The Fifth of eight Discourses on ‘Amal,
1st December 2007,
Nizamia Mosque, Tokai, Cape Town, South Africa
The disaster of this last decade has been that through the ignorance and wrong actions of the Arab peoples, genuine teaching of Islam is not only denied to the kuffar but is distorted to the Muslim Nation. The Emirates television station ‘Iqraa’ pumps out an endless stream of pronouncements on the Deen in a sociological bubble, as if what was happening in Dubai simply did not exist.
This is a Deen whose scholars throughout our history always refused to be seen as a priesthood or a special caste, but who now can be observed wearing distinctive robes and underwriting every social process that the kafir world throws up, and licensing as permissible a whole raft of practices in commerce that stand as clearly forbidden in Qur’an and the Fiqh of the Salaf. The so-called extremists, even called insultingly the ‘Islamists’, declare that to put things right they want to establish the Shari‘at as the means to an Islamic society.
They are mistaken, because these men have already crossed over from the Deen of Islam to the European system of law which is based on strict canonic principles which are to be used to encompass human behaviour. In other words, it is a system that in the first instance denies Divine decree, and in the second substitutes human reason and rulings on a people who already live without meaning or purpose.
Of course, we are not denying the Shari‘at or setting it aside – what we must do is recognise the true nature of the Deen and the nature of the Muslim polity. The creation of a Muslim community is dependent on a set of processes – social and personal processes dynamically emerging and mutually sustaining each other.
If we examine the Muwatta’ of Imam Malik, which is universally recognised as the greatest delineation of the Deen ever compiled, we find quite simply that its contents are divided into two major sections. Further, Imam Muslim’s collection of Hadith, modelled structurally on the Muwatta’, follows the same pattern.
The first half of the Muwatta’ gives the detailed rules and practices that are required of us in ‘Ibada. That is: belief in Tawhid, and confirmation of the ultimate Nabawiyyat of the Rasul, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, the detailed analysis and explication of every form of Salat, the parameters of Sawm and Zakat and the Fara’id and Sunnan of Hajj. The second half of the Muwatta’ gives the detailed rules and practices that are required of us in Commerce, its instruments and its methods.
The Deen, therefore, is dependent on the Revelation itself, and the Messenger, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, in his setting down and demonstrating the required Practice. Book – and Practice. So who is it for? Who is the Muslim? Let us look at the opening of the Book. We turn to Qur’an, and Surat al-Baqara (2:1-5):
In the name of Allah, All-Merciful, Most Merciful
Alif Lam Mim
That is the Book, without any doubt.
It contains guidance for those who have Taqwa:
those who have Iman in the Unseen and establish Salat
and spend from what We have provided for them;
those who have Iman in what has been sent down to you
and what was sent down before you, and are certain about the Akhira.
They are the people guided by their Lord.
They are the ones who have success.
So what is it – what is Islam? Let us look at the famous first Hadith in Imam Muslim’s Collection. Among the various important recensions, let us take that of Abu Hurayra, who told us that the Rasul, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:
“Ask me!” The Companions were overcome with awe and could not speak. Then a man came forward facing him, knees to knees, and said, “Rasulullah, what is Islam?” He replied: “You must not associate anything with Allah. Establish Salat and pay the Zakat. Keep the Fast of Ramadan. The man said, “You have told the truth. Now Rasulullah, what is Iman?” He said: “It is that you confirm that you believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, the meeting with Him, the Day of Rising and the Divine Qadr in its entirety.” He replied, “You have told the truth. Now, what is Ihsan?” The Rasul, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, answered: “It is that you worship Allah as if you saw Him, and while you do not see Him, know that he sees you.” The man said, “That is the truth. Now, when will be the Last Day?”
The Rasul, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said, “The one who is asked knows no more than the one who asks. However, some of its signs are: when you see a slave-woman give birth to her master, when you see the barefoot, the naked, the deaf and dumb as masters of the earth, and when you see the herders of the black camels exalting in high buildings.”
The Hadith continues:
The man stood up and moved away. Rasulullah called out, “Bring him back to me!” They searched but could not find him. Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “It was Jibril. He came to teach you when you did not ask yourselves.”
Let us now look at the opening of Al-Muwatta’ and the very first recension in the first chapter:
He said, “Yahya ibn Yahya al-Laythi related to me from Malik ibn Anas from Ibn Shihab that one day ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdalaziz delayed the prayer. ‘Urwa ibn az-Zubayr came and told him that al-Mughira ibn Shu’ba had delayed the prayer one day while he was in Kufa and Abu Mas‘ud al-Ansari had come to him and said, ‘What’s this, Mughira? Don’t you know that the Angel Jibril came down and prayed and the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, prayed. Then he prayed again, and the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, prayed. Then he prayed again, and the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, prayed. Then he prayed again, and the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, prayed. Then Jibril said, “This is what you have been ordered to do.”’ ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdalaziz said, “Be sure of what you relate, ‘Urwa. Was it definitely Jibril who established the time of the prayer for the Messenger of Allah.” ‘Urwa said, “That is how it was related to Bashir ibn Abi Mas‘ud al-Ansari by his father.”
Here we have three distinct indications of what we are dealing with in taking on Islam, protecting it, and spreading it. It is a Divine transaction, dependent for its Revelation and emergence in the in-time reality, on an angelic transmission, and a delivery of the teaching and the Message, by the chosen final Messenger of mankind to – and at this point Islam emerges to the man or woman who will take on the Divine and revealed contract – the Muslim men and women. This means that the Divine Event – Qur’an and Messenger, and the angelic dimension in the Ghayb – all this was for me, for you, for the Muslim. This is why we are doomed to triumph, success and victory.
Only once this is understood can talk of Shari‘at take place. Islam in its fullness is Jama’at – gathering. Even three travelling Muslims fall under the rule of Islam. One is an Amir. The Messenger, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, warned us against travelling alone, saying that Shaytan is with the solitary. The Jama’at, not just one Muslim, is required for Islam in its fullness to emerge. That in turn requires an appointment from among them of an Amir. Only then can the Jama’at proceed from Salat to Sawm and Zakat. Hajj is itself a journey, and so in turn it is dependent on an Amir.
This permits us to say that the emergence of the Amir, to whom Bay’at, that is allegiance, has been made, means at the same moment the Shari‘at has emerged. The recognition of leadership, Amirate, is dependent on a prior recognition and knowledge of what a Muslim man is. In Sahih Muslim we find that Ibn ‘Umar reported that Rasulullah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, declared: “You will find that people are like a hundred camels. You will only find one camel that is fit for riding.”
The Sunna, the Practice of the Messenger, lays down the model of behaviour and social practice that defines in turn the Muslim peoples. Islam, therefore, is the social ennoblement of the raw material of the unformed human species, who up until then lie trapped in Jahiliyya, that is humanism, that is arrogance and that in turn is ignorance. In its place comes a new social nexus, that by its nature is both dynamic and elevating. It could be called a competition in qualities. This our Fuqaha called ‘Birr’.
Birr is action – but action which is just. In its root it means ‘solid land’ as opposed to the sea which is ever-changing and unsure. From its root B-R-R also extends B-R-hamza, which is in its verb, ‘to create’, and from its noun, ‘free’, and also ‘innocent’. Not just a naïve innocence but in its Qur’anic usage a very special freedom and innocence. Look at Surat an-An‘am (6:75-79), noting particularly Ayat 78:
Because of that We showed Ibrahim the dominions of the heavens and the earth
so that he might be one of the people of certainty.
When night covered him he saw a star and said, “This is my Lord!”
Then when it set he said, “I do not love what sets.”
Then when he saw the moon come up he said, “This is my Lord!”
Then when it set he said, “If my Lord does not guide me,
I will be one of the misguided people.”
Then when he saw the sun come up he said,
“This is my Lord! This is greater!”
Then when it set he said, “My people, I am free of what you associate with Allah!
I have turned my face to Him
Who brought the heavens and earth into being,
a pure natural believer.
I am not one of the Mushrikun.”
Let us look again at Ayat 78:
Then when he saw the sun come up he said, “This is my Lord! This is greater!”
Then when it set he said, “My people, I am free of what you associate with Allah!
Now, read in the Arabic:
“My people, I am free of what you associate with Allah!”
This ‘Barri’ is from Birr which we have been talking about. This allows us to say that the just action is of its nature and value and meaning that the actor acts in order to demonstrate that it confirms that the doer does not associate any power with Allah’s Power. So Birr is the dynamic of living Islam. This is transmitted through Habib in Sahih Muslim:
Yazid ibn Abu Habib reported that Na‘im, the freed slave of Umm Salama reported to him that ‘Abdallah ibn Amr said: “There came to the Messenger a young man who said, ‘I pledge allegiance to your Hijra and Jihad, seeking only reward from Allah.’ He was asked, ‘Are one of your parents living?’ He replied, ‘Yes, of course, both are alive.’ He was then asked, ‘Do you want to seek a reward from Allah?’ He said, ‘Yes, I do,’ at which the Rasulullah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said, ‘Go back to your parents and treat them kindly.’”
Now we go to Qur’an, and Surat al-Isra’ (17:23-25):
Your Lord has decreed that you should worship none but Him,
and that you should show kindness to your parents.
Whether one or both of them reach old age with you,
do not say “Ugh!” to them out of irritation
and do not be harsh with them
but speak to them with gentleness and generosity.
Take them under your wing, out of mercy, with due humility
and say: “Lord, show mercy to them
as they did in looking after me when I was small.”
Your Lord knows best what is in your selves.
If you are salihun, He is Ever-Forgiving to the remorseful.
Thus this Hadith and this passage of Qur’an you can see are identical in their message, and so we have the first foundational order of Birr. The Muslim is also enjoined to keep amicable relations with his fellow Muslim. Abu Hurayra in our Sahih listed the acts of guidance from Rasul, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, thus:
Avoid suspicion, for it is the worst thing in talk. Do not be inquisitive about one another. Do not spy on one another. Do not envy anything of the other. Do not maintain a hostility against another. Do not bid against the other, in commerce, when he has made his bid. The Muslim is the brother of the Muslim. Do not oppress him. Do not humiliate him. Do not look down on him. All things of a Muslim are inviolable to other Muslims: his blood, his wealth, and his honour. “Allah does not look at your bodies, nor your faces, but he looks at your hearts” – and the Rasul pointed to his heart with his fingers.
Thawban, the freed slave of Rasulullah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, reported:
The Messenger said: “He who visits the sick continues to remain in the Khurfat al-Jannah until he returns.” He was asked, “What is the Khurfat al-Jannah?” He answered, “It is a place full of ripe fruit.”
And lastly, from Abu Hurayra:
Rasulullah told that a man set out to visit his brother Muslim in another town. Allah sent an Angel to wait for him on his way. He did so and stopped the man, asking, “Where are you going?” He said, “I intend to visit my brother Muslim in this town.” “Has he done you some favour?” asked the Angel. “No,” came the reply, “except that I love him for the sake of Allah, ‘Azza wa Jalla.” The Angel told him, “I have been sent to you from Allah to tell you that Allah loves you as you love him for Allah’s sake.”
These social norms indicate the existence of a genuine working Jama’at. Birr is the active evidence of the new Nomos on the earth. Islam.
Today we are witnessing the final enactment of the globalist kafir system. It has no ideology. It has no metaphysic. It has not even a leader. It is held together by a self-hating and mutually hating caucus of men from the dregs of human society. Devoid of background, upbringing or genetic quality. Racaille – the scum of the earth.
From where do they derive their illusion of power? Not from themselves. Not from their military strength – even they know it could only lead to mutual destruction. Not from their financial system which they already know is mathematically structured to come to an inevitable collapse. Their strength – their illusion of power, is uniquely based on a massively complex patterning of gas and petrol piping across the enormous land mass of western Asia and now spread across all Europe and the Middle East. Its epicentre is not the USA. It is Russia.
The once total hegemonic power of the USA based on the financial (paper and numbers) system has had to yield to the networked commodity wealth and control of Russia. The USA’s last bid to control and halt this ascendance of commodity over finance was in the desperate bid to break the all-encompassing circuitry of gas-and-oil by an invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan. The failure of the first and the therefore inevitable collapse of the latter, insures a kafir unitary system covering the great land mass of the world. If you set up a map of present and planned pipelines you would see that the power of the money-regime of the USA is already spent, and the pipeline system has basically won. Allah explains our situation in Surat al-‘Ankabut (29:41- 45):
The metaphor of those who take protectors besides Allah
is that of a spider which builds itself a house;
but no house is flimsier than a spider’s house, if they only knew.
Allah knows what you call upon besides Himself.
He is the Almighty, the All-Wise.
Such metaphors – We devise them for mankind;
but only those with knowledge understand them.
Allah created the heavens and the earth with truth.
There is certainly a Sign in that for the Muminun.
Recite what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish Salat.
Salat precludes indecency and wrongdoing. And remembrance of Allah is greater still.
Allah knows what you do.
It is in the illumination that we receive from these Ayats that we can see that the new Nomos, Islam, will sweep away the Spider’s Web of Pipeline power. The people of Dhikr of Allah are already transcending the massive attempt to define Islam as nihilist and passéiste frenzy.
Birr will overwhelm the darkness. And from that will emerge the highest kind of men, the men who will rise from Birr to the Brotherhood of Futuwwa. Again the Awliya will walk, and are already walking, the earth.
