The Superiority of Islam and the Myth of Western Civilization

"You who believe! If anyone turns away from this Deen, then Allah will replace that person with many whom He loves, who love Him - those who are loyal to the Believers, stern toward the kuffar, who fight in the Way of Allah, and who do not heed the criticism of their critics. For this is the honour that He bestows upon whomsoever He wills - for Allah is The All-Knowing, The Infinite One.

In truth, your champions are Allah, His Messenger, and the Believers - those who undertake As-Salat, who give Zakat and who submit [in loyalty to Allah]. For whomsoever has Allah, His Messenger, and Believers as their Champion, are the ones who will achieve victory." 5: 54-56 Interpretation of Meaning

One of the lies which the kuffar believe in and which they repeat in the hope of getting Muslims to imitate the ways of the West is the lie that the West - what the kuffar call "Western civilization" - is more advanced, more "progressive", more "enlightened", more powerful, and more prosperous, than the Muslims.

The Arrogance of the Kuffar and the Superiority of Islam:

The kuffar not only view and interpret Islam through their own fallible, kaffir, concepts, but they also demand that we Muslims do the same. Furthermore, the kuffar seem incapable of suspending their arrogant belief that their concepts, their ideas, are what they call "universal".

Thus, the kuffar write and talk about "peace", "progress", "enlightenment", "humanity", "human rights" and other such ideas and abstractions, and believe that everyone, everywhere should and must accept these ideas and abstractions, and then use them as their own standards of judgement, as the criteria to determine what is "good" and what is "bad".

Let us consider the following quote, typical of the beliefs, the arrogance, the intention, of the kuffar: "Islam is an ideology... injunctions to establish a Political System. That political system is a theocracy, it is based on ancient morality, and would reverse several centuries of western enlightenment and progress..."

This clearly shows the kuffar viewing, and judging, Islam by their fallible, abstract criteria. The kuffar say: "Islam is an ideology..." We say: Islam is a Deen, given to us by Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. It is a complete Way of Life, sufficient for us. An "ideology" is a Western concept, a kaffir abstraction, which abstraction they project onto the world, and people, and which they then believe they understand. The difference between Deen and ideology is fundamental and irreconcilable, although the kuffar, in their ignorance and arrogance, do not seem able to understand this.

The kuffar say: "their political system is a theocracy". We say: our system is obedience and loyalty to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and His Messenger (salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) - and loyalty to an Ameer, through bayah, who strives to implement the word of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala through Shariah and Jihad. "Politics" is a Western concept, as is theocracy. Yet again, the difference between the Western view, and the Muslim view, is fundamental, and irreconcilable, and yet again it seems the kuffar cannot understand this because they cannot see or think beyond their own concepts, their own abstractions and cannot comprehend that our way of thinking, our way of being, as Muslims, is different from theirs.

The kuffar say: "Our political system is that of democracy..." We say: our system is obedience and loyalty to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and His Messenger (salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) - and loyalty to an Ameer, through bayah.

The kuffar say: "Islam is based on an ancient morality..." We say: Islam is obedience and loyalty to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and His Messenger (salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) and we derive our morality, our manners, our very Way of living, from Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. Since this Way is a gift to us from Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala it is totally irrelevant how old, or "new", it is.

The kuffar say: "Islam would reverse several centuries of western enlightenment and progress..." We say: true knowledge lies in knowing and understanding the Signs of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, and enlightenment is in discovering our place in Creation; in finding the true perspective, the true meaning of life. We Muslims also say: "what is true progress?" And we would answer: moving toward the Eternal Life of Jannah, the attainment of which which we understand to be the true meaning of our life.

Such abstractions of the kuffar - their -isms, their -ologies, their -ists - are typical of the kaffir way of thinking, for such abstractions are Kufr: that is, they conceal the true nature of our life, of our existence, of our purpose. They divorce us from Tawheed - from that Unity which arises when we, knowing the Signs of Allah as Signs, humbly submit to what is beyond us, beyond our control, and beyond our power.

The kuffar conceal Tawheed; they distance themselves - often out of pride and arrogance - from their human nature. Their abstractions, their ideas, their concepts, are reductionist, and causal, so that rather than moving upward, toward the Unity, they lose awareness of the Unity, and so often follow their own hawaah, or some Taghut. In a simple but profound way, our acceptance of Tawheed - our submission, as Muslims - restores our fitrah, our true nature, as human beings. That is, we move upward, through Dihkr - through remembrance of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala - toward the Unity, and so feel, know and understand what is sacred: a feeling, a knowing, an understanding which is so noticeably absent in the West, and it is Dihkr, this feeling, this knowing, this understanding of the sacred, of the Divine, of the Signs of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, which makes us civilized, which is the essence of what being civilized means.

In contrast, the arrogant, reductionist, West, defines "civilized" as meaning having various material comforts; or technological machines; or vast cities with roads and various means of communication and travel; or some such material things. Or maybe even being able to indulge themselves and follow their hawaah or some Taghut. Allah Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says:

"Judge between them by what Allah has revealed: do not give in to your hawaah, and beware, for they will try to lead you astray, away from some of that which Allah has revealed. And if they turn away, there is the knowledge of their punishment by Allah for some transgression of theirs - and, indeed, there are many disobedient, rebellious ones [Fasiqun]. Do they seek to judge according to the ways of Jahiliyyah? The judgement of Allah is best - for those who sincerely believe." 5:49-50 Interpretation of Meaning

The Way of Al-Islam is the way of honour, manners, and order arising from Shariah, from rules fairly applied, and it is these things which, in truth, define what is civilized. Personal honour, and manners, mean and imply a certain self-restraint, and Muslims have a comprehensive guide to personal behaviour in such books as Bukhari's al-Adab al-Mufrad. Honour, and manners - just as much as law fairly implemented - require an awareness and acceptance of what is sacred: what is beyond us; what is far more powerful than us, and more wise than our own desires, our own ideas, our own feelings and our own limited, fallible, understanding.

"Honour is with, and from, Allah alone." 3: 139 Interpretation of Meaning

"Observe the limits which Allah has set." 9:112 Interpretation of Meaning

"Be loyal and do your duty to Allah; fear Him and always speak with honour. He will direct you to do honourable deeds..." 33:70 Interpretation of Meaning

To understand the practicality and civilized nature of Shariah, a good starting point is to understand qawa‘id al-kulliyyah al-fiqhiyyah - the basic principles contained in expressions or short phrases, as, for example, collected by early writers such as Abu al Hassan al-Karkhi (died c.340). An example of such an expression is Al-aslu bara’ah ad-dhimmah - "non-culpability is the (working) basis." That is, a person is not regarded as liable until evidence proves otherwise.

Many of these expressions are often derived form a particular Hadith, and the civilized, continuity of Shariah, is evident from Majallah el-Ahkam-i-Adilya - the Ottoman codification of Shariah based upon Hanafi fiqh which begins with these expressions. That is, there was - until the fall of the Ottoman Khilafah on Rajab1321 - an unbroken tradition, of Shariah, of well over a thousand years.

Thus we can understand the importance, for the Muslim, of the Sunnah - of the standard set by the Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) - which provides us not only with the best, the most civilized, guide to personal behaviour, but which is also one of the foundations of Shariah, and it is such a standard, and the judgments, examples and codifications of Shariah which span well over a thousand years, which provide us with a complete guide to civilized living and which identify the Way of Al-Islam as not only a civilized way of living but also as the most civilized way there has ever been. Compared to this, the kuffar are at best like squabbling, spoilt, children who follow their own desires, or some short-lived but trendy fashion, philosophy or idea, and, at worst, they are like arrogant, prideful, dishonourable, bullies who behave like barbarians and who believe, in their ignorance, that they know better than Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala.

"There is no believing servant [of Allah] who does not, from time to time, make a mistake, or who does not make some error which he repeats and does not abandon until he leaves this world. Indeed, the Believer was created as one who is frequently tried and tested, who often repents (then) forgets. When he is admonished he accepts the admonition." Reported by at-Tabaraanee in al-Mu'jamul Kabeer (no. 11,810); hasan.

Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says:

For the kuffar, nothing is sacred - whereas we Muslims, if we obey and humbly submit to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and His Messenger (salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) know and feel the sacred, everyday of our lives, and it is this fundamental difference between us which makes the ways of the West inferior to the Way of Al-Islam.

Poverty, "Backwardness" and the Superiority of Shariah:

One repeated refrain from the kuffar is: "Look how backward, how sunk in poverty, are the lands of the Muslims, and look how prosperous the West is..." We say: How has the West become prosperous? Through colonialism, exploitation, treachery, usury, and debt. Through inflicting suffering upon millions and millions of people, world-wide; through the slaughter of millions upon millions in two world-wide wars and centuries of colonial wars. In addition, we ask: "What is true wealth, true prosperity?" And we answer - achieving Jannah; Zuhd in Dunya, but they, in their ignorance, do not understand this, or refuse in their arrogance and pride, to understand this.

Narrated by Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri. The Prophet (salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said: "The thing that concerns me the most for your sake is the worldly reward which Allah can bring forth to you." It was asked, "What is the reward of this world?" The Prophet replied, "The pleasures of this world."

The kuffar focus on this life; on its comforts; its rewards; its pleasures. We concentrate on the next life and we say again "Your perspective, the way of Kufr, is not ours." Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says:

"That which you have is only transitory, but that which Allah has is enduring, timeless. And We shall reward the steadfast according to their noblest deeds." 16: 96 Interpretation of Meaning

Anas b. Malik reported: Jannah is surrounded by hardships but Hell-Fire is surrounded by temptations. (Muslim Book 40, Number 6778)

Furthermore, we say to the kuffar: "Where are the lands of the Muslims? How are they ruled now?" They are under the occupation of the kuffar, or they are ruled by apostates who are lackeys of the kuffar. We do not have - and have not had for nearly a century - a land of our own, ruled by an Ameer. We are a people without a land; without the Khilafah we need. So we say to you, the kuffar, that your comparisons, your bleating about your wealth, are in the end worthless, and meaningless.

The kuffar say: "Look at the barbaric punishments of the Shariah..." We say: Shariah is well over a thousand years old while your so-called laws are for the most part only decades old; at most a century or so. Shariah created communities of honourable and dignified people where true justice - the justice of human honour and sacred Allah-given law - prevailed: civilized communities and dignified people evident for example in Al-Andalus, to whence came many people, from the West, to learn. Do you, the kuffar, know how Mozart portrayed a Qadi? Do you know how your Frederick the so-called Great saught to emulate, in his portrait, a Muslim Ameer? But this was before your hatred and abuse of our beloved Prophet, Muhammad (salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam). This was before your arrogance began to turn you away from honour, dignity and humility, before you worshipped your Taghut of nation, and The State, and before your prejudice burst forth into open world-wide racism.

We say that Shariah is superior - we say this because it is effective; the punishments are a deterrent, and they work. They create an ordered, respectful, honourable - a truly civilized - community; that is, a Khilafah. What have the laws of the West achieved? A population of millions in prisons; a society of addicts; a society of robbery and burglary, of rape. A society of cheating husbands and wives; a society of cheating, lying, hypocritical politicians.

Let us compare any society, in the West, with the community established, under difficult circumstances and the in face of the economic sanctions of the kuffar, by the Taliban in Afghanistan. Applying Shariah, and striving to fulfil their duty and obligations to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala - and fearing only Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala - the Taliban created, from chaos, and in a short space of time, a fairly stable, secure, community. But the kuffar did not like this modern example of Shariah - for it was beginning to show what obedience and loyalty to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and His Messenger (salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) could do, just as it could InshaAllah have become a true Muslim land, a new Khilafah. So the kuffar began a propaganda campaign to discredit the Taliban while preparing to destroy their rule by military force. They found a dishonourable excuse for their invasion - but had they not found some excuse, they would have invented one, as they did more recently in relation to Iraq. As it was, the West acted like the bully it had become, demanding the Taliban obey them, and do what the kuffar wanted, and arrogantly assumed that the law of the kaffir took precedence over Shariah, over the law of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, arrogantly believing as the kuffar did that everyone, everywhere, had to bow down and accept the rule of the kuffar, could only be judged by the laws of the kuffar, and that only kaffir "justice" was true justice. We say: the only true justice is that of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala.

The Hypocrisy of the Kuffar:

The kuffar hypocritically preach what they call "tolerance" while at the same time demanding that we use their standards, their criteria, to judge Islam, and demanding that we abandon our rules, our ways, our unique perspective, our duty to establish a Khilafah, and if we insist on obeying Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and His Messenger (salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) and fight to regain our lands and establish a community where we can live according to Shariah only, with bayah to an Ameer, then the kuffar will invade our lands, imprison us for doing our duty of Jihad, torture us, humiliate us and try to "re-educate us" (that is, brainwash) us into imitating them and accepting their ways. They will not tolerate us establishing our own community, and will use propaganda, every lie, every means of deceit they can, all the military force they possess, to get their own way.

In effect, the kuffar are intent on changing Islam - on having us abandon our pure, simple, obedience and loyalty to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and His Messenger (salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam). They want us to imitate the kuffar and obey their idols, their Taghut. They want to replace our desire for Jannah, our standard, our love of the Prophet (salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) with their love of this world, with their dishonourable standards, with their mockery of the sacred.

What can we do? We can obey only Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and His Messenger (salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam). We can refuse to imitate the kuffar. We can reject Taghut. This means thinking like Muslims - rejecting the terms, the concepts, the abstractions, the perspective, of the kuffar. It means we believe in the superiority of our Deen. It means what Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala has said it means:

"We are rid of you and what you bow down before - and between you and us there will be hatred and fighting until you accept Allah and Allah alone." 6:4 Interpretation of Meaning

May Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) protect us from all forms of Al-asabiyyah Al-Jahiliyyah, forgive us for our mistakes, and guide us to and keep us on the Right Path.

Abdul-Aziz ibn Myatt
8 Rabi Awal 1427