Press Release
Hizb ut Tahrir / Wilayah Afghanistan Congratulates All Muslims on the Account of Eid al-Adha and Emphasizes the Unity of Religious Ceremonies as a Sharia Principle!

The Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Wilayah Afghanistan extends its heartfelt congratulations and greetings to all Muslims worldwide on the occasion of Eid al-Adha. We also sincerely pray to Allah (swt) to accept the prayers, worship, struggles, and sacrifices of all Muslims with His Mercy and to make their Hajj accepted.

Eid is a symbol of joy, happiness, and unity among Muslims worldwide. Unfortunately, this year, Eid al-Adha is being celebrated on different days in various Islamic lands. The ruling regime in Afghanistan has declared Sunday as the day of Arafah and Monday as the first day of Eid, while in many other Islamic lands, based on the testimony of Muslims, Saturday is marked as the Day of Arafah with Sunday as the first day of Eid al-Adha.

Discrepancies in religious ceremonies are a great Fitna (sedition) that have left Afghan Muslims in a state of confusion regarding their religious obligations. While many officials of the ruling regime are present at the Hajj ceremonies and are themselves aware of the standing of the pilgrims on the plains of Arafat, realizing the fact of the Day of Arafah, the question arises: do these officials celebrate Arafah and Eid based on their own fatwa or according to the Hajj ceremonies? Unfortunately, the ruling regime, by delaying the declaration of Eid for one other day, acts contrary to the testimonies of other Muslims. This action is perceived as indifference, sowing discord among Islamic Ummah. They committed the same act of inaccuracy and disunity during Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr this year, which was later rectified.

Religious ceremonies are very sensitive matters and should not become a topic of competition for national states. The Sharia principle also emphasizes the unity of religious ceremonies among Muslims. As the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) made clear that the sighting of moon by any Muslim anywhere in the world lawfully obliges Muslims in other lands to align their religious observances accordingly. In this regard, no Muslim has superiority over another Muslim, and no land has superiority over another land. Especially in the present age, when the news of a single testimony reaches all people worldwide in a matter of seconds. If there exist some old fatwas in this regard, they were definitely valid due to the realities of that era and the distance of regions from each other at that time; but in the present age, due to massive changes in reality, those fatwas have lost their legitimacy and cannot be argued for. The Sharia principle in Hanafi jurisprudence also considers the testimony of two Muslims for the sighting of the moon sufficient to begin or end religious occasions, which indicates the emphasis of jurisprudential schools on unity and avoidance of division.

Undoubtedly, it’s nothing but a mercy from Allah (swt) that He has made Muslims a single Ummah by instructing them to have a unified Taqwim (calendar) for performing religious rituals such as Hajj, fasting, Jihad, Eids, and other Sharia rulings in order to be distinguished from other nations of the world. We must realize that the Sharia rulings have addressed all Muslims, not a specific nation or land.

In fact, what has hindered the implementation of Sharia rulings and the unity of religious ceremonies among the Ummah is the existence of nation-state borders, distrust among Muslims, and power struggles. These factors not only have divided the joys of the Ummah but have also estranged their sorrows from each other. Today, national policies have alienated the Ummah to the extent that they do not even know what crimes are being committed in Sudan, who is being killed in Kashmir; and similarly, the cause of Gaza is considered merely an internal issue for the Palestinians. Many Muslims, due to such non-Sharia policies, even think that East Turkestan is a legitimate part of China’s territory.

Yes, Eid al-Adha reminds us of Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) — a symbol of sacrifice, reliance (Tawakul), and the role model of Al-wala’ and Al-bara’. Therefore, if Gaza is far from us, Tajikistan, which is close to Afghanistan, issues anti-hijab decrees and our Muslim sisters cry out for help, but the rulers remain silent due to political expediency.

Therefore, it is obligatory for Muslims to strive and struggle for ideological, political, and geographical unity under the banner of the single state of the second Khilafah Rashidah (rightly-guided Caliphate) to be protected from such fitna, confusion, and division with the happiness and joyous days of Muslims from Indonesia to Morocco being unified. Indeed one of the greatest days of joy for believers is the day when the Nussrah of Allah (swt) is granted with the second rightly-guided Caliphate established.

[وَيَوْمَئِذٍ يَفْرَحُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ * بِنَصْرِ اللهِ يَنصُرُ مَن يَشَاءُ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُالرَّحِيمُ]

“And on that day the believers will rejoice at the victory willed by Allah. He gives victory to whoever He wills. For He is the Almighty, Most Merciful.” [Ar-Rum: 4-5]

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir
in Wilayah Afghanistan