It has been narrated on the authority of ‘Auf b. Malik that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said,
«خِيَارُ أَئِمَّتِكُمُ الَّذِينَ تُحِبُّونَهُمْ وَيُحِبُّونَكُمْ وَيُصَلُّونَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَتُصَلُّونَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَشِرَارُ أَئِمَّتِكُمُ الَّذِينَ تُبْغِضُونَهُمْ وَيُبْغِضُونَكُمْ وَتَلْعَنُونَهُمْ وَيَلْعَنُونَكُمْ»
“The best of your rulers are those whom you love and who love you, who invoke God’s blessings upon you and you invoke His blessings upon them. And the worst of your rulers are those whom you hate and who hate you and whom you curse and who curse you.” [Muslim]
Of the essential dispositions of the loyal servant of Allah (swt) is that he or she loves the ruling by all that Allah (swt) has revealed and detests the ruling by kufr (non-Islam). The one blessed with such disposition lives as a sincere guardian over the Ummah and a protector of its attachment to its Deen. He or she will be the guide who will not lie to their people and a beacon of light in the despair that prevails in the Muslim World that is deprived of the ruling by all that Allah (swt) has revealed.
The sincere guardians will not be misled by mere Islamic slogans or lip service to Islam by the ruler, who uses these as a mask of hypocrisy to conceal his ruling by man-made law. They will weigh the rulers on the clear scale of Islam and not on benefit or whims or desires. They will evaluate the rulers on their adherence to the Quran and Sunnah in ruling and nothing else. They will not content themselves by saying Erdogan is better than Muhammad bin Salman, or Imran Khan is better than Nawaz Sharif. No, they will demand that Islam is implemented completely and comprehensively and anything less is a betrayal of the trust of ruling. Their repulsion of ruling partially or nominally by Islam is like the repulsion they would feel if an Imam led them in Salah for maghrib, but made only one Rakah and insisted that it is sufficient. Their repulsion springs from the command of Allah (swt) to rule by all that Allah (swt) has revealed, not some or little. Ibn `Abbas (ra) commented on Allah’s statement,
[وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْكَـفِرُونَ]
“And whosoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, such are the disbelievers,”
[Surah Al-Maida 5:44]
“Whoever rejects what Allah has revealed, will have committed Kufr, and whoever accepts what Allah has revealed, but did not rule by it, is a Zalim (unjust) and a Fasiq (rebellious) and a sinner.” And Allah (swt) said,
[وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْفَـسِقُونَ]
“And whosoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, such are the rebellious.”
[Surah al-Maida 5:47]
meaning, the rebellious and disobedient of Allah who prefer falsehood and abandon truth.
So, the guardians of the Ummah are mindful that the Zulm (Oppression) of the ruler is his disobedience of Allah (swt) in his ruling. The guardians of the Ummah are angry when the ruler implements the Capitalist economic system, rather than the Islamic rulings on the economy. They are angered at the sin of the implementation of Riba (interest), non-Shari taxation such as income tax and sales tax and the privatization of that which the Sunnah established as public property, such as minerals. When the ruler makes alliance with the kuffar, ignores the pleas of the oppressed Muslims and accepts the occupation of Muslim Lands, the guardians are agitated and restless. They are consumed with a desire to change the situation for they are aware that it angers Allah (swt).
The faithful will feel restless under ruling by kufr, even if they are personally secure financially. They will not love the ruling by kufr even if the ruler grants them benefit. No, by no means, because they will not love that which Allah (swt) and His Messenger (saaw) have condemned. How can they love the unjust ruler who is disobeying Allah (swt), when Allah (swt) does not love such a person? Abu Huraira (ra) reported: RasulAllah (saaw) said,
«أَرْبَعَةٌ يَبْغُضُهُمْ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ الْبَيَّاعُ الْحَلَّافُ وَالْفَقِيرُ الْمُخْتَالُ وَالشَّيْخُ الزَّانِي وَالْإِمَامُ الْجَائِرُ»
“There are four people who are hateful to Allah Almighty: a merchant swearing false oaths, a conceited poor person, an elder who commits adultery, and an unjust ruler.”
[An-Nisa’a]
Salman (ra) reported: RasulAllah (saaw) said,
«ثَلاثَةٌ لا يَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ الشَّيْخُ الزَّانِي وَالإِمَامُ الْكَذَّابُ وَالْعَائِلُ الْمَزْهُوُّ»
“Three people will not enter Paradise: an elderly person who commits adultery, a dishonest ruler, and a conceited dependent.”
[Musnad al-Bazzār]
Thus, they would hold anything less than the complete ruling by Islam with the same disgust as false oaths, conceit and adultery.
The sincere guardians are mindful that the Zulm (Oppression) of the rulers must be rejected in clear terms, with no inclination towards it. They will not invent excuses or carry the invented excuses of the rulers. They denounce Zulm and warn others of its sin, tirelessly, so that the day of the removal of the sin comes ever closer. It was narrated that Kab bin Ujrah said:
«إِنَّهُ سَتَكُونُ بَعْدِي أُمَرَاءُ مَنْ صَدَّقَهُمْ بِكَذِبِهِمْ وَأَعَانَهُمْ عَلَى ظُلْمِهِمْ فَلَيْسَ مِنِّي وَلَسْتُ مِنْهُ وَلَيْسَ بِوَارِدٍ عَلَىَّ الْحَوْضَ وَمَنْ لَمْ يُصَدِّقْهُمْ بِكَذِبِهِمْ وَلَمْ يُعِنْهُمْ عَلَى ظُلْمِهِمْ فَهُوَ مِنِّي وَأَنَا مِنْهُ وَهُوَ وَارِدٌ عَلَىَّ الْحَوْضَ»
“The Messenger of Allah came out to us, and there were nine of us. He said; ‘After me there will be rulers, whoever believes in their lies and helps them in their wrongdoing is not of me, and I am not of him, and he will not come to me at the Cistern. Whoever does not believe their lies and does not help them in their wrongdoing, he is of me, and I am of him, and he will come to me at the Cistern.”‘
[An-Nisa’a]
May Allah (swt) prevent our being denied the blessed company of RasulAllah (saw) at his blessed Hawdh (Cistern)!
