Part 2
By: Osama Haqqani
The unity of the Ummah is the greatest priority; Allah Almighty has emphasized it in the Holy Quran and strictly forbidden division and discord:
«وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا»
“And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided” (Al Imran 103)
Messenger of Allah (PBUH) also established the bond of brotherhood among his companions in Medina, making the Muhajireen and Ansar brothers to one another; as he has said:
«المؤمن للمؤمن كالبنيان يشد بعضه بعضًا»
“A believer is to another believer like a building whose parts strengthen one another.” (Bukhari and Muslim)
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) understood well that as long as unity is not established among Muslims, neither victory can be achieved nor the doors of conquests opened.
However, the Khawarij have always broken this unity of Muslims and chosen the path of opposition against what has been emphasized in the Sharia of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH). Can such a group represent the Ummah and claim a Caliphate that should be a source of peace and tranquility for humanity? Never.
Islam has people whose words and actions are one and the same. When the Crusaders invaded Islamic lands, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) sought to maintain the unity of the Ummah and ensure that Muslims did not stand against one another, but rather united their ranks and defeated the enemy. What they claimed, they proved in practice, and they expelled the Crusader forces from Afghan soil. Conversely, the Khawarij, like the ISIS group destroyed this unity and forced Muslims into internal conflicts.
The greatest blow that ISIS dealt to the body of the Islamic Ummah was dividing the ranks of the Muslims through the announcement of allegiance and the claim of a Caliphate, while the IEA was managing the affairs of the Ummah correctly. In Islamic Sharia, it is not permissible for anyone else to claim the leadership in the presence of an existing Amir; as mentioned in the Hadith:
«إذا بويع لخليفتين فاقتلوا الآخر منهما»
If allegiance is sworn to two caliphs, then eliminate the latter. (Narrated by Muslim)
Did ISIS see any un-Islamic action from the system of Mullah Omar Mujahid (RH) that would justify declaring him an infidel (Takfir)? Never. He was a personality of whom not only Muslims are proud, but world analysts and intelligence agencies also considered his struggle to be rooted in the source of Islamic creed.
British journalist and former captive, Yvonne Ridley, says:
“Despite the West considering him a tyrant, the treatment of prisoners in his system was based on the teachings of the Holy Quran. When I became aware of his simplicity and justice, my perspective changed completely.”
Even now, numerous analyses and articles about him have been published worldwide. How is it possible for an enemy to confess to a person’s justice, yet a Muslim behaves disrespectfully toward him and declares his system as infidel? Does this not show that ISIS itself has crossed the principles and red lines of Islam?
ISIS did not remain quiet even after the announcement of the Caliphate and continued its mischief until the goals of the enemies of Islam were fulfilled. While the Mujahideen were engaged in Jihad against America for years to defend the freedom of Afghanistan and the honor of Muslims, ISIS opened a new front against the IEA and dragged Muslim forces into internal conflicts.
This action wasted years of the Mujahideen’s strength and focus, and as a result, the war that could have been short was prolonged. Twenty years passed; the arrows that should have been aimed at the enemies of Islam were instead fired toward Muslims. The ancient enemies of Islam had hoped for division among Muslims for years, and ISIS fulfilled that hope.
In conclusion, it can be said that ISIS has acted against everything emphasized in the Muhammadi Sharia. The Sharia that ISIS claims has a clear and deep difference from the Sharia that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) brought to humanity.
