Ni Ummah ya Kiislamu, na ushahidi wa hili ni kile alichoandika ‘Ali Ibn Abi Taalib (ra), ambacho kilitolewa kwake kwa maagizo ya Muhammad Mjumbe wa Allah ﷺ, katika katiba ya kwanza ya maandishi ambayo watu waliitia saini wakati Mjumbe wa Allah ﷺ alipohama kutoka Makkah kwenda Al-Madinah. Kifungu cha kwanza cha katiba hiyo kilitoa ufafanuzi wa Ummah huu pale kilipoeleza: <<Muhammad Mjumbe wa Allah na wale Waislamu waumini walio pamoja naye ni Ummah mmoja kwa kuwatenga wengine wote>>. Huu ndio Ummah ambao Allah (swt) ameufanya kuwa Ummatan Wasatan (Ummah bora na wa haki), yaani Ummah bora uliotolewa kwa ajili ya wanadamu. Unashika nafasi kuu duniani ili uweze kutimiza wajibu ulioaminiwa nao wa kuwa shahidi juu ya wanadamu, ambao ni wajibu uleule aliouchukua Mjumbe wa Allah ﷺ. Yeye alikuwa katikati ya Ummah huu, alifikisha ujumbe, alitekeleza amana, alikuwa mkweli kwa Ummah, na alifanya Al-Jihaad katika njia ya Allah na kutoa kila alichokuwa nacho ﷺ.

It is the Islamic Ummah and the evidence for this is what ‘Ali Ibn Abi Taalib (ra) wrote and was dictated to him by Muhammad the Messenger of Allah (saw) in the very first written constitution which the people signed upon when the Messenger of Allah (saw) made Hijrah from Makkah to Al-Madinah. The first article in the constitution provided the definition of this Ummah when it stated: <<Muhammad the Messenger of Allah and those believing Muslims with him are one Ummah to the exclusion of all others>>. This is the Ummah that Allah (swt) has made the Ummatan Wasatan (The best/just Ummah) meaning the best Ummah raised up for mankind. It occupies the centre stage in the world so that it can fulfil the mission that it has be entrusted with to bear witness over mankind which is exactly the same mission that the Messenger of Allah (saw) undertook. He was at the centre stage of this Ummah, he conveyed the message, fulfilled the trust, was sincere to the Ummah and performed Al-Jihaad in the way of Allah and gave it his all (saw).

Aliiacha katika Ummah huu kinga ya kuilinda isipotee na isipotoke, kama alivyosema ﷺ:

He (saw) left in this Ummah a security to protect it from loss and misguidance as he (saw) said:

"Nimewaachia kati yenu kitu ambacho mkikishikilia kwa nguvu, hamtapotea kamwe: Kitabu cha Allah na Sunnah yangu" (Hadith sahihi, imepokewa na Al-Hakim kutoka kwa Abu Hurairah (ra)).

<<I have left amongst you that which if you hold on to it firmly, you will never ever go astray: The Book of Allah and my Sunnah>> (Saheeh related by Al-Haakim from Abu Hurairah (ra)).

Hii ni shahada ya Mtume wa Allah ﷺ juu ya Umma yake na hoja yake dhidi yao, basi shahada ya Umma yake juu ya watu wengine iko wapi? Hakika Mtume wa Allah ﷺ alilia alipousikia kauli ya Allah (SWT):

This is the witness (Shahaadah) of the Messenger of Allah (saw) upon his Ummah and his argument against them, so where is the witness of his Ummah over the rest of the people? Indeed the Messenger of Allah (saw) cried when he heard the statement of Allah (swt):

Basi itakuwaje wakati Tutakapoleta shahidi kutoka kila umma, na Tukakuleta wewe, ewe Muhammad ﷺ, dhidi ya hawa kuwa shahidi?

So how [will it be] when We bring from every nation a witness and we bring you, [O Muhammad] against these [people] as a witness (An-Nisaa 41).

Kisha akamwambia yule aliyekuwa akisoma: "Hiyo inatosha."

And then he said to the one who was reciting: ‘That is sufficient’.

Mtume ﷺ alichukua na kuisimamia jambo hili katika maisha yake yote, hadi alipoinuliwa kwenda kwa Rafiki bora kabisa, na jambo hili likakabidhiwa na kuachwa kwa Ummah wake. Hivyo wakainuka kubeba dhamana hii, na Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq (ra) akawa wa kwanza kuchukua uongozi katika hili (baada ya Nabii ﷺ). Akasimamisha ushahidi juu ya Waajemi na Warumi, na baada yake akafuatwa katika hili na ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab (ra), ambaye naye alifuatwa na Makhalifa na viongozi walioimarisha kwa uthabiti ushahidi juu ya watu wa wakati ule. Hao ndio Ummah Wasat, dola namba moja, waliokalia jukwaa kuu duniani; walisimamisha hoja juu ya wanadamu na waliendelea kufikisha yale ambayo Mtume ﷺ alikuwa ameyaanzisha.

