Letter sent to an Ottoman leader, who refused the implementation of the Sharī’ah...

Below letter was sent to an Ottoman leader who refused the implementation of the Sharī’ah, by the Mujāhid Shaykh Sa’ūd ibnu’ Abdul ‘Azīz (rahimahullāh) 

If you claim that you do not worship other than Allāh and are not pleased with such a deed, and do not encourage the people to do so, your actions – both public and private – disprove your claims. These false sūfī gatherings, accursed sites, and structures built over the graves, along with the act of directing Allāh’s rights to these graves, including du’ā’, sacrifice, oaths, fear and hope, and asking them for thatwhich should not be asked for except from Allāh, as well as praying there, touching them with the hope of attaining blessings, offering gifts to them, and other such disgusting and hideous activities, all exist among you openly. And he who does not take part in such deeds is pleased with them, and he defends the people who do these deeds with his wealth, his tongue, and his hands. 

The five daily prayers are likewise abandoned, and most of your people do not attend the jumu’ah or congregational prayer, nor do they pray individually. And most of those amongst you who do pray, pray individually at home, and those who attend  congregational prayer are few in number. When one of them attends the prayer, he comes out and finds the people in the markets, abandoning the prayer and immersed in sin, play, immorality, and, wrongs and he does not denounce them. 

The zakāh is likewise abandoned. It is not taken from the people’s wealth, nor are their crops counted, nor is the work of Allāh’s Messenger (saws) in that regard undertaken, nor is the zakāh due on the crops collected, nor spent upon those designated as eligible recipients by Allāh from above the seven heavens, as the Prophet (saws) said, ‘Allāh was not pleased with having the recipients of zakāh designated by a Prophet or anyone else. Rather, He divided it Himself and took responsibility of designating its recipients with His statement, 
"Zakāh expenditures are only for the poor and for needy and for those employed to collect zakāh and for bringing hearts together for Islām and for freeing captives or slaves and for those in debt and for the cause of Allāh and for the stranded traveler – an obligation imposed by Allāh. And Allāh is Knowing and Wise." [At-Tawbah: 60]

Furthermore, you do not uphold any of the deeds of righteousness in addition to the pillars, nor do you command the people to practice them, whereas all sinful acts are openly committed among you and for most of you they have become part of your nature. This includes committing shirk with Allāh, fornication, and sodomy – the deed of the people of Lūt, the people of the overturned towns about whom Allāh says, 

"And the overturned towns He hurled down, and covered them by that which He covered." [An-Najm: 53-54] 

 

We seek protection with Allāh the Mighty, and with His Noble Face, from His wrath and punishment. Likewise usury, sorcery, and claiming to have knowledge of the unseen, and all kinds of sins, including alcohol and other intoxicants, such as tobacco and its likes, prostitution, injustice, aggression, taking the wealth of the poor, the weak, the wealthy, and the farmers – you forcibly, aggressively, and unjustly take their wealth – and many other similar matters that are too many to count and would take too long to mention, are things that you do not denounce. And whoever claims that he does not commit any of these sins, then as we said earlier, he does not denounce them, nor does he abandon those who commit them. Rather, he supports them with his wealth and his tongue. So even if he doesn’t commit these sins, he and those who commit them are equal, as Allah said, 

"And it has already been revealed to you in the Book that when you hear the verses of Allāh being denied and mocked at, then sit not with them until they engage in a talk other than that; otherwise you would be like them." [An-Nisā’: 140] 

And He says, 

"You will not find a people who believe in Allāh and the Last Day having affection for those who oppose Allāh and His Messenger, even if they were their fathers or their sons or their brothers or their kindred. Those – He has decreed within their hearts faith and supported them with a spirit from Him." [Al-Mujādilah: 22] 

And He says, 

"And do not incline toward those who do wrong, lest you be touched by the Fire, and you would not have other than Allāh any protectors; then you would not be helped." [Hūd: 113] 

 

And in the Hadīth, ‘I have nothing to do with a Muslim living amongst the mushrikīn,’ and in another Hadīth, ‘They should not be able to see each other’s fires.’ And you are aware of your deeds, and you are aware of the shirk and hideous deeds amongst you, and you know yourselves of this, as He says, 

"Rather, man, against himself, will be a witness, even if he presents his excuses." [Al-Qiyāmah: 14-15] 

 

He then continued, until he said, And what you mentioned of us killing the kuffār, then this is a matter that we neither apologize for nor disregard. 

