Open Letter from Hizb ut Tahrir in the Blessed Land
To the Grand Mufti, Fatwa, Imams and Preachers

(Translated)

Honorable Grand Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Hussein,

Honorable Muftis, in the FatwaDepartments in the governorates,

Honorable Imams and preachers,

Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh,

Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, praise befitting His Glory and the Greatness of His Might, praise that brings us to His pleasure and the company of His Messenger, and prayers and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah and on his family, companions and his followers:

Allah (swt) says:

﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَكُونُوا مَعَ الصَّادِقِينَ﴾

“O you who have believed, fear Allah and be with those who are true.” [At-Tauba: 119]. And He (swt) says:

﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَقُولُوا قَوْلاً سَدِيداً * يُصْلِحْ لَكُمْ أَعْمَالَكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَمَنْ يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزاً عَظِيماً﴾

“O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. He will [then] amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment.” [Al-Ahzab: 71]

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

The scholars are the heirs of the prophets in knowledge, carrying of Islam and calling to it, and they are the heirs of the prophets in persistence in truth and proclaiming it, and they are the imams of Muslims in commanding the good and forbidding the evil, and they are the most rightful people to proclaim the truth and denounce the oppressors and the tyrant rulers.

Allah has entrusted you with His religion, and Allah has blessed you with knowledge of His verses and rulings that will be an argument for you or against you, and provided you from knowledge what tests the truth of your fear for Him. If you practice your knowledge to achieve the truth and you work for it, and you call to it not fearing but Allah Almighty, you will have a great reward and high status. And whoever left Allah’s command and exchanged the verses of Allah for a small price, and sought the knowledge for this world and has made pleasing to the people of falsehood their falsehood or followed them in their evils, he deserves Allah’s wrath and anger, and he will be one of the most tortured people on the Day of Resurrection.

And it is not hidden from you the crime of rulers and their aversion from the way of Allah, for they have taken disbelievers as allies rather than believers, they have ruled by other than what Allah has revealed, they betrayed Allah and His Messenger, gave the disbelievers a way over the believers, by their humiliation, agency and betrayal, they devoured the wealth of people unjustly, and spread corruption in the country and among the people; rather, they enacted laws that protect this corruption, and it is sufficientfor you, the riba-based banks that lead to a war against Allah and His Messenger. This traitorous group to Allah and His Messenger, do not spare any effort to break the knots of Islam, one by one, and you the most informed Muslims of the extent to which they fight the religion of Allah and the allies of Allah, and we think you memorized the hadith of Rasulullah (saw) narrated by Abu Imamah Al-Bahli (ra):«لَتُنْتَقَضَنَّ عُرَى الْإِسْلَامِ عُرْوَةً عُرْوَةً، فَكُلَّمَا انْتُقِضَتْ عُرْوَةٌ تَشَبَّثَ النَّاسُ بِالَّتِي تَلِيهَا، فَأَوَّلُهُنَّ نَقْضاً: الْحُكْمُ وَآخِرُهُنَّ الصَّلَاةُ»“The knots of Islam will be undone one by one, each time a knot is undone the next one will be grasped, the first to be undone will be the Ruling and the last will be Prayer.” (Ahmed, Al-Hakim and Ibn Habban by authentic chain of narration)

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

The measures taken by the criminal regimes in Muslim countries towards the epidemic were in accordance with what the Western countries have done and in compliance with the directives of the World Health Organization, and these bodies cannot provide the correct solution for this epidemic because they are far from the correct approach in taking care of people's affairs, as they are capitalist countries and institutions that look at issues and problems only from a utilitarian angle, and do not give weight for any other consideration ... That is why they floundered in their procedures and their actions had devastating effects on the interests of people and the country's economy, and they are now trying to make up for what they have caused, but they are people who do not reason and do not understand.

And because the regimes in the Islamic world do not value the rituals of Islam, rather they fight and revert people from them, and follow the steps of the enemies of Allah, handspan by handspan and arm’s length by arm’s length, pursuing their approach, so they closed the country and disrupted the interests of people, and their greatest sin and crime was to close the houses of Allah and prevent the establishment of the Friday and congregational prayers, and continuing to fight Allah and His Messenger; they pursued people with intimidation and arrest to prevent them from performing Friday prayers.

The correct approach in taking care of people's affairs is to take the necessary measures that preserve people their Deen, interests and lives, so that they perform the rituals of Islam on its right way, and carry on their interests so that they are not disrupted, this is accompanied by restricting the epidemic and its treatment where it appears, and we have mentioned this in detail in the Answer to Question, “The Ramifications of the Coronavirus”, issued on 26/3/2020 by the Ameer of Hizb ut Tahrir, eminent scholar Ata Bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah, may Allah help him to establish His Deen, and the answer attached to it on 11/4/2020. You can view them through our websites; but because these systems are not guided by the light of Islam and the guidance of the Prophethood, and are far from sincerity in taking care of people's affairs, how can they be guided to the right measures to confront this epidemic?!

You know that the one who takes the lead in taking care of people's affairs must show piety and fear from Allah the Almighty, for this piety leads him to the proper care of people even in the darkest and most severe circumstances.﴾إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ مُحْسِنُونَ﴿ “Indeed, Allah is with those who fear Him and those who are doers of good.” [An-Nahl: 128[. Thus, the pillar of the believer’s thinking is Islam and its rulings, and this is what these unjust regimes lack, as they are far from the piety and fear from Allah the Almighty.

The criminal group closed mosques and disrupted Friday rituals and congregational prayers under the pretext of preventing the outbreak of the Coronavirus epidemic.

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

The hadith narrated from Ibn Umar on praying in the dwellings was for the excuse of rain while traveling,عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ، أَنَّهُ نَادَى بِالصَّلَاةِ فِي لَيْلَةٍ ذَاتِ بَرْدٍ وَرِيحٍ وَمَطَرٍ، فَقَالَ فِي آخِرِ نِدَائِهِ: أَلَا صَلُّوا فِي رِحَالِكُمْ، أَلَا صَلُّوا فِي الرِّحَالِ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم كَانَ يَأْمُرُ الْمُؤَذِّنَ، إِذَا كَانَتْ لَيْلَةٌ بَارِدَةٌ، أَوْ ذَاتُ مَطَرٍ فِي السَّفَرِ، أَنْ يَقُولَ: «أَلَا صَلُّوا فِي رِحَالِكُمْ»Ibn Umar made the call to prayer on a cold and windy night. He added the words at the end of the call: "Lo! pray in your dwellings. Lo! pray in the dwellings." He then said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) used to command the mu'adhdhin to announce, "Lo! pray in your dwellings." on a cold or rainy night during journey. (Narrated by Muslim).

We do not want to discuss this and other evidences related to it in detail, whether prayer in dwellings is a permit (rukhsa) in travel and urban or just in travel? But it is sufficient to point out to something you know; that the ruling on taking this rukhsa is not obligatory and it is not permissible to compel people to take it, and this rukhsa is due to rain during travel or rain only. And that this evidence is for the permissibility to refrain from praying in the congregational prayer because of this excuse, it is not evidence for the permissibility to close mosques and prohibit the establishment of prayer in them. And you know that applying the rules is according to the reality of their subject (manat), and the indication of evidence for the ruling is according to what the language and the rules of inference indicate, and this evidence is not understood from it, nor in its stated text (mantuq) or in its understanding (mafhum), that it is permissible to close mosques and prevent the establishment of congregation prayers due to rain or other excuses, since Allah’s houses, Allah has ordered to be raised and that His name be mentioned therein; and He did not order otherwise, and whoever assaults the houses of Allah by closing them and preventing the establishment of prayer in them, has transgressed Allah, and deserves the wrath of Allah Almighty.

The call of the mu'adhdhin “pray in your homes” or “pray in your dwellings” is due to an excuse that prevents people from reaching the mosque, so is this correct whereas people gather in banks, streets and markets are crowded with them?!

The rulers closed the mosques and prevented the Friday prayer, claiming to preserve people’s lives and health. Unfortunately, the muftis gave them a fatwa, and they justified their fatwa contrary to the correct approach of understanding the evidence and applying it to the facts, and Allah will ask them about these fatwas, so they referred to obeying the ruler or that the rulings are taken by speculation, that the rulings change with the change of time and place, and that the warding off evil is preferred to bringing benefits, and preservation of bodies is outweighed over the preservation of religions, so they presented their fatwas with these rulings erroneously and crookedly to justify the crime of the rulers in closing the houses of Allah and disrupting the Friday prayer.

You know that obedience to those in authority which is mentioned in Allah’s words:

﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنْكُمْ فَإِنْ تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ ذَلِكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَحْسَنُ تَأْوِيلاً﴾

“O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is the best [way] and best in result.” ]An-Nisa: 59[, is not in the manner that they mentioned because the Almighty Truth did not make for the rulers independent obedience, but rather made it bound by the obedience of Allah and the obedience of His Messenger (saw). Rasulullah (saw) said:«لَا طَاعَةَ فِي مَعْصِيَةِ اللهِ، إِنَّمَا الطَّاعَةُ فِي الْمَعْرُوفِ»“There is no obedience if it involves disobedience toward Allah. Rather obedience is only (required) in that which is good.” (Narrated by the two Shaykhs). Ali ibn Abi Talib from Rasulullah (saw) said: «لَا طَاعَةَ لِبَشَرٍ فِي مَعْصِيَةِ اللَّهِ»“No obedience for a creation in the disobedience of Allah the Almighty.” (Reported by Ahmed and ibn Habban through authentic narration). And it was narrated from Abdullah bin Masoud (ra) that the Prophet (saw) said:

إِنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ: «سَيَلِي أُمُورَكُمْ بَعْدِي، رِجَالٌ يُطْفِئُونَ السُّنَّةَ، وَيَعْمَلُونَ بِالْبِدْعَةِ، وَيُؤَخِّرُونَ الصَّلَاةَ عَنْ مَوَاقِيتِهَا» فَقُلْتُ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنْ أَدْرَكْتُهُمْ، كَيْفَ أَفْعَلُ؟ قَالَ: «تَسْأَلُنِي يَا ابْنَ أُمِّ عَبْدٍ كَيْفَ تَفْعَلُ؟ لَا طَاعَةَ لِمَنْ عَصَى اللَّهَ»

“Among those in charge of you, after I am gone, will be men who extinguish the Sunnah and follow innovation. They will delay the prayer from its proper time.” I said: “O Messenger of Allah, if I live to see them, what should I do?” He said: “You ask me, O Ibn ‘Abd, what you should do? There is no obedience to one who disobeys Allah.” And the crimes of these rulers against the Ummah and its Deen, are known to you with certainty, and on top of that they are usurpers of the Ummah's authority and agents of its enemies.

With regard to the fact that "Shariah rulings are taken by speculation “dhann”, then this is not true, for rulings are taken with most likely probability (ghalabat Al-dhann) if their vidence is speculative “dhanni” in its transmission (athuboot) or in its evidence (ad-dalala), and the Usool scholars have distinguished between ghalabat Al-dhann in understanding the evidence and the ghalabat Al-dhann in analysis of the underlying reality (tahqiq al-manat) of the shari’ rulings, so in a town where no single infection with the Coronavirus has been recorded, where is ghalabat Al-dhann that permits the closure of mosques and the disruption of Friday prayer?!!!

As for "ward off harms (mafasid) is preferred to procurement of benefit (masalih)" and "preservation of bodies is outweighed over the preservation of religions", this was mentioned by some scholars within the discussion of the objectives (maqasid) of the Shariah in the sense of what is expected and achieved from the application of Islam, and within the evidence and controls, but they did not say that they are detailed evidence of the Shariah rulings. And you know that the Shariah ruling is taken from the detailed evidence that it indicates, and the detailed evidence is taken from the comprehensive evidences that are considered by Shar’a which are the Book, the Sunnah, Ijma’ (consensus) of the Sahabah and Shari’ Qiyas (analogical deduction). And if the preservation of bodies is outweighed over the preservation of religions at all, this would invalidate the verses of jihad in the way of Allah, and the evidences for enjoining good and forbidding the evil, and oppose the saying of Rasulullah (saw): «سَيِّدُ الشُّهَدَاءِ حَمْزَةُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْمُطَّلِبِ، وَرَجُلٌ قَالَ إِلَى إِمَامٍ جَائِرٍ فَأَمَرَهُ وَنَهَاهُ فَقَتَلَهُ»“The master of the Martyrs is Hamzah bin Abdul Muttalib, and a man who stood to an oppressor ruler where he ordered him and forbade him and so he (the ruler) killed him”. (Narrated by Al-Hakim in Al-Mustadrak and its chain of transmission is authentic). Therefore, the scholars differed on this purpose (Maqsad), and some of them said: “The preservation of religions is outweighed over the preservation of bodies.” Likewise, in order warding off harms and accruing benefits, even though we have an opinion in it that we mentioned in detail in our book on the science of Usool al-Fiqh (Fundamentals of Jurisprudence), The Islamic Personality Volume III, page 372, this rule was not mentioned by sincere scholars abstract without conditions, and the most important thing they have referred to is that if there is a conflict between the evidences and it was not possible to use both of them together, then the evidence for the prohibition is outweighed over the evidence indicating permissibility or obligation. So, by Allah, where are the conflicting evidences? What is the conflict that prevents the Friday prayer, which is Fard Ain (individual obligation), in a town where no single infection with the Coronavirus has been recorded?!

As for their saying: “The rulings change with the change of time and place.” The practical translation of this is that the rulings change with the change of the whims of the rulers, and what confirms that their fatwa changes with the change of the whims of the rulers is what happens in confirming breaking the fast or fasting, as the Palestinian and Jordanian Dar Al-Fatwa, the Research Authority in Al-Azhar, the Association of Palestine Scholars and Islamic Fiqh Academy, they all settled on the opinion of Wihdat Al-Matali’ (single sighting) in fasting and breaking the fast, and they said: The opinion that says the Ikhtilaaf Al-Matali' (multiple sightings), is unlikely, so what happened to them last year to give up their fatwa?! Do they not know that fasting on the day of Eid is forbidden and brings Allah’s wrath?! The strange thing is that they know the conditions mentioned by the scholars regarding multiple sightings, as they stipulated that the districts should not share part of the night, but countries sharing part of the night have one sighting, that is, they did not take the Shari’ ruling that they had given, but rather they followed the whims of the criminal rulers who consolidate the division between Muslims.And the fatwa to close mosques and prohibit the Friday prayer, we see it only as following the whims of the misguided rulers, a fatwa that was not based on a correct basis in understanding and inference.

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

Do your faces not get angry for Allah when you hear the mu'adhdhin calling "pray in your homes" and people are crowded in the markets?! Do your faces not get angry for Allah as you see the houses of Allah closed while the banks of Riba have their doors wide open?!!

Does it not hurt you the actions of the criminal security services of chasing and arresting those who perform the congregational prayer, even if they are a few individuals, but they and their folks gather and assemble on more than one occasion and meeting, and then lean in their crime on the fatwa given by those who permit the closure of mosques, does this please you?!

The fatwa needs to be sincere with Allah first and make efforts in analyzing the underlying reality (tahqiq al-manat) and analyzing evidence and inferring it away from the passions and interests. So, fear Allah in yourselves and beware of these criminal rulers and recall fear from Allah Almighty at every fatwa you pronounce or write with your hands, recall the words of Allah the Almighty:

﴿وَإِذْ يَتَحَاجُّونَ فِي النَّارِ فَيَقُولُ الضُّعَفَاءُ لِلَّذِينَ اسْتَكْبَرُوا إِنَّا كُنَّا لَكُمْ تَبَعاً فَهَلْ أَنْتُمْ مُغْنُونَ عَنَّا نَصِيباً مِنَ النَّارِ * قَالَ الَّذِينَ اسْتَكْبَرُوا إِنَّا كُلٌّ فِيهَا إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ حَكَمَ بَيْنَ الْعِبَادِ﴾

“And [mention] when they will argue within the Fire, and the weak will say to those who had been arrogant, "Indeed, we were [only] your followers, so will you relieve us of a share of the Fire?" * Those who had been arrogant will say, "Indeed, all [of us] are in it. Indeed, Allah has judged between the servants."” [Ghafir: 47-48].

And His Almighty saying:

﴿إِذْ تَبَرَّأَ الَّذِينَ اتُّبِعُوا مِنَ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوا وَرَأَوُا الْعَذَابَ وَتَقَطَّعَتْ بِهِمُ الْأَسْبَابُ * وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوا لَوْ أَنَّ لَنَا كَرَّةً فَنَتَبَرَّأَ مِنْهُمْ كَمَا تَبَرَّءُوا مِنَّا كَذَلِكَ يُرِيهِمُ اللَّهُ أَعْمَالَهُمْ حَسَرَاتٍ عَلَيْهِمْ وَمَا هُمْ بِخَارِجِينَ مِنَ النَّارِ﴾

“[And they should consider that] when those who have been followed disassociate themselves from those who followed [them], and they [all] see the punishment, and cut off from them are the ties [of relationship] * Those who followed will say, "If only we had another turn [at worldly life] so we could disassociate ourselves from them as they have disassociated themselves from us." Thus will Allah show them their deeds as regrets upon them. And they are never to emerge from the Fire.” [Al-Baqara: 166-167].

Recall these verses of Allah, and be truthful to Allah and do your best to seek out the truth. After this, if you are right, you will have two rewards, and if you have erred, you will have one reward, so you will be good and rewarded for what you were right in and for what you have erred. But if you neglect the command of Allah and follow the unjust in their oppression, we ask Allah to guide you before you return to Him with this great sin.

In conclusion:

Mosques have a great status in Islam and are more important than markets and shops, and because criminal rulers do not value the rulings of Allah, and the rulings of Sharia are not a priority in their lives and their thinking, they followed the steps of the enemies of Islam in dealing with this pandemic, and their thinking was focused on the economic aspect, fearing that their thrones would fall, and you saw how they wanted to use this atmosphere to pass an amendment to a retirement law that would serve a handful of mercenaries from ministers and who are at minister-level.

These rulers will not be blessed by Allah with good as long as they persist in their injustice immorality and their subordination to the enemies of Islam ﴾ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ﴿ “Indeed, Allah guides not the wrongdoing people.” [Al-Ma’ida: 51],﴾ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْفَاسِقِينَ﴿“Allah does not guide the defiantly disobedient people.” [Al-Munafiqun: 6],﴾ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِي كَيْدَ الْخَائِنِين﴿“and that Allah does not guide the plan of betrayers.” [Yusuf: 52].

And they will continue to mess up aimlessly, such as the one who is being beaten by Satan into insanity until Allah Almighty gives His victory. We think you will realize and follow what the world is now preparing to receive; Islam and the Khilafah (Caliphate), which will be a mercy for all people and a glory for the believers, it is the Khilafah Rashidah (rightly guided Caliphate) on the method of the Prophethood, Allah’s promise and the glad tiding of His messenger. So, fear Allah Almighty and make your contribution in establishing it and calling for it to be among the winners.

 Looking carefully at the verses of Allah, we find that the maintenance of Allah’s houses is linked to fearing Allah alone, so reflect upon the words of Allah

﴿إِنَّمَا يَعْمُرُ مَسَاجِدَ اللَّهِ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَأَقَامَ الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَى الزَّكَاةَ وَلَمْ يَخْشَ إِلَّا اللَّهَ فَعَسَى أُولَئِكَ أَنْ يَكُونُوا مِنَ الْمُهْتَدِينَ﴾

“The mosques of Allah are only to be maintained by those who believe in Allah and the Last Day and establish prayer and give zakah and do not fear except Allah, for it is expected that those will be of the [rightly] guided.” [At-Tawba: 18[.

By reflecting on the saying of Allah (swt) in Surat An-Nur, we stand on a great meaning related to the glorification of the houses of Allah:

﴿فِي بُيُوتٍ أَذِنَ اللَّهُ أَنْ تُرْفَعَ وَيُذْكَرَ فِيهَا اسْمُهُ يُسَبِّحُ لَهُ فِيهَا بِالْغُدُوِّ وَالْآصَالِ*رِجَالٌ لَا تُلْهِيهِمْ تِجَارَةٌ وَلَا بَيْعٌ عَنْ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَإِقَامِ الصَّلَاةِ وَإِيتَاءِ الزَّكَاةِ يَخَافُونَ يَوْماً تَتَقَلَّبُ فِيهِ الْقُلُوبُ وَالْأَبْصَارُ * لِيَجْزِيَهُمُ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنَ مَا عَمِلُوا وَيَزِيدَهُمْ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ وَاللَّهُ يَرْزُقُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ﴾

“[Such niches are] in mosques which Allah has ordered to be raised and that His name be mentioned therein; exalting Him within them in the morning and the evenings. * Are] men whom neither commerce nor sale distracts from the remembrance of Allah and performance of prayer and giving of zakah. They fear a Day in which the hearts and eyes will [fearfully] turn about - * That Allah may reward them [according to] the best of what they did and increase them from His bounty. And Allah gives provision to whom He wills without account.” [An-Nur: 36-38]

And if you reflect on the previous verses with His (swt) saying:

﴿وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنْ مَنَعَ مَسَاجِدَ اللَّهِ أَنْ يُذْكَرَ فِيهَا اسْمُهُ وَسَعَى فِي خَرَابِهَا أُولَئِكَ مَا كَانَ لَهُمْ أَنْ يَدْخُلُوهَا إِلَّا خَائِفِينَ لَهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا خِزْيٌ وَلَهُمْ فِي الْآخِرَةِ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ﴾

“And who are more unjust than those who prevent the name of Allah from being mentioned in His mosques and strive toward their destruction. It is not for them to enter them except in fear. For them in this world is disgrace, and they will have in the Hereafter a great punishment.” [Al-Baqara: 114].

We say that if you reflect on these verses together, you would have known that closing the houses of Allah is one of the greatest injustices and repelling for Allah’s path. And those who dare this grave sin have disgrace in the world and a great punishment in the Hereafter, and we give tidings to all those who participated and contributed to the closure of Allah's houses, a disgrace in the world and a great punishment in the Hereafter, except for those who repent and correct themselves and make evident what they concealed.