ecaferP

dammahuM tehporP ehT

:noitalever gniwollof eht deviecer

)32:53( renraw a tub gnihton era uoY

hallA yb desserdda saw eh noisacco rehtona nO

:sdrow eht htiw

So preach! You are not but a preacher. Not over

them are you a warden (88:21-22)

Allah makes plain throughout the Suhufan

Mutahharah that not only this Prophet

but every single Messenger of God is sent

only for the purpose of warning their people

about the imminent end of the world, and to give

glad tidings to the believers from among them

(6:48). The Suhufan Mutahharah, like the Torah

and other Scriptures that were revealed before it,

contains a purely apocalyptic message. It is by no

means a manifesto for establishing a state or

bringing about some kind of revolution.

Yet in our time a political ideology has

emerged among the Muslims, which has brought

with it nothing but disorder and tribulation. The

political movements and parties that claim to be

Islamic all exhibit the characteristic of

desiring power and elevation in the land. But look

what Allah says:

That home of the end have We made for those

who do not desire elevation in the land, nor

corruption. And the end is for the righteous.

(28:83)

This blessed Ayah was revealed in the context of

the story of Qarun. When some of the people of

Moses who were afflicted with the disease of

worldliness saw that Qarun had been given the

treasures of the Earth, they expressed their desire

that they too should be granted its similitude,

saying:

Woe to us! That we had been given the like of

what was given to Qarun. Verily, he is one of

great fortune. (28:79)

The present-day political movements among the

Muslims are suffering from the same spiritual

disease of the aforementioned people of Moses.

Impressed with the glitter of this world and the

great political authority and might that the

nations of Gog and Magog wield over the Earth,

certain Muslims are pained in their hearts and

openly call for the like of it to be given to them.

A careful study of the story of Qarun (Surah

28:76-83) will unveil for the seeker of truth the

reality of the political ideology which has been

the vehicle of nothing but mayhem and

destruction for the Muslims. Regarding Qarun,

Allah says:

We bestowed upon him from the treasures whose

very keys would have been a burden for a body of

strong people (28:76)

That is to say, it was Allah Himself who

granted Qarun the treasures of the Earth, and

established him therein with might and wealth.

How is it possible for any political movement

to take away of their own prerogative that which

Allah has personally granted to anyone?

And your Lord creates and chooses as He pleases.

They have no choice in the matter. Holy and

exalted is Allah from that which they ascribe as

partners. (28:68)

And the Prophet destroyed the

entire edifice of the political thought espoused by

the so called Islamists when he said to his

companion Abdur Rahman bin Samurah:

Do not seek government (Bukhari)

Allah has already described elevation in

the land as a burden which even a body of strong

people cannot bear. The Prophet

not only elaborated on this burden by stating how

it would be a means of deep regret and sorrow on

Judgment Day, but explicitly discouraged his own

followers from even seeking it, as is evident from

the Hadith of Abdur Rahman bin Samurah. This

is not to say that Islam, as in the case of

Christianity, does not contain any guidance

whatsoever concerning political and social issues.

Nor can it be said that if the Muslims are

granted, due to their faithfulness and piety,

Khilafah upon the Earth that they should

disavow it thus proving themselves ungrateful.

The truth is that Muslims have been guided in no

uncertain terms in the Book and Sunnah to avoid

seeking, aspiring and above all struggling for

political authority. The so called Islamist

political parties and sects have strayed from the

path of the Sunnah and innovated a dangerous

idea into Islam which can only be the cause of

humiliation and disgrace. They actively seek to

establish themselves upon the Earth and seize the

reins of power. Their erroneous understanding of

Islam is due to the materialist thought under

whose spell they have fallen. They see the war

between Heaven and the Satanic forces as a mere

political struggle for domination of the Earth.

Influenced by the materialist ideas of communism

and other revolutionary ideologies, they seek to

rob Religion of its devotional and spiritual

aspects, so they can delude ordinary people into

understanding Islam in political terms only. The

question which the reader should ask is whether

this is the Islam brought by the ancient Prophets

and practiced by the early generation of Muslims?

The Opium of Politics

Karl Marx famously said: Religion is the opium

of the masses. He was expressing his frustration

with religion as the primary obstacle blocking the

way of political movements in acquiring influence

among the general public. In his view, the

industrialists, aristocracy, etc., had sedated the

public with religion so that they would never pose

a threat to their hegemony. Of course, this is to

be expected of an avowed materialist who regard

this temporal world as the only reality. The

ancient Prophets preached an entirely

different message that this world and its order

would soon fall into chaos and there would be

such a divine intervention in its affairs that would

result in nothing short of the dead coming back to

life! The essence of Islam is to prepare for the

impending apocalypse and the coming of Allah

Himself in person. This is why belief in the

Akhirah (end of the world and the world that is to

come in the end) is one of the six cardinal

doctrines of our Religion, along with belief in

Allah, His Angels, His Scriptures, His Apostles,

and the Pre-Decree.

From the Islamic perspective, the real opium

which clouds the mind and deceives the heart is

the opium of political ideology. Throughout the

Suhufan Mutahharah, Allah has described

the desire for political power as being a deception

by the world, and even as denial of Judgment Day

and the resurrection. These are Qur'anic phrases

which must be restored to their original

significance. For example, He says:

Know that verily the life of this world is nothing

but play and amusement, glitter and boasting

among yourselves, and piling up of wealth and

children. Like the produce of the rain which is

the delight of the tillers, soon it whithers and you

see it turn yellow, then it becomes straw. But in

the end is a severe punishment, and also (for the

believers) forgiveness from Allah and happiness.

And the life of this world is nothing but a

material of delusion. (57:20)

How beautifully Allah has described the

reality of this temporal world with the parable of

the produce brought about by the rain. In the

end, all of the produce and vegetation whithers

away, turning yellow until it is nothing more

than dried up straw. What then is the wisdom of

chasing after the glitter of this world the focus

of the so called Islamist political movement?

Describing this movement and its people, Allah

instructs the true believers:

Leave alone those who take their Religion as play

and amusement, having been deluded by the life

of this world (6:70)