WEBVTT

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Summary of the concepts held by the people of the Sunnah

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What is meant by judgment and ruling (hukm)

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Allah's judgment is of three types:

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First, universal decree (qadari),

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which the servant must accept with contentment and bear with patience;

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and that is divine decree and predestination (al-qada' wal-qadar).

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Second, legislative ruling (shar'i),

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which the servant must comply with and obey;

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thus, the entire religion, with all its legislations, falls under it.

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And the Noble Qur'an has indicated,

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across several verses,

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that Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, possesses exclusivity

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over both of these types of ruling.

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Regarding universal decree—predestination and fate—

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Jacob, peace be upon him, said:

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“And he said: O my sons! Go not in by one gate; go in by different gates. I can naught avail you as against Allah. Lo! the decision rests with Allah only. In Him do I put my trust, and in Him let all the trusting put their trust.” (12:67)

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"Judgment rests only with Allah;

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in Him I have put my trust, and in Him let all who trust place their reliance."

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And regarding the legislative ruling,

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Joseph, peace be upon him, said:

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"Judgment rests only with Allah;

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He has commanded that you worship none but Him.

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That is the upright religion,

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but most people do not know."

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And the Exalted said:

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“Shall I seek other than Allah for judge, when He it is Who hath revealed unto you (this) Scripture, fully explained? Those unto whom We gave the Scripture (aforetime) know that it is revealed from thy Lord in truth. So be not thou (O Muhammad) of the waverers.” (6:114)

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And He said: "And whoever does not judge

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by what Allah has revealed—such

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are the disbelievers."

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Third, retributive judgment in the Hereafter,

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and it belongs to Allah alone.

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The Exalted said: "Master of the Day of Judgment."

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The connection of ruling and judgment

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to Tawhid (monotheism).

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Just as Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, is transcendent above

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having any partner

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that is worshipped alongside Him,

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He is likewise transcendent above having alongside Him

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any judge or legislator

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who rules by other than His ruling.

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For just as the Exalted said:

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“Say: I am only a mortal like you. My Lord inspireth in me that your Allah is only One Allah. And whoever hopeth for the meeting with his Lord, let him do righteous work, and make none sharer of the worship due unto his Lord.” (18:110)

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"So let him do righteous deeds,"

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“Say: I am only a mortal like you. My Lord inspireth in me that your Allah is only One Allah. And whoever hopeth for the meeting with his Lord, let him do righteous work, and make none sharer of the worship due unto his Lord.” (18:110)

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and according to the recitation of Ibn 'Amir:

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"and do not associate," in the prohibitive form.

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Thus, His judgment is like His worship:

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worship belongs to Him alone,

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and ruling belongs to Him alone.

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This is the requirement of His magnificence and supreme greatness

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over all of His creation.

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“(It is said unto them): This is (your plight) because, when Allah only was invoked, ye disbelieved, but when some partner was ascribed to Him ye were believing. But the command belongeth only to Allah, the Sublime, the Majestic.” (40:12)

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And the saying of Allah the Exalted

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points to Allah's exclusivity in both

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the rulings of universal decree and divine legislation.

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For His saying, "Unquestionably, His is the creation,"

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means He is the Creator of all created things,

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and that encompasses His

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universal, decreed determinations;

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while His saying, "and the command,"

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encompasses His religious, legislative rulings.

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Indeed, Allah is the Supreme Arbiter (Al-Hakam).

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Allah's name "Al-Hakam" is mentioned

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in the Noble Qur'an once.

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The Exalted said:

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“Shall I seek other than Allah for judge, when He it is Who hath revealed unto you (this) Scripture, fully explained? Those unto whom We gave the Scripture (aforetime) know that it is revealed from thy Lord in truth. So be not thou (O Muhammad) of the waverers.” (6:114)

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meaning, "as an arbiter and judge."

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Thus, al-hakam and al-hakim

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share the same or very close meanings,

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and its root meaning denotes restraint and prevention;

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for a ruler is called hakim because he prevents injustice.

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However, the term al-hakam

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is more profound in describing Allah the Exalted

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than the term al-hakim,

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because the Arabs hardly ever apply the word al-hakam

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except to one who is completely equitable and just in his judgment,

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unlike al-hakim,

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whose judgment may be just,

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or it may be tyrannical.

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The Sunnah has also transmitted the name al-Hakam:

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"Indeed, Allah is the Arbiter (Al-Hakam),

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and to Him belongs all judgment."

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Narrated by Abu Dawud and authenticated by al-Albani.

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As for the term al-hakim,

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it only occurs in the Qur'an in the superlative form.

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The Exalted said:

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"And He is the Best of judges."

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And the Exalted said:

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"And You are the Most Just of judges."

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And Allah said: "Is not Allah the Most Just of judges?"

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Which corroborates the view that al-hakam

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is the judge

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whose judgment entails nothing but absolute justice

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and equity.

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Opposing Allah's judgment is polytheism (shirk).

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Once it becomes evident that ruling by what Allah has revealed

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is an indispensable pillar among the pillars of Tawhid,

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it follows as a consequence that whoever claims a right

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to legislate, permit, and prohibit,

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has indeed committed shirk against Allah, the Mighty and Majestic,

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in the Tawhid of Lordship (Rububiyyah);

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because he has ascribed partners to Allah in His divine actions,

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among which are judgment and legislation.

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It has already been explained that Jewish rabbis

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and Christian monks,

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by permitting the forbidden and forbidding the lawful,

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were effectively setting themselves up as lords,

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just as the Exalted said:

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"They took their rabbis and monks

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as lords besides Allah."

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And whoever obeys another besides Allah and concurs with him,

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knowingly, in making the forbidden lawful

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or making the lawful forbidden, or seeks judgment,

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knowingly and willingly, from other than Allah's law,

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has committed shirk in Divinity (Uluhiyyah), just like committing shirk

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in acts of worship; because he directed

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his compliance toward other than Allah,

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the sole possessor of all judgment.

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And the Exalted has said:

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“And eat not of that whereon Allah's name hath not been mentioned, for lo! it is abomination. Lo! the devils do inspire their minions to dispute with you. But if ye obey them, ye will be in truth idolaters.” (6:121)

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And He said:

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“But nay, by thy Lord, they will not believe (in truth) until they make thee judge of what is in dispute between them and find within themselves no dislike of that which thou decidest, and submit with full submission.” (4:65)

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"in whatever dispute arises among them."

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“But nay, by thy Lord, they will not believe (in truth) until they make thee judge of what is in dispute between them and find within themselves no dislike of that which thou decidest, and submit with full submission.” (4:65)

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“But nay, by thy Lord, they will not believe (in truth) until they make thee judge of what is in dispute between them and find within themselves no dislike of that which thou decidest, and submit with full submission.” (4:65)

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Any leader or ruler who rejects the judgment of Allah

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and His legislation and opposes it,

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is a taghut (false authority) and a legislator committing shirk with Allah—

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whether that legislator be

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an individual, a regime,

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a constitution, a parliament,

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or a national assembly;

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wherein they arrogate to themselves supreme sovereignty

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and executive authority.

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And this is manifest disbelief and major polytheism,

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from the perpetrator of which Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, accepts

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neither obligatory deed nor voluntary ransom.

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Ibn 'Abd al-Barr has related

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a consensus on the disbelief of anyone who rejects anything

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that Allah has revealed.

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The legislation of usury (riba) and its relation to divine governance.

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Permitting usurious banks

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is among the general legislations that violate divine law;

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for just as nothing is obligatory

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except what Allah and His Messenger have made obligatory,

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likewise nothing is forbidden except what

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Allah and His Messenger have forbidden.

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And Allah has prohibited usury,

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so no one has the right to make it lawful.

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Legalizing what is forbidden is shirk in Lordship

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and a fabrication of falsehood against Allah the Exalted;

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for fabrication is not restricted to false claims of revelation,

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but rather includes declaring lawful that which He did not make lawful.

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And the Exalted has said:

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“Lo! Allah forgiveth not that a partner should be ascribed unto Him. He forgiveth (all) save that to whom He will. Whoso ascribeth partners to Allah, he hath indeed invented a tremendous sin.” (4:48)

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"a tremendous sin."

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And usury is among the grave sins

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that warrant a declaration of war from Allah against its perpetrator;

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and all the more so against the one who legislates it.

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The Exalted said:

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"O you who have believed, fear Allah

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“O ye who believe! Observe your duty to Allah, and give up what remaineth (due to you) from usury, if ye are (in truth) believers.” (2:278)

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but if you do not do so,

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“And if ye do not, then be warned of war (against you) from Allah and His messenger. And if ye repent, then ye have your principal (without interest). Wrong not, and ye shall not be wronged.” (2:279)

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then know of a war from Allah and His Messenger." Thus, establishing usurious banks

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and granting them operational licenses

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is considered an act of shirk in governance and legislation,

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and it is not made permissible by deceiving people

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with labels such as "Islamic branches"

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and the like, unless

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the bank is truly free from usury in reality;

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for the standard lies in substance,

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not in external form.

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Among the greatest usurers in the world today

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are the World Bank

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and the International Monetary Fund;

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and none can overlook the consequences of their lending

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to impoverished nations with interest,

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in compounding their poverty and destroying their economies.

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Such institutions do not lose their status as taghut simply by

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presenting the ruling of Allah and His Messenger

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before legislative assemblies,

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while making its enactment contingent upon the approval of these assemblies.

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For it is human-made positive law that grants them

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absolute legislative authority,

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and this is precisely what characterizes these councils

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with the label of taghut;

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because in doing so, they dispute with Allah the Exalted,

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even if they happen to agree with Allah's law.

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For that ruling at that point

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derives its legal validity in the state

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from the council's approval of it,

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not from its conformity with the judgment of Allah.

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And if a new legislative council were to emerge

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and abrogate the enactment of the preceding council,

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legislating something else instead,

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then the new law would become the binding statute;

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and this is sheer polytheism in Lordship.

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For Allah, the Mighty and Majestic,

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according to such people,

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does not have the inherent right to legislate by Himself,

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nor does His judgment inherently deserve

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binding authority on its own;

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rather, His rulings are merely selected and cherry-picked

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based on the endorsement of these assemblies,

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which are hailed as the ultimate source of authority

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possessing the right to legislate.

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Exalted is Allah far above what the wrongdoers say,

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high and supreme!

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Such is the true reality of these people,

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regardless of whatever claims they make about loving Allah

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and His Messenger. And we say to these

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misguided people: If we were to assume

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that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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were alive among us today,

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and he decreed a certain matter,

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would we be obligated to obey him outright,

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or should we submit his words to those representative councils?

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If they claim it is obligatory to refer his word

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to their councils,

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they have directly opposed the ruling of Allah and His Messenger,

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and this constitutes blatant disbelief and polytheism.

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And if they reply,

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"Rather, we would comply with his command, peace be upon him,"

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we ask: Is the mere physical absence of His Messenger

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the reason for your turning away from Allah's law,

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even though his religion remains as fresh and pristine

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as the day it was revealed to him, peace be upon him?

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This is truly astonishing!

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How has the Ummah deviated

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from the true concept of ruling by divine law?

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The Muslims became oblivious to the words of Allah Almighty:

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“(Saying): Follow that which is sent down unto you from your Lord, and follow no protecting friends beside Him. Little do ye recollect!” (7:3)

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“(Saying): Follow that which is sent down unto you from your Lord, and follow no protecting friends beside Him. Little do ye recollect!” (7:3)

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"...allies besides Him;

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little do you remember!"

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and they neglected the paramount foundation of Tawhid:

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"There is no obedience to any created being

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in disobedience to the Creator."

