The Ruling on Striving to Establish an Islamic State
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, there is a doubt circulating among some of our brothers that has become a source of confusion for them. I ask you to clarify this in a way that we will not need to ask anyone else after you.
The Shaykh:
It is said, “We do not ask anyone after you.” This phrase is not to be said except to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). As for me and others, we make mistakes and err, so there is no harm in your asking. Their claim is that it is obligatory for Muslims to strive to establish a Muslim state, meaning a government that fully applies the Shari'ah, where the decision-maker is one of upright character.
The questioner:
They say that affairs will not be right without this. They cite as evidence that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) remained in Makkah for thirteen years, and there was no result except the Islam of a small number of people. But when the Islamic state was established, it did not take long before the religion spread in a few years. What is your opinion on this?
The Shaykh:
If the Muslims do not have an imam, they must strive to appoint an imam, and it is not permissible for them to say at any time that they have already appointed an imam. When the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away, they delayed his burial (peace and blessings be upon him) and delayed preparing his body until they pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Siddiq. If the Muslims do not have an imam, it is obligatory for them to hasten to choose an imam from among themselves and pledge allegiance to him, and no time should pass for them without an imam. However, if the Muslims have an imam, it is not permissible to transgress against him or depose him, because he is the imam of the Muslims to whom allegiance has been pledged, even if he is disobedient or not upright, as long as he has not reached the level of disbelief. It is not permissible to rebel against him. One must be patient with him, strive with him, and listen to and obey him, except in the case of disobedience to Allah the Exalted and Majestic. Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, there is a doubt circulating among some of our brothers that has become a source of confusion for them. I ask you to clarify this in a way that we will not need to ask anyone else after you.
The Shaykh:
It is said, “We do not ask anyone after you.” This phrase is not to be said except to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). As for me and others, we make mistakes and err, so there is no harm in your asking. Their claim is that it is obligatory for Muslims to strive to establish a Muslim state, meaning a government that fully applies the Shari'ah, where the decision-maker is one of upright character.
The questioner:
They say that affairs will not be right without this. They cite as evidence that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) remained in Makkah for thirteen years, and there was no result except the Islam of a small number of people. But when the Islamic state was established, it did not take long before the religion spread in a few years. What is your opinion on this?
The Shaykh:
If the Muslims do not have an imam, they must strive to appoint an imam, and it is not permissible for them to say at any time that they have already appointed an imam. When the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away, they delayed his burial (peace and blessings be upon him) and delayed preparing his body until they pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Siddiq. If the Muslims do not have an imam, it is obligatory for them to hasten to choose an imam from among themselves and pledge allegiance to him, and no time should pass for them without an imam. However, if the Muslims have an imam, it is not permissible to transgress against him or depose him, because he is the imam of the Muslims to whom allegiance has been pledged, even if he is disobedient or not upright, as long as he has not reached the level of disbelief. It is not permissible to rebel against him. One must be patient with him, strive with him, and listen to and obey him, except in the case of disobedience to Allah the Exalted and Majestic. Yes.
Source
السعي لوجود دولة إسلامية — alfawzan.live
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.