All praise is to Allah (swt), the Lord of the Worlds. And we send peace and blessings upon the master of the Messengers, the Imam of the Muttaqeen (those who fear Allah), and upon his family, his companions and upon everyone who makes Da’awah with his message, and who confines himself to the method of the Messenger (saw), and follows in the footsteps of the Messenger (saw) and takes the Islamic Aqeedah as the basis of his thoughts, and the Shari’ah rules as the standard for his actions and as the reference for all his opinions.
The Muslim Ummah has become well aware that the re-establishment of the Khilafah is the most vital issue facing them today since it is the Khilafah that will establish the prayer, unify the Islamic lands, and implement the Shari’ah on the earth. Throughout the entire world the sons and daughters of this Ummah are calling and working for its return so that the light of Islam that guided the world in the darkest of ages returns to enlighten humanity once again.
Unfortunately, after the destruction of the Khilafah, Islam became absent from the realm of life and became something from which the Muslims were detached. The minds of the Muslims were such that they could not imagine any system of government except the rotten and tyrannical regimes imposed on the Muslim countries. The Muslims in the West became subdued by the situation, due to their detachment from the Muslims in the Islamic lands, and began to look with hope and desperation to the capitalist way of life and its rotten fruits.
What must be realised is that the responsibilities of the work to re-establish the Khilafah that rest on the shoulders of the Muslims of Britain and the Western World are no different to the responsibilities upon all the Muslims. No Muslim on the face of this earth has an excuse to abandon the duty of establishing the Deen which Allah (swt) has ordered, that is, the establishment of a Khaleefah for the Muslims, when there is no Khilafah on the earth, and no one to implement the Hudood (limits) of Allah (swt) to protect the sanctities of Allah (swt), and no one to implement the laws of the Deen, and unify the Muslim community under the banner of La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammad ur-Rasul Allah. There is no permission in Islam given to any Muslim, in Britain, the West or elsewhere, to abandon the work for this duty until it is indeed accomplished.
The seduction of Muslims by the Western culture and the submission of their minds to the corrupt situation in which they find themselves has led some in the West to propagate and call for ideas which are far from the Islamic ideas, and methods which are distant from the method of the Messenger (saw).
The call for a unique identity and role for the Muslims in the West, distinct from the Muslims in the Islamic lands, is one such erroneous call that aims to occupy the Muslims of the West with localised goals, cheap struggle and a narrow vision far from the wide-ranging vision of the Sahabah (ra) who from the first day of this struggle realised that Islam had come to dominate the entire world.
The calls for gradualism in applying Islam and pragmatism in following its rules are aimed at diverting the Muslims of the West from the pure and pristine ideas and rules of Islam which were perfected more than fourteen centuries ago by the Messenger of Allah (saw), who along with his Sahabah (ra) never accepted anything short of the Islamic rules, and never faltered or wavered in the face of oppression, propaganda and boycott, until Allah (swt) honoured them with the victory.
Similarly, the calls for democracy and participation in government are added obstacles in the path to re-establish the Khilafah, which encourage the Muslims globally, and those in the West in particular to be satisfied with a system of government other than the one ordained by the Deen of Islam, which is the Khilafah.
This book, written with the needs of Muslims in Britain and the Western World in mind, has been issued by Members of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Britain. The book explains the need for Muslims to realise that Islam has laid down a precise, detailed and practical method that they should adopt in their quest for the Khilafah’s return. It deals with subjects such as the vital issues according to Islam, the need for Ijtihad, emulation of the Messenger (saw) and the detailed Prophetic method for re-establishing the Khilafah.
It also presents a powerful refutation of invalid methods such as gradualism, pragmatism, and the call for democracy and participation in government, by exposing their defects and contradiction with Islam.
We ask Allah (swt) to assist us in our endeavour to re-establish the Khilafah with His Help and His Strength, and to accept from us this effort, and to overlook our mistakes. We ask Him also to guide all Muslims to adhere to the Shari’i ruling, to honour them with the re-establishment of the Khilafah, and restoring the rule with the Book of Allah (swt) and the Sunnah of His Messenger (saw). Indeed, this is not difficult for Allah (swt).
“And so judge between them by what Allah has revealed and follow not their vain desires, but beware of them lest they turn you far away from some of that which Allah has sent down to you. And if they turn away, then know that Allah’s Will is to punish them for some sins of theirs. And truly, most of men are Fasiqun (disobedient)” (TMQ al-Ma’idah: 48-49)