Taghyeer (change) by Mahmoud Abdul-Kareem Hasan

The conduct of the human is tied to what he carries in terms of concepts. The concepts (Mafaaheem) are convictions (Qanaa’aat) resulting from a comprehension of things and their attributes in addition to what is built upon this comprehension or emanates from it in terms of other convictions.

Concepts are of two types:

: Concepts about things. These are convictions or Ahkaam (rulings) whose source is the things themselves. This would include statements like: ‘Fire burns’, ‘Poison kills’, ‘Alcohol intoxicates’, ‘Meat is eaten whilst soil is not eaten’, ‘The increased build-up of pressure generates an explosion (of sorts)’, ‘The society is composed of a collection of individuals bound by permanent relationships’ and ‘Revival would not occur except by way of the enlightened thought’.

All of these thoughts are descriptions or Ahkaam whose source is its subject. They could be correct or incorrect depending on their conformity to the reality or their contradiction to it. In all of these cases they are considered to be concepts in respect to the one who has believed in them. The human behaviour and conduct is tied to his concepts about things and so whoever is convinced that his food has been poisoned would never eat from it and even if he was hungry. Similarly the one who was thirsty would seek water and not something else whilst the one who wanted to be intoxicated would seek alcohol and nothing else.

Concepts (Mafaaheem) about life. These are convictions or Ahkaam whose source is external to its subject. This is like the statements: ‘The Salaah is Fard’, ‘Fraud is Haraam’ and ‘Killing someone is Haraam’ etc... The source of this Hukm is not the thing itself or the action and these only represent the subject area or the reality that is being judged upon whilst the source of the judgement is something else and lies elsewhere.

So our statement: ‘Alcohol intoxicates’ reflects a description or an internal attribute associated to alcohol. It is a judgement made upon a thing due to what it contains or results in. The statement however ‘Alcohol is Haraam’ is not a judgement passed upon a thing on the basis of what is in it but rather it represents a Hukm from Allah (swt)

who decides what to make Haraam and what to make Mubaah (permissible).

The behaviour of the person is also tied to his concepts about life. If he held the concept or understanding about the flesh of pig that it was edible and would satisfy hunger, then this would represent a concept about a thing. The concept about life however is that the pig is Haraam meaning that is obligatory for him to avoid and keep away from it. It would become a concept for the one who has comprehended this Hukm and believed in it and it would have an effect upon his behaviour and prevent him from satisfying his hunger from pig.

The one who holds the concept that the idol has an effect upon his well-being, safety, rizq or to help things come to pass for him, or that some of those who have passed away also possess this capability, he would then be gripped by the feelings of veneration in the presence of such idols or he would seek help and assistance from the dead.

This is the opposite to the one who does not believe in any of these matters and he would not hesitate to show his disdain towards these idols and show the error of those who seek help from the dead.

So in this way the behaviour of the person is tied to the concepts about things and the concepts that are held about life. What is sometimes noticed in respect to the weakness of this connection (between the concept and behaviour) is the result of inattention or negligence in respect to these concepts. Or it could be due to their actual absence so it is like they are not truly concepts that he holds and this could be due to a number of reasons that the person can be affected by.

The Messenger of Allah (saw) said:

It is therefore obligatory to restore the truths (Haqaa’iq) to the minds to correct the behaviour and to rectify it. These include: The Haqaa’iq (truths) of things and the Shar’iyah truths in terms of beliefs and Ahkaam. They must be reminded with them so that they become fresh, firmly embodied and present, and as such have an effect upon the behaviour.

Allah (swt) said:

The opposite is the case in respect to the disbelievers because reminding them of the truths and Shar’iyah concepts does not benefit them. They hear them as thoughts but they do not represent truths for them nor do they represent concepts for them and as such they have no effect upon their behaviour.

Therefore the concepts about life are what define the manner by which the human lives. His main concern is not just living but rather how he should live and his main concern is not about satisfying his needs but rather it concerns the manner by which he will satisfy them. For this reason his concepts about life fashion for him a specific manner and style of living.

In the case where the source of the concepts in life are external to the things and actions themselves, it is not possible to adopt them except after being convinced that the source is true or has the power or authority to make a judgment upon them, and that its Ahkaam are valid and correct.

Islaam has established that the Haakim (Judge) is Allah (swt) and that the source of the Ahkaam (rulings) is the Wahi (divine revelation)

revealed upon Sayyidunaa Muhammad (saw).

Allah (swt) said:

And He (swt) said:

Every ruling or judgement other than the Hukm of Allah is Taaghoot:

As such there is no judgement left to the mind or the human and this does not mean that the role of the mind has been taken away or that a limitation has been placed upon its capabilities. It is rather because the mind and the human do not possess the necessary tools to make judgement or pass a ruling. This is because the source of the ruling is not the thing itself or the subject that the ruling will be made upon.

So those who have allocated the provision of the ruling to the people, for example, have not based this upon evidence and have rather wandered and gone astray. They have carried a concept which is not truthful and has no reality to it, whilst at the same time they have denied the truth by separating the Deen from life which means that there is no Hukm belonging to Allah.

If the right and power of issuing judgements and rulings was given to the human whilst he does not possess the necessary tools to do that, then nothing would prevail apart from his desires, inclinations and interests according to his viewpoint. These would be changing and fluctuate and he could see something that is damaging as being beneficial and he could see a disease as a medicine and cure.

In this context the importance of Imaan in Allah, the Prophethood and the Qur’aan comes to the fore. This Imaan is the Aqeedah that has an effect upon the behaviour as it provides the human with the concepts about life which define for him how he should live, his purpose in the life and his purpose behind his behaviour and conduct, which is to attain the pleasure of Allah ‘Azza Wa Jalla.

Similarly in this context the importance of the concepts about things and about the life being correct and truthful also becomes apparent i.e. that they are representative of Haqaa’iq (truths/facts). The danger of the campaign of spreading ignorance, deception and propagating fallacies in order to generate amongst the people incorrect concepts is also evident. As a result of which they become victims of ignorance and misguidance:

Yes the individuals are led astray and the peoples are led astray just like a fish in the ocean when it takes the bait or the mouse that rushes to the food placed in a mouse trap.

The human wanders around and does not arrive at his aim when he proceeds along a path that he is convinced will lead to it whilst in reality he is actually going in the exact opposite direction.

He is also led astray when he carries incorrect concepts about life as a result of ignorance or distortion like the one who sees or is made to see that Ribaa is Halaal, that democracy is from Islaam and that learning the Sharee’ah is for the sake of earning a living just like any other area of specialisation or profession. When the Haqaa’iq (truths/facts) of Islaam become absent and the minds are filled with false thoughts like the thoughts of general freedoms or that changing the declined reality is impossible in our current generation or one hundred years, or that this change is a gift from Allah and that there is nothing for us to do apart from wait or to wait for the Mahdi. All of this transforms the individuals, peoples or the Ummah into a collection of lazy people sluggishly being driven in whatever direction those who have given them these concepts want them to and it leads them into becoming tools for their enemies whilst they believe that they are actually struggling against them.

Therefore, we repeat, that in order to change the conduct, rectify it and make it a correct elevated conduct that arrives at its purpose, it is essential to generate correct concepts about things and life. At that time the person will be in a good position to subjugate and utilise the things and their attributes successfully and will be in a good position to adopt the conduct that arrives to his purpose and the greatest of all objectives which is the attainment of the pleasure of Allah ‘Azza Wa Jall:

The first of the Haqaa’iq (truths) and absolutely its most important is the Aqeedah that defines the human’s concepts about life. The Aqeedah is that all things have been created by a creator who is Allah (swt), that Allah sent a Messenger who is Muhammad (saw) with the Risaalah (message) of Al-Islaam which explains everything that relates to the human being and that He (swt) will account him upon the basis of Imaan or Kufr and upon the basis of his abiding by what the Nabi (saw) came with or by his non-abidance to it.

From amongst the most important Haqaa’iq (truths) after Imaan is that the human understands the purpose of his creation i.e. that which he must strive to accomplish.

Allah (swt) said:

The worship (‘Ibaadah) to Allah means having Imaan in Him and obedience to Him. Obedience to Him Ta’Aalaa means commitment and abidance (Al-Iltizaam) to all of His Ahkaam. This is not restricted to the acts of ‘Ibaadah, Akhlaaq (morals) and Mu’aamalaat (societal transactions) but rather includes everything that Allah (swt)

has commanded or forbidden. It includes that nothing has a right to be worshipped other than Allah and that no command or forbiddance can come from anyone besides Him (swt).

Ahmad and At-Tirmidhi related that ‘Adiy Bin Haatim (ra) came to the Messenger of Allah (saw) whilst he was reciting the Aayah:

‘Adiy then said: ‘They did not worship them’. So the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:

As such giving the Haqq (right) to anyone to decide the Halaal and decide the Haraam or the right to make legislation and the right of obedience represents ‘Ibaadah to that person.

Allah (swt) said:

As for the right of obedience that belongs to the Hakim (ruler), Ameer or parents then this is due to the Haqq (right) that Allah (swt)

has provided to them.

‘Ibaadah to Allah (swt) includes the obedience in respect to making mankind worship Him (swt) i.e. to make them submit to the Shar’a of Allah and to fight against the existence of any Haakimiyah (right to make rules) to other than Allah or to other than the Sharee’ah of Islaam in addition to fighting against the exiting (Khurooj) from the Hukm (rule) of Allah (swt). This is what the texts have indicated and the meaning that they have come with; those which have come commanding the ‘Amr Bil Ma’rouf’ (Commanding the good) and the ‘Nahi ‘An il-Munkar’ (Forbidding the evil). They have commanded the undertaking of discussions, explanations, convincing people and inviting them by way of Da’wah. Additionally they have commanded lashing, cutting, killing (as punishments and deterrents) and fighting and Al-Jihaad to spread the rule of Allah upon the Earth and to raise His word the highest.

As such we saw that after the Messenger of Allah (saw) established the Islamic State in Al-Madinah Al-Munawaarah and established its pillars firmly, he (saw) sent the messengers to the Kings and rulers inviting them to Islaam. We then saw the Khulafaa’ (rah) who came after him (saw) sending out carriers of the Da’wah, Mujaahideen and armies to invite the people to Imaan and to take them out of the darkness and bring them into the light. They fought for the purpose of making the lands and servants submit to the authority of Islaam.

It represents a Da’wah for there to be nothing worshiped other than Allah and for there to be no Haakimiyah (right to rule) to other than Allah Ta’Alaa. This objective represents the thought that the Muslim lives for and this was expressed exquisitely by the Noble Sahaabi Rab’iy Bin ‘Aamir when Rustam the head of the Persian army was astonished by what Rab’iy invited to and asked him: What have you brought with you? And Rab’iy (ra) replied:

This thought has been made very clear in the Qur’aan, the Sunnah and the actions of the Messenger (saw) within texts that are too numerous for a limit to be placed upon them. We will however make a mention of some of them:

Allah (swt) said:

So the objective and purpose is that no law that is obeyed or no legislation that is adopted can exist except for that which Allah (swt)

has commanded and that there is no Haakim (law maker) other than Allah. As far as leaving the disbelievers upon their beliefs and worships then they are left upon these matters in accordance to and in compliance to the command of Allah (swt).

Allah (swt) has made clear and explained this objective and purpose in respect to His creation of the people when He (swt) said:

This address is to the Islamic Ummah and it entrusts her with the legal responsibility (Takleef) to carry the Message, after the Messenger of Allah (saw), to the whole of mankind. And indeed the Nabi (saw) carried it and after conveying the message, fulfilling his Amaanah and after having performed Al-Jihaad for Allah’s sake with all that he possessed of strength, effort and capability. He (saw) stood in the final farewell Hajj, addressed his Ummah and said:

So in this way the Nabi (saw) bore witness over us with the responsibility of conveying and carrying the Amaanah (trust) and sought Allah’s witness upon us in regards to that. Therefore, after that it is obligatory upon us to be witnesses over the people in accordance to exactly the same methodology that the Noble Messenger (saw) undertook. Indeed Allah (swt) made clear that this is the purpose and objective of the creation before His creation of Aadam (as).

Allah (swt) said:

The Malaa’ikah (Angels) are the servants of Allah (swt) and do not disobey Him:

When Allah (swt) said to them:

They realised and comprehended that He (swt) will make upon the earth those who will be disobedient. This is understood from the wording ‘Khalifah’ because here in this context it means the one who Allah will give succession and delegate to undertake the acts of correcting and caretaking amongst other matters that the one who is entrusted would undertake. This role or rectifying and taking care of affairs means that their will exist those who need to be rectified and who are need of Ri’aayah (caretaking). This means that there will be those who go outside of the command of Allah and that this will lead to misery, anguish and disorder. This is why they said:

In other words, if the creation did not include something that would be disobedient then everything would proceed in accordance to the command of Allah (swt). So when Allah (swt) wanted to create someone who will undertake the actions of rectifying and guidance then this means that there will exist those who will choose misguidance and disobedience to Allah.

Therefore the purpose in life which Allah (swt) has made clear and explained before the creation of Aadam (as) is that there will be a human being who is a slave (‘Abd) to Allah and that he will undertake the work of making others worship Allah (swt) from those who have gone astray from His worship or have rejected it.

The life is therefore an intellectual, belief based and political clash and struggle between Imaan and Kufr. It is belief based in terms of it being for the sake of raising the word of Allah the highest and so that the Deen of the people is all and only for Allah. So that no Hukm exists except that it is for Allah, that He (swt) has no Shareek (partner), that nothing or no one is worshiped aside from Allah and that submission is only to the Shar’a of Allah. In this way it represents a political struggle where the caretaking of the affairs of human beings has been made obligatory to not be entrusted to any form of legislation other than the Sharee’ah of Al-Islaam.