The sincere guardian will not flatter or praise or excuse the ruler that does not rule by all that Allah (swt) has revealed. He will regard the Ruwaibadah that burden the Islamic Ummah in our era in the manner that RasulAllah (saw) warned. It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah (saaw) said:
«سَيَأْتِي عَلَى النَّاسِ سَنَوَاتٌ خَدَّاعَاتٌ يُصَدَّقُ فِيهَا الْكَاذِبُ وَيُكَذَّبُ فِيهَا الصَّادِقُ وَيُؤْتَمَنُ فِيهَا الْخَائِنُ وَيُخَوَّنُ فِيهَا الأَمِينُ وَيَنْطِقُ فِيهَا الرُّوَيْبِضَةُ قِيلَ وَمَا الرُّوَيْبِضَةُ قَالَ الرَّجُلُ التَّافِهُ فِي أَمْرِ الْعَامَّةِ»
“There will come to the people years of treachery, when the liar will be regarded as honest, and the honest man will be regarded as a liar; the traitor will be regarded as faithful, and the faithful man will be regarded as a traitor; and the Ruwaibidah will decide matters.’ It was said: ‘Who are the Ruwaibidah?’ He said: ‘Vile and base men who control the affairs of the people.’”
[Ibn Majah]
So flattery and praise of the Ruwaibadah is far from the lips of the sincere servants of Allah (swt). They do not hope for or seek goodness from the ruling in disobedience of Allah (swt). Their hearts burn with the desire to depose the Ruwaibadah.
Indeed, ruling the people is a worship and we must be inclined to ensure its completion and perfection, just as we strive for such in our Salah, Sawm, Zakah and Hajj. We live in the dark times of kufr rule; it is the love for the ruling by all that Allah (swt) has revealed that will start us on the road to end kufr rule. It is the love for Islam as a way of life that will allow us to bear scorn, blame and sacrifice on the path to restore Islam in ruling. It is the desire for the Shade of Allah (swt) on earth, the desire for the righteous Imam that will not tire us on the path to re-establish the Khilafah (Caliphate) on the Method of Prophethood.
The advocates of the Khilafah are patient in their endeavor, because Allah (swt) extends His Praise and Favor to the just ruler. Narrated Abu Huraira (ra),
«سَبْعَةٌ يُظِلُّهُمُ اللَّهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فِي ظِلِّهِ، يَوْمَ لاَ ظِلَّ إِلاَّ ظِلُّهُ إِمَامٌ عَادِلٌ»
“The Prophet (saaw) said, “Seven (people) will be shaded by Allah by His Shade on the Day of Resurrection when there will be no shade except His Shade. (They will be), a just ruler…”
[Bukhari]
So, even though the Muslim World is afflicted by an entire coterie of rulers who rule by kufr, the advocates of the Khilafah will be undeterred, as they are driven not how the world is, but how Allah (swt) has ordered for it to be. Even in the darkness of ruling by kufr, the eyes of the advocates of the Khilafah burn with desire to see the light of guidance implemented by a Khaleefah Rashid whose every action in ruling conforms with the Quran and Sunnah.
The sincere guardians aspire to install rulers that will be truly Auliya of Allah (swt), ensuring that their rule is in obedience to Allah (swt) and His Messenger (saw). Such rulers are the ones to hope for, aspire to bring and to be loved. Indeed, love for the sake of Allah (swt) means that you love the servant for the sake of Allah (swt), i.e. due to his Imaan and obedience to Allah. Allah (swt) has revealed,
[أَلاَ إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّهِ لاَ خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ]
“No doubt! Verily, the Auliya’ of Allah, no fear shall come upon them nor shall they grieve.”
[Surah Yunus 10: 62]
The sincere guardians love rulers who believe in the Oneness of Allah and fear Allah much, and abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds in their ruling over Muslims. We must desire rulers that love Allah much and perform all kinds of good deeds, which He has commanded, such that the cries of the oppressed are responded, the occupied lands are liberated, new lands are opened to Islam and the Deen of Allah (swt) prevails in the entire world.
So let every day of the rule of kufr spur the advocates of the Khilafah and the men of Nussrah. Let them feel the pain at the ruling of kufr and let them be spurred by the love for the ruling by all that pleases Allah (swt). Let them strive until they are honored by giving Bayah to the righteous Imam, who will shield the Ummah from harm through his adherence to the commands of our Lord (swt). Abu Huraira (ra) narrated, RasulAllah (saaw) said,
«إِنَّمَا الْإِمَامُ جُنَّةٌ يُقَاتَلُ مِنْ وَرَائِهِ وَيُتَّقَى بِهِ فَإِنْ أَمَرَ بِتَقْوَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَعَدَلَ كَانَ لَهُ بِذَلِكَ أَجْرٌ وَإِنْ يَأْمُرْ بِغَيْرِهِ كَانَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْهُ»
“Verily, the leader is only a shield behind whom they fight and he protects them. If he commands the fear of Allah the Exalted and justice, then he will have a reward. If he commands something else, then it will be against him.”
[Muslim]
Written by Musab Umair – Pakistan