Dear Muslims:

As Believers are gathering and making preparations to leave the lands of kufr, the kuffar are busy passing more homosexual freedom laws, including one to make it permissible for two men to freely have intercourse in a public toilet area, astaghfir'llah! The Believers are showing that they are alive and aware, ready to face yet another major challenge in the history of Islam. This challenge is Hijrah!

However, there are forces posing as Muslims who are busy keeping false information and falsehood brewing, then passing it off to innocent students in Islam who are full of zeal to be involved in Islamic revolution. These forces are the brothers of Shaitan, and they are hard at work falsely accusing our Muslim brothers in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan of not ruling with Shari'ah.

These forces use slander, paranoia, and anaology of Khilaalfa to sway their opinion over the gullible, talibati ul 'ilm fi al ummah (students of the ummah). Those who become entangled in their web behave too much like parrots repeating what their teacher has told them. And the sad part is that they hold fast to their ignorance as if they are afraid to be wrong. I, myself, was in the Islamic State and witnessed a land ruled by Shari'ah. Yet, still, a member of this group by the name of Hisbah-tahir, told me their amirs sent a delegation. They referred to a letter that was based on either strategy or propaganda, without remembering when the Prophet sula llahu alahi wa salaam sent Massud Ithakafi into the Qurayshi army as a part of strategy. The attitude of every talib (student) should be to seek to understand and verify the truth, then make their judgement.

The Mujaahidin are brothers of one another, and Allah has said to the Muslims that the disbelievers are of each other and the Believers are the brothers of one another. So we see the Believers in the last days refusing to slander or even harm a strand of hair of one of his brothers who are fighting or working to establish and implement shari'ah. The Believers fight the kuffar and the hypocrites and are harsh toward them, while making a thousand excuses for their Muslim brothers, because they fight to forbid the evil and make clear the path of Allah. It is not right for any Muslim to accuse our Mujahideen brothers who have shed their blood for the sake of Islam of not implementing full Shari'ah.

The Mujaahidin have fought very hard to establish the Shari'ah, and they continue to suffer because of their refusal to bow to the pressures of the kuffar and oppressive. Our Muslim brother, Usaamah bin Laadin has given his alegience to the Islamic state. And Bill Clinton, who has helped to massacre hundreds of thousands of innocent children, women and elderly in Iraq, walks free to convince the world that the Mujahideen are terrorists, and Afghanistan is home to the world's most deadly killer. Can this be right? And why would any Muslim openly side with this opinion directly or, even indirectly.

Our advice to all Muslims is to continue to strive for the truth and keep to the straight and narrow. Do not sway too much to the right, nor too much to the left. Let us all make hijrah away from the lands of the kuffar and be content with leaving the lands of oppression. Let us never look back as we say good-bye, until we meet in higher iman. Iman starts with enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong, after fully understanding the issues linked with the Shari'ah.

As for those who are working very hard to send messages of slander and confusion in order to destroy the hopes of the believers who want shari'ah, we must extinguish them by leaving them behind to enjoin what Allah has forbidden. Maybe they will then realize that their efforts were useless.

THE WAY TO KHILAAFA
Following Verses Before Analogy

As we all know the situation of the Ummah, of the Muslim Nation now. It is not all that good, that is if we are allowed to call ourselves a Nation anymore. As you know from the Qur`an that Allah (SWT) condemned divisions, we are much beyond that condemnation as well, we are not even divisions. We are individuals. Divisions -- it is about groups and grouping, attacking each other, and fighting with each other. We are more to be individuals, fighting each other, and attacking each other. Not even groups anymore. So this is to higlight how serious is the situation, and how it is a mockery if we can call ourselves an Ummah anymore. We are just individuals scattered all over the place. And because of the situation again, and the state of the whole entire world, of the zinah, of the non-ruling by Allah's Shariah, of the oppression of Muslims, distress of Muslim brothers and sisters. Muslims leaving the so called Islamic countries and going to live on the pavements of Europe, asking them for charity and grants to study. To become just like them, except when the call for prayer comes, we knock four rakaahs, and then we go back like elastic to the same way. What the Kafir is living. With some Islamic activity every now and then, like a sleeping tablet, to make sure that our conscience is still kicking.

However this situation, and the people who are so called, Muslim leaders, aligning themselves to the West and to the East. Giving dignities to non- Muslims in Muslim lands. The occupation of Jerusalem, Al-Quds, to become in the hand of Jews. The occupation of the peninsula, to become in the hand of the Americans. The occupation of the entire Muslim authority, to become in the hands of a bunch of crooks, Lesbians, gays, liberty takers and there is no Muslim authority on Earth. All this situation provokes the thinking, and highlight the need, for the Islamic Authority which many of us think that can only be done by Khilaafah. By the existence of the Islamic State.

And because of that term, many people think that the Islamic State, in itself, the Khilafah itself, is the solution for everything. And people think about Khilafah and the Islamic State in different ways. Everyone uses that term for his own methodology, for his own things, to call people for his own tactics, and to design methods for his own tactics, and also to practice his own tactics among the people. Especially here in Europe, the idea and the necessity for the Khilaafah, comes as a priority more than anything else. And some of these ideas have solid truth, while others are not founded by Islamic verses or even Islamic behaviors.

This is why I am not here to discuss what you have in your mind. I'm here to define the term, or to highlight the importance of that topic, or that thing, khilafah in itself, and then, insha Allah, after that short talk, I will open the floor for questioning. To see what you have in your mind and if it is approved by Ahlul-sunnah wal-jamaah according to my knowledge, insha'Allah, we'll agree for that. If it is not approved by Ahlul-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah, I hope I can answer any doubts about it.

That was why the talk about Khilaafah went on into the Ummah, propagating very fast, creating arguments and no practicle solution.

What is the Khilafah really?
What is the legitimate islamic Khilafah?
Is it authority?

The Khilaafah, to be called Khilaafah, it must have some important features and categories. Such as authority on Earth, the Islamic authority on Earth. To order Muslims all over the world, and every Muslim should have the obligation to follow the khilaafah.

So authority without Kingdom or Islamic Shariah, Islamic understanding, Islamic ruling, without Kingdom. It is not Khilaafah. And also Kingdom without applying Islam, it is not khilaafah. Khilaafah is both, a kingdom who has the capacity to deliver safety for Muslims all over the World, accomodation for Muslims all over the World, dignity for Muslims all over the World. Also it is capable to deliver punishment for anti-Islam all over the World, and threat to any power challenge Islam all over the World.

So talking about Islamic knowledge and Islamic verses and Islamic State, without having strong sword, or a needle, to actually sting the enemies of Islam. It is not a Khilaafah and it is not accepted as khilaafah.

I am saying this because many people think still, that if we have, for example, a couple of hundred square kilometres, that we can establish khilaafah. That is not the case, you can establish Emarah. Emarah which is a leadership who are applying the Islamic Shariah within it's boundary, and can accomodate certain kind of people, not much, and also has to mind it's own buisiness because of it's status as a small, very little, space. This cannot be called Khilaafah.

And not because we don't have Khilaafah we can get somebody who is, his grandparents were from Quraish, and we call him, "Here, we don't have a Khalifah, here, you are the Khalifah, we give you bai`a and thats it. We don't have a Khalifah and now we are having a Khalifah." That is not, again, Khilaafah. That will be like calling the salt, sugar, but you will only taste and know that when you apply it for your drink. You will know it's a false name, it doesn't change from it's characteristics, anything. So this is the basic understanding to Ahlul-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah with regard to the Islamic term Khilaafah.

So for us to have Khilaafah we must struggle and strive for these two things. The Shariah to us, by learning it, propagating it, applying it amongst ourselves, making sure that those who are in our household are obliged to follow it, whether they are wives, sisters, children. And ourselves we also answerable to the Shariah and Shariah matters. Not only that, if we cannot apply it, it becomes a necessity for doing Hijrah i.e emigrating to some place that we can, if we cannot apply the Shariah, it should be applied on us. So this is in short how do we achieve the first component of the Khilaafah. Which is Shariah. Knowledge, appliance, hijrah, preparing to defend the Shariah.

The second most important thing to get that term Khilaafah right. After knowing the Shariah, because the Shariah is the Manhaj and is the boundary and is the lubrication amongst themselves within the Islamic State, how to behave, how to move. And without that it will not work.

The second component is to get the authority. To get the authority which will impose that Shariah, from the ideas which are in the books, and the revelations which are in the boks, to a practicle, working, sound laws upon people and capable of punishing those who want to go out of that Shariah.

And this has to be done in three stages. To get the authority and the capability to actually integrate the Shariah into practice. It has to be done in three stages.

The first stage is the destruction of the enemies of the Shariah. The full destruction of the enemies of the Shariah. Slowly and sytematically. Which is called in arabic 'Shwakat al-nikiyyah', 'the authority of bleeding the enemies who are stopping Islam and the Shariah of Islam.' This is done, not only from the idea, but also in the time of Rasulullah (SAW). Fighting the Quraish, who were the biggest enemies of Islam at the time. The Rasulullah (SAW) foght them, killed their fighters, took their women, and took their children, as sabiyyah, which are captives. He actually stopped their caravans. He made them bleed to death, economically, and made them bleed to death with regard to fighting, until they got weaker and weaker and eventually surrendered.

Then comes the second stage. Now he has bleeden the enemy, and this is what we should do exactly. Bleed the enemies because we don't have capability yet to overcome him. After the enemy is bleeding, badly bleeding, face down into his knees, surrender, ready to be slaughtered. Then if there is any need to keep some of them, all of the enemies should be kept, and if no need, they should be slaughtered without ever feeling sorry about it.

The second stage of achieving that authority is to make sure after the enemy is bleeding and surrendered. To make sure that it is subdued, and all it's capability and all it's belongings, becomes as a booty for the Islamic State. Now this is a Kingdom which applies the Islamic rules. Still not Khilaafah yet, it can be called Khilaafah, yes, but it did not achieve yet, the proper meaning which is wanted from Allah (SWT) for Khilaafah.

After you control the enemies of Islam within your land. Here you go and you try for the third stage of that authority, which is the real stage of khilaafah. Which is asking the enemies or the neutral, even, people around the area, whether they are Jews, Christians, fireworshippers, cow worshippers, needle- eye worshippers. They must pay the tax for the Ummah and they must be ruled by Islamic Shariah even if they are not Muslims.

"..until they pay their duty for Muslims, hand-by-hand and with indignity, with humiliation."

They must be indignified because a kafir or non-Muslim, if he is elevated, if he is dignified, then he is a source of temptations for Muslims to follow his method, to follow his dressing, to follow his talking, to follow even his religion. So this is the third stage with regard to applying the authority.

The more you apply the authority, the more and the nearer you get to the proper term Khilaafah. Before you get to that full term you still are not applying the term Khilaafah, but never the less, you are on the right track. This is why that was the same stages taken by the Sahaabas (RAA). If you notice, Rasulullah (SAW), he was bleeding the enemies of Islam. Then he had control after their biggest enemy fell down. Then he controlled his area, then he was sending, his armies here and there, control the surrounding area to that Islamic State which he had authority on. Until the time of Umar (RAA) it was actually propagated. It should have been earlier, but Abu Bakr Sadiqq (RAA) he was engaged, so engaged for those who became apostates after Rasulullah (SAW) died. Those who refused to pay the zakat. So the Ummah was bleeding internally and he had to do some stitches here and there, and to pick some necks here and there. So to stabilise the capital of Muslims because, Muslims they do not believe that we don't again anymore land if we are not controlling our own.

So that is the Fiqh of Abu Bakr Sadiqq (RAA) and he fought people who were saying la ilaha ilallah, and they were doing alot of Islam, just because they stopped one Shariah, which is paying the zakah. That is why it was delayed to control the Persians and the Romans in the time of Abu Bakr Sadiqq (RAA) because he was busy internally. Once this problem was finished, then Muslims, with the help of Allah, fully trained, were always in the heat of war. It was easy for them to swallow the two empires in no time and to challenge even Rome and at it's might, come to the gates of Paris, taking the Caucuses, taking the Balkans, taking everywhere. It was just a trip, as they walk, they earn, as they walk they gain, as they oppress the enemies of Allah (SWT) and give people the light and give people the Da`wah. Also bring back home -- the Land of Hjrah -- the Centre of Islam, a lot of booties, a lot of wealth, a lot of safety, a lot of dignity, a lot of security, and a lot of hope, a lot of love for Allah (SWT). Surely many people when they have security and they have maintenance they do worship Allah in ease. Sometimes, some of them they have fitnah because of these gifts but, usually it is better that Muslims are not oppressed and not poor, because poverty could cause kufr as you see in Africa. People now leaving Islam because of a piece of bread and some earthly matters.

However this is why in Islam. Islam is very keen and the Qur`an is very keen. That a Muslim should be strict with regard to the Shariah within himself, this is to help himself, and not to become a harmed body, or a destructing element in the Islamic State. And the second most important thing, the Qur`an looked after that a capability of a Muslim to protect himself and to protect the Islamic State and to become a threat and a source of terror to the enemies of Islam. This is why Allah (SWT) said to the Muslims as an order,

"And you should prepare for them, most of your ability, to most of your ability, whatever from the power. Prepare for them the best you can of power."

Here power is not translated as many people would like it to be translated. Power here is not to have an Off-License, is not to have a buisiness, is not to have a degree. No, power here in the correct hadith, the Rasulullah (SAW) have explained this ayah. Three times he said (SAW), "Most surely power is shooting, most surely power is shooting, most surely power is shooting."

Then he said in the other hadiths,

"There is not one of the Ummah, there is not one of us, those who learn shooting and they forgot it."

Why? This Ummah survives in the Qur`an as a manhaj and in the sword as a protection. So if you leave your protection, you are lost, you are not anchored, you are not protected, you are not respected. And also not only that, it is an order from Allah (SWT) for us to train and to be ready, but also it is an order from Allah (SWT) to establish the Islamic State. By saying not really the Islamic State is wanted, what is wanted is the forbidding of the wrong and the establishing of the good, that can only be done through the Islamic State.

The Islamic State is not an aim, this is a means, and for those who think the Islamic State is an aim, they know nothing about the religion of Allah. It is only one of the fruits on the way, it is not the fruit that we should lay down and sit underneath it and say, alhamdulillah we have Islamic State now, let us go and build this and build that.

No, no. The Sahaaba they did not go and learn medicine and learn engineering. Even when the Ka`ba was burned they had to get a Christian person to rebuild the Ka`ba. Why? They are so busy, running after the enemies and taking their belongings and bringing the Islamic State. When they go and take over the country, they take everything in the country. They take the banks, it's leaders, it's scientists, everything. Then these scienctists they teach the children of Muslims, later one, Muslim children they become most knowledgable, most capable. But if they go and learn, everyone has a degree, there will be no fighters -- no fightters no authority -- no authority, then give me your backside and I'll kick it. And this is exactly what is happening now. We have millions of doctors, millions of engineers, but not even a hundred of dignified persons who will be protected. Who the enemies will say, "This is a no go are for me, I can't go there."

So Allah (SWT) not also that He looked after the second component of the Islamic State which is ordering us to train. He also orders fight them,

"And fight them until there is no fitnah."

And fitnah here is explained by the Qur`an, not as the fitnah which is explained by the untrustworthy scholar, "Oh, don't shout. This is fitnah. Don't fight your Muslim brother." He means by Muslim brother, the one who are protecting the banks and who's protecting Jews and Christians and staying in the border, not to protect the border from the Jews, to protect the Jews from the people. Then he tells you, "He's a good brother, he's got a long beard, don't fight."

The fitnah defined in Allah's book is that if Islam is not applied in full. This is the fitnah. So Allah said,

"Fight them until there is no fitnah and the whole of the religion becomes for Allah."

This ayah has been repeated in Surah ulBaqarah and also Surah ulAnfaal, 'The Spoils of War'. So the fitnah defined by Allah (SWT) is when something is not applied from the Islamic Shariah. This is fitnah, and the scholars have said the five most important things in Islam. Number one is religion, number two is honour, number three is souls, number four is mind i.e you can sacrifice things not to go crazy, but this is the sequence, number five is money. This is why, if you fight for the religion you are shaheed, if you fight for your honour you are shaheed, if you fight for your soul, defending your soul, you are shaheed. If you fight for your mentality and your mind and your right, your shaheed. If you fight for your money, you are shaheed. All with the verses of Rasulullah (SAW).

And this is the sequence. To sacrifice your soul because of the religion is correct. To sacrifice your honour because of the religion is correct. To sacrifice your honour because of your soul it is not correct. Your honour becomes more than your soul, because if you die, you are shaheed. To sacrifice your money because of your soul, you are correct. But to sacrifice your soul because of your money, it is incorrect, unless you are going to be taken as a coward, and you are supported by the hadith.

So those are the most important five elements with regard to what to apply in sequence. If somebody said to you, "Yeah, you're gonna fight you're gonna get killed, you're gonna cause fitnah." You say, "Yes, it is not because of earthly matters, this is because of the religion of Allah." And Allah divided us in two groups, those who fight in the Cause of Allah, they are the followers of Allah, and those who fight in the cause of other than Allah's Cause, they are the followers of Shaytan in Surat An-Nisa. This is what Allah (SWT) has said. So He said also,

"Fight in the Cause of Allah until there is no fitnah and the whole of the religion is for Allah."

Not only that. He goes on, "Fighting has been made obligatory for you."

Exactly that ayah comes, with what?

"Fasting has been made obligatory for you."

One ayah for fasting, hundreds of ayah for fighting. We celebrate Ramadan two months before it comes, and two month after it goes, and it is only one ayah in the Qur`an. There's tens of ayahs in the Qur`an with regard to fighting, promising punishment, we take no notice.

"Fighting has been made obligatory for you."

You have to fight and if you don't find a place to fight, FIND a place to fight. LOOK, go and pick on the enemies of Allah, until they fight you and you fight them. You go and pick, I mean it, this is what this verse in the Qur`an means. Is to go for the enemies of Allah, you pick on them, until they go under the Islamic State or they should be on the run.

Fighting will never stop, because of the hadith of rasulullah (SAW), "There will always be a party of this ummah. Fighting until the last hour comes."

In the other hadith,

"Fighting until the last of them fight alongside Eesa ibn Maryam (AS) and until the Dajjal comes."

So it will always, these are the description of the Victorious Party.

Then not only that Allah (SWT) have said,

"If you do not fight. He will impose suffering on you, and He will punish you harshly and hardly."

Allah does not punish harshley and hard for something which is not compulsory. But it is compulsory.

"Fighting has been made obligatory on you though you dislike it."

Allah knows that we dislike to fight. Everybody even the Sahaaba, some of them they disliked to fight. But when it becomes an obligation, when it comes that there is no Islamic State, when it becomes that there is no authority of Islam. When it becomes Islam under the threat or Muslims under the threat, brother, sister, children, then it becomes obligatory, you can't escape it. It's exactly like when the time comes for the salah, somebody calls the adhan for the salah, and when the time comes for the survival of the Ummah, somebody calls the alarm for Jihad, and there when it becomes obligatory for everybody.

So not only that he promised suffering, not only that, but also He promised good reward for those who respond to Allah (SWT). And He gave a special oath to them. When Allah (SWT) said,

"Allah (SWT) have purcahsed from the believers their souls and their money so that they will have paradise and reward."

What is the description in the same ayah?

"They fight in the Cause of Allah."

He (SWT) didn't say,

"They perform Jihad in the Cause of Allah."

Because many people misuse the term. He said,

"They fight in the Cause of Allah, they kill in the Cause of Allah and they get killed in the Cause of Allah. A true pledge from Him (SWT) in the Torah and in the injeel and also in the Qur`an and who can deliver better than Allah (SWT) and get glad tidings with your purchase/contract of what you have and indeed this is the great honour and the great success."

So they have a special oath also from Allah (SWT) those who respond to this hard obligation.

Not only that, my dear brothers, but also Allah (SWT) has indicated that at times you will not have a group to fight with. You will have to do it alone. He said again you fight alone,

"And fight in the Cause of Allah. You are only responsible about yourself."

So fight even alone,

"Fight alone in the Cause of Allah, you are only responsible about yourself and incite/agitate the believers so Allah (SWT) will stop the evil of those who are the disbelievers."

So this is the prescription, FIGHT, INCITE, then the evil of the disbelievers will damp down, calm down, or even disappear Allah (SWT) promised.

So those are the things which help the Muslims to get the Sword of Islam to protect Islam and Muslims and to bring benefit and push back harm. Islamic State, as we say, without that, without that authority, it is a dream and it will never come back unless we go to this stage. Don't forget, 'The Only Way to Khilafah', is the title for this talk. So this is why we are getting it from the Qur`an and Sunnah.

And those who put these ideas back, or put these orders back, they are not left alone by the Qur`an. No, look what Allah (SWT) said for them. For those who are not training, so that one day they will go for a fight. Allah (SWT) said about them, in the Surah of At-Taubah, the Surah of the Repent, the Sahaaba they called it the Surah of Exposure, the Surah of Munafiqeen. Allah (SWT) said when He talks about the munafiqeen,

"If they wanted to go one day for fight they would have prepared for it, but Allah hated them, hated their way of life or their way of preparation. He made them feel lazy and He said to them, "Sit down back like women with those who sit back."

So Allah (SWT) has mentioned those who are not training, not being ready, not preparing to be a threat for the enemies or asset for Islam. He called them hypocrites. For those who are using other terms saying, "It's a fitnah, I can't fight here and there." Allah also (SWT) said for them, "Some of them they say, "Leave me alone I don't want to be involved in fitnah."

They say this to Rasulullah (SAW), they say Jihad is fitnah, applying the Shariah of Allah on Earth, they say it is fitnah. How did Allah answer them? Allah (SWT) said,

"Indeed they fell down unto their fitnah and Jahannum is surrounding the Kuffar."

Because if you go to the battle field and you desert, you are a sinner. But if you leave Jihad at all you are a kafir. Because some of the sahaaba they deserted from the battle field. They done their best, they went there, they fought there, and at a certain time there was some weakness in their hearts. They thought about their belongings at home, then they fled. They are sinners. It's a big sin, but they're still sinner.

But those who did not go for Jihad saying, "It's fitnah", saying "It's cold", saying "I can't do it." Allah (SWT) called them kuffar, even some of them who attended the battle of Badr. When it came to one battle only, the battle of Tabuk. When they did not attend three of them Rasulullah (SAW) for forty days, he asked the Sahaaba, "Do not talk to them." They used to go to the mosque and say, "Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah", nobody answered them. Nobody answered them.

And after forty days Rasulullah (SAW) he sent for them, "Leave your wives, you are not allowed to stay with your wives, you are not allowed to intercourse with your wives." One of them was nearly sixty years old. His name is Hilal ibn Umaiya, his wife she said, Hilal is a big Shaikh, he is a big old man, he needs me to serve him." Then Rasulullah (SAW) said, "But don't let him to touch you." You see, this is how serious it is. Very, very serious and after fifty days because they have alot of temptations from kuffar to join them and alot of hasad and alot of repentance and alot of Qiyamul Layli. Just because one battle. Then Allah (SWT) answered their taubah and they were very very happy.

Yes, there was indeed those who make false excuses. Whom Rasulullah (SAW) he does not have access to their heart, but Allah (SWT) said about these, their punishment will be on the Day of Judgement. They live as hypocrites amongst muslims, they are not known, they can defend themselves very well, nobody can accuse them of anything, but Allah knows them.

So this is the punishment for those who leave training, and this is the punishment for those who leave fighting, and this is the threat from Allah (SWT) when He talks about those who leaves the fighting. And in another ayah He said, for those who make excuses and they are lying. He said,

"Leave them alone, they are dirt, and their final destination it will be in Jahannum."

Why? Why my dear brothers? Because when Jihad becomes an obligation, it is not an obligation because of whims or some fantasy to the Khalifah, or the person in authority, or to the individual. It becomes a compulsory because there are threats, there are Muslim sisters getting raped, there are Muslim brothers getting oppressed, there is no authority for Islam. Alot of temptations to go to the West, alot of temptations to leave Islam, alot of temptations to leave Hijab, alot of temptations to do sins. Then it becomes compulsory.

And for those who denounce that obligation at these times and for those who do not share to bring back the Islamic State and to fix the Muslim house. Those are the criminals in the eye of Allah (SWT) in the sight of Allah they are criminals, because they want to enjoy and make benefit out of the apostasy or out of kufr or out of sins. So selfish, as if Allah (SWT) will put them in the Fire if they die, they don't want to die, no hope for Jannah, no hope for the oath.

This is why Allah (SWT) have called them criminals, because they are very, very selfish, they don't look after the orphans, they don't try to strip the kuffar out of authority, and this is the fitnah. When kuffar or non-Muslims are in authority, it's everyday you are losing people. You are losing people, even if they are Muslim, you are losing from mentality, you are losing from their idea, you are losing from their sincerity, you are losing from their sincerity, you are losing from their intention, and you losing from their morals aswell. This is as well as you are losing hundreds of thousands of people who cannot feed themselves and have change and to become Christians, Jews, or Fireworshipers because of the food. Go to the church to have a piece of bread, after a while, you will see a very nice golden cross, free gift from him. This is what is happening my dear brothers. And this is why Allah (SWT) called these kinds of people criminals.

But the hadith of Rasulullah (SAW) to show the kind of people to teach, to show what is the reality behind these people who are fighting. Rasulullah (SAW) in many hadith he said, "Those are the Victorious Party." to fight in the Cause of Allah you become one of the Victorious Party. There is the Saved Group and amongst the Saved Group there is a party which are the Victorious Party. This Victorious party will always fight, whether fighting is an obligation or not an obligation. Whether Islam is under threat or not under threat, these kinds of people are the Victorious party, by definition from Rasulullah (SAW), by definition from Allah (SWT). Whether we like it or not, whether we accept it or not, they are the best of the Ummah, those who protect Islam even if Islam doesn't need protection. Those who oppress anti-Muslims, even if they are doing no harm to Muslims, but to drain them out, to make sure not only that they are not a threat now, but they will never become a threat in the future.

Plus, if we don't fight. How are we going to know the elite of the Ummah? Anybody can give a nice talk much better than me, so if it comes down to talks, the Victorious Party they have no part. They are always busy with the enemies. They can't even join two sentences together, they are not having big mouth like myself. They are concentrating in fighting and protecting. So we are going to end up with a bunch of BLAH, BLAH, YUPPY, YUPPY, leading the Ummah. And the sincere people, the beloved people by Allah, they are gonna look, of course, ugly. This one hasn't got an eye, this one hasn't got a leg, this one hasn't got a head. This one hasn't got anything. They are so busy they have not had enough education.

So you are going to end up with a suit-and-tie Khalifah. Which is a joke, a big joke. No, in the battlefield you know your Islam, you know how dear Allah is to your heart, you challenge your Shaytan and yourself, and you prove that you are a man or just a male. This is the importance of the battlefield, is to be there, this is the place of the exam. Would you accept to be treated by a doctor who did not go to the exam?

You would feel worried about yourself and about your body. He's gonna mess about with your kidney, and your spleens and you would not allow him to open your stomach.

But I'm surprised you feel safe with somebody to become a Khalifah and he doesn't know the difference between a hand grenade and a potato! And when any time at any point there is a threat for the Islamic State, you will not find him. You have to go look under the beds and the sofas and things like that, because he's so afraid he's not use to that.

Wa`Allah-hee, I have seen it with my own eyes, there is only one left now! I have seen it in the battlefield, even when people go to the battlefield. When the time comes, when the last hour comes, and the enemy are just about to appear. You will find very good brothers sometimes they are crying, shaking. Why? Because they have been selected to be the cutting edge. And here it becomes very few, very few, if I say maybe one in a thousand, which I have seen. But it does exist there. And when they come back they talk big, this is also there, human nature is there. And I have seen something like that, and when I said, "Why you crying." He said, "I've been selected for the cutting edge." I said, "Why don't you cut?" Then he couldn't answer. There was hundreds of people are willing to replace him and they did. But these places are important.

Don't think the Sahaaba were having easy life. Look at the Sahaaba, some of them they lost parts of their body, some of them they lost their teeth. Owah ibn Zubair the son of Zubair ibn Owah he used to say, "When I was very young I used to play in the wounds of my father." His father used to have alot of wounds in his back and his body. Khalid ibn Walid hundreds of wounds, Obaidah ibn Jajah loosing his teeth. Subhana Allah those are the good people. When they talk, they can't talk properly, they have no teeth. But they are best of Ummah.

Everybody think about the Sahaaba as the very nice people, who are wearing white clothes, never get dirty, they never laugh. They're just very strict like this, and when they catch the plague he says, "Subhan Allah." They are human like me and you. But they are using this jumper, this the body, for us is a jumper to be used. It doesn't matter if you get it old, or if you get it cut. If you get dirty because of Allah (SWT). They are investing in that. It's a place where you find your leaders.

And leaders are amongst you. Young people they go for training. Then they go for the battlefield. Then they have some brothers getting killed. Then they feel sorry for them, and they want to join them back. Then after a while they grow up in the battlefield, and then when people look for leaders, they come from them. They become leaders and this is how it starts and this is how it ends.

These kind of people are the elite of the Ummah. And always the Ummah is preliferating these leaders. If you want to be my Imaam, you must be in the front, you don't pray from behind me. Why the imaam is in front? Is to be copied. Why the Khalifah should be in front? Is to be copied. And for the Khalifah, for the Islamic State, we need the Shariah, and also we need the sword. The Khalifah must have knowledge or atleast must have access to knowledge and he must accept knowledge from Shurah. And he also must be a fighter to protect and to fight and not to be a coward.

So this is important for you to learn. This is important for you to learn from the lessons of the Qur`an and the Sunnah and also to make leaders from amongst yourselves. This is the category.

End of Part I

Listen to the audio The Only Way To Get Khilaafa

BETRAYED BY SHEIKH UTHAIMIN
Saudi Continue To Show Their Loyalty To Taghut

OUR BROTHERS ARE UNDER INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE

For those of you who watch the Chechen videos, who enjoy all the footage from the foreign lands showing the noble Mujaahidin crushing the heads of the kuffar, you have forgotten a verse in the Qur'an.

It is understandable, though. Many people read right over the ayah and they don't pay it any mind.

Allah (SWT) say,

"And fight those near to you from the kuffar."

What we have been forgetting about is the Muslims in the land of jihaad that have been spilling their blood in order to drive back the advance of the apostate regimes, which is a lot more dangerous than the kaafir regimes of the atheists and the Christians and Jews.

One such example is our brothers in Algeria, who are waging a noble campaign against the forces of the Khawaarij on one side, and the forces of the Democratic movements, along with the Marxist government and securtiy forces on another.

Originally, after the Khawaarij had revealed themselves in 1997, the jihaad in Algeria was basically believed to be on stand by.

But out of the wreckage of the GIA came the brothers that would come to be known by many as JSDQ (Jama`at is-Salafiyyah lid-Da`awa walQittaal), the Salafi group for da`awa and fighting.

These brothers are salafi Mujaahidin and try to stick to the way of the early three generations of Islam. It might sound strange saying salafi Mujaahidin, but most of our brothers in Algeria align themselves with the Salafi call, as do our brothers in Chechenya and Daghestaan. These brothers are Salafi in the way that they understand the Names and Attributes of Allah (SWT), but they are not like the Salafis of modern day who stay back from the war with the tyrants. This group of salafi brothers are fighters for Allah (SWT)

These brothers in Algeria have went to the mountains and are continuing the struggle to free the Algerian people from the baby-killing of the Khawaarij and the government and from the Marxism of the Butaflika regime.

The brothers began to send out faxes and messages to the world at large and to let the Muslim world know the events taking place in the land of jihaad in Algeria.

The clear thing to keep in mind is that there brothers aren't just fighting for themselves, they are fighting to build a land for us to make hijrah to, just as the brothers of Afghan.

But it seems now that someone wants this to stop. Enter into the picture Shaikh Muhammad ibn Saalih al`Uthaimin, who has ordered the amir, Abu Hamza Hasan alHattaab, to come down, turn himself in and for his jama`ah to turn in their weapons along with them.

This would bring a permanent end to jihaad in Algeria and West Africa, which would quiet that entire area. To stop the jihaad now would be to leave our Muslim sisters open to the rampaging Khawaarij, who would abuse their bodies and those of their children.

To leave the jihaad in Algeria would leave the people to the government forces of Algeria, who would abuse not only their bodies, but the hearts and souls of the people.

These brothers, YOUR brothers, are trying to stop this great evil, for they are aware of the fatwa of al `Allamah Ibn Hazm (RH) in this regard,

"There is no bigger sin after kufr than to leave jihaad, even behind a faasiq leader, because this implies that the Islamic rules, the Muslim people and even kuffar will start going further from Islam with no one to protect them and bring them to Islam," alMuhallaa, Mas'alaa 900.

Make du`aa for your brothers and you should ask that Allah (SWT) protect them from the whisperings of the demons with beards and pens for fataawa and that they continue on the struggle to bring honour back to this Ummah.

Just as you were vigilant for the brothers in Chechenya and Daghestaan, so you should be more vigilant for the brothers fighting in the Muslim lands.

Make du`aa for your brothers and do not give up on them. Stay informed about the events regarding them. We will keep you posted and we will continue to expose the naked kufr of the rulers and those trying to slow the spread of the religion.

If your time is too constrained to download this picture or save it, tell your brothers and sisters about it with your mouth. Tell them the name of the jama`ah and ask them to make du`aa for them.

Mention the name of the amir and tell them the circumstances. Announce it at your local masjid. But whatever you do, NEVER FORGET!

was-Salaamu `Alaikum wa Rahmatullah

Listen to the Khutba Treachery From Within The Peninsula.

TREACHERY FROM THE PENINSULA
Government Scholars Destroying Islam

One of the greatest things that could ever happen to this Ummah is the evil of the government scholars. It was the government scholars that made it possible for the kuffar to come into the Peninsula.

It was the goverment scholars that made it possible for the usury institutions to come into the Peninsula. Indeed it was the government scholars who made it possible to lose Jerusalem and for permanent peace to be established with the Jews, those who are the greatest enemies of Islam and Muslims.

Now we have one of our most recent examples. The same thing was repeated before by the late Muhammad Naasir ud-Din alAlbaani, when he told the Mujaahidin of the mountains to come down and surrender, and the brothers did. Not long after, alAlbaani died.

They were subsequently slaughtered. Then came the fatwa of Ibn Baz, which allowed people to do the great haraam of entering the parliament and voting in Algeria. When they did that, the government was able to see the size of the Islamic group.

When the size was known, they saw how much of a threat the Islamic movement represented. The tanks and security forces came in and brothers and sisters were slaughtered. Not long after, Ibn Baz died.

Now we get our most recent unpleasant surprise. The second in command of the government scholar dynasty of the Saudi Kingdom, Shaikh Muhammad ibn Saalih al`Uthaimin has sent word in the press to the brothers in Algeria to come down from the mountains and to hand over their weapons, turn in their amir and commit to peace, thus ending jihaad in Algeria.

The message was sent to the only jama`ah that is opposing the hardcore Khawaarij, Ahl ut-Tawhid, alMuwahhidin, at-Takfir walHijrah and some factions of the GIA.

This jama`ah is also opposing the government and security forces. This jama`ah is named Jama`at us-Salafiyyah lid-Da`awati walQittaal. The brothers have been striving well and they have stayed in the mountains to try to enjoin the right.

`Uthaimin addressed them thusly,

"Already, there have been many of our brothers in Algeria, they have handed in weapons and put to an end the fitnah. And they did a lot of good for the youth of Algeria.

"So we hope in Allah, Mighty and Majestic, that you will be the amir (leader) like them very soon."

This statement was delivered on Rabi` alAwwal 14, 1421, and `Uthaimin also sent word that Hassan Hattaab (the amir of the jama`ah) should come down from the mountains and turn himself in to be judged by the laws that are in Algeria (those laws being kaafir laws).

Some from the salafi establishment and other kind brothers might say, "This is just propaganda, all these newspapers ever print is lies."

There is only one problem. That problem is that the news paper that it came from was ash-Sharq alAwsat, which is owned, funded and staffed by the Saudi government. They have printed all of `Uthaimin's and Ibn Baz's previous fataawa before this one in the past.

They would not allow material to come out that would put `Uthaimin in a bad light in their estimation. Thus, this fatwa to them is perfectly fine. Why else would they have put it in the newspaper?

Those interested in reading the fatwa in the original can go to the site, http://www.asharqalawsat.com and check under 12/04/21 for the information we have quoted.

As we have noticed, with each passing year, these government scholars are becoming more and more bold. What will it take for the Ummah to stand up and take notice? Do these scholars have to come out and actually say that there is no Allah (SWT) and flatly pronounce atheism halaal?

Wake up, Muslims, before you oversleep and stay asleep.

WHAT IS TAKFIRI
Avoiding Danger

This is one of the most misunderstood questions that could be put forward in the times of today. It is due to the fact that there are people who use this (takfir) as a tool to subdue others, thus they have a lot to lose in the way of monetary gains and on the social level.

Before we explain what takfiri people are, we have to explain what they are not.

1. Takfiri people are not Khawaarij, for every one of the Khawaarij is takfiri, but not every takfiri is Khawaarij.

2. This is due to the fact as well that the Khawaarij kill for their belief, but the takfiri do not perpetrate this act.

3. Most of the Khawaarij have some knowledge and worship, but this is not necessarily the case with the takfiri.

4. The Khawaarij in addition to this also rule, and have come to rule over most of the Muslim lands today, while the takfiri just rule the minds of their students.

5. The Khawaarij do jihaad and consider themselves when they are killing Muslims to be doing jihaad. As a general rule of thumb, the Takfiriyyah do not do jihaad, but instead many times they accuse the Mujaahidin and the people of jihaad of deviancy in some way. Thus we thought it prudent to explain what they are not before explaining what they are.

6. The Khawaarij are generally pious people who have gone wrong in some manner, but the Takfiriyyah are generally people who need piety, and use the religion as a tool of advancement rather than to learn. Islam then becomes a job, complete with commercialisation and copyright.

7. The Khawaarij kill those who disagree with them. This results in them killing Muslims and sparing the pagans, as has been narrated in an authentic chain from Imaam Muslim.

In explanation now of who the Takfiriyyah are, we must put forward some principles,

1. Takfiri minded people declare Muslims kuffar, with incorrect understandings of Qur'anic ayaat and incorrect use of general evidences in the specific sense and incorrect use of the specific evidence in the general sense.

2. They hand out secret teachings. Thus there is what they teach on the surface, which is already flawed, but they also have their own methodology behind closed doors.

3. They blend principles of takfir and use it to hurt others. This is used to declare as kuffar those who refuse to declare as kuffar who THEY think are kuffar.

4. Those who disagree with them are usually seen as deviant and in some cases kuffar.

5. Those who should decide to leave the group are immediately classed as kuffar, or atleast accused of hypocrisy.

6. Many times, husband has been seperated from wife or vice versa for refusing to render obedience to them. Thus a trick of theirs is to horde the women and if one seeks marriage, their complete obedience is demanded.

7. They usually hint at themselves as the only safe sect and others as somehow less 'Islamic,' as if our grandmothers, sisters and other members of the Ummah are deviant and don't deserve the Paradise.

8. Most of the Ummah are referred to as kuffar, hypocrites or atleast deviants. This is so others will feel hope only is to be found in that group.

9. They usually delve into the haraam and double-dealing to boost their income, as their students by now are groomed to do anything for them.

10. They are very shallow people about imaan, so they only ask about `aqidah.

11. They single themselves out alone with the title of Ahl us-Sunna walJama`ah.

12. Some of the Takfiriyyah are crypto-Khawaarij.

This usually consists of such bizarre statements as, "If you want to be from Ahl us-Sunna, you must believe as we do!" or "We of Ahl us-Sunna walJama`ah," and they are referring to just themselves. They also give themselves, like their Khawaarij predecessors, names that indicate them to be the only people of Tawhid. They usually have names like, Jama`at ulMuslimin (The Muslim Jama`ah), Ahl ut-Tawhid (The People and Keepers of Tawhid), alMuwahhidun (Those who single out Allah alone in His Oneness).

This is serious because it means that only they are Ahl us-Sunna and it also is a way of accusing others of deviancy. Sometimes they just call themselves Ahl us-Sunna outright, completing the first brick in the foundation of the house of takfir. For more information, please see the chapter on the Takfiriyyah and the Khawaarij p. 130-133, in our work, The Khawaarij and Jihaad.

MAJOR SIGNS OF TAKFIRI BEHAVIOUR

One of the greatest things that the takfiri people are known for is their critical analysis of everyone besides themselves. They are usually associated with such comments as, "You have to know the `aqidah of the person before you pray behind them."

This is due to the fact that the takfiri people bear some resemblance to the Khawaarij Baihasiyyah, who held the same opinion. The Baihasiyyah also believed that if the imaam of a masjid becomes a kaafir in their estimation, then the whole congregation also apostates. Please see our work, the Khawaarij and Jihaad, p. 142-143.

The Takfiriyyah have also lifted this principle for their own use. Thus those that join these movements are gradually, unbeknownst to themselves, shoved out of the general public and into an environment where they are only around that group.

These people are then not seen at any other masjid and are not known by anyone else. Former good Muslim brothers and sisters of theirs are no longer associated with and are considered deviant.

The cautious Muslim should also be aware of their techniques for recruitment when he or she is interrogated  with such preliminary questions as, "What is your `aqidah?" The same also happens when the people are speaking of someone in a good light. When the takfiri minded person hears this, he/she joins in with, "How is his/her/their `aqidah?"

The takfiri minded person does not care whether the person is a good Muslim and praying five times a day and outwardly appears to be a Muslim. This is irrelavent to him or her. They want to go right to the affairs of the heart and find reasons for takfir rather than observing the apparent. They only want to know what they like of `aqidah.

This same attitude could be displayed in such characteristics as, "Who is your shaikh? What is your manhaj? How do you feel about today's rulers? What do you think of Shaikh so and so? You know so and so is a kaafir, right?"

Thus from the start, they are testing you. If you pass this test, you are 'on the truth.' If you don't, then you will immediately and swiftly be held to be deviant. This will result in slander campaigns, and if you are married, will trickle into your married life.

Takfiri Instance On The Term 'Aqidah

Another sign to be alert about is the insistance on the affairs of `aqidah alone without any referring back to imaan.This word `aqidah was not used in the first three generations of Islam, but was actually first used in later years by the deviant groups, so they could avoid the action of imaan (belief that is carried out in action).

Technically speaking, `aqidah is the theory, but imaan is the action that is present that proves imaan is present. Thus we can conclude, that everyone will the correct imaan automatically has the correct `aqidah. But the one with the correct `aqidah does not necessarily have the correct imaan. Let us not forget that Allah (SWT) is going to judge and ask us regarding our imaan, not our `aqidah.

The scholars of Ahl us-Sunna, however, took the term `aqidah and used it to defeat the deviant groups. But the takfiri people have picked it up again and are using it as the only tool to know imaan.

There are reasons why this is wrong. The word `aqidah is in reference to the internal beliefs, what a person believes about Allah, His attributes, the angels, the Qur'an, the Sunna and so forth. These are internal matters.

Imaan, however is more comprehensive. It is the action based on the belief, in example, prayer (an action) shows us the apparent that some form of imaan is present. So does giving zakah, fasting, memorising the Qur'an, being shy due to piety, striving in the cause of Allah, etc.

The takfiri person does not want to hear this however. What they want to hear is that you believe this and you believe that. They are not at all interested in your action. They just want to know theory. So they (the takfiri people) can be seen in this instance to be very shallow people.

The takfiri person is also known in many instances to consider a person deviant, kaafir or bid`ii until he first 'proves' that he is a Muslim. Again, this was stolen from the Khawaarij way, as the Aqdasi and Baihasiyyah Khawaarij held this same view.

This is of course a dangerous thing to do, when you see a Muslim who is showing imaan to be in kufr until he proves himself to YOU.

The final and most dangerous thing is that takfiri people build up straw men. A straw man is where a disputant takes something that you don't believe, blows it up and then takes it apart in front of people, 'defeating' you.

However, you never did believe in that thing that they attributed to you in the first place. This causes alienation and usually results in the sheep of the flock holding you to be deviant.

In certain cases, brothers have been attacked and mauled by members of these groups because they have been given false information by their 'scholars.' I ask you to avoid this deception and to stand strong against the fitnah in takfir. This is another step that they take towards the Khawaarij methodology of killing those who differ with them.

Questions and Answers; Troubleshooting The Takfiri

This following question and answer section, insha'allah, might be of help to you to avoid falling into the fitnah of takfir and to speak wisely and with authority to those who might be twisting the evidence.

It might also help you when you try to correct them, for they may retract from their previous position if you are able to contend with them.

The questions will be those put forward by the Takfiriyyah. The answers will be how you should answer.

QUESTION: "You know, Ahmad doesn't belief that King Fahd is a kaafir! He also doubts that the scholars and students supporting Fahd and Husni Mubaarak are kuffar. This makes him a kaafir. Did you know that? Allah says in Surat ulBaqara, ayah 166, Surat ut-Tawba, ayah 31, Surat ulMa'ida, ayah 51 and Surat ulAhzaab, ayah 66 that those who blind follow their scholars will be in the Hell fire forever."

ANSWER: Actually, brother, this is wrong. The issue that is in front of us does not render Ahmad a kaafir. If he doesn't want to make takfir on King Fahd or who you mentioned, he is not a kaafir. The reason why is that this is based on Takfir alMu`ayyin. This takfir is where you actually declare a specific person to be a kaafir. This is what you are doing.

But this takfir is based on ijtihaad (this is independant judgement which is based on observing the reality after examining the text of the Qur'an regarding a certaing matter), and there could be differences. This is the reason why some Sahaaba (RAA) declared alHajjaaj ibn Yusuf ath-Thaqafi a kaafir and others did not.

The Sahaaba (RAA) that didn't label him a kaafir were not classed as kuffar by the other Sahaaba (RAA). There is no evidence for this at all.

Your understanding of saying that due to the fact that he doesn't call King Fahd a kaafir, he becomes a kaafir is a twist of the takfir of the text. The takfir of the text is not based on ijtihaad, but what Allah (SWT) said about a specific person or a people.

An example would be,

"Those who do not believe from among the People of the Book (Jews and Christians) and the pagans, they are in the Hellfire forever, and they are the worst of creation," Surat ulBayyinah, ayah 6

Thus, Allah (SWT) mentioned them by name in the Qur'an. This is the takfir of the text. Allah (SWT) does not allow any difference in this matter. If someone knew this text and willingly denied it, he would go out of the religion. This is the principle of whoever does not call a kaafir a kaafir, he is a kaafir. This principle comes from the takfir of the text.

As far as for the individual, you cannot use this rule. It was not known that Ahl us-Sunna used this in this manner. The takfir of an individual by name would be where one takes a text, i.e. 'Whoever does not rule by what Allah has sent down, then they are kaafirun (unbelievers),' Surat ulMa'ida, ayah 44.

If someone attached this verse to a ruler of today, it is based on ijtihaad, so there could be difference. The ruler, judge or person in question himself is not mentioned, but maybe his actions are mentioned.

But where the differing lies in is whether or not he is guilty of this action, and how much the person who is making takfir knows about this action that the person being made takfir on is doing. Another person might not know the kufr that the person is making, so they might refrain from takfir.

Another person might have more knowledge than the other and will insist on his takfir, but he will not make takfir on that person. This is because this takfir is based on ijtihaad (independent judgement based on a text).

Likewise, this is why Shaikh Muhammad ibn Idrid ash-Shaafi`ii (RH) and Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal had a debate about the person that leaves the prayer. Ahmad said that the person was a kaafir, but Imaam Shaafi`ii disagreed on the grounds that the person was still saying the shahaadah.

After the debate was concluded, these scholars did not declare each other kuffar, did they? No, they didn't. And who told you to give the verdict on what was in the hearts of the people?! If the people are showing Islam, then you are judged as a Muslim until you contradict that.

Ahmad's Islam was not contradicted by his refusal to do takfir almu`ayyin (takfir on a specific individual). He probably doesn't know the reality of ijtihaad or the way to access this reality with the verses, so how could he do takfir almu`ayyin?

As far as the ayah that you quoted from Surat ulBaqarah, it was revealed regarding those who worship the angels and it mentioned that the angels will abandon them. The ayah doesn't mention anything about scholars at ALL you twister!!

As far as its' application, it is a general ayah. We could say this about you. With the other ayaat it is the same thing. They are general. It could be you! Who are you following? How do we know whether or not maybe you are the kaafir or the deviant? This is the danger of tampering with the evidence.

QUESTION: Most of the Muslims today, even in the Muslim countries are hypocrites and have apostated. Maybe even 95% of them have apostated. For if they were real Muslims, then how is it that they have not overthrown their leaders?

ANSWER: The Prophet (SAW) said, "Truly Allah, He would never unite my Ummah upon error, and the hand of Allah is over the Jama`ah" Sahih ulJaami`a, V. 1. He also said, "Two thirds of my Ummah are the people of Paradise," Sahih alBukhaari.

Now you just said that most of them are apostates and hypocrites, but the hadith mentions that they would never unite upon error (dalaalah), much less apostasy!!! It also says that the hand of Allah (SWT) is over the jama`ah. Are you trying to say that Allah (SWT) does not keep his promise?

When the Messenger (SAW) said the statement about the two thirds of the Ummah, you seem to be contradicting that. How could two thirds of the people of the Ummah be hypocrites and apostates when all the deviant groups added up together don't outnumber Ahl us-Sunna? This is the explanation of the hadith above.

Most of the common Muslims, even the poorly educated, are from Ahl us-Sunna. Be merciful and fair to your Muslims brothers.

As far as them overthrowing the rulers, the People of the Trench in Surat ulBuruj didn't overthrow their king, but they practised Islam and sacrificed, and Allah said He was pleased with them in the same Surah in ayah 11.

Just because the people haven't done anything does not mean that they don't believe, for one of the ways of enjoining the right and doing jihaad is with the heart, even though it is the weakest form of imaan, according to the hadith of the Prophet (SAW) in Sahih Muslim, in the book of Imaan, hadith 50 and Sahih ulJaami`a, V. 2, p. 1008, hadith 5790. And here you want to nullify their imaan altogether!!

Have you ever thought about the fact that the people might be scared? Those under coercion have been excused from the charge of takfir in most cases. So how have you abrogated them?!!

This is why Shaikh ulIslam Ibn Taymiyyah (RH) made the following analysis when commenting on Surat ut-Tawba, ayah 31,

"Those who took their priests and rabbis as lords whenever they obeyed them in making halaal what Allah has made haraam and making haraam what Allah has made halaal. As for this, it has two matters,

ONE: That they know that they are replacing the din (religion) of Allah, then they follow them (the rulers) in their replacement (of the Shari`a) and they have firm conviction of making halaal what Allah made haraam and making haraam what Allah made halaal in obedience to their rulers with their knowledge that they are leaving off the religion of the Messenger, then this is kufr.

"And Allah and His Messenger made it shirk, even if they did not pray to them (the rulers) or prostrate to them (the rulers). So whoever follows other than it with opposition to the religion with his knowledge, then he has opposed the religion and has firm conviction of what he said of that besides what Allah and His Messenger said, he is a mushrik (pagan) like them (the rulers).

TWO: "That they have firm conviction and belief of that the haraam was made halaal and the halaal was made haraam. But they obeyed them in disobedience to Allah, just as the Muslim does what he does from disobedience which he has firm conviction that it is disobedience.

"Then these, they have the judgement like them from the people of sins," Majmu`a Fataawa, V. 7, p. 70

Thus one group of people following their priests and rabbis is doing shirk (polytheism), and another, as mentioned above, might be forced or disobedient, but they are still Muslims.

This also answers your previous question regarding this ayaat and Ibn Taymiyyah's (RH) statement can be applied to the other ayaat as well. Likewise, we do not for one moment deny the fact that these rulers in these countries must be overthrown. They remain our first priority since they are apostate rulers. We have been ordered by Allah (SWT),

"And fight those near to you from the kuffar," Surat ut-Tawba, ayah 123

QUESTION: "But in Surat ulBaqarah, people have been seperated into three categories. Your either a Muslim, a hypocrite or a kaafir. Thus these people, including Ahmad have to be one of them. This is what Allah (SWT) has said.

You're trying to say that the Qur'an isn't clear about the hypocrites. You have reduced Islam to Christianity! These people are hypocrites!"

ANSWER: Firstly, it doesn't say that people are seperated into three categories in Surat ulBaqarah. It says that Allah (SWT) seperated people into three categories in Surat ulBaqarah. Allah (SWT) knows the unseen, that is why he sees the hypocrites and the kuffar.

But as far as ourselves, for the most part, we don't always see who the hypocrites are. This is due to the fact that a hypocrite is what according to the Shari`a? A munaafiq (hypocrite) is someone who shows Islam but internalises major kufr. This is based on the definition of nifaaq.

Due to this, we usually only see Muslims and kuffar, unless Allah (SWT) exposes a hypocrite in our midst in this life, which is usually through them denying or trying to get out of the necessity of jihaad, and failing to support the Shari`a. Thus, only Allah (SWT) exposes them to us in this life, or on the Day of Judgement.

This is exactly why when the Prophet (SAW) had the list of hypocrites, he did not order all the women to divorce their hypocrite wives, even though he knew who the hypocrites were. This is because this information was revealed to him, it wasn't just known by him.

Another reason is at this time, he hadn't been given the permission to expose them publicly. The wives of these women will not come in sin on the Day of Judgement, for they did not know that they were married to hypocrites. But if we follow your train of logic, we hold them responsible to check the hearts and go into the unseen of their husbands.

And what of the children that are born of such unions where you say the wives should know that the husbands are hypocrites? These children, if we followed your ruling, would not be able to inherit, as they are not legitimate, for Muslim women may not marry kuffar.

On top of this, we would also have to single out the Muslim women as kuffar, which would be disastrous, for how can they be held responsible for the unseen? Thus, we do not know who every hypocrite is, and if we did, I think we would be shocked indeed.

Let's look at a very well known evidence. Look at when Abu Taalib, the uncle of the Prophet (SAW) passed away. When he died without becoming Muslim, the Messenger replied to his dying pagan uncle, "I will keep on asking forgiveness for you unless I am forbidden to do so." Then what happened? Allah (SWT) revealed the ayah that was to solve the problem that was present,

"It is not fitting for the Prophet and those that believe that they should pray for forgiveness for pagans, even though they are from their nearest kin, after it has been made clear to them that they are the companions of the Fire," Surat ut-Tawba, ayah 113.

Thus the issue of takfir was solved and there was no more differing allowed in this regard. This is due to the fact that Allah (SWT) was the one that solved the mu`ayyin (condition of an individual). This is a very important point in this regard. Before it was revealed to him, the Messenger (SAW) was making intentions to go and ask forgiveness for a pagan.

Of use as well is the story of Haatib ibn Abi Balta`a. When he learned that the Messenger (SAW) was going to invade Makkah, he became fearful due to the fact that his family was there. What he did was he sent a letter ahead of the invasion to warn his family of the invasion. The Prophet (SAW) received divine revelation that this had happened, so he sent `Ali ibn Abi Taalib, az-Zubair ibn al`Awwaam and alMiqdaad ibn alAswad (RAA) to intercept the letter.

When they intercepted it, they brought it back to the Messenger (SAW), opened it, and just as he had prophesied, it was addressed to the pagans of Makkah with the signature and address of Haatib.

When the Messenger heard this, he said, "What is this, O Haatib?" Haatib replied sadly, "Please do not be hasty with me, O Messenger of Allah."

"I do not belong to the Quraish while the emigrants were with you and had thier relatives who used to protect their families and properties at Makkah.

"So, to compensate for not having blood relations with them, I intended to do them some favour so that they might protect my relatives at Makkah, and I did not do this out of kufr or an inclination to do riddah (apostasy) from my religion."

But what happened next was the most telling. The Prophet (SAW) said to the Sahaaba (RAA), "He has spoken the truth." `Umar (SAW) did not want to hear this, so he said, "O Messenger of Allah, allow me to chop the neck of this munaafiq (hypocrite)!"

And in another relation, he said, "Let me chop off the neck of this kaafir." But what did the Messenger (SAW) say about the kufr of this individual? He said, "He is one of those who fought in the Battle of Badr, and what do you know, perhaps Allah looked at the people of Badr and said, "Do what you want, I have already forgiven you." Then shortly after that, an ayah was revealed where Allah (SWT) said,

"O you who believe! Do not take My enemy and your enemy as friends and protectors." Please see alJaami` us-Sahih under the tafsir of Surat ulMumtahina.

Thus in this incident, here we have the Prophet (SAW) making an excuse for the person, and infact disagreeing in the takfir on the individual. Why? Both of them had the text, did they not? Yes. But the text has to match with the reality before it can be applied. `Umar (RAA) was not told that what Haatib did was not kufr, but the Messenger (SAW) did not make takfir on the man. This again shows, that in the takfir of an individual, there can be difference, unless Allah (SWT) reveals a verse that tells of the reality of the person.

This is due to the fact that the takfir of the individual is arrived at first by observing the text, making ijtihaad, and then applying the charge after the reality has been observed and it coincides. Notice that the Messenger (SAW) was not called a kaafir for disagreeing with `Umar's (RAA) takfir.

This also has to do with the fact that as the Prophet, Muhammad (SAW) had more knowledge of the reality than `Umar (RAA).

Thus if `Umar (RAA) did not make takfir on the Messenger (SAW), or refer to him as a kaafir, due to the fact that he did not call a kaafir who `Umar THOUGHT was a kaafir, then what gives you the right to hang this over the head of the Muslims. Brother, this is wrong.

We should also understand this from the fact that every person has a judgement on him by Allah (SWT) in this life and the Hereafter. They are four in number,

1) a Muslim by himself and a Muslim by his group. People like this are the Sahaaba (RAA) or the Muslims who were ruled by khilaafa up until 1924. These people were the group that was safe in their Islam, speaking generally of course.

2) a Muslim by himself and a kaafir by his group. This example could be a Muslim that is in the United States military. This doesn't mean that he is a kaafir, but because we don't know the contents of the army, if we fight it, we fight the army like a group of kufr.

We have no way of knowing the contents, unfortunately. Another example of this would be the Muslims who were forced into the ranks of the kaafir army of the Quraish in the battle of Badr.

Even though they were forced, they came out with them, and as a result some of them were killed. This is due to the fact that they were in the group of kufr.

3) a kaafir by himself and a Muslim by his group. These type of people are like those who go to jihaad with the Mujaahidin, but they are actually government agents who don't even believe in Islam.

It is up to Allah (SWT) to either expose them in this life or the Hereafter. Again, Ibn Salul is a classic example of this exposure.

4) a kaafir by himself and a kaafir by his group. An example of this would be the Jews and Christians, or the pagans, all of these people being adults of course. We don't count the children as kuffar.

So from this we should understand the importance of what we are saying. When we call someone (or even people) a hypocrite, we are making an enormous statement. We should be sure of ourselves before we venture into such territories.

Lastly, brother, I am not saying that the Qur'an is not clear. I am saying that it is not for us to decide who comes and goes out of the religion. It is for Allah (SWT) to decide. He is the One responsible for this way.

He gives us the tools to know kufr from imaan, but brother, we have to be careful who we apply the kufr to when we look to the people. This is especially the case with the common Muslims.

Please be flexible and give people the benefit of the doubt. I think they deserve it.

QUESTION: There are people who call us Khawaarij. Those people, due to the fact that they are opposing us, are opposing the Shari`a. Should we not call them Murji'a for this treachery.

ANSWER: No! Just because someone disagrees with you does not mean that they are kaafir. The people who disagree with you might not be disagreeing with tawhid or the Shari`a, they might just be disagreeing with you. Your evidence to them might be crude or too general, thus they are refuting you, not the evidence. And every person that calls us a name does not mean that we have to finds a name for them or to attach some label to them. This is not the way of Muslims, this is the wrong way.

I give you the benefit of the doubt, and insha'allah, we still disagree and I hope that we can remain brothers.

I advise you to rethink your position and re-examine the evidences that you gave me in this regard.

So this is just one example of the evidences that exist to correct these brothers and sisters and also to safeguard and immunise yourselves from oversimplification of others and the religion of Islam. For more information about the principles of takfir, please see the work, the Khawaarij and Jihaad, p. 71-82

More information will come in the question and answer on how to speak with the Takfiriyyah. Please obtain a copy of the video " Refuting Takfiri Statements and Principles

WHAT IS A SCHOLAR
A Scholarly Definition

When we ask what a scholar is, we are asking a broad question. Thus the answer will be equally broad and general.

Shaikh ulIslam Ibn Taymiyyah (RH) has said, "There are four types of `Ulama [plural of `Aalim (extremely knowledgeable)],

1. An `aalim who knows about Allah (SWT) and knows about the Shari`a laws of Allah Those are the best type of `Ulama.

The example of these are the four Imaams, Abu Hanifa, Maalik ibn Anas, Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shaafi`ii (RHM). This also includes the trustworthy scholars of every era.

2. An `aalim who knows about Allah (SWT) and he does not know about the Shari`a of Allah (SWT). This one does fear Allah (SWT) and gives the truth to the best of his ability, but he doesn't know all of the Shari`a.

3. An `aalim who doesn't know about Allah (SWT) but he knows about the Shari`a of Allah (SWT). This one is like the wretched government scholars, who are far from Allah (SWT), but are near to the Shaitan.

They use their knowledge of the Shari`a to stop the believers from stepping forward and to hinder the path of Allah.

4. An `aalim who doesn't know about Allah (SWT) or the Shari`a of Allah (SWT). These people are the ones who have a silver tongue, but they deceive the believers with the wrong concepts of Islam.

Allah (SWT) says about the truthful scholars,

"It is only those who are the `ulama among His slaves that fear Him," Surah Faatir, ayah 28

He (SWT) speaks further regarding their status in His sight,

"And they are humble with love towards the believers and stern in might against the kuffar (unbelievers) and they do not fear the blame of the blamers," Surat ulMa'ida, ayah 54

And when people rush for dunya they will stay back, as Allah (SWT) has said of them,

"And the slaves of ar-Rahmaan (the Most Merciful) are those who go about on the Earth in humility and when the Jaahilun (foolish and extremely ignorant people) address them, they say, 'salaam (peace),' " Surat ulFurqaan, ayah 63

These are the scholars of truth enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong. And may Allah (SWT) free them from the oppression they are undergoing and humiliate the government scholars.

The next section should be when a scholar qualifies for the title of scholar. There are several types of scholars.

The levels of scholarship can be divided into the following categories, not all of them being represented. These are just a few of them,

1. Taalib ul`Ilm (student of knowledge), which has many levels

2. Shaikh, which is someone who has if not all, very well most of the Qur'an memorised and is able to understand the sciences that surround it, abrogation, negation, the reason for revelation, so forth. The person must also have known the chapter on the one who apostates after his Islam as well as the principles of takfir, their types, impediments and conditions,

3. Mujtahid, the person who is able to make ijtihaad, which is when someone makes independent judgement on a text from the Qur'an. There are also two types of mujtahid, the general mujtahid and the specific mujtahid.

The general mujtahid is the one that can pass fataawa outside of his madhhab, or form a school of thought based on his fataawa, such people being Abu Hanifa and the other three Imaams, Suyaan ath-Thawri, `Abdullah ibn alMubaarak, Ibn Jarir at-Tabari and so on. These people have an absolutist understanding of the text and are rare. In these days and times, no one like this exists.

Specific mujtahid people are those who can only pass fataawa from inside of their madhhab and cannot form other schools of thought based on that. Examples are Ibn Kathir (Shaafi`ii), Ibn Taymiyyah (Hanbali), al Alusi al`Iraaqi (Hanafi) and Muhammad ibn Ibrahim (Hanbali).

4. Mufassir (one who makes tafsir on the Qur'an). This type of person has memorised the Qur'an, he knows the sciences of the Qur'an, he knows the reasons for revelation in that science, he knows what the Sahaaba (RAA) have said about the verse and any differences among them.

He must also know the difference between general and specific ayaat, in addition to the varied recitations of the Qur'an that sometimes provide evidence for other verses.

This person also gives rulings based on the text and the things that surround it as mentioned of the mujtahid. This person can make independant judgement when it comes to the ayaat and a ruling that surrounds them. This person also has a trememendous grasp of the language, so when there are peculiarities in the text, for example, a place where a word appears only once, he knows this. An example of a mufassir would be the late Muhammad alAmin ash-Shanqiti, Ibn Kathir and Abu Bakr alJassaas (RHM). This person also has the working knowledge to know hwen and how a certain ayah was revealed, for the circumstances of the revelation of each ayah is important.

5. Shaarih (explainer). This is a person that again is able to explain the Qur'an, but he is also able to explain and make commentary on hadith. The knowledge of the hadith and the ability to be a mufassir is held by some scholars to be at a 100,000 hadith minimum to be memorised before reaching this position. .

An example of a shaarih would be Shaikh ulIslam Ahmad Muhammad Shaakir (RH), al `Allamah `Abdul Qaadir alArna'ut and others, Ibn Hajar al`Asqalaani (RH), Mahmud Badr ud-Din al`Ayni (RH) and many more.

6. A faqih is one who has passed all of the aforementioned levels, in addition to knowing Usul ulFiqh. After digesting and understanding usul ulFiqh, he also knows the fiqh of the ayaat of the Qur'an, for example the fiqh of marriage, so on and so forth. An example of a faqih is Ibn Kathir, Muhammad `Uthmaan adh-Dhahabi and Muhammad ibn Ibrahim (RHM).

7. alQaadi (Judge). This is a person that works as a judge in a Shari`a court and he makes sure that the laws of the Shari`a are carried out. What he does is he looks at what an ayah says concerning a situation, then he looks at the reality concerning him regarding that situation, which involves him giving his fatwa, then he makes his judgement and sees that it is carried out. An example would be for the person who stole.

All the ayaat about theft would be looked at in the court, then it would have to be asked, did he steal the minimum that would legitimate his hand being cut? Does he have an excuse, say poverty, insanity, extreme need? All of these would have an affect on the judgement that the Qaadi would come to. The Qaadi usually also does the work that he speaks of, i.e. cutting the hand, killing the adulterer, etc.

An example of a Qaadi would be the great Maaliki scholar Qaadi `Iyaad (RH), and the late scholar `Abdullah ibn Qa`ud (RH).

8. Mufti, which is a person that is a head over a particular Shari`a court. This person passes down the judgements like a Qaadi, but because he is the head of the Shari`a court, he might not necessarily do the judgement that he ordered. This will most likely be done by another Qaadi under him. The mufti more gives the ruling than anything else.

He may also be present in the market, to give rulings to the people who ask him about matters, and to make sure no abuse or sinister activities go down. An example of a Mufti would be the late Muhammad ibn Ibrahim, his son Ibrahim ibn Muhammad, Muhammad ibn `Abdul Wahhaab and Amin alHussaini, former Mufti of Palestine.

9. Shaikh ulIslam is like the one who is head over all the Shari`a courts in the Muslims lands and is found by the scholars to be the most knowledgeable one among them.

An example of these would be Ibn Taymiyyah, Muhammad ibn `Abdul Wahhaab, Muhammad ibn Ibrahim, Mahmud Badr ud-Din al`Ayni and Ibn Rajab alHanbali (RHM).

This is by no means the list in order or all of the qualifications, it is merely a heading for them and a general flavour.

For the source of this information and more information, please see, alFaqih walMutafaqqih, by Khatib alBaghdaadi, alMuwaffiqaat, by Imaam ash-Shaatibi, Majmu`a Fataawa by Muhammad ibn Ibrahim, Majmu`a Fataawa by Ibn Taymiyyah and ad-Durar us-Sunniyyah and many other works on this subject.

It was the case that the `Ulama,' for example al `Allamah alKhatib alBaghdaadi (RH) said that people who haven't memorised most or all of the Qur'an and are making ijtihaad and passing fataawa are destined for the fire, thus this is a serious issue.

Shaikh ulIslam Ibn Taymiyyah (RH) said that a scholar shouldn't start passing fataawa until he has memorised most, if not all of the Qur'an. This makes sense, as the person must be able to access the text.

It is also important to note that memorisation doesn't doesn't include knowing it, it is also necessary, according to most of the scholars, that the rules of recitation of the Qur'an must also be understood.

To sum up, being a scholar is not a status, nor is it an easy thing. Sadly, today in the West, where people from institutes come and build a company based on Islam due to the fact that they know Arabic, the Ummah is in a critical stage.

For the first time in its' history, a fair portion of the Ummah is not able to understand the Arabic and know when they have a crook in their midst.

Thus in this standpoint, accountants, pimps, slumlords, criminals, liars and unknowledgeable people have all become scholars.

Even the rude and arrogant have been given their time in the spotlight. What the believer should do is stay neutral and follow the evidence, irrespective of the person. This is the only was to stay safe.

For the revelation that the Messenger (SAW) brought was the Qur'an and the Sunna, not the scholars. And the first order sent to the Messenger (SAW) was read, not, go to a government institution and find a shaikh, or at worst, eat La ilaha illallah and become a scholar yourself.

Insha'allah, stay safe and avoid blind following. The principle must be affirmed. We do not respect the truth due to the scholar, but the respect that is given to the scholar is due to the fact that he speaks the truth.

was-Salaamu `Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakaatuhu.

PASSING FATAAWA
The Criterion

In these modern times, everyone who has a voice and a microphone is a claimant to scholarship, but many disobey and refuse to learn the tools that it takes to be a scholar. Others go to government ran institutions, don't learn how to make ijtihaad properly, so when they are let loose on the world, they actually worsen the affairs of the Ummah.

What we would like to present is some of the agreed upon principles that Ahl us-Sunna have agreed upon in regard to who is a scholar and who is not. We hope that they will be of use to the seeker of knowledge and truth.

And in order to give the right principles, we went directly to the scholars themselves. The material for the rules on passing fataawa and deriving fiqh are drawn from the following monumental works,

1. Kitaab ulFiqih walMutafaqqih by al `Allamah Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn `Ali ibn Thaabit alKhatib alBaghdaadi (RH) (463 AH/1071 AD), that great pillar of Shaafi`ii fiqh.

2. AlMuwaffiqaat fi Usul ish-Shari`a by that great Spanish Maaliki scholar al `Allamah Ibrahim ibn Musa alGharnaati alMaaliki ash-Shaatibi (RH) (d. 790 AH/1388 AD)

3. We have collected parts from AlIhkaam fi Usul ilAhkaam by the great Zaahiri `aalim, Ibn Hazm alAndalusi (RH).

These three works and the material collated from them should give the read a refreshing breeze of the way of Ahl us-Sunna walJama`ah in belief and how they derive their principles.

The first of these great and immense pillars will be listed below. Starting out, we will focus on how the scholar of fataawa comes to his verdicts,

1. The actual hukm shar`ii is observed and the verses regarding the subject are looked at.

2. The reality of the time is observed and taking in mind the above, the scholars will give the ruling.

3. After the ruling, then there will be the acting out of the ruling, which is known as qadaa.' (please see Majmu`a Fataawa, Muhammad ibn Ibrahim, V. 20, p. 280 on.) This is how someone does ijtihaad and then passes a fatwa.

But in order to be able to do this, there has to be some guidelines,

1. In order to do ijtihaad and to be considered a scholar, the person must have most or the entire Qur'an memorised. A great many of the scholars have said that people should not be allowed to pass fataawa until they have memorised all, if not most, of the Qur'an.

2. All the hadith in reference to asbaab un-Nuzul (reason fo revelation) must be known.

3. The understanding of abrogation and what abrogates in regards to the verses of the Qur'an must be understood and known. This is a crucial area, as it must be known what laws have been abrogated in place of other laws.

4. The three different types of abrogation must also be understood. If they are not, then there will most certainly be disasters, for if they are not understood, then there are sure to be great mistakes, and in some cases the person could say or do kufr.

5. The person must also know the other recitals of the Qur'an that explain the Qur'an when there is a conflict in an area.

6. There must be knowledge of and understanding the difference between muhkamaat (judgement) and mutashabihaat (allegorical) ayaat in the Qur'an.

7. Knowledge of alhaqiqah walMajaaz must also be understood. alhaqiqah is the knowledge of the verse in the literal sense that it exists in, linguistical. AlMajaaz is actually to know the figurative and other metaphorical expressions expressed in the Arabic of the Qur'an, which requires extensive knowledge of the Arabic language.

8. The person must know the difference in the text between an order and a prohibition.

9. There has to be a firm understanding between the text that is general and the text that is specific.

10. The Qur'anic text must be understood in the context of a clear text and a general text in meaning and appearance.

11. The person must be able to have digested the chapter of Usul ulFiqh, and inside one of those chapters is knowing the judgement on the one who becomes a kaafir after his Islam. These can also be found in the book alFiqih walMutafaqqih, by alKhatib alBaghdaadi, from chapter 2 of Part 1 onwards.

In regards to the Sunna, the upcoming mujtahid who is seeking to pass fataawa must know the following,

1. What exactly is the Sunna of the Messenger (SAW).

2. Understanding from the words of the Prophet (SAW) that there is no difference between his Sunna and the Book of Allah (SWT)

3. The person should understand the difference between the general and the specific orders and ways of the Sunna.

4. It is not permissible to make specific what has not been made specific.

5. Knowledge of a clear hadith and a general hadith with wording that applies to a certain situation.

6. The person must understand that certain levels and types of Sunna abrogate another, and the knowledgeable one must also know which were abrogated.

7. The scholar must know how to derive what is abrogated and what is not.

8. What an action of the Prophet (SAW) meant and which ones to act upon.

9. The person should understand the different classes of evidence in ahaadith and that each one has its' own rules and ways. Thus the class of authentic evidences is different than a class of just hasan (good) evidences. The scholar must understand this principle.

The Ijmaa` must also be understood and adhered to by the one who wants to pass ijtihaad,

1. The person must understand how ijmaa` works and that an ijmaa` has certain ways that it is done and understood from the Sahaaba all the way until now.

2. He may not pass a contrary fatwa to an ijmaa` that is existent if he knows that it is there.

3. The person should not try to go away from an ijmaa`, but should try to look into when it took place and the reason why.

4. The person should know the difference between the ijmaa` of the Ummah, the ijmaa` of the Sahaaba (RAA) and the ijmaa` of the scholars and how each one derives its' way.

5. The person should know the difference between one word of one Sahaabi and the words of the Sahaaba in general. The individual should also understand that there are some sahaaba (RAA) whose words individually carry the weight of perhaps 10 Sahaaba (RAA) and that there are others whose words carry less than that and so on.

AlQiyaas (analogy) also has its' rulings and should be based upon being firmly grounded in the following areas,

1. Knowing what he has the right to make qiyaas on in the text.

2. What is praiseworthy qiyaas and what is detestable qiyaas.

3. He must look at the conditions present and understand the reality as well as the contextual condition. This is not to be confused at all with Fiqh ulWaqqi`, which may merely be knowing current events, but could result in a person botching up the textual reality that should answer that event.

4. The person should understand the way Ahl us-Sunna works with the evidences and how they derive and take the rulings from things, without doing faasid (corrupt) interpretation.

5. He should also understand and be able to know the etiquettes of investigation and debate in matters concerning the text and derivation of evidence.

6. He should know when to blind follow a scholar in one manner and when to leave that when the text appears to go away from the ruling of that scholar.

7. He should know how to have sincerity of intention and seeking the face of Allah (SWT) with sincere intention.

8. The principle of what a mufti (person of fatwa) owes to the Book and Sunna and how he depends on them as a pillar. This particular area is a high maqaam (position), and those who transgress its' limits are in great peril.

9. He should understand and use the etiquettes and principles that the other people of fataawa and fuqahaa' have left behind for him as a legacy. This legacy begins with the Sahaaba (RAA) and ends with himself, if he is a righteous man seeking to pass the proper ruling.

10. He must understand the etiquettes of fataawa and how they work. This also means knowing how to ask and answer questions in the way of Shari`a sciences.

11. He should know the actions that the person of fataawa takes to derive his rulings and the way that he comes to his conclusions.

12. The bearing on the fatwa should be understood, and the fatwa should be relavent and not opposing the Qur'an, Sunna, Ijmaa` or other rulings more comprehensive and correct in nature.

13. He should understand that there are certain things that a person of fatwa does and doesn't do in his fataawa. When he goes past those limits, that fatwa must be dismissed as unacceptable and he should be corrected and if necessary chastened about his behaviour in this regard.

This list here represents a small summary of what a scholar is supposed to be and how the responsibility upon him is so great to safeguard his knowledge.

This should also cause the reader to marvel at how easy people today call themselves, 'shaikh,' 'maulana,' 'mufti,' '`aalim' and so many other strong titles that are due only to the people of scholarship.

Most people today that are making judgements and passing fataawa do not have the entire or most of the Qur'an memorised, nor do they know the rules of abrogation and negation.

Yet they pass fataawa. These people will have their reward for eating La ilaha illallah and lining their pockets with it and passing fataawa without knowledge.

This is a true promise from the Messenger of of Allah (SAW), who said, "Whoever gives fatwa without knowledge, the sin is on whoever made the fatwa, and whoever adviced or put an order and he knows that there is the path of guidance in something other than it, then he has already deceived (a person and himself)," related in alMishkah and classified as hasan (good).

He said in another startling statement, "Whoever gives fatwa not firmly established in knowledge, then that fatwa is only on the person who passed it," Related by alMishkah and classified as hasan (good).

We ask ourselves and the other brothers and sisters who are knowledge seekers to beware of becoming these kinds of people and to avoid these people altogether. And may Allah (SWT) keep us safe from their trauma and their evil.

A Warning Against Government Scholars/Crooks

In this day and age, the tyrant regimes have recruited students from the West and all over the world to produce the ideal government students and scholars. This type of situation can result in three things.

1. The people produced from these institutions work for the tyrant regimes and pass fataawa for the thrones of kings. These people are nothing but tissue for the rulers to blow their noses with, and they can easily be replaced. These type of scholars are totally expendible.

2. The scholars and students that are paid to go around the world and recruit others into that madness, so that they as well may become psychologically stunted. This will result in the watering down of the Ummah and general ignorance of course begins to spread.

3. Students who leave these institutions and go and begin teaching. These students were taught under the lap of these rulers and their stooges. Many times, they do not have the full and comprehensive understanding of the rules of takfir, inheritance, fiqh of marriage, tafsir, Shari`a and things such as this.

What happens is that these people wind up leading people more astray than they already were. This happens due to the fact that they use and abuse the title scholar. These people are also government scholars and government students.

You may say that it is necessary to go to an institution in order to learn proper tawhid and Islam. How can you learn proper Islam without going to one of these institutions? Our answer is very simple and may even shock you.

Most of the scholars of this Ummah never went to these tyrant institutions. Never once would their feet have crossed the threashold of one of these academies designed to insult the intelligence of and liquidate the understanding of the Ummah.

We present you with our following examples, Shaikh ulIslam Ibn Taymiyyah, al `Allamah Ibn ulQayyim, alHaafiz Ibn Kathir, al `Allamah Muhammad `Uthmaan adh-Dhahabi, alFaqih Muhammad ibn Ibrahim, Shaikh Ibrahim ibn Muhammad and Shaikh ulIslam Ahmad Shaakir (RHM) did not study in these government universitities (like Muhammad ibn Sa`ud, Umm alQurra', alAzhar, alQiraawin and Madinah University).

These scholars were not involved with these institutions. Al `Allamah Muhammad ash-Shanqiti called the ijaazas that were gained from these universities the true false witness and would not recognise people that were graduates from there.

This is why he never gave ijaaza to or recognised the accomplishments of Shaikh Ibn Baz or Shaikh Muhammad ibn Saalih al`Uthaimin (PLEASE SEE THE TAFSIR OF AL `ALLAMAH ASH-SHANQITI ON SURAT ULFURQAAN FOR MORE INFORMATION). Likewise, that great `aalim and mujaahid Muhammad ibn Ibrahim, lived in Najd most of his life outdoors. He didnt' study anywhere near these institutions. Their very existence is an insult to the true scholarship of Islam.

More often than not, these establishments just produce one more person to go out and be ignorant of the matters of tawhid, and the main battle of tawhid today, which is the Haakimiyyah.

Our sincerest advice would be to avoid these institutions as much as possible, and if you must go to them, only go to them for knowledge of the science of recitation of the Qur'an, the language of the Qur'an and other subjects that are universal. Anything other than this, and you will fall into a great trap.

Some have wasted their lives going to these institutions and then waste the lives of others when they are allowed to teach without permission from who taught them. Many times, these people teach an entire different manner than what their teachers taught them.

This is the most dangerous. Again, there is nothing wrong with sifting out the cuisine from the trash in these institutions, but most of the time, it is to dangerous to attempt. Thus the best way is to follow the evidence, and go back to the Sunna way of study.

This is where the students gather around the scholar, mu`allim, professor or whatever after `Asr prayer and they learn from him. Thus they are free from the institutions, but they can still benefit from the knowledge. This is the proper way to conduct the Islamic way of seeking knowledge.

Leave the institutions and the magicians of the Pharoah's court in Saudi or wherever else and focus on your religion.

And may Allah give us all success and glad tidings of the Hereafter.

KHAWAARIJ & JIHAD
A Book Review Revisted

The recent book by Sheikh Abu Hamza alMisri
and Edited by Ibn Umar

Since the release of the work, the Khawaarij and Jihaad, there has been quite a bit of positive feedback. But while there has been a lot of good said about the book, there have also been other sinister forces at work. One week after 'Khawaarij in the West', in which we spoke about takfiri people. Then not long after came fussing over p. 42, and then finally pages 42-43, in addition to page 75.

The issue with the Khawaarij in the West was centered around the Takfiriyyah group, a dangerous group of people who call Muslims kuffar and have not graduated to Khawaarij, due to the fact that they have not started killing for their belief. But in many ways, they are killing. This murder comes through the declaring of Muslims to be kuffar and the sometimes bizarre concept of making takfir on an entire masjid. The chapter in our work was working to expose these issues, and alhamdulillah, many people have seen these people for what they are, snakes and nothing less.

The issue of pgs. 42-43 was brought to attention due to the fact of an issue of fiqh that was misunderstood. It was taken to mean by some that the information on pgs. 42-43 made the bodies of all Muslim women and men halaal and declared all Khawaarij to be dealt with as kuffar. This was not the case however, as the notes mentioned at the bottom of the page merely mentioned a fiqh option that Ali had when fighting the Khawaarij.

The section also stood to remind people what action should be taken when bid`ii or deviant people resort to the sword. This is precisely why on p. 134, an ijmaa` is mentioned quoted by Shaikh Ibn Taymiyyah (RH) that says that when the deviants resort to the sword, they must be fought altogether and killing them in a group is perfectly halaal. This is the point that was being made reference to in the pgs. 42-43. But many a time, when a point of fiqh or something new arises, it meets surprise and disapproval by some people.

We would request that these people contact us, and not jump to conclusions, as this can result in wrongful accusations. These accusations regarding the book culminated finally in the misunderstanding of p. 75, in which it was taken to mean that the book declared that those who replace the Shari`a are Muslims and we may differ whether or not to make takfir on them. Again, this is wrong. Never once on that page did we mention anything about legislation and an option in ruling. What was mentioned is that there are two types of people who judge by other than what Allah sent down. We mentioned that in one case, the judge or ruler might judge by other than what Allah sent down in one instance, but the Shari`a is intact. This person was labelled a sinner. But when a person is judging by other than what Allah sent down all of the time or makes a practice of it, then this is the major kufr. And this is what is explained from pages 75-77. And in fact, this chapter was not even centered on the subject of ruling, rather it was mentioned when making reference to takfir of independant judgement and the takfir of an individual.

But rumours travel very quickly, and unfortunately, many people listened to it. The writer and the editor of this work would strongly advise the readers that they remember that this is a linear work. In other words, it is a book of history. One should not just go through it, without reading it from beginning to end and begin to be unreasonable when they find something they either don't know, don't agree with or don't like.

The best way should be to sit with the people involved with this work and not to become over-dramatic. This type of overdramatic and erratic behaviour can only injure all of the believers in the end. Thus the way forward is not name calling and insults, but rather sincere advice and meeting with those who you disagree with on an equal platform, ready to listen and not just talk.

SOCIETY FOR ISLAMIC HERITAGE REVIVAL (SIHR)
An Islamic Revival To Preserve Our Communities

The SIHR was raided by the police in the country of Kuwait. Some background must be given about this organisation so one can understand just what the government has tried to do in shutting this organisation down.

SIHR formed out of the Gulf War experience. Before the war, the hedonistic lifestyle that the Kuwaitis were leading was killing them. The Muslim leaders had little strength and exposure to the rest of the outside Islamic communities was limited. The problem was also that the populous did not want to listen since the wealth was so incredible. But sweeping changes came when Saddam Hussain at-Takriti, President of Iraq, invaded Kuwait and began a comapaign of destruction.

The country's 2 1/5 million people went into exile, with the rich going to Monaco, Britain and the United States and living it up while the country and the people who were not able to run were hammered by the troops of Saddam. The scholars, who had already been on bad terms with the government, had went into hiding in other countries, such as Egypt, the Arabian Peninsula and other surrounding countries.

When the war had finished and the brothers had returned, there were some things that were good and some things that were bad. The women who had fought in the resistance against the Iraqi army had a new sense of 'liberation,' so they felt the need to ask for civil rights. However, the Civil Rights included wanting to walk on the beach in Kuwait nude and other 'necessities.' This had already been a serious problem in Kuwait before, but the war had increased this attitude. At this point, the brothers decided to work fast. Islamic programs were set up to teach people the proper way of understanding Islam, and with this an Islamic movement grew. The Bedouins of Kuwait were to benefit handsomely. Under the as-Sabaah regime, the Bedouins were declared non-Kuwaiti after the Gulf War due to the fact that many of them could not trace their lineage back to 1920, thus they were excluded from benefits. Previous to this, they were accepted. The next problem for the Bedouins was the fact that the government stopped feeding them, thus many of them began the act of begging and some starved to death.

SIRH and other groups decided that this had to stop. Literacy and food programs were started to feed the Bedouins, and as their bodies were nourished, so were their minds. They began to ask about Islam, learn the Qur'an, study the Sunna and began to leave off the cultural appendages that they had grown accustomed to in life. This created a security risk for the government, as now 1/3 of the Kuwait population was 'armed and dangerous.'

The government then began to come after these groups attempting to restrict their activities. The Kuwaitis that had come back from exile during the Gulf War were not the same. Some of them defended their brothers in Islam who were trying to preserve the religion. They saw, just as these scholars had, that the divorce rates in Kuwait had gone through the roof, to the point that 1/3 of all marriages are now failing. SIRH sought to combat this and the rising tide of secularism engulfing the country. There were others who also optioned to help this small effort in an attempt to save Kuwait. The Islamic Reform Society (IRS), which came from the Arabian Peninsula to offer advice, offered to help fund some of the expenditures of the different groups.

They accepted and in 1988, SIRH exclusively made its first bid, with behind-the-scenes backing from the IRS, to save the minds of the youth of the country on the institutional level. They came in through the student unions on one college campus. The sisters were suprisingly receptive to their message and were active in calling their female family members to lend and ear to what the brothers were saying. The females also called their brothers and other male relatives to the truth. The sisters and brothers started out preaching in the cafeterias, where the women and men were freemixing and most of the sisters were uncovered. However, by 1994, 60% of them were covered and the cafeteria was made into a segregated atmosphere.

There were those who attempted to resist violently against the spread of SIRH and IRS, but in response to this, the two Islamic groups conducted a bombing in the medical department of Kuwait University as retaliation against the violence practiced by the secularist extremists. This showed that the brothers and sisters in the movement meant business which gained them respect among the youth. These youth admired the honour and the firmness that these mujahideen had shown to atheism.

Both of the Islamic organisations had the same problem in 1992, when a professor at Kuwait University, dean of medicine, Dr. Hilal as-Sayir banned the niqaab from his classroom, calling it 'completely unacceptable and unsanitary.' He had also said that there might be lazy students who could pay more intelligent students to use the veil and take the tests for them to pass their exams.

Many sisters were distraught, after working very hard and studying feverishly for their exams, had been told that they had been expelled from the class. All of their work, seemingly went for nothing. However, this was not to be the case.

The Islamic groups bravely stood up and said that this type of behaviour would not be tolerated and that these sisters would have their honour defended. The groups further stated that they would not tolerate oppression of Islam and that they would not tolerate stereotyping of Islamic sisters as not intelligent, dirty or dishonest.

The dean carried on with his previous behaviour, and a massive bombing took place which destroyed the dean's car. However, he continued to refused to listen and actually grew more obstinate against the sisters. Then, in 1994, a 20 lb bomb went off in the deans home, located in the Yarmouk area of Kuwait City on Friday. The dean was not home at the time, but the bomb had killed the nieghbour's gardener and damaged many expensive Mercedes Benzes. The family of the dean was unhurt, but when he found the scattered remains of the nieghbour's gardener, he came to understand that he had to reform his behaviour.

At this time, the veiled sisters in Kuwait began to command a sort of respect. No longer did any one want to push them around. They were allowed back in their classes and to continue their hard earned studies. The government would not give up on its' opposition, however. New legislation was passed in 1992 that women were not allowed to wear the niqaab and drive. This enraged the sisters, who were told that if they were caught and convicted while driving with the niqaab on, they could go to jail for 30 days. The law never came to be implemented though, as news of the 'extremist' bombings had spread all over the country and the police were afraid that they would become targets for attack by the Islamic groups.

These groups not only took the war to the streets, but also took on the regime in the political and intellectual arena as well. When Professor Ahmad alBaghdaadi of the University of Kuwait opened his mouth to attack Islam and the Muslims for returning to the religion of Allah, SIHR, IRS and many of the other groups were there to oppose him. AlBaghdaadi continued on with his evil and in 1996, proclaimed, "Islam has failed to establish a successful political system." At that point, the above mentioned groups began to look for alBaghdaadi to debate him and to question his views regarding the statement that he had made. However, the government scholars in Kuwait hid the professor with their fataawa and the regime by saying that what he had said was not kufr and that he was just ignorant.

Upon this taking place, the aformentioned groups took out an ad in alMujtama`a (one of the more popular magazines in Kuwait) magazine and replied to the slanderous statements that alBaghdaadi had made and even asked him to resign and repent from his heinous remarks. In fear of the future of Kuwait that he was seeing, the ruler of the nation, King Jaabir alAhmad as-Sabaah made sure to mention that he will not refer to the Shari`a as the sole source of legislation (please see al`Arab Magazine, issue 4970, Nov. 7, 1996 for more details). It was at this point that the Islamic groups buckled down for a long war against naked kufr hiding behind the Sunna of the Messenger (s.a.w.).

Other Islamic groups began to come out of the wood work, one of those being the Islaah Social Society (ISS), which began research into the medical benefits of Islamic dress, diet, economics and the niqaab. One of the female doctors (an opthamologist, who herself wears niqaab) found in her research that the niqaab actually prevents pterygium, which is an eye condition caused by over exposure to sunlight. These and many other scientific and grass roots conferences were put together to benefit the people of Kuwait. One of the greatest strides made by our brothers and sisters in Kuwait was that done by the Islamic Charity Association (ICA), which called for Kuwaiti men who were able to marry more than one wife.

This move was to prevent lesbianism and female celibacy, as well as to help the women who had no one after the Gulf War. The ICA also gave 6,500 pounds to each new polygamous couples in addition to helping out new families with long-term loans to buy furniture, houses, medical insurance and to support both wives.

This was where the feminists, the Shi`a and the government drew the line. The Islamic groups were getting too strong. Many of them were calling for the Shari`a, bombings against government institutions were taking place, and on top of all of that, they were becoming almost independant of the government. Donations poured in from everywhere to help these brothers fund new families, support da`awa projects in the United States and Canada, send people out for knowledge, send others for jihaad, and to help the illiterate to read and write.

Now we address you of the most recent developments. These brothers and sisters and the groups that they belong to have been raided. Many have been arrested and equipment has been confiscated. All that remains now are the Shi`a, government scholars, feminists, secularists and so on. You should make du`aa for your brothers and sisters, remember them in your heart and strive to support them in whatever way that you can. If you cannot support them with your help physically, like complaining to the Kuwait embassy or those who are in power or physically fighting them with all of your might, then you can speak against the regimes. If you can't do that, then you can at least remember them in your prayer and pass this message on to others.

May Allah help all of us.

SECRET MARRIAGES
Are They Halal or Haram?

The Evil of Abusing What Allah Has Legislated

In the Ummah, in this day and age, there has been a lot of taking advantage of the common people. That taking advantage is what is known as Revert Abuse (RA).

This abuse has for the most part been concentrated on depriving the Ummah of the knowledge of the religion. Thus the English speaking reverts have been deprived of being taught Arabic by their 'scholars' and they have also been deprived of the conprehensive Islamic education by their intellectual captors.

This comprehensive Islamic education is the actual understanding of their religion through the medium of fiqh. These reverts deserve to know about how to conduct their affairs in regard to marriage, divorce, inheritance and otherwise.

But unfortunately today, in the era of cyber-shaikhs and cassette tape muftis, there now appears a new and sinister menace. This time, not only are the reverts targeted, but in specifics, it is the women who must bear this abuse.

This abuse is the abuse of marriage, in particular secret marriages. For far too long, these new and humble sisters have been taken advantage of and mutilated by those who would claim the title of scholarship.

There have been unscrupulous characters who have not informed sisters of their rights when it comes to marriage, and after they have finished with them, these sisters have been thrown to the wind, to live like spinsters after their abuse.

What we will cover is basically some of the ways that one can tell that there is unIslamic practices going on. After this, we will give examples of secret marriages from real life experiences.

And finally, we will give the proper evidence on what an actual marriage is supposed to represent and the proper evidences for it. We will therefore start with the evidences.

Usually the first thing that is done with unIslamic marriages is that it is not announced with the daff (drum) and others don't know that there has been a marriage. This collides directly with the statement of the Messenger (SAW), when he says, "Announce the marriage."

Thus from the start these marriages are done in a shameful manner. They are done without any information being given about them. This does not mean that the marriage must be announced in the newspaper, but the marriage must not be done in a secret manner.

What we mean by secret will be attested to in the following hadith,

The Messenger (SAW) said, "There is no marriage except with a wali (guardian) and two just witnesses," related by Imaam Ahmad and in Bulugh ulMaraam, Kitaab un-Nikaah and classified as authentic.

He also said in another hadith, "There is no marriage without a wali," related by Ahmad, Nisaa'ii, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud and Ibn Hibbaan.

The Prophet (SAW) stated in another hadith,

"Whenever a woman gets married without the permission of her wali, then her marriage is false, her marriage is false, her marriage is false," related by Abu Dawud and classified as authentic.

Thus what secret marriages all have in common is that usually there is no wali present. Thus due to the fact that the wali is not present, the sisters rights are not represented. When this happens, it is easy for her to be abused.

What the wali represents is a guardian to guard after the sisters rights, to make sure that a mahr is being set and that she is not being abused. Thus the first move of the abusers of the Shari`a is to eliminate the wali from the program.

This is done by taking advantage of the ruling that the Hanafi madhhab gave, which states that the woman does not need a wali to get married. This came due to the fact that the Hanafis looked at the hadith of the Prophet (SAW) that stated, "The wali is not an order with the previously married," related by Ibn Hibbaan, Nisaa'ii and Abu Dawud and classified as authentic.

This hadith is authentic, but the other schools of thought say that the hadith is misunderstood by the Hanafis. They say that the woman seeking out her own perspective mate means the following two things.

