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Are We in Dar ul-Kufr?

16 October, 2016
Q Dear brothers and sisters, assalamulaikoum, Two quick questions: Are we living in a dar ul kufr (the rule of disbelief) right now and as such may die as kaffir (disbelievers)? Do we have to have to have a kilafah (Islamic state for all Muslims with a single ruler) or will a just ruler suffice to bring us to dar ul Islam (the rule of Islam)? May Allah reward you for your answer.

Answer

Salam Dear Iqbal,

Thank you for your questions and for contacting Ask About Islam.

I strongly advise against using the term dar-l-kufr , an un-Quranic concept which is as useless for seizing today’s realities as the (equally un-Quranic) concept of daru-l-harb.

A kafir is someone who refuses reality, literally by covering it, someone who, in Muhammad Asad’s translation, is “bent on denying the truth and giving the lie to God’s message”.

Yes, there are such kuffar or kafirun, respectively, everywhere. But there is no single country, region, or continent without people who do accept the truth and believe in God and His messengers.

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Of course, one does not become a kafir for living among disbelievers – as Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and his companions did before their hijra (migration to Medina). At any rate, let us not be grieved by kuffar (disbelievers) :

Let not those grieve thee who rush headlong into Unbelief: Not the least harm will they do to God: God’s plan is that He will give them no portion in the Hereafter, but a severe punishment.

Surah 3 Verse 176

This is while remembering that it is Allah alone Who makes Muslims of people who, metaphorically, used to be deaf, dumb, and blind :

The parable of those who reject Faith is as if one were to shout Like a goat-herd, to things that listen to nothing but calls and cries: Deaf, dumb, and blind, they are void of wisdom.

Surah 2 Verse 171

After all, even our Prophet (peace be upon him) had no power to make people believe:

The same is it to them whether thou admonish them or thou do not admonish them: they will not believe.

Surah 36 Verse 10

So let us frequently recite Surat-al-Kafirun and let believe who wants to, and disbelieve who wants to:

Say, “The truth is from your Lord”: Let him who will believe, and let him who will, reject (it): …

Surah 18 Verse 29

As a minimum, Muslims should hesitate before applying the term kafir to any of the Ahl al-Kitab (people of the book – Jews, Christians, etc.,). True, some Quranic verses deal with Jews and Christians as those who disbelieve and disqualify them as a Muslim’s friends:

O ye who believe! Take not for friends unbelievers rather than believers: Do ye wish to offer God an open proof against yourselves?

Surah 4 Verse 144

But, again, it would be wrong to pass judgment on an entire category of people, many of whom do believe in the One and Only God, the same one we call Allah.

The second question is not really relevant for what is essential; Whether we can be good Muslims while living in a non-Muslim country. The answer to this really crucial question is “yes”.

It is indeed immaterial for our individual chances of living the pious life whether there is a daru-l-lslam somewhere out there or not. (indeed, that concept, too, is a non-Quranic misnomer because there simply is no single commonwealth around where Islam is fully practiced).

Against this background, it becomes fully academic to ask whether a daru-l-Islam requires a khalifah or may do with a just ruler. The Muslim world, most of the time had to manage without either, and did so. As Ibn Taymiyyah was aware, the preservation of the shari’ah (Islamic law) is more important than the preservation of the khilafah institution.

I hope this helps answer you questions.

Salam and please keep in touch.