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This content has been automatically translated. View original in Arabic
Peace be upon you and God’s mercy. God the Exalted says:
“Indeed, this community of yours is one community, and I am your Lord, so worship Me alone.” (Quran 21:92)
We have one identity: Islam. No Arab has superiority over a Kurd, nor a Kurd over an Arab, except by piety. The God-conscious are from us and we are from them, whether they are Kurds, Arabs, or others. The God-conscious are those who place the identity of Islam above all other identities, and who refer to God’s law, not to man-made laws or nationalist customs.
Such people are numerous among both Kurds and Arabs. I have visited Kurdistan and have brothers and loved ones there. I bear witness that they are among the best, most beloved, and most pure people I have known—so I believe, and God is their reckoner. The God-conscious are not beholden to America or Israel, nor do they implement anyone’s agenda. Their motto is the word of their Lord, the Almighty:
“O you who believe, obey God, obey the Messenger, and those in authority among you. If you differ in anything, refer it back to God and the Messenger, if you truly believe in God and the Last Day. That is best and fairest in interpretation.” (Quran 4:59)
As for those who stir up fitnah, we disassociate ourselves from them, whether they are Arabs or Kurds. I say this while recognizing that events have spread beyond Syria’s borders, and some malicious actors are exploiting them to revive nationalist conflicts and sow discord between Muslim components. This jahili call—whether its proponents realize it or not—serves the agendas of Islam’s enemies, who are eager to fragment what is already divided and to splinter what is already separated.
Regrettably, some good people have been drawn into it. Every Muslim must silence the voices that plant division and fitnah. One of the greatest crimes is to generalize about an entire tribe without distinguishing between the righteous and the wicked. Our Prophet peace be upon him said: “The most criminal of people is a poet who insults an entire tribe, and a man who disavows his father.” If this applies to someone who insults a tribe, how much worse is it for someone who insults an entire ethnic group containing millions of Muslims?
We call upon our brothers, the scholars and preachers—both Arab and Kurd—to fulfill the role God has entrusted to them: to guide people back to the Book of God and the Sunnah of His Prophet peace be upon him. Scholars are a trust for the Ummah; through them, God preserves it from misguidance and loss. No scholar or preacher, regardless of ethnicity, should be swayed by malicious media that sows fitnah. Their motto must be:
“O you who believe, stand firmly for justice as witnesses for God.” (Quran 5:8)
And God says:
“O you who believe, if a corrupt person brings you news, verify it, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and later regret what you have done.” (Quran 49:6)
Scholars and preachers are not moved by the inflammatory emotions of those who stir up fitnah. They are the ones who stabilize others. Otherwise, what use are they as scholars and preachers? It is not wrong to feel a natural sympathy for those who share your language, ethnicity, or history. But if you see corruption in the cause they defend or advocate, or if they are beholden to projects that serve the enemies of the Ummah, then say to them: “This is a separation between me and you.”
Those who incite nationalism to sow division seek legitimacy by pointing to the presence of some righteous people among them. It is the duty of the wise to distance themselves from such figures, exposing their true nature: they are agents of fitnah, not champions of the oppressed.
I remind myself and my fellow preachers—whether Arab or Kurd—that we cannot remain silent in such a situation. Even if you choose to remain silent about the details of political events, at least remind people of the general principles and great foundations of Islam that unite us. There are wicked people who have taken these events as an opportunity to attack Islam itself under nationalist slogans. If scholars and preachers remain silent, who will guide the people and enlighten them?
In such times, hollow concepts like “citizenship” and artificial narratives cannot mend the rift or unite hearts. What people need is the logic of faith, the reminder of the brotherhood of faith, and the words of their Lord:
“Hold firmly to the rope of God, all together, and do not divide. Remember God’s favor upon you: you were enemies, then He brought your hearts together, so you became brothers by His favor. You were on the brink of a pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does God make clear His signs to you, so that you may be guided.” (Quran 3:103)
Let us not forget that our Kurdish brothers have always played a major role in aiding their fellow Muslims. Recently, we highlighted campaigns in besieged Gaza—despite its suffering—to aid our brothers in Kurdistan after the floods. This is one Ummah, rich with goodness, but goodness does not receive the same media attention or dissemination as evil and fitnah.
Here, my brothers, I do not wish to delve into political details or name factions and groups—not because I consider them all equal in good or evil, nor because I am unaware that some are driven to sow fitnah and corruption. I am well aware of that. Nor do I consider some of these groups to be brothers to whom I should address my words. My message is directed to those who have been deceived by them, despite their histories of betrayal and subservience to the enemies of the Ummah.
I speak in general terms for one reason: so that the God-conscious may unite on a single word and not be distracted by entering into details. Let us take heed from what is happening: the affairs of this Ummah will not be set right except by establishing God’s law and preferring His pleasure above all else. When we deviate from it even slightly, we are afflicted by fitnah that spreads among us.
In a sound and great hadith, our Prophet peace be upon him said: “O assembly of Muhajireen, five traits—if you are tested by them and they befall you—I seek refuge in God that you should ever encounter them”—and he mentioned the fifth: “and when their leaders do not rule by the Book of God, He turns their enmity against one another.” One might think that pleasing the East or the West at the expense of religion will bring goodness, peace, and prosperity. By God, no! Rather, “He turns their enmity against one another.”
O God, protect the blood of all Muslims, unite them upon Your Book and the Sunnah of Your Prophet, and reconcile their hearts. Peace be upon you and God’s mercy.