The Messenger (saw) assumed and took charge of this matter throughout his life until he was raised to the best company and this matter was then entrusted and left to his Ummah. So they rose up to this responsibility and Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq (ra) was the first to assume the leadership in this (after the Nabi (saw)). So he established the witness over the Persians and Romans and then he was followed in this by ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab (ra) who in turn was followed by Khulafaa’ and leaders who firmly established the witness over the people of that time. They were the Ummah Wasat, the number one State and occupied the central stage in the world; they established the proof upon mankind and continued to convey that which the Messenger (saw) had started.

Na hatukukutuma wewe isipokuwa kwa watu wote kama mbashiri na mwonyaji, lakini watu wengi hawajui (Saba' 28).

And we have not sent you except to the entirety of mankind as a bringer of glad tidings and a warner however most of the people do not know (Saba’ 28).

Kwa hiyo Ummah ilibeba Da'wah ya Uislamu na kuifikisha kwa mataifa yote ya dunia, kuanzia mipaka ya China upande wa Mashariki hadi Bahari ya Atlantiki upande wa Magharibi, kutoka Turkistan, Samarqand na Azerbaijan kupitia Asia ya Kati hadi ikafika kwenye malango ya Vienna katikati ya Ulaya, na kutoka Gibraltar hadi Poitiers nchini Ufaransa, si mbali na Paris. Hali hii iliendelea maadamu walikuwa na sifa ambayo Allah (SWT) aliwaamuru nayo: kuamrisha Ma'rouf (mema) na kukataza Munkar (maovu). Lakini baadaye waligeuka mbali na jambo hili, udhaifu ukaingia, wakajitenga na yale waliyokuwa wakiyaamrisha na wakazidi kukaribia yale waliyokuwa wakiyakataza. Mwali wa Imani ulidhoofika ndani ya nyoyo zao, wakaanza kukosea kuelewa kusudi lao maishani na maana ya kuwa Waislamu, uelewa wao wa Uislamu ukadhoofika, fikra zao zikadidimia, na kweli walidhoofika katika maeneo mengi. Kwa hiyo magonjwa ya mgawanyiko, kurudi nyuma na kuporomoka yakaenea miongoni mwao, kama vile utaifa, ukabila, uzalendo, ukanda na ukoo. Hivyo Dola yao ikapita kutoka mikononi mwao, nguvu yao ikavunjika, na Dola yao ikavunjwa. Hakika waliiangusha Dola yao, wakararua bendera ya utukufu wao, na wakajitokeza kwenye meza za mataifa mengine, wakichukua kutoka kwao chochote walichodhani kingeweza kurekebisha mambo yao.

So the Ummah carried the Da’wah of Islaam and conveyed it to all of the nations of the world from the borders of China in the East to the Atlantic Ocean in the west, from Turkistan, Samarqand and Azerbaijan through central Asia until it reached the gates of Vienna in the middle of Europe and from Gibraltar to Poitiers in France not far from Paris. This reality continued for as long as they were characterised with what Allah (swt) had commanded them with; ordering the Ma’rouf (good) and forbidding the Munkar (wrong). However after that they turned away from this, weakness crept in and they became distanced from that which they had been ordering and became closer to that which they had been forbidding. The flame of Imaan weakened within their breasts, they began to misunderstand their purpose in life and the meaning of being Muslims, their understanding of Islaam weakened and their thinking declined and indeed they declined in many areas. Therefore the diseases of division, backwardness and decline spread amongst them like those of nationalism, tribalism, patriotism, regionalism and clannism and so their State passed by them, their might was broken and their State was dismantled. Indeed they brought down their State and tore up the banner of their glory and presented themselves at the tables of the other nations taking from them anything they thought would mend their affairs.

Na leo tumerithi matokeo ya haya, wakati ambapo kinachohitajika ni sisi kuwa Shuhadaa’ ‘Ala-n-Naas (Mashahidi juu ya watu wote). Je, inawezekana kwetu kuwa mashahidi juu ya watu wote bila kwanza kuanzisha Uislamu katika uhalisia wa maisha? Je, inawezekana kuwa mashahidi juu ya watu bila sisi kwanza kurejesha mfumo wa maisha wa Kiislamu, au bila Dola inayotekeleza Hudood, inayolinda mipaka, inayosimamia mambo ya watu, inayotekeleza Uislamu ndani ya nchi na kuupeleka Uislamu kwa mataifa ya dunia ili kuweka hoja na ushahidi juu yao na hivyo kuwa mashahidi juu yao? Hii ni hali ambayo da‘wah ya Uislamu imewafikia mataifa yote, mamlaka ya Uislamu imeenea duniani, hukumu zake zimedhihirika, na itikadi na mawazo yake yameelezwa wazi, ili kwamba hakuna yeyote atakayekuwa na hoja mbele ya Allah (SWT); na hii ndiyo maana ya kushuhudia.

And today we have inherited the results of this whilst what is required is for us to be Shuhadaa’ ‘Ala-n-Naas (To be witnesses over mankind). So is it possible for us to witness over mankind without first establishing Islaam in the reality of life? Is it possible to be witnesses over mankind without us first resuming the Islamic way of life or without a State that implements the Hudood, protects the boundaries, looks after the people’s affairs, implements Islaam internally and carries Islaam to the nations of the earth so as to establish the proof and evidence over and upon them and as such becoming witnesses over them? This is the situation where the Da’wah of Islaam has reached all nations, the authority of Islam has spread over the earth, its rules have manifested and its beliefs and thoughts have been presented clearly, so that no one will have any argument in front of Allah and this is the meaning of bearing witness.

Tumerithi mzigo huu, nasi Waislamu zaidi ya bilioni moja katika zaidi ya nchi hamsini, lakini Uislamu hauna mamlaka katika nchi hata moja kati yao. Kwa hakika, hauna hata uwepo katika maisha ya jumla ya watu, kwani waumini miongoni mwa watu binafsi wamejizuia Uislamu katika 'Ibaadaat na Akhlaaq (isipokuwa yule ambaye Allah amemrehemu), na jamii zimetawaliwa na mawazo ya kibepari na ya kijamaa, pamoja na maoni yaliyoshindwa, ya kinafiki na ya kutojali. Zimeathiriwa na kushikwa na hisia na mihemko ya kizalendo, ya kitaifa na ya kiroho, ilhali Dola zinatawaliwa na mifumo ya kibepari na mifumo ya kibepari ya kiraka. Lakini msiba mkubwa zaidi kuliko huu ni kwamba nchi hizi zote, bila ubaguzi, zinakwenda kwa kufuata amri za kafiri na mawakala wake.

We have inherited this predicament and we are more than a billion Muslims in more than fifty states and Islaam has no authority in any of them. Indeed it does not even have a presence in the general life of the people as the believers from amongst the individuals have restricted Islaam to the ‘Ibaadaat and Akhlaaq (except for the one whom Allah has been merciful upon) and the societies are dominated by capitalist and socialist thoughts and defeated, hypocritical and apathetic opinions. They are plagued by and under the grip of patriotic, nationalistic and spiritualistic feelings and sentiments whilst the States are governed by capitalist and patchwork capitalist systems. An even greater calamity than this though is that all of these states without exception proceed in line with the commands of the disbeliever and his agents.

Aidha, wanasiasa na vikundi vya vyama vya kisiasa vyenye mielekeo yao mbalimbali hushindana na kupigana ili kupata faida za kisiasa za muda mfupi na kutimiza malengo ya kibinafsi na ya kitambo, bila ya kuelewa kwa kina chochote kuhusu uamsho, wala kujitahidi kuweka wazi njia ya kuufikia. Hawakuwa na zaidi ya kauli mbiu za mawazo ya jumla yasiyo na maelezo, wala hawakuwasilisha wala kupendekeza mbinu inayoweza hata kwa uchache kueleza wanachotaka jamii isonge kuelekea, na kujengwa juu yake. Vilevile hawakuweka wazi mbinu ya kazi hii, badala yake walitegemea maandamano, kutoa kauli mbiu, na kuwaelekea watawala kwa kuwafanyia unafiki na kuwasifia, au kuwapinga na kuwa maadui kwao kila hali ilipowalazimu, iwe ni kwa ajili ya kulinda maslahi au kuwafurahisha, kuwatuliza na kuridhisha maoni ya mitaani wakati fulani. Kwa kufanya hivyo, waliwafundisha watu kwamba siasa maana yake ni udanganyifu, upotoshaji, unafiki na kujipendekeza ili kufikia malengo na kutimiza matumaini yao. Na jambo baya zaidi ya haya ni mtazamo wao kwamba ni wajibu kutafuta msaada wa kafiri ili kutimiza malengo na makusudio yao, au angalau hawakuona chochote kibaya katika hilo, bila ya kujua kwamba hii ni kujiua kisiasa.

In addition, the politicians and political party blocs with their different directions compete and battle to attain cheap political gains and to realise temporary and selfish goals without fundamentally knowing anything about the revival and without seeking to clarify a path towards achieving it. They did not possess more than slogans for general unspecific thoughts and they did not present or put forward a method that would in the very least explain what they wanted the society to move towards and to revive upon its basis. Just as they did not clarify a methodology for this work and merely proceeded upon protests, the raising of slogans and inclining towards the rulers and fawning them or opposing them and being hostile to them whenever the situation dictated that, whether this was to secure an interest or to please, appease and satisfy the opinion of street at a given time. In doing so they taught the people that politics meant deception, misleading, hypocrisy and fawning in order to arrive at the goals and realise there hopes and aspirations. And even worse than this, was their view that it was obligatory to seek the help and assistance of the disbeliever to realise their ends and aims and arrive at the purposes or in the very least they did not see anything wrong in doing that and without knowing that this meant political suicide.

Hili ndilo tulilolirithi, na hii ndiyo hali halisi ya Ummah ambayo tunataka kufanya kazi nayo ili kuufufua.

This therefore is what we have inherited and this is the reality of the Ummah that we desire to work with in order to revive her.