Episode 16 - You Will Remember What I Say to You

Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.

Determining the Goal of Democratic Participation

Dear brothers, we mentioned in the previous episode that Muslims who engage in democratic politics must clearly define their goal: is it the implementation of Sharia or partial reforms?

Sharia and Compromises

If the goal is the implementation of Sharia and the Islamization of society, it is not the way of Allah the Almighty to allow believers to achieve this great goal through compromises and participation in a game that makes legislation for other than Allah the Almighty. And Allah the Most High has decreed that our enemies are still fighting you until they turn you away from your religion if they can. And the enemies of Sharia, like their masters the Jews and Christians, will not be pleased with anyone until he follows their religion. And they have plotted by day and night, and they have woven their constitutions and laws, and they have closed their loopholes against those who dream of implementing Sharia through them.

And one of the biggest mistakes that some Muslims have made in our time is the neglect of these facts, and they imagined that Jahiliyyah would make peace with them if they made peace with it, and they were deceived by the promises of the enemies of Sharia who deceived the Muslims with the possibility of reaching Sharia and implementing it through their official ways.

The Reality of the Battle Between Islam and Jahiliyyah

I would like to mention here the meaning of the words of Sayyid Qutb, may Allah have mercy on him, in the shade of His saying: {And those who disbelieved said to their messengers, "We will surely expel you from our land, or you must return to our religion." So their Lord inspired to them, "We will surely destroy the wrongdoers. And We will surely settle you in the land after them. That is for he who fears My position and fears My warning."}

Here, the reality of the battle and its nature between Islam and Jahiliyyah is revealed. The Jahili system, by its organic nature, does not allow a Muslim element to work from within it, except that the Muslim's work, effort, and strength are for the account of the Jahili system.

The Illusion of Working Within Jahili Systems

And to clarify this, those who imagine that they are able to work for their religion through infiltration into Jahili gatherings and blending into their formations and institutions, are people who do not understand the organic nature of these gatherings. This nature that forces every individual within these gatherings to work for its account and for the account of its methodology and vision. Therefore, believers refuse to engage in Jahili systems.

And here Allah distinguishes between believers and tyrants who stand in the way of the call: {So their Lord inspired to them, "We will surely destroy the wrongdoers. And We will surely settle you in the land after them. That is for he who fears My position and fears My warning."}

And we must understand that Allah's victory for the believers over the tyrants comes only after the believers' distinction and separation from the tyrants based on creed. And this victory will never be while the believers are blending into the Jahili system, working through its conditions and formations, not separated nor distinguished from it.

Lessons from Islamic History

So, as Imam Malik said: "The end of this Ummah will not be rectified except by what rectified its beginning." And Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said before: "Whatever we seek honor with other than what Allah has honored us with, Allah will humble us." And Allah did not honor the beginning of this Ummah with compromises, but with steadfastness and sacrifices.

Democracy as an Alternative to Islam

The West has introduced democracy to the Islamic world not to be an alternative to dictatorship, but to be an alternative to Islam. Therefore, it is a democracy conditioned not to bring Islamists to power, but this is its goal: that Islamists do not reach power. And American politicians and their followers have stated this repeatedly that democracy is not for the enemies of democracy. Democracy does not bring an Islamist to power, and if it does, it is after removing his Islamicity. And if he wants to save the orphans, and if this Islamist remains with an Islamic identity, the masters of democracy will turn against him and deny their democracy.

Stages of Rule in Prophethood

The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Prophethood will be among you as long as Allah wills it to be, then He will raise it if He wills, then there will be a caliphate upon the method of prophethood." Notice after the oppressive king, the Prophet, peace be upon him, did not say that there will be an Islamic democracy and then a caliphate upon the method of prophethood. This will not happen. The Ummah will remain under the oppressive king and coercive rule until Allah, the Most High, honors a pure group with a pure methodology to restore the caliphate upon the method of prophethood.

The Illusion of the Easy Way

Democracy is not the way, even if some Islamists make it easy and see it as a path full of roses with few sacrifices and follow it for that reason. He is like a man who wanted to reach the summit, but he saw that its path was rugged and desolate, and he saw in contrast a paved path full of roses in which he found comfort, but its only flaw was that it did not lead to the summit but in the opposite direction of the summit, so what this path adds to the summit is only distance. It is better for our friend not to take this path. And what is the benefit of moving quickly and easily if it is in the opposite direction required?

And we ask the parliamentary Islamists: Do you have a single example from history where the jurisprudence of compromise brought an Islamic state and the implementation of Sharia? Review history and bring a single example. And after this, all reality testifies, and reality testifies and you will become more and more certain day after day, that Islam will not be established through the path of compromise, parliament, and positive constitutions, but this path will only distance the Islamic project from the establishment of religion.

You will remember what I say to you, you will remember what I say to you, and I entrust my affairs to Allah. The days will reveal to you what was hidden, and news will come to you from the one you did not expect.

The True Role of Islamists

Therefore, we say to the parliamentary Islamists: Be clear and honest with yourselves and say that our goal is to implement some reforms and reduce corruption. At that point, we say: Islamic work and the Islamic project are too noble to be reformist and remedial, patching up the Jahili system.

Then, if these partial reforms are without compromising creedal constants and without the dangerous and catastrophic corruption that resulted from compromises, we would say there is no harm. But to work from within the democratic system and give it legitimacy and only achieve secondary and meager gains, and all this in the name of Islam, this is a degradation of Islam and a belittlement of its image.

Jahili Systems as a Building on the Brink of Collapse

Jahili systems are like a building built on the edge of a cliff, ready to collapse. Our role as workers for Islam is to say to the people: these buildings are ready to collapse, get out of them. Do not participate, O people, in the democratic process, do not participate in this corrupt building. It is not our role to enter these buildings and carry out partial repairs and patch up the cracks, for the building is corrupt and beyond repair, founded on bad and weak foundations, ready to collapse. And the repairs of this are a deception of the people and a delusion for them and a waste of their time in this building that will collapse.

Therefore, when it collapses, the people will curse us and throw us into the dark corners of history with the crumbling structures that we tried to repair. But if we had warned these peoples of this building and said to them: Come, O peoples, this Jahili building will collapse, come, let us build a new building on solid foundations, then as soon as the Jahili building collapses, those who were skeptical will believe us, and those who opposed us will join us, and those who listened to the lies of our enemies will trust us, and the peoples will rally around us more.

This is our role, not to be a fig leaf covering the nakedness of Jahili structures and prolonging their existence.

Conclusion

In conclusion, let Muslims remember that when they declare an Islamic identity in their political work related to governing people, this entails that their goals should be the goals of the Islam they carry and have declared its identity. Do they accept for the Islam that Allah has revealed a comprehensive system of life where people submit only to the sovereignty of Allah? Do they accept for it to be piecemeal and remedial?

Summary of the episode: If the goal of the Islamists from concessions and democratic play is the implementation of Sharia, then this goal is too noble to be achieved by this means. And if the goal is partial improvements, then Islam is too noble to have this as its goal.

Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.