In Support of the Prisoners of Tunisia
The Dignity of the Muslim and the Pride of Faith
Peace be upon you and the mercy of God and His blessings.
Imam Muslim narrated that Abu Sufyan came upon Salman, Suhaib, and Bilal in a group - and it appears that this was during the truce after Al-Hudaybiyyah. These companions said, "By Allah, the swords of Allah have not been taken from the neck of the enemy of Allah as they have been taken." Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, may God be pleased with him, said, "Do you say this to the elder of Quraysh and their leader?"
Abu Bakr went to the Prophet ﷺ and informed him, and the Prophet ﷺ said to him, "O Abu Bakr, perhaps you have angered them? If you have angered them, then you have angered your Lord." Abu Bakr went to them and said, "O my brothers, have I angered you?" They said, "No, may Allah forgive you, O brother."
My brothers, our Prophet ﷺ alerts us that the affair of the disbeliever is more humiliating and lesser than to anger a Muslim on his account; meaning that the polytheist does not deserve that you reproach on his account the brothers in faith and religion. These companions said their words out of love for Allah and zeal for His religion, so Allah is angry for their anger and is pleased with their pleasure.
Criticism of the Tunisian Government's Policy Towards the Youth of the Awakening
We say this to those who do not reproach the Muslims on account of the disbelievers, but rather kill them, imprison them, defame their reputations, and leave them to die in their hunger strikes for the sake of an enemy who is disbeliever, not a negotiator like Abu Sufyan, but a warrior who mocks Allah, His religion, and His Messenger, violates sanctities, and sheds blood in the lands of the Muslims.
For whom, O Government of Tunisia, do you do this to the youth of Tunisia? Youth who are angry for their Lord and their Prophet and have not killed anyone. Is it because of America's threat to cut aid—or more accurately, bribes—to the countries where embassies were attacked following the offensive film? Does the government that claims to be Islamic in Tunisia want to offer the youth of the Awakening as sacrifices to America to appease it and shower it with gifts?
Then let them be glad with what is authentically reported from the Prophet ﷺ in "Al-Adab Al-Mufrad" that he said, "Whoever eats a Muslim's flesh, Allah will feed him the like of it from Hell."
The Tragedy of the Hunger Strikers in Prisons
Youth who are zealous for their religion and their Prophet, and who have risen before against injustice, like Muhammad Al-Bakhti, may Allah have mercy on him; these and their likes deserve to be raised high and their hands accepted, not to be imprisoned and left to die of hunger in their strikes. But it seems that some are afflicted with "psychological disorder," for they do not care if eleven youth from the Salafi call die, the important thing is to please their American masters and satisfy them.
When Al-Ghannouchi was asked by the news presenter about the delay in reacting to the events of the American embassy, he said, "The government did not stand idle, but killed some of these" -meaning the Salafi youth and protesters- "and wounded dozens, and there are more than a hundred detainees who will be presented to the courts." He boasts of the achievements of his followers in killing, wounding, and imprisoning Muslims to please America, which mocks our religion, our Prophet ﷺ.
The "Nahda" foreign minister says after the events of the embassy, "Praise be to Allah, there were no casualties," the presenter objected that four of the protesters were killed, so he answered, "I thought you were asking about the Americans!"
Comparison with the Taifa Kings in Al-Andalus
This is a state of decline that few of the Taifa kings in Al-Andalus reached; for Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad - despite his humiliation to the Christians and paying them jizya - when "Alfonso VI" asked him to allow his wife to give birth in the mosque of Cordoba, the remaining nobility in him rose, and he sought the help of Yusuf ibn Tashfin, and said to those who feared that Ibn Tashfin would take his kingdom, "Tend the sheep and do not tend the pigs."
His honor rose when he was asked to do something that violated the sanctity of the mosque, and these people do not tend the pigs but rather oppress the Muslims for the sake of the pigs who mock Allah, His religion, and His Messenger. Then the hard-hearted officials of this government, who claim to be Islamic - and by Allah, they have no share of Islamic methodology - declare that the death of these youth will not change anything in the course of events, and will not be a means of pressure on the judiciary, and that the Salafis do not impose their agenda on us with this strike.
The infidels of Tunisia, called secularists, who openly insult Allah, these have no punishment from the Tunisian "Islamic" government, but rather they must be moderate, show the friendly face of Islam! As for those who are zealous for the religion of Allah, killing them is an honor, and let them die of hunger, they have no rights. This is the methodology of the Khawarij themselves: they kill the people of Islam and call the idolaters.
The farce reaches its peak when the Minister of Justice comes out to advise us that this strike is a form of throwing oneself into destruction, and Al-Ghannouchi comes out to say, "Whoever dies in a hunger strike is a sinner." Glory be to Allah! Now are you concerned with the rulings of Sharia?
In the Realm of Forgiveness: The Story of the Migrant with Tufail ibn Amr
Our brothers Bashir Al-Qali and Muhammad Al-Bakhti, we hope for them mercy and forgiveness. Imam Muslim, Malik, and Ahmad narrated that Tufail ibn Amr migrated to Medina with a man from his people, but he could not bear the climate of Medina and the heat that was there, so the man fell ill and took a sharp tool (a sharp tool) and cut his joints (meaning his joints), until his hands bled until he died; meaning that this man killed himself.
Then his companion Tufail ibn Amr saw him in a dream, saw him in a good state, and saw him covering his hands, so he said to him, "What did your Lord do to you?" He said, "He forgave me for my migration to your Prophet ﷺ." He said, "Why do I see you covering your hands?" He said, "It was said to me: We will not rectify from you what you have corrupted." Tufail narrated this vision to the Prophet ﷺ, so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "O Allah, be a guardian for him and forgive him, O Allah, be a guardian for him and forgive him."
Although the man killed himself, and killing the self is one of the greatest major sins, but the Most Merciful, Glorified be He, honored this man and forgave him for a great reason, which is migration to the Prophet ﷺ. And our brothers Al-Qali and Al-Bakhti, we hope for them mercy and forgiveness from their Lord, Glorified be He; because they were zealous for the religion of Allah, were angry for Allah, and were imprisoned in the cause of Allah.
A Message to the Salafi Youth in Tunisia
For your Lord and your Prophet, you have changed for your religion under a party that claims to be Islamic, and after a revolution that is supposed to have removed injustice, tyranny, and disbelief from your country, then you are imprisoned for long days without the slightest respect for your humanity or the need of your families for you. We understand the oppression you feel, and we have imprisoned those like you before and felt the oppression as you feel it, but Tunisia awaits you, O brothers, and you, by the permission of Allah, are its leaders to a new dawn, so preserve your good selves and do not harm them with the strike, for by Allah, they are precious and the nation is in need of them.
Then I advise my brothers and beloved sons of the Salafi call in Tunisia to rally around their scholars and trust them, for you have scholars and scholars whom we consider sincere and are envied for them, such as Sheikh Al-Khatib Al-Idrisi, Sheikh Abu Ayyad, and many others, so trust them and obey their command.
We know that you are subjected to intolerable provocation, and we know that Tunisia is intended to become another Algeria where callers are slaughtered, and we have seen from you great patience and wisdom. And if some of your scholars strive for calmness and dialogue in order to alleviate the suffering of your brothers in captivity, they are striving, and the matter is subject to ijtihad, and whoever refrains from dialogue with the oppressors without blaming his brothers is also striving.
And those who conspire against you from the ignorant secularists of Tunisia and the Western powers behind them want you to divide, disperse, and dispute so that you fail and lose your honor. So be patient, for the end is for the righteous.
Conclusion and Supplication
In conclusion, we say to the wise among the Ennahda Party - if there are any wise people left among them: No matter what your view of the youth of the Salafi call in Tunisia, and no matter what mistakes you imagine they have made or are actually real, they are Muslims in the end. So consider, do you want to face Allah the Almighty on the Day of Judgment, and He asks you: "You killed and imprisoned My servants who were angry on My behalf to please those who mocked Me"? What answer have you prepared for this situation?
O Allah, relieve the distress of the Muslims in Tunisia, have mercy on those of our brothers who were killed, free the captives from prisons, and decree for Tunisia a matter of righteousness in which the people of Your obedience are honored and the people of Your disobedience are humiliated.
Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.