By Ghulam Ghaus, New Age Islam
07 May, 2015
The self-proclaimed ‘caliphate’ of ‘ISIS’ or Daesh- with all its destructive anti-Islamic elements, ideologies and purposes - is a neo-Kharijite organization. Of late, it has conspicuously appeared as a gross distortion of the rightly guided caliphate, by all accounts. As a neo-Kharijite, it is more the matter of concern than how we Muslims and a few others simply call it a distortion of Islam. Feeling the gravity of perplexity, it is better to have an open enemy of Islam than what Daesh claims for Muslims; “a hidden friend of Islam”.
Throughout the globe, some people can be stereotyped on social media as more ridiculous and outrageous to Islam than the traditionally-oriented foes of Islam and Muslims ever. They are openly mocking Islam, rightly-guided caliphs, abusing noble Islamic personalities, debauching the week Muslims in faith with all they can do. This way, they are creating a set of ultra views against Islam and its adherents. Who are responsible for all that? Of course, Daesh and Daesh like Kharijite outfits.
Why like majority Muslims I do not accept Daesh as Islamic is because I never found a single command in Quran and Hadith; at least never one that could conform to crimes of Daesh which is entirely based on Kharijite ways of brutal-killing system, and not on ways of the rightly guided caliphate. This reason can be better understood as follows.
Election and selection of the rightly guided caliphs was conducted in the state of absolute freedom and complete safety. There was no influence of threats and swords. As for the so-called caliphate of Daesh, it is being imposed in the midst of strife, war, in the atmosphere of fear and terror and with the idea of violent domination and coercion.
The rightly guided caliphate united all Muslims under its loyalty and suzerainty- regardless of majority or minority- and that all Muslims got satisfaction and felt happiness with its principles based on justice. As for Daesh, there is not even a single out of one thousand Muslims to come under its control. So, is everyone living under the control of Daesh satisfied with its self-proclaimed ‘caliphate’? Of course, not, except for few.
The election of the rightly guided caliphs was done after consultation with the people of stature and even with broad participation of common Muslims including men and women, as was done in the election of the third caliph Uthman (May Allah be pleased with him). This was also because that the second caliph Hadhrat Umar (May Allah be pleased with him), as mentioned in Sahih Bukhari, had said, “Remember that whoever gives the pledge of allegiance to anybody among you without consulting the other Muslims, neither that person, nor the person to whom the pledge of allegiance was given, are to be supported, lest they both should be killed”. As for the leader of Daesh, Al-Baghdadi, we do not know who has given pledge of allegiance to him and who has elected him? What we know is that he is a self-proclaimed ‘caliph’ and supported and accepted only by a bunch of its allies.
Selection of the rightly guided caliphs was based on approval from all Muslims of the era, freedom free from venom of force and violence. But the self-proclaimed ‘caliph’ of Daesh has not yet got sufficient support from Muslims and is having to force the people to accept it. But Muslims around the world know there is nothing like coercion or compulsion in Islam. Imam Malik bin Anas, having researched in the Qur’an and Hadith, used to say and issue his fatwa, “the divorce of the coerced does not take effect, therefore, the allegiance of the coerced and the fearful is invalid”.
The system of rightly guided caliphate was that of unity, mercy, benignancy, sympathy, grace and justice for all people. It never developed any civil wars among Muslims. But the ‘caliphate’ of Daesh is leading to civil wars, mutual conflict, violence, terrorism and having no sympathy, no mercy and no justice for Muslims and non-Muslims together. Thus, it is totally antithetical to the spirit of the rightly guided caliphate.
The rightly guided caliphate was basically established for achieving righteous purposes, piousness, implementing true teachings of the Quran and Sunnah; peace and security for every citizen living in the country. On the contrary, the self-proclaimed caliphate of Daesh is based on merely slogans, statements, appearances and titles. It has aimed at killing everyone opposing its so-called ‘caliphate’. They do not mind if they oppose teachings of Quran and Sunnah, but they do mind if someone goes on to say anything against its force-fitted arguments. Command of Allah Almighty that killing a person is equal to killing the entire humanity and Hadith of the prophet peace be upon him “There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm in Islam” are the most ignored and violated teachings of Islam in the so-called caliphate of Daesh.
Therefore, I must say openly that if the titles “caliphate or caliph” disappear from the life of Muslims forever; it will not decrease their faith, not even as little as possible. But if commands of Allah and his beloved prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) like human rights including justice, peace, tolerance, security, equality and all other pious duties of Islam disappear for one day alone, it will be a major catastrophe. Islam has imposed on us Muslims the duty of upholding justice, peace, security, prosperity equally for every citizen with all possible angles. It has never imposed on us to accept the thing we Muslims are describing as the self-proclaimed “caliphate” or “caliph” of Daesh.
The fact that the biggest terrorists in the era of the rightly guided caliphate were the Kharijites who used Islamic titles, appearances and killed the rightly guided caliphs and Muslims, is also that these neo-Kharijite members of Daesh using Islamic titles, appearances are killing Muslims and non-Muslims living under the treaty of peace like environment. These neo-Kharijites have shattered the true image of Islam, committed heinous crimes against teachings of Islam and distorted the historical fact of the rightly guided caliphate. Therefore, not only a few but we all Muslims must step further ahead to courageously say that the self-proclaimed ‘caliphate’ of Daesh is a neo-Kharijite organization which has no relation with Islam, whatever it may claim and however it may appear. We should also be with the fact that one of the greatest crimes in Islam is to be continually silent over oppression, aggression, barbarism and terrorism of Daesh in Muslim countries, for which we will be accountable to Allah Almighty. It should be taken as our fight against terrorism. We should save our young Muslim fellows, mostly new converts from false dreams of heaven and tell them before it is too late that Heaven can never be achieved by killing innocent lives, bombing public places, committing suicide attacks, distorting teachings of Quran and Hadith and following in the footsteps of neo-Kahrijites.
Allah knows the best. May Allah Almighty save Muslim brothers from terror ideologues and neo-Kharijites!
(Note: Daesh are happy with the title ‘ISIS’ or ‘ISIL’ or ‘Islamic State’ but unhappy with being called Daesh. Therefore, the writer in this article has stopped describing Daesh as ‘ISIS’.)
A regular columnist and English-Arabic translator for New Age Islam, Ghulam Ghaus is an Alim and Fazil (Classical Islamic scholar) with a Sufi background. He has completed the classical Islamic sciences from a Delhi-based Sufi Islamic seminary Jamia Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia Zakir Nagar, New Delhi with specialization in Tafseer, Hadith and Arabic. He completed his Alimiat and Fazilat respectively from Jamia Warsia Arabic College, Lucknow and Jamia Manzar-e-Islam, Bareilly, U.P. He has graduated in Arabic (Hons) and is pursuing his M.A in Arabic from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.
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