Press Release
Announcing Two Occasions:
The Beginning of the Blessed Month of Ramadan, and the Launch of Al Waqiyah Television Channel
(Translated)

I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan

[شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِيَ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِّنَ الْهُدَى وَالْفُرْقَانِ فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ وَمَن كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ يُرِيدُ اللّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلاَ يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ وَلِتُكْمِلُواْ الْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُواْ اللّهَ عَلَى مَا هَدَاكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ]

“The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey - then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful.” [TMQ 2:185]

All Praise is due to Allah and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, companions, allies, and those who followed in his path making the Islamic Aqeedah the basis for their thoughts and the Ahkaam Shari'ah (Legislative Rulings) the measure for their actions and source for their rulings.

Al-Bukhari extracted in his Sahih from Muhammad Bin Ziyad that he said: I heard Abu Hurairah (ra) say, “The Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, said, or he said, Abu Al Qasim (saw) said:

«صوموا لِرُؤيتِهِ وأَفْطِرُوا لرؤيتِهِ فإنْ غُـبِّيَ عليكم فأَكْمِلُوا عِدَّةَ شعبانَ ثلاثين»

“Start fasting upon seeing it [the new moon of Ramadan], and give up fasting upon it [seeing the new moon of Shawwal], and if the sky is overcast (and you cannot see it), complete thirty days of Sha'ban."

In this regard, we have received the following message from the Ameer of Hizb ut Tahrir, the eminent scholar Ata Bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah:

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بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Praise be to Allah and peace be on the Messenger of Allah and upon his family and companions and those who follow him, and so…

Dear Muslims… Dear honourable Dawah carriers… Dear viewers…

Dear listeners…to all who have a heart or those who listen with full attentiveness

Assalaam Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuhu,

My dear brothers and sisters, I bring you good news on this blessed night of two great matters:

First: The beginning of the blessed month of Ramadan:

After investigating the new moon of the blessed Ramadan on this night, the eve of Saturday, 27/5/2017, the sighting of the new moon is confirmed according to the Shariah sighting requirements in some Muslim countries, therefore tomorrow, Saturday, is the first day of the blessed month of Ramadan…

Al-Bukhari extracted in his Sahih from Muhammad Bin Ziyad that he said: I heard Abu Hurairah (ra) say, “The Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, said, or he said, Abu Al Qasim (saw) said:

«صوموا لِرُؤيتِهِ وأَفْطِرُوا لرؤيتِهِ فإنْ غُـبِّيَ عليكم فأَكْمِلُوا عِدَّةَ شعبانَ ثلاثين»

“Start fasting upon seeing it [the new moon of Ramadan], and give up fasting upon it [seeing the new moon of Shawwal], and if the sky is overcast (and you cannot see it), complete thirty days of Sha'ban."

Allah has made this blessed month His month, He Almighty rewards whomever He wishes in it with no account.

«كُلُّ عَمَلِ ابْنِ آدَمَ لَهُ إِلَّا الصَّوْمَ، فَإِنَّهُ لِي وَأَنَا أَجْزِي بِهِ»

"All the deeds of Adam's sons (people) are for them, except fasting which is for Me, and I will give the reward for it.”

As he (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the Qudsi Hadith (agreed upon).

This is a special month in the Islamic history; in which the Holy Qur’an was revealed:

[شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِنَ الْهُدَى وَالْفُرْقَانِ]

“The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion.” [Al-Baqara: 185]

In this month Muslims competed in performing good deeds, because the Ajr and Hasanat (reward for good deeds) are multiplied while seeking Allah’s forgiveness for their sins through sincere fasting and dedication. In Sahih Al Bukhari on the authority of Abu Huraira (ra), on the authority of the Prophet (saw), he said:

«مَنْ صَامَ رَمَضَانَ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ، وَمَنْ قَامَ لَيْلَةَ القَدْرِ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ»

"Whoever fasts in the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith, and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven, and whoever established prayers on the night of Qadr out of sincere faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven.”

Their Khulafaa’ (Caliphs) and Walis (governors) used to preserve the security of the land and the people, and carried Islam to the world through Dawah and Jihad. The Khulafaa’ of the Muslims ruled by the Shariah of Allah, and lead them in Jihad for the sake of Allah, their army travelled through dry vast desserts, and their ships rode the waves of the sea to make Allah’s Word the highest and to spread justice all over the world. Their armies would address the ocean by saying: If we know that there is land behind you, we would cross you to raise the banner of Islam. And their Khalifah would proclaim to the clouds, Rain wherever you wish for it will irrigate the land of Muslims, by the permission of Allah. The Muslims stood behind their Khalifah backing him when he did good and accounting him if he deviated, since the Khalifah and they are equal before the Shariah. The Ummah, state, and society are moved by and with Islam. Greeting Ramadan with shining happy optimistic faces and bidding it farewell with sadness, and yearning for another meeting with it, to witness with it and in it the goodness, and to win both abodes, and that is the great success.

And we ask Allah (swt) to make this month full of goodness and blessings upon all Muslims, and that next Ramadan the Khilafah "Caliphate" Rashidah will be established and the Khalifah is the who supervises the investigation of the new moon, and he is the one who announces the beginning of Ramadan, and in turn making it once again a month of victory and Jihad, and blessings and mercy to the worshippers. Ramadan will then be under the shade of the Khilafah "Caliphate", and its light will return and shine again, and it will return as the month of worship and Jihad, and both of its Takbirs will be restored: the Takbir of the Mu’azin (caller to prayer) declaring the time of breaking the fast (Iftar) for the fasting, and the Takbir of the Mujahid declaring the victory, and it will be soon by the permission of Allah (swt).

[إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَالِغُ أَمْرِهِ قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدْرًا]

“Indeed, Allah will accomplish His purpose. Allah has already set for everything a [decreed] extent” [At-Talaq: 3]

The second good news that I would like to deliver to you is the launch of Al Waqiyah Channel on this blessed night… Today the media tree of Hizb ut Tahrir has bear its fruit, it produced a shining and blessed good fruit that pleases the eyes and warms the hearts… the fruit that protects its viewer from lewd, deceiving and misleading scenes, it proclaims the truth and eliminates falsehood. A fruit witnessed by eyes and enlightens the insights… a fruit that bears goodness to its people and to all who have a heart and listens with full attentiveness, a fruit called Waqiyah (Protector), and it is Waqiyah (Protector) by meaning, and what a wonderful name and its meaning, for it lights up the way and guides to the correct path by upholding the Truth that it proclaims.

[قُلْ هَذِهِ سَبِيلِي أَدْعُو إِلَى اللَّهِ عَلَى بَصِيرَةٍ أَنَا وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَنِي وَسُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ]

“Say, "This is my way; I invite to Allah with insight, I and those who follow me. And exalted is Allah; and I am not of those who associate others with Him.” [Yusuf: 108]

And last but not least, I commence with the name of Allah our comfort (Al Waqiyah) so that it joins its two sisters: the Broadcast and Ar-Raya, so that they all proclaim together the good word via audio, through print and video, to enlighten the insights, and revive the hearts, and carry the good to the ends of the world, and raise it to the highest skies.

[أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ ضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا كَلِمَةً طَيِّبَةً كَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ أَصْلُهَا ثَابِتٌ وَفَرْعُهَا فِي السَّمَاءِ]

“Have you not considered how Allah presents an example, [making] a good word like a good tree, whose root is firmly fixed and its branches [high] in the sky?” [Ibrahim: 24]

And our last supplication is Praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds.

Wassalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuhu

Your brother, Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah

Ameer of Hizb ut Tahrir

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It is also my pleasure to relay the congratulations of the Head of the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir and all those working in it to the Ameer of Hizb ut Tahrir, the eminent scholar Ata Bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah, and to all the Muslims for this blessed month, asking Allah Almighty to redeem us from the Hellfire in the month of mercy and forgiveness, and we ask Him (swt) to allow us to witness Laylatul Qadr and bless us with its rewards…

Oh Allah, the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth, honor us with pledging allegiance to the Khaleefah of the Muslims in the second Righteous Khilafah "Caliphate" (Caliphate) on the method of Prophethood, sooner than later… Allahuma ameen ameen ameen.

Wassalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuh

The eve of Saturday, 27/5/2017, is the 1^st of the blessed Ramadan for the year of 1438 AH.

Dr. Osman Bakhash
Director of the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir