The Da’wah To Islam by Sheikh Ahmad Mahmoud

Indeed, enjoining the ma’roof and forbidding the munkar, relating to groups is defined after defining the work demanded by the Shar’a from the group. Here we will not be talking about groups which are established to establish partial Shar’a rules, such as the charity associations which are founded to help the poor Muslims, or the associations for guidance and admonition, or associations for building mosques, associations for teaching the Qur’an al-Kareem etc. Rather our discussion deals with the existence of groups which shoulder the responsibility of establishing the whole deen. That is via the establishment of the Khilafah, whose role is to establish Islam in the life of the Muslims. Its concern will be to bring into existence all the ma’roofaat that the Shar’a has ordered and remove all the munkaraat that the Shar’a has forbidden. It takes its role in life, in terms of applying Islam completely inside the State and carrying it to the world.

The Islamic State has great tasks the Shar’a has entrusted it with, which are realised with the State’s existence and disappear from life and dwindle away with the State’s absence. Thus, the importance of the group that wishes to work to establish the Islamic State comes from the importance of what it wants to achieve. When there is no group in our time working to resume the Islamic way of life via the establishment of the Islamic State, that means that the Muslims have neglected all the obligations entrusted by Allah 􀀬 to the Islamic State, which are many, and consequently there is no sin greater than leaving this obligation.

The Muslims who do not work to resume the Islamic way of life, will be sinful when a fornicator commits zina; a thief steals; a ruler oppresses the people; women go out into the streets half-naked; the corruption increases; Jihaad stops; the Kuffar control the Muslims; munkar becomes widespread and the ma’roof becomes limited. This is because all these matters spread when the Muslims neglected the fard Allah 􀀬 obliged on them, which is the fard of working to establish the righteous Khilafah with which Allah 􀀬 is pleased. In its turn, it puts matters in their correct place, establishes the Shar’a in the life of the Muslims and plants the Imaan in their souls and thus cultivates the fruits of taqwa and ihsan.

Hence this collective work is a Shar’ee obligation, on which the change of the deteriorated situation and its correction depends. This obligation will rescue the Ummah from the low depths to which she has reached and return her to her former glory and power, where she would assume the highest position amongst the nations, as a guided and guiding Ummah.

What reward is there that a Muslim gets today that is greater than the collective work which leads to saving the Muslims from the situation they are in today. For the Messenger 􀁕 has said; “That Allah should guide a man through you is better for you than having the red (best) camels.” [Reported by al-Bukhari]. What is more rewardable than the work to rectify the situation of all the Muslims and save them from destruction, and by this action open the gates from all sides so that people may enter the deen of Allah 􀀬 in crowds. When the Messenger 􀁕 said to the one who asked if there was any action that was equal to Jihaad in the path of Allah 􀀬; “‘No, I do not find anything equal to it.’ Then he 􀁕 asked him; ‘When the Mujaahid goes out to Jihaad are you able to enter your mosque, do qiyaam and not become tired? And fast and not have iftaar (not break the fast)?’ The man said; ‘Who can do that?’” [Reported by Bukhari]. Did not the Messenger 􀁕 say; “The best Jihaad is the word of truth spoken to a tyrant ruler.” Did the Messenger 􀁕 not say; “The master of martyrs is Hamzah, and a man who stood up to a tyrant ruler to enjoin (the ma’roof) and forbid (the munkar) and got killed.” [Reported by al-Haakim]. Is it allowed for the Muslim, while knowing the situation of Muslims today, to leave them to perish? Will he then be:

“…like the body which if one part aches then the rest of the body calls out to it in sleeplessness and fever.”? [Reported by Muslim]. Will he be: “…like the building where one part strengthens another.”? [Reported by Muslim]. So before the Muslim lays either a great reward or a manifest sin. This is the condition of the fard in Islam.

It is like the rest of the obligations, the one who does it is rewarded and the one who leaves it is punished.

We do remind again that we are not talking about the da’wah to partial collective actions, which establish a part or two from Islam. Rather we mean the collective work that aims at the establishment of Islam as a whole via the way of working to establish the Khilafah.