Gaza and the Distinguishing of the Wicked from the Good

Allah (swt) said,

[ما كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيَذَرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَىٰ مَا أَنتُمْ عَلَيْهِ حَتَّىٰ يَمِيزَ الْخَبِيثَ مِنَ الطَّيِّبِ]

“Allah will not leave the believers in the state in which you are now, until He distinguishes the wicked from the good.” [TMQ Surah Aali Imran 3:179].

It has been over ten months since the genocide against Gaza began, perpetrated by the Zionist entity. The world has since watched as the Zionist state transgresses every norm and standard championed by the West, in its attempt to annihilate and displace the Muslims of Gaza and seize their land.

Indeed, the Muslims of Gaza have endured, and continue to endure, atrocity after atrocity, while the world’s states, including those of the Muslim Ummah, stand idly by, taking no military action for their defense.

The Zionist state, emboldened by its underlying support from key foreign powers, continues its butchery, attempting to hide its crimes from its people and the world with a thin veil of deceit and lies. It is a characteristic all too familiar across almost eight decades.

For the two million Muslims of Gaza, this genocide has seen them collectively bombed, displaced, shot at, abducted, and horrendously tortured, raped, mutilated, burnt alive, starved, and subjected to every other form of extreme oppression known to man, as they desperately attempt to defend the Blessed Land of the Islamic Ummah.

In the process, a previously homogenous population has been divided and sorted into different sections: refugees, prisoners, resistance fighters, and martyrs.

While the Ummah at large looks on aghast and feels immense pain for what their fellow brethren in Gaza and Palestine are enduring, there is a greater reason why many among them should be agitated. One may view the Muslims in Palestine as the ones solely on trial, but in reality, it is the Muslims beyond Gaza and Palestine who are truly being tested and sorted into various groups, as the genocide continues.

Since the Zionist state’s onslaught began upon Gaza in October 2023, many in the Ummah across the Muslim world have exemplified the hadith of the Prophet (saw),

«تَرَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي تَرَاحُمِهِمْ وَتَوَادِّهِمْ وَتَعَاطُفِهِمْ كَمَثَلِ الْجَسَدِ إِذَا اشْتَكَى عُضْوًا تَدَاعَى لَهُ سَائِرُ جَسَدِهِ بِالسَّهَرِ وَالْحُمَّى»

“You see the believers as regards their being merciful among themselves and showing love among themselves and being kind, resembling one body, so that, if any part of the body is not well then the whole body shares the sleeplessness (insomnia) and fever with it.” [Bukhari]. There has been an outpouring of support of all types from all levels of society in Muslim-majority states, from Morocco to Indonesia, as well as from Muslims living as minorities in the West and other states.

For some, raising their voices via the mediums available may be the only feasible option to address the issue. However, it is imperative that they do so by calling for the correct solution. Merely calling for charity to be sent to Gaza, or for dua to be made, or for individual reform, or for boycotts of companies supporting the Zionist entity, although rewardable actions in their own right, will not end the genocide, by stopping the rampaging army.

The same applies to those fervently lobbying politicians and institutions to make an impact, through existing political systems and the current world order. Doing so ignores the reality that the major world powers control and dictate their indigenous politicians, institutions, and organizations, as well as semi-developed and developing countries across the world, all to fulfill their strategic and materialistic interests. This includes giving the Zionist state an effective free hand in the Middle East right now to pursue its genocidal policies. This is in addition to actually supplying the Zionist army with weapons and funding.

The real solution for the Islamic Ummah, when viewed from every angle, is to reestablish its own ruling political system that gives sovereignty to Allah’s (swt) rulings across all affairs, and binds the Ummah together into one cohesive states without internal divisions, under the authority of a single ruler.

It will be this single leader, the Khaleefah (caliph), who will mobilize the vast resources of the Ummah, particularly its armies and mujahideen, to move to liberate the land of Palestine, a desire that echoes among the soldiers and mujahideen of the Muslim world.

However, under the current nation-state-based order, the armies of the Muslim world remain confined to their barracks, restrained by their senior-most commanders. These very commanders must realize that it is they who are on trial by Allah (swt), who is assessing and recording their response to the genocide of their brethren. For them, confining their actions to merely speaking out is certainly not acceptable.

As in the time of the Prophet (saw), the Sahabah (ra) and those around the Messenger (saw) were tested in their response to his (saw) call to wage jihad against the enemies of the early Islamic state.

The Battle of Uhud illustrated this, when during the thick of battle, the tide turned against the Muslims, due to the disobedience of some Muslim archers, which was exploited by a skillful maneuver by the Quraysh cavalry. The Sahabah (ra) suddenly found themselves facing the prospect of a total rout. In response, some Muslims broke military formation. However, there were those who remained steadfast on the battlefield to defend both the Prophet (saw) and the Islamic cause, offering their lives for martyrdom. In this way, the Muslims were sorted by Allah (swt) into different groups.

A similar situation occurred later during the early period of the Islamic state in the time of the Prophet (saw), in the confrontation with the Roman Byzantine Empire and the growing Islamic power during the Battle of Mu’tah and the Battle of Tabuk. In both cases, the early Muslims strode out to face an experienced opponent, that was superiorly equipped with professional training in warfare, and manifold in number. It was in the preparation for these expeditions that the Muslims were tested in nerve and sorted according to their character. During the Battle of Tabuk, despite the great charity given by the Sahabah (ra) towards preparation, the Muslim army nonetheless lacked resources tremendously. At the same time, certain Muslims lagged behind. Yet, both the Battle of Mut’ah and the Battle of Tabuk struck fear in the hearts of the Romans, and paved their way for being conquered by the Muslims.

Today, the commanders of the Muslim armies must realize that as they sit motionless in their barracks, they are actually being sorted by Allah (swt) into categories of hypocrites and sincere believers, the latter of whom remain restrained only because they are held back by the former. However, in both cases, restraint is to be used as a proof against them by Allah (swt) on the Day of Judgment.

It is imperative that the sincere commanders of the Muslim armies, especially those dithering between right and wrong, make a decisive stance and firmly align themselves with the cause of Islam, the cause of reestablishing the Second Khilafah Rashidah (Rightly Guided Khilafah), the cause of liberating the Muslims in Palestine, and all occupied lands, from the brutal oppression they are facing.

By doing so, these military commanders will not only rescue the oppressed from brutal tyranny, but will also save their own souls from punishment in the next life, earning instead a vast reward from Allah (swt) in His gardens, a supreme triumph indeed.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Abdul Hakim Asad