The Return of Islam The Messenger of Allah ﷺ informed us that Islam would go through various stages, as can be seen on the following Hadith: بَدَأَ الإِسْلاَمُ غَرِيبًا وَسَيَعُودُ كَمَا بَدَأَ غَرِيبًا فَطُوبَى لِلْغُرَبَاءِ “Islam began as something strange, and it will return to being strange, so blessed are the strangers.” [Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 145] The fact that Islam began as something strange (that is to say that it was perceived as being ‘strange’ according to its status in society) and will return to being so is undeniable, every believer accepts this. What is not always understood however is exactly when Islam began. To understand when Islam began is one of the most important matters to know in order to understand the meaning of the above Hadith as we must be able to identify exactly when Islam began so as to be able to fully comprehend why it was seen as something strange in that time and doing so enables us to prepare adequately for its return to again being in this state. A common misconception among many is that Islam (in the context of the Hadith) began in our times upon the commencement of the Prophethood of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, this however is not correct. Rather the beginning of Islam was undoubtedly when the Prophet ﷺ arrived in Madinah and Islam was established on Earth. It is from this date that our calendar begins and it is from this date that Islam began in our times. One of the many proofs of this is the following statement: عَنْ أَسْمَاءَ، أَنَّهَا حَمَلَتْ بِعَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الزُّبَيْرِ بِمَكَّةَ قَالَتْ فَخَرَجْتُ وَأَنَا مُتِمٌّ، فَأَتَيْتُ الْمَدِينَةَ فَنَزَلْتُ بِقُبَاءٍ فَوَلَدْتُهُ بِقُبَاءٍ ثُمَّ أَتَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَوَضَعَهُ فِي حَجْرِهِ ثُمَّ دَعَا بِتَمْرَةٍ فَمَضَغَهَا ثُمَّ تَفَلَ فِي فِيهِ فَكَانَ أَوَّلَ شَىْءٍ دَخَلَ جَوْفَهُ رِيقُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ثُمَّ حَنَّكَهُ بِالتَّمْرَةِ ثُمَّ دَعَا لَهُ وَبَرَّكَ عَلَيْهِ وَكَانَ أَوَّلَ مَوْلُودٍ وُلِدَ فِي الإِسْلاَمِ Asmā’ reported that she had become pregnant in Makkah with ʿAbdullāh bin Zubayr and she said: “I set out for migration to Madīnah as I was in the advanced stage of pregnancy. I came to Madīnah and got down at the place known as Qubā’ and gave birth to a child there. Then I came to Allah’s Messenger ﷺ and he placed the child in his lap and then commanded for the dates to be brought. He chewed them and then put the saliva in his mouth. The first thing which went into his stomach was the saliva of Allah’s Messenger ﷺ. He then rubbed his palate with dates and then invoked blessings for him and blessed him. He was the first child who was born in Islam.” [Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2146] Thus it is confirmed that the first child born in Islam was ʿAbdullāh bin Zubayr. This does not mean that he was the first to be born as a Muslim as many had been born as Muslims in the city of Makkah, rather ʿAbdullāh was the first child to be born in Islam, meaning the first to be born after the establishment of Islam as a physical entity upon the Earth. Yes, Islam is not just a Religion which is comprised of Revelation and Laws for mankind but it is also a system implemented in this world, it is a domain in which we can live, it is a presence that was physically established upon the complete implementation of Allah’s Laws upon this Earth. Yes, this means that while the Muslims were in Makkah before the migration to Madīnah that Islam had not yet been established on Earth, as Makkah was not a land of Islam at that point in time. It was only upon the arrival of the Prophet ﷺ in Madīnah when he became their leader and began to rule by Allah’s Laws that Islam was established on Earth. Therefore it is at this exact moment in time that we begin viewing Islam as being something strange as mentioned in the Hadith and we do not look at any time before that that as Islam had not yet been established. Looking at the differences between the societies of pre-hijrah Makkah and post-hijrah Madīnah one is able to better analyse the key difference in what made Islam established in Madīnah but not in Makkah. The Muslims in Makkah did pray, they fasted, they performed all of the commands of Allah that they were able to, however what they could not do was to rule the society by Allah’s laws. Whilst they themselves refrained from sins and fulfilled Allah’s commands to perform righteous deeds, they were unable to actively prevent sin from occurring within the society in which they lived nor were they able to prosecute those that committed such sins. They were unable to demand that good deeds be carried out and were reduced to only calling others to do so. What they lacked was authority and command, they lacked rule over the society and as so this lack of rule (ḥukm) is what differentiated the society of Makkah and the society of Madīnah. When Islam was established after the migration to Madīnah and the assumption of the leadership of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, it must be noted that the society was still not perfect, yes some people still did commit sins, there were still disbelievers living in the city (Jews and some idol-worshipers) however all of the commands of Allah were fulfilled and were implemented which is what made it so that Islam was established in Madīnah. Yes, this means that an Islamic society can have non-Muslims living in it, and the society will not be a completely sinless utopia, rather what delineates an Islamic society from a non-Islamic society is that all of the commands of Islam are fulfilled within it and Islam is the source of its legislation. The Prophet of Allah ﷺ explained that there are many parts of Islam that are essential to the establishment of the Religion, however over time they would be removed by the people (ie. that the people would abandon them) when he said: لتنقض عرى الإسلام عروة عروة فكلما انتفضت عروة تشبث الناس بالتي تليها فأولهن نقضا الحكم وآخرهن الصلاة “The bonds of Islam will be undone one by one, when one is undone the people will grab onto the one which follows it. The first of them to be undone will be the ḥukm (rule) and the last of them will be the prayer.” This Hadith shows that Islam is a complete system made up of many parts, for example the prayer is but one of many parts of Islam, and the prayer alone does not represent Islam rather all of the bonds of Islam together comprise the Religion. This means that if the prayer is established in a place that it does not mean that Islam as a whole has been established, rather the prayer is only one of the many bonds of the Religion. The Prophet of Allah ﷺ informed us that the first bond to be taken away (ie. abandoned) would be the rule, meaning that the people would abandon ruling by Allah’s Law and would accept a ruler who ruled by a Law other than the Law of Islam. The people in that time would still pray, they would still have their mosques and the call to prayer would still be made, however Islam as a whole would not be established. Just as Islam was only established when the rule was implemented, so too when the rule would be abandoned Islam would no longer be established as a whole, only certain parts of it would remain. Ibn Taymiyyah clarifies this matter by stating that without the rule of a Khalifah, Islam cannot be established as the rule is an essential part of the Religion which is needed for Islam to be established. He wrote: يجب أن يعرف أن ولاية أمر الناس من أعظم واجبات الدين، بل لا قيام للدين إلا بها It is obligatory to know that the office in charge of commanding over the people (ie. the Khilāfah) is one of the greatest obligations of the Religion, in fact the Religion cannot be established except by it. [As-Siyāsat As-Sharʿiyyah] This shows that Islam is not just the prayer, or fasting, or the dress of the Muslims, rather Islam is all aspects of the Religion and therefore Islam cannot be established on Earth except by the complete implementation of all that Allah commanded us to implement. If one part is abandoned then Islam is no longer established, and this means that when there is no Khalifah and Allah’s Laws are not implemented then there is no domain of Islam on Earth. Therefore the Prophet of Allah ﷺ foretold that the domain of Islam would disappear over time as the rule was abandoned, continuing up until the last of the bonds which is the prayer would also be abandoned. This has been seen in recent times where even the prayer was outlawed in many lands such as in Albania under the rule of the atheist Enver Hoxha where all mosques were closed and prayer was no longer established. This was what the Prophet of Allah ﷺ told us would happen and there is no doubt that it has happened just as he said it would. Just as Islam began as something strange, so too it would again return after being abandoned and it would again be something strange just as it was when it was first established. Yes, Islam would go from being implemented to being abandoned and again it would return. This is witnessed to also in the saying of the Prophet of Allah ﷺ: تكون النبوة فيكم ما شاء الله أن تكون ثم يرفعها إذا شاء أن يرفعها ثم تكون خلافة على منهاج النبوة فتكون ما شاء الله أن تكون ثم يرفعها إذا شاء الله أن يرفعها ثم تكون ملكا عاضا فيكون ما شاء الله أن يكون ثم يرفعها إذا شاء أن يرفعها إذا ثم تكون ملكا جبرية فتكون ما شاء الله أن تكون ثم يرفعها إذا شاء أن يرفعها ثم تكون خلافة على منهاج النبوة ثم سكت “There will be Prophethood among you as long as Allah wills for it to remain and then He will remove it when He wills to remove it. Then there will be a Caliphate upon the Prophetic methodology and it will remain as long as Allah wills it to remain and then He shall remove it when He so wills to remove it. Then there will be successive kingship and it will remain so long as Allah wills it to remain and then He shall remove it when He so wills to remove it. Then there will be tyrannical kingship and it shall remain for as long as Allah wills for it to remain and then He shall remove it when He so wills to remove it. Then there will be a Caliphate upon the Prophetic methodology”, and then he became silent. This Hadith demonstrates how Islam would go from being established and implemented under the rule of the Prophet ﷺ followed by the Caliphs, then kings would come who would fall into tyranny and Islam would no longer be established, and then Islam would again return to rule under a restored Caliphate at the end of times. Therefore just as Islam appeared in the beginning of this Ummah, so too it would again return and would be re-established after it had been absent due to the bonds of Islam being undone and abandoned by the people. The rule would return, the Caliphate would be established and Islam would again be a domain present on Earth ruled over by a righteous leader upon the methodology of the Prophet of Allah ﷺ.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 08:40:12 +0000
Trending Topics
© 2015