about them. We would not, as a consequence, have witnessed this present state of total abandonment of Baiyah and the collapse of Khilafah.

Our response to such objections is, first, to remind the Muslims that the prohibition of riba in Islam was made in the most forceful language possible in both the Quran and Hadith, and yet the overwhelming majority of Muslims are today ignorant of the subject, and worse yet, are in a state of manifest and dangerous violation of that Divine prohibition.

Secondly, the authenticity as well as the supreme importance of the ahadith relating to Baiyah, for example, were emphasized when Shaikh-ul-Azhar (i.e., the head of the Al-Azhar University) quoted the hadith from Sahih Muslim in the declaration issued by him on behalf of all the Ulama of Al-Azhar and of Egypt in response to the Turkish abolition of the Khilafah:

...and whoever dies without Baiyah on his neck (i.e., without having given the pledge of obedience to the Ameer/Imam and, as a consequence, submitted himself to the obligation of having to obey the Ameer/Imam) had died a death of Jahiliyyah. (Muslim)

The Turkish Grand National Assembly abolished the Khilafah on March 3, 1924. The declaration from Al-Azhar came three weeks later. This declaration from Al-Azhar University constituted the most important response from the entire world of Islam to the abolition of the Khilafah. That this sahih hadith should have been quoted in that most important declaration is an indication of the extent of recognition of its authenticity.

Let us not direct our attention to those who are persuaded that the Baiyah must be given to an Ameer/Imam but insist that they will give the Baiyah only when the Khilafah over the entire Ummah is restored. What explanation can we offer to them which would convince them of the virtual impossibility of restoring the Khilafah during the last seventy years (1924-1994)?

{mospagebreak title=An analysis of the Abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate}

An Analysis of the Abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate and the Transcendental Reality of the Age which is still witnessing the Most Monstrous Attack on the Ummah

When viewed form an essentially Quranic perspective, the abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate appears to have occurred at the same time that other events of supreme Quranic importance were unfolding. For example, the Ottoman Empire would not have been defeated and destroyed had the fundamental change not come to Europe, transforming European civilization into a major actor on the world stage. The French and the Bolshevik Revolutions marked the turning points in the transformation of Western and Eastern European civilization from those based on faith in Christianity to essentially godless civilizations. The Scientific and Industrial Revolutions and the emergence of the capitalistic economy resulted in those godless civilizations becoming predatory and having the power with which to prey upon all mankind. Those godless European civilizations then embarked upon the unholy mission to transform the rest of the world to godlessness! The Ottoman Empire stood in the way of Europe since it was established on foundations which were essentially sacred. The institution of he Khilafah established and legitimized Islams sacred model of a society and a world order. And so, the Ottoman Caliphate was targeted and destroyed.

With the destruction of the Khilafah, the last major hurdle in the way of those who were determined to reduce all of mankind to godlessness was now removed. The stage was thus set for the fulfillment of the words of Hadith Al-Qudsi, that 999 out of every 1000 persons (of this age) will eventually enter into the Hell. In other words, the destruction of the Khilafah by the modern godless world provided evidence that the age of Yajooj and Majooj had commenced (See Quran, Al-Kahf 18:98-99).

At the same time that this objective of the destruction of Khilafah was being pursued by the modern godless European civilization, another more sinister revolution was taking place in the Jewish world. A godless Zionist Movement emerged among East European Jews. It declared that the Holy Land of Palestine belonged to the Jews because God gave it to them. It totally ignored the fact that Jews had both corrupted and betrayed the religion of Abraham and, as a consequence, no longer had any right to the Holy Land! Jews swallowed the bait of the Zionist Movement. The establishment of the State of Israel now became the goal of the Jews, regardless of the means which were to be employed to achieve it. Zionism was created by a truly evil force which set out to deceive the Jews and to take them for a ride. That ride would be the last ride they would ever take. At the end of the road, both Jews and Judaism now faced utter destruction. Allah (SWT) had warned of the release of that truly evil force (Dajjal), and of the release of Yajooj and Majooj in a revelation which was ominously placed at the very end of the Quran:

Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of the dawn, from the evil (i.e., evil forces or evil beings) which He created... (Al-Falaq 113:1-2).

And so we witnessed the amazing phenomenon of the destruction of the Khilafah and the restoration of the State of Israel as contemporaneous events. The same evil forces were at work in both cases. This was confirmed in Surah Al-Anbiya of the Quran in Aayat 95 and 96 where Almighty Allah (SWT) spoke of a qaryah (i.e., the city of Jerusalem symbolizing the State of Israel) which He destroyed and then pronounced the restoration of that qaryah (i.e., the restoration of the State of Israel) to be haram (prohibited) until the (commencement of the) release of Yajooj and Majooj.

Since the Jews were now deceived and were put on a path which led, progressively, to the greatest oppression and wickedness in their conduct with mankind in general and with Muslims in particular, a third event now took place as just this same time. It was a sign form Almighty Allah (SWT) which was spoken of in the Quran, a sign which was meant to warn the Jews: If you live like Pharaoh did, you will die the way he died (See Quran, Surah Younus 10:92). That event was the discovery of the body of Pharaoh by Loret in 1898 at Thebes in the Kings Valley of Lower Egypt.

Three other related events took place and, indeed, are still taking place, all of which are directly related to the release of those evil forces created by Almighty Allah (SWT). They all flowed from the emergence of materialism and secularism as the philosophical foundation of the modern Western civilization. These were the events:

1. The emergence of riba at the very foundation of the European economy, and the subsequent deadly embrace of the entire world economy by riba; the Ottoman Empire was the special target, however, and the decline of this great Islamic State began when it was penetrated by Jewish bankers with riba during the rule of Mahmut II (1808-1839). By 1896, the stranglehold of riba on the Ottoman economy had put the Sultan/Caliph in such dire straits that the Zionist leader, Herzl, could finally visit Sultan Abdulhamid II and play the card of financial diplomacy which riba made possible, i.e., blackmail. In return for Palestine, he offered to regulate the entire finances of the Ottoman State. Abdulhamid refused. He was overthrown. And the Khilafah was easily abolished. Mission accomplished for the Jewish bankers.

2. The emergence of shirk at the very foundation of the new European political philosophy. Allah is no longer the sovereign. The modern secular State is now sovereign. That modern European model of a State then embraced all of mankind in its deadly embrace; but the seat of the Caliphate was the special target. After the Khilafah was abolished, the new modern secular State of Turkey emerged with that shirk at its very foundation. Form Turkey it went to Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud who then transformed the heartland of Islam into the modern State of Saudi Arabia based on the same shirk. Pakistan followed in tame imitation and the great effort of Iqbal became an exercise in futility.

3. The emergence of a new philosophy of feminism at the very heart of the new European secular society. It brought in its wake a sexual revolution which dismantled the edifice of sexual morality. Sexual freedom resulted in an unprecedented explosion of promiscuity and perversions. This was the Kathr Al-Khabaith which the Prophet (SAW) had declared to be the sign of the release of Yajooj and Majooj. This destructive sexuality now targeted all of mankind, but the special target was again the world of Islam.

{mospagebreak title=Mirza Ghulam Ahmad}


Just before these events took place, or just as they were taking place, the world of Islam witnessed the emergence of by far the most dangerous of the dajjals, or false prophets, to have so far appeared. He was Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the false prophet of Qadian (India) and founder of the Ahmadiyyah Movement. He appeared at the very time that the stage was being set for the attack on the institution of the Khilafah. And his primary role was one of corrupting Muslim thought and belief, especially as it related to the accurate perception of the transcendental reality which was now unfolding in the age of fitan. Mirza was a tool of the forces which were at work planning the destruction of Khilafah, and his primary role was one of diverting Islamic thought from the supreme attack which was being launched on the Ummah, and reducing the Islamic intelligentsia to a state of intellectual confusion.

Iqbal recognized all the above events for what they were. He recognized the evil forces which had been unleashed into the world and the supreme danger of he moment in which he lived. Indeed, he lived in Sialkot (Pakistan), the same city in which that cunning dajjal, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, lived for some time. Iqbal saw through the devilish schemes which had been planned for destroying the Ummah but he lacked an authentic Jamaah through which he could respond appropriately.* He condemned Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and warned the Muslims of the great threat coming from the sinister dajjal of Qadian. He denounced the modern godless European civilization and warned the Muslims of the every grave danger which they faced from the West. And he forewarned the new ominous direction in which the Jewish world was heading.

