( Reproduced from Sunday Tribune 11th April 04 )

Since it appears that Muslims were responsible for the recent bombings in Spain , a need has developed to explain these events in the light of the Shariah of Islam so that all confusion and misgiving are eliminated. For a proper understanding of this event and the Islamic Ruling for it, it is necessary to first understand the purpose of Islam. Why did Allah Ta'ala dispatch Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) to earth with His Final Message, the Shariah of Islam?

SALVATION

There is no gainsaying the purpose of Islam is the salvation (Najaat ) of mankind in the Aakirah. Islam came to extricate mankind from the morass of kufr, shirk, immorality and debauchery. It came to guarantee the everlasting success and pleasure of the Hereafter for Allah' s makhlooq (creation—man and jinn). There is no other goal of Islam other than this one aim. This goal is achieved by means of Da'wat and Tableegh — propagating Islam to mankind. Entire mankind is the target of Islamic D a 'wat and Tableegh . The ancestors of the more than a billion Muslims in the world were all Mushrikeen and kuffaar. Islam first came to the Arab nation. The Sahaabah carried the Message of this Deen to every corner of the world.

THE SWORD

The claim that the people of the world were forcibly converted to Islam is a historical fallacy and a gigantic slander. Undoubtedly, the Sword of Jihad served to conquer the lands of the kuffaar thereby clearing the pathway for Da'wat and Tableegh. The aim of gaining political domination of the lands of the kuffaar was never territorial or any other mundane considerations. The aim was solely to establish a free and friendly environment where Da'wat and Tableegh would find freeplay with no enemy forces to hinder its progress.



JIHAD

Jihad while essential and a fundamental requirement of Islam, is not an end in itself. It is a means for the acquisition of the higher and nobler aim of propagating the Deen to the creation of Allah Ta'ala so that all people could be saved from the everlasting damnation of the Hereafter. Jihad being the means for a great and noble achievement and goal, is therefore, a prin cipled institution of Islam. It is an obligation regulated by numerous laws. It is not an act of anarchy and revenge perpetrated to brutalise mankind. Brutalisation of Allah's creatures is an integral part of the character of the kuffaar. We observe its conspicuous manifestation today in Iraq, Palestine, Chechniya, Afghanistan and Kashmir. In the world of today, Americans, Britishers, Jews and Hindus, excel in the perpetration of state- terrorism — legalized terrorism — horror, torture and brutality. Every day volumes of testimony pile up all over the globe to damn these kuffaar who excel in savagery against mankind in general and against Muslims in particular.

COMPULSION

Responding to the enemy claim that Islam was spread by the sword, the Qur'aan Majeed says : “There is no compulsion in Deen. ” This is a specific negation of forcible conversion of non-Muslims to Islam. This aayat does not mean that the Islamic state may not utilize coercive power to compel Muslims to comply with the Shariah. The relevant Qur'aanic verse simply means that non-Muslims may not be converted by force because the repository of Imaan is the heart, and this receptacle of Belief cannever be converted by force. Only propagation, persuasion and display of sterling character can win over the hearts.

THE SAHAABAH

The very first group of Muballigheen who carried aloft the Message of Islam was the Sahaabah who had converted entire nations by active Tableegh , i.e. by means of their wonderful character. The paramount importance of Imaan is such that right in the battlefield if a defeated enemy who is on the verge of being slain by a Muslim blurts out the Kalimah — L a- ilaha illa llaah— then it is haraam to slay him. His verbal proclamation of the Islamic formula of Imaan guarantees the safety of his life, honour and property even if he had uttered it merely to save his life while his heart remains filled with kufr.

SANCTITY

Human life is sacred. Molesting and harming the creatures—even the animals and inanimate objects — without valid Shar'i reason are evil acts strictly proscribed by Islam. The sanctity of human life is adequately borne out by the command of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) to the Sahaabah to refrain from killing women, children and all civilians who are not active participants in the war against the Muslim army waging Jihad.

KUFR

There is no greater crime in Islam than kufr and shirk. Yet, the Shariah prohibits the killing of mushrik and kuffaar priests and monks who are engaged in their baatil acts of worship. Islam prohibits a scorched earth policy. Even trees and crops may not unnecessarily be destroyed in Jihad campaigns.

THE ATTITUDE

If the goal of Islam and its institution of Jihad have been properly understood, then it will not be difficult to understand what the attitude of Muslims should be in Jihad and when dealing with non-Muslims. The very first objective of Jihad is Da'wat and Tableegh . If the audience or the targets of Islamic prop a gation are alienated by implanting hatred for Muslims in their hearts, the avenue of Da'wat and Tableegh will be sealed. How can a person who has been brutalized be asked to accept the religion of the brutaliser? What will be the re sponse and the attitude of such non-Muslims t o Da'wat an d Tableegh if they have gained the impression that Islam advocates their extermination and allows horrendous methods of eliminating even women and children?

If the Sahaabah had adopted the tactic of massacre and brutality, would we today have been Muslims? Our ancestors were Hindus, Buddhists,Christians and mushriks of a variety of persuasions. But today, we are proud to be Believers in Tauheed. If in the minds of the Spanish non-Muslims the idea is solidified that Islam advocates what had transpired in Madrid recently, is it possible to invite them to Islam and their everlastin g Najaat in the Aakhirah?

INJUSTICES



Regardless of the injustices, the cruelty, the piracy and brutality which Christians (Americans and Britishers) are perpetrating and regardless of their conspiracy to eliminate Islam, we, the Torch-Bearers of true civilization and the Standard-Bearers of Tauheed and Hidaayah for Allah's Makhlooq are not allowed by the Shariah to descend to the inhuman level to which the Madrid bombers had sunk to.

JUSTICE

Is it justice and an act of holy jihad to mutilate, maim and kill Spanish civilians—men, women and children—as a punishment for the crimes committed by Bush and Blair? By what Islamic criterion can any Muslim justify this horrible misdeed? Furthermore, the majority of the Spanish non-Muslims had demonstrated against the invasion of Iraq . They had opposed their government which had supported the brutality in Iraq. The very ones who had opposed the American invasion have been dealt with mercilessly by some Muslims who do not have the faintest idea of the Islamic concept of Jihad.

Millions of non - Muslims, all over the world, even in America and Britain , had marched in demonstrations in opposition to the invasion. Innumerable non-Muslims in all non-Muslim countries are opposed to the murderous policies and criminal activities of Bush and Blair. What law now calls form eting out brutal treatment to such people? It cannever be Islamic law -never the Shariah of Islam.



ANARCHY

What had transpired in Spain— the Madrid bombings and murders — are Haraam , cruel and savage in the extreme, be the per petrators Muslims. Muslims who commit such acts are westernized Muslims who have no understanding of Islam and its goals. They have inherited the attitude of barbarism from the west. Islam never teaches such inhumanity. Islam is a spiritual and a celestial culture embodying all the noble qualities. The atrocities which so-called westernized ‘mujahideen' perpetrate in the name of Islam are never part of Islamic Jihad. Those who are guilty of such horrendous misdeeds are the followers of Bush and Blair and their institution of horrible torture, viz., the CIA.

SABR

When Muslims lack the power to face and defeat the enemy on the battlefield of Jihad, they have to adopt Sabr , morally reform themselves and develop spiritually until the Nusrat of Allah Ta'ala arrives. The time will then be ripe for destroying the enemies on the battle-field to clear the path for the propagation of the Message of Allah Ta'ala in the endeavour to present Salvation in the Hereafter to Allah's creatures. Muslims should remember that torture and brutality should be left to Bush and Blair. Muslims are not allowed by Islam to vie with butchers in their acts of butchery in which they murder tens of thousands of women and children in the most horrendous and cowardly way as is evidenced on a daily basis in Iraq and Palestine.

PALESTINE SHAIKH YAASEEN, RANTISSI AND THE WOMANISH OUTCRY

The shahaadat (martyrdom) of Shaikh Yaaseen and his successor Rantissi, is an honourable and a natural consequence of Jihad. The Mujahid ventures into the battle-field either for victory or martyrdom. If he falls at the altar of Sha haadat , there is nothing but accolades and Jannat for him. What is all the outcry about? Palestinians, even women and children are slaughtered in large numbers by the Israeli butchers on a regular basis. Just as they went and departed from this earthly realm, so too has Shaikh Yaaseen and Rantissi departed to an infinitely better place, Insha'Allah.

However, the outcry and reviling of the enemy and making empty threats of the magnitude of a proposed revenge, are womanish tactics devoid of substance. If the Mujahideen possess the ability, they should demonstrate it on the battle-field, not make womanish noises when they fall in action to gain martyrdom. If they lack the power to punish the enemy adequately -which unfortunately they do presently lack - they should make Sabr , repent and seek Allah's aid through the avenue of obedience and the Sunnah. Do Muslims in general, and Pales - tinians in particular, expect Israel to act in any way other than what it has demonstrated? Was its deed unexpected? There is a war of a half century in progress in Palestine. What has happened is therefore entirely expected. Futile out- cries and ranting like women serve to make a greater mockery of those who claim that they are Mujahideen.

THE RESPONSE

The response for the atrocities committed by the Yahood is not the isolated act of bombing a bus of civilians. Islam teaches only one response—to face, fight and destroy the army of the enemy in active Jihad on the battlefield. The argument that this is not possible due to American support for Israel is palpably stupid, baseless and smacks of kufr. It is an argument which presupposes impotency for Alla h Ta'al a — Nauthubillaah ! If we truly believe that Allah Azza Wa Jal is All-Powerful and that His Promises in the Qur'aan are true, then we should examine ourselves and do some deep deep soul - searching to fathom and understand the cause for the withdrawal of Allah's support and aid from the Ummah of this day. What has rendered the Ummah of more than 60 countries so impotent that Muslims lay prostrate at the feet of 2 million Yahood wom en governing the suburb they have named Israel?

“We sent against you such of our servants who were powerful in war. They invaded (your) cities. …...they disfigured yo u r faces…. they penetrated the Musjid (Al - Aqsa)….and they utterly destroyed everything they overran” . (Qur'aan)