The Anniversary of the Destruction of the Khilafah: The Tragedy that Ripped Apart the Unity of the Ummah

News:

The 28^th of this month of Rajab marks the tragic 105^th anniversary of the abolition of the Khilafah (Caliphate) – the state which ruled by the Laws of Allah and united the Muslim lands and the Muslim Ummah under one ruler and one system of governance. The aftermath of the loss of the Khilafah continues to be tasted by the Muslim Ummah across the world – from Palestine to Sudan, Kashmir to Myanmar, Yemen to East Turkistan – as Muslims face genocides, occupation and mass oppression with no state moving to their defense, and no guardian or shield to protect their blood and lands.

Comment:

After the Lausanne Treaty of 1923, following the defeat of the Ottomans in World War One, the year before the abolishment of the Khilafah (Caliphate), the former British Foreign Secretary, Lord Curzon, said: “We must put an end to anything which brings about any Islamic unity between the sons of the Muslims. The situation now is that Turkey is dead and will never rise again, because we have destroyed its moral strength, the Caliphate and Islam.”

The Western colonial powers understood clearly that the political, military and moral strength of the Muslim Ummah lay in their unity under the rule of a single state – the Khilafah. It was this unity of the Muslims under the Khilafah that stood as the main obstacle to the colonial hegemony and control of the Muslim lands. Hence, they forcefully injected the Muslim world with the poison of nationalism to spread division amongst the Muslims which laid the ground for the weakening and eventual dismantlement of the Khilafah and fragmentation of the Muslim lands into weak nation states, replacing a single unified state. All this undermined the concept of Muslim brotherhood and unity, and the collective obligation and collective military strength of Muslims to protect, support and defend one another from their enemies. Islamic interests and goals became replaced by corrosive and dangerous national or tribal interests and agendas.

The tragic consequences of the tearing apart of the political, economic and military unity of the Muslim Ummah under the rule of the Khilafah can be seen in current times in the disasters and suffering that plagues Muslims today. We see it in the abandonment of the Palestinians by the regimes and states of the Muslim lands – Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Turkey and others – who not only stood by and watched a genocide unfold but were complicit in it by continuing their diplomatic, economic and even security and military connections with the Jewish occupation. We see it in the Pakistan regime – past and present – refusing to send their army to liberate and defend the Muslims of Kashmir from the brutal Indian occupation, despite Pakistan having the world’s 7^th largest military by active personnel. We see it in the regimes of Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia treating the oppressed Rohingya Muslims like foreigners in their land, placing them in inhumane refugee camps or even pushing them away from their shores to die at sea rather than providing them sanctuary and a dignified life as their brothers and sisters in Islam. And we also see it in the conflicts between Muslims in Sudan, Yemen, Pakistan-Afghanistan and elsewhere as a consequence of the Islamic identity of Muslims being replaced by a disfigured nationalistic or tribal one.

Allah (swt) says:

[وَأَطِيعُواْ اللّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَلاَ تَنَازَعُواْ فَتَفْشَلُواْ وَتَذْهَبَ رِيحُكُمْ]

“And obey Allah and His Messenger, and do not dispute and [thus] lose courage and [then] your strength would depart” [Al-Anfaal:46], making it clear to the Believers that their strength lies in their obedience to the Qur’an and Sunnah and unity as a collective body. However, this full obedience to Allah and His Messenger and the true unity as a collective body can only be achieved through the existence of the Khilafah state which unifies the wealth, resources, army, man-power and lands of the Muslim world under 1 ruler and 1 system – the System of Islam, uprooting any divisive concepts, identities, and borders between the Muslims. It is this unity of the Ummah under the Khilafah that enables Muslims to give the Nussrah (protection, support, aid and victory) to their oppressed brothers and sisters, as we saw in the past with the liberation of Palestine by Salahuddin Ayubi who unified the Muslim lands under the rule of Islam, giving him the military power to defeat the Christian crusaders. Indeed, the Prophet (saw) said: «إِنَّمَا الْإِمَامُ جُنَّةٌ يُقَاتَلُ مِنْ وَرَائِهِ وَيُتَّقَى بِهِ»“Verily, the Imam (Khalifah) is the shield behind whom they fight, and he protects them.” In the absence of the Khilafah, as we see today, Muslims are left vulnerable, exposed and abandoned to their occupiers and oppressors, or are led into senseless wars against their Muslim brothers.

Allah (swt) says:

[وَالَّذينَ كَفَرُواْ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاء بَعْضٍ إِلاَّ تَفْعَلُوهُ تَكُن فِتْنَةٌ فِي الأَرْضِ وَفَسَادٌ كَبِيرٌ]

“And those who disbelieve are allies of one another, (and) if you (Muslims of the whole world collectively) do not do so [i.e. become allies, as one united block under one Khalifah] there will be Fitnah (wars, battles, polytheism) and oppression on the earth, and a great mischief and corruption.”[Al-Anfaal: 73]. Abu Bakr (ra), said: “It is forbidden for Muslims to have two Amirs, for this would cause differences over their affairs and laws, their unity would be divided and disputes would break out amongst them. The Sunnah would then be abandoned, the bida’a (innovation) would spread and Fitna would grow, whilst none of that would be righteousness for anyone.”

Therefore, if we wish to see the genocides, occupations, and mass oppression of our Muslim Ummah to end, it is not enough to simply raise awareness about their plight, or give charity, or make dua for their suffering to end. It is also not enough to raise vague slogans and calls for the need for Muslim unity. Rather, we need to call for Muslims to discard their nationalistic identities and reject these western-colonial imposed national borders between our Muslim lands and the divisive nation-state model of governance, and instead embrace true unity of the Muslims as defined by the Qur’an and Sunnah by establishing with urgency the Khilafah state. Allah (swt) says:

[يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اسْتَجِيبُواْ لِلّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُم لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ]

“O you who believe! Answer the Call of Allah and His Messenger when He calls you to that which gives you life.” [Al-Anfaal: 24].

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Asma Siddiq
Member of the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir