It appears the Saudi regime has its chief imams firing on all cylinders when it comes to defending its tyranny.
Ever since the Arab Springs began, the Gulf countries have been scrambling to preserve their despotic regimes by adopting drastic measures.
We saw how states placated the uprisings through making some reforms, changing cabinets and economic hand-outs. Whilst Bahrain continues to clamp down on its Shi’ah majority population, Oman was the other Gulf nation to see significant protests. The Sultan continued with his reform campaign by dissolving some ministries, setting up some new ones, granting student and unemployed benefits, dismissing scores of ministers, and reshuffling his cabinet three times. In addition, nearly 50,000 jobs were created in the public sector, including 10,000 new jobs in the Royal Oman Police. The government’s efforts have largely placated protesters, and Oman has not seen significant demonstrations since May 2011, when increasingly violent protests in Salalah were subdued.
Saudi Arabia has been able to present the protests in its territories as a Shi’ah uprising and this has caused the bulk of the population to support the clamp down in cities such as Qatif, al-Awamiyah, and Hofuf. In order to contain the uprising, the monarchy announced a series of benefits for citizens amounting to $10.7 billion. These included funding to offset high inflation and to aid young unemployed people and Saudi citizens studying abroad, as well the writing off some loans. As part of the Saudi scheme, state employees saw a pay increase of 15%, and cash was made available for housing loans. No political reforms were announced as part of the package.
At the time of the Arab Springs, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia also issued a fatwa opposing petitions and demonstrations, the fatwa included a “severe threat” against internal dissent.
And now to the backdrop of the rise of Da’ish, the sell-out scholars of Saudi have sought the opportunity to defend their tyrannical regimes by presenting their own regime as a model of Islam.
O Sheikh Saleh Al-Talib, imam and khateeb at the Grand Mosque in Makkah!
Let it be known that no Muslim in their right mind believes, in this day and age, that the constitution of Saudi is Islamic, neither on paper nor in implementation. Your oppressive monarchy is known to suppress political ‘dissent’; your dungeons are full of righteous scholars and Islamic political activists; your political allegiance that swings between Britain and the U.S. is well understood; you pick and chose whom you wish to apply the hudood upon – one rule for foreigners and another for royalty.
You think by accommodating the hajis during the Hajj and the extending of the two holy mosques will save you from the wrath of Allah سبحانه وتعالى and the uprising of this Ummah as you lay back on your couches and squander the wealth of this Ummah?
You quote: “Every man on earth should realize that the security of the land of the two holy mosques is the security of every Muslim on earth.” Have you not read the ahadith?
«لزوال الدنيا أهون على الله من قتل مؤمن بغير حق»
“The wiping away of the World means less to Allah than a Believer to be killed unjustly” (Ibn Maja)
حدثنا عبد الله بن عمر قال رأيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يطوف بالكعبة ويقول: «ما أطيبك وأطيب ريحك ما أعظمك وأعظم حرمتك والذي نفس محمد بيده لحرمة المؤمن أعظم عند الله حرمة منك»
Abdullah bin Umar said – I saw the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم doing tawwaf around the Ka’aba saying: “How sweet/ good are you and how sweet is your scent. How great are you and how great is your sanctity. By the One who the soul of Mohammad is in His Hand the sanctity of a believer is greater with Allah than your sanctity.” (Ibn Maja)
You misquote evidences to justify your stance such as:
Muslim narrated from Abdullah ibn al-Abbas (r),
«مَنْ كَرِهَ مِنْ أَمِيرِهِ شَيْئًا فَلْيَصْبِرْ عَلَيْهِ، فَإِنَّهُ لَيْسَ أَحَدٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ خَرَجَ مِنَ السُّلْطَانِ شِبْرًا، فَمَاتَ عَلَيْهِ إِلَّا مَاتَ مِيتَةً جَاهِلِيَّةً»
“If someone dislikes his ruler, he must be patient, because if he comes against the ruler in a rebellious or destructive manner by only a handspan and dies, he dies in a state of pre-Islamic ignorance”
The Saudi Scholars fail to explain that this refers to the rulers whom the Ummah has given authority to and not the ones who usurp the authority and were forced upon us by the British colonialists!
Another condition for ruling is that the ruler must be ruling according to Islam, which clearly is not the case in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia!
Similarly, they quote the ayah:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ أَطِيعُواْ اللّهَ وَأَطِيعُواْ الرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِي الأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ
“You who have iman! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in command among you.”
(An Nisa’ verse 59)
Again, it is inconceivable that Allah سبحانه وتعالى would ask this Ummah to follow Him and His Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم and then follow the rule of Kufr as implemented by the current ‘rulers’ (again, we use rulers loosely here as they have not been delegated authority by the Ummah or even by the Scholars who take their names in qunut).
