Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, his companions, and those who follow him. To proceed:
To the sincere and devoted brothers, the Da’wah carriers...
And to all Muslims everywhere on this earth...
Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuh...
I ask Him, Glory be to Him, to accept the fasting and the night prayers from the Muslims, and that Allah, Glory be to Him, forgives us all for our past sins, as the Messenger of Allah (saw) said in what was narrated by Bukhari and Muslim on the authority of Abu Hurairah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
مَنْ صَامَ رَمَضَانَ، إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا، غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ "Whoever fasts Ramadan out of faith and seeking reward, his previous sins will be forgiven."
And in another narration from Abu Hurairah (ra): That the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
مَنْ قَامَ رَمَضَانَ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا، غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ "Whoever stands [in prayer] during Ramadan out of faith and seeking reward, his previous sins will be forgiven."
Dear brothers, Allah (swt) prescribed the fasting of the month of Ramadan in the month of Sha'ban in the second year of the Hijrah. It is a month in which Allah sent down the Quran:
شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِنَ الْهُدَى وَالْفُرْقَانِ "The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion." (Al-Baqarah [2]: 185)
It is also a month in which Allah honored the Ummah with victory and a manifest conquest. The Great Battle of Badr took place on the seventeenth of Ramadan, where the polytheists of Makkah suffered a massive defeat. Then there were other decisive battles in this noble month, starting from the Conquest of Makkah on the twentieth of the blessed month of Ramadan in the eighth year of the Hijrah, to the Battle of Al-Buwayb (near the current city of Kufa), which is the Yarmouk of Persia, where the Muslims were victorious under the leadership of Al-Muthanna on the fourteenth of Ramadan in the year thirty-one of the Hijrah. Then there was the Conquest of Amorium under the leadership of Al-Mu'tasim on the seventeenth of Ramadan in the year two hundred and twenty-three of the Hijrah, and the Battle of Ain Jalut in which the Muslims defeated the Tatars on the twenty-fifth of Ramadan in the year six hundred and fifty-eight of the Hijrah, among other victories in this noble month.
Thus, fasting has been associated with the Noble Quran, which falsehood cannot approach from before it or from behind it. Fasting has been associated with conquest and victory. Fasting has been associated with Jihad. Fasting has been associated with the application of Allah’s laws (Ahkam). Every person of vision and insight knows that the laws of Allah (swt) are not separated from one another, whether they are acts of worship (ibadat), Jihad, transactions (mu'amalat), morals and conduct, or penal codes (hudud) and criminal laws (jinayat). They all come from a single niche (mishkat). Whoever ponders the verses of the Noble Book and the texts of the honorable Hadiths will find this clearly evident. The Muslim recites from the verses of the Wise Remembrance:
وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ "And establish prayer." (Al-Baqarah [2]: 43)
Just as he recites:
وَأَنِ احْكُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ "And judge between them by what Allah has revealed." (Al-Ma'idah [5]: 49)
And he recites:
كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ "Fasting has been prescribed for you." (Al-Baqarah [2]: 183)
Just as he recites:
كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِتَالُ "Fighting has been prescribed for you." (Al-Baqarah [2]: 216)
Similarly, he reads about Hajj in the Hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (saw):
خُذُوا عَنِّي مَنَاسِكَكُمْ "Take your rituals from me." (Narrated by Al-Bayhaqi)
Just as he reads about the Hudud:
خُذُوا عَنِّي، خُذُوا عَنِّي، قَدْ جَعَلَ اللهُ لَهُنَّ سَبِيلًا، الْبِكْرُ بِالْبِكْرِ جَلْدُ مِائَةٍ وَنَفْيُ سَنَةٍ، وَالثَّيِّبُ بِالثَّيِّبِ جَلْدُ مِائَةٍ، وَالرَّجْمُ "Take from me, take from me; Allah has made a way for them. The virgin with the virgin, a hundred lashes and exile for a year; and the married with the married, a hundred lashes and stoning." (Narrated by Muslim)
And he reads regarding transactions:
البَيِّعَانِ بِالخِيَارِ مَا لَمْ يَتَفَرَّقَا -أو قال حتى يتفرقا- "The two parties to a transaction have the option [to cancel it] as long as they have not parted - or he said until they part." (Narrated by Al-Bukhari)
Just as he reads regarding the Bay'ah of the Khalifah:
وَمَنْ مَاتَ وَلَيْسَ فِي عُنُقِهِ بَيْعَةٌ، مَاتَ مِيتَةً جَاهِلِيَّةً "And whoever dies without having a bay'ah (oath of allegiance) on his neck, dies a death of jahiliyyah (ignorance)." (Narrated by Muslim)
Accordingly, Islam is an indivisible whole, and the call to it is one: to apply it in the state, life, and society. Whoever separates Allah’s verses and calls for the separation of religion from life, or the separation of religion from politics, has committed a great sin and a major crime that leads its perpetrator to disgrace in this world and painful punishment in the Hereafter.
In conclusion, Allah (swt) mentioned supplication (du'a) between the four verses of fasting in Surah Al-Baqarah, where He (swt) said:
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ "And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided." (Al-Baqarah [2]: 186)
The separation between two related things is evidence that the separator is intentional. Allah (swt) commanded fasting, then commanded supplication, then completed the verses of fasting to glorify the status of supplication. So, increase your supplications in Ramadan, for the Messenger of Allah (saw) says in the honorable Hadith narrated by Ahmad on the authority of Abu Hurairah:
ثَلَاثَةٌ لَا تُرَدُّ دَعْوَتُهُمْ: الْإِمَامُ الْعَادِلُ، وَالصَّائِمُ حَتَّى يُفْطِرَ، وَدَعْوَةُ الْمَظْلُومِ تُحْمَلُ عَلَى الْغَمَامِ، وَتُفْتَحُ لَهَا أَبْوَابُ السَّمَاوَاتِ، وَيَقُولُ الرَّبُّ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: وَعِزَّتِي لَأَنْصُرَنَّكَ وَلَوْ بَعْدَ حِينٍ "There are three whose supplication is not rejected: the just leader, the fasting person until he breaks his fast, and the supplication of the oppressed person which is carried above the clouds and for which the gates of heaven are opened, and the Lord, Mighty and Sublime is He, says: 'By My Might, I will surely give you victory, even if it be after a while'."
The mention of supplication among the verses of fasting is an indication of the encouragement for it in the month of fasting, an explanation of its merit, and glad tidings of response, for Allah is Near and Responsive.
Finally, just as we must be keen on fasting so that Allah may be pleased with us and forgive us our past sins, we must also be keen on working to resume the Islamic way of life by establishing the Righteous Khilafah. This is so we may be among the successful in this world by applying Allah's laws, shaded by the banner of the Messenger of Allah (saw), the banner of Al-Uqab, the banner of La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammad Rasulullah. Thus, we shall also be among the successful in the Hereafter, by His permission, shaded by His shade on the day when there is no shade but His shade, achieving success in both worlds—and that is the supreme success.
Wassalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuh.
Your brother, Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah Ameer of Hizb ut Tahrir
Saturday night, completing the month of Sha'ban, for the year 1435 AH.
