Press Release
Between the Smiles of Eid and the Tears of Gaza:
A Call to the Officers and Soldiers
(Translated)

As Muslims prepare to welcome Eid al-Adha and celebrate with their children and spouses during these festive days, we direct this message specifically to the sincere soldiers and officers of Pakistan’s nuclear army, and the rest of the armies of the Ummah in general. We remind them in these days that they have abandoned their own people, women, children, elderly, and men in the Blessed Land of Palestine and Gaza, and did not come to their support despite having the power to do so.

We remind you of the true military commander and noble hero, Salahuddin al-Ayyubi, who did not smile with the fall of Al-Quds (583 AH / 1187) and fell gravely ill from grief. At the time, he said, ما أشدّ ألمي وأنا أرى مدن الإسلام تسقط واحدة تلو الأخرى “How deep is my pain as I watch the cities of Islam fall one after another.” Even after he reclaimed Al-Quds from the Crusaders following the Battle of Hattin, he entered the city “with a grim face” and did not rejoice in that great victory, but remained sorrowful. When asked about the reason for his sadness, he replied, كيف أفرح وقد ارتُكبت في هذه المدينة مآسٍ عظيمة؟! كيف أضحك وقد دخلتها وفي قلبي ألمٌ على ما جرى للمسلمين هنا؟ “How can I rejoice when such great tragedies have taken place in this city? How can I laugh when I enter it, with pain in my heart, for what the Muslims have endured here?” He viewed the liberation (tahrir) of Al-Quds as a Shariah obligation, and not as a favor or a heroic feat. His greatest concern was defending the sanctities and sacred places of the Muslims, not boasting about victory.

This was the stance of Salahuddin, his condition before and after the liberation (tahrir) of Al-Quds. What is strange is that the number of Muslims killed by the Crusaders when they occupied Al-Quds was around seventy thousand, a number equal to, or even less than, those killed by the Jews in Gaza and Palestine in just the past two years. So we ask: Is your condition, O officers and soldiers, like that of your role model Salahuddin? Or are you preparing to visit your children and wives, rejoicing and enjoying the Eid holidays with them, as if the massacres that have taken place, and continue to take place, in Gaza are happening in some obscure animal slaughterhouse in Lahore, Dhaka, or Cairo?

If your condition is like that of Salahuddin, then how can you enjoy meeting your loved ones, or rest upon the beds of your wives, while you have failed to do even a fraction of what Salahuddin did for the First Qiblah and the third of the sacred masajid in the Blessed Land of Palestine? And if you say, “How can we compare ourselves to such great men?” then are you among those who have betrayed and conspired against the Muslims, who have aligned themselves with the Jews and supported them? Then you would be like the soldiers of the wicked Pharaoh, whether with Pharaoh or Haman as Allah (swt) described them,

[إِنَّ فِرْعَوْنَ وَهَامَانَ وَجُنُودَهُمَا كَانُوا خَاطِئِينَ] “Surely Pharaoh, Haman, and their soldiers were sinful.” [TMQ Surah Al-Qassas 28:8]. Would you be content to be resurrected alongside them in Hell? May Allah (swt) protect you from it!

You, dear brothers, are of the same kind as Salahuddin. He was neither from amongst the Prophets (as) nor a king. He was a human being like you, who believed as you believe, and hoped from Allah (swt) as you do. So do not listen to the whispers of the cowardly rulers, who have sold their Hereafter for a fleeting, deceptive worldly life.

The grief and the subsequent drive of Muslims to avenge their martyrs was not limited to the mujahideen among the commanders and soldiers. It extended to the entire population. Historians have recorded that Muslims in North Africa and As-Sham refrained from celebrating for many days, in mourning over the fall of Al-Andalus. After the fall of Al-Quds and the massacre at Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, sorrow spread throughout the Islamic world, and Muslims refused to hold weddings or celebrations. Even the Sultans of the Uthmani Khilafah (Ottoman Caliphate) upon losing certain cities in Europe, would ban celebrations in the palaces and declare official mourning. It is reported that Sultan Salim I used to say, “There is no taste in food, no rest in sleep, and no joy in the heart as long as the lands of Islam are under threat!”

These examples show that grieving over the loss of lands of Muslims, the violation of their sanctities, and the killing of their men and women is part of Iman. The ulema and rulers of the past considered rejoicing during times of hardship a betrayal of Allah (swt), His Messenger (saw), and the believers. So what then can be said about betrayal and silence in the face of what the most vile of creation, the Jews are doing in the Blessed Land?

