| Answer: Muslims like you who have settled in
non-Muslim countries are bound in a contract of citizenship. They must
always honour this contract while living in such areas. They should respect
the laws and live peacefully. They are bound by Islam to abide by the terms
and conditions of any contract they make and they must never violate them in
the slightest way. Such violations according to Islam are totally forbidden
and, in fact, amount to a grave transgression. The Qur’ān says:
وَأَوْفُوا
بِالْعَهْدِ إِنَّ الْعَهْدَ كَانَ مَسْئُولًا(٣٤:١٧)
And keep [your] covenants; because indeed [on
the Day of Judgement] you will be held accountable for them. (17:34)
Consequently, you must never break the laws
of the country you live in and if a situation comes when, owing to some law,
you are not able to follow a directive of your religion which seems
imperative to you, then you should first of all bring the matter in the
notice of the authorities. If it is not resolved, then instead of violating
the law or creating nuisance you should migrate from the US.
As far as the question of striving to
establish an Islamic state is concerned, let me tell you that you as a
Muslim are not required by your religion to fulfill any such obligation.
Some religious scholars do present the example of the Prophet Muhammad (sws)
and say that since he had established an Islamic state in Arabia, Muslims,
wherever they are, should follow his example. I am afraid that neither did
the Prophet (sws) ever undertake the task of establishing an Islamic state
nor was he ever directed by the Almighty to do so. The truth of the matter
is that it is the Almighty Who according to His established practice
regarding His Messengers took matters in His own hand in the time of the
Prophet Muhammad (sws) and bestowed him and his Companions (sws) the
supremacy of Arabia.
Scholars who are of the opinion that Muhammad
(sws) strove to establish an Islamic state in Arabia typically present the
following verse in support of their view:
هُوَ الَّذِي أَرْسَلَ رَسُولَهُ بِالْهُدَى وَدِينِ
الْحَقِّ لِيُظْهِرَهُ عَلَى الدِّينِ كُلِّهِ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ
الْمُشْرِكُونَ(٩:٦١)
It is He Who has sent his Messenger
[–Muhammad–] with Guidance and the Religion of Truth that he may proclaim it
over all religions, even though the Idolaters may detest [this]. (61:9)
On the basis of the phrase ‘all religions’,
it is understood that the followers of Islam must struggle for its dominance
in their respective countries and territories.
An analysis of the context of this verse
shows that it belongs to the class of directives that relate to the
established practice of the Almighty regarding His Messengers (Rusul)
according to which a Messenger (Rasūl) always triumphs over his nation:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُحَادُّونَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ
أُوْلَئِكَ فِي الأَذَلِّينَ كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَأَغْلِبَنَّ أَنَا وَرُسُلِي
إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ(٥٨:
٢٠-١)
Indeed those who are opposing Allah and His
Messenger are bound to be humiliated. The Almighty has ordained: ‘I and My
Messengers shall always prevail’. Indeed, Allah is Mighty and Powerful.
(58:20-1)
Muhammad (sws) was also informed that he
would triumph over his nation. He and his Companions (rta) were told that
they would have to fight the Idolaters of Arabia until the supremacy of
Islam was achieved therein and that these Idolaters should be informed that
if they did not desist from their evil ways they too would meet a fate no
different from those of the other nations who denied their Messengers:
قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِنْ يَنتَهُوا يُغْفَرْ لَهُمْ
مَا قَدْ سَلَفَ وَإِنْ يَعُودُوا فَقَدْ مَضَتْ سُنَّةُ الْأَوَّلِينَ
وَقَاتِلُوهُمْ حَتَّى لَا تَكُونَ فِتْنَةٌ وَيَكُونَ الدِّينُ كُلُّهُ
لِلَّهِ (٨:
٣٨-٤٠)
Say to the Disbelievers that if they now
desist [from disbelief] their past would be forgiven; but if they persist,
the punishment of those before them is already [a warning for them]. And
fight against them until there is no more persecution and there prevails the
religion of God. (8:38-40)
Consequently, it is to be noted that the word
‘al-Mushrikūn’ (the Idolaters) is used in 61:9 quoted above. The Qur’ān uses
this word specifically for the Idolaters of Arabia of the Prophet’s times.
As a result, ‘all the religions’ in the conjugate clause can only mean all
the religions of Arabia at that time. So, the verse has no bearing on
Muslims after the times of the Prophet (sws).
Therefore, striving to achieve the political
supremacy of Islam is no religious obligation of a Muslim, let alone waging
Jihād to achieve this supremacy. The verses from which this obligation has
been construed specifically relate to the Prophet Muhammad (sws). |