Examples of sacrifice in the pursuit of the re-establishment of the Khilafah (Caliphate) on the Method of the Prophethood are not uncommon in our age and are found throughout the Muslim world. Over many decades, many have given great sacrifice, up to and including martyrdom at the hands of the tyrants. It is such sacrifice that has propelled the Ummah ever forward, through earning the Nasr [victory] of Allah سبحانه وتعالى. It is such sacrifice that has brought the Ummah to erupting on the world stage as the Just Ummah that is deserving to be witness over all of humankind. Indeed, through such sacrifices the change that we yearn for is not long in coming inshaaAllah and is sensed by even those who are in the peripheries of the call to Islam.
Sacrifice is seen in the one who has decided, when facing the tyranny of the oppressor, that he does not care to return to this Dunya, his loved ones or his wealth. When faced with such willingness to sacrifice, the brutes have absolutely no leverage left, whether through threat or temptation. Indeed, what leverage can the tyrants possibly have over a man who has his sights firmly set on Jannah and sees them merely as obstacles standing in the way? Such a believer is the one that can look the tormenters straight in the eye as if to ask them, now what do you have left? He is the one who frustrates the tyrants to the point of severe desperation and despondency. He is the one who forces them to re-calculate their steps again and again, stricken by doubt. He is the one who undertakes the accounting the unjust ruler by honouring this esteemed duty its full right. He is who serves as yet another glaring evidence to the tyrants that they can never prevail over a truthful and powerful call that compels its adherents to such levels of sacrifice.
Muslims are moved by such noble sacrifice; it revives the tired limbs, throws aside despair and incites a yearning for struggle. However, that is not enough for us, for we seek the same Jannah. Thus, we must acquire the same willingness for sacrifice regardless of our current state and be serious in becoming the one who is capable of bearing all hardships in the path towards victory. Such willingness to sacrifice is the outcome of absolute conviction that Allah سبحانه وتعالى and His Messenger ﷺ alone are deserving to be more beloved to the person than the whole Dunyaa and everything that is in it. It is this conviction that allows a believer to sacrifice all of his worldly interests and ties for the sake of Allah سبحانه وتعالى, making Allah سبحانه وتعالى and His Messenger ﷺ the very centre of his sight in this life. This is that which Allah سبحانه وتعالى calls upon us towards in His saying,
قُلْ إِنْ كَانَ آَبَاؤُكُمْ وَأَبْنَاؤُكُمْ وَإِخْوَانُكُمْ وَأَزْوَاجُكُمْ وَعَشِيرَتُكُمْ وَأَمْوَالٌ اقْتَرَفْتُمُوهَا وَتِجَارَةٌ تَخْشَوْنَ كَسَادَهَا وَمَسَاكِنُ تَرْضَوْنَهَا أَحَبَّ إِلَيْكُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَجِهَادٍ فِي سَبِيلِهِ فَتَرَبَّصُوا حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ اللَّهُ بِأَمْرِهِ وَاللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْفَاسِقِينَ
“Say: “If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your relatives, the wealth which you have obtained, the commerce wherein you fear decline, and dwellings with which please you, are more beloved to you than Allah and His Messenger and Jihaad in His cause, then wait until Allah executes His command. And Allah does not guide the defiantly disobedient people.”
(At-Taubah 9:24)
It is this willingness to sacrifice that qualifies this Ummah as the witness to all of humankind and enables her to convey the message of Islam through Da’wah and Jihad effectively. It is this willingness for sacrifice that saw the Khulafa’a Rashideen open the lands of the oppressive Persian and Roman empires to Islam. It is this willingness to sacrifice that allowed the Islamic Khilafah state to be the world’s leading state for centuries, a beacon of light for the world’s oppressed. Thus, the Muslim is not the one who is content with simply providing maintenance and tarbiyyah (upbringing) for his children. He is the one who is restless to serve his Deen, right the injustice, defy the oppressor and raise the word of Truth above all other ways of life, regardless of the sacrifices that must be made to ensure that. The Muslim is the one who solemnly heeds to the warning of RasulAllah ﷺ,
عَنْ ابْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُما قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: «إِذَا تَبَايَعْتُمْ بِالْعِينَةِ، وَأَخَذْتُمْ أَذْنَابَ الْبَقَرِ، وَرَضِيتُمْ بِالزَّرْعِ، وَتَرَكْتُمْ الْجِهَادَ، سَلَّطَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمْ ذُلًّا لَا يَنْزِعُهُ حَتَّى تَرْجِعُوا إِلَى دِينِكُمْ»
“If you are conducting business, holding the ears of your oxen and are satisfied by engaging in farming whilst you have abandoned the performance of Al-Jihaad, then Allah will make disgrace and humiliation dominate over you and this will not be removed until you return to your Deen” (Abu Dawood, Ibn Taymiyyah).