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Thus, they diverted the worship of obedience and following,

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or parts thereof, toward rulers and governors,

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and toward biased, sectarian scholars,

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in addition to the hypocrites,

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for whom the atmosphere became ripe

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due to the prevailing ignorance across the Ummah

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and widespread naivety.

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We can point to four major causes

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behind this deviation from ruling by divine law.

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First:

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intellectual stagnation and the closure of the gates of legal ijtihad

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since the fourth century of the Hijrah,

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which prevented issuing judgments on unprecedented contemporary issues.

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Second: the erroneous understanding of worship,

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which confines it strictly to ritual acts

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of devotion such as prayer, fasting,

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and pilgrimage, and the like,

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while stripping away the worship of obedience and submission

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to all that Allah has revealed.

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Consequently, in the minds of most Muslims, the divine law became detached

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from the broader affairs of life,

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severing religion from life, and religion from the state.

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Third:

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Western imperialism,

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which aggressively promoted governance through its secular systems,

00:13:47.940 --> 00:13:50.940
claiming they represent advancement

00:13:50.940 --> 00:13:53.940
and the sole cause of its alleged civilizational superiority,

00:13:53.940 --> 00:13:56.940
and installed over Muslim peoples

00:13:56.940 --> 00:14:00.129
puppet regimes subservient to its institutional systems.

00:14:00.129 --> 00:14:03.129
Fourth: the lackeys of imperialism,

00:14:03.129 --> 00:14:06.129
who aided their foreign masters

00:14:06.129 --> 00:14:09.129
by propagating the doctrine of separating religion

00:14:09.129 --> 00:14:12.129
from the state,

00:14:12.129 --> 00:14:15.129
asserting that worship should be confined strictly to the mosques

00:14:15.129 --> 00:14:18.259
and has no place in organizing people's lives

00:14:18.259 --> 00:14:21.259
and public affairs.

00:14:21.259 --> 00:14:24.259
Three primary empires had partitioned

00:14:24.259 --> 00:14:27.259
the Islamic world

00:14:27.259 --> 00:14:30.259
during the period spanning the tenth

00:14:30.259 --> 00:14:33.259
to the eighteenth centuries CE:

00:14:33.259 --> 00:14:36.259
the Safavid Empire in Persia,

00:14:36.259 --> 00:14:39.259
the Mughal Empire in India,

00:14:39.259 --> 00:14:42.259
and the Ottoman Empire around the Mediterranean basin.

00:14:42.259 --> 00:14:45.539
As for the Safavid Empire,

00:14:45.539 --> 00:14:48.539
its affiliation with Islam

00:14:48.539 --> 00:14:51.539
was merely nominal and superficial,

00:14:51.539 --> 00:14:54.539
for it was an extremist Twelver Rafidi state,

00:14:54.539 --> 00:14:57.539
governed by the sectarian whims and doctrines of Shi'ite clerics,

00:14:57.539 --> 00:15:00.539
whose paramount ambition was waging war against

00:15:00.539 --> 00:15:03.539
the Sunni Ottoman Empire.

00:15:03.539 --> 00:15:06.700
As for the Mughal Empire,

00:15:06.700 --> 00:15:09.700
it arose during a period of acute weakness in the Islamic Ummah

00:15:09.700 --> 00:15:12.700
toward the end of the Abbasid era,

00:15:12.700 --> 00:15:15.700
an era rife with misguided notions

00:15:15.700 --> 00:15:18.700
and deviant intellectual sects.

00:15:18.700 --> 00:15:21.700
The Mughals did not embrace pure Islam;

00:15:21.700 --> 00:15:24.700
rather, they entered into it in an adulterated form.

00:15:25.700 --> 00:15:28.700
This profound ignorance of Islam,

00:15:28.700 --> 00:15:31.700
coupled with the minority status of Muslims in India

00:15:31.700 --> 00:15:34.700
relative to the Hindu population,

00:15:34.700 --> 00:15:37.700
facilitated the British colonial abolition of governance

00:15:37.700 --> 00:15:40.700
under Islamic Sharia,

00:15:40.700 --> 00:15:43.860
without encountering any notable resistance.

00:15:43.860 --> 00:15:46.860
As for the Ottoman Empire,

00:15:46.860 --> 00:15:49.860
despite its laudable efforts in championing and spreading Sunni Islam

00:15:49.860 --> 00:15:52.860
in general,

00:15:52.860 --> 00:15:55.860
and in addition to its valor in resisting

00:15:55.860 --> 00:15:58.860
the Byzantine West and the Mongol-Tatar East,

00:15:58.860 --> 00:16:01.860
it was nevertheless unable

00:16:01.860 --> 00:16:04.860
to entirely eradicate the intellectual deviation

00:16:04.860 --> 00:16:07.860
and backwardness it had inherited from its predecessors.

00:16:07.860 --> 00:16:10.860
Furthermore, its rigid partisanship toward the Hanafi school of fiqh

00:16:10.860 --> 00:16:13.860
led it to oppose reopening the gate of independent reasoning (ijtihad),

00:16:13.860 --> 00:16:16.860
which had remained shuttered since the fourth

00:16:16.860 --> 00:16:19.860
century of the Hijrah,

00:16:20.860 --> 00:16:23.860
paralyzing the role of legal deduction

00:16:23.860 --> 00:16:26.860
from keeping pace with contemporary developments.

00:16:26.860 --> 00:16:29.860
Consequently, foreign legal codes were imported,

00:16:29.860 --> 00:16:32.860
and ruling by other than Allah's law crept gradually

00:16:32.860 --> 00:16:35.860
into the state through naive intentions

00:16:35.860 --> 00:16:38.860
and without heed to its imminent peril,

00:16:38.860 --> 00:16:41.860
until the situation culminated in the rise of secularists

00:16:41.860 --> 00:16:44.860
who clamored for the separation of religion

00:16:44.860 --> 00:16:47.860
from the state,

00:16:47.860 --> 00:16:50.860
bolstered by Western colonial powers.

