الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُمْ مُصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ * أُولَئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُهْتَدُونَ
"Who, when disaster strikes them, say, 'Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.' Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is those who are the [rightly] guided." (TMQ Al-Baqarah [2]: 156-157)
To the dear brothers and sisters, the da’wah carriers in Turkey and Syria, and to the da’wah carriers in general...
To the patient and persevering families in Turkey and Syria, and to the Islamic Ummah in general...
Hizb ut Tahrir offers its condolences for the martyrs of the earthquakes that struck both Turkey and Syria, and asks Allah, the Almighty, the Sublime, to record them with Him among the martyrs of the Hereafter, confirming the hadith agreed upon by Abu Hurairah (ra) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
الشُّهَدَاءُ خَمْسَةٌ الْمَطْعُونُ وَالْمَبْطُونُ وَالْغَرِقُ وَصَاحِبُ الْهَدْمِ وَالشَّهِيدُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ
"...The martyrs are five: the one who dies of the plague, the one who dies of an abdominal disease, the one who drowns, the one who dies under debris, and the martyr in the way of Allah Almighty."
And Sahib al-hadm refers to the one who dies under the rubble.
We pray to Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, to grant a speedy recovery to the wounded and the afflicted, a swift and complete recovery that leaves no trace of illness.
We ask the Almighty for those who survived a good life spent in obedience to Allah ﷻ and obedience to His Messenger ﷺ, as a favor and grace from Allah.
This earthquake disaster has revealed that Islam is deep-rooted in the depths of the Muslims. As they were rescuing their brothers from under the rubble, they were proclaiming Takbir, and the Takbir did not leave their tongues—especially as they rescued a child whose mother gave birth to him and then passed away under the rubble in Jinderes, Afrin region... or as they tried to pull a woman out from under a demolished building in Gaziantep, and she requested a head covering before being pulled out so that her hair would not be exposed... or that man they called out to from under the ruins in the city of Kahramanmaraş to bring him out, and he first requested water for wudu and prayer so as not to miss the time... and during all of this, the Takbir resounded: Allahu Akbar... Allahu Akbar... Allahu Akbar...
Indeed, the believer is not like other people; he knows that the decree of Allah (Al-Qada) cannot be turned back and that it occurs for a wisdom known to Allah ﷻ. Therefore, he is patient with what has befallen him, seeking the pleasure of his Lord. The Prophet ﷺ said in the hadith narrated by Muslim from Suhaib:
عَجَباً لِأَمْرِ الْمُؤْمِنِ إِنَّ أَمْرَهُ كُلَّهُ خَيْرٌ وَلَيْسَ ذَاكَ لِأَحَدٍ إِلَّا لِلْمُؤْمِنِ إِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ سَرَّاءُ شَكَرَ فَكَانَ خَيْراً لَهُ وَإِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ ضَرَّاءُ صَبَرَ فَكَانَ خَيْراً لَهُ
"Wondrous is the affair of the believer, for there is good for him in every matter and this is not the case with anyone except the believer. If he is happy, then he thanks Allah and thus there is good for him, and if he is harmed, then he shows patience and thus there is good for him."
Calamities continue to strike the Muslim lands successively; no country of ours is free from affliction: earthquakes and floods, drought and barrenness, wars and infighting, poverty and hunger... Although what are called "natural disasters" fall within the circle of Al-Qada, taking the necessary precautions and providing correct care for the Muslims without negligence is an obligation upon the state that looks after their affairs. If the Muslims had a Khilafah state, it would have united their word, gathered their ranks, comforted them in their calamities, carried their burdens, cared for their affairs, and taken them by the hand toward every good, making them independent of the aid of others.
May Allah have mercy on our dead, heal our wounded, and take the survivors of this calamity into His care. We repeat what we began with:
الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُمْ مُصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ * أُولَئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُهْتَدُونَ
"Who, when disaster strikes them, say, 'Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.' Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is those who are the [rightly] guided."
Indeed, to Allah we belong, and to Him we shall return.
Your Brother
Ata Bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah
Ameer of Hizb ut Tahrir
18 Rajab 1444 AH
9 February 2023 CE