He is the one who turns away from the temptations of the world that would seduce him away from sacrifice, sincerely mindful of the Hadith of RasulAllah ﷺ,
«تُعْرَضُ الْفِتَنُ عَلَى الْقُلُوبِ كَالْحَصِيرِ عُودًا عُودًا فَأَىُّ قَلْبٍ أُشْرِبَهَا نُكِتَ فِيهِ نُكْتَةٌ سَوْدَاءُ وَأَىُّ قَلْبٍ أَنْكَرَهَا نُكِتَ فِيهِ نُكْتَةٌ بَيْضَاءُ حَتَّى تَصِيرَ عَلَى قَلْبَيْنِ عَلَى أَبْيَضَ مِثْلِ الصَّفَا فَلاَ تَضُرُّهُ فِتْنَةٌ مَا دَامَتِ السَّمَوَاتُ وَالأَرْضُ وَالآخَرُ أَسْوَدُ مُرْبَادًّا كَالْكُوزِ مُجَخِّيًا لاَ يَعْرِفُ مَعْرُوفًا وَلاَ يُنْكِرُ مُنْكَرًا إِلاَّ مَا أُشْرِبَ مِنْ هَوَاهُ»
“Temptations will be presented to men’s hearts as reed mat is woven stick by stick and any heart which is impregnated by them will have a black mark put into it, but any heart which rejects them will have a white mark put in it. The result is that there will become two types of hearts: one white like a white stone which will not be harmed by any turmoil or temptation, so long as the heavens and the earth endure; and the other black and dust-coloured like a vessel which is upset, not recognizing what is good or rejecting what is abominable, but being impregnated with desire.” (Sahih Muslim)
He is the one who suffocates in the constricting atmosphere of boasting over worldly gains, whilst the thrives in sacrificing to ensure the best for the Ummah and humankind, for his heart has embraced the saying of Allah سبحانه وتعالى,
اعْلَمُواْ أَنَّمَا الْحَيَوةُ الدُّنْيَا لَعِبٌ وَلَهْوٌ وَزِينَةٌ وَتَفَاخُرٌ بَيْنَكُمْ وَتَكَاثُرٌ فِى الاٌّمْوَلِ وَالاٌّوْلْـدِ
“Know that the life of this world is only play and amusement, pomp and mutual boasting among you, and rivalry in respect of wealth and children.”
(Al-Hashr 57:20)
The Muslim who strives to sacrifice so that he becomes beloved of Allah سبحانه وتعالى is aware that this Dunya and its adornments are a test, for his Lord said,
إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا مَا عَلَى الاٌّرْضِ زِينَةً لَّهَا لِنَبْلُوَهُمْ أَيُّهُم أَحْسَنُ عَمَلاً
“Verily, we have made that which is on earth an adornment for it, in order that We may test which of them are best in deeds.”
(Al-Kahf 18:7)
RasulAllah ﷺ said:
«إِنَّ الدُّنْيَا حُلْوَةٌ خَضِرَةٌ، وَإِنَّ اللهَ مُسْتَخْلِفُكُمْ فِيهَا فَنَاظِرٌ مَاذَا تَعْمَلُونَ، فَاتَّقُوا الدُّنْيَا، وَاتَّقُوا النِّسَاءَ، فَإِنَّ أَوَّلَ فِتْنَةِ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ كَانَتْ فِي النِّسَاء»
“This world is sweet and green, and Allah makes you generations succeeding one another, so He is watching what you will do. Beware of (the beguilements of) this world and beware of women, for the first affliction that Children of Israel suffered from was that of women.” [Muslim]
He knows well that this Dunya, over which the tyrants he faces destroy their eternal Aakhira over, is merely a temporary abode. Moreover, this world itself will pass away and come to an end, its greenery and joys lost forever, for Allah ﷺ said,
وَإِنَّا لَجَاعِلُونَ مَا عَلَيْهَا صَعِيداً جُرُزاً
“And verily, We shall make all that is on it bare, dry soil.”
(al-Kahf 18:8)
which means that `after having adorned it, We will destroy it and make everything on it bare and dry, with no vegetation or any other benefit. Al-`Awfi reported from Ibn `Abbas that this means everything on it would be wiped out and destroyed. Mujahid said, “a dry and barren plain.” Qatadah said, “A plain on which there are no trees or vegetation.” So why foresake the everlasting pleasures of the Jannah of Allah سبحانه وتعالى for the sake of a Dunyah that one day will be barren of all life and pleasure? Why cower away from the chance to sacrifice for Allah سبحانه وتعالى and His Messenger ﷺ? Let us become the one who will turn away from this Dunya’s comforts and embraces the hardships that arise in the relentless pursuit of seeking the pleasure of his Lord سبحانه وتعالى.
The current Muslim generation has arisen in a time of great opportunity, where the Western civilization is beset by rot, its economy in ruins through the greed of its elite, its colonialist foreign policy tattered and exposed before the world’s eyes, its social fabric torn by the absence of chastity, dignity and family values and its people in misery through a spiritual vacuum. The world stage is set for the Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ to return to its rightful place, a Just Ummah that is a guardian and relief for all of the oppressed people of the world. Today, each of us must seriously prepare ourselves to make the sacrifices that are needed to resume Islam as a way of life and carry its guidance to all of humankind. And inshaAllah each of us will be instruments for a huge change which will begin with the return of the Khilafah (Caliphate) of the Prophethood and continue onwards to a time when Islam will dominate the entire globe. RasulAllah ﷺ said,
«إِنَّ اللَّهَ زَوَى لِيَ الأَرْضَ فَرَأَيْتُ مَشَارِقَهَا وَمَغَارِبَهَا وَإِنَّ أُمَّتِي سَيَبْلُغُ مُلْكُهَا مَا زُوِيَ لِي مِنْهَا وَأُعْطِيتُ الْكَنْزَيْنِ الأَحْمَرَ وَالأَبْيَضَ وَإِنِّي سَأَلْتُ رَبِّي لأُمَّتِي أَنْ لاَ يُهْلِكَهَا بِسَنَةٍ بِعَامَّةٍ وَأَنْ لاَ يُسَلِّطَ عَلَيْهِمْ عَدُوًّا مِنْ سِوَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ فَيَسْتَبِيحَ بَيْضَتَهُمْ»
“Allah drew the ends of the world near one another for my sake. And I have seen its eastern and western ends. And the dominion of my Ummah would reach those ends which have been drawn near me and I have been granted the red and the white treasure and I begged my Lord for my Ummah that it should not be destroyed because of famine, nor be dominated by an enemy who is not amongst them to take their lives and destroy them root and branch” [Muslim]
Imam Ahmad recorded from Tamim Ad-Dari that he said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah saying,
«لَيَبْلُغَنَّ هَذَا الْأَمْرُ مَا بَلَغَ اللَّيْلُ وَالنَّهَارُ، وَلَا يَتْرُكُ اللهُ بَيْتَ مَدَرٍ وَلَا وَبَرٍ إِلَّا أَدْخَلَهُ هَذَا الدِّينَ، يُعِزُّ عَزِيزًا وَيُذِلُّ ذَلِيلًا، عِزًّا يُعِزُّ اللهُ بِهِ الْإِسْلَامَ وَذُلًّا يُذِلُّ اللهُ بِهِ الْكُفْر»
“This matter (Islam) will keep spreading as far as the night and day reach, until Allah will not leave a house made of mud or hair, but will make this religion enter it, while bringing might to a mighty person (a Muslim) and humiliation to a disgraced person (who rejects Islam). Might with which Allah elevates Islam (and its people) and disgrace with which Allah humiliates disbelief (and its people).”
Musab Umair