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In our region, lands of Islam, there lived a Muslimah whom the young and old, Muslims and non-Muslims, all alike, fondly called by her Kunya ‘Bi-Amma'. If you were to ask the elderly whether they knew of ‘Bi-Amma', you would receive the reply: "yes, we used to call the mother of Shaukat Ali and Muhammad Ali as ‘Bi-Amma'." Thus she was the mother of the leaders of the Khilafah "Caliphate" movement.

Abadi Bano Begum was the native of Rampur, Utter Pradesh, born in 1852, of a generation that inherited 1,000 years of Muslim ruling within Indian Subcontinent, interrupted by the British Occupation which began in 1757. In 1857 when Muslims rebelled against the unlawful rule of the British, she was just five years old. Because of that she could not be properly educated in school and college, but was highly cultured in Islam with chaste manners, which is the best of all knowledge. She cherished great love for Allah and His Messenger (saw). She was ever ready to sacrifice her life and all for the cause of Islam. She adhered to Islam.  She was respectful towards her elders and ‘simple living and high thinking' was her motto in life.  She was married to Abdul Ali Khan who was a senior official of Rampur State. She had one daughter and four sons including Maulana Shaukat Ali and Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar.  ‘Bi-Amma' had four sons, Nawazish Ali, Zul Fiqar Ali, Shaukat Ali and Muhammad Ali. Of these, Nawazish Ali died in infancy. The other three grew up in age. In their early childhood their father died thus she became a widow at the age of thirty. The responsibility of bringing up and educating these children fell on ‘Bi-Amma' alone. She educated them superbly.

When her eldest son, Nawazish Ali, died, people came to give her condolences over the sad demise of her son. They found her bearing the tragedy with exemplary fortitude. She said to them: "We should all submit to the Will of Allah. Allah hath power over all things. Whatever He has entrusted to us, He has power to take it back when He pleases. Our life and death are indeed in His hands."  When ‘Bi-Amma' went for Hajj, she caught hold of the ‘Ghilaf' (cover) of the Ka'ba, and made the following dua: ‘O Allah! By Thy Grace my children have now grown upon. I beseech Thee to make them true Muslims.'

Although she did not have any formal education, she was deeply convinced of the advantages of acquiring modem education for the Muslims of the Indo-Pakistan sub- continent she educated her sons at Aligarh and Oxford; for that she pawned her jewellery to pay for her son's education. Of the three surviving sons, two earned great renown. The youngest son, Muhammad Ali, acquired exceptional qualities of head and heart. He was extremely courageous and no one could hold him in awe. The whole world recognized the superiority of his accomplishments. While on the subject, consider one interesting and exemplary dialogue: One gentleman praised Maulana Muhammad Ali in the presence of his mother and said: "It is your untiring effort and tender care that has shaped him (Maulana Muhammad Ali) to such towering eminence and capability." Bi-Amma replied, "You are wrong. The fact is, all this is the result of the Grace of Allah on us. Allah endows with honour whom He pleases and brings low whom He pleases."

Under the British Occupation, some Muslims became seduced by the Westernized way of life. To these people ‘Bi-Amma' cautioned: "Countrymen! Give up the way of life of these foreigners. Stick to the traditional way of life of your ancestors. Serve not these foreigners, nor accept honours from them because these people are very crafty and fraudulent."  During the sessions of the All India Muslim League in 1917, at the age of 62, she delivered the most touching and forceful speech which left a lasting effect on the Muslims. By Allah's Grace, following her noble example, Maulana Shaukat Ali (ra) and Maulana Muhammad Ali (ra) became such true Muslims that they submitted to none, save Allah. It was Allah alone that they feared. Both the brothers fought against the British throughout their lives and worked to prevent the British from destroying the Khilafah "Caliphate". When Englishmen used to arrest and imprison them, 'Bi-Amma' used to be overwhelmed with excitement. She used to go to the jail and tell her sons: "My sons! Hold fast to Islam with all your might. Never mind even if your life is sacrificed in the cause of Islam."

While her sons were still in jail this bold and venerable mother kept alive the fervour for the Khilafat Movement. She toured the country, addressed large gatherings of people, which flocked to hear her and exhorted them to follow the footsteps of her great sons in their struggle for the unity and fraternity of the Muslim Ummah. She replaced her illustrious sons in popularity and leadership and the famous Urdu couplet "Boli Amma Muhammad Ali Ki Jaan Baita Khilafat Pay De Do" ("The mother of Muhammad Ali said, give your life for Khilafah "Caliphate" my son") became household words and were sung in every nook and corner of the Sub-continent by all sections of people irrespective of caste or creed.

After the abolition of the Khilafah "Caliphate" in March 1924, Bi Amma, did not survive for long and died on November 13, 1924. Her death was a great loss to the Ummah, but Muslim women who had come out to work with Bi Amma were to become a political force to reckon with. Their activities were a necessary prelude to their active participation in the struggle to establish Pakistan in the name of Islam. It is their legacy which has spawned a generation of good women today, who nurture their children upon Islam from their lap, propelling the Muslims of today to demand Shariah as the law of Pakistan and call openly and widely for the return of the Khilafah "Caliphate".

This was 'Bi-Amma', the mother of the two illustrious sons of India, Maulana Shaukat Ali and Maulana Muhammad Ali Johar. May Allah shower His choicest bounties on all three of them.

By Musab Ibn Umayr

In a speech given on Wednesday 24/07/2013 on the occasion of the graduation ceremony of two groups from the Navy and Air colleges in the Cairo Governorate, General Abdul Fattah As-Sisi said: "I request from the Egyptians on the day of Jumu'ah, from all of the honorable trustworthy Egyptians,

In the midst of Muslims busily carrying out acts of worship in the month of Ramadhan, the Islamic belief of the Muslim Ummah has once again been ridiculed and mocked. In Malaysia, a Muslim majority country, Tan Jye Yee, 25 and Lee Lee May Ling , 24 published a seditious post in the Facebook account of ‘Alvin and Vivian-Alvivi' on their wall which contained a photograph and a comment entitled ‘Happy breaking fast' which showed a pork dish that was attached with a Halal logo. Their action was a cheap joke aimed at mocking the deeply held beliefs of Muslims; something that has become all too common in secular societies where religion has become an easy target of ridicule. Although the couple apologized, nonetheless there are still comments from others that defended their act. Not content with this insult, they also displayed pornographic photos in their tumblr.com link and uploaded similar photographs and posted similar comments in Facebook, which caused feelings of enmity on the grounds of religion amongst believers of other faiths. Their rude act not only raised anger amongst Muslims but also incited public anger amongst non-Muslim communities in Malaysia.

Upon demands from various parties, the Attorney-General of Malaysia, Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail finally announced to not grant any forms of bail towards this couple due to the fact that they have a tendency of uploading content that could arouse public outrage. Before this decision was made, numerous parties came forward to suggest that this duo be banished or receive appropriate punishments.  The Mufti of Kelantan, Datuk Mohamad Shukri Mohamad persuaded the government to not be lenient anymore in handling this case, while the Mufti of Perak, Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria affirmed that the failure of the government to act firmly will cause the people to assume that the dignity of the Muslims can be mocked or played around with and that the Federal Constitution is worthless. The fact that these individuals performed these actions with little fear of the consequences, as well as the fact that ordinary citizens have to beg the Malaysian government to deal firmly with such acts proves that the political and legal system in Malaysia is unable and not powerful enough to counter the influx, entrenchment, and harmful fallout of the liberal secular ideology within its society. Therefore, a comprehensive system is required to eliminate the harmful consequences of this liberal secular ideology. Enforcing punishments towards offenders of Islam with heavy charges is not sufficient. There needs to be an environment where believers of other religions and faiths tremble at the mere thought of insulting Islam due to the power and strength possessed by a state which represents and protects Islam.  This environment or atmosphere will only be generated under the system of Khilafah "Caliphate".

Today, offenses against Islam happen frequently despite receiving condemnation and firm reactions from the Muslims. This reflects the lack of respect towards Islam within many secular societies and the loss of the Muslims' glory (izzah). Apart from that, secularism and freedom of speech which was exported by the West to the Muslim lands, including to Malaysia has eroded the sense of respect towards religion generally within our societies. Secularism has created attitudes and mentalities that view religion only as a target of mockery that can be fooled around with. Even though Allah (swt) has clearly stated in Surah al-A'raf, verse 51 :

ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّخَذُواْ دِينَهُمۡ لَهۡوً۬ا وَلَعِبً۬ا وَغَرَّتۡهُمُ ٱلۡحَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنۡيَا‌ۚ فَٱلۡيَوۡمَ نَنسَٮٰهُمۡ ڪَمَا نَسُواْ لِقَآءَ يَوۡمِهِمۡ هَـٰذَا وَمَا ڪَانُواْ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا يَجۡحَدُونَ

"That is, people who make their religion as play and amusement, and the life of the world deceived them. So on the Day of Resurrection, We forget them as they forgot their meeting of this Day, and as they always deny our Verses."

States that embrace the secular belief of freedom of expression provide the opportunity to people to insult and degrade Islam's honourable status, and offend the firmly held religious beliefs of others, creating disharmony and friction between communities. These secular values and beliefs have actually shaped uncivilized environments based on the law of the jungle where anyone can insult each other openly, leading to the formation of ignorant societies that are full of disunity and conflicts, and where individuals can easily offend the faith of others.

This viewpoint is completely different from the teachings brought by Islam which encourages its believers to respect all religions. Islam requires its believers to respect and be humane towards other people and forbids them from insulting or mocking other religions. By doing so, this shapes a solid, strong and harmonious society. Surah al-An'am, verse 108 states :

وَلَا تَسُبُّواْ ٱلَّذِينَ يَدۡعُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ فَيَسُبُّواْ ٱللَّهَ عَدۡوَۢا بِغَيۡرِ عِلۡمٍ۬‌ۗ كَذَٲلِكَ زَيَّنَّا لِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ عَمَلَهُمۡ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّہِم مَّرۡجِعُهُمۡ فَيُنَبِّئُهُم بِمَا كَانُواْ يَعۡمَلُونَ

"And do not insult those they invoke other than Allah, lest they insult Allah in enmity without knowledge. Thus We have made pleasing to every community their deeds. Then to their Lord is their return, and He will inform them about what they used to do."

In addition, Islam provides Dhimmis (non-Muslim citizens of the state) full protection of their faith similar to how the beliefs of Muslims are protected. This was demonstrated by Rasulillah (saw) when drafting the Medina Charter. The document stated that all who lived in the state of Medina be they Muslim or Non-Muslim, were required to not act cruelly, be treacherous or cause chaos. By fulfilling this requirement, all were guaranteed protection and granted peace under the rulings of the Qur'an and Sunnah. Furthermore there are many sayings of the Prophet(saw) that talk about the rights of Dhimmi. In one hadith the Prophet(saw) said:

" مَنْ آذَى ذِمِّيًّا فَقَدْ آذَانِي وَمَنْ آذَانِي فَقَدْ آذَى اللهَ "

"Whoever offends a Non-Muslim who is under the protection of Islam, he has offended me, and whoever has offended me, has offended God." (narrated by Abu Daud). In another hadith narrated by Jabir Abdullah (ra), he stated:

"مَرَّ بِنَا جَنَازَةُ فَقَامَ لَهَا النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَقُمْنَا بِهِ فَقُلْنَا يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ إنَّهَا جِنَازَةُ يَهُودِيٍّ قَالَ إِذَا رَأَيْتُمْ الجِنَازَةَ فَقُوْمُوْا"

"A corpse passed by us (the Sahabahs), hence Rasulullah (saw) stood up. Thus, we also stood up. We said to Rasulullah (saw), "Oh Rasulullah that is the corpse of a Jew. Rasulullah (saw) answered, "When you see a corpse, you are required to stand up" (narrated by al-Bukhari) This proves that under the ruling of the Khilafah "Caliphate" state, respect and protection will be guaranteed for every religion. Therefore, a harmonious, solid and healthy society can only be formed with the reestablishment of the Khilafah "Caliphate". The atmosphere of respecting other religions will emerge and people of all faiths will live together in harmony without any worries of the majority oppressing the rights of the minority.

Other than that, the Khilafah "Caliphate" will also challenge the West's arrogant attitude towards Islam and Muslims as well as others who worship the idea of secular freedom, striking fear amongst the Kuffar with regards to insulting Islam and Muslims. Historically, the solidarity of the strength of the Islamic ideology, politics, economy and military force possessed by the Khilafah "Caliphate" successfully created the Khilafah "Caliphate"'s prestigious political influence globally until it was visible that non-Muslim countries greatly respected Islam. This is what truly happened in 1890 where Khaleefah Sultan Abdul Hamid II sent a letter to the French government to cancel a theatre show which insulted Rasulullah (saw) that was to be aired across the whole of France. The French government, fearful of the response of the Khilafah "Caliphate" banned the play from being shown. This reflects the firmness and strength with which the Khilafah "Caliphate" can deal with insults against Islam compared to the weak response of the secular, non-Islamic regimes and systems of the Muslim world today!

Sumayyah Amar

Member of the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir