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Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem, May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon Muhammad and his pure family |
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The Political Dimensions of Ramadaan and its Relationship with the Islamic Ruling System of Imaamah (Khilaafah) |
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Islam is a comprehensive way of life, a comprehensive political system which deals with all of the affairs of mankind, providing supreme solutions for the individual and the society. Islam is thus, not only a belief and system of worship, but it contains systems organizing all of the spheres of human needs, relationships and transactions economic, social, educational, judicial, penal, ruling and foreign policy. Mankind does not live in isolated pockets of transactions where every sphere of activity is severed from another, rather relationships and spheres of activity are intertwined in human society. Thus in Islam the systems of society and governance work as a whole. A person’s belief leads to his action and constantly influences his thought and emotions and therefore in Islam the true Islamic belief must lead to Islamic actions which are based upon the Islamic reference point, that is, revelation. It is thus clear, that the Islamic belief and reference point, does not only command the principles and details of a person’s relationship with the creator, the system of worship, but it also commands the principles and laws of his relationship with other people and society as a whole. The system of worship is not only an individual action, but as man himself is social and due to human society itself being a collective social reality, worship itself also has its collective dimension. Allah (swt) made clear the aim for which people were created when He (swt) says “I have not created the jinn and mankind except that they should worship me.” (adh Dhaariyaat 51:56) and “Say: My prayer, my service of sacrifice, my living and my dying are all for Allah the Lord of the worlds.” (al Ana’m 6:162) and “Blessed is He in whose Hand is the Mulk (Dominion) and He is over all things Powerful. Who has created death and life that He may test you which of you is best in action...” (Al Mulk 67:1-2) Due to the whole of mankind being created to worship Allah (swt), the whole of mankind’s activities should fall into the category of worship, as long as they are based upon divine guidance and performed intentionally to please the Creator by submitting to His laws. This means that those actions which are just pure worship [I’baadaat] having no intention other than submitting to the command of Allah, and those actions which do also have a material objective, i.e. the societal transactions [mua’malaat], both fall into worship as a whole. The ruling system of Islam known as Imaamah or Khilaafah is the system which leads society and organizes all of the systems of society as well as the collective worship. This is proven by the Qura’n, the commands and example of the prophet (saw) and the first Muslim community and the successive early generations and the works of Islamic law of the classical Islamic scholars. The vast majority of Islamic history and the Islamic civilization stretching from Western Europe, through Africa, the Middle East to North and South East Asia proves the successful Islamic system of government. However, due to the prophesized neglect of the Muslim ummah concerning the understanding and application of her beliefs and systems of life there was a gradual decline in the Islamic civilization, where we have reached the current situation where people are even unaware of the basis and form of the legitimate government in Islam. Muslims, due to the conspiracies of the enemies of Islam and their munaafiq collaborators inside the Muslim world, are unaware of the unified system of government and how Muslim efforts in their religion today are incomplete and ineffective due to their separation from their necessary foundations and Divinely revealed form of organization. Muslims today in large numbers have accepted secularism, the separation of their religion from life’s affairs and have accepted the absence of a unified Islamic government and the subsequent and inevitable reduction of Islam to a personal spiritual sphere. It is then necessary to revive the understanding in the Muslim ummah of the obligation of the necessity of the Islamic ruling system and its relationship with all the spheres of Islam. Ramadaan is the time in which the Quran and the Islamic comprehensive system of life was revealed to mankind, yet for Muslim world in its condition of separation from the Islamic way of life, it has just become a time of fasting followed by festivities. Therefore at this time of great blessing and raised Islamic emotions and desire for personal improvement we remind the Muslims of the relationship between Ramadaan and the Islamic system of government in the hope that Allah (swt) will sow the seeds of rectification and rejuvenation in the Muslim world, as she understands her past and present neglect of her leading role and responsibility to mankind. 1) Ramadaan is when whole of Quran and Islam was sent down. This should make us reflect upon and act upon the fact that Islam is comprehensive and gives mankind a complete unified system of government to organise all the affairs and solve all problems in the best way. Allah (swt) says “The month of Ramadan in which the Qur'an was sent down, a guidance for mankind, and clear proofs of the guidance, and the Criterion (of right and wrong). And whosoever of you is present, let him fast the month…” (al Baqarah 2:185) and “Verily, We have sent down to you the Book as a clarification for all matters, a guidance, a blessing and good news for muslims.” (an Nahl 16:89) Due to the secular and surface understanding of the Muslim world which has gradually reduced Islam to personal spiritual acts, the month of the Quran, Ramadaan has become a time when the Quran is recited but all the other obligations towards the Quran are abandoned. The Quran is not just a Book to gain reward by recitation, but more importantly it is a Book of comprehensive guidance, beliefs and laws. Therefore we should not just think about fasting or reciting the Quran only and neglect the system of tawheed and unity upon which that branch of Ramadaan emanates. The Quran being revealed was the point when the complete system of life was revealed that came to challenge and dominate over all other ways of life, saving humanity from the oppression of man-made ideologies and laws. Therefore the reward to be gained in Ramadaan in relation to the Quran is not recitation but also the call to the Islamic beliefs and laws and the implementation of the Quranic message. 2) The Prophet (saw) became the prophet in Ramadaan, he was given to us as an example and role model to follow, a major part of that example is that of a leader organising the affairs according to the shari’ah law, Abu Hurayrah reported that Nabi (saw) said “The prophets ruled (tasoosuhum) over the affairs of the children of Israel, whenever a Prophet died another prophet succeeded (khalafahu) him, but there will be no Prophet after me. There will be khulafaa and they will number many.” They asked ‘What then do you order us?’ He (saw) said “Fulfill the baya’h to them, the first then the first, and give them their due. Surely, Allah will ask them about what He entrusted them with.” (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4543-4544], BUKHAARI English version [vol.4 no.661]) 3) Every Ramadaan we have the bida' of people entering the month by other than the shara'ee method. People start their fasting based upon rumours, upon false and non-established reports, pre-determined schedules which serve governmental economic objectives, Imaams of mosques which have an anti-Islamic political agenda, groups and shaikhs who have a pride interest in being the first to declare Ramadaan etc. In Islam there are clearly four methods by which the fasting will legitimately start. These are:-
These methods are based upon the fact that Ramadaan is part of the collective system of Islam which has its own revealed method, all of the above four have evidence. Today in this time of tafarruq [prohibited division], bid'a [prohibited innovation] and secularism where Muslims have adopted the kaafir mind control of Islam being only for individuals. The result of this is that the ummah is in conflict and division with regards to its methods of worship and organization of worship. However for the Prophet (saw) and the sahaabah and early Muslims, the fasting of Ramadaan was based upon their clear Islamic belief and their rejection of kufr and was structured around the Islamic system of khilaafah. The Muslims were united and their systems of society and worship were united and organized under an authority. These model Muslims understood that the emphasis of the Divine Texts was upon the method, intention and foundation rather than the opinions of the crowds and the astronomers. If Islam was about the matters of astronomy rather than a sound method of the deen available to all Muslims in all places then we would have been directed just to simply refer to the calculations of experts regardless of their beliefs etc. However, Allah (swt) gave us eyes to see and made the moon a clear sign for us, and Allah did not disconnect the collective affairs of the deen from belief, unity and shara'ee authority. Indeed the hadeeth clearly says, as reported by Ibn U'mar from Nabi (saw), "We are an illiterate nation we do not record nor do we calculate. The month is like this and this, i.e. sometimes twenty nine days and sometimes thirty days." (BUKHAARI) This hadeeth does not mean that Muslims are not to study and not to seek scientific progress, rather many daleels clearly command that, but rather it meant that the regular practises of the deen are established on clear signs that are available to all the people and easy to practise. The very establishment of the obligation of fasting in Ramadaan should remind the Muslims of the obligation of their unity, their political belief and the obligatory Islamic system because it was revealed two years after the hijrah. This means that Muslims had already been engaged in da'wah in Makkah, they had been seeking nussrah to protect the implementation of the deen, and had made hijrah to a land where the power was in the hands of Muslims, and they had been commanded to make hijrah by their Imaam (the Prophet {saw}) who was in charge of all of their collective affairs. The form of the obligation of the fasting of Ramadaan should also remind them of their collective system. This is because these commands do not simply address the individual but rather address the believers as one ummah, as a collective group of believers, to practise this obligation collectively. In this regard Allah (swt) says, "...So whoever from you [minkum] witnesses the month, then let him fast it..." (al Baqarah 2:185) The verse here clearly shows the collective nature of the command as it addresses the Muslims collectively as indicated by 'minkum' meaning 'from you Muslims collectively'. This is further established by what occurs later in the verse where the commands also occur by a plural verbs, 'litukmiloo-l i'ddah' [complete the number {of days}] and 'litukabbiroo-llaah' ['that you {collectively} must magnify Allah']. Also we go to the ayah clearly addressing the ummah rather than an individual, "O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed upon you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may have taqwa." (al Baqarah 2:183) So in this verse all the key elements of the ayah were addressed collectively, 'aamanoo' [believe {collectively}], 'kutiba a'laykum' [prescribed upon you {collectively}], 'la'allakum tattaqoon' [that you may {collectively}, have taqwa {collectively}]. The command that occurs in hadeeth is also a collective command and not just an individual one, Ibn U'mar reports that Nabi (saw) said "When you see it (the moon) fast and when you see it (the moon of Shawaal) break your fast, and if the weather is cloudy then claculate it." (BUKHAARI, MUSLIM) All the commands here again are collective, 'idhaa ra'aytumoohu fasoomoo' [when you see it {collectively} fast {collectively}. It may be asked how you can see it collectively, well obviously that is not impossible, but it is not required, rather one or some people sight it on behalf of the larger group, community or ummah and then they convey that to the rest of the Muslims via the shariah authority, whether that be the Khaleefah himself, a deputy of the khaleefah [naai'b] or regional governor [walee] etc. This is how it operated in the time of Nabi (saw) and the khulafaa' raashideen and the Khilaafah for centuries, until the system of worship was disconnected from the system of Islamic government when Muslims were mind controlled by the colonial invasion of kufr which brought secularism and individualism. The hadeeth same collective verbal for of command comes with breaking the fast, for eidul fitr, 'idhaa ra'aytamoohu fa'aftaroo' [when you sight it {collectively} break it {collectively}." This gives weight to the opinion that there is only one sighting for the whole ummah. However, even if the opinion of other madhaahib is adopted, i.e. that there can be regional sightings. These are still to be practised collectively and not individually as this and other ahadeeth affirm. So that even if a region had a sighting differing from another region, then that should still operate under the local ameer who has been appointed by the khaleefah. If someone questioned this interpretation based upon the end of the hadeeth that also says in the collective form 'faaqduroo' [calculate {collectively}] then this is a weak objection as although people may not all see clouds in various regions, the verbal command is clearly collective. This shows that it addresses all the people and also that it can be practised under the authority and organized in a collective way. e.g. No region sees the moon, some or all are in clouds, so the Khaleefah commands the people to complete the Sha'baan as thirty days as the moon has not been sighted, so fasting will be on the next day. The following hadeeth makes clear that sighting the moon is connected to the unified system of Islam and the central authority of the Khaleefah, Ibn Umar reported "The people tried to sight the new moon and they informed the Prophet (saw) that they had seen it, so he (saw) fasted and commanded the people to fast." (ABU DAWOOD graded 'saheeh' by AL HAAKIM & IBN HIBBAAN) This proves that the people new they were to convey the sighting back to the Prophet (saw) and the rest of the people would be fasting due to being commanded by Nabi (saw), and the khaleefah takes the place of the Prophet (saw) in these affairs. The following hadeeth also makes clear the same issue of authority along with the important issue of belief. Today we have alot of people in the ummah who have committed riddah [apostacy] by bowing down to the taaghoot and making alliance with the taaghoot and kaafireen and seeking the hukm of the taaghoot, as well as many other matters of kufr, their testimony is not accepted. Ibn A'bbaas narrated " A bedouin came to Nabi (saw) and said 'I have seen the new moon' he (saw) asked "Do you testify that there is none worthy of worship but Allah?" He replied 'Yes' He (saw) then asked "Do you testify that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah?" He replied 'Yes.' He (saw) then said "Bilaal, announce to the people that they should fast tomorrow." (TIRMIDHI, ABU DAWOOD, IBN MAAJAH, AHMAD and NASAA'I. graded 'saheeh' by IBN KHUZAYMAH & IBN HIBBAAN, NASAA'I considered it to be mursal) 4) The Imaam is responsible for education of the ummah in general in deen and dunyaa affairs. This does not mean that the Imaam has the personal responsibility of teaching, as studying and teaching are general obligations upon the Muslim ummah, some knowledge being a duty on all and other types of knowledge being duties of sufficiency, not requiring the efforts of all, but rather it means he must organise the education of the ummah by gathering its specialists and forming an education system which makes provision for all the spheres of knowledge necessary for success in both worlds, whether of the nature of fard kifaayah or fard al a’yn. Ibn U'mar reported that Rasool Allah (saw) said “Everyone of you is a raai’n and is responsible for his guardianship. The Imaam is a raai’n over the people and is responsible for his guardianship..." (BUKHAARI, MUSLIM) The masooleeyah [responsibility] in this hadeeth is of a general nature and thus includes the duty to preserve the comprehensive understanding of Islamic systems. Thus it would be necessary to educate the Muslims about the relationship of Ramadaan and fasting with the Islamic way of life as a whole. 5) The Imaam is responsible for preserving the deen. Therefore he must be involved in the teaching of this fourth pillar of Islam. This includes teaching not only the duty, along with its related evidence but also ensuring its application by means of commanding ma’roof [‘good’, literally ‘that which is recognised as…’ i.e. obligatory and preferable acts in Islamic law] and forbidding munkar [‘bad’ i.e. prohibited and detestable acts in Islamic law], rectifying omissions and innovations concerning it. Allah (swt) says “Those who if We give them power (makkannaahum) in the land, establish the salah, pay the zakah, command al Ma’roof and forbid al Munkar. And with Allah rests the end of matters.” (al Hajj 22:41) and Anas bin Maalik reported that some people came to Rasool Allah (saw) and said ‘Send with us some men who may teach us the Quran and the Sunnah [the established way, method and example of the prophet (saw) as indicated by his speech and actions]. Accordingly he sent seventy men from the ansaar. They were called the quraa [reciters] and among them was my maternal uncle, Haraam. They used to recite the Quran and discuss and ponder over its meaning at night…” (MUSLIM Kitaabul Imaarah [no.4682]) 6) It is reported that Rasool Allah (saw) said "Nobody has the right vested in him to establish anything from the hudood without the sultaan [legitimate Islamic authority]" (BAYHAQI) The Imaam is responsible for punishments [u’qoobaat], and the one who does not fast without excuse should be punished, and the one who denies the obligation after being shown its evidence has committed apostasy [riddah] and has become a disbeliever. The one who rejects it should be killed as a murtadd Ibn A’bbaas reported that Nabi (saw) said “Whoever changes his deen kill him” (BUKHAARI [vol.9 no.57, vol.4 no.260] and in mursal of Zayd ibn Aslam with the words “…strike his neck.” MAALIK kitaabul Aqdiyah [vol.2 no.1444]) 7) The Imaam (Khaleefah) is responsible in general for the Salah and he should maintain the sunnah of taraweeh. The taraaweeh started when Nabi (saw) came out and the people followed him in Ramadaan, then this was continued by the khulafaa’ raashideen. This established sunnah is thus under the authority of the khaleefah who should command it (as a preferable action), organise and establish it. The absence of the khaleefah’s authority in such affairs is incompleteness of the rules themselves. Abu Masoo’d al Ansaari reported that Nabi (saw) said “…A person should not lead (the prayer) where another has authority [sultaanihi]…” (MUSLIM [no.1420-1422] IBN MAAJAH [no.980] NASAA’I [no.786] ABU DAWOOD [no.582]) 8) Further evidence about Imaamah and Salah - The Imaam is responsible for the salah and this includes the salah of eidul fitr and this should be under the Imaam. The ahadeeth that mention the duty of the Imaam to establish the salah also prove that the Muslim ummah should continue to be united under one Imaam/Khaleefah even if he has sinned or neglected duties, as long as that neglect or sin was not tantamount to kufr or dismantling the shari’ah. Therefore during this time of Ramadaan Muslims should reflect on how many Ramadaans have passed by while they have chosen to remain leaderless in opposition to the many clear commands of from the ahadeeth in this regard, e.g. Auf bin Maalik reported that Nabi (saw) said "The best of your Imaams are those whom you love and who love you, who invoke Allah's blessings upon you and you invoke His blessings upon them. And the worst of your Imaams are those whom you hate and who hate you, and whom you curse and who curse you." It was asked 'Shouldn't we overthrow them with the sword?' He (saw) said "No, as long as they establish the Salah among you. If you then find anything detestable in them, you should hate their administration but do not withdraw your hand from their obedience." (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4573]) and in another version Auf bin Maalik reported that Nabi (saw) said "The best of your Imaams are those whom you love and who love you, whom you pray for and who pray for you. And the worst of your Imaams are those whom you hate and who hate you and whom you curse and who curse you" They said 'O Rasool Allah, shouldn't we overthrow them due to that?' Nabi (saw) replied "No as long as they establish the salah among you, No as long as they establish the salah among you. Mind you, one who has a wali appointed over him and he sees that the wali engages in disobedience (ma'seeyah) to Allah, then he should hate the wali's disobedience to Allah but should not withdraw his hand from obedience." (MUSLIM kitaabul Imaarah [no.4574]) So from these two narrations it is clear from many indications that the Imaam who has been sinfully negligent is still to be obeyed in that which is ma'roof and this stresses the importance and necessity of the continuation of Imaamah. 9) Imaamah is the second pillar of unity, the first being imaan [belief]. With the salah being under the authority of the Imaam and the prayer of ei’d and the celebration of eid being a collective event for the Muslim community and for the wider ummah, we see the emphasis of unity in Muslim affairs. This reality is implied in the hadeeth where the women were encouraged to attend the place of ei’d prayers so that they can "…witness jamatul muslimeen [the gathering of muslims]…" Umm Atiyyah reported "We have been commanded to bring out the menstruating women on the two days of eid so that they may witness jamatul muslimeen and their du'ah. The menstruating girls were separate in their praying place. A woman asked, 'O Rasool Allah if one of us has no jilbaab? He (saw) said "Let her companion give her one of her jilbaabs" (BUKHAARI, MUSLIM) Another political dimension of eid connected to Imaamah is that it is reported that the Prophet (saw) would refer to political issues of foreign policy and security in his eid khutbah, Abu Sa’eed al Khudri reported that “Rasool Allah (saw) used to go out on the day of Ei’d and after observing two raka’t of prayer, delivered the khutbah and exhorted people to give sadaqah and the majority who gave sadaqah were women. And if he intended to send out an army or any other thing besides it, he made mention of it to the people…” (NASAA’I Kitab Salat al Ei’dayn’ [vol.2 no.1582]) 10) The payment of Zakatul Fitr is under the authority of Imaamah and according to the sunnah where it is collected and distributed by appointed distributors. Muslim ibn Yasar reports that Rasool Allah (saw) said "The zakah, the hudood, the spoils and the jumua'h are for the sultaan" (TAHAAWI and similar from IBN ABI SHAYBAH) and Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet (saw) delegated him to guard the zakah of Ramadan (i.e. fitr) for three days, thus proving its collection and organisation under the prophet (saw) (see BUKHAARI [Eng/Arabic vers. vol 3 no.505, vol4 no.495, vol.6 no.530] NASAA’I in ‘al Yawm wal Laylah’ & DAARIMI [no.532]) and MAALIK narrated from Naafi’ that Ibn U’mar used send Zakat al Fitr to those who collect it before the Fitr by two or three days, again showing the sahaabah had the affair organised under authority (BUKHAARI reports similar about Ibn U’mar but saying “One or two days” [‘Abwaab Sadaqat al Fitr’ Eng./Arabic vers. Vol.2 no.587]) Qadi A’yaad [MAALIKI d. 544 h.] said “What is required, if the Imaam is just, is that it be given over to him so that he takes responsibility for distributing it.” (AYAAD ‘Kitab al I’lam bi-Hudood qawaai’d al Islam’) The zakah being under the authority of one leader gathers wealth and makes efficient distribution. Without Imaamah in that there is scattering of resources, lack of accountability and neglect of the continuous sunnah. 11) Anas bin Maalik reported that 'Rasool Allah (saw) came out to us in Ramadaan and said "I was shown a certain night in Ramadaan and then two men abused each other and it was taken away. Look for it on the ninth and the seventh and the fifth" (MAALIK Kitaabul I'tikaaf [19.6.14] similar from U'baadah bin as Saamit in BUKHAARI) The specific knowledge of laylatul qadr was lost due to the arguments and division of some of the sahaabah. This should make us reflect on all the obstacles, weakness, confusion and problems that the disunity in beliefs and leaderlessness has created in the ummah. Numaan bin Basheer reports that Nabi (saw) said “The Jamah is a mercy and disunity is a punishment.” (AHMAD, IBN ABI AA’SIM) 12) The disputes of sighting the moon are removed through Imaamah. The beginning and end of Ramadaan are based on the sighting of the respective new moons of Ramadaan and Shawwaal. There are two opinions among the classical scholars on this issue, i.e. whether the sighting is for the ummah or only for the locality. However, even in cases where only one opinion is followed still endless divisions take place in the Muslim world every Ramadaan, some people following the instructions of taaghoot governments, others following particular mosques, sects or groups. The result of this is communities and even families all start fasting and start eid on different days, the sectarianism in the ummah is so much that even sections of the community do not even base their position on an interpretation of evidence or interpretation of reality but rather simply upon the desire to differ with their opponents. These disputes in witnessing are also removed through appointment of judges and local umaraa', again the whole Islamic judicial system including the appointment of judges is under the authority of the khaleefah, Allah (swt) says "O Dawood! We made you a khaleefah on the earth so judge between men with truth" (Sad 38:26) and the judge is appointed by a higher authority i.e. based upon Imaarah a'mmah either khaleefah or wali etc, Abu Hurayrah reported that Nabi (saw) said "He who is appointed as a judge [man waliy al qadaa'...] has been slaughtered without a knife" (AHMAD, IBN MAAJAH, TIRMIDHI, NASAA'I, ABU DAWOOD graded 'saheeh' by IBN KHUZAYMAH and IBN HIBBAAN) Further to this, the issue of sighting according to hadeeth is directly connected to authority as the sahaabah would go to the Prophet (saw) upon sighting the moon and then he would convey it to the Muslims, this is because a Prophet and Imaam organizes the affairs of the deen and the dunya, therefore apart from seeing the moon directly or knowing a trusted witness to it, a Muslim should refer to the khaleefah or wulaatul umoor concerning the moon. E.g. Ibn U’mar reported that the people tried to sight the new moon and they informed him the Prophet (saw) that they had seen it, so he (saw) fasted and commanded the people to fast. (ABU DAWOOD, HAAKIM ‘saheeh’ according to IBN HIBBAAN) Also Ibn A’bbaas reported that a Bedouin came to the Prophet (saw) saying he had sighted the new moon, after testing the bedouin’s belief in the shahaadah the Prophet (saw) commanded Bilaal “Bilaal, announce to the people that they should fast tomorrow.” (AHMAD, ABU DAWOOD, TIRMIDHI, IBN MAAJAH, NASAA’I who said ‘Mursal’, graded ‘saheeh’ by IBN HIBBAAN & IBN KHUZAYMAH) 13) Abu Hurayrah reported that Nabi (saw) said "Fasting is a shield. So, the person observing fasting should avoid sexual relation with his wife and should not behave foolishly and impudently, and if somebody fights with him or abuses him, he should tell him twice, 'I am fasting." The Prophet added, "By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, the smell coming out from the mouth of a fasting person is better in the sight of Allah than the smell of musk. (Allah says about the fasting person), 'He has left his food, drink and desires for My sake. The fast is for Me. So I will reward (the fasting person) for it and the reward of good deeds is multiplied ten times." ([vol.3 no.118]) and Abu Hurayrah reported that Nabi (saw) said "Allah said, 'All the deeds of Adam's sons (people) are for them, except fasting which is for Me, and I will give the reward for it.' Fasting is a shield or protection from the fire and from committing sins. If one of you is fasting, he should avoid sexual relation with his wife and quarrelling, and if somebody should fight or quarrel with him, he should say, 'I am fasting.'