They consider uprisings against tyrannical governments as ‘fitna’ yet they fail to see the fitna under their own very noses and those that have been committed against this noble Ummah by the Zionist and the Satanic rulers in the Muslim Lands. They see not the fitna of Assad yet they see the ‘fitna’ of the Ummah?
Are you ignorant of the hadith narrated in Muslim from Abi Said al-Khudri, he said,
«مَنْ رَأَى مِنْكُمْ مُنْكَرًا فَلْيُغَيِّرْهُ بِيَدِهِ، فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِلِسَانِهِ، فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِقَلْبِهِ، وَذَلِكَ أَضْعَفُ الإِيمَانِ»
“I heard the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم say, ‘Whoever of you had seen an evil (munkar) thing let him change it by his hand, and if he could not do that let him do that by his tongue, and if he could not do that let him deny it by his heart (i.e. hate it), and this is the weakest (degree of) faith’.”
You even overlook the hadith regarding Hamza (ra):
«سَيِّدُ الشُّهَدَاءِ حَمْزَةُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْمُطَّلِبِ، وَرَجُلٌ قَالَ إِلَى إِمَامٍ جَائِرٍ، فَأَمَرَهُ وَنَهَاهُ فَقَتَلَهُ»
“The master of martyrs is Hamza bin Abdul-Muttalib and a man who stood up to an oppressive ruler where he ordered him and forbade him so he (the ruler) killed him”. (Reported by Jabir bin Abdullah and Ibn Abbas in Mustadrak Al Hakim and At Tabarani. Authenticated by Al Albani in “As Saheehah (374))
Are these ahadith and many more evidences not sufficient to demonstrate that it is forbidden for the Ummah to remain silent about this grave munkar of oppressive rule?
Oh Imams of the two holy cities of Makkah and Madina! Fear Allah سبحانه وتعالى as you know better than anybody about strengthening the hand of the oppressor!
عَنْ كَعْبِ بْنِ عُجْرَةَ قَالَ خَرَجَ عَلَيْنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَنَحْنُ تِسْعَةٌ فَقَالَ «إِنَّهُ سَتَكُونُ بَعْدِي أُمَرَاءُ مَنْ صَدَّقَهُمْ بِكَذِبِهِمْ وَأَعَانَهُمْ عَلَى ظُلْمِهِمْ فَلَيْسَ مِنِّي وَلَسْتُ مِنْهُ وَلَيْسَ بِوَارِدٍ عَلَيَّ الْحَوْضَ وَمَنْ لَمْ يُصَدِّقْهُمْ بِكَذِبِهِمْ وَلَمْ يُعِنْهُمْ عَلَى ظُلْمِهِمْ فَهُوَ مِنِّي وَأَنَا مِنْهُ وَهُوَ وَارِدٌ عَلَيَّ الْحَوْضَ»4207 سنن النسائي كتاب البيعة ذكر الوعيد لمن أعان أميرا على الظلم المحدث ابن حجر العسقلاني خلاصة حكم المحدث صحيح
Ka’b ibn Ujrah reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, came to us while we were a group of nine. The Prophet said, “Verily, tyrannical rulers will come after me and whoever affirms their lies and supports their oppression has nothing to do with me and I have nothing to do with him, and he will not drink with me at the fountain in Paradise. Whoever does not affirm their lies and does not support their oppression is part of me and I am part of him, and he will drink with me at the fountain in Paradise.”
(Source: Sunan An-Nasa’i 4207 Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Ibn Hajar)
Oh imam and khateeb of the Prophet’s Mosque in Madina, Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Hudhaifi! We have not chosen these rulers nor do we consider them to be our rulers, yet you have accepted them and given your allegiance to them and to their tyranny.
You quote “It is unlawful for a Muslim to kill another man or destroy the property of others in the name of jihad”. What exactly is your definition of Jihad? Is it not “to fight and kill in the name of Allah سبحانه وتعالى for the sake of His Deen?” The Mujahid fighting American aggression in Afghanistan, is this not a Jihad? Why do you keep silent about this? Why do the one’s you serve keep silent? Why do you keep silent about the struggle in Palestine, Kashmir, Chechnya, Burma and the likes?
On top of this, you wish to advise us about Jihad? Yet you forget to warn your rulers who have accommodated and consolidated the hand of the enemy in our lands by offering them military bases, rewarding them with billions of dollars worth of military contracts as well as cheap oil to fuel their fire against this Ummah! In fact you are not just satisfied with this level of treachery but you engage in military alliances with the Kuffar to bomb our innocent brothers and sisters in Syria under the guise of fighting extremism!
Oh Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh, Grand Mufti Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh! You quote “Any statement about a religious matter without the right knowledge is a serious sin,” Who is worse in the eyes of Allah سبحانه وتعالى than the one who has knowledge yet misguides others?
Abu Hurairah (ra) reported: The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said,
«مَنْ سُئِلَ عَنْ عِلْمٍ عَلِمَهُ ثُمَّ كَتَمَهُ أُلْجِمَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ بِلِجَامٍ مِنْ نَارٍ»
“He who is asked about knowledge (of religion) and conceals it, will be bridled with a bridle of fire on the Day of Resurrection.”‘ (Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi).
Abu Hurairah (ra) reported: The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said,
«مَنْ تَعَلَّمَ عِلْمًا مِمَّا يُبْتَغَى بِهِ وَجْهُ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَا يَتَعَلَّمُهُ إِلَّا لِيُصِيبَ بِهِ عَرَضًا مِنَ الدُّنْيَا لَمْ يَجِدْ عَرْفَ الْجَنَّةِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ»، يَعْنِي رِيحَهَا
“He who does not acquire knowledge with the sole intention of seeking the Pleasure of Allah but for worldly gain, will not smell the fragrance of Jannah on the Day of Resurrection.” (Abu Dawud).
In another hadith, Allah’s Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «تَعَوَّذُوا بِاللَّهِ مِنْ جُبِّ الْحُزْنِ»، قَالُوا: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَمَا جُبُّ الْحُزْنِ؟ قَالَ: «وَادٍ فِي جَهَنَّمَ تَعَوَّذُ مِنْهُ جَهَنَّمُ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ أَرْبَعَ مِائَةِ مَرَّةٍ»، قِيلَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَنْ يَدْخُلُهُ؟ قَالَ: «أُعِدَّ لِلْقُرَّاءِ الْمُرَائِينَ بِأَعْمَالِهِمْ، وَإِنَّ مِنْ أَبْغَضِ الْقُرَّاءِ إِلَى اللَّهِ الَّذِينَ يَزُورُونَ الْأُمَرَاءَ»
‘Seek refuge in Allah against the pit of grief.’ The Companions asked, ‘Allah’s Messenger, what is the pit of grief?’ He replied, ‘It is a river in Hell against which even Hell seeks refuge four hundred times a day.’ They again asked, ‘Allah’s Messenger, who will enter it?’ He remarked, ‘It has been prepared for reciters of the Quran desiring to show off their deeds. The most detestable of the reciters in the sight of Allah are those who frequently visit the rulers (for worldly ends).'” (Ibn Majah)
You are fully aware of the scholars of the four madhahib who were punished for their accounting of the rulers as they understood their roles as scholars to the extent that Imam Abu Hanifah (rh) said, “If you see a scholar at the gates of a ruler, accuse him in his Deen”. It is the reason why their legacy still lives today.
Finally, O Scholars and Rulers! You know of your responsibilities and you know that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم called you, the scholars, the inheritors of the Prophets.
عَنْ أَبِي مُوسَى رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ «إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَيُمْلِي لِلظَّالِمِ حَتَّى إِذَا أَخَذَهُ لَمْ يُفْلِتْهُ» قَالَ ثُمَّ قَرَأَ وَكَذَلِكَ أَخْذُ رَبِّكَ إِذَا أَخَذَ الْقُرَى وَهِيَ ظَالِمَةٌ إِنَّ أَخْذَهُ أَلِيمٌ شَدِيدٌ4409 صحيح البخاري كتاب تفسير القرآن سورة هود باب قوله وكذلك أخذ ربك إذا أخذ القرى وهي ظالمة إن أخذه أليم شديد2583 صحيح مسلم كتاب البر والصلة والآداب باب تحريم الظلم
Abu Musa reported, The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “Verily, Allah the Exalted will give respite to the oppressor until He seizes him and he cannot escape.” Then the Prophet recited the verse, “Such is the seizure of your Lord when He seizes the cities while they are committing wrong. Verily, His seizure is painful and severe.”
(Source: Sahih Bukhari 4409, Sahih Muslim 2583 Grade: Muttafaqun Alayhi (authenticity agreed upon) according to Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
Stop your betrayal of this Ummah before it is too late for you. The Ummah has woken up and will very soon be taking back what is rightly hers through the re-establishment of The Khilafah. Who will give you and your rulers sanctuary then, even though today your country today gives sanctuary to the enemies and murderers of this Ummah?
Allah سبحانه وتعالى said,
وَإِن طَائِفَتَانِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ اقْتَتَلُوا فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَهُمَا ۖ فَإِن بَغَتْ إِحْدَاهُمَا عَلَى الْأُخْرَىٰ فَقَاتِلُوا الَّتِي تَبْغِي حَتَّىٰ تَفِيءَ إِلَىٰ أَمْرِ اللَّـهِ ۚ فَإِن فَاءَتْ فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَهُمَا بِالْعَدْلِ وَأَقْسِطُوا ۖ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ
“If two parties of the believers fight, make peace between them. But if one of them attacks the other unjustly, fight the attackers until they revert to Allah’s command. If they revert, make peace between them with justice, and be even-handed. Allah loves those who are even-handed.”
(Hujarat: 9)
Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Abu Omar – Wilayah Pakistan