A Few Words
India had not yet become independent. India had not yet been partitioned, nor had the state of Pakistan been born. But both India’s attainment of independence and the establishment of a separate homeland for Muslims were moving toward final realization. Muslims wanted to establish an Islamic state in which the injunctions of the Qur’an and Sunnah would be effective in every sphere. But among those leading the effort to establish this state, there was neither genuine knowledge of Islam, nor Islamic character, nor the mindset to build a thoroughly Islamic society. They possessed only a Muslim-nationalist outlook. They assumed that merely bringing power into Muslim hands was sufficient for a country to become an Islamic state, regardless of its laws, education, culture, economy, or politics.
This was an extremely mistaken notion. An Islamic state can never be established by such an unrealistic method. There is a definite method for establishing an Islamic state or bringing about an Islamic revolution. Whoever in any country of the world wishes to establish an Islamic state must necessarily follow that definite method. At that time, Maulana Maududi (may Allah have mercy on him) considered it his responsibility to bring these matters clearly to everyone’s attention. Accordingly, in September 1940, he delivered an outstanding address on the subject at Strachey Hall of Aligarh University. Its title was “How Is Islamic Government Established?” Its simple translation is, “How is an Islamic state established?” The address was immediately published as a booklet. In Bengali, it is known as The Path of the Islamic Revolution.
Several decades ago, the booklet was translated and published in formal Bengali. Many editions of the booklet have been printed since then. As a result of repeated printing, some typographical errors became permanently embedded in it. For that reason, and to meet the demands of contemporary language, we have retranslated the booklet into current Bengali.
When this address was published as a booklet, Maulana Maududi (may Allah have mercy on him) himself added to it some statements by Jesus, peace be upon him, concerning the Islamic state, drawn from the commonly used Bible. In this new edition, we have also incorporated that addition.
We hope that for those in Bangladesh who wish to bring about an Islamic revolution, this booklet, which was their guide in the past, will continue to serve as an undiminished guide in the future.
Abdus Shahid Nasim 18.11.1991
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“In a democratic state, power will come into the hands of those who are able to win the support of the voters. If Islamic thought and mentality are not created among the voters, if they have no desire to develop genuine Islamic moral character, and if they are not prepared to abide by Islam’s just and inviolable principles on the basis of which the Islamic state will be governed, then a true Muslim can never be elected through their votes and enter parliament.”
“For this task, a group of courageous young people is needed who, having believed in the truth, will remain as steadfast as a mountain upon it. Their attention will not be fixed in any other direction. Whatever may happen in the world, they will not deviate even an inch from the path of their aim and objective.”
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In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
How Is an Islamic State Established?
In this essay, I wish to explain clearly the course by which an Islamic state is naturally established. I see that today the name of the Islamic state has become a children’s plaything. People of various approaches and classes are expressing ideas about the Islamic state and plans for establishing it. But to reach this goal, they propose such strange ways and methods that achieving it through them is just as impossible as reaching America by motorcar. The reason for such frivolous thinking is that, for one historical or political reason or another, they have developed a desire in their hearts to establish a state that will be called an “Islamic state.” But they have not tried to discover, through a thoroughly scientific method, what the form and characteristics of this state will be. Nor have they tried to learn by what method such a state can actually be established. In these circumstances, I feel the need to analyze the matter carefully by scientific means.
The Natural Evolution of the State System
Everyone with even a little knowledge of social science knows that no type of state system can be established artificially. A state system is not an object that can be manufactured in one place and installed in another. Rather, a state system is born entirely naturally as the result of the integrated process of action arising from the moral character, thoughts and consciousness, mentality, civilization and culture, and historical traditions of a society. For this, certain prerequisites, some social and collective efforts, and certain emotional impulses and inclinations must be present; under their combined pressure, a state system comes into existence naturally. Just as a conclusion is produced in logic on the basis of an arrangement of premises, and just as in chemistry, when elements possessing chemical properties are combined in a particular manner, a chemical substance with corresponding qualities is produced, so, according to the laws of social science, a state is born only as the result of the demands of an environment created in a society on the basis of mutual understanding and cooperation.
And what will the nature of the state be? That too depends on the social environment and outlook whose pressure will give birth to the state. Just as one kind of conclusion cannot emerge from a particular arrangement of premises in logic, just as a compound of a different kind cannot be produced by combining chemical elements with the same properties, and just as a lemon tree cannot grow up to bear mangoes, so too, if the means and causes are intended to establish a state of a particular nature, and their combined activity favors the manifestation of that very kind of state, then, after passing through the stages of development, when the state reaches the threshold of maturity, it simply cannot result in the establishment of a state of an entirely different nature.
Do not take me, on the basis of this statement, to be an advocate of determinism. Nor should you think that I deny human will and freedom. Certainly, the will and actions of individuals and groups play a tremendous role in determining the nature of a state. But I am really trying to prove only one point: whatever type of state system it is intended to create, it is absolutely essential from the outset to gather means compatible with the nature of that type of state and to adopt a course of action capable of reaching precisely that goal.
If we wish to establish a state system of a particular nature, a movement of precisely that kind must necessarily be created to establish it. Individuals, parties, and society must be given a character of that kind. Leadership trained in that manner, along with corresponding social activities and an appropriate environment, must be created. These are the natural requirements of this particular type of state system. When these means and causes have been collectively gathered and secured, and after a long, exhausting struggle they develop such irresistible strength and firmness that no other, rejected system can survive in the society they have built, then, as its inevitable natural consequence, that particular state system appears—the one for which the forces of all these means and causes have collectively struggled and striven.
Consider a seed. A plant sprouted from it, whose internal elements nourished it and brought it to a certain stage. Then, by entirely natural processes, that plant will continue to bear the very fruit for which its internal forces and means had long been supplying nourishment. If you reflect deeply on this undeniable truth, you must acknowledge one thing: where every element—including the movement, leadership, individual and collective character, methods of work, and strategies—is actively and vigorously suited to establishing a particular type of state, to expect the establishment there of a completely opposite type of state system is nothing but foolishness, caprice, empty fantasy, and inexperience.
The Ideological State
What is the true form of the state we have called the “Islamic state”? What is its nature? What is its type? What are its characteristics and true identity? We need to understand these matters properly. The foremost characteristic of the Islamic state is that not the slightest trace of nationalism is present in it. This is what distinguishes the Islamic state from every other type of state. It is purely an ideological state. I shall call this kind of state an “IDEOLOGICAL STATE” in English. People have not always been familiar with such an ideal-based state. Even today, no such ideological state exists in the world. In ancient times, people were familiar with dynastic or class-based states. Later, they became familiar with tribal and national states. Because of their narrow mentality, people never made room for the idea of an ideological state in which, upon accepting its ideology, everyone—regardless of lineage, tribe, nation, or race—would become a participant in governing the state.
Christianity had received a vague outline of it. But it did not receive the complete intellectual framework on the basis of which a state could be established. In the French Revolution, people did indeed glimpse a faint ray of the ideological state, but it soon sank into the dark abyss of narrow nationalism. Communism particularly promoted the idea of an ideological state. It even attempted to lay the foundations of a state on the basis of this doctrine. As a result, a faint conception of the ideological state began to arise in the minds of people around the world. But eventually, all the distorted currents of nationalism entered its veins as well. Nationalism carried away and drowned the ideological concept of communism at the bottom of the sea.
From the beginning of the world until today, Islam alone is the only ideal principle capable of freeing the state system from all the narrow currents of nationalism and establishing it on a purely ideological foundation. Islam alone is that great ideal which calls upon all humanity to accept this ideal and build a non-nationalist, universal state.
Since the idea of such a state is unfamiliar in the modern world, and since the state systems of the entire world are completely opposed to this idea, not only non-Muslims but Muslims themselves have become unable to understand such a state and its underlying implications. Those born into Muslim homes but whose conception of social order has been formed entirely by European history, politics, and social science cannot accommodate the idea of such an ideal-based state in their minds. Even in countries outside the subcontinent that have gained independence with Muslim-majority populations, state authority has come into the hands of such people. They cannot even imagine any state other than a national state, because their minds are entirely free of knowledge of Islam, Islamic consciousness, and the idea of the ideological state. Those in this subcontinent who have received the same kind of education are likewise afflicted by this complex problem.
They do pronounce the words “Islamic state,” but the education that shaped their minds repeatedly causes only the image of that “national state” to appear before them. Knowingly or unknowingly, they become trapped in the snare of nationalistic ideology. Whatever plans and programs they may consider, they do so on the basis of the outlook of nationalism. They hold entirely conventional notions about the Islamic state.
They believe that as soon as state power, or at least political leadership, comes into the hands of the “nation” called Muslims, it will become an Islamic state. And however much they think about achieving this objective, they can see no course of action for their own nation other than those adopted by other nations. This idea has taken hold of their minds: just as other nations of the world were formed by combining certain means and elements, they too will form their nation by combining those same means and elements. Nationalist consciousness will be awakened among them. A central leadership will be created among them. A national guard will be organized. A national militia will be formed. Wherever they are in the majority, their national state will be organized on the acknowledged democratic principle of “majority rule.” And wherever they are a minority, their “rights” will be protected.
They believe their distinctiveness should be protected in exactly the way every national minority in other countries of the world seeks to protect its distinctiveness. They want quotas for themselves to be fixed in education, employment, and electoral bodies. They will elect their own representatives. And so on—their thinking power has been consumed by nationalist ideas. When expressing these nationalist ideas, they merely utter Islamic terms such as ummah, jama‘at, millat, amir, and obedience. But to them, these words are synonyms for the vocabulary used for national religious ideology. Fortunately, they found these words already prepared in the old treasury and have the convenience of stamping gold coins with them over copper coins.
If you can grasp the true identity of an ideal-based state, you will have not the slightest difficulty understanding that, far from such nationalist thinking and programs establishing it, even the beginning of this great task cannot be made in that way. Frankly, every component of nationalism is like a sharp-edged axe that strikes at the root of the ideological state and destroys it.
The central idea presented by the ideological state is that, before us, there is no such thing as a “nation” or “nationalism.” Before us there are only human beings, or humanity. We shall present and propagate a great ideal to them for the purpose of showing that their welfare and success all lie in forming and establishing social and state structures on the basis of this ideal. All people who accept this ideal are equal participants in governing that ideological state.
Now think for a moment: how can a person whose every thought, word, deed, and activity bears the stamp of narrow nationalism and the worship of nationhood proceed with this great universal ideological outlook? Blinded and absorbed by narrow nation-worship, he has himself closed the way to calling humanity to this ideal. At the very first step, he has submerged his own position in a web of error. Those nations of the world blinded by nationalist hatred, for whom nation-worship and the national state are the root of all quarrels and conflicts, cannot call humanity toward an ideal of welfare. Can those immersed in disputes over their own national state and the rights of their own nation think about the welfare of humanity? Could it be rational to begin a movement to turn people away from litigation by filing a lawsuit in court?
A State Based on Allah’s Sovereignty and Human Representation
The second characteristic of the Islamic state is that its entire structure rests on the concept of Allah’s sovereignty. The essence of this concept is that the universal dominion belongs to Allah. He alone is the sovereign ruler of this world. No individual, dynasty, class, nation, or even the whole of humanity has the slightest right to sovereignty. The right to make laws and issue commands belongs exclusively to Allah.
The true nature of this state is that here human beings will act as Allah’s representatives. A person can properly attain the status of this representation in only two ways. Either a law and state ordinance will be revealed directly by Allah to a human being, and he will follow and implement it; or people will follow and obey the person to whom law and ordinance have been revealed by Allah.
Those who believe in these laws and ordinances and are prepared to follow and implement them will participate in administering this caliphate. They must undertake this great task with the constant awareness that, collectively, all of us and, individually, each of us will have to answer before that great Allah for it—He whose knowledge encompasses everything hidden and manifest, beyond whose knowledge nothing is concealed.
This thought will keep their awareness alive at every moment that this great responsibility of the caliphate was not entrusted to us so that we could exercise command and authority over people, make the population our slaves, force them to bow before us, collect taxes from them to build luxurious mansions for ourselves, or use arbitrary power to accumulate the means of luxury, self-worship, and recklessness. Rather, this immense responsibility was entrusted to us so that we might enforce upon Allah’s servants the just laws and ordinances given by Him, and fully follow and implement them in our own lives. If we make the slightest error in following and implementing these ordinances, if even an atom’s worth of selfishness, despotism, hatred, partiality, or treachery enters this work, then we will certainly have to suffer its punishment in Allah’s court, no matter how free we may remain from punishment in this worldly life.
In every respect, from its roots and trunk to its smallest branches, the state structure founded on this great ideal differs completely from secular states. Its process of formation, nature, and character are all entirely different from those of a secular state. Establishing and administering an Islamic state requires a special kind of mentality, distinctive moral character, and exceptional competence. Everything in this state—its army, police, courts, economic system, laws, methods of administering taxes and revenue, foreign policy, war, treaties, and so on—is entirely different from a secular state. The chief justice of a secular state would not be qualified even to be a clerk, let alone a peon, in an Islamic state. The inspector general of police of that state would not be qualified even to serve as an ordinary constable in an Islamic state. The field marshals and generals of a secular state would not be qualified even to enlist as ordinary soldiers in an Islamic state. Its foreign minister, far from receiving any position in an Islamic state, might not escape imprisonment because of his lies, deception, and treachery.
In short, those who have been prepared to administer a secular, irreligious state, and given moral and mental training suited to the nature of such a state, are wholly unqualified to administer an Islamic state. The citizens, voters, councilors, officials, soldiers, judges, magistrates, departmental officers, army commanders, ambassadors, and ministers of an Islamic state—in short, every department of social life and every component of the machinery of administration—must be completely reshaped anew on the foundation of its own ideal.
Administering this state requires people who have fear of Allah in their hearts; who possess an intense awareness that they will have to answer before Allah for fulfilling their duties; who give the Hereafter precedence over this world; and who consider moral profit and loss more valuable than worldly profit and loss. In all circumstances, they will follow the laws, rules, principles, and methods specially ordained for them. The sole aim of all their efforts and activities will be to attain Allah’s pleasure. Their necks will be wholly free from the chains of servitude to personal and national interests and slavery to desires and passions. Their minds and dispositions will be completely purified of hatred, hostility, and narrowness of vision. They will not become intoxicated with wealth and power, nor will they be distressed by greed for riches and lust for power.
Administering such a state requires a group of people possessing such moral strength that, even if they gain control of the world’s treasures, they will prove utterly trustworthy. Once they attain power, they will spend sleepless nights thinking about the welfare of the people. Under their intensely responsible care, the people too will remain completely safe and secure in every matter, including their lives, property, honor, and dignity. Administering an Islamic state requires people who, when entering a country as conquerors, will not cause its inhabitants to tremble in fear of massacres, destruction of towns, oppression, persecution, hooliganism, villainy, and adultery. Rather, the inhabitants of the conquered country will find each of these soldiers a complete protector of their lives, property, honor, dignity, and the chastity of their women. In international politics, they will attain such renown and high standing that the whole world will trust them regarding their honesty, truthfulness, justice, adherence to moral and ethical principles, and fulfillment of promises and treaties.
Only people of this kind, and people of this kind alone, can establish an Islamic state. Only such people are capable of administering Islamic government. In contrast, an Islamic state can never be established or administered by materialistic, self-interested people (Utilitarian Mentality). Rather, the presence of such people within the state structure is as dangerous as the presence of termites inside a building. They formulate ever-new policies for worldly interests and for the interests of individuals and nations. Their minds contain neither fear of Allah nor fear of the Hereafter. Instead, the essence of all their efforts, activities, and ever-new policies is nothing but the pursuit of worldly profit and loss.
The Method of the Islamic Revolution
Keeping in mind the complete picture of the Islamic state outlined so far, consider what the true course of action for reaching this goal could be. I have already said that a state of precisely that kind comes into existence quite naturally as the result of the combined process arising from a society’s moral character, thoughts and consciousness, mentality, civilization and culture, and historical and traditional causes. If a tree has developed as a lemon tree from the moment it sprouts until it becomes fully grown, it cannot suddenly bear mangoes when it is time to produce fruit. In exactly the same way, an Islamic state does not appear miraculously.
To establish an Islamic state, there must first be a movement founded upon that philosophy of life, that purpose of life, that moral standard, and that ideal of character which are fully compatible with the vital force of Islam. Only those people will be qualified to become leaders and workers of this movement who are prepared to shape themselves according to this distinctive mold of humanity, and who will at the same time strive with all their might to spread a similar mentality and moral vitality throughout society.
Thereafter, on this same foundation, a new educational system must be built that will produce people of this distinctive type. It will produce Muslim scientists, philosophers, historians, economists, jurists, and politicians—in short, specialists in every branch of knowledge—who will be completely Muslim in their mentality, ideas, and philosophy of thought. They will be fully qualified to draw up a practical blueprint for a complete way of life based on the fundamental principles of Islam. They will possess the full ability to make their intellectual leadership (Intellectual leadership) victorious and firmly established in confronting anti-God thinkers.
On the basis of this intellectual outlook, the Islamic movement must continue its struggle against the erroneous way of life spread throughout society. In this struggle, the movement’s leaders must endure dangers, hardships, oppression, and persecution; offer the tribute of sacrifice and devotion; suffer repeated blows; and give their lives, thereby proving their wholehearted sincerity and firm resolve. Thus people may see their purest, finest gold (Finest standard). The ideal whose standard they have raised in the field of struggle must be reflected in every word and deed of theirs. Through every word they speak, it should become as clear to the world as daylight that the ideal state for which such pure, selfless, truthful, chaste, self-sacrificing, principled, and God-fearing people are calling, for the welfare of humanity, must necessarily contain justice, peace, and well-being for humankind.
Through efforts and struggle of this kind, all sorts of people in society who possess at least some element of truth and honesty in their nature will gradually join this movement. In contrast, the influence of people of base character and followers of vile paths will gradually disappear from society. A tremendous revolution will take place in the thoughts and consciousness of the people. Society will develop an intense demand for that distinctive system of government. Then, in this society with its transformed mentality, the way for any other system of government to remain in force will become completely blocked.
Eventually, as an inevitable and natural consequence, the desired system of government will be established—the one for which the ground has been prepared for a long time. Thus, through the benefit of that system, all classes of employees and officials needed to administer it, from the lowest-ranking staff to ministers and governors, will be found ready and available.
This is the picture of the revolution and the natural method of establishing that state which is called the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic state. The history of all the revolutions of the world lies before you. You cannot be unaware that a particular kind of revolution requires precisely that kind of movement, similar leadership and cadre, a similar collective and social consciousness, and a similar cultural and moral environment.
The French Revolution required the creation of a particular moral and mental foundation, which philosophers such as Rousseau, Voltaire, and Montesquieu produced. The Russian Revolution became possible through the philosophy of Karl Marx, the leadership of Lenin and Trotsky, and the sacrifices of thousands of socialist workers who had shaped their lives according to the mold of socialism. German National Socialism was able to put down roots in that particular moral, psychological, and cultural soil created by the philosophies and ideologies of numerous thinkers such as Hegel, Fichte, Goethe, and Nietzsche, together with Hitler’s bold leadership. In exactly the same way, the Islamic Revolution can take place only when a powerful mass movement arises on the basis of the Qur’anic philosophy and the example of Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and when it becomes possible, through the intensity of the struggle, to radically transform the psychological, moral, mental, and cultural foundations of social life.
At least, I cannot understand how an idolatrous nationalist-type movement could bring about an Islamic revolution. For its background is the defective educational system currently in operation in our country. And this educational system is founded on utilitarian morality (Utilitarian Morals) and a pragmatic (Pragmatism) mentality. I do not believe in miraculous methods like those of the former French Prime Minister, Monsieur Reynaud. I believe in the principle that the nature of the effort and struggle determines the nature of the result.
Unrealistic Ideas and Imaginings
Some people think that all the Muslims’ problems will be solved as soon as they become organized. They believe that if Muslims unite at one center, on one platform, and under a single leadership, the objective of an “Islamic state” or “Independent India, Independent Islam” will be achieved. But in reality, this too is a nationalist-idolatrous program. The idea of establishing an Islamic state in this way is nothing but an unrealistic fantasy. An Islamic state is not established through nationalist thinking. Whoever seeks to establish the authority of a nation will certainly adopt such a program, whether they are Hindus or Sikhs, Germans or Italians. In fact, a leader immersed in love of his nation is adept at exploiting every opportunity. He possesses, in full measure, the ability to exercise authority and lead a party. Such a leader is highly useful for raising the head of any nation, whether he is Hitler or Mussolini. If hundreds of thousands or millions of young people can conduct an orderly movement under the leadership of such a leader, any nation in the world can raise its head high. Whether they believe in Japanese nationalism or Chinese nationalism makes no difference.
Similarly, if “Muslim” is the name of a hereditary or historical nation and the objective is to advance that nation, then the practical method is the one being proposed. This may result in a national state, or at least in a substantial share in governing the country. But from the standpoint of an Islamic revolution and the establishment of an Islamic state, it cannot even be called a first step. Rather, it is a step in the opposite direction.
Among the nation now living in this country under the name Muslim, every kind of person, good and bad, is present. In terms of character, every type of person found among the unbelievers is also found within this nation. Whatever number of people an unbelieving nation could gather to give false testimony in court, this nation could probably gather just as many for the same purpose. In every moral offense—including usury, bribery, theft, robbery, fornication, adultery, lying, and deception—this nation is not in the least less proficient than the unbelievers. The paths the unbelievers take to fill their stomachs and earn money are exactly the paths taken by the people of this nation. When deliberately suppressing the truth in order to make his client win, a group of Muslim lawyers is just as free of fear of God as a non-Muslim lawyer. A wealthy Muslim, through an abundance of wealth, and a Muslim ruler, through the force of power, do exactly the things done by non-Muslim wealthy people and rulers.
By gathering and organizing all the people of this morally degraded nation, with their confused mixture of characters, or by teaching them the cunning of foxes through political training, or making them ferocious like wolves through military training, it may perhaps be easy to gain the authority of the jungle. But I simply cannot understand how they could make Allah’s kalimah victorious. In such circumstances, who will acknowledge their moral superiority? Who will bow respectfully before them? Seeing them, whose heart will become impassioned for Islam? Through their “pure way of life,” how can the captivating scene of ‘Yadkhuluna fi dinillahi afwaja’ be displayed? Where will their spiritual leadership receive recognition? For their own salvation, which people of the world will welcome them?
For the victory of Allah’s kalimah, what is needed is a cadre of workers who are filled with awe and fear of Allah, who remain steadfast and unwavering upon Allah’s law and commandments without caring about any gain or loss. In reality, the establishment of Allah’s religion requires such a group of people. Whether they emerge from among hereditary Muslims or from another nation makes no difference. Ten such believing men are more valuable for making Allah’s religion victorious than a gathering of twenty-five or fifty million people of the kind described above from our nation. Islam will gain nothing from a vast treasury of copper coins stamped with the seal of gold coins. Before examining the coins’ external markings, Islam wants to know whether there is truly gold inside them as well. A single genuine gold coin is more valuable in the service of Allah’s religion than a huge pile of counterfeit gold coins.
Furthermore, the movement to make Allah’s religion victorious requires leadership that is not prepared to deviate even an inch from the principles for whose establishment Islam came into being. As a result of this ideological firmness, even if all Muslims have to die of hunger, or are actually killed, their leaders will still not be prepared to tolerate the slightest deviation.
Leadership that considers only the interests of the nation, does not hesitate to adopt any means for the nation’s gain or loss by sacrificing the ideal, and whose heart is devoid of fear of God is plainly utterly unqualified for the great task of establishing Allah’s religion.
Now consider the state of the country’s present educational system. The basic principle of the present educational system is founded on the famous proverb: ‘Go wherever the wind blows.’ How can this educational system be suitable for serving great Islam, whose unshakable verdict is: No matter which way the wind blows, you must always follow the path prescribed by Allah?
I tell you with complete confidence that even if you were entrusted with governing an independent piece of land, you would not be able to run that state on the basis of Islamic ideals for even a single day. You have made no arrangements for the kind of people, possessing a well-formed mentality and superior moral strength, needed to operate an Islamic state’s police force, courts of law, armed forces, revenue system, financial system, educational system, and foreign policy. The education currently provided in the country’s colleges and universities can produce even the secretaries and ministers of a non-Islamic state. But do not take offense: it cannot produce from among them even a peon for an Islamic court or an ordinary constable for an Islamic police force.
This bitter truth applies not only to the modern educational system; it applies equally to our ancient madrasa educational system. These people are not at all supporters of any kind of movement or revolution. This educational system has become so antiquated and ineffective that it is completely unsuitable for supplying judges, finance ministers, defense ministers, directors of education, and ambassadors for a modern Islamic state. Thus, there can be no doubt that those who speak of establishing an Islamic state without any preparation in any direction have no concept of an Islamic state in their minds.
Some people even entertain the futile plan that a national state of the Muslims should first be established, even if on a non-Islamic model. Later, it could supposedly be transformed into an Islamic state through the gradual reform of the educational system and moral character. But on the basis of the little I have studied about history, political science, and sociology, I wish to say that this futile fantasy can never become a reality. If this unrealistic fantasy does become a reality, I will regard it as a miracle. I have said before that a system of government takes root in the deepest foundations of social life.
Therefore, until a revolution takes place in social life, it is impossible to bring about a revolution in the state by any artificial method. Even a ruler of immense ability such as Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz failed completely by this method. Although he had the support of a large number of Followers and Followers of the Followers, he failed in this undertaking because society as a whole at that time was not prepared for this change and revolution. Powerful kings such as Muhammad Tughlaq and Alamgir, despite possessing superior religious devotion in their personal lives, could not bring about any change or revolution in the system of government. Even a powerful ruler such as Caliph Mamun al-Rashid failed when he sought not merely to change the system of government but even to make a slight alteration to its outward form. That was the situation in a time when the power and authority of one individual could accomplish a great deal. In such circumstances, how can a state established on democratic principles help in correcting and bringing about this fundamental change? I simply cannot understand it.
In a democratic state, power will come into the hands of those who are able to win the support of the voters. If Islamic thought and mentality have not been created among the voters, if they have no desire to develop genuine Islamic moral character, and if they are not prepared to abide by Islam’s just and inviolable principles on which Islamic government will be administered, then a true Muslim can never be elected by their votes to parliament. By this method, leadership will be gained only by those who are Muslims according to the census, but upon whose outlook, principles of action, and methods of work not even a breath of Islam has fallen.
If leadership in an independent Muslim country falls into the hands of such people, it means that we will remain exactly where the non-Muslim government stood. Indeed, such a Muslim government will take us to an even worse position. For the “national state” upon which the label of Islam will be displayed will be bolder than the non-Muslims in blocking the path of the Islamic Revolution. In matters for which a non-Muslim government imposes imprisonment, such a “Muslim nationalist government” will impose execution and exile. Even then, the leaders of such a state and government will remain alive: “Gazi” during their lifetime and “May Allah have mercy on him” after their death. It is a grave mistake even to imagine that such a “national state” would be of the slightest assistance to the Islamic Revolution.
The question is: if even in that state we would have to struggle to change the foundations of social life, and would have to do so through our own sacrifice and devotion without state assistance, then why should we not adopt that course of action starting today? Why should we spend time waiting for that so-called Muslim state, and expend our strength trying to establish it, when we know that it will be of no help in achieving our objective and will instead prove to be a considerable obstacle?
The Correct Course of Action for the Islamic Movement
What is the correct course of action for radically transforming social life and reconstructing it entirely anew for the Islamic Revolution? I now wish to explain this before you briefly by recounting historical examples. I also wish to clarify the proper course of action for carrying this struggle to the summit of success.
Islam is the name of that great movement which seeks to build the entire structure of human life upon the view of the sovereignty of the One Allah. Since the most ancient times, this movement has proceeded on this same foundation and by this same method. The Messengers of Allah (His representatives) were the leaders of this movement. Therefore, if we too are to undertake this movement, we must certainly do so according to the method of all these leaders. For there is no other course of action, nor can there be one, for a movement of this distinctive kind.
When we begin to trace the footsteps of the noble Prophets (peace be upon them), we encounter a problem. The problem is that we cannot learn anything in detail about the activities of the noble Prophets who passed away from ancient times onward. We can gain some idea of their activities from the Qur’an’s brief indications, but a complete scheme cannot be developed from that. Some sayings of Sayyiduna Jesus (peace be upon him) are found in the New Testament of the Bible—though they have not been authentically proved to be his sayings—from which we obtain some indication of the beginning of the Islamic movement. We learn how this movement was to be conducted in its earliest stage and what problems it would face. But no indication at all is found there concerning the movement’s later stages, because those stages did not arise during the life of Jesus (peace be upon him).
In this matter, we receive complete and clear guidance from only one source: the life of Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). We do not turn to him merely out of devotion and love; rather, we are truly compelled to turn to him in order to learn how to traverse the long road of this movement, filled with all its climbs, descents, obstacles, and difficulties. Among all the leaders of the Islamic movement, Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), is the one and only leader whose life provides us with complete, well-authenticated, detailed information about every stage and department of administering the state, from the movement’s initial preaching stage through the establishment of the Islamic state, and from the state’s establishment onward, including the state’s form, constitution, domestic and foreign policy, law and order, and defense. Therefore, I am presenting before you a brief outline of the proper course of action from this sole source.
A. The Call to Accept Allah’s Sovereignty
You know that when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was commanded to preach and establish Islam, countless moral, social, economic, and political problems throughout the world urgently required solutions. Roman and Persian imperialism prevailed at that time. Class inequality had reached an extreme. A competition to seize illicit economic gain (Economic exploitation) was under way. And a web of moral crimes had spread through every pore of society. The homeland of the Noble Prophet himself (peace be upon him) was beset by countless complex problems. The country was eagerly awaiting a capable leader to solve these complex problems.
His entire country and nation were deeply immersed in ignorance, moral degradation, poverty and deprivation, adultery, and mutual quarrels and disputes. The entire Gulf region to the east and south, from Kuwait to Yemen, along with the fertile, verdant province of Iraq, had been forcibly occupied by the imperial power of Persia. To the north, the Roman rulers had extended their imperial claws as far as the borders of the Hijaz. Jewish capitalists themselves controlled the economy of the Hijaz. They had trapped the people of all Arabia in the octopus of compound interest. Their exploitation and oppression had reached its extreme limit. Directly across the western coast, a Christian state had been established in Abyssinia. Only a few years earlier, they had launched an attack on Makkah. People of the same community as these Christians lived in Najran, the province between the Hijaz and Yemen. Moreover, they were allied economically and politically. It was in such a suffocating environment that Arabia, the homeland of the Prophet, then existed.
But the great leader appointed by Allah Almighty to guide humanity did not focus on a single one of the many complex problems of the entire world, or even of his homeland. Turning away from all the problems, he called people toward only one message:اَنِ اعْبُدُوا اَلله وَاجْتَنبوا الطَّاغُوتِ
“O people, reject and abandon every power of lordship besides Allah, and accept only servitude and obedience to Allah.”
This does not mean that, in his view, all the other problems had no importance apart from this one, or that they were not worthy of any importance. You know that later he solved all these problems. He gave them his full attention and solved them one by one. There was a practical reason behind turning away from these problems at the initial stage, giving complete attention to only one matter, and employing all his strength in solving it. Within it lay the key to solving every problem.
From the perspective of the Islamic movement, no matter how much moral and social decline arises in human life, its real cause is that people consider themselves independent, self-willed (Independent), and irresponsible (Irresponsible). In other words, they make themselves their own ilah. Or the cause is that people, excluding the sole Ilah of the universe, accept someone else—whether a human being or something else—as the commander and sovereign authority. In Islam’s view, if this fundamental error is left in place, no kind of external reform can ever successfully remove individual or social decline and disorder. Even if one offense is eliminated in one place, it will sprout up elsewhere.
Therefore, effective reform can begin in only one way: the notion of independence and self-will must be eradicated from people’s minds. They must be made to understand that the world in which they live is not an empire without an emperor or ruler. Surely, this world has a King. His authority depends on no one’s recognition. No one can extinguish His authority. You have no power to leave His empire for anywhere else. To consider yourself independent and self-willed while existing under His eternal and inviolable authority is nothing but a tremendous folly. You yourself will suffer the consequences of this folly and stupidity. If you are intelligent and realistic, then intelligence and the demands of realism (Realism) require you to bow before the command of that great King. Live as His devoted and obedient servant.
Moreover, this reality must be made perfectly clear: throughout this entire universe there is only one emperor, one owner, and one free sovereign authority. No one else has the right to exercise authority here, and in reality no one else’s authority operates here. Therefore, be no one’s servant except His. Acknowledge no one else’s authority. Bow before no one else. Here there is no “His Highness.” All “highness” belongs exclusively to that Being. Here there is no “His Holiness.” All “holiness” is reserved solely for that one Power. Here there is no “His Lordship.” Complete lordship belongs only to that one Being. Here there is no lawgiver. He alone is the Law and the Lawgiver, and it ought to belong solely to Him. There is no other government here, no provider of sustenance, no patron or official, and no one worthy of hearing pleas. No one holds the keys to power. No one possesses any kind of superiority or dignity. From the earth to the heavens, everyone and everything is solely His devoted servant.
All ownership, lordship, and authority belong solely to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. He alone is the Rabb and the Mawla. Therefore, reject every form of servitude, obedience, and bondage. Become solely His servant, obedient to Him and subject to His command. This is the fundamental basis of every kind of reform and correction. Upon this foundation, the entire edifice of personal character and social order is built anew. From the time of Adam (peace be upon him) until today, and for all problems that will arise until the Day of Resurrection, every one of them can be solved only through this fundamental approach.
Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, called directly for this fundamental reform without any prior preparation, introduction, or preliminary activity. Until he reached the ultimate goal of this call, he adopted no circuitous route. He did not try to exert strategic influence over people through political and social work, influence by which he could guide them and gradually reach his objective. He did none of this. Rather, we see a man suddenly rise in the heart of Arabia and declare in a bold voice: “La ilaha illallah—there is no ilah except Allah.” Not for a moment did his gaze turn to anything lower than this fundamental declaration. This was not caused merely by prophetic courage, emotion, and zeal. In fact, this is the true working policy of the Islamic movement. Influence, effectiveness, and authority created by other means are of no help whatsoever to this great work of reform. Those who support you for any reason other than the fundamental ideal of La ilaha illallah cannot benefit you at all in this great work of reconstruction.
Only those who are drawn to you solely by hearing the call of La ilaha illallah can support and assist you in this great work. They accept this great truth as the foundation and purpose of life and prepare to work on its basis. Therefore, the particular thought and strategy required to conduct the Islamic movement demand that work begin directly, without any introduction or preamble, through this fundamental call to Tawhid.
This concept of Tawhid is not merely a religious idea or meditation. Rather, it is a complete philosophy of life. It entirely uproots the structure that has been built in social life upon self-will and the lordship and authority of other-than-Allah. It builds a new edifice upon a completely different foundation and basis.
Today, people around the world silently hear your muezzin’s revolutionary call, “Ashhadu alla ilaha illallah.” This is because the one making the declaration does not know what he is proclaiming, and the listeners do not perceive its meaning or purpose. But if the caller made the declaration knowingly, and the people of the world understood that he was saying: “I recognize no one as emperor or ruler. I acknowledge no government. I obey no law. I am under the jurisdiction (Jurisdiction) of no court. No one’s command is a command to me. I acknowledge no one’s custom. I recognize not the discriminatory high rights of anyone, anyone’s royal power, anyone’s excessive sanctity, or anyone’s arbitrary supreme authority. Except for Allah alone, I am in revolt against everyone. I turn away from everyone.”
If the caller and the listeners understood the true meaning of this declaration, do you think the people of the world would digest it easily? Would they silently tolerate it? Believe me, whether or not you go to fight anyone, the people of the world would wage war against you. As soon as you uttered this declaration, you would feel that the entire world had become your enemy. From every direction, snakes, scorpions, and savage beasts would attack you mercilessly.
B. Proving Pure in the Crucible of Trial
When Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), uttered this call, exactly the same situation and circumstances arose. The caller had made the declaration knowingly and deliberately. The listeners, too, understood what was being proclaimed! Thus, whoever was struck by any aspect of this declaration rose to extinguish it. The popes and priests saw that this call was dangerous to their priesthood. Landlords and moneylenders feared for their wealth and property; unlawful profiteers, for their unlawful earnings; tribal idolaters, for tribal superiority (racial superiority); and nationalists, for the inherited ways and doctrines of their forefathers. In short, upon hearing this call, all kinds of idolaters became terrified that their respective idols would be shattered. Thus, although they had long been locked in warfare with one another, all the forces of disbelief now united. They turned the maxim “Al-kufru millatun wahidah” into reality. They gathered on one platform to fight a new movement and formed a united coalition.
In this difficult situation, only those whose ideas and minds were clear and purified became companions of Muhammad (peace be upon him). They possessed the ability to understand and accept the truth. Their love of truth was so powerful that, after recognizing it, they were always ready to leap into the fire and embrace death for its sake. Such people were precisely what this great movement needed. People of this kind continued to join the movement one or two at a time. At the same time, the conflict continued to intensify.
Then some had their means of livelihood cut off. Some were expelled from their homes. Some were separated from their loved ones. Some lost their friends, others their well-wishers. Some were beaten. Some were chained. Some were laid beneath stones on scorching sand. Some were tormented with abuse, others with stones. Some had their eyes torn out. Some had their skulls crushed. Some were tempted with women, wealth, power, leadership, and every kind of alluring thing in an attempt to buy them off. All these trials came upon the Islamic movement. They had to come. Without them, the Islamic movement could neither have become strong nor developed and expanded.
These trials were extremely beneficial to the Islamic movement. Their first benefit was that cowardly, base, and weak-willed people could not even approach it. Thus, only the jewels of society came and joined the movement. And it was precisely such people that this great movement needed. Therefore, whoever joined this movement had to join it only after passing through severe trials. In fact, there could be no better way to select the finest people suited to a great revolutionary movement.
The second benefit of these trials was that those who joined the movement under such difficult conditions faced these terrible dangers, hardships, suffering, and humiliation not for any personal, group, or national interest, but solely out of love for the truth and for Allah and His pleasure. For this they had to endure hundreds of abuses and persecutions. For this they had to be wounded and beaten. For this they had to face the savage attacks of entrenched vested interests. But the result was good. As a result, the mindset suited to the Islamic movement began to develop within them. Genuine Islamic character began to emerge. Sincerity and devotion in the worship of Allah continued to grow and deepen.
In fact, the emergence of Islamic character and spirit in this great training ground of danger and hardship was natural. When a person begins a determined journey to achieve a goal, and on the way to that goal must face life-and-death struggle, extreme conflict, indescribable danger and hardship, suffering, endless harassment, agonizing blows, inhuman imprisonment, unrelenting hunger, and unbearable exile, then through these personal experiences all the qualities of that great goal and ideal leave a powerful impression on his heart and mind. The life-giving stream of that great goal begins to flow through his mind, brain, veins, and arteries. His entire personality then takes on the form of the purpose of his life.
At this stage of completing the attainment of the goal, Salat was made obligatory for them. As a result, all narrowness was removed from their vision. Their entire sight and power of thought became focused on their goal. Through repeated acknowledgment, the lordship and sovereignty of the One whom they had accepted as the sole sovereign ruler became firmly rooted in their ideas and minds. He is the One on whose commands and guidance all the affairs of life and the world must be carried out; He is aware of everything visible and invisible. He is the King of the Day of Judgment. He is overwhelmingly powerful over all servants. These truths became firmly embedded in their hearts and minds. Under no circumstances could even the slightest thought of obeying anyone other than Him find entry into their hearts; all such avenues were completely closed.
The third benefit of these trials and extreme conflict was that, on the one hand, those joining this revolutionary caravan received genuine training in the field of action; on the other hand, the Islamic movement continued to spread and expand day after day. As people watched some individuals being beaten and persecuted day after day, a powerful desire naturally arose in their minds to learn the real reason. Why was there so much uproar over these people? Their minds became eager to find the answer. Then, when their inquiring eyes learned that these servants of Allah were not being persecuted for women, wealth, influence, or any personal interest, but because a great truth had been unveiled to them and they were holding fast to it with complete devotion, their hearts naturally became eager to know that great truth.
Then, when people learned that this great truth was La ilaha illallah, and that it created such a revolution in human life, and that people had arisen with its call, trampling all worldly benefits and interests solely for this truth, sacrificing without hesitation their land, wealth, children, and everything else, they would be overwhelmed with astonishment. Their eyes opened. The veils covering their minds and hearts were torn apart. And this great truth pierced their hearts like the sharp point of an arrow. As a result, everyone came and joined this movement. In the end, only a handful of people could not join it—those completely enraptured by the arrogance of nobility, the blind imitation of their forefathers, and worldly interests. Apart from them, every selfless and truth-loving person in that society, some sooner and some later, ultimately had to come and join this movement.
C. The Leader Was the Model of the Ideal
At this time, through his personal life, the leader of the movement clearly presented before human society all the fundamental principles, aims, and objectives of his movement. The essence of Islam shone through his every word, every deed, and every aspect of his conduct and behavior. Through this, people could understand in practical terms what Islam was. This subject deserves a detailed discussion, but there is no room for an explanatory treatment in this limited space. Therefore, I will present here, very briefly, a few notable aspects.
The wife of the great leader of this revolutionary movement, Lady Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her), was the wealthiest woman in Arabia at that time. He conducted business with his wife’s wealth. After he began calling people to Islam, all his business and trade came to an end. Since he was constantly occupied with the work of da’wah, and had consequently made the entire Arab people his enemies, it was no longer possible to continue conducting business. Within only a few years, the husband and wife together exhausted everything they had previously accumulated in order to expand the movement. They then faced extreme financial hardship. When he traveled to Ta’if to propagate the religion, this former commercial magnate of the Hijaz could not even obtain a donkey to ride.
The people of Quraysh offered him the throne of the Hijaz. They said, “We will make you our king. We will marry Arabia’s most beautiful woman to you. We will pour heaps of wealth at your feet. We will do all this for you on one condition: you must refrain from this movement.” But the liberator of humanity rejected these alluring offers with contempt. In their place, he willingly accepted their mockery, reproach, and stoning.
The leaders of Quraysh and Arabia said, “O Muhammad! Your court is always filled with slaves, the poor, and low-class people (God forbid). In such circumstances, how can we come and sit in your court? Those whom we regard as the very lowest class are always surrounding you. Drive them away from you; only then can we come to you and speak with you.” But the leader of all humanity, who had come to eliminate distinctions between high and low among people, could never drive away the poor merely to satisfy the leaders of society.
The great leader of this revolutionary movement, Muhammad (peace be upon him), had no regard whatsoever for the interests of anyone from his own country, nation, tribe, or lineage in matters concerning his movement. He made no compromise with any interest regarding the movement. This moral firmness gave people such complete confidence that they became certain he had appeared for the welfare of humanity. As a result of this confidence, people from every nation came and gathered beneath the banner of his movement. If he had cared only for the welfare of his own family, no one except members of the Hashimi clan would have shown any interest in this movement. If he had been intent on establishing Qurayshi leadership, non-Qurayshi Arabs would never have imagined joining it. Or if his aim had been to establish the superiority of the Arab nation, what interest would the Abyssinian Bilal, the Roman Suhayb, and Salman of Persia (may Allah be pleased with him) have had in supporting him?
In fact, what attracted people of all nations to him was the unalloyed call to servitude to Allah and complete indifference to personal, hereditary, tribal, and national interests. It was by calling all humanity to pure servitude to Allah that people of every kind, regardless of lineage, color, nation, or religion, were drawn to this movement. Everyone became ready to sacrifice their lives for its establishment.
When he was forced to migrate from Makkah, a great deal of his enemies’ wealth was still held in trust with him. He instructed and left it with Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) so that it could be returned to its respective owners. No worldly-minded person could let such an opportunity pass. He would appropriate everything and take it away with him. But the servant of Allah was still concerned with delivering the property of those who were enemies of his life and thirsted for his blood into their hands, even when they had resolved to kill him. Could the people of Arabia witness such an unimaginable height of moral character without being astonished? I firmly believe that two years later, when they raised their swords against him on the field of Badr, their hearts may have said to them: “With what kind of great man are you fighting? Against that noble soul you are raising your swords—the one who did not forget people’s rights and the responsibility of trusts even while departing from his homeland?” Perhaps they fought him then out of stubbornness, but their consciences were tormenting them. I believe this was also one of the moral causes of the disbelievers’ defeat at Badr.
D. The Effective, Natural Revolution of the Ideal
After thirteen years of life-and-death struggle, the opportunity arose to establish a small Islamic state in Madinah. By this time, some two hundred and fifty to three hundred people had gathered in the movement. Having received complete training in Islam, they had become so capable that they could fulfill their responsibilities as Muslims under any circumstances. They had been fully prepared to administer an Islamic state. Thus, the desired state was established. The Messenger of Allah himself (peace be upon him) led this state for ten years. During this brief period, he trained them to administer every department of the state according to the Islamic method. This was the era in which the Islamic ideal passed beyond the stage of an abstract idea (Abstract Idea) and reached the level of a complete social structure. During this era, Islam’s policies and principles regarding the state system, education system, judicial system, economic system, social system, international relations, and every other matter gained a clear outline. The fundamental principles of every sphere of life were formulated, and those principles were also put into practice.
A cadre was developed through education, training, and practical experience to work according to this special policy and method. These people presented such an ideal model of Islamic rule before the world that, within only eight years, a small state like Madinah was transformed into the entire Arab state. Wherever people saw Islam’s practical form and experienced its beneficial results, they spontaneously exclaimed, “This is what humanity truly means. This is where humanity’s welfare lies.” Even those who had waged war against the Messenger of Allah Muhammad (peace be upon him) for many years ultimately had to accept this great ideal. Khalid ibn al-Walid came under the shade of Islam. Ikrimah, the son of Abu Jahl, accepted Islam. Abu Sufyan came over to Islam’s side. Wahshi, the slayer of Hamzah (may Allah be pleased with him), accepted Islam’s law. Even Hind, who had eaten Hamzah’s liver (may Allah be pleased with him), ultimately had to bow before the truth spoken by the very man whom she had regarded as more hateful than anyone else.
Historians mistakenly gave the wars of that time disproportionate attention. Because of this error, people came to believe that the great revolution in Arabia had been accomplished through warfare and fighting. Yet the actual matter was completely the opposite. In all the wars during those eight years, through which the warlike tribes of Arabia were subdued, no more than twelve hundred people from both sides were killed. If you know the history of the world’s revolutions, you must admit that it is reasonable to call this a bloodless revolution (Bloodless Revolution).
Moreover, the results of this revolution were unlike those of all other revolutions in the world. This revolution changed not only the state system. It also transformed people’s minds, attitudes, and thoughts. Their outlook changed. Their method of thinking changed. Their way of life changed. The world of moral character underwent a radical transformation. Their nature and habits changed.
