Put your money where your mouth is
During the battle of Al-Qunaitira on the Golan Heights, late August 2014, the Mujahideen of Jabhat An-Nusra were on their way to a field hospital to treat their wounded. However, they had to pass a base of the UN peacekeeping force, so the doctor Mujahid Abu Musab made the UN peacekeeping force on that base a promise. He guaranteed them safety if they gave the Mujahideen safe passage in return; so they could treat their wounded brothers. The so-called Blue Helmets accepted this agreement, and the Mujahideen were given passage. A few days after the battle of Al-Qunaitira the news reached Dr. Abu Musab that the Blue Helmets were imprisoned by the Mujahideen (because of a misunderstanding). Thereupon the doctor contacted the leaders of Jabhat An-Nusra and presented the case. They in return contacted the Islamic scholars and came to the conclusion that the 45 prisoners were to be released, and that the Mujahideen had to abide by the made treaty.
The release of 45 UN peacekeepers is not as sensational as the beheading of a journalist, so naturally their release received virtually no attention in the Western media. Furthermore, the UN barely moved a finger to free or rescue their own troops. It was only the justice of Islam that liberated them! Because this is what Islam teaches us, this is what the divine Sharia means. We are men of our word, and must excel in noble conduct, in spite of the injustice of our enemies. As Allah revealed in the Quran: “O you who have attained to faith! Be steadfast in your devotion to Allah, bearing witness to the truth in all equity; and never let the hatred of anyone seduce you to deviate from justice. Be just..” (Al-Maaidah, Aya 8)
If you say that you want to implement Shariah law then you must put your money where your mouth is. The Mujahideen wanted nothing more than exchanging the UN peacekeepers for Muslim prisoners; detained in the torture bunkers of tyrannical regimes. But we need to govern with the Shariah, even if it is in our “disadvantage”. It cannot be that we want to judge others with the Shariah but “safeguard” ourselves from it. In that case we wouldn’t differ much from the hypocritical regimes in our Islamic countries, who only punish the poor among the people but forgive the rich. We are to uphold the law of Allah even towards nonbelievers, otherwise we would make the same mistake as the Jews who said: “We have no duty towards the Gentiles. –They speak a lie concerning Allah knowingly.” (Ali-Imraan, Aya 75)
A Muslim keeps his word, be it towards Muslims or infidels. The Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa selam) said: “Whoever violates the trust and the one who does not keep his covenant has no religion." (Musnad Imam Ahmad) And Allah also says: “And keep the covenant. Verily, about the covenant you will be asked.” (Al-Isra, Aya 34) There are many proofs from the Quran and Sunnah that teach us the importance of honesty. Actually this should be the hallmark trait of a Muslim. Not fulfilling promises is therefore considered a sign of hypocrisy, as we know from the teaching of the Prophet. Even when someone is cheating us, we remain honest. Because the Prophet said: “Give back what has been entrusted to you, and don’t deceive those who’ve deceived you.” (Sunnan Abu Dawud)
Upholding promises is so important in Al-Islam that the relatives must fulfill it should someone die before he had the chance to uphold that promise. After the death of the Prophet the Khulafaa Ar-Rashideen upheld his promises too. Like the Khalifah Abu Bakr who upheld the promise of the Prophet to Jabir ibn Adbullah; he shared the spoils of Bahrain with him. And Umar ibn Khattab who upheld the promise of the Prophet to Suraqah ibn Malik, and he did this decades after the Prophet promised Suraqah ibn Malik the jewels of Kisra. These are the noble qualities of our pious predecessors. Even before the Revelation the Prophet was already known as As-Saadiqul Ameen (the honest faithful). So we must follow our noble role models!
Conducting Jihad does not only mean fighting and killing. When As-Shaam was conquered the Muslim army had a peace treaty with the Christians in Homs. However, the Muslims were forced to withdraw from Homs and regroup in an offensive; because the Byzantines were planning to attack Homs. The Muslims had guaranteed security to the Christians in Homs in exchange for the Jizyah tax. When they no longer could guarantee that safety, Abu Ubaidah ibn Jarrah gave them back this money. The Christians of Homs were touched by this honesty and nearly all of them converted to Islam. The result was that the Muslim army remained in Homs and the local residents helped them protecting the city. More than 1400 years later Homs became the heart of a blessed Jihad that blew back life in the Ummah. This is our proud history; this is the history we want to revive. Jihad has not been revealed by Allah to destroy mankind, rather it is revealed to save humanity. Fighting is just a means and not an end. The sword is like the pen; only a means to spread At-Tawheed.
Originally written by: The Dutch Mujahideen in Syria.