The Majlis ul-Ummah is one of the governance and management institutions. The existence of a system for consultation and accounting has divine evidence, even if the method of electing the Shura and accounting representatives is different. Therefore, it is not permissible for the Khaleefah to abolish the Majlis ul-Ummah, and he would be sinful if he abolished it.

Israel once again bombs the men, women and children of Gaza. Predictably the rulers in the Muslim world give their usual lip service condemnation. Egypt's Mohamed Mursi said, "The Israelis must realize that we don't accept this aggression and that it can only lead to instability in the region." But like his predecessor Mubarak, Mursi indeed accepts this aggression by refusing to take any concrete action such as tearing up the 1979 peace treaty or sending the army in to Sinai to annex Gaza back to Egypt.

Since its inception Israel has committed atrocity after atrocity against the Muslim ummah leading some of those in positions of power to become weak and frightened of standing up to such a 'powerful' state. But Israel is not the first arrogant aggressor to attack the Muslim ummah. In the mid-13th century the Mongol Empire under the leadership of Hulagu Khan (Genghis Khan's grandson) invaded the Islamic Khilafah, occupying its lands and even killing the Khaleefah Al-Musta'sim in Baghdad. The Mongols slaughtered tens of thousands of Muslims and looted and destroyed mosques, libraries and hospitals.

After the invasion of Iraq, Hulagu occupied Palestine and sent envoys to Sultan Qutuz in Cairo, demanding his surrender. Hulagu like Israel's leaders saw himself as undefeatable. He arrogantly wrote:

"From the King of Kings of the East and West, the Great Khan. To Qutuz the Mamluk, who fled to escape our swords. You should think of what happened to other countries and submit to us. You have heard how we have conquered a vast empire and have purified the earth of the disorders that tainted it. We have conquered vast areas, massacring all the people. You cannot escape from the terror of our armies. Where can you flee? What road will you use to escape us? Our horses are swift, our arrows sharp, our swords like thunderbolts, our hearts as hard as the mountains, our soldiers as numerous as the sand. Fortresses will not detain us, nor armies stop us. Your prayers to God will not avail against us. We are not moved by tears nor touched by lamentations. Only those who beg our protection will be safe. Hasten your reply before the fire of war is kindled. Resist and you will suffer the most terrible catastrophes. We will shatter your mosques and reveal the weakness of your God and then will kill your children and your old men together. At present you are the only enemy against whom we have to march."

Sultan Qutuz feared Allah سبحانه وتعالى and was not weakened by the Mongol threats. Rather he responded by mobilising the Muslim army and marching it out of Egypt, through Gaza and in to Palestine inflicting a humiliating defeat on the Mongols at the famous Battle of Ain Jaloot.

We must remember that the responsibility of halting Israel's aggression falls on the Muslim Ummah and specifically those with the capability to halt it which is the Muslim armies. These armies will only be released by a Khaleefah who like Sultan Qutuz fears none but Allah سبحانه وتعالى and doesn't fear the Jews or the Christians, Israel and America, or their allies.

قَاتِلُوهُمْ يُعَذِّبْهُمُ اللَّهُ بِأَيْدِيكُمْ وَيُخْزِهِمْ وَيَنْصُرْكُمْ عَلَيْهِمْ وَيَشْفِ صُدُورَ قَوْمٍ مُؤْمِنِينَ 

"Fight them! Allah will punish them at your hands, and disgrace them and help you against them, and heal the hearts of those who have iman."

(al-Taubah, 9:14)

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INTRODUCTION TO SECOND EDITION

In this new edition I have made some cosmetic changes to the layout, fonts and Qur’anic verses. Chapter 6 – Counterbalances to the executive power of the Khaleefah, has been completely reformatted to make it easier to read. 

Section 1.4 - Binding the Khaleefah to specific conditions, has been rewritten because previously it came across that it was permitted to impose an unrestricted condition on the Bay’ah to bind the Khaleefah to a particular opinion. This is not correct. In origin it is not allowed unless it will unify the ummah for their own good. This is an exception to the general rule derived from the consensus (ijma) of the sahaba. 

Chapter 8 - Accountability is a right of all citizens, contains a reference to an incident between Mu’awiya and Jariya which is partly narrated in Suyuti’s book History of the Caliphs. However, the final part where Mu’awiya is discussing with the Romans is not narrated in Suyuti’s book. It was taken from an old Al-Waie magazine article published in the mid 1990’s. Instead of removing this last section I have added a reference to the Al-Waie magazine reference in the footnotes based on trust. If I find the full historical reference in the future then I will update this in a later edition. I have left the original introduction because the examples are still relevant post Arab spring. The conclusion however has been updated. 

Abdul-Kareem Jamil

Shawwal 1433, September 2012

A new anti-Islamic film 'The Innocence of Muslims' has been released in America. Unable to control their venom and hatred for Islam, the kuffar have once again unleashed a vicious attack on our beloved Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. 

Sam Bacile, the film's creator is not the first to produce a drama insulting the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم. In 1889 Henri de Bornier, a French poet and dramatist wrote an anti-Islamic play called Mahomet. Even though the Ottoman Caliphate was in a declined state and dubbed the 'sick-man of Europe', the French Prime Minister Charles de Freycinet banned the play in 1890 after opposition from the Caliphate. 

"Bornier himself was the victim of blind and unreasoning Muslim prejudice in regard to his Mahomet. The play was being rehearsed in 1889 when a Turkish newspaper reproduced from a French journal the news of its forthcoming production. The French Foreign Ministry assured the Turkish ambassador in Paris, Es'at Pasha, that the play did not constitute an attack on the Prophet and on the cherished beliefs of the Muslims. Bornier pointed out that the Persian ta'ziyas or passion plays regularly depicted the death of Muhammad as well as those of the Shi'ite martyrs, and he offered to accept prohibition of his work's being played in Algeria and Tunisia. These arguments still failed to satisfy the Turkish authorities, and in 1890 the head of the government, Freycinet, banned the production of Mahomet in France, a prohibition which, it was reported, gave much pleasure to the Sultan Abd al-Hamid II. It must be admitted that Muslims would undeniably find offensive a play in which their Prophet killed himself because of a woman and because of inferiority feelings vis-a-vis Christianity, but there is no evidence that either the Turkish ambassador or the Sultan had seen the play, much less read it, when they first objected to it. The French government's surrender to this Turkish pressure was plausibly attributed by Martino to the contemporary political situation, for in 1889 the German Emperor William II was beginning his journey to Istanbul and the Near East, and France feared to do anything which might drive Turkey further into Germany's arms; the susceptibilities of France's numerous Muslim subjects in North Africa must also have been a consideration. Not till 1896 were excerpts from Mahomet presented to the public in a special arrangement for theatrical declamation. Since Bornier's time, no major European dramatist seems to have essayed a play on the life of the Prophet."

(Source: C. E. Bosworth, 'A Dramatisation of the Prophet Muhammad's Life: Henri de Bornier's "Mahomet",' Numen, Vol. 17, Fasc. 2 (Aug., 1970), p. 116) 

After failing to defeat Islam and its noble values intellectually all the west has left are insults, lies and fabrications. These attacks will ultimately fail. They will strengthen the believers and they will generate greater interest in Islam among the non-Muslim populations in western countries who are embracing Islam in greater numbers.

 يُرِيدُونَ لِيُطْفِئُوا نُورَ اللَّهِ بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَاللَّهُ مُتِمُّ نُورِهِ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ الْكَافِرُونَ 

"They desire to extinguish Allah's Light with their mouths but Allah will perfect His Light, though the kafirun hate it." 

(as-Saff, 61:8) 

A future Caliphate will use all its political, economic and military resources to protect the honour of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم and all the other Prophets including Adam, Noah (Nuh), Moses (Musa) and Jesus son of Mary (Isa ibn Maryam), peace be upon them all.

The Battle of Yarmuk was part of the campaign to conquer Syria and open it to Islam. The Amir of Jihad was Khalid bin Walid who was appointed by the Khaleefah Umar ibn al-Khattab. At the start of the battle a Roman general by the name of George emerged from the Roman centre and rode towards the Muslims. Halting a short distance from the Muslim centre, he raised his voice and asked for Khalid bin Walid (Amir of Jihad). From the Muslim side Khalid rode out, delighted at the thought that the battle would begin with himself fighting a duel. He would set the pace for the rest of the battle. 

As Khalid drew near, the Roman made no move to draw his sword, but continued to look intently at Khalid. The Muslim advanced until the necks of the horses crossed, and still George did not draw his sword. Then he spoke, in Arabic: "O Khalid, tell me the truth and do not deceive me, for the free do not lie and the noble do not deceive. Is it true that Allah sent a sword from heaven to your Prophet and that he gave it to you and that never have you drawn it but your enemies have been defeated?" 

"No!" replied Khalid. 

"Then why are you known as the Sword of Allah?" 

Here Khalid told George the story of how he received the title of Sword of Allah from the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. George pondered this a while, then with a pensive look in his eyes, asked, "Tell me, what do you call me to?" 

"To bear witness", Khalid replied, "that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His Slave and Messenger; and to believe in what he has brought from Allah."

"If I do not agree?"

"Then pay the Jizya, and you shall be under our protection."

"If I still do not agree?"

"Then the sword!"

George considered the words of Khalid for a few moments, then asked, "What is the position of one who enters your faith today?" "In our faith there is only one position. All are equal."

"Then I accept your faith!" 1 

To the astonishment of the two armies, which knew nothing of what had passed between the two generals, Khalid turned his horse and rode slowly with the Roman to the Muslim army. On arrival at the Muslim centre George repeated after Khalid: "There is no god but Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah!" A few hours later the newly-converted George would fight heroically for the faith which he had just embraced and would die in battle as a shaheed the greatest death. 2

O Syrian Army Commanders!

You have the power to end the bloodshed, to remove the corrupt Assad regime and to give support (nusra) for the establishment of Khilafah. This Khilafah will bring peace and unity once again to the blessed land of ash-Sham after decades of oppression. 

Seize this opportunity in the month of Ramadhan to become one of the heroes of ash-Sham like Khalid bin Walid and Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, and achieve the greatest prize of all - Al-Jannah. 

Allah says:

 فَلْيُقَاتِلْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ الَّذِينَ يَشْرُونَ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا بِالْآخِرَةِ ۚ وَمَنْ يُقَاتِلْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَيُقْتَلْ أَوْ يَغْلِبْ فَسَوْفَ نُؤْتِيهِ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا وَمَا لَكُمْ لَا تُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَالْمُسْتَضْعَفِينَ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ وَالنِّسَاءِ وَالْوِلْدَانِ الَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا أَخْرِجْنَا مِنْ هَٰذِهِ الْقَرْيَةِ الظَّالِمِ أَهْلُهَا وَاجْعَلْ لَنَا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ وَلِيًّا وَاجْعَلْ لَنَا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ نَصِيرًا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ۖ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ الطَّاغُوتِ فَقَاتِلُوا أَوْلِيَاءَ الشَّيْطَانِ ۖ إِنَّ كَيْدَ الشَّيْطَانِ كَانَ ضَعِيفًا 

“So let those who sell the life of this world for the Next World fight in the Way of Allah. If someone fights in the Way of Allah, whether he is killed or is victorious, We will pay him an immense reward. What reason could you have for not fighting in the Way of Allah – for those men, women and children who are oppressed and say, ‘Our Lord, take us out of this city whose inhabitants are wrongdoers! Give us a protector from You! Give us a helper from You!’? Those who have iman fight in the Way of Allah. Those who are kafir fight in the way of false gods (taaghoot). So fight the friends of Shaytan! Shaytan’s scheming is always feeble.” 3

1. Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 595 

2. Lieutenant-General A.I. Akram, ‘The Sword of Allah: Khalid bin Al-Waleed, His Life and Campaigns,’ October 1969 

3. Holy Qur’an, Surah An-Nisaa, 74-76

 The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

 أَفْضَلُ الْجِهَادِ كَلِمَةُ عَدْلٍ عِنْدَ سُلْطَانٍ جَائِرٍ 

“The best Jihad is the word of Justice in front of the oppressive Sultan.” 

(Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, ibn Maja) 

In 1993, Sheikh Ali al-Qattan was praying at the Prophet's صلى الله عليه وسلم mosque in Medina, when he was surprised to find Hosni Mubarak entering the prayer hall. 

"It was a spontaneous incident, I didn't plan for this," Sheikh Qattan told Egyptian television talk show "Al Haqiqa" (The Truth) this week. 

"After we finished the prayer I turned and I saw the president; it was strange because they had emptied a large section of the prayer hall for him to enter. He had bodyguards around him that were heavily armed; it all looked very hostile and made the atmosphere in the masjid uncomfortable." 

Sheikh Qattan then stood up and walked closer to the former president and told him to "fear Allah" in a display of his anger at how Mubarak was leading the country. 

At that time Sheikh Qattan explains "security forces would roam Egypt's streets and randomly fire at Egyptians." 

After saying his words, Sheikh Qattan said Mubarak "immediately looked uneasy." "He spun left and right to look around him to call his bodyguards. The guards immediately seized me violently and surrounded Mubarak, pushing him quickly outside of the prayer hall. I then understood that he was probably scared that some sort of violent attack on him would follow."

The guards then put their hands over my mouth, as if to stop me from saying anything more, but I hadn't planned to. They took me out of the hall, not even giving him a chance to wear my shoes. "They carried out a body search to look for a bomb or a weapon. When they couldn't find anything on me, one officer told me: 'You've embarrassed us. You should have told [Mubarak] that in Egypt.'" 

To that, Sheikh Qattan responded: "We're in a mosque; it's for all of the international Muslim community and it felt right to say such a [religious] comment in a mosque." 

Sheikh Qattan was taken from Medina to a Jeddah province to be interrogated. He recalls being dragged down by a "10-kilogram chain and ball" whilst walking in the airport to the plane. 

After he was questioned in Saudi Arabia, a group from Egypt's National Security came to take him back to Egypt. 

"It was as if I was a terrorist. They tied me up with several chains and handcuffs. They even wanted to sedate me, pressuring me to drink the sedative, but I told them I was fasting and would not drink anything," he said. 

The former prison officer at the jail Sheikh Qattan was detained in, Major-General Ibrahim Abd al-Ghaffar, described how Sheikh Qattan was treated during his imprisonment. 

"For years he was locked up in solitary confinement and not allowed to have visitors by an order from the interior minister. I decided to take him out of the room he was locked in and every day I would tell him to come to my office, where he could sit with me and drink tea. I knew he was being tyrannized." 

During his television interview, Sheikh Qattan mentioned that in Islamic history, the term "Fear Allah" was said to the Caliphs of Islam. "Caliphs used to urge people to advise them to fear Allah. When they heard it, they would not be infuriated [like Mubarak was], but they would welcome it as advice," he said. 

The Sheikh is correct; the Rightly Guided Caliphs were pleased when the ummah stood up and accounted them. 

One day Caliph Umar bin al-Khattab stood up and delivered a speech in which he said: “O people, whoever among you sees any crookedness in me, let him straighten it.” A man stood up and said: “By Allah, if we see any crookedness in you we will straighten it with our swords.” Umar said: “Praise be to Allah Who has put in this ummah people who will straighten the crookedness of Umar with their swords.” 

[Dr Muhammad as-Sallabi, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, His life and Times,’ vol. 1, p. 213] 

Even after the time of the Rightly Guided Caliphs there were rulers who were pleased with being accounted by the ummah. 

The governor of Iraq from 694-714CE was Hajjaj bin Yusuf. He is well known for being a harsh and feared ruler who was severe against the ummah yet similar to Sheikh Qattan there was another Sheikh who wasn’t afraid to account Hajjaj when he saw him doing wrong. 

Abu Abdullah bin Katheer narrated that Hajjaj bin Yusuf performed prayer once beside Sa’eed bin Al-Musayyab (famous scholar from the Tabi’een) and Hajjaj was raising his head and going down before the Imam. When the Imam made the Salam, Sa’eed held Hajjaj by his garment while he (Sa’eed) was still doing some Dhikr that he used to say after the prayer and Hajjaj was struggling to free his garment so that he could stand up and go. Sa’eed kept pulling him back to sit down until he finished his Dhikr. When Sa’eed finished he reached for his shoes and raised them as if he wanted to hit him with them and said: “Thief! Treacherous! This is how you perform prayer?! I had wanted to strike your face with these shoes!” 

Hajjaj then went away. He was on Hajj and went back to Syria. Later, he was sent to Al-Madinah as its governor. When he arrived there, he went to the mosque aiming for the place of Sa’eed bin Al-Musayyab. The people said: “He only came to Sa’eed to take revenge from him.” So, Hajjaj came and sat in front of Sa’eed and said: “Are you the one who uttered those words?” He struck his own chest confidently and said: “Yes, I am the one!” Hajjaj then said: "May Allah reward you with the best reward that a teacher and educator can get! Ever since I left you, I have not performed prayer without remembering those words of yours." He then rose up and left. 

[Salaahud-Deen Ali Abdul-Mawjood, ‘Biography of Sa’eed bin Al-Musayyab,’ p. 174] 

The ummah needs more people like Sheikh Qattan who fear nothing but Allah and are not afraid to account the tyrant ruler even if it leads to torture and imprisonment.