00:16:50.860 --> 00:16:53.860
Thus, the majority of the Ummah fell

00:16:53.860 --> 00:16:56.860
into the wilderness of ruling by other than what Allah

00:16:56.860 --> 00:16:59.990
revealed, and into its deep misguidance.

00:16:59.990 --> 00:17:02.990
We may therefore affirm

00:17:02.990 --> 00:17:05.990
that the Muslims' deviation due to their ignorance

00:17:05.990 --> 00:17:08.990
of the reality of their religion and the Sunnah of Allah in creation,

00:17:08.990 --> 00:17:11.990
along with their failure to address emerging realities,

00:17:11.990 --> 00:17:14.990
served as the primary conduit for the infiltration of secularism

00:17:15.990 --> 00:17:18.990
and for establishing governance upon other than what Allah revealed.

00:17:24.470 --> 00:17:28.559
Since ruling by other than what Allah revealed

00:17:28.559 --> 00:17:31.559
has become prevalent across most Muslim lands,

00:17:31.559 --> 00:17:34.559
elucidating the truth regarding this critical issue

00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:37.559
has become of paramount importance,

00:17:37.559 --> 00:17:40.559
and it is incumbent upon the scholars and callers of the Ummah

00:17:40.559 --> 00:17:43.559
to clarify it plainly.

00:17:44.559 --> 00:17:47.589
For Allah has indeed taken a binding covenant

00:17:47.589 --> 00:17:50.589
upon the people of knowledge to make the truth clear

00:17:50.589 --> 00:17:53.589
to humankind and not to conceal it.

00:17:53.589 --> 00:17:56.779
Allah Almighty said:

00:17:56.779 --> 00:17:59.779
“And (remember) when Allah laid a charge on those who had received the Scripture (He said): Ye are to expound it to mankind and not to hide it. But they flung it behind their backs and bought thereby a little gain. Verily evil is that which they have gained thereby.” (3:187)

00:17:59.779 --> 00:18:02.779
"You must make it clear to the people

00:18:02.779 --> 00:18:06.230
and not conceal it."

00:18:06.230 --> 00:18:09.230
Disseminating sound knowledge regarding this issue

00:18:09.230 --> 00:18:12.230
is an urgent necessity,

00:18:12.230 --> 00:18:15.230
so that the Ummah may awaken

00:18:15.230 --> 00:18:18.230
after having long succumbed to distorted concepts

00:18:18.230 --> 00:18:21.230
which falsely depicted to it, among other fallacies,

00:18:21.230 --> 00:18:24.230
that implementing the Sharia is a secondary matter

00:18:24.230 --> 00:18:27.230
bearing no connection to the legitimacy of the governing regime.

00:18:27.230 --> 00:18:30.299
Rather, according to these corrupted notions, legitimacy

00:18:30.299 --> 00:18:33.299
is supposedly attained through

00:18:33.299 --> 00:18:36.299
secular elections, parliaments,

00:18:36.299 --> 00:18:39.299
and honeyed slogans;

00:18:40.299 --> 00:18:43.299
yet in truth, that is sheer polytheism

00:18:43.299 --> 00:18:46.549
and disbelief in what Allah has revealed.

00:18:46.549 --> 00:18:49.549
And since this proclamation never pleases tyrants,

00:18:49.549 --> 00:18:52.549
they invariably—and unsurprisingly—

00:18:52.549 --> 00:18:55.549
launch fierce attacks against anyone who proclaims it with strength and resolve,

00:18:55.549 --> 00:18:58.549
subjecting them to all manner of tribulation

00:18:58.549 --> 00:19:01.549
and persecution,

00:19:01.549 --> 00:19:04.549
and smearing, through falsehood and slander,

00:19:04.549 --> 00:19:07.549
the reputation of the callers to truth who explain it,

00:19:07.549 --> 00:19:10.549
branding them as ignorant terrorists.

00:19:10.549 --> 00:19:13.549
Therefore, the callers to truth must

00:19:13.549 --> 00:19:16.549
arm themselves with steadfast patience in the face of this falsehood,

00:19:16.549 --> 00:19:19.549
and discipline their souls to remain firm upon the truth,

00:19:19.549 --> 00:19:22.549
out of sincere counsel to Allah and His Messenger,

00:19:22.549 --> 00:19:25.549
and as a warning against the shirk of human legislation and its grave peril.

00:19:30.480 --> 00:19:34.410
Two misconceptions are commonly raised against the truth

00:19:34.410 --> 00:19:37.410
regarding the issue of ruling by divine law.

00:19:37.410 --> 00:19:40.410
First:

00:19:40.410 --> 00:19:43.599
some argue that one should keep silent

00:19:43.599 --> 00:19:46.599
regarding the exposure of this blatant disbelief,

00:19:46.599 --> 00:19:49.599
alleging fear of fitnah (discord)

00:19:49.599 --> 00:19:52.599
and citing the supposed harms

00:19:52.599 --> 00:19:55.630
that might result from declaring it.

00:19:55.630 --> 00:19:58.630
In their view, the best course is patience and silence

00:19:58.630 --> 00:20:01.630
until the reformers gain strength

00:20:01.630 --> 00:20:04.660
and become capable of speaking out and confronting the tyrants.

00:20:04.660 --> 00:20:07.660
To this we reply:

00:20:07.660 --> 00:20:10.660
there is an essential difference between clarification and physical change.

00:20:10.660 --> 00:20:13.660
What we are calling for at present

00:20:13.660 --> 00:20:16.660
is clarification through the tongue and the pen,

00:20:16.660 --> 00:20:19.660
not forceful change with the hand and the sword.

00:20:19.660 --> 00:20:22.660
For forceful change through armed jihad and confrontation

00:20:22.660 --> 00:20:25.660
is what requires prerequisite capability

00:20:25.660 --> 00:20:28.660
and takes into account harms and benefits.

00:20:28.660 --> 00:20:31.660
As for clarifying Tawhid

00:20:31.660 --> 00:20:34.660
and exposing major shirk—

00:20:34.660 --> 00:20:37.660
this is the fundamental duty with which major shirk must be confronted,

00:20:37.660 --> 00:20:40.660
and its delay is impermissible under any circumstance,

00:20:40.660 --> 00:20:43.660
because major shirk itself is the supreme fitnah

00:20:43.660 --> 00:20:46.660
mentioned in the words of Allah Almighty:

00:20:46.660 --> 00:20:49.859
“And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter. And fight not with them at the Inviolable Place of Worship until they first attack you there, but if they attack you (there) then slay them. Such is the reward of disbelievers.” (2:191)

00:20:49.859 --> 00:20:52.859
And the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

00:20:52.859 --> 00:20:55.859
when Allah Almighty revealed unto him:

00:20:55.859 --> 00:20:58.859
"Arise and warn!"

00:20:58.859 --> 00:21:01.859
in Mecca,

00:21:01.859 --> 00:21:04.859
while his Companions were still concealing their Islam,

00:21:04.859 --> 00:21:07.859
stood up and proclaimed the truth openly,

00:21:07.859 --> 00:21:10.859
exposing polytheism and warning against it.

00:21:10.859 --> 00:21:13.859
Yet he deferred forceful change

00:21:13.859 --> 00:21:16.859
until he possessed the requisite strength to carry it out;

00:21:16.859 --> 00:21:19.859
hence, the idols were not removed from around the Ka'bah

00:21:19.859 --> 00:21:22.859
until the Conquest of Mecca in the eighth year of the Hijrah.

00:21:22.859 --> 00:21:25.859
This means that that evil remained physically standing

00:21:25.859 --> 00:21:28.859
for twenty-one years:

00:21:28.859 --> 00:21:31.859
the entire Meccan period,

00:21:31.859 --> 00:21:34.859
plus eight years of the Medinan period.

00:21:34.859 --> 00:21:37.859
Whereas warning against it and clarifying the truth

00:21:37.859 --> 00:21:40.859
have been openly proclaimed from the very beginning of the mission of the Messenger,

00:21:40.859 --> 00:21:44.299
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

00:21:44.299 --> 00:21:47.299
The second misconception

00:21:47.299 --> 00:21:50.299
is summarized in what has recently emerged

00:21:50.299 --> 00:21:53.299
from some evil callers

00:21:53.299 --> 00:21:56.299
who delve into this issue

00:21:56.299 --> 00:21:59.299
to downplay its gravity

00:21:59.299 --> 00:22:02.299
and defend whichever rulers fall into it,

00:22:02.299 --> 00:22:05.299
by claiming that it is merely an act of disobedience

00:22:05.299 --> 00:22:08.299
and not major shirk,

00:22:08.299 --> 00:22:11.299
as long as the one legislating by other than the law of Allah

00:22:11.299 --> 00:22:14.299
does not deny Allah's ruling,

00:22:14.299 --> 00:22:17.299
does not deem his own act permissible,

00:22:17.299 --> 00:22:20.339
and is among those who say, "There is no god but Allah."

00:22:20.339 --> 00:22:23.339
They cite what was reported on the authority of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him and his father,

00:22:23.339 --> 00:22:26.339
regarding the Tafsir of the words of Allah Almighty:

00:22:26.339 --> 00:22:29.339
"And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed—

00:22:29.339 --> 00:22:32.339
then it is those who are the disbelievers."

00:22:32.339 --> 00:22:35.339
He said: "It is disbelief less than disbelief."

00:22:35.339 --> 00:22:38.559
Yet this understanding of theirs

00:22:38.559 --> 00:22:41.559
is clear misguidance

00:22:41.559 --> 00:22:44.559
and an astonishing conflation of matters.

00:22:44.559 --> 00:22:47.559
For the mere act of replacing the legislation of Allah

00:22:47.559 --> 00:22:50.559
and ruling by other, human-made laws instead

00:22:50.559 --> 00:22:53.559
is in itself major disbelief,

00:22:53.559 --> 00:22:56.559
whether one deems it permissible (istihlal) or not.

00:22:56.559 --> 00:22:59.559
For the texts have never made istihlal a prerequisite—

00:22:59.559 --> 00:23:02.559
the texts indicating the disbelief of whoever replaces the Shariah

00:23:02.559 --> 00:23:05.559
and rules by other than the law of the Most Merciful—

00:23:05.559 --> 00:23:08.559
and this is a baseless claim

00:23:08.559 --> 00:23:11.559
fabricated by these people from their own imagination.

00:23:11.559 --> 00:23:14.589
Rather, the prerequisite for ruling

00:23:14.589 --> 00:23:17.589
contrary to the Shariah being deemed mere disobedience

00:23:17.589 --> 00:23:20.589
and not disbelief lies in the following conditions

00:23:20.589 --> 00:23:23.779
and constraints:

00:23:23.779 --> 00:23:26.779
First: that sovereignty belongs to the Islamic

00:23:26.779 --> 00:23:29.779
Shariah, and the foundational basis of judgment

00:23:29.779 --> 00:23:32.779
is established upon the Book and the Sunnah

00:23:32.779 --> 00:23:35.819
and actively implemented in people's real lives.

00:23:35.819 --> 00:23:38.819
Second: that the ruling contrary

00:23:38.819 --> 00:23:41.819
to the Shariah be an exception in isolated, individual cases,

00:23:42.819 --> 00:23:45.819
and not imposed upon the people as

00:23:45.819 --> 00:23:48.819
a general, binding law;

00:23:48.819 --> 00:23:51.819
rather, it occurs due to the ruler's personal desire

00:23:51.819 --> 00:23:54.819
in a specific case for personal gain

00:23:54.819 --> 00:23:57.819
or favoritism toward a relative, for example, of the one

00:23:57.819 --> 00:24:00.819
falsely judged in favor of.

