Father or mother, we have none. Our cries are deafening, but there steps forward no saviour. In the dark we wander alone, awaiting the dawn which does not come. For we are orphans, at the mercy of marauding predators picking us off in the night one by one.
Such is the dismal state of the Muslim Ummah today, more than eighty years after its guardian figure, the Khaleefah, was dismissed and the institution which he presided over, the Islamic state or Khilafat, dissolved in 1924.
Thus was the Muslim world torn apart and fragmented. From Palestine to Kashmir and from Somalia to Chechnya, the Ummah was left directionless and at the mercy of outside powers resulting in decades of persecution and pillaging.
Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم said whilst doing tawwaf around the Ka'aba: "How sweet are you and how sweet is your scent. How great are you and how great is your sanctity. By the one in Whose Hand is Muhammad's soul, the sanctity of a believer is greater with Allah than your sanctity." [Ibn Maja].
With the countless and continuous bloodshed across the Muslim lands - Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen etc - indeed from Allah's سبحانه وتعالى perspective the Ka'aba's sanctity is being violated day after day, second after second, again and again, without abate.
When will this all stop? Who will halt this madness? Well Islam tells us who - the Imam or Khaleefah.
Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم said: "Only the Imam is a shield, behind whom you fight and you protect yourself with, so if he orders by taqwa and is just then he has reward for that, and if he orders by other than that then it is against himself." [Muslim].
Today our current leaders in the Muslim world miserably fail to meet these criteria, since they do not represent the people nor do they represent Islam, but only serve their own interests by ruling by their whims and desires.
It is only the Imam, or Khaleefah, that will mobilise the Muslim armies to defend the Ummah against external threats, to avenge atrocities and to protect the honour of our sisters the like of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, who at this very moment lies interned in the dungeons of the US for crimes that she did not even commit, experiencing horrendous torture and dishonour in the course.
It is further the Khaleefah that also protects the Muslims from within by implementing the Shari'ah amongst the people - Allah's سبحانه وتعالى legal order that structures society in a just and oppression free manner, ensuring that the strong do not exploit the weak and that those in power do not run amok.
We have witnessed such a reality before. It was finally in Medina after years of struggle and after approaching countless tribes, that at long last the tribes of Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj gave Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم what he so eagerly sought - the Nusrah or pledge of authority. This then allowed the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم to migrate from Mecca to Medina and establish the first Islamic state and in doing so become its first head of state, thus implementing Islam in totality. In doing so these tribes of Medina, Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj, who previously were at one another's throats having fought countless bitter wars leaving many dead, now had the opportunity to put their society in order and end this mayhem that had gripped their people across generations.
Today the sincere of the Ummah have worked day and night for decades in the Arab world to re-establish the Khilafat on the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم, but to no avail. As in the case of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم, where he struggled for a long time in Mecca, the Nusrah finally came from elsewhere in Medina where it was not at first expected. Can we witness the same again? Can Pakistan be the Medina of today? And will it be a Colonel, Brigadier or General in the Pakistan army that will be the Sa'ad ibn Mu'adh (ra) of today that will pledge the authority?
Sa'ad ibn Mu'adh's (ra) role in establishing the first Islamic state was pivotal since it was he, as the head of the Al-Aws tribe in Medina, that gave Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم the Nusrah and further in subsequent wars against the disbelievers, Sa'ad (ra) stood firmly by the side of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم with his support. Such was the immense status given to Sa'ad (ra) as a result, that on his death the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said to his weeping mother: "Your tears would recede and your sorrow be lessened if you knew that your son is the first person for whom Allah سبحانه وتعالى smiled and the Heavens trembled." [At-Tabarani].
As the Muslims carried the body of Sa'ad (ra) after the janazah they said: "We have not carried a dead body lighter than this." Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم in response replied: "Nothing made his body lighter, but it was such and such number of angels who descended and carried him along with you. Those angels had never before descended." [Tabaqat ibn Sa'ad]
Indeed then this noble and vital aim of re-establishing the Khilafat needs to be fulfilled without any further delay. So as this work intensifies and reaches a climax, who in Pakistan will step forward and give Nusrah to the next Khaleefah? Which blessed Pakistan army officer will bring forth the shield?