And we will do more in that regard, in shā Allāh, and we will advise our children to do likewise after us, and they will advise their children likewise after them, as the Companion said, ‘We will remain upon Jihād, as long as we live.’ We will rub the noses of the kuffār in dirt, shed their blood, and take their wealth as ghanīmah by the might and power of Allāh. And we do all that in emulation of the Prophet (saws) not innovating anything. We do it in obedience to Allāh and His Messenger, and to come closer to Allāh. And we hope to attain abundant rewards by this deed, as per His statement, 

"Then kill the mushrikīn wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they should repent, establish prayer, and give zakāh, let them go on their way. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful." [At-Tawbah: 5] 

And His statement, 

"And fight them until there is no fitnah and until the religion, all of it, is for Allāh. And if they cease – then indeed, Allāh is seeing of what they do. But if they turn away – then know that Allāh is your protector. Excellent is the protector, and Excellent is the helper." [Al-Anfāl: 39-40] 

And His statement, 

"So when you meet those who disbelieve strike their necks." [Muhammad: 4] 

And His statement, 

"Fight them; Allāh will punish them by your hands and will disgrace them and give you victory over them."[At-Tawbah: 14] 

 

We desire what is with Allāh of abundant rewards, as Allah says, 

"Indeed, Allāh has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties in exchange for that they will have Paradise. They fight in the cause of Allāh, so they kill and are killed. It is a true promise binding upon Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur’ān. And who is truer to his covenant than Allāh? So rejoice in your transaction which you have contracted. And it is that which is the great attainment." [At-Tawbah: 111] 

And He says, 

"O you who have believed, shall I guide you to a transaction that will save you from a painful punishment? It is that you believe in Allāh and His Messenger and strive in the cause of Allāh with your wealth and your lives. That is best for you, if you should know. He will forgive for you your sins and admit you to gardens beneath which rivers flow and pleasant dwellings in gardens of perpetual residence. That is the great attainment. And you will obtain another favor that you love – victory from Allāh and an imminent conquest; and give good tidings to the believers." [As-Saff: 10-13] 

 

And the other Āyāt and ahādīth that talk about Jihād and encourage it cannot be counted. And we have no custom other than Jihād, and we have no source of sustenance other than the wealth of the kuffār. 

 

He then continued, until he said, “As for having a truce while you are upon other than Islām, then by Allāh’s might and power, this is something impossible. And you know that this is a matter that you’ve requested from us again and again. You sent us ‘Abdul-‘Azīz al-Qadīmī, and then you sent us ‘Abdul-‘Azīz Beg, and you requested from us a truce and offered to pay jizyah in the amount of thirty thousand gold dinars every year, but we did not accept that from you and did not respond to your request for a truce. If you accept Islām, you will enjoy its goodness, and that is what we seek, and if you refuse then we say to you as Allāh says, 

"But if they turn away, they are only in dissension, and Allāh will be sufficient for you against them. And He is the Hearing, the Knowing." [Al-Baqarah: 137] 

And we tell you, 

“Sufficient for us is Allāh, and He is the best Disposer of affairs.” [Āl ‘Imrān: 173] 

And we say, 

"Sovereign of the Day of Recompense. It is You we worship and You we ask for help." [Al-Fātihah: 4-5] 

And we say, 

"Truth has come, and falsehood has departed. Indeed is falsehood, by nature,  ever bound to depart." [Al-Isrā’: 81] 

And we say, 

"The truth has come, and falsehood can neither begin [anything] nor repeat [it]." [Saba’: 49] 

And we say as Allāh said to His Prophet (saws), 

"But if they turn away, say, Sufficient for me is Allah; there is no god except Him. On Him I have relied, and He is the Lord of the Great Throne.” [At-Tawbah: 129] 

 

And as for what you mentioned of a treaty, then know that running away is not an act of men, and we keep ourselves above running away and lying. And we will reach you soon, in shā Allāh, when Allāh brings us to you. So when you hear the cannon strikes and smell the gunpowder, and when you see fire in your lands, in shā Allāh, then don’thold back your strength. May Allāh’s blessings and peace be upon Muhammad, and upon his family and companions.” 

 

[Ad-Durar as-Saniyyah]