(Series of Answers by the Eminent Scholar Ata Bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah, Ameer of Hizb ut-Tahrir, to the Questions of the Visitors of his Facebook Page "Fiqhi")
Answer to Question
To: Aysenur Cigci
Question:
Es selamu alaykum Sheik. May Allah swt grant you for your deeds and help you on this noble way. I have a question about the method of prophethood for establishing the Khilafah. As we know there are 3 stages in this method…
……………..
From this paragraph I understand that the action of seeking Nusrah belongs to the second stage. I asked a few reliable persons of the party about this, but the idea about this concept was divided. Some say that the action of seeking Nusrah is an action of the third stage and other people say it belongs to the second stage and that this action goes paralel with interaction with the society.
Related to this answer, I want to know in which stage the party is at this moment.
Jazakallu Khairan… etc.
Um Zeyd, Belgium.
Answer:
Wa Alaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh,
The passage you are asking about from the booklet "The Methodology of Hizb ut-Tahrir for Change" is the following:
(...The Party concluded from this study that the work of seeking Nusrah differs from the work of culturing in the first stage and the work of interaction in the second stage, even though it occurred in the second stage, which is the interaction stage; and that it is part of the method that must be followed when the society becomes frozen in the face of the Da’wah carriers and the persecution against them intensifies.
Therefore, the Party added seeking Nusrah to the actions it performs. It began seeking it from those capable of providing it. It sought it for two purposes:
First: For the purpose of seeking protection (himayah) so that it can proceed in carrying the Da’wah while being secure.
Second: To reach the rule in order to establish the Khilafah and return the rule to what Allah has revealed in life, the state, and society.
While the Party performs these actions of seeking Nusrah, it has continued to perform all the actions it was already undertaking: from concentrated study in the halaqat, to collective culturing, to focusing on the Ummah to make it carry Islam and create a public opinion within it, to struggling against the colonialist Kafir states and uncovering their plans and exposing their conspiracies, to challenging the rulers, and to adopting the interests of the Ummah and caring for its affairs. It continues in this, hoping that Allah will grant it and the Islamic Ummah victory, success, and triumph, so that the third stage—the establishment of the Rightly Guided Khilafah—will arrive, and at that time the believers will rejoice in the victory of Allah.)
End of the quote from the Methodology booklet... You are asking whether the actions of seeking Nusrah belong to the second stage (the interaction stage) or the third stage (the stage of taking over the rule)... and you are also asking about the stage the Party is in now...
We have previously answered such a question in detail on 13 Sha'ban 1434 AH - 22 June 2013 CE. It seems you have not seen the aforementioned answer, so I will quote its text for you as it is, as it is a direct answer to your question, especially the first part:
[Seeking Nusrah occurs at the end of the interaction stage. If the people of power respond and are capable of change, the third stage will have approached, by the permission of Allah. We have detailed this matter in our books, particularly "The Methodology," and here are some clarifying points:
1- The Messenger ﷺ began seeking Nusrah during the interaction stage. When Abu Talib died, the society of Makkah was frozen and closed off to the Messenger ﷺ. With the death of Abu Talib, Quraysh’s persecution of the Messenger reached a level they would not have dared during the life of his uncle Abu Talib. Thus, the protection of the Messenger became weaker than it was in the days of Abu Talib. Allah then inspired him to present himself to the Arab tribes to seek their protection and their Nusrah for him, so that he could convey what he was sent with from Allah while being secure and protected. Ibn Kathir mentioned in Al-Sira from Ali bin Abi Talib, who said: "When Allah commanded His Messenger to present himself to the Arab tribes, he went out, and I was with him along with Abu Bakr, to Mina until we reached a gathering of the Arab gatherings." Ibn Kathir also narrated from Ibn Abbas on the authority of Al-Abbas, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to me:
لَا أَرَى لِي عِنْدَكَ وَلَا عِنْدَ أَخِيك مَنَعَةً، فَهَلْ أَنْتَ مُخْرِجِي إلَى السُّوقِ غَدًا حَتَّى نَقَرَّ فِي مَنَازِلِ قَبَائِلِ النَّاسِ - وَكَانَتْ مَجْمَعَ الْعَرَبِ - قَالَ: فَقُلْتُ هَذِهِ كِنْدَةُ وَلَفُّهَا، وَهِيَ أَفْضَلُ مَنْ يَحُجُّ مِنْ الْيَمَنِ، وَهَذِهِ مَنَازِلُ بَكْرِ بْنِ وَائِلٍ، وَهَذِهِ مَنَازِلُ بَنِي عَامِرِ بْنِ صَعْصَعَةَ، فَاخْتَرْ لِنَفْسِكَ، قَالَ: فَبَدَأَ بِكِنْدَةَ فَأَتَاهُمْ
"I do not see that I have protection with you or your brother. Will you take me out to the market tomorrow so that we may stay in the dwellings of the tribes of people? – and it was the gathering of the Arabs – He (Al-Abbas) said: I said, 'This is Kinda and its followers, and they are the best of those who perform Hajj from Yemen; and these are the dwellings of Bakr bin Wa’il, and these are the dwellings of Bani ‘Amir bin Sa’sa’ah; so choose for yourself.' He said: He started with Kinda and went to them."
