It is an elementary principle of Islam that the Muslims should confine themselves to matters pertaining to their religion from the time they first pronounce the words, There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. They must, from that moment, free themselves from worshipping, following, or obeying anything but Allah. There are many indications from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger. Allah has said: Whoever disbelieves in Taaghut and believes in Allah has indeed grasped the most trustworthy handhold51 and Hold fast to the Rope of Allah and do not differ, recall the blessing of Allah upon yourselves, though you were enemies He drew your hearts together and you became, by His Grace, as brothers. Though you were on the very brink of the pit of Hell He delivered you from it. Thus Allah makes clear to you His Signs so that you may find guidance52 Say, shall we invoke instead of Allah, something that can neither benefit us nor harm us, and turn around on our heels after Allah has guided us? He is like one whom devils have enticed into groping after earthly desires whilst his companions call out offering guidance, Come to us!. Say, Verily the Guidance of Allah is the only Guidance, and we are commanded to surrender ourselves to the Lord of the Worlds53 Likewise Allah has said, Who turns his face to Allah in sincerity has indeed grasped the most trustworthy handhold54 and finally, And who is better in speech than one who calls to Allah and does righteous deeds, and says, I am one of the Muslims56 These verses illustrate the extent of Allahs blessings upon the Muslims in giving them this religion (Islam). Alliance with it is the source of honour, strength and dignity. Whoever grasps hold of this alliance and persists in it has indeed grasped the most trustworthy handhold. As for Ahadith, Abu Hurayrah has reported that the Prophet said, Allah, Most High, has removed from you the pride of the pre-Islamic period and its boasting in ancestors. One is only a pious believer or a miserable sinner. You are sons of Adam, and Adam came from dust. Let the people cease to boast about their ancestors. They are merely burning stones in the pit of hell; or they will certainly be of less account with Allah than the beetle which rolls dung with its nose57. The Prophet was solicitous of the training of his Ummah in order that it should be preserved from anything which did not draw its force and essence from the solid rock of Islam. Thus we find him encouraging them to find their identity within the ranks of the Muslims. For instance Ibn Abu Uqba, a companion from Persia, relates, I was with the Messenger of Allah at the Battle of Uhud. I had struck down one of the disbelievers and at the same time said, Take that! I am a son of Persia! The Messenger of Allah looked at me and said, Hadnt you better say, Take that! I am a son of the Ansar! 58. At the source of the Islamic creed is the uniqueness of Allah and of the bonds of love, glory, obedience, subservience, fear, awe, and hope which bind the believer to Him alone. One must likewise divest oneself of all affection, fear or longing for anything but Allah. Allah has said: Whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will not be accepted from him, and he is in the next world amongst the losers55 And if Allah touches you with harm, none can remove it but He, and if He touches you with good, then He is Able to do all things What does it mean to ally with the kufaar?! AWala in Arabic Language: In Lisaan al-Arab, Ibn al-`Araabee said that al- Muwaalaat (alliance, friendship) is said to exist between two people when one of them, finding the other engaged in some dispute with a third party, intervenes in order to arrive at a settlement between them, and having discovered a preference for one of them over the other he associates himself with him, taking up his side. He is then his friend and confidant. But the concept of Mawla is a wide one. It could be the Lord, the Master, the Benefactor, the emancipator, the helper, the friend, the follower, the neighbour, the cousin, the ally, the brother-in-law, the slave, or the free slave. It is always based, however, upon assistance and affection6. Friendship is for mutual self-help and support. Al-Muwaalaat refers to support in Islam as Imam Shafii explained with regards to the Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad: Whomsoever I am his supporter, Ali is also his supporter7. Likewise Allah states in the Quran: (That is because Allah is the Mawla (ally) of those who believe, and the disbelievers have no Mawla (ally))8. Alliance has a technical meaning as well. In this sense it means to help, to love, to honour, to respect something, and to stand next to like minded people both outwardly and inwardly. Allah has said: Allah is the Wali of those who believe. He brings them out of darkness into light. But as for those who disbelieve, their Awliya (allies) are Taaghut*, they bring them out of light into darkness16. To become allied to the disbelievers means to draw near to them, to show devotion to them in word and deed Baraa (Severance) For severance, it too has a technical sense; that is, to take heed of a warning, to disassociate oneself from something, to avoiding it totally and showing enmity towards it. Ibn Taymiyyah says: Alliance is the opposite of enmity. Alliance is based on affection and closeness whilst, enmity is based on animosity and distance. The ally is one who is near, as in he is his ally meaning he is near to him. Thus the Prophet said: Render unto all heirs their due and what is left shall go to the male next of kin18. That is, to the nearest male relative. So if the ally of Allah is someone who approves of and follows Him in what He likes and in what pleases Him, who avoids what He dislikes and what angers Him, who fulfills his obligations and leaves aside what has been forbidden to him, then whoever is opposed to this allegiance is opposed to Allah. As Allah has said: O you who believe, do not take my enemies and your enemies as allies, showing them affection 19 Alliance with the enemies of Allah is if different categories, some leading to apostasy and utter abandonment of Islam and others are less than that with regard to major sins and infractions upon what is prohibited21. When Allah granted love and brotherhood, alliance and solidarity to the believers He also forbade them totally from allying themselves to disbelievers of whatever hue, be they Jews or Christians, atheists or polytheists. It is a fundamental principle, upon which all Muslims agree, that every believer, every Unitarian Muslim, must abandon all things which legally compromise him, which take him out of Islam and which demand his affection, allegiance and succour for the enemies of Allah. Whoever is opposed to such a compromise must despise, revile, struggle against it with all his effort and might. In both word and deed he must draw near to Allah.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 23:59:40 +0000
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