Khilafah Magazine September 2001

The call for the resumption of the Islamic way oflife by establishing the Khilafah State has reachedall the Islamic lands. The discussion amongst theUmmah has moved on from, 'what is this Khilafah'and 'Khilafah is a dream,' to discussing more of thepractical details of the Khilafah such as its rulingand economic systems. However, in the minds ofsome people, obstacles to the re-establishment ofthe Khilafah still remain..

In the month of Rabi al-Awwal, 13 AH,the Islamic State centred at Medina wasplunged into the most serious crisis since its estab-lishment…the death of the Prophet (saw). Havingconquered the forces of Kufr, subjugated the ele-ments of shirk and established a governing state;the Prophet (saw) passed away having completedhis mission. The news of his death quickly spread toall parts of the city. On hearing it, some wept, somewere dumbstruck and others refused to believethat the Messenger of Allah (saw) had died.

Amidst the confusion, several other critical issuesarose. News reached the capital that large numbersof people had publicly refused to pay the Zakah.Others were rallying around an impostor prophetby the name of Musailima...

It has today become an indisputable reality that thisUmmah yearns for the return of the IslamicKhilafah. She has witnessed much that solidifiesthis desire. Today, we find that Allah (swt) hasbrought back the desire in the hearts of theMuslims and this Ummah to return to the rule ofIslam. Amongst them are those who are willing todedicate their time and effort for the service ofIslam. This article seeks to explain how such peoplecan work for Islam and work for its noble aims.

Knowledge before action

Hazzam bin Hakeem narrated from his uncle fromthe Messenger of Allah (saw) who said: "You are ina time of many jurisprudents (fuqaha), few speak -ers/lecturers, many who give and few who ask; soaction in this time is better than knowledge. Therewill soon come a time of few jurisprudents, manyspeakers, many who beg and few who give; soknowledge in this time is better than action."...

The economic situation of Pakistan in its presentreality can be described as fragile, catastrophic orquite frankly dire. Legacies of corrupt bureaucratsand politicians have ridden the country of eco-nomic prosperity as a nation even though theenhancement in their own lifestyles has been astro-nomical. World Bank chief economist NicholasStern described the 1990s as the country's "lostdecade" as political instability and corruptionstalled the economy...

Dear Sister/Brother,

After becoming very interested and astonished bythe recent discoveries I made through Islam thesepast two years, I have become committed to want -ing to live my life in total adherence to the laws ofAllah (swt) Insha-Allah.

Whenever the history of the Indian Subcontinent isdiscussed, it is hard not to mention Muhammad binQasim who destroyed the Sindi forces in order tospread the Islamic rule in that region. However,many forget to mention why the Khalifah sent himand whether the mission was unique or one thatwas being repeated across the globe. This articlewill paint the bigger picture of Islamic history inthe Indian Subcontinent...

At a banquet hosted in honour of PresidentMusharraf on the occasion of the Agra Summit,President Musharraf said, "We have been locked inmutual suspicion and hostility…we have paid aheavy price for it. We owe it to the future genera-tions to do our utmost to pen a new chapter ofgoodwill and cooperation… We must not allowthe past to dictate the future… We must overcomethe burden of history. Other nations have done so.We must also do so."We would like to ask, what isthis "burden of history" that General Musharrafwishes to overcome?

1. Pakistan's privatisation drive - IMF drivenplan to consolidate foreign stranglehold

2. Agra - Paving the Road to Darkness

3. Israel's belligerence intensifies whilstArafat calls for a halt to Intifida

4. Musharraf's failure to rekindle Akbar'sDeen-I-ilahi

5. Hamza Haz Got It So Wrong

6. Pakistan's crystal clear foreign policy - butfor whose benefit?

"Without sacrificing our sovereigntyand national honour and dignity,Pakistan is willing to go to any length in order tomaintain friendly relations with its neigh-bours…we are convinced that without amicablesolution to the thorny and longstanding Kashmirdispute the two countries cannot progress anddevelop to the desired extent." Musharraf, when itcame to the issue of Kashmir in his speech...

Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi waBarakatahu,

More than half a century after partition, Pakistanremains teetering on the brink of disaster while herrulers bow in subservience to the West, having for-saken the interests of this Ummah. This is despitethe fact that many sacrificed their lives and wealthin the hope that Pakistan would be an Islamic Stateand despite the fact that Pakistan has been blessedwith vast natural resources, occupies one of themost strategic locations in the world and possessesa strong military and resourceful population...

September 2001 Khilafah Magazine 3

Quotation

The Way to Workfor Khilafah 20

Events Diary

The Vital Issue 8

News fromaround the world6

5

False ObstaclesPut in the Path ofKhilafah in Pakistan

9

Letters

"Say, OhDisbelievers!” 11

Pakistan’s EconomicConundrum12

22

KhilafahContentsJumada At-Thani 1 422 - September 2001 Cover Issue 1 Volume 14

Editorial4

Learning from theConquest of

the Indian Subcontinent

18

magazine

22

In the forties, many Muslims in Indiadecided to escape daily punish-ments and humiliations. Their motivation wasIslam, and their goal was to create an Islamic landwhere they could worship their Lord and live safe-ly. However, once they gave their blood to establishthis home, problems were not far away.

Successive rulers applied un-Islamic rules and sys-tems, which resulted in a host of problems. Becausethe newly imposed system was failing, the prob-lems not only occurred in one field, but also rangedacross a whole spectrum,...

Attempts at Revival 15

Reference 5

Khilafahmagazine

Editorial TeamJalaluddin PatelDr Imran WaheedFouad HusseinBaber QureshiBadrul RashidTaji MustaphaAbdul Hamid Jassat

Sisters EditorialTeamSameena AsgharDr Nazreen NawazZara RahmanDr Shagufta Malik

Production TeamBadrul RashidMokbul Hussain

No Copyrights

Since Islam rejects copyrights and patents you arefree to reproduce articles contained within thispublication. It is our kind request that when doing

so you cite the author and source of the article.

Translation of the Qur’an

It should be perfectly clear that the Qur’an is onlyauthentic in its original language, Arabic. Since per-fect translation of the Qur’an is impossible, theterm ‘Translation of the Meaning of the Qur’an(TMQ) has been used, as the result is only a crudemeaning of the Arabic text.

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Khilafah Magazine September 20014

EditorialKhilafah Magazine • www.khilafah.com • [email protected]

Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi waBarakatahu,

More than half a century after partition,Pakistan remains teetering on the brink ofdisaster while her rulers bow in sub-servience to the West, having forsaken theinterests of this Ummah. This is despite thefact that many sacrificed their lives andwealth in the hope that Pakistan would bean Islamic State and despite the fact thatPakistan has been blessed with vast naturalresources, occupies one of the most strate-gic locations in the world and possesses astrong military and resourceful population.

Since the days of Muhammad bin Qasim,when the army of the Khilafah conqueredIndia, the sons of this Ummah have mademuch sacrifice for Islam in the Indian sub-continent in their attempts to establishAllah's (swt) deen and maintain it insupremacy on the earth. More recently, andall praise is to Allah (swt), attempts to resur-rect the Islamic Khilafah after it was vicious -ly destroyed at the hands of the Kuffar havegained momentum.

The perception that Pakistan, or any of theMuslim countries for that matter, is destinedto remain on the brink of disaster, intellec -tually and economically declined, drownedin corruption and with criminal rulers at thehelm of ruling is a false one. Indeed, thewhole Islamic Ummah has tremendouspotential. In human resources, the IslamicUmmah is 1.4 billion - a quarter of theworld's population. In natural resources, theIslamic lands are the richest lands in theworld with the resources in differentregions complementary to one another. TheIslamic lands enjoy control over the moststrategic locations in the world. In additionthe Islamic Ummah and the Islamic Khilafahhave a track record of world leadership forover one thousand years. Even more impor-tant than all of this is that the IslamicUmmah has the greatest message for human-ity: the message of Islam.

That is why even in these dark days withouta Khalifah to guard the interests of thisUmmah and foil the plans of the Kuffar, thesincere masses from amongst this Ummahremain an obstacle to the treacherous plansof the colonialists and their agents from theranks of the Muslim rulers.

The Muslims remain capable of removingthis Munkar, removing these rulers, erasingthese flimsy entities that keep them dividedand moulding them into a single state. Inorder to do this they must respond to thecommands of Allah (swt) by shaking off thehumiliation and the capitulation and surren-der to those transgressing rulers, to the Kufr

states and the Kufr systems. Muslims, wher-ever they may be, must rush to work hand-in-hand with those who have devoted them-selves to the re-establishment of theKhilafah and the restoration of the rule bythat which Allah (swt) has revealed, so thatthey can save themselves from the sin ofinaction towards the hegemony of theKuffar, the existence of these oppressiverulers, and the existence of the Kufr systemswhich they implement upon them.

The Ummah must restore together withthose already working, the Khilafah State,the rule by that which Allah (swt) hasrevealed so that may the enemies of theMuslims may be destroyed and so that theyonce again become the leaders and policymakers of the world.

Throughout Pakistan, and indeed throughoutthe entire Muslim World, the quest forKhilafah gains momentum with each dawn -ing day. The Muslim Ummah of a certaintywill unify this body in one State which willwork to take care of the affairs of the worldand its people, drawing a political policy forthe world based on the guidance and light ofIslam till the voice of the Muadhin is heardwith Allahu-Akbar resonating upon thewhole earth.

So raise your determination, and motivateyour sense of honour towards your Deenand Ummah, and let not the mass of Kufr andits influence cause you dismay, for this stageis nearly over, and the line illustrating thework of those working for Khilafah isincreasing at an astonishing rate, and theirsteps towards victory become closer andcloser everyday. So aid the cause of Allah(swt) and Allah (swt) aid you.

The Noble Messenger of Allah (saw) said, "Ifeel a cool breeze from Al-Hind" [AbuDawood]

Dr Imran Waheed

Quotation


Political CommentReference

President General PervaizMusharraf said on Tuesday 14thAugust while addressing acolourful flag-hoisting ceremo-ny in front of President House tomark 55th Independence Day ofPakistan, "I am thankful toAllah Almighty for providing

me with the opportunity to lead the process ofrebuilding Pakistan with the help of my dedi-cated colleagues and with the support of peopleof Pakistan…."

These empty words come at a time when the eco-nomic situation in Pakistan is getting from bad toworse. Musharraf's warped sense of 'rebuildingPakistan' is in fact further colonising the country.It is ironic that he celebrates the 'independence'of Pakistan yet implements policies which make itincreasingly dependent on the West. Pakistan hasalready paid $12 for every $1 borrowed and stillthe mountain of foreign debt stands close to $40billion not to mention the $20 billion domesticdebt which brings the total debt liability to $60billion, the equivalent of the GDP of the wholecountry. Despite being faced with this stark reali-ty the Musharraf regime has done nothing toreverse the dire situation, in fact his FinanceMinister Shaukat Aziz has recently announced thathe will be running to the Paris club for another'package' under the instruction of the IMF.Musharraf's process of 'rebuilding' also includesincreasing gas prices, plans to increase the cost ofliving by raising the GST (General Sales Tax), andopening the way for western multinationals toown our vital assets by privatising important ele-ments of the economy such as Pakistan State Oil(PSO), Karachi Electric Supply Corporation(KESC) and WAPDA.

Although the General rode to power on the basisthat Nawaz Sharif withdrew the Pakistani armyfrom Kargil, he has even withdrawn a further twomiles from the Line of Control. He has decreasedthe defence budget while India has increased itsbudget by 13.8%. His government has even inprinciple accepted to sign the ComprehensiveTest Ban Treaty (CTBT) even though both Americaand India refuse flatly to sign it. The PakistaniForeign office spokesman Riaz Muhammed Khansaid, "In principle we do not have any problemswith this treaty". The US even plans to usePakistan to assist the Indian military build upthrough the laying of a pipeline across Pakistan tosupply gas from Iran to meet the energy needs ofIndian industries.

When it came to the issue of Kashmir Musharrafsaid in his speech, "without sacrificing our sov-ereignty and national honour and dignity,Pakistan is willing to go to any length in orderto maintain friendly relations with its neigh-bours…we are convinced that without amica-ble solution to the thorny and longstandingKashmir dispute the two countries cannotprogress and develop to the desired extent."

He has accepted to make peace with the butcherswho recently destroyed a mosque in the village ofAsind in the state of Rajasthan; the Mushrikeenplaced the idol of 'Hanuman' or the Monkey-godin the remaining ruins of the demolished Mosqueand following this they burnt four copies of theQur'an. These are the people that he wishes theMuslims of Pakistan to have 'friendly' relationswith.

Musharraf should realise that giving true thanks toAllah (swt) is to follow His (swt) commands notthe commands of America. Allah Azza wa jal haswarned humanity from disobeying Him and wor-shipping the Shaytan.

"Did I not ordain on you O children of Adamthat you should not worship Shaitan; Verily he isa plain enemy to you. And that: you shall wor-ship Me; this is the straight path? And indeed hedid lead astray a great multitude of you. Didyou not then understand?" [TMQ Ya-Sin: 60-62]

Abdul-Hamid Jassat

ReferenceAbu Hurayra said: 'The Messenger (saw) promisedus the conquest of India. If I was to come acrossthat I will spend my soul and my wealth. If I amkilled then I am among the best of martyrs, and ifI return then I am Abu Hurayra the freed' [Ahmad,An-Nisa'i, Al-Hakim]

It is narrated by Ali (ra) who was the Khaleefahof the time that he once stood to deliver a speechwhen one of the Arab influentials, al 'Asha'th ibnuQays, objected at the existence of many non-ArabMuslims surrounding him (Ali). So Ali replied thatthese non-Arab Muslims are more active for thisdeen than the Arabs and then he narrated a Hadiththat he heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) whichemphasised that "they" will force this deen on youin the same way that you exerted the truth onthem.

Zayd bin Thaabit (ra) and Ibn Mas'ood reportedthat the Messenger of Allah (saw) said, "Threethings purify the heart of a Muslim: the sincerityin working for the sake of Allaah, taking up thetask of advising the rulers, and not departing fromthe group of Muslims."

Ali ibn Abu Talib (ra) narrated Allah's Messenger

(peace be upon him) said, "If anyone recites theQur'an, learns it by heart, declares what is lawfulin it to be lawful and what is unlawful in it to beunlawful, Allah will bring him into Paradise andmake him the intercessor for ten of his family allof whom have deserved Hell." [Ahmad, Tirmidhi,Ibn Majah and Darimi]

Imam Ahmed recorded from Tanim ad-Dari that hesaid, I heard the Messenger of Allah saying "Thismatter (Islam) will keep spreading as far as thenight and day reach, until Allah will not leave ahouse made of mud or fur, but will make thisDeen enter it, whilst bringing might to a mightyperson (a Muslim) and humiliation to a disgracedperson (the one who rejects Islam). Might withwhich Allah (swt) elevates Islam (and its people)and disgrace with which Allah (swt) humiliatesdisbelief (and its people)."

Thawbaan reported that the Messenger of Allah(saw) said: "Allah made the eastern and westernparts of the earth draw near for me (to see), andthe rule of my Ummah will extend as far as I saw."[Muslim, Abu Dawood]

The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, "Give glad-tid-ings to this Ummah of honour, establishmentupon the earth, help and victory, and pre-emi-nence of the deen. Whosoever does an action ofthe Hereafter for a worldly motive, will have noportion of the Hereafter." [Al-Hakim and Ahmad]

The Second Khaleefah of the Muslims and thedevoted companion of Allah's messenger, Umarbin Al-Khattab said, "We are People whom Allahmade proud and respectable because of Islam; ifwe ever take pride in anything other than IslamAllah will humiliate us with that same thing."

The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, "There willremain a group of my Ummah adhering to thetruth, and those who forsake them or opposethem will not harm them until the day ofResurrection." [Bukhari and Muslim]

Thawban reported that the messenger of Allah(saw) said: "Two groups of my ummah Allah hasprotected from the Hellfire: a group that will con-quer India and a group that will be with 'Isa ibnuMaryam." [Ahmad and An-Nisa'i]

Muhammad (saw) said: 'I feel a cool breeze(refreshment) from Al-Hindh (muslims of India)'[Abu Dawud]

News


From Around The World

Pakistan's privatisation drive -IMF driven plan to consolidateforeign stranglehold

On 12 August2001, theWorld Bankcriticised theperformanceof WAPDA andKESC, two

leading lights of the Pakistani ener-gy-providing sector. These two areashave amongst other industries beenearmarked for privatisation as statedby the Privatisation Commission(PC).

On September 28, 2000 thePakistani Government establishedthe legality of the PrivatisationCommission, with the sole aim toimplement a strategy of privatisingkey sectors of the Pakistani econo-my such as oil, gas, power, telecoms,banking and finance and others.Since then, the Government ofPakistan has raised the price ofmany tariffs including the gas tariff,where increases were made rangingfrom 14% to 50%.

One would think that such increas-es would go some way to alleviatingthe poverty of the people, or tobuild the infrastructure of the econ-omy. However, the reality is that90% of the revenue raised (at least15bn Rupees) will go to debt reser-vicing. The remainder will go toimproving the financial status ofsuch utilities, such that they can besold to the Kuffar in the name of fur-ther debt reduction. Hence, notonly is the Ummah asked to increas-es utilities payments, but these pay-ments will not benefit the countryat all, and in the long run theUmmah will lose these utilities toforeign multinationals completely.

This is the real agenda which theIMF has set for Pakistan - the sellingof the key assets of the state suchthat what little semblance of eco-nomic independence Pakistan hasleft remaining is to be completelyeradicated.

The Khilafah State will not handover the Ummah's assets in thismanner. In fact, the Khalifah willInsha Allah eject these foreign multi-national such as Shell Oil andNational Power, which seek to takeauthority over our economic activi-

ties.

"And never will Allah allow thekafir a way (sabeel) over thebelievers" [TMQ An-Nisa: 141]

Jilani Gulam

Agra - Paving the Road toDarkness

So Musharraf hasreturned from hispilgrimage to Agraafter visiting hisfriend Vajpayeeand performingtawaf around thegrave of Gandhi.

It should be clear that it is theAmericans who wish for the solu-tion to the Kashmir issue to goahead. Thus far Musharraf hasproved a dedicated hound to thisend. Prior to Agra his governmentwent to great lengths to prepare thepeople of Pakistan to follow him inhis betrayal. So we saw him makeJihad illegal in Kashmir, convincethe people that economicallyPakistan cannot sustain the fightingin Kashmir (though he continues toraise taxes and privatise industriesin order to pay back his $40 billionIMF and World Bank debt), increasethe influx of Indian culture via newcable channels and even declarehimself President. All of this was tolegitimise the discussion over nor-malising relations in the eyes of hispeople and in the world arena.

Yet the self-declared President, oncehailed as a war hero for his cam-paigns against India, returned fromIndia without an agreement. So canit be said that the Agra summitfailed?

Musharraf does not think so, he tolda two-day Corps Commanders meet-ing held in Rawalpindi that althoughthe Agra summit was inconclusive itcould not be termed a failure and infact called it a considerable success.He claimed that both parties recog-nised that Kashmir is the vital issuethat requires solving. So the vitalissue of Musharraf's is to give awayMuslim land, not to establishKhilafah. He also said the Atal BehariVajpayee deserved all praise (asopposed to Allah [swt]) for conced-

ing that Kashmir was an unresolvedissue that requires a peaceful solu-tion.

Pakistani Foreign Minister AbdulSattar told US Assistant Secretary ofState Christina Rocca "Though thesummit ended in a deadlock, it wasnot a failure," he continued "Thesummit brought the two countriescloser and helped them in under-standing each other. The result-ori-ented talks process would contin-ue," Sattar said.

This final statement is key. A finalresolution to Jammu and Kashmir isa very delicate and pain stakingaffair, one that could never beresolved in a single meeting, this iswhy Musharraf plans to meetVajpayee at the UN GeneralAssembly session in New York thiscoming September, to continue thediscussions on the peace process.

The foundations of treachery havebeen laid. Both Parties have acqui-esced to hold multiple further meet-ings to come to a final solution. AHindu newspaper reported IndianForeign Secretary Chokila Iyer hadindicated on Saturday 11th Augustthat the next India-Pakistan summitwould be held either by the end ofthis year or early next year.

Both leaders are dedicated to realis -ing their nefarious scheme. TheUmmah of Muhammad (saw) mustmake no mistake. The plans of theenemy (the USA, India andMusharraf) are not ripe but they areripening. Ultimately the fitnah willnot disappear until a true ruler isappointed, a Khalifah for theMuslims to represent them with Ar-Raya, the banner of Islam, one whoshall destroy the road to the surren-der of land rather than pave it, onewho will not make jihad illegalwhere Allah (swt) the Supremeobliged it, who will implementevery Shar'i commandment insteadof only the easy and acceptable.

Allah (swt) has told us in an ayat ofQur'an the noble reasons theMuslims fight for and of the weak-ness of the plans of his enemy:

"Those who believe, fight in the

Cause of Allah, and those who dis-believe fight in the cause of Taghut(all false gods). So fight you againstthe friends of Shaitan; ever feebleindeed is the plot of Shaitan"[TMQ An-Nisa: 76]

Baber Qureshi

Israel's belligerence intensifieswhilst Arafat calls for a halt toIntifida

"We can't allow topay ... with theblood of our peo-ple and the bloodof our citizens forsome illusion of

stability or restraint in the MiddleEast." Ra'anan Gissin, adviser toIsraeli Prime Minister

In response to the Palestinian sui-cide bomb attack in east al-Qudsthat killed 16 people, Israeli war-planes blitzed Palestinian policeheadquarters in the West Bank andtanks moved into the Gaza Strip. ThePalestinian headquarters in al-Qudswas also shut down.

It is clear that the Israelis have nointention of peace in the region;they know too well that they are ata state of war with the Muslims andwill always be at a state of war, tillone of them is victorious. The 'illu-sion of peace' referred to by Gissinis an attack on the American plan forthe region.

America's insistence on implement-ing a cease-fire plan drawn up bythe Mitchell committee, headed byformer U.S. Senator George Mitchell,has come up against stiff oppositionfrom the Israeli government, as it isclear that this will lead to Americabeing the power in the region.

It seems that the only obstacle to aphysical American presence in thisland is the Israeli government!Arafat will by all accounts subduehimself and the PLO to the demandsof America in her quest to becomethe godfather in the region, for noth-ing but a pat on the back and a cof-fee in the White House!

The Muslims know that it is the sin-cere leader who will stand anddefend the Muslims and lead theMuslims in fulfilling Allah (swt)'s

News


From Around The World

command:

"And fight them until there is nomore Tumult or oppression andtheir prevails justice and faith inAllah altogether and everywhere,but if they cease, verily Allah Dothsee all that they do." [TMQ Al-Anfal:39]

Sidik Auckbur

Musharraf's failure to rekindleAkbar's Deen-I-ilahi

Despite efforts torekindle the deen-I-ilahi of Akbar, therecent summit inIndia highlights thereal feeling of theHindus when they

decided to purify Gandhi's shrinewith holy water from the Gangesand cow's urine, saying thatMusharraf's visit had made itimpure. The failure of the summitwas due to the Vajpayee govern-ment's inability to mobilise publicopinion for normalisation, eventhough they tried their best toarrange the summit in Agra, arrangedopen access to the media forMusharraf to try and hide theimages of Kargil.

Meanwhile the government inPakistan has been bending back-ward to instigate a cultural normali-sation since it patronised the Hindufestival of Basant and moved tomobilise opinion for it even outsidethe Punjab. This was followed by thePunjabi conference where it wasstated that 'Pakistan was not madefor reciting Quran.' Exchanges ofliberals promoting Indian cultureand western liberal values, pop con-certs arranged in India for Junoonand for Lucky Ali in Pakistan, openlicences to cable channels to pro-mote Indian culture, PTV airingIndian songs, along with omission ofverses and ahadith from the syllabion the pretext that the Hindus andthe Muslims share the same culture.

The same slogan was used by Akbarwhen he introduced Kufr and inno-vation on the pretext of the princi-ple of suhl-I khul 'peace with all. Hesuspended Jizya, allowed marriages

to Mushrik women, destroyedtawheed by mixing the haq (truth)of Islam with the shirk of Hinduism.However we saw that once theHindus became powerful theybegan to persecute the Muslims.Mujaddid alf al-thani Shiekh AhmadSirhindhi, in one of his letters tomobilise the Muslims wrote 'thenon Muslims in India are withoutany hesitation demolishing mosqueslike in Karkhet and in its place avery big Hindu temple has beenerected.' We have seen exactly thesame scenario with regard to Babrimosque and the Hindu desire tobuild a Ram temple in its place. Thethousands that got massacred in thecreation of Pakistan and the thou-sands that have been killed inKashmir bear testimony to how theHindus really perceive us.

Just as Mujjadid alf al-thani stood upto the innovation of deen-I-ilahi wemust stand up to Musharraf's effortsto rekindle it in the name of nor-malisation and commit treasonagainst the Islamic Ummah, its mar-tyrs, and her deen. Once Indiabecomes our partner it will not lookafter us as Musharraf declares butwe will see the pre-1947 situationarise again, which will culminate ineconomic and political colonisation.We must rather work to implementthe Islamic Khilafah system, the rai-son d'etre for Pakistan's establish-ment, which will not only protectthe Muslims and liberate Kashmir,Palestine, Bosnia, and Kosovo butregain Muslim land in India andSpain.

"It is he who sent the messengerwith the deen of truth and theguidance so that it may dominateall other ways of life even if themushriks detest it." [TMQ Al-Taubah: 33]

Abu Muaz, Pakistan

Hamza Haz Got It So Wrong

The new IndonesianVice President,Hamzah Haz, said in1999 that no womanwas fit to head the

world's leading Muslim nation asthis was in contradiction to what

Islam had ordered. Now, he has beenelected deputy to its first femalepresident - the same woman heblocked two years ago.

So are we missing something? DidMs Megawati Sukarnoputri suddenlybecome Mr Megawati Sukarnoputri?Surely this is not another example ofpragmatic politics which marks outthe paid politician like a flashingneon light - flash - I'm corrupt, - flash- I sold out? Alas it is. In Technicolordetail Mr Haz showed his real huesand became the Vice President to awoman he slated only two years pre-viously.

Allah (swt) changes His rules for noone, least of all Mr Haz. Islam's pro-hibition to be ruled by a womenstands. Al-Bukhari reported on theauthority of Abi-Bakra, that when theMessenger of Allah (saw) heard thatthe people of Persia had appointedthe daughter of Chosroes as theirleader, he (saw) said "People whoappoint a woman as their leader willnever succeed."

Megawati and Haz's plan to revivethe nation of Indonesia has amarked resemblance to the nailedbutterfly. It may look pretty but is infact stone dead, destined never toget off the ground. To be VicePresident of an archipelago of over16,000 islands, proved to be too irre-sistible for the principles of the 61year old Hamza Haz.

Dilpazier Aslam

Pakistan's crystal clear foreignpolicy - but for whose benefit?

If we were to ask you to picture abattalion of Muslim soldiers travel-ling many thousands of miles tofight, braving the harsh weatherconditions and feeling a sense ofduty in doing so, one would maybethink about the inspiring narrationsconcerning the Tabuk expedition orother similar battles. If we were toadd to this that the reality of thisexpedition was not underpinned bya desire to worship Allah (swt), byspreading the message of Islam anddefending the Muslims, maybe wewould begin to think of a Muslimcountry flexing its muscles and inthe process instilling the un-Islamicnationalistic pride that Islam con-demned. If we were to show the full

picture as Muslim soldiers beingordered to fight for British interestsunder the command of a UN mis -sion which is on the ground a fightto control a lucrative diamond mar-ket, we may think a mistake hadbeen made by the army commandstructure. Yet sending 400 Pakistanisoldiers to Sierra Leone and thenreinforcing them with another 400is clearly not considered a mistake,but a sign of a confused foreign pol-icy, or an indication of none existingat all.

Surely the Muslim armies must beprovided with tasks that befit theirskills. The Islamic army acts toremove the physical barriers thatstand in the way of the acceptanceto Islam of the Kuffar (disbelievers).A crystal clear foreign policy canonly be achieved through theKhilafah State's establishment, onceit is brought back the world willrealise the true gem whose absencehas left only darkness and corrup -tion.

"And fight them until there is nomore Fitna (corruption) and theDeen will be for Allah alone" [TMQAl-Anfal: 39]

Yusuf Patel


The Vitalof Rabi al-

Awwal, 13 AH, the Islamic Statecentred at Medina was plungedinto the most serious crisis sinceits establishment…the death ofthe Prophet (saw). Having conquered theforces of Kufr, subjugated the elements of shirkand established a governing state; the Prophet(saw) passed away having completed his mis-sion. The news of his death quickly spread toall parts of the city. On hearing it, some wept,some were dumbstruck and others refused tobelieve that the Messenger of Allah (saw) haddied.

Amidst the confusion, several other criticalissues arose. News reached the capital thatlarge numbers of people had publicly refusedto pay the Zakah. Others were rallying aroundan impostor prophet by the name ofMusailima. On the borders of the state far tothe North the armies of the Roman Empirewere preparing to fight while the army ofJihad, having just been given its orders tomarch, had encamped outside Medina. Withinthis atmosphere of unrest another issue, per-haps the most critical of all still remained to besolved; the burial of the Prophet (saw).

It was at this most serious of junctures that themost outstanding personalities of the IslamicState, the Sahabah, took control.

The Ansar of Medina had gathered in the saqifaof Banu Sa'ida, to discuss the issue of rulingand government after the Prophet (saw). AbuBakr (ra), along with Umar bin al-Khattab (ra)and Abu Ubaidah (ra) made their way to themeeting place. A long and fierce debate thenensued which continued beyond two nights. Atits conclusion the Sahabah who had gathereddecided that Abu Bakr (ra) be given the bay'ahand chosen as Khalifah for the Ummah. Thus,the successor to ruling and implementation ofShari'ah was chosen. The critical issue to noteis that during these three days and two nightsof discussion all the other problems that theUmmah faced were still in existence. Howeverthe Sahabah (ra) prioritised the selection of aKhalifah as the most critical issue. FollowingAbu Bakr's (ra) appointment, units were organ-ised to fight against the false prophet, thoserefusing to pay the Zakah were punished, thearmy of Jihad was dispatched to deal with the

Romans and the Prophet's (saw) body wasburied.

It is vital that the actions the Sahabah took atthis time are closely examined, for the Ijma'a'of the Sahabah indicates a Shari'ah rule for us.What they were faced with was a collection ofissues which all required solving. All the issueswere either Fard to carry out or were hudoodto be implemented; neither could be delayed.Thus the burial of a body is Fard, the punish-ment of those who refuse to pay Zakah is oblig-atory, Jihad must continue and impostorprophets attacking the foundation of theIslamic State must be dealt with. However, theaction prioritised above these actions was theselection of a Khalifah.

Rasoolallah (saw) had in fact already com-manded what the Muslims should do upon hisdeath and had laid down the hukm regardingthe issue of rule. His (saw) hadith recorded inthe Sahih of al-Bukhari states, "And after methere will be no more prophets, but there willbe Khulafah, and they will be many". TheSahabah asked, "What do you order us regard-ing them". He (saw) replied, "Fulfil the Bay'ahto them, one after one." Rasoolallah (saw) alsoemphasised the obligatory nature of thisbay'ah. The Sahih of Muslim narrates, theProphet (saw) said, "Whoso dies whilst therewas no Bay'ah (pledge of allegiance) on hisneck, he dies the death of jahiliyyah (igno-rance)." Thus the Prophet (saw) made it com-pulsory on every Muslim to have the pledge ofallegiance to a Khalifah.

It is this bay'ah that the Sahabah sought toestablish. They immersed themselves in thiswork and gave it the priority it deserved. Thatis, being the most important issue above otherissues, even over the burial of the Prophet(saw) himself. For it is by the establishment ofthe ruling system of Allah (swt) that theShari'ah is implemented, the Hudood isenforced, the rights are upheld and the Deen ismade dominant.

This idea has remained with the Muslim

Ummah throughout its history.Wherever Islam spread, the rule ofAllah (swt) was implemented andthe bay'ah to the Khalifah was main-tained. After the age of colonialism

when the Ummah was given an opportunity toassert itself, to implement a law, to profess abelief, it was always Islam. Thus the hundredsof millions in the Indo-Pak subcontinent whowere roused, did so in the name of Islam, did sobehind the slogan, Pakistan ka matlab kya? Lailaaha illallah! What is the meaning of Pakistan?There is no God but Allah!

It was the desire to re-establish an Islamic rul-ing authority, to restore the Shari'ah, and toimplement the Deen that moved the masses,that led to the sacrifices, that convinced mil-lions to migrate. Their goal was one, a landwhere a Mu'min could live under the shade ofthe Shari'ah.

That aspiration today still remains unfulfilled.In its place are a host of issues, problems andcalamities that affect the Muslim Ummah, glob-ally and locally. In government the rule of Allah(swt) is replaced with the rule of Insaan, eco-nomically our lands lie chained to debt, mili-tarily our vast arms gather dust while ourbrothers and sisters are butchered. Once againthe Ummah questions itself. What issue shouldwe pursue? What problem should we solvefirst? Where does the solution lie? We are infact at that critical juncture faced by our pred-ecessors, the Sahabah (ra). The guidance givento them applies to us today, the rule given tothem applies to us today, and the actionsundertaken by them apply to us today, to re-establish the Khilafah. The lack of the rule ofAllah (swt) is indeed the most critical issue, forin its absence, Kufr reigns supreme. In order toarrest this situation, lead this Ummah to revivaland fulfil our Fard, the re-establishment of theKhilafah is the vital issue.

The struggle and sacrifice that the MuslimUmmah has undertaken throughout its history,recent as well as distant, is a testament to herdesire to live by Islam, is a proof of herunshakeable Iman and is a confirmation of herattachment to Islam. The tragedies in Bosnia,Palestine and Kashmir, and the reactions of thisUmmah speak for themselves. Just as theMuslims were unwilling to live under a British

In the month Issue


Raj they were unwilling to live under a HinduRaj. They knew that they were not a slavenation but a ruling nation.

Thus today, despite having suffered bitter dis -appointment from the rulers of Pakistan,despite having humiliation and disgrace forcedupon them, the Muslims mightily resist. Theyresist compromise in Kashmir, they resist thespread of secularism and they resist the melt-down of their morals. They work hard to main-tain their identity, pass on their values and re-establish their law. They need only the spark oftruth, to once again refocus their activity, reju-venate their souls and direct their energy. Thespark of truth that ignited the sands of theArabian Desert 1400 years ago has, by the willof Allah (swt), still been preserved. It exists inthe hearts and minds of all those who loveAllah (swt) and his Messenger (saw). It is whatwill make this Ummah realise the urgency ofthe Khilafah, the necessity of its re-establish-ment and the obligation of working for it.

The Khilafah is the promise of Allah (swt), theorder of his Messenger (saw) and the exampleof the Sahabah (ra). It is the necessity of thetime. It is the requirement of this Ummah. It isthe Vital Issue.

Imam Ahmed narrated in his Musnad, theProphet (saw) said, "Bring glad tidings to thisUmmah, she will have the power, the pride,the Deen, the victory and the authority onEarth. So he who worked to reap the rewardsin this life rather than the hereafter, he wouldhave no reward in the hereafter."

Hassan Mujtaba

for the resumption of the Islamicway of life by establishing the Khilafah State hasreached all the Islamic lands. The discussionamongst the Ummah has moved on from, 'what isthis Khilafah' and 'Khilafah is a dream,' to dis-cussing more of the practical details of theKhilafah such as its ruling and economic systems.However, in the minds of some people, obstaclesto the re-establishment of the Khilafah stillremain. This article will examine two of the mostcommon arguments put forward as obstacles inthe way of establishing the Khilafah.

A characteristic of many Islamic lands, Pakistanincluded, is the high level of corruption thatoccurs in day-to-day life. Principally, the mainexponents of this corruption are the secularelites, rulers and their entourage that rule theIslamic lands on behalf of their masters in theWest. This corruption takes the form of nepotismand patronage in appointing state officials andjudges by awarding government contracts to cer-tain friends and companies. It is also manifest inthe vast amounts of wealth squandered by ourleaders in using the Ummah's money for personaluse. The Bhutto and Sharif dynasties, whichamassed millions of rupees when in power, springto mind. It has been reported that during the ruleof Bhutto and Sharif, the annual cost to run thePrime Minister and President's residences exceed-ed $40 million. Some people argue that the cor-ruption in Pakistan is not restricted to the rulersand elites, but that corruption, bribery and cheat-ing are such a normal part of life that corruption

is endemic and inherent amongst the people ofPakistan. They continue to argue that with thelevel of corruption so high, there is no hope ofestablishing Khilafah in Pakistan.

A deeper look at the 'corruption' that exists inPakistan will put this subject into context andoffer a more plausible explanation than that thepeople of Pakistan are inherently corrupt.Typically, a common form of corruption faced bypeople will be experienced when arriving at theairport. The airport or customs official maydemand 100 rupees or a £10 note to let youthrough, or a larger sum of money will be asked,on the basis that you are carrying some 'illegal'goods. An oft-quoted incident is people's dealingwith the infamous telephone exchanges in themajor cities. A telephone bill will arrive at yourdoor asking for an amount to be payable within acertain time period. The person pays his tele-phone bill well within the prescribed limit.However, the telephone is still cut off and theonly option is to visit the main telephoneexchange in the city. Even though you have proofof payment, such as a bank transfer and stamp, theofficer will demand a bribe to reconnect yourline. Similar examples can be seen in other serv-ices whereby you may be sent an exorbitant bill,well beyond reason, and you are forced to engagewith the officials to reduce the bill or have yourservice cut off.

It is well known that the elites in Pakistan, whohave links with the government or political par-

False ObstaclesPut in the Path of the

Establishment of Khilafah in Pakistan

The call


ernments and their agencies do cause explosionsand bombings in order to highlight an issue or useas a pretext for some actions. The Russian author-ities notoriously planted bombs in order to blamethe Chechen Muslims, and the Algerian regimewas known to hire mercenaries to kill people andthen blame it on Islamic movements. Therefore,apparent Sunni-Shi'a tensions could be used as atool of political manipulation in Pakistan and beexaggerated to greater proportions than are war-ranted.

On a different level, the Sunni-Shi'a issue has beenan area of great debate, since the death ofMuhammed (saw). As the Sahabah (ra) were gath-ering in the courtyard of saqifa Banu Sa'idah, theShi'a Ali (followers of Ali [ra]) were in mourning.The followers of Imam Ali (ra) believed Imam Ali(ra) should have been the successor to theProphet (saw), yet it did not prevent Ali's (ra) sup-porters, such Abdullah ibn Abbas (ra) and Salmanal Farsi (ra), from giving the bayah of obedience toAbu Bakr (ra) as the first Khalifah of Islam.Throughout Islamic history, the Shi'a have beenpresent in the lands of the Khilafah, but this didnot prevent the expansion of Islamic rule to newterritories, or cause disunity and strife within theKhilafah. Where fragmentation and disunity didaffect the Islamic State, it was due to the politicalweaknesses of the State in some areas and thepseudo-independence of some of the walis (gov-ernors). Thus, the Sunni-Shi'a issue is not some-thing new or unique to Pakistan, and it should notbe viewed as an insurmountable problem.

This can be further seen in light of the reality ofday-to-day life in Pakistan. We do not find large'Sunni' or 'Shi'a' ghettos without interactionamongst the people such as in Northern Irelandbetween Protestants and Catholics, or isolatedcommunities like black people and Jews inAmerica. On the contrary, we find Sunni and Shi'aalike praying in each other's mosques, studying,working and living together. Moreover, when itcomes to Pakistan's rulers and politicians, we donot find the ummah asking whether a politician isSunni or Shi'a, even though large elements of thepolitical establishment are Sunni and Shi'a.

The primary cause for instability and disorder inPakistan is not sectarian conflicts, but the seculargovernment's inability to provide for the people,look after their interests or even build any socialcohesion. Secular, Kufr politics that the leaders inPakistan are so keen to emulate actually highlightthe division on the basis of colour, language, geog-raphy and nationality. In contrast, the exaltedKhilafah State will strongly instil the concept ofcitizenship amongst all people, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, so that they leave any sectarian ornationalistic attachments behind and have certaininalienable rights guaranteed to them by the lawof Allah (swt) which the system upholds.

Zubair Hussein

tion in Pakistan is that far from being endemic insociety, it manifests in only certain aspects of soci-ety. The bulk of the corruption that exists is evi-dent between the people's transactions with gov -ernment and state industries. The Ummah knowsthat it is the government and state industries thatexploit and loot the people by charging andimposing exorbitant prices and providing poorservice. Alternatively, state officials, like the police-man or telephone exchange operative on a verypoor salary, are forced into bribing the peoplethey come across in order to make ends meet andfeed their families. If one is to observe the rela-tionships amongst people in the shops, bazaarsand market places, these are largely free of cor-rupt practices, and the normal conduct of buying,selling and haggling takes place.

It should be clear that the forces of corruptionemanate from the same source as the political sys-tem that does not look after the people's affairs.The Ummah is neither corrupt nor inherentlybad, but elements of the Ummah have to resort tocorruption to provide for themselves and families.Contrast this with the ruling elites and theirentourages who having made millions out of cor-ruption, built their houses and palaces with fleetsof cars and servants, go abroad and then continu-ally return to Pakistan to exploit further resourcesfrom the land and people.

The second major argument put forward by many,regarding the unsuitability of Khilafah in Pakistan,is the issue of sectarianism and sectarian conflict.Mainly, this pertains to the Shi'a and Sunni ten-sions that, people argue, prevent the Ummah fromever unifying prior to the establishment ofKhilafah. A number of factors must be discussedto put this into the correct context.

Firstly, the disputes between Sunni and Shi'a arewidely reported in the media and other forums.The Shi'a constitute only about 20% of the popu-lation of Pakistan. The obvious questions that ariseare: 'who benefits?' and 'who gains?' from so-called sectarian Sunni-Shi'a conflicts. In recentmonths, the Musharraf regime has been highlight-ing the issue of internal security, law and orderissues and sectarian strife and has vowed to clampdown on "sectarian related terrorism." The gov -ernment has made a great issue of jihadi organisa-tions, who fought valiantly in Afghanistan againstthe Russians, now causing internal strife withinPakistan and being involved in sectarian clashesparticularly against the Shi'a. It is apparent thatthe government, in order to shape public opinion,introduced wide-ranging legislation and tightsecurity measures to deliberately raise the climateof Sunni-Shi'a tensions. By indicating and escalat-ing these tensions, the regime has been able tojustify its actions.

Many shrewd commentators have questioned theestablished wisdom that Shi'a and Sunni 'extrem-ists' have been involved in tit-for-tat killings. Aleading politician from a prominent Sunni groupwas recently murdered. This killing was significantin that there was no apparent tension leading upto the incident or after it. It is no secret that gov -

ties, do not pay bills. Indeed, of Pakistan's 135 mil-lion people only 100,000 are registered taxpayers.The ruling classes are able to get out of payingbills via their connections, and the poorer strata ofsociety do not have access to electricity, gas ortelephones. Thus, the burden falls upon the mid-dle-classes to pay the majority of bills. This createsa climate where people feel unable to meet theirbills and expenditures and resort to 'fiddling' withthe electricity meter in their house or bribe theofficial who comes to read the meter with a cer-tain amount of money.

It must be clear that corruption and bribery arenot justified under any circumstances. TheProphet Muhammad (saw) said, "Whosoevercheats is not one of us." Essentially, the root causeof the corruption stems from the system, whichburdens the people with excessive financialdemands and people's genuine inability to pay forgoods and services. The corruption that is wit-nessed should not be disconnected from thepolitical system that does not cater for the inter-ests of the Ummah, but is rather the fundamentalcause of it.

The average salary of a policeman or teacher is nomore than 3,000-4,000 rupees a month. An aver-age family of five in the city during the summerwould require at least 2 or 3 fans and 1 air condi-tioner to keep them cool. The monthly electricitybill in a major city like Lahore would be 3,000-5,000 rupees, either in excess of the monthlysalary or a very high proportion of it. A labourerwould earn about 100 rupees a day, no more than4000 rupees a month. The cost of a kilogram ofmeat would be between 100-120 rupees, andchicken about 70-100 rupees. A 5 kg bag of atta(flour), the staple diet for millions, costs about 97rupees and would not last a family the wholemonth. So, it can be seen from these examplesthat for many people, the basic necessities of lifecost more than their income. If someone does nothave a large family network to rely upon, is it anywonder then that large numbers of the Ummahare effectively forced into taking and acceptingbribes and involving themselves in corrupt prac-tices?

The effect of the political system and its quest forexploiting increasing revenue from the Ummah,in line with IMF conditions, goes unabated. Overthe past two years the price of electricity for con-sumers has risen dramatically. In August 1999 atariff increase of 21-34% was levied; this wasraised by a further 15% last year resulting in a 36-50% rise over this period. Recently, the Musharrafregime has introduced a new 'Power sectordevelopment surcharge' meaning a 25-50 paisarise per unit for consumers, a government pro-posal to increase transport fares every 4-5 monthsand the introduction of a TV license fee. With theever-increasing cost of living, and people's salariesremaining stagnant, the effective cost of living formillions increases and perpetuates a vicious cycleof corruption that originates with the govern-ment.

A crucial point to note when discussing corrup-


Foreign policy relations established by Muslimsmust be according to Islam and Muslim interests,and not according to secularism and the interestsof the kuffar. In any common block of Muslimsand Hindus engineered by the Western kuffar, it isalways the idol worshipping Hindus that will bemade to dominate. The Americans know, as did theBritish before them, that the Muslims are a globalcommunity with an independent worldview; sogiving power to Muslims would mean creatinganother global threat to their own interests.Backing the Hindu entails no such danger. Therulers of Pakistan have been more sincere, asagents, to America, than have the Hindus. Yet it isPakistan that has been most severely mistreatedby the Americans, while the Americans continueto show their favour towards India. This is whythe Pakistan military budget has now been frozen,while the Indian military budget is in rapidexpansion. And this is why America looks to liftsanctions from India before sanctions are liftedfrom Pakistan. A sincere and aware political lead-ership would be thinking about inciting Chinaagainst America, and would never accept or allowPakistan to be used as a tool in America's hands tocrush its global opponents.

Oh Muslims of Pakistan!You must throw down these Western kufr systemsof government and these insincere rulers and re-establish the righteous Khilafah that will imple-ment Islam and call all Muslims to unify under itin a single Islamic State. When your oppressedbrothers in Kashmir, India and other parts ofSouth Asia hear this call, they will not allow theHindu to stand as an obstacle between them andyou, thereby easing the expansion of the Khilafahto the entire region. Then indeed South Asia willbecome a single block, but an Islamic block dom-inated by Muslims and working with sincerity forthe interests of Islam and the Ummah, not a secu-lar block dominated by Hindus and working forAmerica's interests. And when the rest of theUmmah witness the re-establishment of theKhilafah and the re-unification of the Muslims ofSouth Asia, how long do you think it will be beforeall their oppressive governments come crashingdown and they all, in their entirety, unify underthe Khilafah, thereby becoming a global super-power to rival American and Western supremacy?Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, revealed:

"He is the One who sent His Messenger withGuidance and the deen of Haq to dominateover all other deens though the mushrikeen maydetest it." [TMQ At-Tawbah:33]

Hizb ut-Tahrir20 Jumada Al-Ula 142210 August 2001Walayah of Pakistan

General, but rather a coldly calculated change ofpolicy from America. After the Cold War, China hasbecome America's primary global concern, to bedealt with according to two distinct but comple-mentary policies. On the one hand, America haspoured billions of dollars of investment into theChinese economy, so that China becomes interde-pendent on the world economy and, more specif-ically, the American economy. On the other hand,America is pursuing a renewed policy of contain-ment, whereby it is building adversaries to Chinaalong the Chinese border. A key component ofthis second policy is South Asia, whose combinedpopulation of over one billion is the numericalequal of the massive Chinese population.

In order for America to pursue her plan for SouthAsia, she is seeking to reduce the hostilitiesbetween India and Pakistan so that the two coun-tries function as a strong block in opposition toChina. A member of the Indian government wentas far as saying that Pakistan and India shouldform a confederacy. And President Musharraf wasusing the same language when he addressed theIndian media saying, "It is the job of the biggerpartner to look after the smaller partner". In orderto achieve this, the two governments do not needfurther summits, for they are already agreed onthe course of action. What they need is furtherwork on the ground to convince their popula-tions that India and Pakistan must now move clos-er to each other. This is why well-known Pakistanileaders and politicians have begun portrayingnumerous benefits of open relations with India,principally from the military and economicaspects. At the same time, the Muslims of Pakistanare being increasingly exposed to Indian cultureby encouraging the promotion of Indian musicand films and by arranging visits of Indian musicartistes and actors. Also stronger links are beingdeveloped between intellectuals, journalists,NGOs, and retired diplomatic and military per-sonnel from both countries.

Oh Muslims of Pakistan! How do you accept that your leaders should fol-low the American plan and you remain silent onthis? How do you accept the domination of Indianculture in your society and your homes andyou.look the other way? How is it that your lead-ers give you the two-nation theory, and youbelieve in it for 54 years, and then they act as ifMuslims and Hindus are brothers, and you acceptthis also? Have you forgotten the meaning ofSurah al-Kafiroon, wherein Allah, subhanahu wata'ala says:

"Say, Oh Disbelievers! We worship not what youworship" [TMQ Al-Kafiroon:1]

Even the two-nation theory was wrong, because itsurrendered vast Muslim lands, opened with theblood of mujahideen, to the Hindu idol-worship-per, preserving only a part for Muslims in the formof Pakistan.

hosted in honour ofPresident Musharraf on the occasion of the AgraSummit, Indian President Narayan said, "Let ourscholars, artistes, writers and professionals andabove all our common people meet freely andshare the warmth of fraternal friendship. It is onlycommon sense that for this purpose we need anatmosphere of peace and mutual confidencebetween us. We have to rule out violence fromour relationship." At the same banquet, PresidentMusharraf said, "We have been locked in mutualsuspicion and hostility…we have paid a heavyprice for it. We owe it to the future generations todo our utmost to pen a new chapter of goodwilland cooperation… We must not allow the past todictate the future… We must overcome the bur-den of history. Other nations have done so. Wemust also do so." We would like to ask, what is this"burden of history" that General Musharraf wish-es to overcome?

On this Tuesday, 14 August 2001, Pakistan marks54 years of independence from the direct rule ofthe British Kaafir Imperialist. The PakistanMovement, which led to the creation of Pakistan,was formed on what was known as the 'two-nation theory' under which it was said thatMuslims and Hindus were unable to live in a sin-gle country, together, because of irreconcilabledifferences between them. Fourteen points werepresented to highlight the stark differencesbetween Hindus and Muslims, the most remem-bered point of which was that the Hindu wor-ships the cow while the Muslim eats it. This think-ing has had a determining effect on the attitude ofMuslims of Pakistan towards India and stands inharsh comparison to the newfound enthusiasm ofPresidents Musharraf and Narayan for "fraternalfriendship". Other elements of the "burden of his-tory" to which General Musharraf refers are thethree wars with India and the continued conflictover Kashmir, wherein tens of thousands ofMuslims have been martyred.

Why does General Musharraf want to overturnthe "burden of history" between India andPakistan and now create friendly and stable rela-tions between the two countries? The true reasonfor this is not a warm change of heart from the

At a banquet

"Say, OhDisbelievers!

I worship notwhat youworship"

From the Leaflets of Hizb ut-Tahrir


survive without further debt rescheduling. Withfew investment programs for wealth generationand a program for repaying debt by borrowing fur -ther from other institutions and donors such as theParis Club, the DMC outlook can be described atbest as being overly optimistic.

Rescheduling debt is a deceptive term, for its realmeaning lies in transferring the problem to futuregenerations by which time the debt level will swellto an unbearable point condemning them to fur -ther servitude to the whims of foreign powers.Pakistan has already rescheduled debt twice underthe IMF (Jan 1999, Jan 2000) and is continuing topursue this policy with the help of the PovertyReduction Growth facility (PRGF). The questionthat the government seems unable to answer, isquite simply, how and when will we repay thedebt? If the current direction of policies continues,the answer to this reasonable question is never.

Case Study: The IMF StrangleholdThe fulcrum of the problem is the stranglehold ofthe IMF. This case study will highlight the recentfunding programs the IMF have been involved inand strict conditions imposed upon the Pakistaniregime to which they have been held hostage. Themain conditions will be discussed and it will beshown from an economic and Islamic viewpointthat they are not to the benefit of Pakistan butrather are detrimental to the economy.

The IMF roll of honour

It should be noted briefly that the IMF has a verypoor record for producing sustainable growth incountries in which its policies have prevailed. If theIMF were an institution in which achieving growthwas a performance indicator then surely the IMFwould be dismantled.

"There is no region of the world that the WorldBank and IMF could claim as success stories fortheir policies," says Mark Weisbrot, co-director ofthe Centre for Economic and Policy Research(CEPR). This coincides with the fact that there hasbeen a marked slowdown of growth in certainregions where WB & IMF policies are most domi -nant. Between 1960 and 1980, gross domestic prod-uct (GDP) shot up by about 75% in Latin America,but from then on until 1998 it has grown by only6%. In Sub-Saharan Africa, GDP grew 36% between1960 and 1980 and has since fallen by 15%. Noaccountability of the IMF ensures that this legacy islikely to continue to add misery to the lives of mil -lions of people in developing countries.

Funding policy in PakistanIn the year 2000 the IMF agreed a $596 millionstandby arrangement (SBA). This arrangement wassubject to strict conditions and was to be releasedas and when Pakistan implemented and adhered tothese conditions. The first tranche of $200m wasreleased in September 2001 after agreement of theIMF Board of Governors and the rest is planned tobe released throughout the year 2001. This willonly be released if Pakistan has satisfactory per-formance on various fronts including revenues,

IntroductionThe economic situation of Pakistan in its presentreality can be described as fragile, catastrophic orquite frankly dire. Legacies of corrupt bureaucratsand politicians have ridden the country of eco-nomic prosperity as a nation even though theenhancement in their own lifestyles has been astro-nomical. World Bank chief economist NicholasStern described the 1990s as the country's "lostdecade" as political instability and corruptionstalled the economy. It can be said that the wholeof Pakistan's tenure as an independent state of 54years can be included in this assertion as no periodin Pakistan's history has seen a sustained period ofeconomic growth or an improvement in the popu-lation's standard of living. Currently 34% of the peo-ple are living below the poverty line of one-dollar-a-day, and on a two-dollar-a-day basis a staggering85% of the population fall below this poverty line.Such is the situation in a state that prides itself forbeing a nuclear power, which only a handful ofother countries in the world can claim.

More importantly Pakistan is strategically placedwith its access to the Indian Ocean and the gate-way to the potentially lucrative Central AsianRepublics where it is forecasted that vast arrays ofuntapped natural resources reside and hence pro-vides the next opportunity for those who canutilise the opportunity to become influential onthe world stage. Besides these Pakistan itself hasnatural resources of oil and gas in Baluchistan anda variety of fertile land in which agriculture has tra-ditionally prospered. Perplexing that it is; the mys-tery of the economic failure in Pakistan cannotentirely be blamed upon corrupt politicians, whichis generally the case. The blame lies inherently inthe confused system that is implemented and thestranglehold of foreign institutions such as the IMFand World Bank who in the pretence of povertyalleviation serve to create further destitution.Patchwork solutions will not remove the economy

from the black hole it is in and neither will furthersubservience or adherence to IMF policies. Rathera radical overhaul of the economic structure isrequired and a replacement with a system, namelyIslam, which will seek to utilise the resources ofthe country in a manner that will benefit the peo-ple and further the cause of Islam.

The 'Black Hole': debt problemThe foreign debt of Pakistan currently stands at$40bn and shows no signs of a decrease. The histo -ry of Pakistan in the last twenty years has shownthe debt spiral to its current level and with furtherdebt rescheduling programs, this trend is unlikelyto cease. Aligned with the repayment of the capitalis the servicing of the debt (interest payments),which currently consumes 45% of general govern-ment revenues; a further 25% of revenues are con-sumed in defence spending leaving insufficientfunds available for the development of the infra-structure and human development programmessuch as health and education. According to the IMFstatistics for 1990-98, Pakistan's total debt servicingand interest payments on foreign loans were thehighest among all income groups. In 1998, Pakistanpaid 12.5% of its GNP on debt servicing alone. Theaverage for low-income countries (where Pakistanis currently categorised) was 3.1% and for all devel-oping countries it averaged 4.5%. Coupled withthis Pakistan has gradually lost its foreign exchangeearning capacity in recent years leading to moredependence on foreign debts. The share ofPakistani exports in the world has declined from0.22% to 0.15% and remittances of overseas work -ers have substantially fallen in recent years.

The Debt Management Committee (DMC), headedby Dr Pervez Hasan, believes that if Pakistan con-tinues its course of medication from the IMF, it maycreate a situation in 2004 where it would be able to

EconomicConundrum:Capitalist or IslamicEconomic Policies?

Pakistan's


exports and foreign exchange reserves. These arenot empty threats of compliance as Pakistanrealised in 1999 when the fourth tranche of the$1.6bn ESAF facility was withheld due to the Kargilcrisis. This clearly shows that the IMF not only stip-ulates economic conditions but is also used as atool by the US to further their own political aims.Pakistan duly retreated at the behest of the US gov-ernment following a meeting of President Clintonand Nawaz Sharif.

Pakistan implemented the IMF's conditions in thebudget for 2001-2002 and is now vying to impressthe IMF with full compliance in search of $2 to$2.5bn from the ironically named poverty reduc-tion growth facility (PRGF).

IMF Restructuring ProgrammeThe main conditions of the IMF are centred aroundtwo main areas; tax policy and the deregulation ofnationalised industries.

Revenue targets - The IMF sets revenue targets forthe government to achieve. This in June 2001 was417 billion rupees and for 2001-2 was 457 billionrupees as per the budget. Considering that 45% ofgovernment revenues are spent in interest pay-ments one could suggest that the IMF has morethan a considerable interest for ensuring thatPakistan meets this target. The pressures of revenuegeneration lead the government down two roots;widening the tax bands and selling off nationalisedindustries to private investors.

Tax policy - Within general economic theory anincrease in taxation is viewed as a tool to deflate aneconomy in order to control inflationary pressureswhilst also providing revenue to finance publicexpenditure. Hence increasing taxation should becomplemented by an increase in investment toensure that the money stays within the economy. Inlight of these basic economic principles it is clearthat the policy that the IMF has insisted thatPakistan implements is doomed to create furtherpoverty. The main manifestation of this policy is themuch-maligned General Sales Tax (GST). This taxstarted initially as a tax on goods equivalent in itseffect to VAT (in the UK) but has since beenwidened to become a turnover tax which causedhuge dissension and strikes among small retailers.Furthermore the tax has been levied on electricityconsumption and disastrously on agriculturalinputs such as fertilisers and pesticides both at15%. Considering that agriculture contributes to25% of GDP, employs 44% of the working popula-tion and provides 70% of the foreign exchange theeffects of the latter will be severe and not con-ducive to growth in the region. Additionally the sec-tor currently suffers from negative growth of 2.5%,a shortage of water and continual increases in fuelused to run agricultural machinery such as tractors.

PrivatisationThe planned sale of the Pakistan State Oil (PSO),Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC), Oiland Gas Development Corporation (OGDC),Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and a host ofother public utilities are an implementation of the

IMF policy on privatisation.

In order to do this the government has committeditself to improving the financial positions of someof these utilities by moving towards a market-basedpricing system, shedding jobs, reducing subsidiesand settling arrears prior to their privatisation. Theimplication of this agreement is that the govern-ment will raise the tariffs frequently, to improve theoperating profits of these companies in a desperatebid to attract foreign buyers. The increase in theelectricity and gas tariffs during the month ofMarch 2001 and the increase in oil prices earlierthis year, will be followed by further increases inthe new fiscal year. But for some companies likeKESC and power generating units of WAPDA,increasing the tariffs will not be sufficient to makethem profitable. To make these companies prof-itable the government has entered the EnergySector Reform Programme of Asian DevelopmentBank (ADB), which is worth $350 million in loans.Parts of the agreement consist of job losses esti -mated to be over 100,000 and other restructuringmeasures. To attract foreign buyers for the publicenergy companies the government has arrangedconferences with participants including Lasmo Oil,Gazprom, British Petroleum, Merrill Lynch,Citibank, Orient Petroleum, Occidental Oil and GasCorporation, Marathon Oil and ABN Amro. TheMinister for Privatisation Altaf Saleem has indicatedon numerous occasions that the sale of the publicassets will at the most bring $3 billion. Thus realbeneficiaries of the privatisation process will notbe the Pakistani public, but foreigners.

Firstly, the money generated from the sale of thepublic assets will be handed to the IMF in order toretire the foreign debt currently standing at $40 bil-lion. Secondly, all future revenues from these utili -ties will go to the new owners of these companies,likely to be Western multinationals. Thirdly, it isenvisaged that the favourable taxation schemeswill be introduced to entice foreigners to invest.These schemes will help them to repatriate entireprofits out of the country to strengthen their owneconomies at the expense of Pakistan's. Fourthly,the new owners will be able to set tariffs withoutany government interference, thereby, increasinginflation and making it extremely difficult for thelocal industries to compete with imports. One onlyhas to look at Hubco to realise the future that pri-vatisation will bring.

Islam has distinguished between private property,which can be owned by individuals or organisa-tions and public property, which is owned by allthe people in the community and is to be super-vised by the state on behalf of the people as well asthe state property, which is owned and managedby the state. The Prophet (saw) said "Muslims arepartners in three things: water, pastures and thefire based fuels" [Abu Dawud]. Therefore it is haramfor the government to privatise gas fields, oil wells,forests and rivers.

An Alternative: The IslamicEconomic SystemIslam views the economic problem in a differentway to Capitalism. The current elite and econo-

mists within Pakistan and the Muslim world see theeconomic problem in the same way as the Westernnations. They believe in 'trickle down economics',which means that the economic problem is that ofunlimited wants and limited resources and in orderto bridge the gap between these the focus of anyeconomy should be to focus on production.Production is the key for them, which is why theypay so much attention to national income statisticssuch as GDP and GNP.

Islam views the economic problem as the distribu-tion of wealth; there are enough resources in theworld to provide the basic needs for over 60 billionpeople according to the statistics. The problem ofpoverty won't be solved by producing more andmore for the rich to consume. It will rather besolved by ensuring that basic needs of every indi-vidual are satisfied completely and to enable him tosatisfy his luxuries as much as he can. This uniqueview of the economic problem is the cornerstoneof the Islamic State's economic policies. There aremany ways that the Islamic economic systemencourages the distribution of wealth.

Provision of basic needs andpublic/private enterpriseThe Ahkam Shari'ah has secured the satisfaction ofall of the basic needs (food, clothing and shelter)completely, for every citizen of the Islamic State.This is achieved by obliging each capable malemember of the family to work, so as to achieve thebasic needs for himself and his dependants.

Allah (swt) the Supreme says:

"So walk in the paths of the earth and eat of Hissustenance which He provides" [TMQ Al-Mulk: 15].

In addition many ahadith came to encourage earn-ing. In one narration, the Prophet (saw) shook thehand of Sa'ad ibn Muad (ra) and found his hands tobe rough. When the Prophet (saw) asked about it,Sa'ad said: "I dig with the shovel to maintain myfamily" The Prophet (saw) kissed Sa'ad's hands andsaid: "(They are) two hands which The Supremeloves", and the Prophet (saw) also said: "Nobodywould ever eat food that is better than to eat of hisown hand's work".

Islam obliges the children or the heirs to supportthe parents if they are not able to work, or obligesthe State Treasury (Bait ul Mal) to do so, if there isnobody to support them.

Already in Pakistan today it has been estimated thatmost of the help that the poor receive is notthrough the government but through relatives asIslam proposed. The SDPC (social policy and devel-opment centre) in Pakistan last year estimated thatthrough informal household or community-basedschemes over 60 billion rupees were transferred tothe poor.

If the family are not rich enough to aid the individ-ual and if the individual has not been able to earnthrough employment or other ways then the state


will aid him to satisfy his needs. This can be accom-plished in a number of ways:

1. If the person is unable to earn due to a disabili-ty whether physical or mental, the state willgive him or her the necessary funds from theBait ul Mal. The Islamic economic policy treatseach individual as a specific individual.

2. If the person is able to work but has beenunable to find work then the state couldemploy him after reviewing his reality throughan interview process at one of the public-pri-vate enterprise offices in Karachi, Lahore orwherever the individual resides. An administra-tive official of the Khilafah will conduct theinterview; its objective would be to determinethe skills, experience and competence of thecitizen in question. After the citizen has beenassessed the official will have the responsibilityof deciding between two possible courses ofaction:

a) To employ the individual within one of thestate industries and public sector like the gas,Oil, transportation, administrative sectors, etc.This would provide a workforce for the publicsector and allow individuals to earn enough tosatisfy their needs.

b) Go into partnership with the individual, whichis a type of Mudharaba company structure. Thisis where the state invests capital and the indi-vidual carries out the work and the profits areshared. An example, which is an apt for the real-ity of Pakistan, would be if the state investedcapital to buy farming equipment for an indi-vidual who had some expertise in the area offarming and owned some land. The state andthe individual would both share the profits.Through this the state would achieve dualobjectives, firstly it would solve the problem ofthe lack of the satisfaction of individuals basicneeds and secondly the shared profits would bea source of revenue for the state, which wouldincrease its funds in the Bait ul Mal.

The state will provide the necessary funds from theBait ul Mal for the citizen who is out of work andnot earning and does not have his basic needs sat-isfied. It will not give a flat rate amount to eachindividual in need like the welfare schemes opera-tional in the West. Rather an official of the statewould need to study the reality of each individualwith a legitimate claim and give the citizen theamount required to suit his needs. So it will give dif-ferent amounts to those who have large families tomaintain than to single bachelors.

The state should not just rely on giving money tothose in need for its aim should not only be to tem-porarily fulfil one's needs, but also to provide themeans which would assist the individual in hisquest to fulfil his own needs over the long term. Insome places in the world including Pakistan givingsimple goods to individuals would enable them toearn a livelihood.

The Khilafah is not a businessman; it is a guardianand must act as such. This means it must engage in

projects to speedily solve major problems occur-ring as a result of poverty. Cities such as Karachihave up to 25% of their populace residing in squat -ter housing, whilst there are literally thousandsempty flats with a high proportion recently built.The government should launch a scheme toencourage landlords to rent out such places to thepoor whilst the government pays the rent in partor in full depending on people's circumstances.Priority should be given to those in squatter hous-ing and slums especially within major cities.

InvestmentDue to the fact that Riba is haram in Islam, wealthis taxed not income and that hoarding of wealth isprohibited, there will be no motivation for the peo-ple with wealth to save. Currently within Pakistanthere is immense hoarding of wealth, within aCapitalistic banking system. Therefore withinPakistan there is a huge lack of economic activityand circulation of wealth. Many of the wealthywithin Pakistan even save their money withinWestern banks in Europe or America which meansthat wealth doesn't even exist within Pakistan.

Within the Khilafah there will be no motivation tosave other than saving up to buy a good or acquirea service. This means that people will either spendtheir money on goods or services or they investtheir money. The Islamic rules allow investmentand companies; there are five types of company inIslam. These are Al-'Inan (equal), Al-Abdan (bodies),Al-Mudharaba (two or more), Al-Wujooh (faces) andAl-Mufawadha (negotiation). From this we can seethat an increase in economic activity will be natu -ral under the Khilafah.

The Ahkam Shari'ah relating to land that is unusedmotivates landowners to use their land productive-ly. If any land remains unused for over three yearsthen the state has the right to take it and use it pro-ductively or distribute it to others. In the case ofPakistan there are large amounts of land that areused unproductively. Under the Khilafah this landwill be used and therefore will increase the yield infarming and other industries like housing andbuilding.

Revenues of the Bait ul MalOne of the most important issues for a practicalway to regenerate Pakistan would be the compre-hensive implementation of the Islamic taxation sys-tem through which many funds would be raised.Unlike taxation within the Capitalist system, Islamfocuses on taxing individuals on wealth rather thanincome. Furthermore, in order for the state to pro-vide the basic needs and encourage individuals toacquire the luxuries as well, it needs to have capi-tal from which it can invest and spend.

1. Zakat - These properties are kept in a specialplace in the Bait ul Mal, and they are not spentexcept for the eight categories mentioned inthe Qur'an. However the Khalifah is allowed todistribute them according to his opinion andijtihad, for whom he sees fit of the eight cate-gories. He has the right to give them to one ormore of these categories, or to all of them.

Allah (swt) mentioned the eight categories in theQur'an:

"Alms are for the poor and the needy and thoseemployed to administer the funds; for thosewhose hearts have been reconciled, for those inbondage and in debt, in the way of Allah and forthe wayfarer…" [TMQ At-Taubah: 60].

2. Jizya - The Jizya is a right that Allah (swt)enabled the Muslims to take from the Kuffar asa submission from their part to the rule ofIslam. It is money that can be spent on the wel-fare of the subjects as a whole. It becomes dueevery year and cannot be collected beforehand.No fixed amount is estimated for the Jizya,rather it is left to the opinion of the Imam andhis own Ijtihad, provided that the amount set bythe Khalifah is no higher than the payer couldbear.

3. The Land Tax (kharaj) - The kharaj is a right thatAllah (swt) enabled the Muslims to take fromthe Kuffar. It is a right imposed on the peopleresiding in the land that has been conqueredfrom the Kuffar by way of war or by way ofpeaceful agreement, provided that the peaceagreement stipulates that the land belongs tothe Muslims, and that they will continue to farmthe land in exchange of a kharaj that theyshould pay to the state. The kharaj in the Arabiclanguage means the rental and the harvest orthe crop. Each land conquered from the Kuffarafter declaring war against them is consideredkharaji land, and even if they embraced Islamafter the conquest, the land remains kharaji.

The whole of Pakistan and the Indian sub-con -tinent is kharaji land. As for the amount of thekharaj imposed on the land, this is estimatedaccording to the potential of the land. WhenUmar (ra) imposed the kharaj, he took into con-sideration the potential of the land, unfairnessto the owner and without any prejudice againstthe farmer. The Khalifah reserves the right toestimate the kharaj, while taking into consider-ation the most appropriate way with regard tothese three aspects, either on the surface of theland, or the surface of the planted part, or byway of estimating the produce.

4. Annexing of lands - It is natural that theKhilafah will annex the Muslim lands, whichwill increase the revenue of the Bait al Mal. Ifthe Khilafah were re-established in Pakistan,annexing Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyztan,Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and so on would add tothe resources and income of the state.Kazakhstan's huge oil resources will be impor -tant for the Khilafah to obtain quickly; recentlywe have seen the British, French and American'sscramble for what they call 'Black Gold'.

5. Fines - For the Ta'zir (right of the community)


and Mukhallafat (right of the state) the state canadopt fines as punishment. Initially, because theIslamic values may not be so strongly embed-ded into the people, the revenue from this maybe substantial, however this would naturallydecrease over time.

6. Public properties and State properties - Thepublic properties are managed by the state, as itis the Khalifah who is the caretaker of theUmmah and its resources. Revenues can be gen-erated by the sale of oil, gas, phosphates, coaland other resources to other nations.

7. Recovery of stolen monies and property - Alsoincluded in the Khilafah states' revenues is theghulul money: that is money taken from therulers, the state's officials and civil servants, aswell as money confiscated from illicit earningssuch as gambling, bribery and usury. With swiftaction in terms of investigation and confisca-tion, it may be possible to track down andrecover some of these funds stolen from thestate and still kept within Pakistan, though thismay not be substantial.

8. Emergency tax - In the case of dire need theShari'ah has allowed the Khilafah to impose anemergency tax upon the very wealthy. This is inorder to overcome a problem such as earth -quakes (like that which struck India incurringbillions of pounds worth of damage), famine,and floods (like those that occur in Bangladeshevery year). It has been calculated that if a 2%emergency tax were put on the wealth of thetop elite of Pakistan it would generate more rev-enue than that has been generated from theimposition of the GST by Musharraf.

9. Other sources - The state also has the potentialto obtain revenue from other sources such asthe spoils of war, tax imposed on dhimmi's andharbi traders if trading goods across the fron-tiers of the state, Al-Rikaz - a fifth of all hiddenburied treasures and minerals, the property ofthe apostate, the property that has no inheritorsand by selling off or renting out unnecessarystate properties like the lavish presidentialhomes and other unneeded government ownedbuildings.

ConclusionThis brief explanation of some aspects of theIslamic economic system demonstrates that thereis a viable and superior system ready to replace themediocre structure prevalent in Pakistan today. It isclear that the more Pakistan looks to the West forits solutions the worse its situation will become.Pakistan needs to realise its identity as an IslamicState and implement the systems of Islam, of whichone is economics, and hence look to fulfil the aspi-rations and talents of the people. The motivationfor this should stem from the belief of everyMuslim in the region giving them a unified basisfrom which to derive the solutions to their dailyproblems.

Faisal Raja

Attempts atRevival

many Muslims in Indiadecided to escape daily punishments and humilia-tions. Their motivation was Islam, and their goalwas to create an Islamic land where they couldworship their Lord and live safely. However, oncethey gave their blood to establish this home, prob -lems were not far away.

Successive rulers applied un-Islamic rules and sys-tems, which resulted in a host of problems. Becausethe newly imposed system was failing, the prob-lems not only occurred in one field, but also rangedacross a whole spectrum, from the political to eth -ical and economic to social. The Pakistani Muslims,having the same motivation that they had to estab -lish Pakistan, then established a whole host ofmovements and associations by which theyattempted to address these issues.

Welfare MovementsOne of the problem areas, which was quicklyrealised by the people of Pakistan, was the increas-ing poverty. The huge migration of people, whichwas almost unprecedented, was a great challenge.Those who migrated faced the task of setting uptheir new homes and livelihoods, whereas thosewho were already involved in working the land andother commerce, had to adjust to the point wherethey offered their brothers and sisters who migrat-ed, to share their homes and lands.

After a series of consequent problems, mismanage-ment and the refusal to implement the IslamicShari'ah by its rulers, Pakistan's economy fell intoturmoil.

Many facts and figures were given to the Pakistanisto show them that the situation was improving.They mentioned GNP and GDP, neither of whichrelated to the people, nor directly affect theirmeans of livelihood. Pakistanis saw no real change,even until today. Even though there may have beenan increase in Pakistan's GNP and GDP, theEconomic Survey of 1999-2000 reports that 43.9

million individuals were below the poverty line in1998-99. Poverty in Pakistan increased from 22% to32% in last decade. These are the facts, which arenot represented by the complex graphs and chartsin meeting halls of the State Bank of Pakistan, theIMF or the World Bank.

For this reason, poverty has continued and Muslimswho wanted to see a change started to set up wel-fare movements to try and help their brothers whohave little or no means to sustain a livelihood.

If we took the case of the Baluchistan drought,again it would be apparent that it was the failure ofthe system to deal with a drought (not to mentionthe reasons for its occurrence), which leads toMuslims within and outside of Pakistan, to set upsmall welfare movements to help send supplies tothe area.

Although there is great reward in helping Muslims,it has to be understood that the system that causedthis disaster, and never appropriately dealt with it,still exists. It was the duty of this system to proper-ly organise Pakistan's water distribution, yet formany years, it has not even managed to compileone document, namely 'The Water Report'.

This is but the tip of the iceberg. Mismanagementhas ranged from droughts, oppressive taxes like theGST, poor wages, corrupt land purchasing laws(particularly favourable to big land lords) and manymore, all leading to the poverty witnessed by us allin Pakistan.

What the welfare groups need to realise is thatthese situations will keep recurring until the sys-tem is radically transformed, and the economy isgoverned by the Shari'ah alone.

These problems only occurred due to a departurefrom the Islamic economic system, which does notuse national measures to determine an individual'sability to feed himself. Rather, it ensures that eachindividual, regardless of their surroundings, has the

In the forties,


means to live a decent and sustainable life. It isreported in Tirmidhi that the Prophet (saw) saidthat, "The son of man has no better right than thathe would have a house wherein he may live and apiece of cloth whereby he may hide his nakedness,and a piece of bread and some water."

Tipu Sultan, who was in close contact with theKhalifah of the time, Sultan Abdul Hameed, assessedthe trends of Western political and economic devel-opment, which was aimed at subverting the thenIndian economy to suit colonial interests. Insteadof succumbing to foreign forces, Tipu attempted topresent an alternative. As a consequence, we findtrade flourished in the area, and people lived pros -perous lives.

Allah (swt) said:

"…and do not neglect your portion of worldlylife, and be kind even as Allah has been kind toyou, and seek not corruption in the earth" [TMQAl-Qasas: 77].

Bukhari related from Aisha (ra) that the Prophet(saw) said, "Whosoever cultivated a land that is notowned by anybody, then he deserves it more."

Allah (swt) said:

"What Allah gave as booty (Fai') to His Messenger(Muhammad [saw]) from the people of the town-ships, - it is for Allâh, His Messenger (Muhammad[saw]), the kindred (of Messenger Muhammad[saw]), the orphans, Al-Masâkin (the poor), andthe wayfarer, lest it circulates solely among thewealthy from amongst you" [TMQ Al-Hashr: 7].

Islam encouraged economic activity and offered asystem for its regulation. This system is responsiblefor its control, in the manner the Shari'ah demand-ed. Bukhari narrated it from Ibn Umar, that theProphet (saw) said, "And the Imam is in charge andhe is responsible for his citizens."

Hence, the real Islamic solution to the povertyproblem in Pakistan is the Khilafah system, whichwould control this activity, and consequently bringprosperity and happiness to its people. Without it,the worst can only be, but expected.

"And let those who withstand his (the Messenger's)order beware, lest some trial or painful punish-ment befall them" [TMQ An-Nur: 63].

Moral and Cultural ReformistsAfter the creation of Pakistan, some started to pro-claim that it should be a tolerant and modern soci-ety, a society accepting all ways and traditions andyet allow for modernism. It is this concept of 'tol-erant' and 'modern' society that has lead to the cre-ation of catwalks, beauty parlours, breweries, night -clubs and many other un-Islamic practices.

Also, with recent talk of a coming peace processbetween itself and India, the Pakistani governmenthas introduced various cultural phenomenons,such as the culture of the Indus Valley civilisation,fooling people into a false sense of unity betweenthe Muslims of Pakistan and the occupiers ofKashmir.

The main reason for their existence has been theruling class's love and passion for Western cultureand any culture foreign to Islam. This encompassespolitics, economics, food, dress, lifestyle and muchmore. They have surged forward in creating a plat -form to air this culture. Only recently, some havecalled for more nightclubs to keep the youth moti -vated during bad times.

Also, due to the inability of the system to functionand provide good services, the people of Pakistanhave resorted to means outside the system to solvetheir problems and disputes. For example, whenpassports are not created on time, people arebribed. Or when the courts remain silent on a landdispute for over 10 years, the local people decideto take it into their own hands, leading to local ten-sions.

The result is a society with a mixture of foreign andIslamic culture, leading to frustration and lack ofdirection. People, in this society, are forced to lookout for themselves due to an absence of a just sys-tem that provides, protects, enforces and punishesthose who are deserving.

Many a cultural movement has arisen in the nameof reform of the people or insaaf, to rid corruption.The approximate number of known deeni madras-sas in Pakistan currently lies in the region of 2,500.Some consist of hundreds, and many with thou-sands, of students.

It is sometimes the case that such movementsattack the people and their ways, commandingpeople to leave their trade and come to themosque for prayer, or to zhikr to purify their heartsor to the tawhid to protect themselves from fitna.These groups have completely missed the prob-lem, and have consequently only addressed theeffects.

"O people! Islam is a mighty fortress and a sturdygate. The fortress of Islam is justice and its gate istruth. If you destroy the fortress and demolish thegate you would undermine the defences of thisDeen. Islam will remain strong so long as the Sultanor central authority is strong. The strength of theSultan neither comes from flogging with the whip,nor killing with the sword but from ruling with jus-tice and holding fast to the truth." This was thespeech of Umayr ibn Sa'd al-Ansari (ra), a compan-

ion of the Prophet (saw), and the appointed Wali of'Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra).

Al-Baihaqi narrated on the authority of Ali (ra) thatthe Prophet (saw) said, "The people will not bestraightened except by an Imam."

The Imam is the protection against mischief,fahisha and munkar by lifting haram and dangerousdealings away from the Muslims.

Imam Ahmad narrated in his book, the Musnad, thatthe Prophet (saw) said that, "The knots of Islam willbe undone one by one until when every one ofthem is undone, and the first one to be undone isthe ruling and the last one is the prayer."

Again, the hadith indicates to all Muslims, includingthose groups that once the knot of ruling is brokenthe other rules (knots) of Islam are at risk, up untilthe time that even the rules of Salah would be jeop-ardised. Instead of exhorting themselves in estab -lishing the Islamic rule, some of these groupsattacked the Muslims and left the realm of life to begoverned by sinners and hypocrites.

It has been reported in the Sirah of Ibnu Ishaq thatAbu Bakr (ra), on the day of Saqifa, commented onthe consequences of having more than oneKhalifah: "this would cause differences in theiraffairs and concepts, their unity would be dividedand disputes would break out amongst them. TheSunnah would then be abandoned, the bida'a (inno-vations) would spread and the fitna would grow,and that is in no one's interest."

Jihadi MovementsRaja Gulab Singh purchased the State of Kashmirfrom the British Government in 1846 for Rs. 7.5million. At the time of the British Raj, Kashmir, thelast of the 'defiant states', had a Hindu Maharaja,Hari Singh. His subjects, however, were Muslims(almost 80%). He was not willing to join India orPakistan. Lord Mountbatten urged him to joineither state before August 15, 1947. The Maharajaasked for more time to consider his decision. In themeantime, he asked the Indian and the Pakistanigovernment to sign a "standstill agreement" withhim. Pakistan consented, but India refused.

In August, 1947 the local population of Poonchheld a massive demonstration to protest against theMaharaja's indecisiveness. The Maharaja, in amoment of panic, asked his Hindu troops to shoot.Hundreds of Muslims were killed.

Immediately after the Azad Kashmir governmentwas set up, the Muslims began to wage war againstthe Maharaja. In 1947, the war of Kashmir began.Thousands of Pathan warriors invaded, routing outthe Maharaja and his men until they reached thegates of Srinagar, the capital. Hari, sensing defeattook to Jammu. There, he called on India for help.India soon sent in troops, and in October of 1947the Maharaja acceded to India (Lord Mountbattenaccepted the accession on behalf of India), whilst itlaunched a full-scale attack on the Muslims.

British General, Gracey, Commander in Chief of the


Pakistan Army and Jinnah, argued against sendingin Pakistani troops and proposed an immediatecease-fire. Later, a plebiscite was to be held. After alimited war and some skirmishes, Pakistan tookcontrol of Azad Kashmir.

The cease-fire has remained in existence since1949. No plebiscite has been held, and the Kashmirissue remains unresolved to date. Many Muslimshave since fought for the right to rule since thatperiod. Also after the Communist invasion ofAfghanistan, hundreds of trained mujahideen alsowent into Kashmir to fight the occupiers. BecauseMuslims have the deep passion for Jihad, and liber-ating their lands from occupation and all landsfrom injustice, many set up Jihadi movements toachieve this aim.

Today a brief look at the Pakistani army shows usthat they are one of the most equipped forces inthe area that can enable the removal of the Indianforces from our lands. It was with the help of theMuslims in this army that Kargil, a most admiredstrategic position in the war was taken, and theoccupiers were forced back. Pakistan's army cur-rently numbers some 520,000. Were there arequirement to increase that number there wouldbe no shortage of soldier applicants.

Of Pakistan's nine corps, seven are sited close tothe Indian border. Those in Peshawar and Quettano longer have defence of the western border astheir primary focus. Their units, therefore, couldeasily reinforce the east in the event of hostilitieswith India.

The army too have the same desire as the Muslimsof Kashmir, and should not be separated from theMuslims at large in this area.

Pakistan's medium-range Ghauri missile, test-firedlast month is said to be capable of carrying nuclearwarheads and hitting most Indian cities. ThePakistani armies level of expertise coupled with itsmachinery and troops makes it apparent that thearmy is the suitable force that should be motivatedto remove the current occupiers.

There remains one problem, namely the govern-ment, in whose hands rest the marching of thisarmy. Even after the rape and slaughter of Muslims,the government takes the stance of a settlementwith India over the issue of Kashmir. They havetried to settle the rush in the blood that runsthrough the army and these movements. Calls fromprominent ulema in Pakistan, instructing the peo-ple that "the solution of Kashmir is a diplomaticone and not a militant one," add further insult tothe liberation of Kashmir.

They continue to voice support of the inaction ofthe Pakistani army over Kashmir. They call forfriendship and diplomacy with India, even thoughAllah (swt) has clearly forbidden it:

"Allah has forbid your friendship with those whofight you because of your deen, and drive youfrom your homelands, or aid others to do so: andas for those who turn to them in friendship theyare oppressors" [TMQ Al-Mumtahinah: 9].

Musharraf has clearly shown what sort of militaryman he is, both in word and in action. Only recent-ly, Musharraf has taken it upon himself to meet theIndian leadership and discuss a settlement. ThePakistani army has been instructed to remain in itsbarracks and not to 'provoke'. Musharraf has alsoadded that Pakistan's defence policy is that of a'minimum deterrent'. Allah (swt) clearly stated inthe Qur'an:

"Prepare for them (the unbelievers) all thou canof (armed) force and horses tethered, to strikefear in the enemy of Allah and your enemy"[TMQ Al-Anfal: 60].

In Musharraf's address, delivered at the 25thNational Seerat Conference at Islamabad, he com-mented:

"One hears the boast that we will hoist our flag onthe Red Fort (in Delhi). We will do this, we will dothat. …. Is it wise? Why are you talking loose? Whyare you damaging yourself and your brothers andsisters? What are you going to gain from it? On thecontrary, this provides India with the excuse to talkabout you as terrorists and to tell others to declareyou as terrorists so that prospective investors shyaway from your country. And immediately he sayswhen you kill each other, who will considerPakistan a safe place for investment."

A Muslim looks with great pride at the conquest ofIndia as a form of liberation, by the greatMuhammad bin Qasim. It was a time of courageousleaders who could really judge by their action andnot just their words.

Would Musharraf also attack Muhammad binQasim? Would he include him within his definitionof a loose talker? How would he describe theMujahideen who crossed all of Turkey and theUthmani Khilafah to launch a wave of attacks in the12th Century leading to the Islamic rule in Delhiand the whole of the Ganges Valley?

Allah (swt) said:

"Fight against them so that Allah will punishthem by your hands and disgrace them and giveyou victory over them, and heal the breasts of abelieving people" [TMQ At-Taubah: 14].

And furthermore:

"Fight the Mushrikeen together (as one block) asthey fight you together (as one block)" [TMQ At-Taubah: 36].

Surely, by replacing the current system and weakleadership, and by unifying the Mujahideen withthe force of the Pakistani and Muslim armies, wecould reclaim Kashmir, as well as the rest of India,and lay claim to what rightfully, by the command ofAllah (swt), belongs to the Muslims.

ConclusionIndeed, these movements have not failed becausethey lack Imaan, but rather because they have beenunable to identify and diagnose the cause of thesesituations in a precise manner. This has lead to theattack being lifted from the government and putsquarely onto the Pakistani people.

These problems will always exist alongside the sys-tem in Pakistan until the system itself is removedand replaced by the Islamic Khilafah. Hence, thegroups need to refocus their direction into moti -vating the people against the system and towardthe call for the complete implementation of Islamunder the Khilafah. This will be the real removal ofthe colonialists from our lands, because it wouldlead to the physical liberation of our lands as wellas our minds.

This is the role of the group that arises fromamongst the Muslims. They must work for theKhilafah in order to transform the situation inPakistan, by treating the various problems in accor-dance with the Shari'ah, which Allah (swt) has per-fected. They must attempt to bring about a bettersituation for the Muslims, A situation that Allah(swt) chose and desired for this Ummah.

"Allah has promised, to those among you whohave believed and worked righteous deeds, thatHe will, of a surety, grant them in the earth,inheritance of power, as He granted it to thosebefore them; that He will establish in authoritytheir Deen, the one He has chosen for them andthat He will change their state of fear in whichthey lived to one of security and peace" [TMQ An-Nur: 55].

Adil Jan


Learning from theConquest of

the IndianSubcontinent

Whenever the history of the IndianSubcontinent is discussed, it is hard

not to mention Muhammad binQasim who destroyed the Sindi

forces in order to spread the Islamicrule in that region.

many forget to mention why theKhalifah sent him and whether the mission wasunique or one that was being repeated across theglobe. This article will paint the bigger picture ofIslamic history in the Indian Subcontinent.

These events should not be taken as mere histor-ical facts nor should we look in awe at our pastleaders and Generals and feel that what theyachieved is for us something unachievable. It ismerely to learn from our history in order that wemay compare it to the current status quo andapply the lessons learnt. This article will in briefillustrate how Islam entered the Indian subconti-nent but will additionally try to clarify the reasonsfor the conquests.

Events leading to the conquest of SindEfforts to capture the region began at the time ofKhalifah Umar bin al-Khattab (ra). The Wali (gov-ernor) of Iraq embarked on an expedition by landto Makran. Makran was conquered but the tri-umph was short lived. During the last days ofKhalifah Umar's rule in 642 CE, Makran was re-conquered and remained under Islamic rule.Hakim bin Jabal (ra) was sent to Sind by KhalifahUthman (ra) in 650 CE to collect information.Prior to him, Sahar al-Abdi (ra) had visited Sind forthe same purpose in 643 CE during KhalifahUmar bin al-Khattab's (ra) rule.

The first naval mission undertaken by the Islamicarmy in the Indian Ocean was during the rule ofKhalifah Umar bin al-Khattab (ra) in 636 CE underthe command of Osman bin Abi Aas (ra), the Waliof Bahrain and Oman. The army attacked Thana, a

port near modern Bombay. Shortly after, he sentanother naval voyage to Debal in Sind lead by hisbrother, Mughira (ra). At that time Raja Chach wasthe ruler of Sind and his kingdom was welldefended.

Though many attempts were made to captureSind, the real story of the conquest of Sind and therest of the region began from the time of KhalifahWalid bin Abdul Malik, during the Umayyad peri-od. It was in the year 711 AH that Spain was con-quered by the Islamic State and Sind was capturedby the Muslims. A number of reasons can be putforward for the reasons behind the foreign policyof the Islamic State towards Sind.

Firstly, Sindi Rajas played a major role in support-ing the Persians in their battles against the Islamicforces. The Sindi military participated in the bat-tles of Nehawand, Salasal, Qadisia and Makranagainst the Khilafah. Secondly, after the Muslimshad taken Persia, some of their rebel chiefs beganto seek refuge in Sind. The Raja refused to handthem over to the Khalifah, despite frequentrequests. Thirdly, pirates from the Makran and Sindcoasts continuously besieged Muslim traders. Agrip of these parts was therefore considered nec-essary to safeguard Muslim maritime interests.

The actual conquest began after Muslim mer-chants returned from Ceylon to Basra havingbeen ransacked by Sindi pirates. It is said that thepirates abducted some of the Muslim womenaway, and so the merchants called for the help ofHajjaj bin Yusuf, who was a Wali (governor), tocome and rescue the women.

When Hajjaj became aware of the incident he

took action and wrote to Dahir, the ruler of Sind,to free the captives and return the goods thatwere seized. Not receiving a sympathetic reply,Hajjaj, with the permission of Khalifah Walid, senta force to Debal. Dahir's army annihilated thisforce and its commander. For the second time,Hajjaj sent a force to the area; this force being big-ger than the last, and Dahir responded likewise.For the second time Muslims were defeated andtheir commander Badil bin Tuhfa was killed fight-ing at Debal.

Hajjaj was furious at the two defeats, but theMuslims were reminded by the words of ourbeloved Prophet Muhammad (saw):

"I feel a cool breeze (refreshment) from al Hind(Muslims of India)" [Abu Dawood].

Abu Hurairah said:

"The Messenger (saw) promised us the conquestof India. If I was to come across that, I will spendmy soul and my wealth. If I am killed then I amamong the best of martyrs, and if I return then Iam Abu Hurairah the freed" [Ahmad, An-Nisa'i, Al-Hakim].

Realising that the Raja of Sind was powerful, wellacquainted with warfare tactics, well equippedand well trained, Hajjaj issued large-scale plans,determined to take Islam to Sind and put an endto Kufr rule.

Hajjaj chose a 17-year-old, Muhammad bin Qasimto lead the contingent for the dangerous mission.Commander Muhammad bin Qasim and his armywere given rigorous training for over one year inthe desert of southern Iran, which had climaticconditions comparable to that of Sind.Intelligence reports were gathered, strong andweak points of the enemy were pinpointed andfacts concerning their weapons and defenceswere assembled, studied, and the Islamic armyequipped in view of that.

Hajjaj bin Yusuf went through precise details andafter painstaking study of the maps of Sind heguided Muhammad bin Qasim on the mission andstrategy that had been adopted. Not satisfied withthis, Hajjaj took measures to arrange to convey hismessages and orders to Muhammad bin Qasimfrom Basra to any point in Sind within a week.Muhammad bin Qasim was ordered not to attackany city, fort or engage his forces in any significantbattle without receiving instructions from Basra.Precise planning was undertaken by Hajjaj, to theextent that directives regarding the day and timeof assault and arsenal to be used in a specificplace were sent by Hajjaj.

At the same time the Buddhists of Sind began toseek information from their fellow believers inAfghanistan and Turkistan about their affairs asthey were living within the Khilafah. Upon hear-ing that they were treated equal to the Muslimand that their rights and religion had been pro-tected, the Sindi Buddhists provided full coopera-tion to Muhammad bin Qasim, and honoured him

However,


with the title 'liberator from the Brahmin tyran-ny'. Buddhist rulers from Sind, such as Nerun ofHyderabad held secret correspondence with theyoung General. In the same way, Bajhra andKakaKolak, Buddhist Rajas of Sewastan, alliedthemselves with Muhammad bin Qasim. On simi-lar justification, Jats also joined the Muslimsagainst Dahir.

The expedition went as far north as Multan butfailed to retain that region and found no successin expanding the Islamic rule to other parts ofIndia. The Muslims however established them-selves in the region they took. The presence ofMuslims in Sind encouraged coastal trade, allowedsignificant cultural interactions and enabled theUlema and the da'wa carriers to enter the sub-continent; conversions into the Islamic belief wasa natural consequence, and this increased theinfluence of the Muslims.

Almost three centuries later, Turkish and AfghaniMuslims were in the forefront of the Islamic con-quest in India through the long-established inva-sion routes of the northwest. Towards the end ofthe twelfth century, Muhammad of Ghor invadedthe Indo-Gangetic Plain, conquering in successionGhazni, Multan, Sind, Lahore, and Delhi. His suc -cessors established the Delhi Sultanate, whichbecame the Islamic capital of the IndianSubcontinent. The territory under control of theMuslim rulers in Delhi expanded swiftly. By mid-century, Bengal and much of central India wasunder the rule of the Delhi Sultanate. As Muslimsopened southern India, only the Hindu kingdomof Vijayanagar remained immune, until it too fell in1565 CE. Although some regions remained inde -pendent of Delhi in the Deccan and in Gujarat,Malwa (central India) and Bengal, almost all of thearea in present day Pakistan came under the ruleof Delhi.

Thawban reported that the Messenger of Allah(saw) said:

"Two groups of my Ummah Allah has protectedfrom the Hellfire: a group that will conquer Indiaand a group that will be with Isa ibnu Maryam"[Ahmad and An-Nisa'i].

Most of the rulers in the subcontinent associatedtheir rule with the Khilafah, the Shari'ah was thestate law and the Qadi's were Muslim judges.Reference to the Qur'an and Sunnah were madevia the Ulema, even though in later years theIndian subcontinent saw a decline, faced its shareof problems and became almost autonomous.However, the entire coinage bore the Khalifah'sname and his name was mentioned in Jumu'aKhutbahs throughout India. The large distance ofIndia from the centre of the Khilafah caused manyproblems particularly in regards to communica-tion. This was one of the reasons attributed to thelocal governors eventually becoming almostabsolute rulers. For instance, when the Mongolscrushed Baghdad and killed the Khalifah, the sul-tanate of Delhi used the name of the murderedKhalifah on its coinage and in the Jumu'aKhutbahs for 30 years after he had been killed.

They attributed their rule to the Khilafah, andruled with the book of Allah (swt) and the Sunnahof Muhammad (saw).

Lessons from the Conquest ofthe Indian Subcontinent

1. Muhammad bin Qasim - An Islamic personality produced by the Islamic ideology.

In today's day and age youth can see their aim inlife as the acquisition of worldly comforts ratherthan anything else. Such is the case whenCapitalism provides the aim in life.

It is natural for the Islamic ideology, when inimplementation, to produce personalities likeMuhammad bin Qasim. May Allah (swt) blessMuhammad bin Qasim, and all those who fell inthe cause of Islam. At the tender age of 17 he ledthe army of jihad, battle after battle, with the soleaim of spreading Islam. He was not just a warriorbut also a strategist.

Muhammad bin Qasim was not a unique person-ality but one of many that the Islamic system pro-duced. Tariq bin Ziyad was another youth whoconquered Spain in the same year. With the returnof the Khilafah in the future we will, Inshallah, seemore personalities like that of Muhammad binQasim and Tariq bin Ziyad.

2. The Conquest of the Subcontinent - Part of the Foreign Policy of Islam

Muhammad bin Qasim was a General like manyothers. He was sent on a military mission likemany others. He fought against the Kuffar whilstholding the banner of Islam, as did previousGenerals and the ones who followed him. The waragainst the Rajas of India was Jihad, which wasadministered by the Islamic State since the timeof Muhammad (saw), our beloved Prophet.Hence, the confrontation against the Hindus ofIndia was part of the consistent foreign policy ofthe Khilafah and not an ad-hoc reactionary policyformed by an overwhelming emotion. Therefore,it is important to note that it was the Islamic Statewith all its departments and structure thatallowed Islam to enter the households of Sind,Kashmir, Bengal and so on, and not just one per-sonality. Any Muslim government today cannotenact such a foreign policy because all of themlack the necessary Islamic foundation, structure,departments and Islamic motivation.

3. Islam looked after the affairs of the Muslims

The move to launch a campaign against theIndians at that particular time was also linked tolooking after the affairs of the Muslims and theState. The Hindu Rajas were the people who sup-ported the Persian enemies. The rebel chiefs fromPersia fled to Sind and took protection under thewings of the Sindi Raja who refused to hand themover. Furthermore, pirates in the vicinity con-

stantly ransacked Muslim traders. However, thelast straw was the call of the Muslim women whobegged for the help of the Wali, when pirates fromthe area abducted them. His response was not tosend a diplomatic team but rather to send a sortieof forces to resolve the problem. Eventually theseproblems were replaced with Islamic solutions.This is the nature of the Islamic leadership, as theProphet Muhammad (saw) described.

Muslim narrated on the authority of al-A'araj, onthe authority of Abu Hurairah (ra), that theProphet (saw) said:

"Behold, the Imam is but a shield from behindwhom the people fight and by whom they pro-tect themselves."

Today we hear the daily calls of our mothers beg-ging for the help of the Muslims of the world. Butwithout the Islamic State, not one military forcehas been sent to protect them, even thoughPakistan possesses nuclear weapons and the like.

4. Unity

Islam spreads like fire in a forest. The Islamic rulewas spread across the globe. Walis who wereacquainted with ruling were sent to establishIslamic rule and judges were sent to establish jus -tice, Ulema were sent to teach Islam, linguists andinterpreters sent to teach Arabic. Jizya was col-lected from the dhimmis (non-Muslim citizens ofthe Islamic State) who were Hindus, Buddhistsand others. Zakah was collected from the Muslimsand a battalion was formed from the area to pro-tect the conquered land and to spread Islam tothe neighbouring lands.

Sind was not a conquered land to serve the wantsof their masters. Sind became part of the IslamicState and not a separate slavish entity, as was thecase in the days of the British colonialists. Sindwas open to the Muslims of Arabia, Persia or Spainwithout a passport or special permission as it wasMuslim land equal to all others. A sense of unitywas in the atmosphere of the subcontinent.Buddhists and Hindus alike embraced Islam withwilling submission and the dhimmis lived side byside with the Muslims. Even though the Hinduswere a majority in the subcontinent, the Shari'ahwas the state law and the rulers were Muslims forcenturies.

5. The Allegiance of non-believers to the Khilafah

The Buddhists of Sind quickly rose to fight along-side the Muslims, not because they thought thatthey would share power and authority with theMuslims, but because they wished to live underthe Khilafah, knowing full well that they wouldnot be treated as slaves or second-class citizens.They saw the justice that Islam provided andwere willing to risk their lives for it. Such a sce-nario is not unique in our history; indeed manydisbelievers have fought for the protection of the

The Way to Workfor Khilafah


Islamic State. One such example is that of theChristians of the Islamic state who fought againstthe Christian Crusaders.

Conclusion

Islam entered the Indian subcontinent led bygreat personalities like General Muhammad binQasim through Jihad. It was the Khilafah that sup-plied believers who were willing to give up theirlives for the Islamic cause. However, with the fallof the Khilafah, we have only seen the British, theHindus, the Pakistani premiers, and more recentlythe Americans take advantage of the situation. Ourmosques have been burnt, our homes looted, ourwomen dishonoured and our youth slaughtered. Ahandful of Muslims fight for Kashmir whilst themultitudes of Muslim armies watch the show andthe rulers turn their backs.

Islam provided the Muslims of the IndianSubcontinent with true security and justice suchthat in the aftermath of the fall of the Khilafah theMuslims of India established groups such as theKhilafah Movement in order to revive theKhilafah and masses of people migrated toPakistan in hope of an Islamic State.

All praise is to Allah (swt), that the Muslims of theIndian Subcontinent are awakening from theirdeep sleep. They are aware of their past and of thefuture foretold in the Qur'an and the Sunnah.What is required now is for us to rememberAllah's (swt) promise to the believers and to workrigorously for the impending victory.

Allah (swt) informs us in Surah an-Nur:

"Allah has promised to those among you who dorighteous deeds, that He will of surety grantthem in the land inheritance of power, as Hegranted it to those before them; that He willestablish in authority their religion, the onewhich He has chosen for them; and that He willchange this state after the fear in which they liveto one of security and peace: They will worshipMe alone and not associate partners with Me"[TMQ An-Nur: 55].

Abid Saied

become an indisputable realitythat this Ummah yearns for the return of theIslamic Khilafah. She has witnessed much thatsolidifies this desire. Today, we find that Allah (swt)has brought back the desire in the hearts of theMuslims and this Ummah to return to the rule ofIslam. Amongst them are those who are willing todedicate their time and effort for the service ofIslam. This article seeks to explain how such peo-ple can work for Islam and work for its nobleaims.

Knowledge before action

Hazzam bin Hakeem narrated from his uncle fromthe Messenger of Allah (saw) who said: "You are ina time of many jurisprudents (fuqaha), few speak-ers/lecturers, many who give and few who ask; soaction in this time is better than knowledge.There will soon come a time of few jurisprudents,many speakers, many who beg and few who give;so knowledge in this time is better than action."

This noble advice by the Messenger (saw) buildsthe principle that Islam has always placed knowl-edge before action. It is saddening to see thatamongst some workers for Islam, action comesbefore knowledge. This is highly dangerous, sincewe saw at the beginning of the last century aplethora of patriotic movements rising up againstthe colonialist occupation only to find that whenthe colonialists left they implemented the samesecular models in their lands. Also we find today,under the banner of Islam, some Muslim govern-ments conducting "experiments" for Islamisation,even though the Qur'an and Sunnah showed indetail the Islamic system, and this has beenexplained in many volumes of books.

Islam has placed knowledge and thinking as a pre -condition for action, and this ensures that theaction undertaken is the correct action and thatthe action is according to Islam and is the correctaction to achieve the aim. But the question maybe asked - what type of knowledge is required?Here are a few areas that anyone working forIslam should seek to understand:

i. To gain an understanding of Islam and its basicconcepts. These concepts need to start withthe Aqa'id (belief) because this is the basis ofall correct actions. A Muslim must be con-vinced of his basis, because under all strong

structures lay a strong, solid foundation. Wehave witnessed, with great sadness, excellentpeople with much energy working for thegoals of Islam one day and then leaving thiswork the other because their foundationswere weak and all they had was zeal anddesire rather than sound knowledge.

ii. To understand the Shari'ah rules. Islam hasmade it an obligation for a Muslim to under-stand the Hukm Shari' concerning his actions.So a Muslim must be aware of his obligations.It is incorrect for a Muslim to work for Islam,yet fall short of abiding by the rules of Islam inhis personal life. Again we witness with sad-ness many who openly call out against'Western culture' yet in their own lives areengrossed with its films and music, soaps andtrivialities the same West gives them. In under-standing the Shari'ah rules, one must makesure he or she does not limit themselves tojust a specific area which they are inclined to.Rather Islam needs to be taken completely.

iii. To understand the main points of Kufr. Thisarea is unobvious to many. The Messenger(saw) used to know the thoughts of theQuraish so that he could speak out againstthem. Also Allah (swt) encouraged this, so inthe Qur'an He (swt) points out on many occa-sions the contradictions that existed with theMushrikeen. Today the Muslim needs to beaware of the dominant ideology, capitalism, itscomponents and its contradiction with Islam.Again this knowledge requires more than justa superficial understanding such that the callof Islam becomes a general unconvincing call.When Allah (swt) says,

"Say 'This is my way: I call to Allah with sureknowledge, I and whosoever follows me. AndGlorified and Exalted is Allah. And I am notof the Mushrikeen" [TMQ Yusuf: 108], he com-mands the knowledge to be precise. Today weneed to understand globalisation, democracy,freedom, interfaith dialogue, and secularismamongst many other ideas that are invalid andcannot be adopted by the Muslims.

It has today

o Workh


iv. Knowledge of the correct Islamic work. If aMuslim were to study Islam correctly hewould find that Islam has placed the authorityas the most essential organ to safeguard therules of Islam and the Muslims. This necessi-tates that in the absence of this authority workis required to bring it back. The Khilafah is theonly correct structure Islam has laid down, theMessenger (saw) said, "after me there will beno Prophet, but there will be Khulafah andthey will number many". So the correct Islamicwork is to call for the Khilafah. That means towork to bring back its return. This work by def-inition is a political work, and thus requires anaware Islamic political party.

Apart from what has been mentioned above, aMuslim must seek knowledge continuously andmust always strive to excel in his or her under-standing.

Carrying Da'waIf a Muslim was to engage in gaining knowledgehe would realise quickly that knowledge withoutaction is like a donkey with books on its back.This knowledge would be of no use to the peopleno matter how much he gained and how much ofa faqih he became. Islam has said that the mostessential component in carrying Islam and bring-ing back the Khilafah is to carry Da'wa. That is toinvite people. Allah (swt) says,

"Invite to the way of your Lord..." [TMQ An-Nahl:125].

Also Islam has mandated that Da'wa should becarried immediately after knowledge. Never in thehistory of Islam has a Da'wa carrier stayed athome after being affected by Islam. The stories ofthe Sahabah (ra) are all an evidence for this. Alsothe Messenger (saw) said, "Convey from me evenif it is one ayah". The following needs to be keptin mind when carrying Da'wa.

i. Da'wa should be a focused work. The Muslimsneed to be told in a clear, unambiguous waythat the many problems we see are due to theabsence of the Khilafah and that Islamdemands the Da'wa carrier to discuss thisissue. Muslims must expose the plans of theWest in our lands, their agents in the form ofour leaders and all that stems from their cor-rupt ideology that distances the Muslims fromuniting once again under this strong leader-ship such as the erroneous concepts of nation-alism, pragmatism, gradualism and the like.

ii. A Muslim should not talk about what he doesnot know. The Messenger (saw) always soughtrevelation from Allah (swt) before he spoke aword. This forms a general rule that one can-not speak out of ignorance.

iii. Da'wa should be carried purely for the pleas-ure or Allah (swt). A Da'wa carrier must notseek benefit or position from carrying Da'wa.Rather he must do this purely for the sake ofAllah (swt). This principle, that is to carryDa'wa for the pleasure of Allah (swt) if under-stood, will ensure the Da'wa carrier does notstray from his path and change his argumentto suit the people.

iv. When carrying Da'wa nothing should interferewith the correct idea and the conveyance of it.The Messenger (saw) was the best example,and he conveyed this message without allow-ing egoism or personality into the discussion.

v. The call should be carried without compro-mise. It is not permissible to change the mes-sage in order to please the people or to win atemporary supporter. Rather this call needs tobe frank, carried with wisdom, that is using thebest of styles but conveying the haq (truth)completely. Furthermore the ideas that are car-ried must not be reconciled with the Westernideology and its standards. It must rather bederived purely from Islam.

vi. The carrier of the Da'wa must be ready to facethe trials and tribulations that those whooppose it will place in his or her path. The onlyway to prepare for this is to have the clearknowledge of the key Islamic ideas such as alQadaa wal Qadr, or Rizq (sustenance) beingfrom Allah (swt), or Al-Tawakkul (reliance onAllah [swt]) amongst other ideas. Also theymust equip themselves with the knowledge ofthe previous Prophets (as) and their compan-ions and how they bore hardships and finallythey must be close to the Qur'an as there isnot any other book but this that has the abili-ty to motivate, inspire and energise.

Working with an Islamic PartyAllah (swt) has made carrying Da'wa Fard uponevery Muslim. He (swt) has also obligated uponthe community to establish at least one group tocall to al-Khair, that is Islam, to enjoin al-Maroof(all that is good) and forbid al-Munkar (all that isevil). Allah (swt) says in the Qur'an,

"Let there arise from amongst you a band ofpeople, who call to Al-Khair, enjoining al-maroofand forbidding al-munkar. And they are thosewho will gain success." [TMQ Ale-Imran: 104]

This ayah obligates the establishment of a group.If one was to study the nature of the task to re-

establish the Khilafah one would find that for thiswork to be effective, there needs to be a collec-tive effort. Furthermore the Messenger (saw)worked with the Sahabah (ra) as a group tochange the Kufr society and transform it to anIslamic one.

There are some points to consider before choos -ing which group or groups are correct to ensurethat the action undertaken is one with full aware -ness. As with all actions, Allah (swt) will accountus for obedience to him and so to just choose anygroup would be impermissible, rather the one orones that fulfils the obligation pointed out in thisnoble ayah must be considered. These are thepoints:

i. This group must call to Islam. Allah (swt) men-tions in this ayah the word 'Al Khair', which isIslam. So if they were a nationalistic, demo-cratic, capitalistic, socialist group etc… thenthey would not fulfil the command in thisayah. In fact joining groups who are basedupon these foreign ideas or who call for suchideas would be sinful, as to call for these ideasand to gather around them is haram.

ii. This group must call to the vital issue, asdefined by Islam. The vital issue today is the re-establishment of the Khilafah. It is the Khilafahthat will implement Islam, and without it, itwould be impossible for the society to adhereto all of the laws of Islam. By definition, callingfor the Khilafah is a political work, as itinvolves changing the society to establish anauthority and removing the present authori-ties based upon non-Islam. So this group mustbe a political group or party.

iii. It must have a clear method of affiliation. It hasbeen observed that many groups are tarnishedwith infighting, strands, wings and the like.This is due to the members of these groupsnot having a unified aim and sets of ideas.Rather the people are often chosen becausethey show some sort of enthusiasm to dowork regardless of them carrying the sameideas and aims.

iv. The group must have a 'culturing process'.That is they must have a way of developingnewcomers to the group as well as establishedmembers. This culturing must be taken seri-ously and all should need to go through it. Thisensures they are built and developed with theIslamic culture, purifying their intentions andthoughts, building their concepts andstrengthening their resolve. So the initial zealand enthusiasm is transferred to a soundknowledge and consistent work. It is sadden-ing to see the many who begin to work forIslam and then stop this work; this can gener-ally be attributed to a lack of culturing withIslam in this group.

v. This group must be clear in its language, andbold in its actions - to enjoin the Maroof andforbid the Munkar requires from the Muslim tochallenge all that is wrong and uphold all that

is right.

vi. The group must study the reality clearly andcomprehensively. Islam mandated that thereality in which the group works must beunderstood. This includes the study of thethoughts and ideas that exist in society as wellas the plots and plans of the Kafiroon and heragent rulers in our lands. To just have a gener-alised understanding of the reality would notallow the people to understand the truenature of the problem we face.

vii.The group must not look down upon theUmmah nor abuse them for not working withthem or not adhering to Islam. Rather it shouldseek to lift up their spirits, energise them,wake them from their slumber and bringabout this change. The Messenger of Allah(saw) said, "Whoever says the people aredestroyed are the most destroyed of the peo-ple." [Sahih Muslim].

viii.The group should have a strong atmospherethat gels the members together. This atmos -phere must be a pure one and it should bebased upon seeking the pleasure of Allah(swt). We witness many groups that exist inthe West that are run like a company, wherethe members have to continuously be forcedto undertake actions. This is contrary to theway of Islam where the strength of the ideamakes a person willingly want to sacrifice histime and effort. The Messenger of Allah (saw)wrote in a letter to Abdullah Ibn Jahsh, whenhe sent him to lead an expedition to keep aneye on Quraysh at Nakhlah, between Makkahand Ta'if: "Do not coerce anyone of your com-panions to proceed with you, and go forthwith my order with those who follow you."

These three points; gaining knowledge, carryingda'wa and working with an Islamic Party wouldbe the practical way to work for Khilafah. So afterthis, we would say join this work with the sincereones who seek to achieve the highest place in

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?Dear Sister/Brother,

Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatahu,

I would like to say thank you for sending me information on elections in a Kufr system (rul-ing of Islam). I have been to a lot of talks that were done by Members of Hizb ut-Tahrir. Thereason I am writing is because I wish to sign up to become a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir andhelp out as a sister in Islam and bring back Khalifah and the Islamic laws in this corruptedworld in order to live life according to how the Prophet (saw) has lived. Can you please letme know if I will be allowed and please send me other information if possible.

Wassalamu Alaikum,

Your Sister, Slough, UK

Letters


Jannah. Strengthen your resolve, for the Ummahyearns for change, and this change requires work.May our deeds be multiplied in reward in the eyesof Allah (swt) and may we become the ones whowill be the "beloved" to the Messenger (saw)!

The Messenger Muhammad (saw) said:

"Some peoples will come on the Day ofJudgement and their Iman will be outstanding, it'slight will shine from their chests and from theirright hands. It will be said to them, 'Glad tidingsfor you today, Assalamu Alaikum and goodnessfor you, enter into it (Jannah) forever! So theangels and the Prophets will be jealous of the loveof Allah for them". The Sahabah asked, ' Who arethey O Messenger of Allah?' He (saw) replied,"They are not from us and they are not from you.You are my companions but they are my beloved.These will come after you and will find the book(the Qur'an) made redundant by the people, anda Sunnah which has been killed by them. Theywill grab hold of the book and the Sunnah andrevive them. Then, they will read them and teachthem (the Qur'an and the Sunnah) to the peopleand they will experience in that path a punish-ment more severe and more ugly than what you(O Sahabah) have experienced. Indeed, the Imanof one of them is equivalent to the Iman of fortyof you. The Shaheed of one of them is equivalentto forty of your Shuhadaa'. Because you found ahelper towards the truth (the Prophet [saw]) andthey will find no helper towards the truth. Theywill be surrounded by tyrant rulers in every place,and they will be in the surroundings of Bayt ul-Maqdis (al-Quds). The Nusrah (victorious materi-al support) of Allah will come to them, and theywill have the honour of it on their hands". Then he(saw) said "O Allah give them the Nusrah andmake them my close friends in Jannah". [Musnadal-Imam Ahmad, chain no. 77, Hadith no. 17561]

Jalaluddin Patel

Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullah,

Dear Sister/Brother,

After becoming very interested and astonished bythe recent discoveries I made through Islam thesepast two years, I have become committed to want-ing to live my life in total adherence to the laws ofAllah (swt) Insha-Allah.

In researching who I actually was as a Muslim, Iwent through various literatures. Through this, Icame across various articles produced by your-selves. I have been wanting to submit myselftowards the work of Allah (swt) ever since. I wantto help the cause of the Muslim nation and tohelp in anyway I can to increase the light of Islamin peoples' lives.

Thus, I ask yourselves for assistance in enablingme to help in the Women's Institute/Section inBirmingham in anyway I can, as I feel the workyou do is inspirational and I would be privilegedto work as a part of your team.

I wish to be part of a team who has a worthycause, and there is no other cause more worthythan those who work in the way of Allah (swt). Iexpect no income in aiding through any meanspossible and I do not want any other repayments,apart from the blessings of Allah (swt).

In waiting of your reply Insha-Allah.

Your Sister, Birmingham, UK

Letters

Khilafah Magazine September 2001

Documents

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islamic rule

messenger of allah saw

islamic lands

khilafah state

ina time

khilafahand khilafah

islamic way oflife