Question One:
There are those who say that Hizb ut-Tahrir relies on the Makkan stage in its quest to establish the Khilafah and not on the Madinan stage. Thus, they consider combat actions (Jihad) during the stage of calling for the establishment of the Khilafah to be contrary to the Shari'ah because the Messenger (saw) did not do so... The speaker adds: Why are the evidences for establishing the Khilafah not taken from the Madinan stage where Jihad was established and practiced? Is there a satisfying and sufficient answer to this issue? May Allah reward you with goodness.
Answer:
There are several matters in this question that need clarification:
The evidences provided, whether from the Book or the Sunnah, must be followed according to their specific context. There is no difference between the evidences revealed in Makkah and those revealed in Madinah in terms of their obligation of being followed.
The required evidences are those specific to the issue at hand, not evidences for a different issue:
a- For example, if I want to know how to perform Wudu (ablution), I search for the evidences of Wudu wherever they are, whether they were revealed in Makkah or Madinah. The Shari'ah rule is deduced from them according to the followed principles (Usul)... But I do not search for the evidences of fasting to derive from them the ruling of Wudu and its method.
b- Similarly, if I want to know the rulings of Hajj, I search for the evidences of Hajj wherever they are, whether revealed in Makkah or Madinah. The Shari'ah rule is deduced from them according to the followed principles, but I do not search for the evidences of prayer to derive from them the ruling of Hajj and its method.
c- Similarly, if I want to know the rulings of Jihad: whether it is an individual obligation (Fard Ayn) or a collective obligation (Fard Kifayah), whether defensive or offensive, the rulings of conquest and the spread of Islam that result from Jihad, whether conquest by force (Anwatan) or by treaty (Sulhan)... I search for the evidences of Jihad wherever they are, whether revealed in Makkah or Madinah. The Shari'ah rule is deduced from them according to the followed principles, but I do not search for the evidences of Zakat to take from them the ruling of Jihad and its details.
d- And so on for every issue; its evidences are searched for where they appeared in Makkah or Madinah, and the Shari'ah rule for the issue is taken from these evidences according to the followed principles.
Now we come to the issue of establishing the Islamic State, and we search for its evidences, whether revealed in Makkah or Madinah, and we deduce the Shari'ah rule from them according to the followed principles.
We do not find any evidences for establishing the Islamic State except those explained by the Messenger of Allah (saw) in his Seerah (biography) in Makkah. He called to Islam secretly, creating a patient, believing Kutlah (bloc)... then he proclaimed it among the people in Makkah and during the seasons... then he sought Nusrah (support) from the People of Power and Protection. Then Allah (swt) honored him with the Ansar, so he migrated to them and established the State.
These are the evidences for establishing the State, and there are no other evidences. The Messenger (saw) explained them to us in his Seerah with a clear explanation, and we must adhere to them. The issue is not a Makkan stage before the obligation of Jihad and a Madinan stage after the obligation of Jihad; rather, it is about searching for the evidences of establishing the State. These evidences are only found in Makkah until the Messenger of Allah (saw) migrated to Madinah and established the State.
Establishing the State is one thing and Jihad is another. As we said, the evidences for establishing the State are taken from their specific sources, and the evidences for Jihad are taken from their specific sources. One is not dependent on the other. Therefore, Jihad is not suspended due to the absence of the Khilafah State. The Messenger (saw) said:
وَالْجِهَادُ مَاضٍ مُنْذُ بَعَثَنِي اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَى أَنْ يُقَاتِلَ آخِرُ أُمَّتِي الدَّجَّالَ، لَا يُبْطِلُهُ جَوْرُ جَائِرٍ وَلَا عَدْلُ عَادِلٍ
"Jihad is ongoing since Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, sent me until the last of my Ummah fights the Dajjal. It is not invalidated by the tyranny of a tyrant nor the justice of a just leader." (Reported by Al-Bayhaqi in Al-Sunan al-Kubra from Anas bin Malik). Therefore, Jihad continues according to its Shari'ah rulings whether the Khilafah exists or not.
Similarly, the work to establish the Khilafah is not suspended because the rulers have suspended Jihad. The work for the Khilafah continues until it is established because it is forbidden for capable Muslims not to have a Bay'ah (pledge of allegiance) to a Khalifah on their necks... Muslim reported from Abdullah bin Umar who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) say:
مَنْ خَلَعَ يَدًا مِنْ طَاعَةٍ، لَقِيَ اللهَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ لَا حُجَّةَ لَهُ، وَمَنْ مَاتَ وَلَيْسَ فِي عُنُقِهِ بَيْعَةٌ، مَاتَ مِيتَةً جَاهِلِيَّةً
"Whoever removes a hand from obedience, he will meet Allah on the Day of Resurrection without an excuse, and whoever dies without having a pledge of allegiance (bay'ah) on his neck, he dies the death of Jahiliyyah." (Reported by Muslim)
Accordingly, Jihad is ongoing, and the work for the Khilafah is ongoing until it is established. Neither of them depends on the other. They are two separate issues; the Shari'ah evidences for each issue are searched for, and the specific Shari'ah ruling for that issue is deduced from them according to the followed principles.
- Therefore, the Party's commitment to the method of the Messenger (saw) which he explained in Makkah until he established the State in Madinah, and the non-use of combat actions during the stage of the call to establish the State, is not because of a "Makkan stage" or "Madinan stage." Rather, it is because the evidences for establishing the State are only those explained by the Messenger (saw) in Makkah until he established the State in Madinah. The issue is the method of establishing the State, and there is no method explained by the Messenger (saw) except that which is in his Seerah (saw) in Makkah.
If the issue were about the actions of the Islamic State and its apparatus... we would have taken them from the evidences explained by the Messenger of Allah (saw) in Madinah because the State was established there.
Conclusion:
a- The rulings of any issue are taken from the evidences revealed regarding that issue, whether they were revealed in Makkah or Madinah. Thus, the rulings of fasting are from the evidences of fasting, the rulings of prayer are from the evidences of prayer, the rulings of Jihad are from the evidences of Jihad, and the rulings of establishing the State are from the evidences of establishing the State... and so on.
b- Adherence to the method of the Messenger (saw) in Makkah to establish the State is because there are no evidences for establishing the State except those explained in Makkah... If there were evidences revealed in Madinah for establishing the State, they would have been used as evidence as well.
We ask Allah (swt) for help and success in establishing the Islamic State, the Righteous Khilafah, so that Islam and Muslims may be honored, and disbelief and disbelievers humiliated, and that goodness prevails throughout the world. That is not difficult for Allah.
Question Two:
I paused at the words of Allah Almighty in Surah Al-Baqarah:
فَإِذَا أَفَضْتُمْ مِنْ عَرَفَاتٍ فَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ عِنْدَ الْمَشْعَرِ الْحَرَامِ وَاذْكُرُوهُ كَمَا هَدَاكُمْ وَإِنْ كُنْتُمْ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ لَمِنَ الضَّالِّينَ * ثُمَّ أَفِيضُوا مِنْ حَيْثُ أَفَاضَ النَّاسُ وَاسْتَغْفِرُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ
"Then when you depart from Arafat, remember Allah at al-Mash'ar al-Haram. And remember Him as He has guided you, for indeed, you were before that among those astray. Then depart from where the people depart and ask forgiveness of Allah. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful." (Surah Al-Baqarah [2]: 198-199)
The first verse "Then when you depart from Arafat, remember Allah at al-Mash'ar al-Haram" implies the departure (Ifadhah) from Arafat to al-Mash'ar al-Haram, i.e., to Muzdalifah. As for the verse after it "Then depart (Thumma Afidhū)", it implies that there is another departure from Muzdalifah to Mina. Does this mean that there are two departures: one in which the pilgrims stand in Arafat and depart to Muzdalifah, and the second in which the pilgrims stand in Muzdalifah and depart to Mina? Knowing that what we know is that the standing is in Arafah and from there is the departure...?
Please clarify this matter, and may Allah reward you with goodness.
Answer:
My brother, it is one Ifadhah (departure), and it is from Arafat to Muzdalifah. This is what is called Ifadhah. To clarify this, I will explain the meaning of the two noble verses:
فَإِذَا أَفَضْتُمْ مِنْ عَرَفَاتٍ
"Then when you depart from Arafat" means when you push yourselves in large numbers from Arafat. It comes from the "pouring of water" when it flows down in abundance; thus it is from the Ifadhah of water, meaning pouring it in large quantities.
And (عَرَفَاتٍ) here is not the plural of (عرفة) Arafah; rather, it carries the meaning of the place known in Hajj. It is a name in the form of a plural, so it has no singular. It does not mean there are parts of the standing area, each called Arafah, which are then gathered as Arafat. Rather, Arafah and Arafat have the same meaning as a proper noun for the well-known place. The Ta in Arafat is not the Ta of femininity, which is why it is fully inflected (Mun-sarif).
وَإِنْ كُنْتُمْ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ لَمِنَ الضَّالِّينَ
"And indeed, you were before that among those astray" means you were, before the coming of the Messenger (saw) with guidance and the clarification of the Shari'ah rulings for Hajj and other matters, among those who were astray.
الْمَشْعَرِ الْحَرَامِ
"Al-Mash'ar al-Haram" is the whole of Muzdalifah, as Ibn Umar (ra) said. Muzdalifah is also called Jam'.
ثُمَّ أَفِيضُوا مِنْ حَيْثُ أَفَاضَ النَّاسُ وَاسْتَغْفِرُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ
"Then depart from where the people depart and ask forgiveness of Allah. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful" means: Let your departure, O people of Makkah, be like the rest of the people, from Arafah to Muzdalifah and not from Muzdalifah. That is, your standing should be in Arafah and not in Muzdalifah. This was to invalidate what the Quraysh were accustomed to in the days of Jahiliyyah (ignorance), when they would stand in Muzdalifah and not stand in Arafah like other people. The Quraysh in the Jahiliyyah did not stand in Arafat because it was outside the Hill (the area outside the sanctuary), but stood in Muzdalifah because it was part of the Haram (sanctuary). They used to say: "We are the inhabitants of the House of Allah, so we do not leave the sanctuary." They were called Al-Hums, and they had a special standing in Muzdalifah apart from the people. So Allah (swt) commanded the Quraysh in this noble verse to depart from Arafah where the people depart without distinction, and to seek forgiveness from Allah for their previous errors in not performing Hajj according to guidance. Allah (swt) is Forgiving to His sincere servants and Merciful to them.
Bukhari and Muslim narrated, and the wording is by Bukhari, from Hisham bin Urwah, from his father, from Aisha (ra): "The Quraysh and those who followed their religion used to stand at Muzdalifah, and they were called Al-Hums. The rest of the Arabs used to stand at Arafat. When Islam came, Allah commanded His Prophet (saw) to go to Arafat, then stand there, then depart from it." That is the meaning of His (swt) saying:
ثُمَّ أَفِيضُوا مِنْ حَيْثُ أَفَاضَ النَّاسُ
"Then depart from where the people depart."
Based on this meaning, the word Thumma (Then/Moreover) is a conjunction to the end of the previous verse:
وَتَزَوَّدُوا فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ الزَّادِ التَّقْوَى وَاتَّقُونِ يَا أُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ
"And take provisions, but indeed, the best provision is fear of Allah. And fear Me, O you of understanding." (Surah Al-Baqarah [2]: 197). This means that in the verses, there is a "bringing forward and pushing back" (Taqdim wa Ta'khir) in terms of meaning. It is as if the sequence of the meaning is as follows: (And take provisions, for the best provision is Taqwa, and fear Me O people of understanding, then depart from where the people depart from Arafat and not from Muzdalifah as the Quraysh used to do in Jahiliyyah; then when you depart from Arafat and have implemented the command of Allah (swt), go to Muzdalifah and remember Allah at al-Mash'ar al-Haram – i.e., Muzdalifah – and praise Allah for His guidance to you after you were previously among the astray and unguided).
It seems the motivation for the question is that the questioner read that Thumma is a conjunction particle that implies sequence in actions with Tarakhi (a delay/lapse of time), meaning what comes after it happens after what preceded it after a delay. Based on this, he understood the meaning of the two verses as follows:
He understood from the previous verse "Then when you depart from Arafat, remember Allah at al-Mash'ar al-Haram" (i.e., at Muzdalifah) that the pilgrims have already reached Muzdalifah.
And he understood from the second verse "Then depart from where the people depart," keeping in mind the common meaning of Thumma, that the meaning is: Since you have reached Muzdalifah and after your remembrance of Allah and the Fajr prayer, push forward to (Mina). Thus, the meaning as he saw it from "Then depart from where the people depart" was: Then depart from Muzdalifah to Mina. This seems to be the reason for his question.
However, the matter is not like that, and its clarification is from two perspectives:
First Perspective: What Bukhari and Muslim narrated regarding the revelation of the verse makes the meaning of "Then depart from where the people depart" mean: Depart from Arafah and not from Muzdalifah. Allah made it obligatory for all pilgrims to depart from Arafah, including the Quraysh.
Second Perspective: While Thumma means sequence with Tarakhi (delay) and that what follows it occurs after what precedes it, this is not its only meaning. It is used for other purposes. One of its uses is that what follows it, in terms of occurrence, happens before what precedes it in the speech, but this requires a context (Qarinah) and the highlighting of a desired purpose. The Arabs say: "I liked what you did today, thumma what you did yesterday was even more admirable." Here, "what was done yesterday" is joined to "what was done today" via a conjunction, meaning joining the later in mention to the earlier in occurrence without a chronological sequence between them in the text. However, the famous meaning is for the later to occur after the earlier with a delay between them. Therefore, we say that its use in another way requires a context, and the intention of this usage is to highlight a specific matter that requires focus, because a variation in the pattern of usage by an eloquent Arab is for a purpose and not without reason.
By studying the previous saying of the Arabs, we find that the context indicating that what follows Thumma is prior to what precedes it is the explicit use of the word "yesterday" after Thumma and the use of "today" before it.
As for the matter intended to be highlighted in their saying, it is the diminishing of the value of what was done today. The apparent speech is praise for what was done yesterday, but its reality is a criticism of his abilities... for instead of advancing in work, he regressed from before; thus today's work was lower than yesterday's.
In the noble verse, the context is the reason for revelation as narrated by Bukhari and Muslim.
As for the purpose intended to be highlighted, it is the invalidation of what the Quraysh were accustomed to by standing in Muzdalifah and not going to stand in Arafat. That is, Allah (swt), after mentioning in the previous verse their departure from Arafat to Muzdalifah, returned to remind them that this departure from Arafat to Muzdalifah is obligatory upon the Quraysh just like other people.
I hope the matter has become clear, and that the Ifadhah is from Arafat, and that the subsequent verse "Then depart..." is, in meaning, prior to "Then when you depart from Arafat...", and the Taqdim and Ta'khir in the Arabic language is for a purpose. The purpose here is to remove the distinction that existed in Jahiliyyah where the Quraysh were distinguished from the rest of the people.