In short, this great revolution transformed the entire nation. An adulterous woman became a guardian of chastity. A drunkard became a standard-bearer of the anti-intoxicant movement. Someone who had once stolen developed such an intense sense of trustworthiness through this revolution that he would now hesitate even to eat food at a friend’s house, thinking: “What if this too is considered the wrongful consumption of another person’s property?” Indeed, in this matter Allah Himself had to reassure them through the Qur’an that there was no sin in eating such food. Robbers and highwaymen became so extraordinarily devout and trustworthy that, during the conquest of Iran, one of them, an ordinary soldier, after obtaining a royal crown worth millions, hid it beneath his blanket in the darkness of night and delivered it to his commander. He kept the matter secret so that this unusual event would not spread his reputation for trustworthiness among the people, and so that the stain of ostentation and a display-oriented mentality would not touch the sincerity of his ikhlas, or intention.
Those to whom human life had no value, who buried their own daughters alive with their own hands, had developed such an intense sense of the security and dignity of life that even seeing a chicken slaughtered mercilessly caused them extreme distress. Those who had never even been touched by the breeze of truthfulness and justice had developed such lofty qualities of justice, honesty, and truthfulness that, after the Treaty of Khaybar, when one of their tax collectors went to collect government revenue from the Jews, the Jews offered him a large sum of money so that he would reduce the amount owed to the government. But he refused to accept the bribe to their faces and divided the harvested produce into two equal heaps, one for them and one for the government, giving them the right to take whichever heap they wished. Seeing this supreme example of the Muslim tax collector’s justice and honesty, the Jews were stunned with amazement, and unwittingly exclaimed, ‘It is upon this kind of justice and fairness that the heavens and the earth are established.’
Among them arose rulers who had no palaces. Rather, they lived among the people and resided in simple huts like theirs. They went to the markets on foot. They kept no guards at their doors. Within the twenty-four hours of day and night, anyone could meet them whenever he wished. Among them arose judges so just that one of them dismissed the Caliph’s claim against a certain Jew because the Caliph could produce no witnesses other than his own slave and son. Among them arose commanders such that, before departing from a city, one of them returned everything collected from its inhabitants, saying, ‘Since from now on we will no longer be able to take responsibility for your security, we have no right to retain the taxes collected from you.’
Thus countless fearless ambassadors were born among them. One of them fearlessly proclaimed the humane and just principles taught by Islam in the very court of an Iranian military commander. He vehemently criticized Iranian class discrimination. Allah knows how many Iranian soldiers’ hearts were awakened that day to the greatness and superiority of this religion of humanity. The Islamic Revolution gave birth among them to citizens possessed of such an acute sense of moral responsibility that, even after committing offenses punishable by amputation of the hand or stoning to death, they themselves came forward and demanded that the punishment be carried out upon them, so that they would not have to appear before Allah’s court as thieves or adulterers. The Islamic Revolution produced ideal soldiers who did not fight for wages or any worldly gain. Rather, they fought solely for the great ideal in which they had believed. They did not even accept pay or allowances. Furthermore, they went to the battlefield at their own expense, and when they acquired spoils of war, they brought them directly to the commander’s court. They did not keep them for themselves.
Now tell me, was this radical transformation of social character and collective mentality possible through warfare alone? History lies before you. Have you found in it any example of the sword alone bringing about such a radical change in any human group?
In fact, it is astonishing that where only two hundred and fifty or three hundred people were produced during the first thirteen years, the entire country became Muslim in the following ten years. Unable to uncover the secret of this, people try to offer various baseless and unrealistic explanations. Yet its cause is as clear and evident as daylight.
Until people saw the practical realization of human life according to this new ideal, they could not understand what kind of society the leader of this unique movement actually wished to build. During that period, various doubts and suspicions clouded their minds. Some said, ‘This is merely a poet’s fantasy.’ Others said, ‘It is only magic with words.’ Some said, ‘The man has actually gone mad.’ Others declared him nothing more than a visionary.
At that time, only exceptionally intelligent and talented people believed. They could see with insight that at the very root of this ideal lay the true sign of humanity’s welfare. But when a complete way of life had been established on the basis of this supposed ideal, people saw its practical reality with their own eyes and witnessed its limitless benefits before them. Then they understood that this servant of Allah had endured so much hardship, suffering, oppression, and persecution precisely to build this great society. After that, there was no opportunity to remain stubborn and obstinate. Anyone who possessed two eyes in his forehead and light in them had no way to deny the reality visible before his eyes.
In reality, this is the correct method by which Islam seeks to bring about social revolution. This is the highway of that revolution. It begins by this method and develops along this same progression. Regarding this revolution as a miracle, people say, ‘Such a thing is no longer possible. It was the work of a prophet. It cannot be done without a prophet.’ But the study of history clearly tells us that this revolution was a natural revolution. We can see in it a fully logical and scientific relationship between cause and effect. Even today, if we work by the same method, the same kind of results can emerge.
Yet it is true that this work requires faith, Islamic consciousness, wholehearted devotion, firm willpower, and the unconditional sacrifice of personal emotions, enthusiasms, and interests. It requires a group of daring young people who, having believed in the truth, will remain as steadfast as mountains upon it. They will direct their attention toward no other direction. Whatever may happen in the world, they will not deviate even an inch from the path of their aims and objectives. They will readily sacrifice every possibility of personal advancement in worldly life. They will not hesitate to shatter the dreams and aspirations of their children, parents, and loved ones. They will not be troubled by separation from relatives and friends. Society, the state, the law, the nation, the homeland—whatever stands in the way of their objective—they will struggle against it. In the past, only such people have made Allah’s word victorious. Even today, only such people can make Allah’s word victorious. This great revolution can be brought about only by such people. (Tarjuman al-Qur’an, September 1940).
Appendix
Although the clear explanation and analysis of the method of action for the Islamic Revolution presented in the foregoing article is sufficient for understanding the subject, I nevertheless consider it useful to mention here, in a particular sequence, some statements of the Promised Messiah, peace be upon him, concerning it. These statements reflect the picture of the early phase of the Islamic movement. Since the environment and circumstances in which our master, the Promised Messiah, peace be upon him, presented the call to the people of Palestine to establish the ‘Divine Government’ resemble our present environment and circumstances, necessary guidance for us may be found in his method of action.
“One scholar asked, ‘Among the commandments given by Moses, which is the most important?’ In reply Jesus said, ‘The most important commandment is this: Listen, O Israelites, the Lord our God is One; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ Then the scholar said, ‘Excellent, Master. You have spoken the truth: God is One, and there is no god besides Him.’” (Mark/12:28–32)
“You shall prostrate yourself before the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve.” (Luke/4:8)
“Therefore pray in this way: Our heavenly Father, may Your name be regarded as holy. May Your kingdom come. May Your will be fulfilled on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew/6:9–10)
In the final sentence, the Promised Messiah, peace be upon him, stated his objective with complete clarity. This sentence wholly refutes the erroneous notion commonly propagated that God’s kingdom means only His spiritual kingdom. His objective was to establish God’s law and the Shariah ordinances on earth just as His natural laws operate throughout the entire creation. It was for the achievement of this objective that he was preparing people.
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the world; I have not come to bring peace. Rather, I have come to set people against one another: a son against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a wife against her mother-in-law. A person’s own family members will become his enemies.”
“Whoever loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up his own cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever wants to save his life will lose his true life; but whoever is willing to sacrifice his life for me will save his true life.” (Matthew/10:34–39)
“If anyone wishes to come after me, let him not follow his own desire; let him carry his own cross and follow me.” (Matthew/16:24)
“Brother will hand over brother, and father will hand over son, to be put to death. Children will rise against their parents and have them killed. Everyone will hate you because of me, but whoever remains steadfast to the end will be saved.” (Matthew/10:21–22)
“Look, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Beware, for people will hand you over to the members of the courts, and they will flog you in their assembly halls. Because of me you will be brought before governors and kings.” (Matthew/10:16–18)
“Whoever comes to me must regard his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even himself, as less dear than me. Otherwise he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”
“If any of you wishes to build a high house, he first sits down and calculates the cost. He wants to see whether he has enough money to complete it. Otherwise, after laying the foundation, if he cannot finish the high house, everyone who sees it will mock him. They will say, ‘This man began to build but could not finish.’ In the same way, if any of you does not leave everything behind after careful consideration, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke/14:26–30)
All these verses prove that the Promised Messiah, peace be upon him, did not appear merely to preach a religion; rather, his fundamental objective was to bring about a radical transformation of the entire social and political structure. Thus, the possibility of conflict with the whole Roman Empire, the Jewish state, and the leadership of the scribes and Pharisees—in short, with all self-worshippers and self-seekers—was plainly present. Therefore he clearly told everyone, ‘The work I am going to undertake is extremely dangerous. Only those should come with me who are prepared to endure all these dangers and hardships.’
“Do nothing against anyone who treats you badly. Rather, if anyone strikes you on your right cheek, let him strike your other cheek as well. If anyone wishes to sue you to take your coat, let him have your cloak too. If anyone forces you to carry his burden for one mile, go with him for two miles.” (Matthew/5:39–41)
“Do not fear those who destroy only the body but cannot destroy the soul. Rather, fear Him who can destroy both body and soul in Hell.” (Matthew/10:28)
“Do not store up wealth for yourselves in this world. Here rust corrodes it, moths destroy it, and thieves enter and steal it. Rather, store up your wealth in heaven.” (Matthew/6:19–20)
“No one can serve two masters. You cannot serve both God and wealth. Do not worry about your life, wondering what you will eat, or about your body, wondering what you will wear. Look at the birds of the air: they do not sow seed, harvest crops, or store them in barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth more than they? Which of you, by worrying, can add one hour to his lifespan? Why worry about clothing? Consider the flowers of the field, how they grow. They do not labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you, even King Solomon in all his splendor was not dressed like one of these. If God clothes in this way the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not surely clothe you, O you of little faith? But concern yourselves first with God’s kingdom and with living according to His will. Then you will receive all those things as well.” (Matthew/6:24–33)
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock at the door, and it will be opened for you.” (Matthew/7:7) A mistaken notion has generally developed that Jesus, peace be upon him, taught asceticism, renunciation, and lifelong celibacy. Yet, at the beginning of this revolution, there was no alternative to teaching and training people in patience, endurance of hardship, and reliance upon Allah. Where an established political social system is in full force and has seized all the means and resources of human life, no group can advance to bring about a complete revolution until it casts the love of life and property out of its mind, prepares to endure suffering and danger, and becomes ready to sacrifice many worldly gains and accept countless worldly losses.
In reality, struggling against the established society and state of one’s time means inviting every danger and hardship upon oneself. Those who rise for this great task must be prepared for another slap after receiving one. If they lose their shirt, they must also be prepared to lose their cloak. One cannot expect to struggle against those who control the sources of contemporary livelihood and then receive food and clothing from them. Therefore, only the person who turns away from these means and resources and relies solely upon Allah can fight against them.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew/11:28–30)
Perhaps the manifesto of the Divine Government cannot be compiled in any more concise and moving language than this. The yoke of man over man is extremely hard and heavy. The message that the herald of the Divine Government can give to people crushed beneath this burden is that the yoke of the state system I wish to place upon you is as gentle as it is light.
“Among the Gentiles, kings exercise lordship, and their rulers are called beneficent leaders; but it should not be so among you. Let the greatest among you be like the least, and the leader like a servant.” (Luke/22:25–26)
The Promised Messiah, peace be upon him, gave these instructions specifically to his companions, the disciples. A number of sayings on this subject are found in the Gospels. Their essence is: after removing the Pharaohs and Nimrods, do not yourselves become Pharaohs and Nimrods again.
“The scholars and Pharisees sit in Moses’ place to teach the Shariah of Moses. Therefore do and observe whatever they tell you to do and observe. But do not do what they do, because they say things with their mouths but do not do them in practice. They tie up heavy burdens and place them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves do not even wish to move a finger to remove them. They do everything to be seen by people. They make the amulets containing verses from the Holy Scripture large. And to make themselves appear pious, they attach long tassels to every corner of their cloaks. At feasts they love the places of honor and the chief seats in the assembly halls. They seek honor in the markets and want people to call them teachers (rabbis).”
“Hypocritical scholars and Pharisees, woe to you! You shut the gates of heaven in people’s faces. You neither enter yourselves nor allow those who are trying to enter to do so.”
“Hypocritical scholars and Pharisees, woe to you! You travel throughout the world to win a single person to your religion. And when he accepts your religion, you make him twice as much a child of Hell as yourselves.”
“You are blind yourselves, yet you guide others. You strain out a tiny gnat, yet swallow a camel.”
“Hypocritical scholars and Pharisees, woe to you! You are like whitewashed graves, beautiful on the outside but inside full of the bones of dead people and every kind of filth. In the same way, outwardly you appear righteous to people, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and sin.” (Matthew/23:2–28)
Such was the condition of the scholars and custodians of the Shariah in those days. Despite possessing knowledge, they were misguided and astray solely because of their self-worship. They were also leading the common people astray, and on the path of this revolution they were a greater obstacle than the Roman Caesars.
“Then the Pharisees went away and began consulting how they might trap Jesus in his words. They sent some of their disciples to Jesus along with several men from Herod’s party. They said to Jesus, ‘Master, we know that you are an honest man. You teach the truth about God’s way. You are not concerned with what people think, because you do not seek anyone’s approval. Tell us, then: is it lawful to pay tax to the Roman emperor? What do you think?’ Knowing their evil purpose, Jesus said, ‘Hypocrites, why are you testing me? Show me one of the coins used to pay the tax.’ They brought him a denarius. Then Jesus asked them, ‘Whose image and name are on this?’ They replied, ‘The Roman emperor’s.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Then give to the emperor what belongs to the emperor, and to God what belongs to God.’” (Matthew/22:15–21)
This incident shows that it was essentially a conspiracy. Before the movement had matured, the Pharisees wanted to provoke a confrontation between the Promised Messiah, peace be upon him, and the government, and to have the government’s power uproot it before it had taken root. For this reason, they raised the question before the CID officers of the Herodian state as to whether it was lawful to pay tax to the Roman emperor. For the past two thousand years, Christians and non-Christians alike have understood the profound and meaningful reply of the Promised Messiah, peace be upon him, to mean: worship God, and obey the established government of your time. But in fact he did not say that paying tax to the Roman emperor was lawful, because saying that would have been contrary to his call. Nor did he say not to pay the tax, because at that time his movement had not yet reached the stage at which he could order taxes to be withheld. Therefore he made a subtle statement: return to him the name and image of Caesar, and spend upon God’s path the pure gold that God has created.
When this conspiracy failed, they bribed one of the Promised Messiah’s, peace be upon him, own companions and arranged for him to have the Promised Messiah, peace be upon him, arrested at a time when there would be no danger of a popular uprising. Their conspiracy succeeded. The Jewish Iscariot had the Promised Messiah arrested.
“Then all the members of the council rose and took Jesus to the chief governor, Pilate. They began to accuse Jesus, saying, ‘We have found that this man is leading our people against the government. He forbids them to pay tax to the emperor and claims that he himself is the Messiah, a king.’”
“Then Pilate said to the chief priests and all the people, ‘I find no fault in this man at all.’ But they insisted, saying, ‘By teaching throughout all the land of Judea, he is stirring up the people. He began in the province of Galilee and has now come here.’”
“But the people continued shouting that Jesus should be killed on the cross, and in the end their shouting prevailed.” (Luke/23:1–23)
Thus the mission of the Promised Messiah, peace be upon him, came to an end at the hands of those who considered themselves the heirs of Moses, peace be upon him. According to historical evidence, the period of the Promised Messiah’s prophethood lasted approximately one and a half to three years. In this brief period he accomplished as much as the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, accomplished during the first two or three years of his life in Mecca. If anyone compares the verses quoted above from the Gospel with the Makkan surahs of the Holy Qur’an and the hadith from the period of the Prophet’s residence in Mecca, he will find a close correspondence between the two.
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