….” (BUKHAARI [eng/Arabic vers. vol.3 no.128]) and Abu Hurayrah reported that Nabi (saw) said “…Fasting is a junnah [shield]…” (MAALIK, BUKHAARI [eng/Arabic vers. vol.3 no.128]) Fasting is a shield and this should remind us of the meaning of the hadeeth concerning the benefit of unity behind an Imaam (i.e. khaleefah), “Verily the Imaam is but a shield [junnah] behind which the people fight and by which they protect themselves. So if he commands to taqwa of Allah a’zaa wa jall and justice then there is reward for him but if he commands otherwise then it is against him.” (MUSLIM, BUKHAARI from Abu Hurayrah) There is an analogy to be made between the state of a person who engages in a shari’ah duty but makes it incomplete or invalid by missing key elements such as belief, intention or corrupted method and the greater situation of the ummah which engages in many actions but actually opposes the sunnah by distancing them from the shari’ah authority and shari’ah structure of organisation of affairs. The meaning of ‘Shield’ [Junnah] in the Shari’ah Texts has not been restricted to physical protection. The word ‘shield’ (junnah) has been used here to describe the state of the fasting man who is protected various harms to his deen by his fasting and also from the punishment of the next life. It should be noted that the word ‘junnah’ which comes from the root in Arabic j – n (jeem, noon) can mean a covering, shelter, shield, protection and many other literal physical [haqqeeqi] and metaphorical [majaazi] meanings, it comes from the same root as ‘jinn’ as they are normally unseen in their normal state and ‘jannah’ is also from the same root as its rewards are unseen in this life and there is nothing like these rewards so Sahl ibn Sa’d reported that Nabi (saw) said “In paradise (jannah) there are things which no eye has ever seen, nor any ear has heard nor has any heart imagined.” Then he (saw) recited “Those who forsake their beds and cry to their Lord in fear and hope and spend of what we have bestowed on them. No soul knows what is kept hidden for them of joy as a reward for what they used to do.” (as Sajdah 32:16-17) (BUKHAARI, MUSLIM) So the hadeedth “Fasting is a junnah (shield)…” proves that the word ‘junnah’ (‘shield or covering’) has several possible physical and metaphorical meanings in the Arabic language and secondly it proves that the wahi has not just used the term ‘junnah’ in its physical sense but has used it also in the sense of protection from that which is harmful to the deen in this life and also as a protection from the punishments of the next life. The word ‘junnah’ is similar to the word ‘waaqiyah’ which also means ‘protection, covering, shield’ and this is from the same root as taqwa and the hadeeth itself mentioned the positive result if the Imaam commanded to taqwa. Therefore, in the hadeeth under discussion, which talks about the imaam can not be used in a restricted manner when the language, structure and wording of the hadeeth is consistent with a wider meaning. The hadeeth talked about responsibility, right and wrong action and the next life, reward and commanding to taqwa so how can anyone claim that the meaning of the word junnah in the hadeeth is only in a sense of physical protection? This is even more unlikely when we consider such hadeeth that also talked about the imaam being a shield but whose subject matter did not include anything of the nature of jihaad and physical protection. It was mentioned in another hadeeth from Abu Ubaydah that Nabi (saw) said “Fasting is a junnah [shield] as long as it is not torn.” (IBN KHUZAYMAH, IBN MAAJAH, NASAA’I, AL HAAKIM ‘saheeh according to conditions of BUKHAARI) This again demonstrates the subject matter that is described as a shield, in this case fasting, is only a shield for the person when certain actions are maintained and when certain conditions are present. Mujaahid said “Two things spoil the fast backbiting and falsehood” (GHAZAALI ‘Ihyaa U’loomid Deen’ [vol.1]) and Sufyaan ath Thawri said “Backbiting spoils the fast” (GHAZAALI ‘Ihyaa U’loomid Deen’ [vol.1]) Fasting would not be a shield for the person who engaged in backbiting and other sins, neither would it be a shield for the disbeliever. Similarly, we say that the greater Imaamah is not a shield for the ummah when they do not obey the Imaam in ma’roof etc and they do not fulfil their duties to that shield. It is like a man in a battle, he may have a shield, but if he does not use the shield correctly then it will not protect him. The shari’ah texts which indicated the spiritual [roohaani] and unseen nature of the shield are supported by other texts which mention other words that can imply a physical protection but are effective through unseen and spiritual means. An example of this is the following hadeeth, Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet (saw) said "Whoever says: 'La ilaha illal-lah wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahu-l-mulk wa lahu-l-hamd wa huwa 'ala kulli shai'in qadir,' one hundred times will get the same reward as given for manumitting ten slaves; and one hundred good deeds will be written in his accounts, and one hundred sins will be deducted from his accounts, and it (his saying) will be a fortification [hirzan] for him from Satan on that day till night, and nobody will be able to do a better deed except the one who does more than he." (MAALIK Kitaabul Quran [vol.1 7/20 no.486], BUKHAARI Kitaabud Du’aat Eng/Arabic [vol.8 no. 412]) So here it was explained that there will be a fortification [hirzan] a strong protection against Shaytaan due to this dhikr, the nature of this protection is general, it could be a protection from the physical and spiritual harms that Shaytaan may want to inflict. Indeed, the meaning of shield [junnah] to imply protection from the Hellfire is also proven by other ahadeeth which used alternative words for shield and specified the protection from the Hellfire, e.g. Aisha reported ‘A lady along with her two daughters came to me asking (for sadaqah) but she found nothing with me except one date which I gave to her and she divided it between her two daughters and then she got up and went away. The Prophet (saw) got up and came in and I informed him of this story. He (saw) said “Whoever is in charge of these daughters and treats them generously then they will act as a shield [sitran] for him from the Fire” (BUKHAARI Kitaabul Adab Eng/Arabic [vol.8 no.24]) So here the word sitr was used and this means a veil, barrier or shield and that was because the good treatment of children and upholding their rights will protect from the Fire. 14) In Ramadaan the mu'mineen and mu'minaat try to be saa'imeen and saai'maat and are reminded of that specific praise in the Quran. However, the ayah that mentioned this mentioned a complete submission to all of the shari'ah, this includes unity and Imaamah. “Verily, men who submit to Allah [muslimeen], and women who submit, and men who believe [mu’mineen] and women who believe, and men who obey [qaaniteen] and women who obey, and men who are truthful [saadiqeen] and women who truthful, and men who persevere [saabireen] and women who persevere, and men who are humble [khaashi’een] and women who are humble, and men who give sadaqah [mutasaddiqeen] and women who give sadaqah, and men who fast [saai’meen] and women who fast, and men who guard their modesty [haafizeena faroojahum] and women who guard (their modesty), and men who remember Allah much [dhaakireen Allaaha katheeran] and women who remember--Allah hath prepared for them forgiveness and a vast reward. And it becomes not a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His messenger have decided an affair (for them), that they should (after that) claim any say in their affair; and whoso is rebellious to Allah and His messenger, he verily goes astray in error manifest.” (al Ahzaab 33:35-36) This further emphasized in the ayah “(Triumphant) are those who turn repentant (to Allah), those who serve (Him), those who praise (Him), those who fast, those who bow down, those who fall prostrate (in worship), those who command the ma’roof and who forbid from munkar and those who keep the limits (ordained) of Allah And give glad tidings to believers!” (at Tawbah 9:112) So above set of ayaat make very clear the comprehensive duties and complete obedience to all shari’ah laws that a believer must engage in to be successful in both worlds. The ayaat do not declare that the one who fasts and prays only will be successful, rather this is the secular understanding that was promoted in the Muslim world to make it weak and make it abandon its structure of society and governance and systems of life’s political and societal affairs. 15) Allah (swt) says in relation to the rukhsah for the traveller to abstain from fasting while travelling, “…Allah desires ease for you and does not desire hardship for you…” (al Baqarah 2:185) The ease in shari'ah implied in this ayah should remind us of ease in general and applied to unity and Imaamah in particular. “…Allah does not want to place you in any difficulty…” (al Maai’dah 5:6) and “…He has chosen you and has not laid upon you any hardship in the deen…” (al Hajj 22:78) and “And We have sent you not but as a mercy for the a’lameen.” (al Anbiyaa 21:107) and in relation to unity, Numan bin Basheer reported "The jamah is a mercy and disunity a punishment" (AHMAD, IBN ABI ASIM) How much more difficult have the Muslims made their own affairs by choosing to be leaderless and disunited? The wealth has become scattered, the efforts of Muslims clash and weaken each other, the knowledge is not gathered and the man-power divided and no longer co-ordinated. This means Muslims remain isolated and oppressed rather than deterring the oppressors due to a strong unified ummah. If Muslims unify under one Imaam then the ummah can immediately benefit from unity at every level, global, national and local community, instead Muslims are suffering at every level. 16) Another political dimension to the fasting of Ramadaan is that it is a preparation for hostile economic embargoes of the kuffaar implemented through their tools of neo-colonialism such as the United Nations. In the life of the Prophet (saw), due to the hostility of the mushrik Quraysh towards the political Islamic message that challenged the evil of the man-made law and ideology, the disbelievers put a boycott on the Muslims. Similarly, today we see assets frozen of Muslim organization and whole countries starved to death and impoverished not only by the actions of multi-national corporations, private banks and neo-colonial international agreements but also by the actions of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and economic sanctions imposed by the U.N. security council. We have seen one million lives taken in Iraq by such actions imposed on the Muslims of Iraq even before the latest invasion of mass murder and deliberate destruction of infrastructure. The fact that fasting is part of the deen and part of the lives of Muslims enables them to prepare for the hardship of such evil measures and enables them to allocate the resources to those in most need. The sadaqat al fitr (zakat al fitr) which also is an obligation upon every Muslim individual to provide a prescribed measure of the staple food stuff for those poor in their community is also a preparation for these hostile political actions aimed at destroying Muslim lives and wealth. 17) Ramadaan is the month of Muwaasah [concern/sympathy]. Salmaan reports that on the last day of sha’baan rasool Allah (saw) adressed us and said “…it is the month of moowaasah [sympathy]…” (IBN KHUZAYMAH) When the Muslim fasts he not only realises the blessing of food and his dependence upon the provision from his Lord but he also remembers those in need and those suffering globally. This then acts as a reminder and motivation to fulfil the rights of brotherhood and the collective political duties towards the ummah (such as helping and protecting them, establishing the deen and dar al Islam) as a whole which leads to its well being and security. It is reported that Nabi (saw) said “Whoever has no concern for the affairs of the Muslims is not of them” (TABARAANI, HAAKIM) and this is supported by many ahadeeth e.g. Numaan bin Basheer reported that Rasool Allah (saw) said, “The believers are like one person, if his head is in pain the whole body aches with with fever and sleeplessness.” And in another version, “The similitude of believers in regard to mutual love, kindness and brotherhood is that of one body. When any limb of it aches, the whole body aches due to sleeplessness and fever.” (MUSLIM No.s 6258-6262 and similar from BUKHAARI) The Muslims can only support the ummah and remove the oppression by gathering as one ummah, one jamah, one body and pooling their man-power, knowledge and material resources and co-ordinating their efforts under a single leadership. 18) During the month of Ramadaan the Prophet (saw) and the sahaabah engaged in the battle of Badr and later they engaged in the conquering of Makkah, Abu Bakr ibn A’bdar Rahmaan narrates from one of the companions that Rasool Allah (saw) ‘ordered everyone to break the fast on the journey he made in the year of the conquest saying “Be strong for your enemy.” (MAALIK) and in the narration from Ibn A’bbaas that Nabi (saw) “…left for Makkah in Ramadaan in the year of the conquest, and fasted until he reached al Kadid. He then broke the fast and so everyone else did so as well…” (MAALIK) and Abu Sa’eed al Khudri reports ‘We went out along with the prophet (saw) in Ramadaan in the year of the conquest of Makkah. Rasool Allah (saw) fasted and we fasted until we reached a certain stage. He (saw) said “You have come near your enemy, breaking the fast will bring you more strength.”’ (ABU DAWOOD) Islamic history shows us many other military achievements for the Muslims during Ramadaan and we are also reminded of the political activity of expanding Islam while fasting due to the reward mentioned in the following hadeeth, Abu Sa’eed al Khudri reports that Nabi (saw) said “Whoever observes a fast for one day in the Cause of Allah, Allah will keep his face from the Fire of Hell at a distance covered by seventy years.” (BUKHAARI) 19) The Muslims at the time of Nabi (saw) also understood that the obligations were more important than the acts of nawaafil and that the absent obligations, such as the need to carry the whole belief and system of Islam to those people and lands in which they are absent (as well as protecting the beliefs and laws of Islam if they are present) were more important than those individual obligations already present. This is why we see a great emphasis in Ramadaan on jihaad (the comprehensive effort to make Islam dominant, physically and intellectually) and the comparative reward of jihaad over individual obligations such as fasting and prayer. The following ahadeeth make this clear:-
These ahadeeth are supported by the meaning of the following ayaat, Allah (swt) says:-
To further demonstrate how this was practised by the Prophet (saw) and the sahaabah, the following military and political events were reported to have taken place in Ramadaan (as transmitted in the books of ahadeeth and seerah):- i- Sareeyah against Umayyah b. Adi al Khatmi. Ramadaan 2 a.h. ii- Ghazwah of Badr. 17th Ramadaan 2 a.h. iii- Sareeyah against Bani Fizaarah (a.k.a. Umm Qurfah of Wadi al Qura) Ramadaan 6 a.h. [IBN SAD v.2 p111] iv- Sareeyah against Munqa'ah. {Allies of ahl al Khaybar} Ramadaan 7 a.h. v- Sareeyah of Harqah {against Juhaynah, Usaamah bin Zayd passed through Banu Murra and killed a man who made shahaadah}. Ramadaan 7 a.h. vi- Sareeyah against Aws and Khazraj. Ramadaan 8 a.h. vii- Sareeyah of Amr ibn al A'ss. Ramadaan 8 a.h. viii- Fath of Makkah. 20th Ramadaan 8 a.h. ix- One of the Sareeyahs against Dumatal Jandal (who were Christians). {Khalid b. Waleed sent with 400 men to Ukaider who attacked caravans from North to Madeenah. He was arrested and his brother killed} Ramadaan 9 a.h. x- Treaty [Sulh] of Thaqeef. Ramadaan 9 a.h. {deputation of banu Thaqeef came to Madeenah under leadership of Abd Yaleel} (IBN HISHAAM [p.237], IBN KATHEER 'Seerat an Nabaweeyah' [v.4 p.37],IBN IS-HAAQ [p.614]) xi- Ghassan Deputation. Ramadaan 10 a.h. xii- Amir Deputation. Ramadaan 10 a.h. xiii- Ghamid Deputation. Ramadaan 10 a.h.
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K H I L A A F A H . O R G |
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ISLAMIC UNITY & GOVERNANCE BASED UPON THE QURA'N, THE EXAMPLE & COMMANDS OF THE PROPHET (SAW) AND THE METHOD OF THE SALAF |
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SYSTEMS OF GOVERNMENT |
| BELIEFS [A'QAAI'D]:- |
| System of Rule & Authority [Nizaam al Hukm wal Imaarah] |
| System of Ritual Worship [Nizaam al I'baadaat] |
| The System of Education [Nizaam at Tarbeeyah] |
| The Judicial System [Nizaam al Qadaa'] |
| The Penal System [Nizaam al U'qoobaat] |
| The Economic System [Nizaam al Iqtisaad] |
| The Social System [Nizaam al Ijtimaa'] |
| Foreign Policy [Nizaam as Siyar] |
| Method of Change [Minhaaj at Taghyeer] |
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ISLAMIC PERSONALITY:- Character [Akhlaaq] Purification of the Soul [Tazkiyatun Nafs] Etiquette [Adab] Encouraging & Deterring [at Tarheeb wat Targheeb] |