1) That the woman who is not a virgin can have more of a choice in the marriage, by the fact that she can order the wali to get her married to who she wishes. Thus she herself is not seeking the mate, but she may instruct the wali in this regard.

How do we know this? It is due to the existence of another hadith in which the Messenger (SAW) said, "The previously married has more of a right on herself than her wali, and the virgin is asked permission for and her permission is her silence," related by Muslim and classified as authentic.

It was stated by al `Allamah Ibn ulQayyim (RH) regarding this hadith,

"The majority understand it to be the permission only. And it bears on the fact of the statement that the design of the statement, 'more right than her wali,' is in everything from the contract to and other things, just as has been said by Abu Hanifa and Dawud," Sharh Sunan Abu Dawud, V. 6, Book of Marriage.

2) The woman cannot get married herself without a wali or some sort of representation. Why? It is due to the hadith of the Messenger (SAW), in which he said,

"There is no marrying of a woman to a woman, and there is no marrying of a woman by herself," Related by Ibn Maajah, ad-Daar alQutni and alBaihaqi and classified as authentic.

So although we respect the Hanafi madhhab and the scholarship that it has provided, we must follow the strongest evidence in this regard, which is in the ahaadith stated above.

As Muslims, we follow the Qur'an, the Sunna and the Ijmaa`, not any particular personality. No one has the right to take a scholar or madhhab and make him/her/ them/it the evidence over all of the ahaadith and verses of the Qur'an.

We would also have to state that the Hanafis who passed this ruling would not have allowed this understanding being taken to misuse the Muslim sisters of today. Their ruling was based on their sincerity and giving the ruling of truth, whereas today what is occurring is not based on truth, rather as falsehood trying to hide behind the cloak of truth.

Another reason why the wali system is abused is due to the position that the wali has in society. What the wali represents in his position is the guardian of the sister. Thus the wali can only be, the father, brother, uncle grandfather, imaam or ruler.

And if the wali is not a family member, but he is an imaam or a ruler, he must be appointed by the family. If the sister is an orphan, then her permission must be sought and she should have the imaam or the ruler as her wali. For more details, please see Kitaab ulFiqh `alal Madhaahibi Arba`a in the Book of Marriage.

So when there is no proper wali, there is no family or bride representation. When this happens, there is no way to protect the chastity of the sister, thus she can easily be humiliated by those who mean to do her harm. To come to the issue of the witnesses, this principle has also been abused and the ways of Ahl us-Sunna walJama`ah have been ignored. The two just witnesses, from the way of Ahl us-Sunna walJama`ah, are what keeps the marriage contract from being nullified, and they also provide the witness that indeed a marriage took place, not fornication and prostitution.

It is absolutely necessary that the two witnesses be present for the contract, and when they are not present, then the answer of marriage, its' acceptance and the other principles around it are false. Please see Kitaab ulFiqh, Book of Nikaah.

Likewise, all the schools of thought have agreed that the witnesses, the wali and the contract are pillars of the marriage.

It is known that without these pillars present, the marriage is in great jeopardy. There have been in recent years, some who have taken advantage of the ignorance of Muslim sisters and gone to far in this regard.

This is the reason why the marriage and its' components should be laid out in a clear and concise manner that everyone can understand. But before we do that, we will give examples of corrupt and unacceptable marriages that do happen in the world today. These will be three in number.

1) A man decides that he wants to marry a woman, but he wants to do so without his first wife knowing and without the community knowing. So what he does is that he decides to take a woman in the following manner.

The first thing he does is agree to meet the woman at an undisclosed location for marriage. Then he brings two witnesses that he has told to sit in on the wedding. The wali is to be one of the witnesses that he brought and the one who will officiate the marriage will be the second witness that was brought.

The sister's interests were not represented once. No contract was drawn up, the family of the sister was not informed, the two witnesses were made to take up two other positions and the sister was not given any mahr.

In addition to this, no maintenance was agreed upon and the sister is never to be seen in public with the man, nor is she to say that she is married to this man. As we can see, this marriage is a sacrilege on several counts,

a. The absence of a wali for the sister

b. The witnesses are not only unjust, but are being misused for two other jobs.

c. There was no one to officiate over the marriage. Thus one of the witnesses was used for this shameless farce of a marriage.

d. No mahr was given, which is another pillar of the marriage and is imperative.

e. No contract was agreed upon are drawn up, with any conditions to be met or anything of the sort.

f. Insistence on the sister not informing others that she is married and not appearing in public with the person that she is married to is a nullifier of the marriage. For the subject of the marriage contract in the Shari`a is that they will be husband and wife, without padding around and hiding.

g. The sister was offered and will receive no maintenance. This is especially disastrous should it ever be the case that the sister should become pregnant.

We can then see, from the beginning to the end, this marriage was completely false in form, nature and outcome. Thus there was no marriage and a sister was abused. This criminal is also eligible for the following hadith,

"`Umar ibn alKhataab (RAA) came to a wedding and there was no witness for it except one woman and a man. He said, 'This is a secret marriage and there is no permissibility in it!!'

'And if you were to continue and proceed on, I would have stoned you to death,' "Related by Imaam Maalik in Muwatta', Kitaab un-Nikaah and classified as authentic.

So from this hadith we see the enormity of doing this type of horrendous act and the implications it carries.

Some people don't realise how fortunate they are to be living in this time and not the time of the Sahaaba (RAA).

But there are still two other crimes that have to be narrated for the sake of the reader. Here is another example,

2) A man wants to marry a second wife behind the back of his first wife, so he does a marriage with two witnesses and no wali for the second wife, in addition to marrying the sister while she is menstruating and in `iddah (this is where a man pronounces divorce on his wife and she must wait three menstrual cycles before the marriage is completely nullified. In this time, if he chooses, he could take her back and reconcile the marriage). This again is mocking the religion of Islam on the following counts,

a. a sister cannot be married while she is menstruating.

b. When a sister is in `iddah, she is still married to her previous husband in the eyes of Allah (SWT). To marry her while she is still not finished with her `iddah to her previous husband is not only fornication, it is adultery without a shadow of a doubt.

c. And what if the husband who pronounced divorce wants to take the sister back? He will find that his wife has been snatched from him and that his right has been abused.

d. Once again, no wali was present for the sister and her representation was not taken into account. Again another travesty in justice takes place.

e. The right of Allah (SWT) has been transgressed and He still sees the previous couple as married. This has dire consequences for those involved, for there is adultery involved, and in the normal Shari`a case with four witnesses of such a crime, it is the death penalty.

3) A family decides to get their daughter married. However, she does not know that she is about to be married. The family draws up the marriage contract, which the daughter does not see and they tell the other family that she has consented to their offer.

The next step is that they inform the sister that she has been married and to prepare herself to go and live with her new husband. When she refuses, they turn violent. This is a great oppression on the following bounds,

a. She has not given her permission for this marriage, which is a pillar of the marriage, for the Messenger (SAW) said, "There is no marriage without the consent of the bride," please see Bulugh ulMaraam, in the Book of Marriage.

b. How can the bride consent to a marriage where she has not even seen the contract and she doesn't know her mahr? This act alone is completely outrageous.

c. The guardian in her family who is acting on her interests has not represented her interests and has abused them.

d. The family has turned violent, thus they are forcing a marriage that the bride does not want. Again, this is a nullifier for the marriage as the bride must have her consent taken into account.

There are many other examples that we could quote, but we wanted to stick to just the most common sicknesses that these predators use when they see our sisters as the prey.

We would now like to present the proper methods for conducting a proper marriage. We will present the pillars and ways of marriage and how to conduct a marriage that is acceptable in the sight of the Majestic King, Allah (SWT). The first principles that must be met is that there must be the following,

1. Two just witnesses to witness the contract and the preceedings.

2. A wali to represent the rights of the sister. This wali is to be either the father, brother, uncle, grandfather, imaam of the masjid or the Islamic ruler in the Islamic state.

3. There must be one to conduct the wedding. He must know the rules regarding marriage. He will read what has been drawn up in the contract and ask the wali if the sister has agreed to all of what is presented and if she consents to the marriage.

4. The sister must not be menstruating at the time of marriage.

5. The sister is not to be in `iddah. It may be that the husband may want to take her back, and since she is still his wife until the marriage is dissolved completely, no one may interfere in that process.

6. The sister must not still be married to someone else. She cannot be married to two men at the same time, as this is adultery and carries the death penalty.

7. The sister should not be pregnant. After having the child and going through the Islamic purification period, then she may marry, and not one second before.

8. The sister should know her contract and her rights in this regard.

9. The sister should not be forced, but must be able to give her consent. If she is a virgin, she may not refuse the offering of a husband. But she may request and ask for a husband that both the family and her can agree upon. If she is not a virgin, she has more choice in who she would like as a mate, but again, neither one may be forced.

10. The sister must be aware that she is getting married that day. If she was not informed and aware that she was getting married, the communication between her and her wali has broken down and this is wrong. For more information, please see Kitaab alFiqh, alMughni, Sharh Sahih Muslim and Sharh Sunan Abu Dawud in the Book of Marriage.

There are also pillars for the wali as well, as we will explain below,

1. As we have been emphasising, the wali cannot be someone just off of the street. He must be a relative, like the father, brother, uncle, grandfather, male cousin or some other related guardian. If she is a Muslim and her family is not, then it should be a trustworthy person in the community that knows of her position and her situation. This is usually the imaam of a masjid, a respected member of an Islamic community or the ruler over an Islamic state.

2. He must look after the affairs of the sister in marriage, meaning, that he should put forward her desires in the contract, stating what she prefers in her mahr and so forth.

3. The wali has the right to veto a candidate for marriage if he can see unIslamic or unacceptable traits in the man being brought for marriage. He may also inform the sister of who she should choose as a mate and may also advise her against others whom he deems to be harmful to her.

4. If he is not able to find anyone fit to marry the sister, then in certain cases, he may marry her as he is providing to her maintenance and looking after her already in many other circumstances.

5. He must be knowledgeable of the Islamic Shari`a in regards to the rights that are due to her in the matter of her marriage, divorce, maintenance and other matters. For more information, please see Kitaab alFiqh `alaal madhaahib Arba`a in the section on marriage.

Please see as well Sharh Sahih Muslim by Imaam Muhy id-Din an-Nawawi, Sharh Sunan Abu Dawud by Imaam Ibn ulQayyim and alMughni by Imaam Ibn Qudaama alHanbali for more information under the Book of Marriage.

Now next comes the contract. The contract should have the following conditions,

1. Every contract must have conditions, and one of the first condition of the contract is that it is Shari`a bound.

2. The parties in that contract should be spelled out. Thus the parties involved in that contract are the bride, groom, witnesses, wali and the one doing the contract. The other party involved is also Allah (SWT), since the contract is based on His Shari`a and He is the greatest witness over it in all situations.

3. The name of the groom should be in the contract, not nicknames or other names than what is known. His actual real name, as on his passport or identification should be on the contract, as it is binding and is counted in the Shari`a as a transaction.

4. The name of the bride should appear, just as has been mentioned above, with the same rules. This is to make sure that the transaction is completely clear without any doubt.

5. The address of the bride should be listed. This is so that it may be known how to contact her in the event that anything should happen. A phone number is also helpful.

6. The full name and address of the wali should also be provided. If he is not related to the sister, it should be listed who he was appointed by to be the wali in this matter. It should also be ascertained how he came to know the sister. For if he came to know her under dubious circumstances, this throws the entire marriage in jeopardy.

The wali must be known of in this regard to be upright and must have cause and reason to be appointed as the wali, either by the imaam or the ruler, or he must be one of the two mentioned himself.

7. The sister also should agree to the individual as her wali. If she does not agree to that man as her wali, then that means that the marriage is void, as she is not represented and he is not capable of representing her interests. This type of abuse usually happens either in forced or secret marriages.

8. The sister must also agree to the mahr that the wali has put forward. So she must be asked in this regard regarding the mahr.

9. She should also be asked if there is any additional information that she has for the wali or if she would like him to give additional instructions at the in the presence of those overseeing the contract.

10. The two witnesses should also be upright as far as is known and should have their real names and if necessary their addresses listed. This is necessary in the event that some doubt should be brought up regarding the contract, then the people can be immediately contacted.

This also shows that the witnesses are two different people, and they cannot be used to do duties other than the oath of witnessing which is listed in the contract.

This way you avoid the evil abuse of witnessing that took place in story 1. If the witnesses refuse to put down their real names, then something is wrong and the whole situation of the marriage comes into question.

Together, with help from the Islamic community and gaining knowledge of these areas of our religion, we can stamp out the evil and heinous crime of secret marriages. If we do not do this, the twisters of the law of Allah (SWT) wil get away with their treachery.

And if we should know of someone who is being abused in this manner, we should not keep our mouths shut and let it take place. We should advice the sister and if possible the brother regarding the rights of the husband and the wife in Islam.

If the person insists on abusing Islam, we should tell the responsible amir or imaam in the community about his and the person should be exiled.

It is even worse if it is a high profile personality or a scholar. If that is the case, then the person should be exposed and then exiled, as this is jeopardising not just the sister, but the community and Islamic scholarship.

People should not come to the conclusion that this type of corruption is Islamic scholarship.

But if we follow the methodology listed above and refuse to part from it, then we will, insha'allah be successful.

All of the evidence for these methods and the methodology that they should follow in these days and times can easily be accessed in Sharh Sunan Abu Dawud, V. 6 by al `Allamah Ibn ulQayyim, Sharh Sahih Muslim by al `Allamah an-Nawawi, alMughni by Ibn Qudaama alHanbali and all the other trustworthy books of fiqh on the issue of marriage.

And we ask that Allah (SWT) strengthen us and protect us from every intentionally going against His way, and if we did so unintentionally, we ask that He guide us back to the path. And may Allah give us all the strength to carry forward and practice His laws and go by His Shari`a.

Amin.

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