From Pakistan, we closely followed the blessed revolution that erupted in ash-Sham more than thirteen years ago. We rejoiced at the signs of goodness and the dawn of the Khilafah (Caliphate), hoping that it would bring all that is good—especially when the people of ash-Sham rose up chanting, “We have none but You, O Allah,” and “It is for Allah... it is for Allah,” and “The Ummah wants an Islamic Khilafah.” Our hearts were particularly attached to ash-Sham, for the Prophet (saw) praised it in many hadiths, including his hadith:

«عَلَيْكُمْ بِالشَّامِ، فَإِنَّهَا صَفْوَةُ بِلَادِ اللهِ يَسْكُنُهَا خِيرَتُهُ مِنْ خَلْقِهِ»“You must go to al-Sham, for it is the choicest of the lands of Allah; His best servants dwell therein.” (Narrated by al-Tabarani)

When entire cities were liberated from the grip of the tyrant of ash-Sham, Bashar, we thought victory had finally arrived. We believed the time had come for the establishment of the Khilafah on the method of Prophethood—the very state foretold by the Messenger of Allah (saw) —one that would rule by the Qur’an and Sunnah and was seemingly just around the corner. However, disappointment matched the size of the sacrifices, and betrayal followed about six months after the revolutionaries entered Damascus with takbirat and cheers of victory. The betrayal came from those we had hoped would rebuild upon the ruins—not surrender to them!

We hoped the revolutionaries, after toppling the criminal Ba’ath regime, would establish a state that pleases Allah (swt), raises the banner of the Messenger of Allah (saw), and adopts the Qur’an and Sunnah as its constitution and methodology. A state for which people sacrificed—not just for thirteen years, but since the Ba’ath regime had strangled them for over five decades. Sacrifices came from within Syria and from the mujahideen who came from across the globe to support their brothers—not so that the same secular system they revolted against would be recycled, this time with a new face and deceptive language!

Instead of clearly announcing that they were working to establish the rule of Islam, fearing none but Allah (swt)—as we knew them to be in the years of jihad and fighting. We saw the leaders of the factions and political entities in the liberated areas rushing to build bridges with criminal regimes no less evil than that of Bashar. They reached out to the treacherous Turkish regime, which sold Aleppo without hesitation, repeatedly betrayed Idlib, and collaborated with Russia and Iran under the Astana and Sochi frameworks.

We then saw hands extended to the United States through official visits and political coordination. We even saw representatives of theirs participating in internationally sponsored conferences, issuing statements praising “international legitimacy” and its institutions! There was hardly a tyrant on earth or a despot among the Arab rulers—whose oppression, conspiracies, and dirty money tormented the people of ash-Sham—who wasn’t visited and loyally embraced. Even those who paid Trump billions in humiliation, offering a mere pittance of seven for ash-Sham!

The betrayal did not stop at ash-Sham’s borders. It sank so low that silence was maintained in the face of the crimes of the Jewish entity in Gaza and the West Bank. Even its repeated raids on Syrian territory were overlooked—as if the honor of the mujahid no longer mattered!Worse still, voices from within the regime and its apparatuses began calling for normalization with the Jewish entity—sometimes in the name of “political realism,” and at other times under the guise of “negotiating to regain the Golan Heights,” or even joining treacherous projects like the Abraham Accords. These are American schemes to forcibly integrate the Jewish entity into the fabric of the new Middle East!

So, what kind of regime is this, which feels no protectiveness for the blood, honor, and land of Muslims? What legitimacy remains for a system that has sold its religion and cause, and apostatized from the very Islamic principles for which sincere ones sacrificed their lives? Where is the retribution that our bereaved sisters and widows in ash-Sham longed for after losing their children, being widowed, orphaned, and having their honor violated? Where is justice for the criminals?! Allah (swt) the Almighty says:

[وَمَن قُتِلَ مَظْلُوماً فَقَدْ جَعَلْنَا لِوَلِيِّهِ سُلْطَاناً فَلَا يُسْرِفْ فِي الْقَتْلِ إِنَّهُ كَانَ مَنصُوراً]

“And whoever is killed unjustly—We have given his heir the authority. But let him not exceed limits in killing. Indeed, he has been supported.” [17: 33].

And He (swt) says:

[وَلَكُمْ فِي الْقِصَاصِ حَيَاةٌ يَا أُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ]

“And there is [in legal retribution] life for you, O people of understanding, that you may become righteous.” [2:179].

As for the constitution, instead of it being the Book of Allah (swt) and the Sunnah of His Messenger (saw), they began to compete in drafting versions resembling the secular constitutions of the West. Worse still, they participated in the face of writing a new constitution under the auspices of the United Nations—as if the revolution didn’t rise up to overthrow the taghut (tyrant) system, but only to replace it with another tyrannical system in new faces! What kind of victory turns the blood of martyrs into bargaining chips? What kind of righteous governance is managed from the intelligence rooms of Turkey and America?

[أَفَحُكْمَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ يَبْغُونَ وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ مِنَ اللهِ حُكْماً لِقَوْمٍ يُوقِنُونَ]

“Is it the judgment of ignorance they seek? But who is better than Allah in judgment for a people who have certainty?” [5:50]

The Ummah did not sacrifice its wealth and lives so that a colored copy of Bashar’s regime would be reintroduced—bearded or unbearded! The blood of the children in Ghouta, the displaced from Daraya, and the mujahideen in Idlib still cry out: “Where is the state you promised us?!” The Ummah is still waiting for the sincere ones—those who remain steadfast on principle, who did not sell their religion or the blood of their people, who reject submission to the corrupt international order, and who believe that true salvation lies only in establishing the Islamic state: The Second Khilafah Rashidah upon the method of Prophethood.

O sincere ones in ash-Sham: The course of the revolution has deviated into a deep abyss, and it must be corrected before it is too late—before regret is of no avail. What is needed is a conscious, sincere leadership that submits only to Allah (swt), takes guidance only from His Shari’ah, refuses humiliation in its Deen, and will not compromise on the goal of establishing Islamic rule and uprooting all systems of kufr—not negotiating with them or relying on their support. Here is Hizb ut Tahrir—an honest leader that does not lie to its people—work with it and grant it your support. Replace the current leadership that failed to achieve what pleases Allah (swt), His Messenger, and the believers, and that fell far short of honoring your great sacrifices. The revolution must not stop at the gates of America and its agents. Truly, it is not over. The warrior’s rest has gone on too long—it is time to restore the revolution to its rightful course. So, rise up, O sincere ones, and know that Allah (swt) supports those who support Him, and the outcome belongs to the righteous.

[يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اسْتَجِيبُوا لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللهَ يَحُولُ بَيْنَ الْمَرْءِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَأَنَّهُ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ]

“O you who have believed, respond to Allah and to the Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life. And know that Allah intervenes between a man and his heart and that to Him you will be gathered.” [8:24]