00:24:00.819 --> 00:24:03.819
Even so, the ruler in this scenario is in grave danger

00:24:03.819 --> 00:24:06.819
and has committed a major sin,

00:24:06.819 --> 00:24:10.009
even if it does not reach the level of disbelief.

00:24:10.009 --> 00:24:13.009
Third: that the judge or ruler does not believe

00:24:13.009 --> 00:24:16.009
that what he did was lawful.

00:24:16.009 --> 00:24:19.230
For if he believes it to be lawful, he has disbelieved by consensus.

00:24:19.230 --> 00:24:22.230
And this is precisely what Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) intended

00:24:22.230 --> 00:24:25.230
by his saying: "disbelief less than disbelief."

00:24:25.230 --> 00:24:28.230
For he said it in the context of debating

00:24:28.230 --> 00:24:31.230
the Kharijites, who declared takfir

00:24:31.230 --> 00:24:34.230
on the basis of mere sin and wished

00:24:34.230 --> 00:24:37.230
to force the scholars into agreeing with them in declaring takfir upon

00:24:37.230 --> 00:24:40.230
those who judged in certain legal disputes

00:24:40.230 --> 00:24:43.230
contrary to the Shariah

00:24:43.230 --> 00:24:46.230
out of personal desire or ignorance of the ruling,

00:24:46.230 --> 00:24:49.230
in order to justify, through that agreement,

00:24:49.230 --> 00:24:52.259
their armed rebellion against them with the sword.

00:24:52.259 --> 00:24:55.259
What further indicates that this was the intended meaning of

00:24:55.259 --> 00:24:58.259
Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him)

00:24:58.259 --> 00:25:01.259
is that the scenario of universally replacing the Shariah

00:25:01.259 --> 00:25:04.259
did not exist at all during the time of Ibn Abbas,

00:25:04.259 --> 00:25:07.259
nor did it ever cross anyone's mind.

00:25:07.259 --> 00:25:10.259
No one would have even harbored the mere

00:25:10.259 --> 00:25:13.259
thought that it was permissible for him to rule over

00:25:13.259 --> 00:25:16.259
Muslims by other than the legislation of Allah,

00:25:16.259 --> 00:25:19.259
or to enact a law contrary to the Book and the Sunnah

00:25:19.259 --> 00:25:22.259
and then compel people to seek arbitration through it.

00:25:22.259 --> 00:25:25.259
Rather, this only emerged during the era of the Tatars,

00:25:25.259 --> 00:25:28.259
when Genghis Khan compiled

00:25:28.259 --> 00:25:31.259
the book al-Yasaq

00:25:31.259 --> 00:25:34.259
as the reference point for judgment among the people.

00:25:34.259 --> 00:25:37.259
In it, he mixed between rulings of the Muslims,

00:25:37.259 --> 00:25:40.259
others from the religions of the People of the Book and others,

00:25:40.259 --> 00:25:43.259
some prevailing customs and traditions,

00:25:43.259 --> 00:25:46.259
and whatever he himself deemed appropriate of laws

00:25:46.259 --> 00:25:49.259
and legislation.

00:25:49.259 --> 00:25:52.259
Consequently, Shaykh al-Islam issued a fatwa regarding his disbelief

00:25:52.259 --> 00:25:55.259
and that of his supporters who aided him—

00:25:55.259 --> 00:25:58.259
a disbelief that expels one from the fold of Islam.

00:25:58.259 --> 00:26:02.099
Comprehensive and eloquent sayings regarding governance:

00:26:02.099 --> 00:26:06.180
The following are some

00:26:06.180 --> 00:26:09.180
comprehensive, wise sayings

00:26:09.180 --> 00:26:12.500
on the subject of ruling by the Shariah:

00:26:12.500 --> 00:26:15.500
First: There is nothing in the rulings of the Shariah

00:26:15.500 --> 00:26:18.500
except sheer good;

00:26:18.500 --> 00:26:21.500
thus, one should never feel constrained by any part of it,

00:26:21.500 --> 00:26:24.500
nor abandon the implementation of some of its rulings

00:26:24.500 --> 00:26:27.500
under the pretext of not alienating people from the Shariah

00:26:27.500 --> 00:26:30.500
or making them love the religion of Islam,

00:26:30.500 --> 00:26:33.569
as some mistakenly imagine.

00:26:33.569 --> 00:26:36.569
For that only leads to abandonment

00:26:36.569 --> 00:26:39.569
and a lack of divine guidance.

00:26:39.569 --> 00:26:42.599
Allah Almighty said to His Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him:

00:26:42.599 --> 00:26:45.599
"A Book revealed to you—so let there not be in your breast distress therefrom."

00:26:45.599 --> 00:26:48.599
“(It is) a Scripture that is revealed unto thee (Muhammad) - so let there be no heaviness in thy heart therefrom - that thou mayst warn thereby, and (it is) a Reminder unto believers.” (7:2)

00:26:48.599 --> 00:26:52.049
“(It is) a Scripture that is revealed unto thee (Muhammad) - so let there be no heaviness in thy heart therefrom - that thou mayst warn thereby, and (it is) a Reminder unto believers.” (7:2)

00:26:52.049 --> 00:26:55.049
Second: To defame

00:26:55.049 --> 00:26:58.049
the judgment of Allah

00:26:58.049 --> 00:27:01.049
is to defame the Legislator Himself.

00:27:01.049 --> 00:27:04.500
Third:

00:27:04.500 --> 00:27:07.500
Allah has cursed the one who alters the boundary markers of the earth,

00:27:07.500 --> 00:27:10.500
which are the guideposts along the traveler's road,

00:27:10.500 --> 00:27:13.500
in order to preserve people's rights;

00:27:13.500 --> 00:27:16.500
so what then of the one who alters the religion

00:27:16.500 --> 00:27:19.500
and diverts people from guidance to the path of truth?

00:27:19.500 --> 00:27:22.910
Fourth:

00:27:22.910 --> 00:27:25.910
Their laws may suit one era

00:27:25.910 --> 00:27:28.910
yet fail to suit another, corrupting it instead.

