(Series of Answers by the Scholar Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah, Ameer of Hizb ut Tahrir, to Questions from Visitors to His Facebook Page)
To Nayef Shoshari
Question:
Noble Sheikh and Ameer,
Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh,
I read one of your answers to a brother who had left the political work within the party's kutlah (bloc), and that phrase left a deep impression on my soul: "You have been content to be with those who sit back (al-qa'idin)..."
This is despite the fact that I adopt every idea of the party in both thought and behavior. I do not leave any place or meeting without people knowing me through the party's ideas, to the point that my name has become associated with the party. However, I am not currently connected to the party's kutlah due to what has been imposed on me beyond my control, as I perceive it.
In light of this, am I now classified among those who sit back?
Your brother, Abu Muhammad Nawfal
Answer:
Wa Alaikum Assalam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh,
O brother, working for Islam to resume the Islamic way of life on earth by establishing the Rightly Guided Khilafah (Caliphate) cannot be an individual action; rather, it must be the work of a kutlah—meaning a group—whose affairs are disciplined by the Shariah of its Lord, Glorified and Exalted be He.
The evidence for this is the saying of the Almighty:
وَلْتَكُنْ مِنْكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ
"And let there arise from among you a group (Ummah) inviting to all that is good (Khayr), enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and those will be the successful." (QS. Ali 'Imran [3]: 104)
The meaning of Ummah here is a group.
Furthermore, "inviting to all that is good (al-Khayr)" refers to the whole of Islam, as the word Khayr is prefixed with the definite article (al), meaning all of Islam. This includes the establishment of the State to implement the Hudud (penal codes) and spreading Islam through Dawah and Jihad. All of this cannot be achieved through individual work.
Likewise, the Seerah (biography) of the Messenger of Allah (saw) speaks to this; the Sahabah were around him (saw), disciplined together, and holding fast to one rope. They were a collective group (jama'ah mutakattilah) and not scattered individuals.
The Shariah texts regarding the strength of the Jama'ah (the group) are numerous, including:
At-Tirmidhi narrated in his Sunan from Ibn Abbas, who said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
يَدُ اللَّهِ مَعَ الجَمَاعَةِ
"The Hand of Allah is with the Jama'ah." (Sunan at-Tirmidhi)
An-Nasa'i narrated in his Sunan from 'Arfajah bin Shurayh al-Ashja'i, who said: I saw the Prophet (saw) on the pulpit addressing the people, saying:
فَإِنَّ يَدَ اللَّهِ عَلَى الْجَمَاعَةِ، فَإِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ مَعَ مَنْ فَارَقَ الْجَمَاعَةَ يَرْكُضُ
"...For indeed, the Hand of Allah is over the Jama'ah, and indeed, Satan runs with the one who separates from the Jama'ah." (Sunan an-Nasa'i). Ibn Hibban also narrated it in his Sahih from 'Arfajah with the wording: "...For indeed, the Hand of Allah is with the Jama'ah, and indeed, Satan gallops with the one who separates from the Jama'ah."
Al-Hakim narrated in Al-Mustadrak 'ala al-Sahihayn from Ibn Umar, who said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
يَدُ اللَّهِ عَلَى الْجَمَاعَةِ فَاتَّبِعُوا السَّوَادَ الْأَعْظَمَ، فَإِنَّهُ مَنْ شَذَّ شَذَّ فِي النَّارِ
"The Hand of Allah is over the Jama'ah, so follow the great majority; for indeed, whoever deviates, deviates into the Fire." (Al-Mustadrak)
Naturally, the required Jama'ah is the one disciplined by the Book of Allah (swt) and the Sunnah of His Messenger (saw), as explained by the noble verse:
وَلْتَكُنْ مِنْكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ
"And let there arise from among you a group inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and those will be the successful." (QS. Ali 'Imran [3]: 104)
All of this indicates that the work must be within a group and not individual, and that the group must be disciplined by the Shariah.
And you, dear brother, are prepared to be in a correct group as long as you carry the idea, adhere to it, and speak of it. So complete this goodness that you carry by being within this group, so that you may find honor in this world and the Hereafter, if Allah wills.
Your brother, Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah