The Da’wah To Islam by Sheikh Ahmad Mahmoud

There are collective obligations, and what is required is that these obligations must be performed, irrespective of who has undertaken them from the Muslims.They are not required from every individual by himself.

Rather what is required is that they are enacted. They may be enacted via a few or via many. If they are not enacted, then all the Muslims will be sinful until they are enacted. Otherwise, the sin will be removed only from those who struggled and endeavoured to establish them, and who were involved in this struggle seriously. Let no one assume that because the Muslims share the sin with him, that this will lighten the sin for him, and so he is negligent of the collective obligations. This is not true, because he will come alone on the Day of Judgement, carrying the sin on his own. He 􀀬 said:

“And everyone of them will come to Him alone on the Day of Resurrection (without any helper or protector.” [TMQ 19:95]. The fact the Ummah falls into sin with him may give him comfort in this world, but this will not lighten it for him in the Hereafter. Therefore, let everyone who has been negligent in the collective duties that have not been established, rush into serious involvement in the work to establish them, so as to clear his conscience before Allah 􀀬, before that Day comes when the hearts and sights will be turned about. Thus, the Muslim who believes in Allah 􀀬 and fears His warning and wants His Promise, he will be concerned to please Allah 􀀬, to win Paradise and save himself from the Fire. Such a Muslim looks upon the collective obligation as a duty that must be undertaken. As long as it has not been undertaken, then the sin will reach him if he did not work to establish it. However if the obligation was performed, then there will not be any blame on him as long as some people established it. So in order for the Muslim to relieve his conscience before Allah 􀀬, he must be concerned with the collective obligations just like his concern with the individual obligations. For example: ruling by what Allah 􀀬 has revealed, Jihaad in the path of Allah 􀀬, Ijtihaad, enjoining the ma’roof and forbidding the munkar. All of these are collective obligations, which the Muslims must work to establish, otherwise they will be sinful. If Ijtihaad is absent in the Ummah, for example, then everyone is sinful except the one who works to bring about Ijtihaad. The presence of people working to bring about Ijtihaad will not remove the sin from others, as long as Ijtihaad still does not exist. When Ijtihaad comes to exist, then the sin is removed from everyone. This is also the case with regards to establishing the Islamic State. Every individual who abstains from undertaking the work to establish it will be sinful before Allah 􀀬, and the presence of people working for its establishment will not remove the sin from those abstaining from it, as long as the state has not been established yet. The following was mentioned in the book entitled, “Al-Fikrul Islami” (The Islamic Thought) under the heading, “The obligation of sufficiency is an obligation on every Muslim.” The text states the following; “The obligation is not removed in any case whatsoever, unless the work which was obligated has been undertaken. The one who neglects the obligation will deserve punishment for abandoning it. He will remain sinful until he undertakes it. There is no difference in this regard between the individual obligation and the obligation of sufficiency (ie collective obligation). All of them are an obligation on all of the Muslims. Thus, His 􀀬 saying:

“March forth, whether you are light or heavy...” [TMQ 9:41], is an obligation of sufficiency. In all of these (obligations), the action has been requested decisively (talban jaaziman). Hence, trying to differentiate between the individual obligation and the obligation of sufficiency in their capacity as obligations is a sin before Allah 􀀬; it counts as turning away from the path of Allah 􀀬 and deception to cause complacency in undertaking the obligations of Allah 􀀬. As for removing the duty from the one on whom it was obligatory, here as well there is no difference between the individual obligation and the obligation of sufficiency. The duty is not removed until the action requested by Ash-Shaari’ (the Legislator) has been established, whether the request was to every Muslim such as the five daily prayers or the request was for all the Muslims such as the bai’ah (pledge) to the Khaleefah. None of these obligations will be removed until the action has been established, ie until the prayer has been established and the Khaleefah has been appointed and given the bai’ah.

Thus, the obligation of sufficiency will not be removed from anyone of the Muslims, when some of them undertake the action that will establish it, until it has been established. Thus, every Muslim will remain sinful as long as the action has not been completed. Therefore, it is incorrect to say that the obligation of sufficiency is the obligation which, if some undertook it, then the rest are absolved from the sin. Rather, the obligation of sufficiency is the obligation which if some have established it, then the rest are absolved of the sin. The removal of the sin will be something real, because the action which has been ordered has already been undertaken and it exists, so there is no place for the sin to remain.

This is the obligation of sufficiency, which is like the individual obligation.

Hence, the establishment of the Islamic State is an obligation on all Muslims; ie it is fard on every single Muslim. This obligation is not removed from any single Muslim until the Islamic State is established. If some undertook the actions that will establish the Islamic State, the obligation is not removed from any single Muslim as long as the Islamic state has not been established. The obligation will remain on every Muslim, and the sin will remain on every Muslim until the establishment of the State. The sin will not be removed from any single Muslim until he pursues the action that will establish the State, and continues on this action until the State is established. Thus, every obligation of sufficiency will remain an obligation on every Muslim, and will not be removed until the requested action has been undertaken.” Once the individual obligations and the obligations of sufficiency became clear to us, it becomes clear to us that for the Muslim to relieve his conscience before his Creator and his Lord, it is incumbent on him to undertake the individual obligations and participate with others in establishing the obligations of sufficiency.