00:27:28.910 --> 00:27:31.910
For this reason, Allah took upon Himself the governance of mankind;

00:27:31.910 --> 00:27:34.910
His judgment is suited to every era

00:27:34.910 --> 00:27:38.140
and every place.

00:27:38.140 --> 00:27:41.200
Fifth: Resorting to false deities (taghut)

00:27:41.200 --> 00:27:44.200
and abandoning the judgment of Allah and His Messenger

00:27:44.200 --> 00:27:47.200
is hypocrisy itself.

00:27:47.200 --> 00:27:50.200
For Allah Almighty said regarding the hypocrites and the People of the Book:

00:27:50.200 --> 00:27:53.200
"They claim they wish to refer for judgment to taghut."

00:27:53.200 --> 00:27:56.519
“Hast thou not seen those who pretend that they believe in that which is revealed unto thee and that which was revealed before thee, how they would go for judgment (in their disputes) to false deities when they have been ordered to abjure them? Satan would mislead them far astray.” (4:60)

00:27:56.519 --> 00:27:59.519
Sixth: Ruling by the Shariah

00:27:59.519 --> 00:28:02.519
protects people from the whims of rulers and politicians.

00:28:02.519 --> 00:28:05.549
Allah Almighty said:

00:28:05.549 --> 00:28:08.549
"So judge between them by what Allah has revealed,

00:28:08.549 --> 00:28:11.549
and do not follow their desires

00:28:11.549 --> 00:28:14.549
away from what has come to you of the truth."

00:28:14.549 --> 00:28:18.380
Comprehensive sayings regarding rulers:

00:28:19.380 --> 00:28:23.220
Among the eloquent, comprehensive sayings concerning rulers:

00:28:23.220 --> 00:28:26.220
First:

00:28:26.220 --> 00:28:29.220
The righteous ruler

00:28:29.220 --> 00:28:32.220
is the one who venerates the command of Allah and His Messenger,

00:28:32.220 --> 00:28:35.220
protects His Shariah, and submits to it—

00:28:35.220 --> 00:28:38.220
not the one who makes obedience to himself a religion

00:28:38.220 --> 00:28:41.500
prioritized over obedience to Allah and His Messenger.

00:28:41.500 --> 00:28:44.500
Second: The Ummah that gives precedence to obedience to the sultan

00:28:44.500 --> 00:28:47.500
over obedience to the Most Merciful

00:28:47.500 --> 00:28:50.500
is not a religious Ummah;

00:28:50.500 --> 00:28:53.759
it is forsaken and unassisted.

00:28:53.759 --> 00:28:56.789
Third:

00:28:56.789 --> 00:28:59.789
Advising the ruler is not done secretly or openly

00:28:59.789 --> 00:29:02.789
in all circumstances;

00:29:02.789 --> 00:29:05.789
rather, it depends on the public interest and what the situation demands,

00:29:05.789 --> 00:29:08.819
and moderation in this

00:29:08.819 --> 00:29:11.819
is the methodology of the salaf (early generations).

00:29:11.819 --> 00:29:14.819
Fourth: The tyrannical ruler seeks validation

00:29:14.819 --> 00:29:17.819
or support from his entourage and the people.

00:29:17.819 --> 00:29:20.819
Pharaoh said to his people:

00:29:20.819 --> 00:29:24.180
"Leave me to kill Moses."

00:29:24.180 --> 00:29:27.180
Fifth:

00:29:27.180 --> 00:29:30.180
An evil entourage is not what implants wickedness

00:29:30.180 --> 00:29:33.180
within the tyrannical ruler;

00:29:33.180 --> 00:29:36.180
rather, the evil is already rooted within him,

00:29:36.180 --> 00:29:39.180
and he is the one who chose this entourage

00:29:39.180 --> 00:29:42.180
and banished the righteous companions.

00:29:43.180 --> 00:29:46.180
Therefore, Allah punishes the oppressor

00:29:46.180 --> 00:29:49.430
and his entourage alike.

00:29:49.430 --> 00:29:52.460
Sixth:

00:29:52.460 --> 00:29:55.460
The evil entourage is keen to discern the whims of the ruler

00:29:55.460 --> 00:29:58.460
and his desires;

00:29:58.460 --> 00:30:01.460
thus they incite him toward them, even without personal conviction,

00:30:01.460 --> 00:30:04.460
to draw close to him and win his favor.

00:30:04.460 --> 00:30:07.460
Allah Almighty said:

00:30:07.460 --> 00:30:10.460
“The chiefs of Pharaoh's people said: (O King), wilt thou suffer Moses and his people to make mischief in the land, and flout thee and thy gods? He said: We will slay their sons and spare their women, for lo! we are in power over them.” (7:127)

00:30:10.460 --> 00:30:13.460
“The chiefs of Pharaoh's people said: (O King), wilt thou suffer Moses and his people to make mischief in the land, and flout thee and thy gods? He said: We will slay their sons and spare their women, for lo! we are in power over them.” (7:127)

00:30:13.460 --> 00:30:16.720
Seventh:

00:30:16.720 --> 00:30:19.720
Among the signs of ruin for a ruler

00:30:19.720 --> 00:30:22.720
is that Allah subjects him to an evil entourage

00:30:22.720 --> 00:30:25.819
or an evil companion who makes his bad deeds pleasing to him.

00:30:25.819 --> 00:30:28.819
Allah Almighty said:

00:30:28.819 --> 00:30:31.819
"And We appointed for them companions

00:30:31.819 --> 00:30:35.140
“And We assigned them comrades (in the world), who made their present and their past fairseeming unto them. And the Word concerning nations of the jinn and humankind who passed away before them hath effect for them. Lo! they were ever losers.” (41:25)

00:30:35.140 --> 00:30:38.170
who made attractive to them what was before them and what was behind them."

00:30:38.170 --> 00:30:41.170
For tyranny is produced by the people.

00:30:41.170 --> 00:30:44.170
Allah Almighty said regarding Pharaoh and his people:

00:30:44.170 --> 00:30:47.170
"So he bluffed his people, and they obeyed him.

00:30:47.170 --> 00:30:50.170
Indeed, they were a defiantly disobedient people."

00:30:50.170 --> 00:30:53.230
Ninth:

00:30:53.230 --> 00:30:56.230
Whenever a tyrannical ruler wants to crush someone,

00:30:56.230 --> 00:30:59.230
he invents false excuses and flimsy accusations

00:30:59.230 --> 00:31:02.230
to justify his action.

00:31:02.230 --> 00:31:05.230
When Pharaoh wanted to crush the magicians

00:31:05.230 --> 00:31:08.230
after their belief in the Lord of Moses and his humiliation before the public,

00:31:08.230 --> 00:31:11.259
he said:

00:31:11.259 --> 00:31:14.259
"You believed him before I gave you permission.

00:31:14.259 --> 00:31:17.259
Indeed, he is your chief who taught you magic.

00:31:17.259 --> 00:31:20.259
So I will surely cut off your hands and your feet

00:31:20.259 --> 00:31:23.259
on opposite sides, and I will surely crucify you

00:31:23.259 --> 00:31:26.259
upon the trunks of palm trees,

00:31:26.259 --> 00:31:29.259
“(Pharaoh) said: Ye put faith in him before I give you leave. Lo! he is your chief who taught you magic. Now surely I shall cut off your hands and your feet alternately, and I shall crucify you on the trunks of palm trees, and ye shall know for certain which of us hath sterner and more lasting punishment.” (20:71)

00:31:29.259 --> 00:31:32.460
and you will surely know which of us is more severe in punishment and more enduring."

00:31:32.460 --> 00:31:35.460
As if they required his permission to have faith!

00:31:35.460 --> 00:31:38.460
And he accused Moses, peace be upon him,

00:31:38.460 --> 00:31:41.460
of changing the religion and causing corruption in the land.

00:31:41.549 --> 00:31:44.549
Allah Almighty said:

00:31:44.549 --> 00:31:47.549
“And Pharaoh said: Suffer me to kill Moses, and let him cry unto his Lord. Lo! I fear that he will alter your religion or that he will cause confusion in the land.” (40:26)

00:31:47.549 --> 00:31:50.549
"Let him call upon his Lord."

00:31:50.549 --> 00:31:53.549
“And Pharaoh said: Suffer me to kill Moses, and let him cry unto his Lord. Lo! I fear that he will alter your religion or that he will cause confusion in the land.” (40:26)

00:31:53.549 --> 00:31:56.869
“And Pharaoh said: Suffer me to kill Moses, and let him cry unto his Lord. Lo! I fear that he will alter your religion or that he will cause confusion in the land.” (40:26)

00:31:56.869 --> 00:31:59.869
Tenth: No era is devoid of corrupt

00:31:59.869 --> 00:32:02.869
rulers.

00:32:05.869 --> 00:32:09.259
Eleventh:

00:32:09.259 --> 00:32:12.259
Whoever disparages the scholars, callers, and mujahideen,

00:32:12.259 --> 00:32:15.259
tracking down their missteps,

00:32:15.259 --> 00:32:18.259
while turning a blind eye to the grave transgressions of rulers,

00:32:18.259 --> 00:32:21.259
is driven purely by whim, not by religion.

00:32:21.259 --> 00:32:24.509
Twelfth:

00:32:24.509 --> 00:32:27.509
The right that nations have over their rulers is momentous—

00:32:27.509 --> 00:32:30.509
taking precedence even over the rights of their own parents.

00:32:30.509 --> 00:32:33.509
For Joseph, peace be upon him, did not travel to his parents

00:32:33.509 --> 00:32:36.509
after such a prolonged absence; rather, he said:

00:32:36.509 --> 00:32:39.509
"And bring to me all your family."

00:32:39.509 --> 00:32:42.509
He only did this

00:32:42.509 --> 00:32:45.509
out of the obligation he owed to his subjects.

00:32:45.509 --> 00:32:48.509
Thus, this duty ought to be made just as clear

00:32:48.509 --> 00:32:51.740
as the right of the ruler over his subjects.

00:32:51.740 --> 00:32:54.769
Thirteenth:

00:32:55.769 --> 00:32:58.769
[A ruler must not] judge among the people according to his personal opinion,

00:32:58.769 --> 00:33:01.769
but solely by what his Lord shows him.

00:33:01.769 --> 00:33:04.769
Allah the Almighty said:

00:33:04.769 --> 00:33:07.769
"Indeed, We have sent down to you the Book in truth [that you may judge between people by that which Allah has shown you]."

00:33:07.769 --> 00:33:10.769
“Lo! We reveal unto thee the Scripture with the truth, that thou mayst judge between mankind by that which Allah showeth thee. And be not thou a pleader for the treacherous;” (4:105)

00:33:10.769 --> 00:33:13.859
If this applied to the Messenger of Allah, how much more so to those beneath him,

00:33:13.859 --> 00:33:16.859
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him?

00:33:16.859 --> 00:33:20.180
Fourteenth:

00:33:20.180 --> 00:33:23.180
Whoever deems the forbidden to be permissible, or declares the permissible to be forbidden,

00:33:23.180 --> 00:33:26.180
is not a legitimate ruler,

00:33:26.180 --> 00:33:29.220
nor is he an authority over the Muslims.

00:33:29.220 --> 00:33:32.220
But as for the one who upholds what is lawful and what is unlawful,

00:33:32.220 --> 00:33:35.220
submits to the Sharia of the Most Merciful,

00:33:35.220 --> 00:33:38.220
yet contravenes it through his personal actions,

00:33:38.220 --> 00:33:41.220
he remains a legitimate ruler

00:33:41.220 --> 00:33:45.589
whose rectification is sought, and whose authority is not contested.