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Justice a Call to Humanity - Dr Azzam Tamimi

Bismillahir rahmanir rahim,

Allah Almighty says in Al-Quran, ‘Allah orders you, commands you, to pay back the trusts that are given to you to those to whom they are due. And when you judge among people you do so justly’. This verse was revealed to the prophet, peace be upon him, upon his entry into Makkah when Makkah was conquered or taken back or, when its people returned to it after many years of exile in medina. So it was a moment of victory, a moment of jubilation but Allah, the Most Glorious orders the prophet that your sense of victory your sense of jubilation should never bar you or deter you from being fair and just.

And the reason for that is usually we human beings, by nature, we tend to transgress when we have the power to do so, so it’s in our nature, that’s why usually they say ‘power corrupts’. Powerful people like George Bush and Tony Blair are the most unjust people on the face of the earth. Why? They have the power to be unjust. Weak people are usually oppressed. Weak people don’t even have the means of oppressing others, but a Muslim whether weak or strong is supposed to be fair and the guarantee for this is taqwa, is piety, is the fear of Allah, The Almighty.

Now what does it mean to be just? How do I know whether I am just or not? There is no definition for it. There is a feeling inside me by our human nature by the instinct Allah created us on - ‘the Fitrah’ we know whether we are right or wrong, whether we have been fair or unfair, just or unjust and that’s why this is a concept, this is a term, that is not in need for further defining in the Quran. Because when Allah, the most glorious says, ‘let not the dislikes of others make you swerve from being fair to them. Being fair or just is being close to piety,’ that’s because we know within ourselves when we are fair and when we are not.

All religions; Judaism, Christianity, Islam, I am definitely sure every other religion expects its adherence to be fair to others. However, unfortunately, in justice, oppression is mostly justified in the name of one religion or the other. We Muslims do that too; don’t just think others do it.

Some of us when we don’t have taqwa, when we don’t fear Allah, The Most Glorious, we justify the wrong by attributing it to Allah. Some of us say ‘these are kuffar, its okay; you can do it to them’. No! You cannot do to the non-Muslims what you cannot do to a Muslim! We are all human beings, dignified by Allah, the Most Glorious, and what is haraam among the Muslims is haraam between the Muslims and the non-Muslims.

We the Muslims today are the victims of injustices around the world. We are the victims of injustice in Palestine, in Lebanon as you saw recently, in Iraq as you have been seeing in Afghanistan, in Kashmir, in Chechnya, in Bosnia, all these issues have been the result of the political crisis created by injustice, created by the greed of leaders in America and in Europe here especially in Britain, who want to take as much of the resources of the world for themselves exclusively at the expense of everybody else. And therefore it is an act of justice to stand up in support of the causes of those who are oppressed on the earth. If we know that Palestine is a just cause, Lebanon is a just cause fighting those who invade Muslim countries is a just cause and if you don’t speak in support of this, then we choose to be in the camp of the oppressors, in the camp of unjust people!

We also have to stand for justice with whoever is being treated unfairly, and I tell you, the governments of Britain and the United States of America have been trying to turn this war on terrorism in to a war on Islam. All those alleged plots they are talking about, and I don’t believe any of them! I don’t believe any of them! And let this be recorded and let this be conveyed around the world! And I bet you, as I said before, it will all turn out to be hoax in order to serve the interest of those who want to limit our liberties, those who want to take from us our God given rights to stand up and speak in support of Palestine, in support of Iraq, in support of Lebanon in support of every oppressed nation of the world.

And something for those who don’t like this, they don’t like what I say, they don’t like to hear it, something they have to know, the value of justice in Islam is synonymous with the value of tawheed, Monotheism, and the evidence, I’m not making it up, read in the Quran, when Luqman Al hakim, Luqman the wise said to his son ‘oh son, do not assign partners with Allah for assigning partners with Allah, shirk that is, is a great injustice can you see, if shirk is a great injustice then shirk is a great injustice then tawheed, monotheism is the greatest justice in the world. And that’s why if we fear Allah, if we fear Allah, we should not fear tyrants. We should not fear oppressors; it is out of the sense of justice that we challenge them. We defy them, we say to them you are wrong and you will see time will tell.

