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This content has been automatically translated. View original in Arabic
Peace be upon you and God’s mercy, dear audience.
We all rejoiced at the fall of the “fugitive tyrant’s” regime more than ten months ago, and we spoke about the cunning and malice of the international system, which hastened to ensure that no Islamic system would replace it—one that had been complicit with Bashar in perpetuating the tragedies of Saydnaya, the human presses, the Caesar files, and other scandals.
Observant followers of this humble servant noticed that I refrained from commenting on events under the new administration, and this silence had its reasons. So, what has changed that now prompts me to speak? What has changed is a message I received from a noble brother, from which it is clear that this silence has been misunderstood in ways that distort the call of this humble servant.
The purpose of this segment is not to clarify my stance on what is happening in Syria but rather to prevent the misunderstanding of my commitment to silence and its misuse. I say this only because I will read the long message I received. If anyone expects me to clarify my detailed stance afterward, I say: withdraw now to save your time. But if you interpreted my abstention from taking a public stance as a stance in itself and consider it important, then stay with me to the end.
The brother who sent the message says:
“Dr. Iyad Qunaybi, peace be upon you and God’s mercy. I am a Syrian doctor residing in a certain Western country. I have been following you since 2015, and I consider you to have surpassed my expectations regarding the establishment of Sharia and the comprehensiveness of Islam. After getting to know you, I revisited all your stances and statements regarding the democratic experiment in Egypt and the jihadi experiences in Syria, and I consider them balanced and successful by God’s grace. I know that some have accused you of extremism or negligence, and I am fully aware that this stems from slander, following whims, or ignorance.
I followed your series ‘Victory for Sharia,’ through which my pride in God’s law and my deep faith in the fact that humanity has no salvation except through it increased. Then I followed your series ‘The Journey of Certainty’ and ‘The Test,’ which further strengthened my certainty and love for my Lord, may He be glorified, and for His law.
Here I am, Doctor, asking you for one thing, and I hope you will not disappoint my request. I ask you: Have your previous opinions and stances changed? Do you no longer believe what you taught us about Sharia and the obligation to establish it? Or was I mistaken in my understanding of you in the past? Please do not ignore my message. I pledge not to share your response with anyone, but I desperately need this answer, Doctor.
I need it because, over the past years, through following your materials and those of some respected preachers and scholars, I have been blessed with something great: clear-cut certainties in my life—clear halal and haram. I have been blessed with clear certainties and a great goal: to be part of the project of establishing God’s law on Earth, this great law that has been absent, whose love has mingled with my blood and flesh.
But now I feel as though I am in a state of confusion, where the permissible and the forbidden, the certain and the speculative, have become mixed. This confusion arose after Syria was liberated from Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the new administration took control, and then things did not proceed as we were taught they should. Yet, neither you nor the preachers we respect have issued any notable denunciation—except for your occasional sharing of posts by some brothers, which makes me feel that you are not satisfied with how things are going.”
The doctor continues in his message:
“What has increased my confusion is what some of my friends—whom I consider righteous and who carry the concerns of the Ummah and respect your opinion—say. I have often noticed that among my friends, they consider your silence an endorsement of what the new administration is doing. I tell them: Dr. Iyad has extensively explained his stance on governance, the establishment of Sharia, and man-made laws in articles and series. Your silence now cannot be interpreted as a retreat from all of this or as approval of what is happening.
But the friends I mentioned have another opinion. Now listen, Doctor, to what they say:
After listing his friends’ opinions, the brother says: So I ask you, Dr. Iyad, is any of what my brothers said correct? I fully understand that your silence may be because you do not want some people to exploit your words in this complex situation, where there are many who lie in wait. But do you truly not see anything worth denouncing? Or perhaps you know, Doctor, that some respected preachers say what is happening in Syria is the establishment of Sharia. Are matters really this ambiguous? I beg you, Doctor, to answer me, for nothing is more painful than feeling lost and shaken in one’s principles.”
Well, my brothers, as I said at the beginning, the idea behind this segment is only to prevent the misunderstanding of my abstention from commenting on events in Syria as a stance in itself—a misunderstanding that occurred with the brothers mentioned by the doctor who sent the message. Therefore, I chose not only to answer his question privately but to publish it for everyone.
Is what the brothers said in interpreting my silence correct? Is the matter that I do not see anything worth denouncing, or even that I see what is happening as the establishment of Sharia, as some claim? Or perhaps I have retreated from my previous call regarding the establishment of Sharia?
No, none of this is true. However, I am indeed very cautious and careful not to say anything that malicious parties waiting in ambush could exploit or that some youth might misuse in a way that harms Muslims more than it benefits them. At the same time, I believe it is necessary to clarify the truth for people in the greatest matter for which they were created: the establishment of their Lord’s law in all aspects of life. This is the true servitude to Allah, may He be exalted, in its full and comprehensive sense.
I clarified my stance between 2012 and 2015 in dozens of articles and statements, disavowing both the negligence of democracy and the extremism of takfir. From time to time, we still publish material related to preserving the sanctity of Sharia and instilling its greatness in people’s hearts. If I had retreated from this call in its entirety, I would have deleted all related material and publicly disavowed it. I would not allow myself to leave behind in my life or after my death anything that would fill my records with the sin of misleading people.
My position is clear and explicit. Re-explaining it in light of current events in Syria is best done with thorough detail rather than brief, fragmented remarks. Short, isolated comments often invite emotional debates that prioritize defending individuals over seeking the truth with objectivity.
If we leave any part of the picture unexplained, everyone will fill the gaps with their own assumptions—none of which represent us. You will hear people say, "So you want confrontation with everyone, opening all fronts and dragging Muslims into battles they cannot handle? So you do not understand the rulings of necessity and compulsion." None of this is true.
The best approach is to speak only when we can provide detailed explanations that leave no room for ambiguity—a luxury we currently lack. However, it remains a communal obligation for scholars and callers to clarify the legal rulings on mistakes. Otherwise, what is known will become unknown, and what is unknown will be accepted, blurring the boundaries of Sharia. This is especially critical when voices emerge justifying every action by claiming, "Everything you see does not contradict the law of God the Almighty."
In short, our mission is to establish the law of God the Almighty, safeguard its sanctity, instill reverence for it in hearts, and make it beloved to all people. This is the great cause for which we live, and we ask God to take us to Him while upholding it. There is no righteousness for Muslims—neither in this world nor the Hereafter—without it.
No matter the pressures a Muslim faces, this does not justify abandoning the reference of Sharia. Nothing permits setting aside Sharia and seeking solutions from outside its framework. Any Muslim society must seek solutions within the texts of Sharia and its juristic interpretations. Sharia addresses difficult circumstances with divine, saving guidelines—not human whims that lead to ruin.
To those who constantly invoke compulsion, pressures, international conspiracies, and instability, we say: Because we recognize how dire the circumstances are, we emphasize these meanings all the more. By God, there is no way out of this except through God’s support and guidance—not through political cunning or diplomacy that disregards Sharia’s reference.
If no divine aid comes to the young man… His own efforts will first seal his fate.
I advise my brothers in Syria and everywhere to instill this spirit in people until it becomes a shared stance embraced by the masses, who yearn for it and strive to achieve it.
And God the Almighty knows best and is the wisest. Peace be upon you and God’s mercy.