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The Ummah in Conflict

Our Painful Condition and Promised Future
By the Imaam al-Albani Centre, Ammaan, Jordan
Note: All footnotes are from Salafi Publications
Indeed, the painful situation in which the Islamic Ummah lives today makes binding upon
it ­ both by way of intellect and transmission [from the Book and the Sunnah] that it
returns to its upright religion, with all its worth, esteem, creed and mannerisms, so that
the Ummah's strength and its honour can return to it.
As for the intellect, then many of the contemporary Muslims ­ both nation states and
parties ­ then they have experienced all of the worldly, secular principles, in all of their
forms, and different colours, yet they have not reaped from them except loss and nor has it
increased them except in destruction.
Whereas their Salaf, the very first ones ­ from the best of the generations ­ those who
responded to Allaah and His Messenger in truth, are the best of nations raised for
mankind, as Allaah the Most High said, "You [true believers in Islâmic Monotheism, and
real followers of Prophet Muhammad and his Sunnah (legal ways, etc.)] are the best of
peoples ever raised up for mankind; you enjoin Al-Ma'rûf (i.e. Islâmic Monotheism and all
that Islâm has ordained) and forbid Al-Munkar (polytheism, disbelief and all that Islâm
has forbidden), and you believe in Allâh. And had the people of the Scripture (Jews and
Christians) believed, it would have been better for them; among them are some who have
faith, but most of them are Al-Fâsiqûn (disobedient to Allâh - and rebellious against
Allâh's Command)." (Aali Imraan 3:110)
And as for transmission [by way of the Book and the Sunnah], then it is authentically
related from the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) that he said, "When you
deal in Eenah (a type of usurious transaction), and when you hold on to the tail of oxen
and become satisfied with agriculture and abandon striving for the sake of Allaah (jihad),
Allaah will inflict a humiliation upon you, and He will not remove it until you return to
your religion".
And all of this is occurring, and there is nothing to repel it...
And that which has been spoken of greatly in these days and which has been tied to
Islaam, falsely and with great injustice, for particular objectives that have already been
prepared, and for conceived ideas that have already been laid down, for the purpose of the
shaping of the world map in accordance with what they desire and crave1 ­ is the affair of
Terrorism, and what is connected to it of its precursors and what results from it of effects.

1 Which is the control of the world's energy resources. The Caspian sea and the south Russian states
have a 500 year supply of untapped reserves of oil and gas as well as other riches which have not
And this is after those incidents and occurrences, the aggressions and terrorist attacks of
New York and Washington in the United States of America, in which thousands of people
were sacrificed ­ who were from a variety of backgrounds (i.e nationalities).
And what makes the matter sensitively difficult ­ at the one and same time ­ is that the
Americans do not mention in that which they announced of those supporting terrorism ­
which have been counted previously - any group, or faction, or society or individual,
except when it is linked with Islaam!
So we say: O Allaah, amazing and strange! Are there not to be found in their own lands
and amongst their own societies, any terrorists? Are they not themselves ­ while they
exercise ­with such harshness ­ the policing of all the nations and societies - based upon
what they conceive of the meaning of terrorism ­ terrorists themselves?2

been exploited to create global markets. As will be indicated later on, the likes of this conquest, and
many others prior to this, in the recent history of the Muslim Ummah, have been prophesised by
the Messenger (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam), when he indicated that the nations of the earth will
soon descend upon the Muslims and divide their lands between them, just like a group of eaters
invite each other to take from the food.
2 "Like all Americans, on Tuesday, 9-11, I was shocked and horrified to watch the WTC Twin Towers
attacked by hijacked planes and collapse, resulting in the deaths of perhaps up to 10,000 innocent
people.
I had not been that shocked and horrified since January 16, 1991, when then President Bush
attacked Baghdad, and the rest of Iraq and began killing 200,000 people during that "war"
(slaughter). This includes the infamous "highway of death" in the last days of the slaughter when
U.S. pilots literally shot in the back retreating Iraqi civilians and soldiers. I continue to be horrified
by the sanctions on Iraq, which have resulted in the death of over 1,000,000 Iraqis, including over
500,000 children, about whom former Secretary of State Madeline Allbright has stated that their
deaths "are worth the cost".
Over the course of my life I have been shocked and horrified by a variety of U.S. governmental
actions, such as the U.S. sponsored coup against democracy in Guatemala in 1954 which resulted in
the deaths of over 120,000 Guatemalan peasants by U.S. installed dictatorships over the course of
four decades.
Last Tuesday's events reminded me of the horror I felt when the U.S. overthrew the governments of
the Dominican Republic in 1965 and helped to murder 3,000 people. And it reminded me of the
shock I felt in 1973, when the U.S. sponsored a coup in Chile against the democratic government of
Salvador Allende and helped to murder another 30,000 people, including U.S. citizens.
Last Tuesday's events reminded me of the shock and horror I felt in 1965 when the U.S. sponsored
a coup in Indonesia that resulted in the murder of over 800,000 people, and the subsequent
slaughter in 1975 of over 250,000 innocent people in East Timor by the Indonesian regime with the
direct complicity of President Ford and Secretary of State Henry Kissenger.
I was reminded of the shock and horror I felt during the U.S. sponsored terrorist contra war (the
World Court declared the U.S. government a war criminal in 1984 for the mining of the harbors)
against Nicaragua in the 1980s which resulted in the deaths of over 30,000 innocent people (or as
the U.S. government used to call them before the term "collateral damage" was invented--"soft
targets".
I was reminded of being horrified by the U. S. war against the people of El Salvador in the 1980s,
which resulted in the brutal deaths of over 80,000 people, or "soft targets".

I was reminded of the shock and horror I felt during the U.S. sponsored terror war against the
peoples of southern Africa (especially Angola) that began in the 1970's and continues to this day
and has resulted in the deaths and mutilations of over 1,000,000. I was reminded of the shock and
horror I felt as the U.S. invaded Panama over the Christmas season of 1989 and killed over 8,000 in
an attempt to capture George H. Bush's CIA partner, now turned enemy, Manual Noriega.
I was reminded of the horror I felt when I learned about how the Shah of Iran was installed in a
U.S. sponsored brutal coup that resulted in the deaths of over 70,000 Iranians from 1952-1979.
And the continuing shock as I learned that the Ayatollah Khomani, who overthrew the Shah in
1979, and who was the U.S. public enemy for decade of the 1980s, was also on the CIA payroll,
while he was in exile in Paris in the 1970s.
I was reminded of the shock and horror that I felt as I learned about how the U.S. has
"manufactured consent" since 1948 for its support of Israel, to the exclusion of virtually any rights
for the Palestinians in their native lands resulting in ever worsening day-to-day conditions for the
people of Palestine. I was shocked as I learned about the hundreds of towns and villages that were
literally wiped off the face of the earth in the early days of Israeli colonization. I was horrified in
1982 as the villagers of Sabra and Shatila were massacred by Israeli allies with direct Israeli
complicity and direction. The untold thousands who died on that day match the scene of horror
that we saw last Tuesday. But those scenes were not repeated over and over again on the national
media to inflame the American public.
The events and images of last Tuesday have been appropriately compared to the horrific events and
images of Lebanon in the 1980s with resulted in the deaths of tens of thousand of people, with no
reference to the fact that the country that inflicted the terror on Lebanon was Israel, with U.S.
backing. I still continue to be shocked at how mainstream commentators refer to "Israeli settlers" in
the "occupied territories" with no sense of irony as they report on who are the aggressors in the
region.
Of course, the largest and most shocking war crime of the second half of the 20th century was the
U.S. assault on Indochina from 1954-1975, especially Vietnam, where over 4,000,000 people were
bombed, napalmed, crushed, shot and individually "hands on" murdered in the "Phoenix Program"
(this is where Oliver North got his start). Many U.S. Vietnam veterans were also victimized by this
war and had the best of intentions, but the policy makers themselves knew the criminality of their
actions and policies as revealed in their own words in "The Pentagon Papers," released by Daniel
Ellsberg of the RAND Corporation.
In 1974 Ellsberg noted that our Presidents from Truman to Nixon continually lied to the U.S. public
about the purpose and conduct of the war. He has stated that, "It is a tribute to the American people
that our leaders perceived that they had to lie to us, it is not a tribute to us that we were so easily
misled."
I was continually shocked and horrified as the U.S. attacked and bombed with impunity the nation
of Libya in the 1980s, including killing the infant daughter of Khadafi. I was shocked as the U.S.
bombed and invaded Grenada in 1983. I was horrified by U.S. military and CIA actions in Somalia,
Haiti, Afghanistan, Sudan, Brazil, Argentina, and Yugoslavia. The deaths in these actions ran into
the hundreds of thousands.
The above list is by no means complete or comprehensive. It is merely a list that is easily accessible
and not unknown, especially to the economic and intellectual elites. It has just been conveniently
eliminated from the public discourse and public consciousness. And for the most part, the analysis
that the U.S. actions have resulted in the deaths of primarily civilians (over 90%) is not unknown to
these elites and policy makers. A conservative number for those who have been killed by U.S. terror
and military action since World War II is 8,000,000 people. Repeat--8,000,000 people. This does
not include the wounded, the imprisoned, the displaced, the refugees, etc..."
From the article, "Shocked and Horrified", by Larry Mosqueda, Ph.D. The Evergreen State College
September 15, 2001.
So built upon this, this situation and what is connected to it, then its ruling has not been
neglected by the Islamic legislation and nor has it neglected its explanation.
So we say:
Firstly, the Muslims do not rejoice with brutal death and nor with blind (senseless) killing.
And the Allaamah and Faqeeh, Izz bin Abd is-Salaam (d. 660H) ­ may Allaah have mercy
upon him - said in his book "Qawaa'id ul-Ahkaam" (p.397), "If a person's enemy was killed
unjustly and oppressively, and then that person's death pleased him and he rejoiced with
it, is that happiness considered to be disobedience to Allaah or not?! I say: If he rejoiced
while Allaah was disobeyed in that person's killing then an it is an evil rejoicing. And if he
rejoiced because he was freed from that person's evil and that the people were freed from
his oppression and injustice, and did not rejoice in the disobedience to Allaah embodied in
the killing of that person, then there is no harm in that, due to the difference in the two
causes behind the rejoicing".3
Thus, our great Islaam severely forbids the likes of this blind murder, in which there is no
differentiation between a Muslim and a non-Muslim, male or female, the old or the young,
the one who is at peace and the one who is at war ­ regardless of whether it is called
terrorism or it is not called terrorism!! For our Noble Messenger (sallallaahu alaihi
wasallam) advised his pious soldiers ­ while they are moving out to the fields of Jihaad, in
order to remove the people from the darknesses [of polytheism, and the worship of men by
men] to the light [of monotheism and worship of none but the Lord of all men] ­ that they
should not kill any child, or woman, or the elderly, or an ascetic devoted in his worship,
and that they should not cut down any tree... and it is precisely upon this that the Rightly
Guided Caliphs traversed, and similarly whoever guided themselves by their conduct from
amongst the righteous kings after them.
And this forbiddance is emphasised further when there is an agreement or promise of
security with the non-Muslims. For that makes most types of deception and treachery, and
the paths that lead to the negation of the agreement, and the violation of the trust even
more severely prohibited upon any Muslim.
And then this forbiddance is strengthened even further when there results from the likes
of these activities, and those handiworks that are in opposition to and which contradict the
Sharee'ah texts, such as the saying of Allaah, the Most High, "And do not kill yourselves
(nor kill one another). Surely, Allâh is Most Merciful to you." (Nisaa 4:29)
And in light of what has preceded, tying the likes of these actions of enmity which actually
oppose Islaam, to Islaam, and associating them with it, is a form of blatant fabrication and

3 In other words, it is considered disobedience and sin to rejoice merely on account of the unjust
killing of one's enemy. As for rejoicing from the point of view that one has no longer to suffer the
hurt and harm caused by that enemy, and hence is relieved, then that is not considered to be sin,
but to be something quite natural.
great slander, and is opposed to soundness of intellect, and upright constitution, and is
but making mockery of humankind, and its balanced intellects...!
And there is not within Islaam ­ and all praise is due to Allaah ­ certain men of the
religion who constitute a proof over the legislation itself, rather the legislation (Sharee'ah)
is actually a proof over everybody. There actions are to be weighed and compared by it. So
Allaah, the Most High, says, "(And) if you differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it to
Allâh and His Messenger, if you believe in Allâh and in the Last Day. That is better and
more suitable for final determination." (Nisaa 4:59).
Hence, the one who opposes Islaam, even if he is from the people of Islaam, then his
opposition to Islaam, is not to be ascribed to Islaam, neither in any small matter and nor
in any great matter...
Therefore what has been mentioned by some of the news agencies, and what has been
transmitted by some of the national and local newspapers in that the one to whom these
terrorist activities have been ascribed is from amongst the Salafi Muslims4 (i.e. orthodox
Muslims who follow the pure Islam as it was revealed), are false words based upon what
has been discussed previously.
That was the first point.
Then secondly: The true way of Salafiyyah, and those Salafis who are truthful and fulfil the
requirements of their creed and methodology, are free of these activities like the freedom
of the lion from the blood of the son of Jacob ­ and this is what reveals that the author of
this mighty lie is an ignorant journalist, and a defunct writer, who does not know what
comes out of his nut, rather he does not know what is Salafiyyah neither from close-by and
nor from far-away, neither in something small pertaining to it and nor from something
great from it. For Salafiyyah is the true Islaam, and knowledge-based methodology, which
is involved in inviting (to Islaam), which is tied with the orthodox and upright scholars of
Islaam, the great and senior ones amongst them, and it is built upon the Book and the
Sunnah with the understanding of the Righteous Predecessors (the early generations of
Islaam). The callers to this way do not gather with any activist organisations, and nor any
partisan groups include them, rather their loyalty and disownment is based purely upon
the legislation and its rulings ­ and they co-operate upon righteous and Piety, holding on
to the rope of Allaah in all of that, mutually advising each other with the truth. Hence they
do not fight under the flag of blindness and nor of the days of ignorance (i.e. of
partisanship) and nor do they shed blood which is unlawful, rather they are the most
merciful of people to the creation, and the ones who follow the truth the most...

4 And the reality is that the one to whom these attacks have been ascribed ­ even though we believe
he was not behind them, (but nevertheless encourages and enjoins the likes of these attacks) ­ has
actually been nurtured upon the Qutubi School of Thought, which is as far from Salafiyyah as is the
East from the West. Hence, what has been opined by some journalists from the New York Times
and others that the roots of Islamic terror lie in Salafiyyah are far from the truth. Refer to our
forthcoming commentary on the article in the New York Times, "The Deep Intellectual Roots of
Islamic Terror", of October 13th 2001, by Robert Worth.
And what is also necessary to mention at this point ­ with the view of actualising the
brotherhood of Islaam is that "a Muslim is the brother of another Muslim, he does not
oppress him, and nor does he belittle him, and nor does he give him up", as has been said
by him (alaihis-salaatu was-salaam). And in another hadeeth from him (sallallaahu alaihi
wasallam) he said, "Help you brother when he is an oppressor or when he is oppressed",
and in the very same hadeeth is the explanation that helping him when he is the oppressor
is preventing him from his oppression.
As for assisting the non-Muslims against the Muslims ­ even if it is by way of mere words
­ and using public announcements, so that they may become stronger over them, and that
they may increase in numbers against them, then this is from the unlawful matters, and it
is an avenue that leads to the great sins, for "...the believing men and women are friends
one to another..." as has been said by the Lord of the Worlds, free is he from
imperfections, the Most High.
And what is also connected to this and what leads to this, both in knowledge and action, is
the saying of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) "A Muslim is not to be killed by a
non-Muslim", due to the nobility of the Muslim in the sight of his Lord, and the position
held by him with his Master. Just as the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) said, "That
the world comes to an end is less significant to Allaah than the killing of a single Muslim".
And as was said by the Noble Companion, Abdullaah bin Umar (radiallaahu anhu), "That
the Ka'bah is dismantled stone by stone, is less significant to Allaah than the killing of a
Muslim".
So how will it be when the current situation is actually greater and more severe? When the
(military and physical) capabilities of the bulk of the nations of the world ­ in terms of
soldiers, Muslims and non-Muslim, and weapons have all been gathered together in order
to actualise certain goals and objectives of those who do not consider the (interests of
welfare of) the Muslims...
And the guidelines of the Qur'aan concerning this particular topic are very strong indeed,
and very clear and explicit:
O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians as Auliyâ' (friends, protectors,
helpers, etc.), they are but Auliyâ' to one another. And if any amongst you takes them as
Auliyâ', then surely he is one of them. Verily, Allâh guides not those people who are the
Zâlimûn (polytheists and wrong-doers and unjust). And you see those in whose hearts
there is a disease (of hypocrisy), they hurry to their friendship, saying: "We fear lest some
misfortune of a disaster may befall us." Perhaps Allâh may bring a victory or a decision
according to His Will. Then they will become regretful for what they have been keeping as
a secret in themselves. And those who believe will say: "Are these the men (hypocrites)
who swore their strongest oaths by Allâh that they were with you (Muslims)?" All that they
did has been in vain (because of their hypocrisy), and they have become the losers. O you
who believe! Whoever from among you turns back from his religion (Islâm), Allâh will
bring a people whom He will love and they will love Him; humble towards the believers,
stern towards the disbelievers, fighting in the Way of Allâh, and never afraid of the blame
of the blamers. That is the Grace of Allâh which He bestows on whom He wills. And Allâh
is All-Sufficient for His creatures' needs, All-Knower. Verily, your Walî (Protector or
Helper) is Allâh, His Messenger, and the believers, - those who perform As-Salât (Iqâmat-
as-Salât), and give Zakât, and they bow down (submit themselves with obedience to Allâh
in prayer). And whosoever takes Allâh, His Messenger, and those who have believed, as
Protectors, then the party of Allâh will be the victorious. O you who believe! Take not for
Auliyâ' (protectors and helpers) those who take your religion for a mockery and fun from
among those who received the Scripture (Jews and Christians) before you, nor from
among the disbelievers; and fear Allâh if you indeed are true believers. (Ma'idah 5:51-57)
Hence, it is obligatory upon all of the Muslims to beware of the plots and plans of the non-
Muslims and their machinations and intrigues, and that they should adopt the matters
which cause assistance from Allaah, such as holding fast to the rope of Allaah, upon the
word of Tawheed, and the Manhaj of the Sunnah, and the absence of division into sects
and parties, just as Allaah, the Most High said, "And be not of Al-Mushrikûn (the
disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah, polytheists, idolaters, etc.).Of those who split up their
religion (i.e. who left the true Islâmic Monotheism), and became sects, [i.e. they invented
new things in the religion (Bid'ah), and followed their vain desires], each sect rejoicing in
that which is with it." (Rum 30:31-32)
And amongst the causes of weakness and the enemies overpowering us, is differing and
dissenting, and being far from the legislation of Allaah and referring to it and
implementing it, and from ordering the good and forbidding the evil, and the absence of
striving against the enemies of Allaah, the occupiers of the lands of the Muslims and their
sanctities ­ as well as being attached to the world, and hating death ­ all of which makes
to inherit weakness and leads to becoming scum. As has been said by our Prophet
(sallallaahu alaihi wasallam), "The nations are about to invite each other upon you, just as
a group of people invite each other for food". It was said, "O Messenger of Allaah! Will we
be few in number on that day?" He said, "No, however you will be scum like the scum on
the river. Weakness will be placed into your hearts and the fear of you in the hearts of your
enemies will be removed, due to your loving this world and hating of death".
And Allaah, the free from all imperfections says, "Say: It (the calamity) is from your
ownselves".
And it is also known that evil does not bring about except evil and forced control does not
bring about except that which is more bitter and more calamitous, hence whatever the
United States of America exercises of continues, unrestricted propping up of the Brethren
of Apes and Pigs, the occupiers of our land of Palestine and the precious Aqsaa, the place
of ascent of our Trustworthy Messenger (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam), and what follows on
from that of the total disregard of the affairs of the Muslims, and a great prejudice against
their rights, then all of this makes the US reap the fruits of its own actions, and whoever
sows a bitter seed, will reap a bitter fruit.5

5 This is a hint at the re-evaluation of American foreign policy, which is actually behind much of the
anger and frustration coming from the Muslim lands.
Hence, it is obligatory upon the America and its factions (i.e. allies etc.) to have a firm
binding resolution, in closing the likes of these doors, and in cutting off the likes of these
causes ­ to refer back to its internal and external policies, and to reflect carefully and
deeply upon the ways and judgements that it has adopted ­ rather than gathering all and
sundry for the conquest of a weak and impoverished Islamic land (Afghanistan).
Hence, it the obligation necessitates (upon everyone) to be exact and controlled over
themselves, to be precise in their perception, and to ponder over the end results and
outcomes, before being hasty in ones actions!
And there is nothing in front of Muslims today ­ alongside their weakness, and their clear
and open weakness in the face of their enemies ­ except to increase their relationship with
Allaah the Most High ­ in terms of Istiqaamah (uprightness upon the religion) and in
terms of adhering to it, and that they resort to abundant remembrance and supplication to
the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth, and that they strive against their own souls in
order to remain firm upon the religion of Islaam, and to make patience and inculcating
and enduring patience to be their provision, (as Allaah says), "And if your show patience
and have piety, then their plots will not harm you in the least. Verily Allaah is well aware
and encompasses of what they do".
And Allaah says the truth and He guides to the path...And our final call is that all praise is
to Allaah, Lord of all the Worlds
From SP