A story about the situation in Algeria.

The questioner : The situation in Algeria may be different from what is in Egypt or Syria, and praise be to Allah. Our brothers in Algeria, as some say, are more zealous for their religion than others. Up to now, the experience of the municipalities and provinces in which they succeeded—meaning they did not compromise, even according to the testimony of their opponents—on the most basic principles, and there is absolutely no compromise or bargaining regarding any part of the Shari'ah. This is what is hoped for in the parliament. They are our brothers, holding fast to this. When they enter the parliament, upon entering, they declare this system to be disbelieving and state this explicitly before entering and during the entry. Even this caused the West to be astonished at how they allow these people who do not recognize the system that granted them the license to work under its umbrella, and who declare it disbelieving, to enter the parliament on this basis. We have hope in them, in their history and their da'wah, unlike what is found in Egypt, or even in Jordan or the Levant. If Allah wills, our hope is that the experience in Algeria will be successful, given what we see of our brothers' adherence and their holding fast to their religion. We also have hope in the men in charge of the Islamic Salvation Front, and this is in the context of averting the greater of two harms, if it is necessary, meaning if we adopt this principle of jurisprudence.
Abu Malik: Shaykh, do you allow me to ask brother Ahmad...

The Shaykh : Please go ahead.
Abu Malik: I am asking now, have they settled in the municipal centers? Do they adjudicate according to the laws and regulations in force, and the foundations of the municipalities established previously, or have they changed and altered them? This is the question.

The questioner : The current laws that exist and do not conflict with the Islamic Shari'ah in transactions, they proceed with them. And what conflicts with the Islamic Shari'ah, they cast it aside. I will give you examples. For instance, in some provinces, or what are called wilayats...
Abu Malik: Excuse me, you say they cast it aside as if it is within their power and ability to change it?

The Shaykh : That is the meaning...

The questioner : For example, there are houses of prostitution in some wilayats and provinces, and wine shops, which are a prominent thing. Now, in our wilayats, and most wilayats, the houses of prostitution have been closed. The system objected, saying this is not within the authority of the municipal heads; it is within the authority of the Ministry of the Interior, and so on. But despite this, our brothers pushed with force, and there were popular marches, and they were closed. I remember in the city of Constantine, the center of prostitution in Algeria, all the houses were closed to the end, and praise be to Allah, a month ago. Likewise, in many wilayats, for example, the wilayah of Sétif, which is large, and some wilayats closed all the wine shops. I remember, for example, in the city of Annaba, famous on the Tunisian border, there is a large wine factory that exports abroad; this factory was closed, and there were major problems with it, but it was closed despite this. Praise be to Allah, when the system objects to the municipal heads, they bring the people with the Islamic Salvation Front, and there is a massive march with thousands in it, and the law is applied. And now, the truth is, our brothers, despite the system obstructing them, are striving in this and have achieved very good successes in this field. But they do not take anything that conflicts with the Islamic Shari'ah, even if it causes us, for example, in some provinces, the arrest of some municipal heads because they defied the system. But our brothers are proceeding on this path and striving to untie this knot, to take the parliament by majority, as they wish and hope, and all indicators point to this, if Allah wills. And if they are not successful in reaching the parliament by majority, and the people, praise be to Allah, are all united behind the Islamic Salvation Front, and Allah is higher and knows best.

The Shaykh : What do you imagine, is the current system supported by the disbelievers who occupied the Gulf and did what they did, or not? Or else, do not approach the political side?

The questioner : If you would repeat the question.
Abu Malik: No, he wants you to repeat the question so he can answer you.

The Shaykh : It seems to me that he was embarrassed by this.

The questioner : No, no, by Allah, I was not with you.
Abu Malik: I mean, our Algerian brothers, what Allah wills.

The Shaykh : If not, what is the answer?

The questioner : Please, I do not remember the question, sir. I want to repeat the question.
Abu Malik: ...

The Shaykh : I say, what do you believe about the ruling system now in your country, and in all the countries we call Islamic countries, considering their people and not their rulers? Are these rulers pleasing to the disbelievers who did what they did in the Gulf and in Iraq, the ones upon whom is the anger of Allah? A brief word, I hope the answer will be. Are they pleasing to them or are they the ones upon whom is the anger of Allah?

The questioner : They are pleasing to the disbelievers.

The Shaykh : This is the question. Well. So when these disbelievers see that the Algerian people will take hold of the rule and make the rule Islamic, what do you imagine these rulers who are pleasing to them, do they have any faith and righteousness to respond to the people, or to those who are pleased with them?

The questioner : Of course, with those who are pleased with them.

The Shaykh : Well, in that case, what do you imagine will be the outcome? Will there be a clash between the ruling state and the people who entered the parliament for the sake of reform, will the incident occur or not?

The questioner : Of course, there will be a clash.

The Shaykh : There will be a clash.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Here now is the crux of the matter, as they say. Is the people ready to rise up against the ruler? We return to the first inquiry.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Is the people ready to rise up against the ruler, readiness of both types: the spiritual/moral readiness and the material readiness? If so, then I say, hasten and do not adopt these diplomatic means, that we want to enter the parliament for the sake of reform in a way that the ruler does not feel how the pie is being eaten. But do you think that the Muslim people, any people, have such readiness to rise up against the ruler, even by these twisted, gradual, gentle, soft ways? When we sequence the imagination of the matter until the clash occurs between the ruler and the ruled, does the people have the readiness to resist the ruler and his power and those behind him?

The questioner : Regarding Algeria, according to what exists and is apparent, the people are ready, under the leadership of the Islamic Salvation Front, to rise up against the ruler.

The Shaykh : Please, do not deviate from the answer. I did not ask if they are ready or not. I asked about two things: are they present or not? The faith-based spiritual readiness and the material weapon readiness. Is this readiness present? Is my question clear?

The questioner : Yes, the question is clear.

The Shaykh : Good, then let the answer be clear as well!

The questioner : Clear, if Allah wills.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : As for the spiritual side, there is enough to make the Algerian people rise up, and their belief pushes them to rise up against the oppressor, if the sheikhs who have dedicated themselves to Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, are at the forefront of this people. There is what pushes, I say, there is the sufficient comprehensive side. But there is what pushes the people to rise up against the oppressor to overthrow him. This is from the spiritual side. As for the material readiness, I may not have much knowledge of this side, but there is what can lead to the overthrow of the system. At the very least...

The Shaykh : O Shaykh, may Allah reward you, I hope your view is far-reaching, because when I speak about the system, I link it with those who are pleased with it, and when you answer, you do not link it with those who are pleased with it.

The questioner : Correct. This exists, especially since France plays a major role in Algeria.

The Shaykh : So, what are the preparations, may Allah bless you, in case the event occurs? Because I fear that what happened to others in Egypt and elsewhere may happen to you, that you return defeated, subdued, and killed without any benefit. Therefore, I draw your attention finally to the Islamic principle: the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). What is the path that the Messenger (peace be upon him) took to establish Islamic rule? Did he follow the disbelievers and participate in their system to seize power, or did he call them to the word of truth? Is this not the path that we, the Muslims, and especially all the Salafis, believe in? So, is this the path intended by joining the parliament? Is it the path of the Messenger (peace be upon him) of whom our Lord said to us in the Qur'an: And whoever sees the lesson in others, let him take heed. The Islamic movements, the current movement in Algeria, is not the first of its kind, and perhaps you know this fact? So, what did these movements that attempted it gain? The first movement to rise was the Muslim Brotherhood, who wanted to reach power in Egypt through what? Elections. What was the outcome? They sent someone to assassinate Hassan al-Banna, and he was killed. All the power was scattered to the winds. Why? Because the people were not raised with an Islamic upbringing in their individuals, but rather with a partisan upbringing to reach power. Then, after that, we will reform the people.
"Sa'd brought them in, and Sa'd was wrapped up. This is not, O Sa'd, how camels are brought in."
And therefore, I hope that our brothers there have a far-sighted view and that the old Arabic proverb does not apply to them: "So-and-so does not look beyond the tip of his nose." This eye and this tip of the nose. We hope your view is far and very far. Suppose the Algerian people now have the material strength of the Iraqi army, what good would that do? What good did the Iraqi army do? Therefore, faith comes before everything, and faith is not sufficient with five, ten, a thousand, or thousands upon thousands. The people themselves must be Muslim. I do not know how life is with you now, but I ask: among these Islamic groups, in all their variations, are there no people who deal in riba (usury or interest)?

The questioner : For example, the base of the group, its followers?

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : Of course, there are the righteous among them, and there are those who err, and those in between.

The Shaykh : So, was this the case in the early period of Islam?

The questioner : No, never.

The Shaykh : So, may Allah bless you, the letter is clear from its title. They say the matter does not need more than deliberation, thinking, and addressing the issue fundamentally.

The questioner : If Allah wills. There is a fiqh question.

The Shaykh : Please, go ahead.

The questioner : My research is in political sharia. The questioner asks this question, meaning from my side: If a fiqh issue is presented to us with two opinions, one being the stronger position (rajih) and the other the weaker position (marjuh) among the jurists, and if we adopt the stronger position it causes fitnah (trial, discord or temptation), a problem, or division among the Muslims, is it permissible for us to adopt the weaker position for the sake of the unity of the Muslims?

The Shaykh : This is politics! This is politics!
Abu Malik : My teacher, non-shar'i politics.

The Shaykh : Yes – the Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) laughs. The matter is actually very important. I heard that the Front or the Renaissance, I do not know the names, I have not memorized them well yet, has millions, is that correct?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : Okay, how many scholars are there among them?

The questioner : There are few scholars.

The Shaykh : How many hundreds of scholars?

The questioner : No, it is not there.

The Shaykh : Okay, who leads these people, brothers?

The questioner : The Shaykhs are few, meaning.

The Shaykh : Can these Shaykhs lead millions?

The questioner : Of course not.

The Shaykh : Can they teach millions?

The questioner : No.

The Shaykh : So, you are living in illusions. And among that is this question you are raising now. When there are scholars among these millions of Muslims who can steer the helm of these ruled people from among the people of knowledge? When there are hundreds, and I do not say thousands, there is no need to raise this question: the stronger and the weaker, is it permissible for us to adopt the weaker opinion and leave the stronger opinion? This is the jurist who answers this. And I give you an example from our reality with the parties. I once said to one of the members of the Tahrir Party: "Brothers, you want to establish the Muslim state, and you do not study the Shari'ah from its principles and rules, and you cite in your books some incorrect hadiths. Brother, we rely on people like you." This answer is the first defeat, because when a party relies on others, it means the party is not complete in its strength. So now...
Abu Malik : Our Shaykh... this speech considers you one of them.

The Shaykh : No. On the contrary, this man said to me just now, "You are wasting your time with the yellow books." Allahu Akbar. The point, may Allah bless you, is that we are in a time when we are pleased with the Islamic movement in Algeria, which has truly encompassed millions, but I fear that the movement will suffer a setback due to haste in achieving goals that cannot be achieved except through knowledge and righteous action. And among that is deliberation; whoever deliberates gets what he desires. If you acknowledge this fact, it is pleasing on one hand and disturbing on the other, that there are millions of Muslims joining this mass and this group. But do these people not need doctors of the body? No doubt you have doctors, since there are hundreds, even thousands. Do they not need doctors of the spirit, as they say in the modern era? This is more necessary and more urgent. Are these present in that proportion? The answer is no. So, may Allah bless you, how do you imagine? I also said to these people of the Tahrir Party: Suppose that overnight you raised what? The flag of the Islamic state, meaning by one of the coups. But the people are not prepared to rule by what Allah has revealed. Perhaps your group said, "Decision number one, two: for example, it is forbidden to enter cinemas, it is forbidden for women to go out in tabarruj (a woman's display of her adornment), and so on." You will find that perhaps some of your women are the first to violate these systems and these Islamic laws. Why? Because the people were not raised on that. And those who raise the people are the scholars. And are all types of scholars so? No, the scholars are first those who know the Book and the Sunnah, and second, those who act upon the Book and the Sunnah. Not the scholars whom Imam al-Ghazali (may Allah have mercy on him) called "scholars of appearances." And now, the scholars present in the Muslim countries, most of them are scholars of appearances. What does the ruler want to give them? What decision and approval? Therefore, I believe that the greatest jihad now is for these millions to produce dozens of Muslim scholars there to take charge of guiding the millions to know their religion and raising them on this Islam. As for reaching power, every group that tries to reach power and then uses force to implement its decisions and laws, whether they are true or false, Islam is not like that.
Abu Malik : He, our Shaykh, may Allah bless you.

The Shaykh : And you, if Allah wills.
Abu Malik: It appears that the brothers in Algeria are very similar to the Tabligh group in most matters, specifically in the fact that they lack scholars. The Tabligh group is very large; if we were to speak of the Tabligh group in the world, they are indeed counted in the millions. However, they do not have scholars; there are no scholars among them. The difference between our brothers in Algeria and the Tabligh groups is that our brothers in Algeria are committed to acting in accordance with the Book and the Sunnah, and they have callers to Allah. But these callers, who naturally mobilized these millions, lack the knowledge that scholars should possess, as our Shaykh mentioned with your permission. He said that the doctors who provide treatment to these callers give them the necessary treatment that they carry with them when they go out to call these thousands or millions. In another matter, you should be aware, my brothers, that sometimes people come to you from outside, and you host them. Their words, appearance, image, speech, or claims may allure you. Many of those who come to Algeria and elsewhere may make false claims and dress themselves in garments that do not belong to them at all—garments that are not suitable for them, and they are not suitable for the garments. In reality, these people may introduce some ideas to some of the brothers present in Algeria, influencing them directly and leaving behind effects that later cause fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) within the ranks of the brothers there. Therefore, these people should be guarded against with the utmost caution, and one should not pay attention to them. I hope that if the brother Ali, may Allah reward him with good, the brother Ali al-Belhaj, had stayed with us for days and nights when he came here, so that we could consult with him on some matters, he might have taken some things that would benefit the da'wah (calling others to Islam) there in Algeria. Let me tell you something: the brother Ali came here and sat with some people who have absolutely no connection to the correct Islamic da'wah and know nothing of the Book and the Sunnah except their names. As for acting in accordance with the Book and the Sunnah, that is far from them. Perhaps he met some of them, and these people speak about the topic of jihad in the midst of the ignorant masses and call them to jihad in the path of Allah and other things. As for the brother Ali al-Belhaj, we are very concerned for him, and out of our love for him for the sake of Allah, and our desire that matters in Algeria be set right in the way we hope Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, will make it so.