Bismillaahir-Rahmaanir-Raheem



InnAl-Hamdu lillaahi Rabbil-'Aalameen as-Salaatu was-Sallam ar-Rasoulullah ar-kareem, amma b’ad…



My dear brothers and sisters



When one looks at what is happening in the world today and how Muslims the world over are being massacred it brings great sadness to the heart, if one part of the Muslim Ummah feels pain then the whole Ummah should feel that pain.



It is not surprising to see Muslims in emotional states; however, such emotions can be dangerous if they are not channelled via the sea of knowledge in light of the Qur’aan and Sunnah as understood by the Sahaabah (radee Allaahu ‘anhum).



I am not saying that one should not feel pain and that one should not feel sadness, but what I am saying is that we should not act on our emotions; rather, we should act only upon knowledge.



Today we see that every group brings their own ideology believing that their methodology with regards to the manner in which to revive the Ummah is that which is correct, or they say that you have your methodology, they have theirs and we have ours and that there is no problem in having all of these different methodologies – However, Allaah says in the Qur’aan:



“…To each among you, We have prescribed a law and a clear methodology…” (Soorah al-Maa’idah 5:48)



So what has been prescribed for us is not numerous and different methodologies; rather, what has been prescribed for us is one clear way, one clear methodology. To further emphasise the point I will make mention of the hadeeth in which the Prophet (sall-Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) drew a straight line in the sand and said:



“This is the path of Allaah.”



Then he (sall-Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) drew lines branching off from its left and its right. Then he (sall-Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said:



“These are (other) paths and at the head of each of them is a Shaytaan calling to them.”



He (sall-Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) then recited the following ayah in which Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) told the Prophet (sall-Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) to say:



“And verily, this is my Straight Path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His Path. This He has ordained for you that you may become al-Muttaqun (the pious).” (Soorah al-An’am 6:153) (An-Nisaa’ee & Ahmad)



But today the majority of the Muslims believe that the rectification of the Muslim Ummah is open to ijtihad and by this they mean that they can bring their own solutions and seek to rectify the Ummah according to what they believe is correct, but what they believe is based merely on their own personal opinions or the opinions of the group or party that they belong to.



The correction and rectification of the Muslim Ummah is not something which is based on opinions and reasoning, nor is it something which is based on whims and desires, nor is it something which is left to ones intellect, it is not a matter left to ijtihad; rather, the correction and rectification is something that in order to do requires textual proofs, that is textual proofs from the Qur’aan and Sunnah as understood by the Sahaabah (radee Allaahu ‘anhum).



Imaam Maalik said (to paraphrase); the later part of the Ummah will not be fixed except by that which fixed the former part. So our Ummah will not be corrected except by that which fixed the affairs of the Muslim Ummah during the former part, i.e. except by that which fixed the affairs of the Muslims during the time of the Prophet (sall-Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and his companions (radee Allaahu ‘anhum).



So what was it that fixed the affairs during their time?



The Prophet (sall-Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam):



“When you deal in eena (a type of interest) and you hold onto the tails of cows and you are content with agriculture and you abandon jihad, Allaah will inflict humiliation upon you and will not remove it until you return to your religion.” (As-Saheehah, No. 11)



This hadeeth makes it clear that when we deal in interest, become content with this world whilst chasing after its vanities and abandon jihad Allaah will send a humiliation upon us, and is it not the case that we (the Muslims) are being humiliated?



This humiliation is not something merely imposed on us by the Americans, the British or the Jews as some of the ignorant think, they may be the means but they are certainly not the cause; rather, this humiliation has been inflicted on us because of what our own hands have earned, that is because we have left our religion.



Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) says:



“And whatever of misfortune befalls you, it is because of what your hands have earned. And He pardons much.” (Soorah ash-Shura 42:30)



And He (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) says:



“Evil has appeared on land and sea because of what the hands of men have earned (by oppression and evil deeds, etc.), that Allaah may make them taste a part of that which they have done, in order that they may return (by repenting to Allaah, and begging His Pardon).” (Soorah ar-Rum 30:41)



The solution and the means by which the Ummah will be rectified are clear, and that is as the Prophet (sall-Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said:



“…return to your religion.”



Shaykh Muhammad Nasir-ud-Deen al-Albaanee mentioned that returning to the religion is something that requires, as per the expression in the lands of Shaam, for us to “shrug our shoulders”; it is something which requires effort and action.



“…return to your religion”, and by this what is meant is the correct religion, and that is that which the Prophet (sall-Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and his Sahaabah (radee Allaahu ‘anhum) were upon from correct belief in Allaah, His Messenger (sall-Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and His religion and implementation of that belief and character. It is not that which we find the majority of the Islamic groups, parties and individuals calling to and being upon today.



The Prophet (sall-Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said:



“It will soon be that the nations invite to you, just as guests are invited to partake of a serving tray.” It was asked: “Is it because we will be few at that time?” He (sall-Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) replied: “Rather you will be numerous at that time. But you will be scum, like the scum of the torrent, and Allaah will remove the fear of you from your enemies’ chests and He (Subahana Wa Ta’ala) will fill your hearts with wahn.” The Sahaabah (radee Allaahu ‘anhum) asked: “O Messenger of Allaah! What is wahn?” He (sall-Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “The love of the world, and the hatred of death.” (Aboo Daawood)



So the Prophet (sall-Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) prophesised in this hadeeth that we would be in the situation that we (the Muslims) now find ourselves in, and we find in the Qur’aan and Sunnah many ayat and ahadeeth that clearly show us the reasons as to why we (the Muslims) are in this situation – However, we find that many of the Muslims wish to blame everyone other than themselves and this stands in staunch contradiction to the textual proofs we find in the Qur’aan and Sunnah.



We see and hear the Muslims blaming this person and that person, this group and that group, this country and that country, the Americans, the British and the Jews. No Muslim denies that those who wage war on Islam and the Muslims, torture our brothers, rape our sisters and kill our children are blameworthy, but are they to blame or should we also share in that blame?



As I have already cited, Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) says:



“And whatever of misfortune befalls you, it is because of what your hands have earned. And He pardons much.” [Soorah ash-Shura (42):30]



What we witness is Muslims failing to accept that we, as an Ummah, are to blame for our humiliation. It is as if they believe that it is the kuffaar who regulate the affairs of the world, have they forgotten that nothing happens without the permission of Allaah and that it is He who controls everything? The reasons as to why this humiliation is happening to us (the Muslims) have already proceeded in the form of just some of the textual proofs bought fourth from the Qur’aan and Sunnah.



Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) says in the Qur’aan:



“Allaah has promised to those among you who believe and do righteous actions that He will certainly grant them Khilafah (succession) (to the present rulers) on the earth, as He granted it to those before them; and that He will grant them authority to practise their religion, that which He has chosen for them (i.e. Islam). And that He will surely give them in exchange a safe security after their fear (provided) they (believers) worship Me and do not associate anything (in worship) with Me. But whosoever disbelieved after this, they are the Fasiqun (rebellious, disobedient to Allaah).” (Soorah an-Noor 24:55)



So Allaah has promised us victory, but He has set conditions:



1) that we believe in Allaah (correctly)

2) that we do righteous actions

3) that we worship Him (obedience is worship), and

4) that we do not associate anything in worship with Him, i.e. we do not commit Shirk



Just one look at the Ummah is all that is needed to see how far we (the Muslims) are from fulfilling these conditions, moreover, one look at ourselves is enough to see how much we fall short in fulfilling these conditions.



So what is needed for the revival and what is the methodology for doing so?



I shall finish by quoting the words of Shaykh Muhammad Nasir-ud-Deen al-Albaanee:



“Therefore, the key to a return of the glory of Islam is the implementation of beneficial knowledge and the establishing of righteous and correct actions and this is a very great affair which the Muslims cannot reach, except through the methodology of tasfiyyah (purification and correction) and tarbiyyah (education and cultivation). These being two very great obligations:



By the first of these (i.e. tasfiyyah), the following is intended:



Purifying the Islamic Aqeedah from that which is alien to it, such as shirk, ta’teel (rejection of Allaah’s attributes) ta’weel (twisting the meaning of Allaah’s attributes), refusing authentic ahadeeth, because they are connected to matters of Aqeedah and their like. Purifying the Islamic fiqh from erroneous judgments which are contrary to the Qur’aan and Sunnah, freeing the minds from the fetters of blind following and the darkness of sectarianism and party spirit. Purifying the books of tafseer, fiqh and raqaaq (matters pertaining to the heart) and other than that from ahadeeth, which are weak and fabricated, or the unsupported narrations from the people of the Book, and the reprehensible narrations.



As regards the second obligation (i.e. tarbiyyah), then by it I mean: cultivating the young generation upon this Islam, purified from all that we have mentioned, giving to them a correct Islamic education from the start - without any influence from the disbelieving western education. There is no doubt that bringing these two obligations about requires huge efforts and sincere cooperation between all Muslims, individuals and groups, from all those who are truly concerned with establishing the desired Islamic society, each one working in his own field and specialty.”



O Muslims, “…return to your religion.”



Wallaahu ta’aala ‘aalam!



Subahanaka Allaahuma wa bihamdika ashadu a laa illa illah anta astagfirouka wa at-tabu ilaik.



Was-salaamu ‘alaikum



Your brother



Zakariya Aboo Uthmaan