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Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings be upon the Seal of the Prophets. Dear beloved, peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.
We continue with the story of the three men. In the previous episode, we concluded with the first man. Today, we are with the second man. Let me remind you of what the second man did. When he saw his house on fire, we said that he was preoccupied with extinguishing the fire heading towards his money chest, leaving his suffocating wife and besieged children. Then he prayed two voluntary rak'ahs and prolonged his prostration, asking Allah the Almighty to extinguish the fire with a miracle from Him.
What is meant by the second man in our reality? Simply put, it is not enough to declare the application of the Sharia. Yes, we demand that the advocates of the Islamic project declare the sovereignty of the Sharia from the very first moment, but there is no doubt that this declaration alone is not enough. Under this symbolic image, several examples fall.
The first example: declaring the application of the Sharia while neglecting to take worldly causes to care for the interests of the people. The Islamic state should not think that by adhering to the Sharia it will succeed and that Allah will be with it, while neglecting to take the causes of worldly success, such as good governance of people's affairs, diligence, activity, and tireless effort in building the state economically and militarily, employing specialists in various fields, those who establish the collective obligations, precise planning, employing the sciences of administration, communication, advertising, and hard work to provide people's needs of housing, food, health care, and job opportunities.
All of this is part of applying the Sharia, and if the state falls short in completing it according to its capacity and ability, it should not expect Allah's victory for it. Have you seen how the second man left his house burning and prayed two voluntary rak'ahs, prolonged his prostration, and asked Allah to save his wife and children with a miracle from Him? Is he not then a sinful wrongdoer?
Therefore, the advocates of the Islamic project must exert their utmost effort and prepare as much as they can, and then Allah will bless their efforts with a great blessing. This is a reminder to those who call for the implementation of the Sharia while often being negligent in worldly matters and in matters of the Hereafter, and who do not excel in any craft or trade. Failure in your practical or scientific life will discourage people from your call. People will be discouraged from your call to the Sharia, no matter how beautifully you present your arguments and gather evidence. People will not imagine that a man who is a burden on his society will establish a strong state that takes care of its children, and a man who cannot wake up for Fajr prayer will not be able to bring the nation from its darkness to a new dawn. Those who call for the Sharia must be people of zeal who revive the nation, serious and sincere in their fields, whatever their fields may be: calling to Islam, sciences, crafts, or others.
The second example: those who declare the application of the Sharia and are sincere in its application, taking the material causes, but mistreat people, provoke their anger, or misorder priorities, expecting that their sincerity in applying the Sharia will patch every tear. This contradicts the command of the Prophet peace be upon him when he said to Mu'adh and Abu Musa may Allah be pleased with them: "Make things easy for the people and do not make them difficult, and give them good tidings and do not make them flee." And when he said to Mu'adh: "And beware of their nobles' wealth." And when he ordered Mu'adh to prioritize the presentation of the religion to the people.
We, while demanding that the advocates of the Islamic project establish the religion of Allah and that they not be deterred by the blame of the blamers nor be hindered by the reactions of the people, this does not mean violence in dealing with people. Rather, the advocates of the Islamic project are the most deserving of being gentle and kind to the people. The strength in establishing the religion does not contradict good governance of people, winning their hearts, and dealing with them wisely within the bounds of the Sharia, within the bounds of the Sharia. Look at how Allah the Almighty made those who reconcile hearts among those to whom the zakat is distributed, despite the establishment of the proof and the strength of the religion in itself. Allah is kind and loves kindness and gives for kindness what He does not give for violence and what He does not give for anything else, as Imam Muslim narrated.
And since we mentioned that declaring the sovereignty of the Sharia alone is not enough, there remains a third example that is less related to the story of the three men, but it is good to mention it here to confirm that it is not the declaration alone that is required. This third example is of those who declare the application of the Sharia but are not sincere in its application at all. This is, in many respects, no less evil than the declaration of not applying the Sharia in the first place. This is the path of destruction. "Verily, those who were before you were destroyed because when a nobleman among them stole, they would leave him, and when a weak one among them stole, they would apply the punishment upon him."
It is not enough to declare the application of the Sharia. What is the benefit of this declaration if the wealth of the nation is given to its enemies under the cover of unjust foreign investment contracts and arms deals that only target the Muslims? What is the benefit of declaring the application of the Sharia in a country if it supplies the aircraft of the enemies of the Sharia with fuel and opens its lands for them to establish their camps, to roam and launch attacks from there to kill the Muslims, violate their sanctities, and trample their dignity?
What is the benefit of this declaration if the zealous callers to the religion of Allah and to the Messenger of Allah, those who enjoin good and forbid evil, are imprisoned and mistreated, while the door is opened for every evil person to transgress against the Sharia and spread his poison? What is the benefit of this declaration if the mosques of Allah are stripped of their role, and even the supplication for the oppressed Muslims is prevented from their pulpits, except for those permitted by the enemies of the nation to supplicate for them? What is the benefit of this declaration if its declarer interferes in the wealth of the nation without right, while millions of Muslims die of hunger, thirst, and disease?
Is all of this not a hindrance to the Sharia, but rather a war against the Sharia? Allah is not pleased with the declaration of the application of the Sharia being a cloak under which sins are committed. Rather, He is pleased with this distorted form of the enemies of Allah, the clear-eyed Crusaders, and others. As long as their interests are preserved, the wealth of the Muslims is plundered for them, and the youth of Islam are imprisoned, it does not matter to them at all that the state applies the punishment of theft to the weak in the name of the Sharia. Rather, these distorted models are used to frighten people away from the application of the Sharia, so that when we call for its application, some people throw these models in our faces as if we are admitting to them. And whoever applies the Sharia in this manner justifies the abandonment of supporting the Muslims and even participating in their oppression with religious phrases related to preserving wealth and interests, just as the second man did by saving the money chest instead of saving his wife and children until they were burned.
This was the stand with the second man in the story of the three men. Our most important stand, by the permission of Allah, will be with the third man, which is filled with lessons and examples regardless of what the events in the countries where the advocates of the Islamic project were given the opportunity have turned out to be or will turn out to be, but some of them did what the third man did. And Allah is the one whose help we seek. So follow us, for there are benefits in it, by the permission of Allah.
Episode summary: It is not enough to declare the application of the Sharia, but rather it is necessary to be sincere in its application, to govern people well, and to take the material causes for success. And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.