بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Nafsiya Reflections: Message to Uzbekistan
May 9th, 2024 marked a dreadful and exasperating day for 23 Shabab of Hizb ut Tahrir and their families who were rearrested by Uzbek forces for 'crimes they' were already tried for. These brothers, who had already been imprisoned and tortured for nearly 20 years since 1999, were forced to sign false confessions under threats of torture and abuse to themselves and their families. All of this occurred under Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s regime, the same president who said, “As a part of introducing the national mechanism for the prevention of torture, we shall continue to strictly suppress all forms of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment. Such crimes shall not have a statute of limitations. We intend to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture.” in an address to the UN Human Rights Council in 2021. The direct hypocrisy of this statement further supports what Allah (swt) teaches us in the Quran about the disbelievers in Surah Al-Baqara: Verse 9:
[يُخَادِعُونَ اللَّهَ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَمَا يَخْدَعُونَ إِلَّا أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ]
“They seek to deceive Allah and those who have faith, yet they deceive no one but themselves, but they are not aware.”
Our brothers who have been arrested and imprisoned in the inhumane jail cells of Uzbekistan are facing a test extremely difficult to bear; to be imprisoned for nearly 20 years, facing torture of every kind, physical, psychological, and emotional, and then being freed only to be captured again by a regime that paints a picture of deception under the pretense of freedom and human rights- this is a test that illustrates the beauty of the Sahih hadith of the Prophet (saw) as reported by at-Tirmidhi where Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas asked him:
يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَىُّ النَّاسِ أَشَدُّ بَلاَءً
قَالَ «الأَنْبِيَاءُ ثُمَّ الأَمْثَلُ فَالأَمْثَلُ يُبْتَلَى الْعَبْدُ عَلَى حَسَبِ دِينِهِ فَإِنْ كَانَ فِي دِينِهِ صُلْبًا اشْتَدَّ بَلاَؤُهُ وَإِنْ كَانَ فِي دِينِهِ رِقَّةٌ ابْتُلِيَ عَلَى حَسَبِ دِينِهِ فَمَا يَبْرَحُ الْبَلاَءُ بِالْعَبْدِ حَتَّى يَتْرُكَهُ يَمْشِي عَلَى الأَرْضِ وَمَا عَلَيْهِ مِنْ خَطِيئَةٍ»
“O Messenger of Allah, which of the people are most sorely tested?” He said: “The Prophets, then the next best and the next best. A man will be tested in accordance with his level of religious commitment. If his religious commitment is strong, he will be tested more severely, and if his religious commitment is weak, he will be tested in accordance with his religious commitment. Calamity will keep befalling a person until he walks on the earth with no sin on him.”’
This massive hardship which our brothers are being tried with is comparable to that of many Sahaba (ra) in the early days of Islam. Many of them were targeted because of their lack of tribal affiliation, leaving them with no one to look to for protection and leading their oppressors to fear no defender. This is the same situation we see our brothers suffering from today- cruel persecution at the hands of an oppressor despite already facing severe torture. These Shabab are paralleled with esteemed and dignified Sahabi like Sumayya, Yasir, and Harith ibn Abi Hala (ra), the first three martyrs of Islam. Sumayya (ra), the famous mother of Ammar ibn Yasir, who we proudly name our daughters after to inspire in them the same resilience and steadfastness she demonstrated, was tortured in unimaginably cruel ways by the Quraysh after her open proclamation of Islam. She was promised Jannah by the Messenger of Allah (saw) himself, who suffered seeing her tortured so cruelly but knew that her agony would not go unrewarded by Al-Haseeb, our Rabb “The Reckoner” who takes account of all actions and provides justice. Her husband Yasir (ra) was forced to watch her tortured so ruthlessly while also subjected to vicious forms of torture himself. Harith ibn Abi Hala (ra) became the third martyr of Islam at 17 years old while protecting the Prophet (saw) from attacks in the Kabah while he was reciting the Quran. He eventually bled out from multiple stab wounds suffered at the hands of the Mushrikeen.
All these Sahaba perished while immersed in Allah (swt) pleasure with them for resisting the Quraysh’s savage attempts to force them to denounce the Oneness of Allah (swt). They protected the message of Islam with their blood, screams and tears just as our brothers are doing in the barbaric prisons of Uzbekistan where torture methods know no bounds under Mirziyoyev’s hypocritical and arrogant regime. The righteous brothers who he has imprisoned have been proven to reduce crime in the areas where they lived, giving Da’wah to the criminals whom the oppressive capitalist society of Uzbekistan birthed. They carried the message of Islam to these people and Allah (swt) opened their hearts to it, causing them to abandon the ways of transgressors and instead embrace the light of Islam, allowing it to shine through their concepts, actions, and ideas. The conceited regime of Mirziyoyev think they have won by abusing their wealth and power to persecute the Shebab who are working to restore justice and prosperity to Uzbekistan by carrying the message of Islam. They are embarrassingly mistaken. Allah (swt) says in Surah Al-Baqara, Verse 257:
[اللَّهُ وَلِيُّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يُخْرِجُهُمْ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ ۖ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَوْلِيَاؤُهُمُ الطَّاغُوتُ يُخْرِجُونَهُمْ مِنَ النُّورِ إِلَى الظُّلُمَاتِ ۗ أُولَٰئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ ۖ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ]
“Allah is the guardian of those who believe. He brings them out of the darkness into the light; and (as to) those who disbelieve, their guardians are Shaitans who take them out of the light into the darkness; they are the inmates of the fire, in it they shall abide.”
The infidels of the Mirziyoyev regime believe they have won by imprisoning these Shabab, but Allah (swt) promises them a perpetual confinement of fire far worse in the Hereafter. They think our brothers will crack under the heat of their savage torture methods, but they forget how the Shabab are handling this heat like Bilal (ra) did the hot desert sands of Makkah, as he repeatedly proclaimed the Oneness of Allah (swt) under the burning sun. We must help to unshackle our brothers from the injustice that they've been dealt by Mirziyoyev’s regime just as Abu Bakr (ra) freed Bilal (ra) from this torture under the command of Muhammad (saw) by carrying this message forward, highlighting the injustices we are suffering from all over the world, and reinforcing that the only solution is the system of Islam, ordained for us by our Creator himself and established on this Earth once before by our Beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw).
We may feel helpless as we look on with frustration and agony from around the world at this heart wrenching account of our brothers being rearrested for crimes they did not commit. But what we must understand is that this test of theirs needs to inspire us to elevate our efforts and amplify our acts for this Dawah. This call which causes tyrants to openly and shamelessly go back on their word. This call which causes so-called world powers to scramble for excuses to label Hizb ut Tahrir as a terrorist organization. This call which has incited fear into the disbelievers and caused them them to torture people who call for the truth since the time of the Prophet (saw). It is powerful because it is the call for the system of Allah (swt), our Rabb, who created all things and is the possessor of all power in the heavens and the Earth and beyond. Our entire Ummah needs to be united on this call for the complete and total implementation of Islam as a system on Earth. Our Ummah from all ends of the Earth needs to unite our voices to summon the establishment of the Khilafah Rashidah, rightly guided caliphate to fulfill the prophecy of Muhammad (saw) and put an end to suffering of the sincere.
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