Press Release
In This Calamity, We must rely upon Allah (swt), Seek His (swt) Mercy, and Rush to Submit to Allah (swt)

Bangladesh is standing on the verge of a catastrophe as the outbreak of the novel corona virus has also started taking its toll here, people are passing their days in anxiety and uncertainty. Health experts and aware citizens are deeply angered to see the government’s sheer reluctance to be prepared with outbreak control measures even though they had more than two-months’ time in hand when this virus was first detected in Wuhan, China on December 2019. Rather this foolish government was busy celebrating Mujib Anniversary while endangering the people from the “novel corona virus” pandemic. With horrible healthcare facilities, shortage of protective gears for health care workers, absence of testing kits, and ineffective contact-tracking and reporting mechanism, this government is still playing politics with the scale and severity of the coronavirus outbreak in Bangladesh, and to suppress their failure, are actively suppressing any news of number the affected and deaths through intimidation and threats. Amid such poor government readiness to combat this deadly pandemic, Hizb ut Tahrir / Wilayah Bangladesh wants to call our people’s attention to some sincere advice and guidelines:

Firstly, we must not become panicked and fear-stricken in such a difficult time, and rather bear in mind that this outbreak is a trial from Allah Azza Wa Jal which we need to face with patience and increased remembrance of Allah. As our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw) said:

«عَجَبًا لِأَمْرِ الْمُؤْمِنِ إِنَّ أَمْرَهُ كُلَّهُ خَيْرٌ، وَلَيْسَ ذَاكَ لِأَحَدٍ إِلَّا لِلْمُؤْمِنِ، إِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ سَرَّاءُ شَكَرَ فَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُ، وَإِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ ضَرَّاءُ صَبَرَ فَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُ»

“How wonderful is the case of a believer; there is good for him in everything and this applies only to a believer. If prosperity attends him, he expresses gratitude to Allah and that is good for him; and if adversity befalls him, he endures it patiently and that is better for him.” [Muslim].

Also this virus outbreak is a stark reminder to all of us, including the West that how weak we are in front of Allah (subḥānahu wa taʿala) regardless of our financial position or technological/medical advancement.  So, now is the moment we should be most close to Allah (swt), seek forgiveness for our misdeeds and rush to submit to Allah (swt).

Secondly, we should not behave like the Kafir-Mushriks. We should restrain from hoarding and thus create crisis of daily needs. We should not be individualistic, selfish and uncaring about others, but rather should behave responsibly and help each other. Do not forget that, we are Muslims, raised as an example for humankind. Allah (swt) says,

[وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا]

“And thus we have made you a just community that you will be witnesses over the People” [Surah Al-Baqarah: 143].

Thirdly, we should rely on Allah (swt) and keep patience, rather than giving way to panic. We must remember that Ajal-Death-Rizq are in the hands of Allah (swt). He (swt) says:

[وَمَا كَانَ لِنَفْسٍ أَنْ تَمُوتَ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ كِتَابًا مُؤَجَّلًا]

“And it is not [possible] for one to die except by permission of Allah at a decree determined” [Surah Al-i-Imran: 145];

[وَمَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا عَلَى اللَّهِ رِزْقُهَا وَيَعْلَمُ مُسْتَقَرَّهَا وَمُسْتَوْدَعَهَا كُلٌّ فِي كِتَابٍ مُبِينٍ]

“And there is no creature on earth but that upon Allah is its provision” [Surah Hud: 6]; and “Indeed, it is Allah who is the [continual] provider” [Surah Adh-Dhariyat: 58]. Allah (swt) also says:

[قُلْ لَنْ يُصِيبَنَا إِلَّا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَنَا هُوَ مَوْلَانَا وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ]

“Say, Never will we be struck except by what Allah has decreed for us; He is our protector. And upon Allah let the believers rely” [Surah At-Tawba: 51].

Fourthly, as certain places in Bangladesh are already reported to have patients with the “novel corona virus”, we should be careful about visiting those areas. And if the virus starts to spread there, we must not go there as part of Shariah obligation as Al-Bukhari narrated: the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:

«الطَّاعُونُ رِجْزٌ أُرْسِلَ عَلَى طَائِفَةٍ مِنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ أَوْ عَلَى مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَكُمْ فَإِذَا سَمِعْتُمْ بِهِ بِأَرْضٍ فَلَا تَدْخُلُوا عَلَيْهِ وَإِذَا وَقَعَ بِأَرْضٍ وَأَنْتُمْ بِهَا فَلَا تَخْرُجُوا فِرَارًا مِنْهُ»

“The plague is a calamity (or a punishment) that was sent upon the Children of Israel, or upon those who came before you. If you hear of it in some land, do not go there, and if it breaks out in a land where you are, do not leave, fleeing from it.”

Finally, Allah (swt) says,

[ظَهَرَ الْفَسَادُ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِي النَّاسِ لِيُذِيقَهُمْ بَعْضَ الَّذِي عَمِلُوا لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ]

“Calamities have appeared on land and sea because of what the hands of the people have earned, so that He (Allah) makes them taste some of what they did, in order that they may return (to the right way)” [Surah Ar-Rum: 41]. From the day we lost our Khilafah (Caliphate), we have been under the oppression of manmade systems, and we lost the Mercy of Allah (swt). Under this manmade system, we are not just being oppressed, but rather one after another manmade calamities are befalling on us. So, we must exhaust all our effort to bring back the Khilafah to establish mercy on this Earth, RasulAllah (saw) says:

«السُّلْطَانُ ظِلُّ اللَّهِ فِي الْأَرْضِ»

“Sultan (Khalifah) is the shade (mercy) of Allah on Earth” [Al-Daraqutni].

The Khilafah State’s healthcare policies will open the door for scientific laboratories and researches for all its citizens not for profitable return, but rather as the State’s obligation to fulfill the public needs for health and wellbeing. “All members of society have the right to establish scientific laboratories related to all matters of life, and the State itself should establish such laboratories.” [Draft Constitution of the Khilafah State by Hizb ut Tahrir] Accounts of invention of “corona virus” testing kit in the private sector, low-cost hand sanitizer production, etc. have already showed that the Ummah in Bangladesh is filled with genius and talents; only the rightly guided Khilafah is what is required now to ensure a distinct healthcare system as a mercy from Allah to all humankind. Allah (swt) says:

[وَلَوْ أَنَّ أَهْلَ الْقُرَى آمَنُوا وَاتَّقَوْا لَفَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ بَرَكَاتٍ مِنْ السَّمَاءِ وَالأَرْضِ وَلَكِنْ كَذَّبُوا فَأَخَذْنَاهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ]

“And if only the people of the cities had believed and feared Allah, We would have opened upon them blessings from the heaven and the earth” [Surah Al-A'raf: 96]

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir
in Wilayah Bangladesh

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