The Albaani Site

Questioner: Some brothers who ascribe to the Book and the Sunnah think that after the most recent events [i.e., the Gulf war] there is an opportunity to establish an Islamic country, not as a way of helping the ruler of Kuwait, but rather to establish an Islamic state in Kuwait, and these are brothers who have a good reputation [lit.: ‘are thought well of’] who are saying this.

So is it allowed then to fight the Iraqis to expel them from Kuwait to establish an Islamic country on the methodology of the Salaf aṣ-Ṣāliḥ? Is this allowed? Is such a thing allowed for them to do?

Al-Albaani: We’re still living in a dream world. Are they prepared?

Questioner: I don’t know.

Al-Albaani: You don’t know? Allaahul-Mustaʾān.

Yā akhī, have they thought of this just now or before, that’s one question. Secondly, did they have the ability to do this before but didn’t and now they are able to and want to?

Questioner: They are even less able now, Allaah knows best.

Al-Albaani: So how are these people thinking like this? Allāhul-Mustaʿān yā akhī!

Yā akhī, such strange times. I mentioned to some of our brothers that in some ḥadīths it says that during the times of trials and tribulations [fitan] there will be people with no intellect or whose intellect is like dust who think or most of whom think that they have something to stand on but they don’t.

And who am I referring to by this? I’m referring to people like us, practicing people, as for non-practicing ones then what can you say, like that Syrian proverb says, “The rod repels them and gathers them together too.” [i.e., it’s easy
to get them to come together or to divide them.]

[I’m saying that it refers to] people like us practicing according to the Sharīʿah, firstly, because we are not able to deal with issues in light of the Book and the Sunnah due to our ignorance of them and, secondly, due to how unaware we are of current affairs, [due to all this] emotions overtake us and make us lean towards these lot one time and those lot another time.

So these people you pointed out, yā akhī, where were they before? They were living in a country which has them by their throats, they can’t go left or right, what’s changed now for them to think that they can set up an Islamic country?

The Amīr of Kuwait is paying billions as we read on the news and in the papers in order to get his throne or kingdom back, what do you think will happen when he hears that there is a group of emerging youth keen on Islaam who want to establish an Islamic country in place of the country of these princes—they will be the first to fight against them, not just the Americans and the Brits and the Iraqis, all the Arab nations will be against them.

Wallaahi, I find it strange how people think! This band of people, this small clique, when they openly announce it, all of the Muslim and non-Muslim countries will be against them. How do they think they will establish an Islamic state?

This is all because they don’t know the guidance of the Prophet in establishing a state, guidance which we can summarise in two words: purification and cultivation, purification and cultivation [at-Taṣfiyah wat-Tarbiyah, a topic the Shaikh has covered extensively in his works].

And lastly, “O believers! You are accountable only for yourselves. It will not harm you if someone chooses to deviate—as long as you are ˹rightly˺ guided.” [Māʾidah:105]

So we ask Allaah the Majestic and Most High to protect us from evil trials, both open and hidden.
Al-Hudā was-Nūr, 452.