2- It was clear to the people of power ("the tribes") at that time, from whom the Messenger ﷺ was seeking Nusrah, that the requirement was to protect the Messenger ﷺ and enable him to establish an entity in their midst where the rules of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala would be applied. That is, they clearly and explicitly understood that Nusrah was for the establishment of a state that rules and carries out Jihad... Therefore, the Bani 'Amir bin Sa'sa'ah said when the Messenger ﷺ sought their Nusrah: "Do you see, if we pledge allegiance to you upon your matter, then Allah grants you victory over those who oppose you, will the rule be for us after you?" He ﷺ said:
الْأَمْرُ إلَى اللَّهِ يَضَعُهُ حَيْثُ يَشَاءُ
"The matter belongs to Allah; He places it where He wills."
He (the tribal leader) said to him: "Shall our necks be targeted by the Arabs for your sake, and then when Allah grants you victory, the rule goes to others? We have no need for your matter," and they refused him. This means they knew that Nusrah meant establishing a state, and they wanted to be its rulers after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Similarly, Bani Shayban said to the Messenger ﷺ when he sought their Nusrah: "We have settled between two adversaries." The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
مَا هَاتَانِ الضَّرَّتَانِ؟
"What are these two adversaries?"
He said: "The rivers of Khosrau (Persia) and the waters of the Arabs. We have settled upon a covenant taken from us by Khosrau that we shall not initiate any new matter nor shelter any innovator. I see this matter you call to is something kings dislike. If you wish for us to shelter you and support you from the side of the Arab waters, we will do so." The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
مَا أَسَأْتُمْ فِي الرَّدِّ إذْ أَفْصَحْتُمْ بِالصِّدْقِ، وَإِنَّ دِينَ اللَّهِ لَنْ يَنْصُرَهُ إلَّا مَنْ أَحَاطَهُ مِنْ جَمِيعِ جَوَانِبِهِ
"You have not been unkind in your response as you have spoken with honesty. Verily, the Deen of Allah shall not be given victory except by those who encompass it from all its sides."
Thus, they understood that Nusrah meant rule and Jihad against both Arabs and non-Arabs; they agreed to fight the Arabs, but not the Persians.
3- Then, when Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala decreed the matter, the Second Pledge of Aqaba took place, which was the Nusrah to establish the State in Madinah. After that, the third stage began, i.e., the establishment of the State.
4- It is clear from all this that seeking Nusrah was before the third stage, meaning it was in the interaction stage.
5- This is what the Party did when it began the work of seeking Nusrah in the sixties of the last century and is still continuing in it. We ask Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala to honor this Ummah with Ansar (supporters) who revive the legacy of the first Ansar, so that the State of Islam, the Rightly Guided Khilafah State, is established, and the banner of Al-Uqab, the banner of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, flutters high. On that day, the believers will rejoice in the victory of Allah...] End of our previous answer.
As for which stage the Party is in now, this is also clear from the above. Certainly, it is not in the third stage, because the third stage means taking over the rule and commencing the comprehensive, revolutionary application of Islam in a state... and this matter has not yet been achieved for the Party... However, the Party exists in the last part of the interaction stage, and it is working seriously and diligently to resume the Islamic way of life by establishing the Rightly Guided Khilafah, by the permission of Allah, so that it may save humanity from the darkness of ignorance and Kufr and return it to the light of Truth and Islam... The Party is certain that this shall come to pass, by Allah’s leave, and for every term there is a decree.
I hope the matter has become clear and that the confusion regarding the understanding of that paragraph in the Methodology book has been removed.
Your brother, Ata Bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah
22 Rajab 1440 AH Corresponding to 29/03/2019 CE
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