A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The Khwarij school rested on the equation of hakimiyyah , sovereignty, with sulthan , power, as what yields siyadah , dominion, quite resembling that of modern political thought — that is, a concept of absolute authority.  However, authority yields dominion only in particular times and places.  Certain contemporary Islamist groups have approximated this view, relying for instance on what they understood of the teachings of Sayyid Abu al-A‘ala al-Mawdudi, or the later works of Sayyid Quthb Ibrahim Husayn.   Sayyidina ‘Ali ibn Abu Thalib ( k.w. ) was among the first to stridently resist this approach.  Responding to the Kharijite slogan, “No decision save that of Allah,” he said, “A true word, yet they intend falsehood by it.  True, no rulership save that of Allah ( s.w.t. ), yet they claim there is no command save that of Allah ( s.w.t. ), while people require leaders, whether righteous or profligate.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Abu Bakr an-Naji might not even be one person, but a committee.   That name is attached to a book, Idarah at-Tawahhush , “Management of Desolation”.   This book sets out the political and military policy of Al-Qaida and its affiliates, such as Jabhat an-Nusrah, and splinter groups such as ISIS.   It states explicitly that the “Salafi Way” is the only and essential way, and expands on what Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab and later, people like Sayyid Quthb Ibrahim Husayn, wrote, dividing the post-caliphate ummah into the “colonised” and the “free”.   Only “true Muslims”, people with their Wahhabi ideology, are free.   Besides indicting foreign powers, extra-national agencies and corrupt civil administrations throughout the Muslim world, blame is given to the Muslims, and especially the scholars of Islam, who “lead people astray”.   It is written, “Notice we say that the masses are the difficult factor.   W...