If it was thought that the All India Muslim League and its leader, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, could function as the Jamaah through which the renaissance of Islam in South Asia could be pursued, then this was a misconception. The League was not an authentic Jamaah, nor was Jinnah an authentic Ameer/Imam. To his credit, Jinnah never claimed that status. The All India Muslim League and Mr. Jinnah had nothing of the Quranic understanding of the ominous nature of the reality of the modern age which was Iqbals forte. The League could neither respond appropriately to the collapse of the Khilafah, nor could it understand the dangers of the godless age. As for the dajjal who was sent to dupe the South Asian Muslim intelligentsia, Mirza Ghulam Ahmads success was such that Mr. Jinnah appointed Muhammad Zafrullah Khan, one of the most versatile and brilliant of all the followers of Mirza, as the first Foreign Minister of Pakistan.

We embarked on this cursory analysis in respect of the transcendental dimension of the historical reality which witnessed the abolition of the Khilafah, in order to demonstrate that its restoration was not possible during these last 73 years. After all, some of those who are hesitant about giving the Baiyah have asked the question: Why was the Khilafah not restored somewhere else after it collapsed in Istanbul? Why have we had no Khilafah for more than 70 years now? The reason for this is the nature of the age in which we now live. This is the age when the greatest force of evil ever created by Allah (SWT) has commenced its release. (The evil force will eventually appear as a human being.) This is the age of Dajjal and of Yajooj and Majooj. The Islamic revolutionary movement which is struggling for the restoration of the Khilafah cannot possibly succeed in that effort unless it first has an accurate perception of todays objective reality and recognizes this age as the age of Dajjal. That authentic Islamic revolutionary movement, or Jamaah, with Iqbals accurate Quranic perception of contemporary reality, did not exist in 1924 and has not existed since 1924. How, then, was it possible to wage a successful struggle for the restoration of the Khilafah?

Alhamdullilah! The authentic Islamic revolutionary movement is now emerging in different parts of the world of Islam.

{mospagebreak title=Conspirators in the destruction of Dar - Al - Islam}


Shareef Al-Husain, the great-grandfather of the present King Husain of Jordan, claimed the Khilafah on March 7, 1924, four days after the announcement from the Turkish Grand National Assembly abolishing the Khilafah. He was appointed by the Ottoman Caliph as the Shareef of Makkah, but had rebelled against Istanbul and, as a client of the British, had fully cooperated in the British effort to defeat the Ottoman Empire. His reward was a princely seven million Sterling pounds payoff from the British Treasury. In claiming the Khilafah, however, he ran afoul of the basic British and Zionist objective in the war against the Ottoman Empire. The war was not just a war against the Turks. It was a war against Islam. The objective was the destruction of the Khilafah and the emasculation of the Muslims world so that the Jewish State of Israel could be restored, and the faith of Muslims destroyed.

Shareef Al-Husains claim to the Khilafah threatened the entire scheme of the British and the Zionists. And so they had to get rid of him. They did it with diabolical cunning. They gave the green light to another British client Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud, head of the Saudi-Wahhabi alliance (which had briefly captured Makkah about a hundred years previously) to attack Husain. Abdul Aziz had cooperated with the British in the destruction of the Ottoman Empire through concluding a Treaty of Benevolent Neutrality with the British in 1916. His payoff from the British Treasury for his treachery to Islam was a less princely sum of five thousand Sterling pounds a month. He explained to his gullible Salafi Ikhwan that this was Jizyah. They accepted this explanation!

The British-Zionist political strategy succeeded in replacing Husain with a Saudi-Wahhabi monarchy which effectively prevented the restoration of the Khilafah. The plan was simple yet brilliant. No one could possibly be recognized as Khalifa and win legitimacy for his Khilafah unless he controlled the Haramain and the Hajj. No one could succeed in controlling the Haramain and the Hajj so long as the Saudi regime, supported militarily by the West, remained in control of Arabia. And the Saudi-Wahhabis could never be so stupid as to claim the Khilafah for themselves. After all, what happened to Shareef Al-Husain was supposed to function as a warning. It did! And the Wahhabis abandoned the Khilafah!

The reality, therefore, is that the Khilafah could not, and still cannot, be restored until Arabia is liberated and Dar Al-Islam is restored. And while the struggle to restore the Khilafah must never (Insha Allah) cease, we also recognize the possibility that the liberation of Arabia may not take place until the advent of Imam Al-Mahdi.

When the Imam Al-Mahdi does emerge, however, he will need the Jamaah of Muslims to support him and to struggle with him. This, then, is the imperative for the creation of the authentic Islamic revolutionary movement or Jamaah. There is a greater need for that Jamaah in South Asia than in other parts of the world since this is the implication of the appearance of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in South Asia. In other words, the evil force which is paving the way for the coming of the Al-Masih Al-Dajjal itself recognized the enormous potential which South Asian Muslims possessed for waging a successful struggle for the renaissance of Islam in the modern godless age, and it was because of this that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad emerged in South Asia rather than in the Arab world or Africa, etc.
{mospagebreak title=Restoration of the Khilafah}
To Restore the Khilafah, first Restore the Authentic Jamaah

In order for the Khilafah to be restored, the Jamaah must first be restored! It must be an authentic Jamaah under the leadership of an authentic Ameer/Imam who has a commanding knowledge of the Quran and Sunnah. Authenticity requires that the members of the Jamaah give the Baiyah to the Ameer/Imam and must then strictly adhere to the discipline of listening and obeying in all matters which do not involve disobedience of Allah (SWT) or His Messenger (SAW). Such a Jamaah is needed so as to wage an organized and collective struggle for the restoration of the Khilafah and of Dar Al-Islam, for the purpose of establishing the Islamic socio-political system (Iqamah Al-Deen).

The methodology for the restoration of the Khilafah is that a revolutionary struggle has to be waged. The Islamic Movements in Turkey, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Algeria need to be urgently, yet gently, reminded of this fact. That Jamaah will cease to be an authentic Jamaah which registers itself as a political party in a secular State, and then participates in democratic elections on the basis of acceptance of a Constitution which claims sovereignty for itself. Although the Pakistani Constitution has an Objectives Resolution attached to it, the painful truth is that, since the birth of the State, de facto sovereignty has always been located with the State. It has never been accorded to Almighty Allah (SWT). And so there has been no practical difference between the shirk of the Pakistani Constitution and the shirk that is inherent in the claim of sovereignty in the Constitutions of all secular States.

The authentic Jamaah must be engaged in a struggle to build power, such power as would permit it to sustain its control over any territory which may be restored to status of Dar Al-Islam, and to wage the struggle form that territory to liberate the Haramain and Hejaz. When it does so, the authentic Jamaah will be re-realizing that historical process and golden age which witnessed the Prophet (SAW) establishing his base in Madinah and then struggling from there to liberate Makkah.

The authentic Jamaah cannot be engaged in sectarian strife. On the contrary, it must establish itself on that authentic foundation of Aqeedah, and must function with that Hikmah of tolerance, as can attract Muslims form every dimension of the authentic belief spectrum. Then, having attracted them, it must weed out manifestly un-Islamic beliefs and then maintain tolerance in respect of harmless differences which exist at the periphery of the belief spectrum. The authentic Jamaah would reach out to the Shiah Muslims and to Islamic Iran, and search for the authentic common bond of Aqeedah with which to build a foundation for strategic cooperation and solidarity in the pursuit of a common goal.

It should be quite clear that todays intolerant Salafi Muslims, who take their primary inspiration from Ibn Sauds stringent Wahhabi Ikhwan, can hardly function as an authentic Jamaah. They wage a thoroughly obnoxious Jihad against harmless differences located at the periphery of the belief spectrum, while shamelessly betraying the very substance of the revolutionary struggle for the liberation from oppression and for the triumph of the truth of Islam over the falsehood and evil which today dominate the world, and which is descending upon mankind from every direction (min kulli hdabin yansiloon).

The authentic Jamaah, finally, must be engaged in the effort for moral and spiritual purification and growth (Tazkiyyah) of its members. Without the spiritual magnetism and rapture which comes from the mobilization of the heart, the Ameer and the leaders of the Jamaah will not succeed in attracting the masses of Muslims for active, spontaneous, and dynamic participation in the revolutionary struggle. This, indeed, was one of the weaknesses of the Jamaah founded by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, the Jamaat-e-Islami. May Allah (SWT) guide the Jamaat-e-Islami to correct this weakness. And may Allah (SAW) bless the learned Maulana whose great service to the cause of Islam will never be forgotten. Aameen!

{mospagebreak title=Dr Muhamed Iqbal and the Authentic Jamah}

Dr Muhamed Iqbal and the Authentic Jamah
Iqbals strategic importance to the Islamic revolutionary movement in this age of fitan and godless modernity is located in the following:

1. Iqbal is himself one of the most dynamic of the Islamic revolutionary thinkers who have emerged in the modern age. His greatest and most enduring contribution to the Islamic revolutionary movement was his critical, comprehensive, and sophisticated Islamic response to the intellectual challenge of the modern godless civilization which today dominates the world. In articulating that response with logic, rationality and acumen, Iqbal was, in fact, following the Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW) who said that he would himself do the intellectual battle with Dajjal if he were alive in the age in which he was released:

When he (Dajjal) makes his appearances and I am in your midst, I will overpower him by arguments; and if, when he makes his appearance, I am not in your midst, every one should argue with him. (Kanz Al-Ummal vol. 7 no. 2076)

2. By virtue of the fact that he was not subjected to a traditional Islamic theological education in a Dar-ul-Uloom, Iqbal enjoyed an intellectual freedom to study the Quran in the light of modern knowledge, and with a view of locating that dimension of the exposition of Truth (Al-Haq) which had specific relevance to the modern age, i.e., for refuting the claims of godless modernity, for example. His was a pioneering effort, and he succeeded so admirably that nearly all the modern educated intelligentsia in the Muslim world who came in contact with his thought were immediately attracted to him. If the Islamic revolutionary movement is to attract and mobilize and motivate such Muslims, a real and dynamic link with Iqbal is indispensable.

3. Sectarianism remains one of the deadliest diseases to afflict the contemporary Ummah. The Islamic revolutionary movement will have to locate a philosophical and theological standpoint from which to deal successfully with sectarianism. Iqbal is uniquely placed to act as a unifying force which can bring Muslims belonging to different strands of the sectarian spectrum on a single platform, and then weld them into a single force. Muslims who have been traditionally educated, as well as Muslims who have had a modern secular education, Muslims who are inclined to rationality in their religious thought, and Muslims who are attracted to the mystical in religious experience, can find their concerns sympathetically, authentically, and forcefully addressed by Iqbal.

4. Iqbal also appears to be the key with which the Islamic revolutionary movement can embrace the spiritual dimension of the struggle for Iqamah Al-Deen. After all, it cannot be denied that there could not have been an Iqbal had there not been a Rumi. The road to Lahore passes through Konya (in Turkey, where Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi is buried).

On of the unique characteristics of the Tanzeem-e-Islami is the fact that it draws its major contemporary inspiration from Iqbal. It is true, of course, that Iqbal was not an aalim in the traditional sense of the term since he was not subjected to the intellectual training of the rigid conventional Islamic scholarship in a seminary. But this was precisely the reason why he was able to succeed where so many others failed. Iqbals unique achievement was his success in penetrating the Quranic wisdom and guidance as it pertained specifically to the modern age, and in articulating that Quranic wisdom in a manner which responded majestically, movingly, and appropriately to the crises created by the godless modernity.

In this respect, Allama Iqbal influenced the thought of Dr. Israr Ahmad in a much more profound, dynamic, and authentic manner than he did in the case of Muhammad Ali Jinnah or even Maulana Abul Ala Maududi (RA). And so, it is Tanzeem-e-Islami, rather than any other Islamic movement in the South Asia, which can truly be considered to be the first authentic fruit of that revolutionary seed planted so creatively and lovingly by Iqbal.

If it is to win that support of the massive Muslim intelligentsia in South Asia and in North America, and if it is to fulfill its promise as the Jamaah which has inherited the mission of the Islamic revolutionary struggle from Iqbal, Tanzeem-e-Islami and its Ameer will have to work very hard at further developing that critical, authentic and sophisticated Islamic response to the godless modernity, initially formulated by Iqbal. In this regard, Dr. Muhammad Rafiuddins Ideology of the Future and, more so, Dr. Muhammad Fazlur Rahman Ansaris Quranic Foundations and Structure of Muslim Society represent significant efforts by gifted and distinguished students of Iqbal to extend the frontiers of knowledge in the intellectual trail which he blazed.

PART II Coming soon - Establishing the Authentic Jama'h