The Messenger of Allah (saw) spoke the truth when he said,

«مَنْ لَا يَهْتَمُّ بِأَمْرِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ فَلَيْسَ مِنْهُمْ، وَمَنْ لَا يُصْبِحُ وَيُمْسِي نَاصِحًا لِلَّهِ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَلِكِتَابِهِ وَلِإِمَامِهِ وَلِعَامَّةِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ فَلَيْسَ مِنْهُمْ»

“Whoever does not care about the affairs of the Muslims is not one of them. And whoever does not begin and end the day with sincere concern for Allah (swt), His Messenger (saw), His Book, the leader of the Muslims, and the general body of Muslims, is not one of them.” [Reported by al-Tabarani]

You have surely heard and seen the story of Dr. Alaa Al-Najjar, who was devastated by the loss of her nine children and husband, in a cowardly, criminal Jewish airstrike. So how can you find comfort in food, or rest on your wives’ beds during Eid al-Adha, while Dr. Alaa has sacrificed the very pieces of her heart? Do you not know that there are thousands like Dr. Alaa in Gaza, each mother who has been shattered by the loss of her children and loved ones over the past two years?

It was enough for al-Mu’tasim to hear the cry of a single woman from Amorium calling out, “O Mu’tasim!” and he mobilized an army for her. It was enough for al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf to receive news of distress of women from Sind, seeking protection from the tyrant king Dahir Shah so he sent an army led by Muhammad bin Qasim, killed the king, and avenged the chaste Muslim women. So by Allah (swt), what will you say, now that thousands of cries have reached you from the noble women of Palestine? How can food, drink, or sleep bring you any comfort?

It is narrated in the Prophet’s Seerah, and during the era of the Khulafaa Rashidoon (rightly-guided Caliphs) that women would withhold themselves from their husbands, either to encourage them to go out and fight, or as a form of protest against their cowardice. During the expedition of Tabuk, some women refused intimacy with their husbands if they hesitated to join the Jihad, urging them to go forth. One woman said to her husband, لا طعم للطعام، ولا راحة للنوم، ولا فرح للقلب ما دامت أرض الإسلام تحت التهديد “Do not touch my bed until you go out to fight in the Path of Allah (swt).”

Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra) used to punish those who held back, and encouraged women to motivate their husbands. In fact, some women would go so far as to say to their husbands, إن لم تخرج للجهاد، فأنت طالق “If you do not go out for Jihad, you must divorce!” It is reported that Umm Hakim bint al-Harith encouraged her husband, Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl, who had accepted Islam after strongly opposing it, to go out and fight. She refused intimacy until he went, and so he joined the battle and was martyred at Yarmouk.

The negligence of soldiers and officers in the armies of the Muslims carries dire consequences. They are the ones with power and strength, and it is they who are expected to support the oppressed, and protect the honor of the Muslims. They are not like ordinary people. Their failure strips them of manhood and dignity. Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra) would publicly shame those who stayed behind from Jihad and would say, لا تُقبل شهادة من ترك الجهاد بغير عذر “The testimony of whoever abandons Jihad without a valid Shariah excuse will not be accepted.”

And we do not say to you, “Make up for your shortcomings before it is too late,” for indeed, it is already too late! We stay instead make up for what you have neglected, repent to Allah (swt) for your failures and hesitation, and march forth, lightly or heavily equipped and support your brothers who are working to establish the Islamic state through Hizb ut Tahrir, which rules by all that Allah (swt) has revealed, mobilizes armies to liberate Muslim lands, and aids the oppressed in Palestine, Kashmir, amongst the Rohingya of Burma, and others, those who have lost hope in your treacherous, cowardly commanders and rulers, and now have only the sincere among you left.

So, will you respond to the call of Dr. Alaa Al-Najjar and the other noble women of this Ummah? Will you join the ranks of Salahuddin, Muhammad bin Qasim, and Khalid ibn al-Walid at the cistern (hawd) of the Muhammad al-Mustafa (saw)? Or will you be content to stand with the harmful rulers and their military commanders alongside Pharaoh and Haman in Saqar (Hellfire)?

These are days of trial and test for everyone with reason and an atoms weight of Iman in their heart, to choose what they are truly worthy of. Know that the ultimate success is for the righteous. Allah (swt) said,

[وَسَارِعُوا إِلَى مَغْفِرَةٍ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَجَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا السَّمَاوَاتُ وَالْأَرْضُ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ]

“And hasten towards forgiveness from your Lord and a Paradise as vast as the heavens and the earth, prepared for those mindful of Allah.” [TMQ Surah Aali Imran 3:133].

And, Allah (swt) said,

[انْفِرُوا خِفَافًا وَثِقَالًا وَجَاهِدُوا بِأَمْوَالِكُمْ وَأَنْفُسِكُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ذَلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ]

“O believers! March forth whether it is easy or difficult for you, and strive with your wealth and your lives in the cause of Allah. That is best for you, if only you knew.” [TMQ Surah At-Tawbah 9:41]

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Wilayah Pakistan