Series of Answers by the Eminent Scholar Ata bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah, Ameer of Hizb ut-Tahrir, to the Questions of his Facebook Page Followers ("Politician")
To Mohammed Ayyad
Question:
Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuh,
May Allah (swt) aid you and bring about good at your hands and ours. May Allah honor us with the second Khilafah and make us among its witnesses and soldiers.
Subject: The Vital Space in International Politics
Active states and major powers define a scope of operation to which they give priority in achieving their interests, calling it "vital space." Likewise, the Party makes a field of work for itself in a country or countries until it establishes itself there and the Islamic State is founded.
The question: Must the next Caliph, by Allah’s permission, define a "vital space" for the Islamic State, giving it priority for spreading Islam to the world through Dawah and Jihad? May Allah reward you with all goodness on our behalf.
Answer:
Wa Alaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuh,
May Allah bless you for your kind prayer for us, and we pray for goodness for you as well...
What you referred to in your question as "vital space," in the sense you indicated, is a very important matter for any active state on the international stage. The Khilafah State is an ideological state and a global state, not a local one; this is because its Aqeedah (creed) is universal, being a creed for all humanity, and its system is a universal system, being a system for all humanity. Allah (swt) says:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا كَافَّةً لِلنَّاسِ بَشِيراً وَنَذِيراً
"And We have not sent you except comprehensively to mankind as a bringer of good tidings and a warner." (QS. Saba [34]: 28)
Bukhari narrated from Jabir bin Abdullah who said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
أُعْطِيتُ خَمْساً لَمْ يُعْطَهُنَّ أَحَدٌ مِنْ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ قَبْلِي نُصِرْتُ بِالرُّعْبِ مَسِيرَةَ شَهْرٍ وَجُعِلَتْ لِي الْأَرْضُ مَسْجِداً وَطَهُوراً وَأَيُّمَا رَجُلٍ مِنْ أُمَّتِي أَدْرَكَتْهُ الصَّلَاةُ فَلْيُصَلِّ وَأُحِلَّتْ لِي الْغَنَائِمُ وَكَانَ النَّبِيُّ يُبْعَثُ إِلَى قَوْمِهِ خَاصَّةً وَبُعِثْتُ إِلَى النَّاسِ كَافَّةً وَأُعْطِيتُ الشَّفَاعَةَ
"I have been given five things which were not given to any amongst the Prophets before me: I have been made victorious by awe (struck into the hearts of the enemy) for a distance of one month's journey; the earth has been made for me a place of worship and a means of purification, so whenever the time of prayer comes for any man of my Ummah, let him pray; the spoils of war have been made lawful for me; every Prophet used to be sent to his people specifically, but I have been sent to all mankind; and I have been given the right of intercession."
Even though the Khilafah State looks at the entire world and makes the whole world the subject of its policies and actions—as shown in the hadith narrated by Ibn Majah in his Sunan from Thawban, the freed slave of the Messenger of Allah (saw), that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
زُوِيَتْ لِي الْأَرْضُ حَتَّى رَأَيْتُ مَشَارِقَهَا وَمَغَارِبَهَا وَأُعْطِيتُ الْكَنْزَيْنِ الْأَصْفَرَ أَوْ الْأَحْمَرَ وَالْأَبْيَضَ يَعْنِي الذَّهَبَ وَالْفِضَّةَ وَقِيلَ لِي إِنَّ مُلْكَكَ إِلَى حَيْثُ زُوِيَ لَكَ...
"The earth was folded for me so that I saw its easts and its wests, and I was given the two treasures, the yellow (or the red) and the white – meaning gold and silver. And it was said to me: 'Your dominion will reach as far as it was folded for you...'"
However, this does not mean that the plans laid by the Khilafah State in foreign policy are equal for all countries, nor does it mean that all countries and regions in the world receive the same amount of attention from the Khilafah State. Rather, the Khilafah State establishes a "vital space" for itself according to the interest of the Dawah and the existing political, economic, and military data. It seeks to achieve its policies to a greater extent and in a more concentrated manner within the vital space it has defined for itself. This vital space changes according to the achievement of objectives, the change of reality, the interests of the Dawah, and so on.
By tracing the Seerah (biography) of the Messenger (saw) and his noble Companions (ra), it becomes clear that the Messenger (saw) made the Arabian Peninsula the vital space for the State after establishing it in Madinah. Then, after achieving many victories in the Peninsula, he soon expanded the State’s vital space to include the borders of the lands of Ash-Sham and Iraq. Then came the Rightly Guided Caliphs (Khulafah Rashidoon) after him, and the State’s vital space expanded after the initial conquests to include Ash-Sham, Iraq, and Persia, then Egypt, North Africa, and others. Thus, the vital space of the Khilafah State changed and expanded according to the victories achieved by the State and according to the change of data and circumstances.
Accordingly, the second Rightly Guided Khilafah, when it is established by Allah's permission, will restore the biography of the first Islamic State, Allah willing. It will lay plans, draw appropriate strategies, and adopt a vital space that suits the interest of the Dawah, the facts, and the data. It will take the necessary means and styles to carry and spread Islam in the world, taking into account the vital space it has defined for itself, and it will reconsider this vital space according to the interest of the Dawah and the changes and data that arise, by Allah’s permission. In the book The Islamic State, in the chapter "The Foreign Policy of the Islamic State," there is an indication of the State’s consideration of existing data when setting plans and styles to achieve its policies:
"Therefore, the political idea upon which the relationship of the Islamic State with other states, peoples, and nations is based is the spreading of Islam among them and carrying the Dawah to them, and the method for that is Jihad. However, there are plans and styles laid down by the State, for which it sets means and tools for implementation. For example, it may conclude good-neighborly treaties for a term with some enemies and fight others, as the Messenger of Allah (saw) did when he first arrived in Madinah. Or it may declare war on all its enemies, as Abu Bakr did when he directed armies to Iraq and Ash-Sham simultaneously. Or it may conclude treaties for a term so that it can create public opinion for the Dawah, as the Messenger (saw) did in the Treaty of Hudaybiyah... The State may conclude trade treaties with some countries and not with others, based on the interest of the Dawah. It may establish relations with some states and not with others, according to a drawn plan for the Dawah. It may follow styles of Dawah and propaganda with some countries, while following styles of exposing plans and cold war with other countries. Thus, the State lays plans and implements styles according to what the type of work decides and what the interest of the Dawah requires... But all of that is only to spread Islam by means of its method of spreading, which is Jihad in the way of Allah." [End quote].
Adopting a vital space for the State is not far from this text quoted from the book The Islamic State.
Please accept my greetings.
Your brother, Ataa bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah
25 Dhul-Hijjah 1440 AH Corresponding to 26/08/2019 CE
Link to the answer from the Ameer’s Facebook page: Facebook
Link to the answer from the Ameer’s website: Web