This article is an analysis of the state of the rulers and governments of the world today.
Allah T’ala says in the Holy Quran,
إِنَّ الدِّينَ عِندَ اللّهِ الإِسْلاَمُ وَمَا اخْتَلَفَ الَّذِينَ أُوْتُواْ الْكِتَابَ إِلاَّ مِن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءهُمُ الْعِلْمُ بَغْيًا بَيْنَهُمْ وَمَن
يَكْفُرْ بِآيَاتِ اللّهِ فَإِنَّ اللّهِ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ
3:19 The Religion before Allah is Islam (submission to His Will): Nor did the People of the Book dissent therefrom except through envy of each other, after knowledge had come to them. But if any deny the Signs of Allah, Allah is swift in calling to account.
The Arabic word “Deen” is not just religious rituals, it includes guidance and rules for social, economic, political, and other aspects of life.
In another place in the Holy Quran, Allah T’ala tells us:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ ادْخُلُواْ فِي السِّلْمِ كَآفَّةً وَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ
O ye who believe! Enter into Islam whole-heartedly; and follow not the footsteps of the evil one (Satan); for he is to you an avowed enemy. (2:208)
Enter into the fold of Islam fully. Islam is it! This is your home. Don’t look elsewhere for anything. Look it up right here in the fold of Islam and be happy and satisfied with it. Islam is the complete way of life and the only way for success.
We did begin our life on earth on Deen-ul-Islam, as one Ummah. We were an Islamic Muslim community. With time, atheists, idol-worshippers (Mushriks) and ascetics, materialists, servants of Satan came out of the Muslim community.
كَانَ النَّاسُ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً فَبَعَثَ اللّهُ النَّبِيِّينَ مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنذِرِينَ وَأَنزَلَ مَعَهُمُ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ لِيَحْكُمَ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ فِيمَا اخْتَلَفُواْ
فِيهِ وَمَا اخْتَلَفَ فِيهِ إِلاَّ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوهُ مِن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءتْهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ بَغْيًا بَيْنَهُمْ فَهَدَى اللّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ لِمَا اخْتَلَفُواْ فِيهِ مِنَ
الْحَقِّ بِإِذْنِهِ وَاللّهُ يَهْدِي مَن يَشَاء إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ
2:213 Mankind was one single nation, and Allah sent Messengers with glad tidings and warnings; and with them He sent the Book in truth, to judge between people in matters wherein they differed; but the People of the Book, after the clear Signs came to them, did not differ among themselves, except through selfish contumacy. Allah by His Grace Guided the believers to the Truth, concerning that wherein they differed. For Allah guided whom He will to a path that is straight.
Allah T’ala sent Prophet Muhammad (s.a.a.w.) as a Mercy for the world and by the Grace of Allah T’ala, he successfully established one Islamic ummah. It stayed that way during the period of khulufa-ur-Rashidoon. But then soon after the martyrdom of Ali ibne Abi Talib (karamullah wajhu), the khilafah changed into kingship. That is when in the Ummah of Muhammad (s.a.a.w.), for the first time, Deen-ul-Islam was sliced as what the westerners call “Separation of Church and State.” That is when the focus of the people shifted from aspiring for Akhirah to worldly lusts and ambitions. So in the history, for example, you will find during the time of a caliph, houses became the topic of the town. In another caliph’s time, sex became the topic of the town.
All this happened at a time, when millions of people of the world have come into the fold of Islam and they needed proper Islamic education. The Muslim government was the best source to provide that education and it failed. No doubt, the task of educating the masses was taken up by great Imams, but obviously, it had its limitations.
These caliphs unfortunately, instead of leaving behind a Sadaqa-Jariah, left behind a Fitnahe-Jariah. What a terrible thing to do!
Be happy and grateful to Allah T’ala that you are not one of those. There is a blessing to be an ordinary person.
Muslim ummah remained in the hands of such caliphs for centuries. Great punishments thru crusaders and Mongols came to the ummah. Then came slavery and colonialism by the western powers. Eventually, freedom came, but what a freedom. Western powers left behind anti-Islamic systems of governments and their minions and cronies. That is how one can describe today’s governments of most of the Muslim countries.
When the system of government, the constitution, the by-laws, judgments and rulings in a country or community are not based on the Holy Quran and Sunnah, the rulers and administrators of that country or community are nothing but kafirs, Zalims and Fasiqs. That is not what I say. That is what Allah T’ala says.
Fourteen centuries ago, Allah T’ala revealed ayaat 44-47 in Surah Al-Maidah (Chapter 5), which speak about the deviations of the Jews and Christians. They were revealed for the Muslim ummah to learn a lesson and not fall into the same errors.
Ayat 44 in Surah 5 says:
إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَا التَّوْرَاةَ فِيهَا هُدًى وَنُورٌ يَحْكُمُ بِهَا النَّبِيُّونَ الَّذِينَ أَسْلَمُواْ لِلَّذِينَ هَادُواْ وَالرَّبَّانِيُّونَ وَالأَحْبَارُ بِمَا اسْتُحْفِظُواْ
مِن كِتَابِ اللّهِ وَكَانُواْ عَلَيْهِ شُهَدَاء فَلاَ تَخْشَوُاْ النَّاسَ وَا خْشَوْنِ وَلاَ تَشْتَرُواْ بِآيَاتِي ثَمَنًا قَلِيلاً وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَا
أَنزَلَ اللّهُ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْكَافِرُونَ
5:44 It was We who revealed the law (to Moses): therein was guidance and light. By its standard have been judged the Jews, by the prophets who bowed (as in Islam) to Allah's will, by the rabbis and the doctors of law: for to them was entrusted the protection of Allah's book, and they were witnesses thereto: therefore fear not men, but fear me, and sell not my signs for a miserable price. If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are Unbelievers.
In the next Ayat, Allah T’ala says:
وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَا أنزَلَ اللّهُ فَأ ُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ
And if any fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are Zalimoon (wrong-doers, unjust, oppressors).
Then two verses down in Ayaat 47:
وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَا أَنزَلَ اللّهُ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ
If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are Fasiqoon (rebels, disobedients).
Kufr is unbelief. Kafir is unbeliever. Zulm is injustice and oppression. Oppression can be against others like you see violations of basic human rights committed by Muslim rulers and the so-called most civilized countries. Oppression can be self-oppression also. Oppression against one’s own self leads oneself into misery and punishment by Allah T’ala.Zulm can be so severe that it can put the person into the Jahannum. In Surah Luqman, Shirk is given as Zulmun-Azeem. And shirk is unforgivable sin. Fisq is disobedience. Fisq is rebellion, breaking the Law of Allah T’ala.Fisq can also be so great that it makes a person Kafir and puts him in Jahannum. When Allah T’ala ordered angels to prostrate to Adam (a.s.) and Shaitan refused to prostrate, as Allah T’ala says in Surah Kahf, Ayat 50, he committed Fisq.
وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ كَانَ مِنَ الْجِنِّ فَفَسَقَ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِ أَفَتَتَّخِذُونَهُ وَذُرِّيَّتَهُ أَوْلِيَاء مِن دُونِي وَهُمْ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ بِئْسَ لِلظَّالِمِينَ بَدَلًا
18:50 Behold! We said to the angels, "Bow down to Adam": They bowed down except Iblis. He was one of the Jinns, and he broke the Command of his Lord. Will ye then take him and his progeny as protectors rather than Me? And they are enemies to you! Evil would be the exchange for the wrong-doers!
It is evident that non-Muslim governments do not follow Islamic Shariah. We don’t expect them to, as they are disbelievers. The more serious problem is that Muslim countries are doing the same. Today, you will find secular Muslim governments, socialist Muslim governments, communist Muslim governments, Democratic Muslim governments, but hardly any Islamic Muslim government.
Muslim rulers, instead of prostrating to Allah T’ala, the One and Only Deity, prostrate to the false deities of democracy, secularism, nationalism, socialism, communism, the deities of their own lust and Baghi (iniquity). That has put the Muslim ummah into such a terrible state that we find it difficult to get back to the Straight path.
As the great poet of Islam, Allamah Iqbal said:
The one Sajdah that you find cumbersome, is the Sajdah that saves man from thousands of prostrations. The prostrations to democracy, secularism and the like have brought nothing but ruins to the Muslim Ummah. When Muslim countries leave Islamic Shariah, they are competing with non-Muslim countries in sin!
The ayaat of Surah Al-Maidah I have read to you are not just for rulers of nations and communities. They do apply on all of us. Ibn `Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: I heard Messenger of Allah (PBUH) saying, "All of you are guardians and are responsible for your wards. The ruler is a guardian and responsible for his subjects; the man is a guardian and responsible for his family; the woman is a guardian and is responsible for her husbands house and his offspring; and so all of you are guardians and are responsible for your wards.'' [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
We all have to worry about falling into the traps of kufr, zulm and fisq.Let us do our best to seek guidance in all affairs of our life from the Holy Quran and the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.a.w.).Standing still in the face of the wind of troubling time will push us back. Let us try to move forward. Let us read Quran for guidance, seek knowledge and act upon it.
May Allah T'ala forgive our sins and have a lot more of His Mercy on the Muslim Ummah. Ameen
Ishaq Zahid