The messenger, peace be upon him, told us that the master of martyrs is hamza, (RA). Do you know who hamza was? His uncle and one of the early martyrs in the history of Islam. Hamza is the master of martyrs and a man who stands up in defiance before a tyrant, before a an oppressor like George Bush like Tony Blair like the Arab corrupt leaders like the Muslim leaders who are selling their brothers and daughters to the kuffar. You stand up to them you stand up and say this ‘ stop this injustice stop this oppression’. They cannot tolerate you, they don’t tolerate freedom of speech and you get killed for it. That’s the greatest act of martyrdom. Telling the truth and dieing for what is true and what is just.

Finally brothers and sisters, when Allah Almighty describes this ummah, how is our ummah described? And by the way, I don’t ever believe that there is something called European Muslims. We are Muslims in Europe not European Muslims. We have an identity, we have our aqidah we have a shariah and we have an ummah that we are proud of. And Allah describes us an ummah, how does he describe us, ‘as such we made you an ummah that is wasat’. What does it mean, al-wasat? It means fair, it means just, it means lofty, it means in the middle path. The middle path is not to pay lip service to the tyrants, the middle path is not to rub shoulders with the likes of Tony Blair and George Bush, the middle path is to be witness to mankind so that you will be witness to mankind and the prophet will testify for or against you.

How do we qualify to what this is? How? If you are not telling the truth, if you are not fair, if you are not honest, if you are not decent then you cannot qualify as a witness and that’s why our ummah is signified, is characterized. Why its abilities to be witness by standing for what is true and for what is just.

Don’t say we are in difficult times, I tell you we are in the best of times, just have confidence in your deen, have confidence in Allah, have confidence in your ummah. Don’t be terrified, don’t be intimidated just stand up and defend what is right.

I tell you we are in the best of times, the Israelis have been defeated they’ve been humiliated by Hizbullah, by Hamas, by the defenders of truth, those who are defending me and you. You think Hizbullah was defending Lebanon? You think Hizbullah was defending itself? Hizbullah was defending the ummah! Hamas is making sacrifice for you and me for the ummah! Therefore we tell this government Hamas is not terrorist, Hamas is elected by its people by the Palestinians. Tear apart that terrorism list, stick it wherever you like. We are not terrorist we are defenders of truth and we have rights and for these rights we will continue to struggle.

I tell you brothers and sisters glad tidings! What is coming is still even better but, what is better doesn’t come free of charge. We have to offer sacrifices, we have to make sacrifices. What are you doing for the ummah? Ask yourself when you go tonight to bed, when this talk becomes history when this function becomes history, keep asking yourself this question; ‘what am I doing for this ummah? Am I just enjoying myself listening to Azam Tamimi putting a show of some sort or am I being awakened to be an active part of the ummah, what can I offer for the ummah’ this is the question. Each of you has to ask, if you can give money then give money, if you can speak then speak if you can write then write, if you lobby politicians do that, if you can lobby media people then do that. Don’t just stand aside and say it is beyond me, there is nothing I can do.

I swear by Allah, the Almighty that every single one of you man and woman, every single one of you other than a child has something to contribute and contribute a lot and it is in this way that the ummah will come together that the ummah will be able to stand on its own feet again and the ummah will bring back its glory, not to oppress others, not to suppress others. These neo-cons are fighting every body in the world and saying ‘Oh these Muslims they want to bring back the khilafa.’ I say yes. I want to bring back the khilafa so what? Our khilafa is more just, is more decent, is more honest than any system this world, this western world has ever seen.

You think American liberalism is good for humanity? Look what its doing to humanity. Our khilafa established an order where Muslims, Christians and Jews worked together and built a huge civilisation. You look at what’s happening to the Muslims in America, what’s happening to the Muslims across Europe? Now they are chasing us we cannot even speak the truth. We say to them our khilafa is not a threat to anybody but those who are oppressors, our khilafa will open up all avenues for peace and co-existence.

Assalamu alaikum Wa rahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu

Transcribed by
Jaheraa Ali (Shipa)

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