We live in our lands under the shadow of a secular government that does not apply the system of Islam in governance; what is the correct path that the da'wah should follow?
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The questioner : He says:The questioner : We live in our lands under the shadow of a secular government that does not apply the system of Islam in governance. What is the correct method that the da'wah should follow with regard to this system, in terms of accepting this situation or not, and enjoining good and forbidding evil? And in terms of what happens if the da'wah faces some injustices from the government, such as closing some mosques or stopping some activities?
The Shaykh : History repeats itself, as they say, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), as Muhammad himself (peace and blessings be upon him) said. It is strange about the Muslims; I do not know if it is ignorance or heedlessness, or if both are combined. They know that what is befalling Muslims today in many countries, or in some of them, befell the da'wah in its early stages. You know that the da'wah had two phases: the Makkah phase and the Madinah phase. In the Makkah phase, the believers in Allah and His Messenger faced more than what Muslims face under this kind of secular rule mentioned by the questioner. What did they do under this unjust, disbelieving rule? They did what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions did. What did they do? Nothing except that they were patient with the harm they suffered along with the da'wah to a certain extent. The Messenger of Allah was harmed, and the Companions of the Messenger of Allah were harmed, as you know, greatly and greatly. Or, if they could not find patience for the harm they were receiving—although I testify that the harm faced by the first generation has no parallel in our time due to the development of what they call freedom and laws, and so on, and although the matter is not free from injustice, which cannot be denied—where are those who were being spread by leaflets, and those who were placed under the hot sun, with a stone of fire and weight placed on their bellies, and the like? Until one of them could not bear it, namely 'Adi ibn Hatim al-Tai, as it came in some narrations, even if there is weakness in them, but they represent the harsh life and severe torment that these Companions were facing. What did they do? They were patient, as the Exalted said:[Al-'Ankabut 29:1-3] The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said in an authentic hadith, as an explanation of this noble verse: What has befallen us? Nothing of this painful torment that the first ones suffered has befallen us. Nevertheless, they were patient and patient until their patience ran out, so the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) permitted whoever wished among them to migrate, and some of them remained eating the torment and receiving the torment until the command to migrate to...
...a secular environment, that is what it is. The environment of the Arabs, the environment of Quraysh in the House of Allah, is the polytheistic, secular, atheistic environment. History repeats itself. Either one is patient or one migrates.[An-Nisa 4:97] If he is able to migrate, then that is it; otherwise, he has nothing but patience, while being occupied with knowledge and calling to Allah in the best manner, until Allah (Mighty and Majestic) brings relief.
As for carrying out bloody revolutions and nighttime coups on a moonless night, this is never of the making of Islam. There are no revolutions in Islam, and there are no coups in Islam, because they only bring about the greater evil. We want to flee from the lesser evil, so we fall into the greater evil. Reality in the present age confirms this fact for you. Therefore, it was among the beliefs of the Salaf that it is not permissible to rebel against the rulers. They mean, of course, Muslim rulers who deviate, in little or much, in near or far, from the rulings of the Shari'ah. Why is rebellion not permissible? Because this rebellion will lead to the shedding of blood and then will not achieve the desired purpose. As for if the ruler is not Muslim, you know the answer: that we be patient with that, and that we focus on ourselves, on learning our religion, and on raising our children in this Islam. And of Islam is that we nourish our souls and the souls of our children with bearing harm in the path of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and that we do not imagine that the world will become Paradise for Muslims. This is impossible. The matter is as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2324Sahih (Darussalam) So whoever is a prisoner, that means his actions are within very narrow limits until Allah (Mighty and Majestic) permits relief.
Yes.
The Shaykh : History repeats itself, as they say, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), as Muhammad himself (peace and blessings be upon him) said. It is strange about the Muslims; I do not know if it is ignorance or heedlessness, or if both are combined. They know that what is befalling Muslims today in many countries, or in some of them, befell the da'wah in its early stages. You know that the da'wah had two phases: the Makkah phase and the Madinah phase. In the Makkah phase, the believers in Allah and His Messenger faced more than what Muslims face under this kind of secular rule mentioned by the questioner. What did they do under this unjust, disbelieving rule? They did what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions did. What did they do? Nothing except that they were patient with the harm they suffered along with the da'wah to a certain extent. The Messenger of Allah was harmed, and the Companions of the Messenger of Allah were harmed, as you know, greatly and greatly. Or, if they could not find patience for the harm they were receiving—although I testify that the harm faced by the first generation has no parallel in our time due to the development of what they call freedom and laws, and so on, and although the matter is not free from injustice, which cannot be denied—where are those who were being spread by leaflets, and those who were placed under the hot sun, with a stone of fire and weight placed on their bellies, and the like? Until one of them could not bear it, namely 'Adi ibn Hatim al-Tai, as it came in some narrations, even if there is weakness in them, but they represent the harsh life and severe torment that these Companions were facing. What did they do? They were patient, as the Exalted said:
(1) Alif, Lam, Meem (2) Do the people think that they will be left to say, "We believe" and they will not be tried? (3) But We have certainly tried those before them, and Allah will surely make evident those who are truthful, and He will surely make evident the liars.
الم * أَحَسِبَ النَّاسُ أَن يُتْرَكُوا أَن يَقُولُوا آمَنَّا وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَ * وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ فَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا وَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ الْكَاذِبِينَAmong those before you, one of them would be taken and a saw would be placed on the parting of his head to make him renounce his religion, but he would not renounce his religion until he was cut into two pieces on the ground.
كان من قبلكم كان أحدهم يُؤخذ فيوضع المنشار على مفرق رأسه ليرتدَّ عن دينه فلا يرتدُّ عن دينه حتى يقعَ فلقتين على الأرض...a secular environment, that is what it is. The environment of the Arabs, the environment of Quraysh in the House of Allah, is the polytheistic, secular, atheistic environment. History repeats itself. Either one is patient or one migrates.
Was not the earth of Allah spacious [enough] for you to emigrate therein?
أَلَمْ تَكُنْ أَرْضُ اللَّهِ وَاسِعَة فَتُهَاجِرُوا فِيهَاAs for carrying out bloody revolutions and nighttime coups on a moonless night, this is never of the making of Islam. There are no revolutions in Islam, and there are no coups in Islam, because they only bring about the greater evil. We want to flee from the lesser evil, so we fall into the greater evil. Reality in the present age confirms this fact for you. Therefore, it was among the beliefs of the Salaf that it is not permissible to rebel against the rulers. They mean, of course, Muslim rulers who deviate, in little or much, in near or far, from the rulings of the Shari'ah. Why is rebellion not permissible? Because this rebellion will lead to the shedding of blood and then will not achieve the desired purpose. As for if the ruler is not Muslim, you know the answer: that we be patient with that, and that we focus on ourselves, on learning our religion, and on raising our children in this Islam. And of Islam is that we nourish our souls and the souls of our children with bearing harm in the path of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and that we do not imagine that the world will become Paradise for Muslims. This is impossible. The matter is as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
The world is a prison for the believer and Paradise for the disbeliever.
الدُّنيا سجنُ المؤمنِ وجنَّةُ الكافرِYes.