From the Open Wound to the Moment of Decision
(Translated)

Tragedy is not a fleeting news item to be relegated to the evening news bulletins even if calamities become breaking news among other urgent matters. Since the abolition of the Khilafah (Caliphate) at the beginning of the last century at the hands of the criminal of the age, Mustafa Kemal, the wounds have been repeatedly inflicted upon the fragmented body of the Ummah, under various names and in different places. These wounds have formed painful milestones that cannot be erased from memory. Instead, they have become an extended series of bloody chapters that rewrite themselves in different forms and in distant locations across the length and breadth of the Muslim World, the latest of which was what happened in Gaza.

Since the creed of disbelief is one, the wounds of the Ummah are not isolated events, but they are features of a single colonialist reality that reproduces itself and targets a single civilization even if divided by nationalistic borders: a reality of a civilizational battle in which dignity is spilled, the will of the people is tested, and the Ummah is left to face a heavy burden that recurs under different names and with multiple faces, unified in a field where they compete to lick the boots of the Americans, renewing the methods and forms of subjugation! With each new chapter, we are reminded that memory no longer merely holds onto the past, but also carries the unresolved.

Since the Nakba of Palestine, the wounds of the Ummah have not healed; rather, they continue to bleed, generation after generation. Images shift, faces change, but the same scene repeats itself: land and sanctities violated, blood spilled, false witnesses in positions of power, and a nation watching as if powerless to break the borders that encircle it! Decades have passed, bringing defeats, setbacks, and pain, followed by uprisings, dreams, and hopes, then a return to an even harsher reality governed by the logic of force, and emanating the stench of death. The challenge lies not in the scarcity of information, now inundated daily by artificial intelligence algorithms, but in the numbness of our feelings.

We see, we hear, and then we move on! It is as if the distance between the image and the heart has widened into a terrifying chasm, and the question has become agonizing: Have we grown accustomed to pain, or have we lost the ability to transform it into action?

At every stage, hearts are drawn to a new hope, to a person, a movement, or a project that people believe holds their salvation even if it was crafted under the watchful eye of colonialism. The masses once rallied around Gamal Abdel Nasser as the voice of Arab dignity, then around Saddam Hussein as a bulwark against hegemony, then around moderate Islam and its symbols, since Islam was presented as the solution. Later, they rallied around forces that raised the banner of resistance, and then around major regional projects led by Iran. At each stage, people followed this or that figure, believing it to be the path to liberation from the yoke of colonialism. However, it later became clear that colonialism was capable of changing its skin.

Almost every time, emotion preceded vision, and hope was pinned on symbols or movements, not on a principled ideology and a comprehensive revival (نهضة nahdah) project awaiting a decisive moment. Then, these experiences inevitably collided with their inherent limitations, linked to the idea and the method: miscalculations, underestimation of the adversary, the pressures of reality, the absence of alternatives, internal contradictions, and sometimes dependence on foreign support and funding. The resulting disillusionment would then be even more profound than before. Conversely, the governing regimes in many Muslim countries, which are supposed to be looking after their affairs, remain trapped in a cycle of subservience, failing to represent the will of the Ummah or bear its civilizational burdens. For many, these regimes have become an additional burden; managing crises instead of resolving them, extinguishing the spirit instead of reviving it, and even tightening the noose around the people to subjugate them until the Muslim feels like a stranger in his own land, stripped of his will, trapped between a suffocating domestic reality and a bloody external reality.

Herein lies the true dilemma: not a lack of courage, nor an absence of sacrifices, but rather the failure to find the unifying framework that can transform these energies into an effective force capable of shifting the balance in favor of Islam and its people. An Ummah possessing a vitalizing Aqeedah (creed), a rich history, immense human potential, and countless resources is certainly capable of reviving. However, the Ummah needs a clear compass and a project built not on reactive measures, but on a comprehensive and integrated vision derived from the Noble Quran and Prophetic Sunnah.

Merely reacting emotionally, however sincere, will not generate revival. Relying on temporary leaders or regional powers cannot achieve the desired transformation.

Furthermore, accumulating awareness of the causes of failure without striving for success is an argument against those who do so, not for them. Therefore, what is required is deeper: rebuilding awareness on the basis that Islam is not a slogan to be raised, but a way of life to be implemented; that the unity of the Ummah is not a utopian dream, but an existential necessity; and that restoring dignity is not achieved by patching up reality or operating within the red lines imposed upon it, but by changing it from its very roots in obedience to Allah (swt) and His Messenger (saw).

When this concept is raised, a great promise and a deeply rooted vision in the Muslim awareness resurface: that the Khilafah Rashidah (rightly-guided Caliphate) on the Method of Prophethood will return to the Ummah, not as a historical memory, but as a living reality embodying justice, unifying the ranks, liberating the will, and severing the hand of colonialism. This is not a utopian idea, but a vision with its roots and origins, and its evidence in the rich history of Islam. If the will, awareness, and action are present, it can be transformed into a viable civilizational project, led by a political party dedicated to this goal: Hizb ut Tahrir (حزب التحرير Party of Liberation).

The path to this is not easy, but its features are clear for those who sincerely wish to tread it. It begins with awakening the senses from their slumber, breaking the state of submissive passivity, moving from sympathy to commitment, from apathy to a sense of responsibility, and from disarray to organized action. The Ummah does not lack sincerity; instead, it needs guidance. It does not lack enthusiasm; instead, it needs to frame it within a comprehensive and inclusive project that seeks to be governed by the rule of Shariah.

It is time for the Ummah to break free from its cycle of waiting and realize that its salvation does not come from outside, nor is it forged on the sidelines of events. Instead, it springs from within, from its Aqeedah, its understanding of the Shariah rulings of its Deen, and its ability to rally around a project that truly represents it. Indeed, within the Ummah today are men and women who have remained true to their covenant with Allah (swt), who bear this burden, and who strive to rebuild this unifying entity, believing that succession in ruling (استخلاف istikhlaaf) of the earth is a promise of Allah (swt), whilst the Khilafah is a prophetic glad tiding, and that its realization requires diligent work, perseverance, and patient endurance.

Everyone must be sure, and at the forefront of them is that sincere group of people of military power and protection, that healing the wounds and resolving the civilizational battle in the interest of the Ummah is possible, as long as we consider that the issue is not geography but rather Aqeedah, and then comes the meaning: human dignity, the sanctity of blood, and the Shariah obligation to support. When these concepts are restored and their image becomes clear in the mind, the question changes from “What is happening there?” to “What should I do here?” Do hearts remain attached to recurring illusions, or will they become a force that pushes towards real change? Does pain remain news stories, or does it become a spark that awakens an entire Ummah?

The moment is not fleeting, but a dividing moment; either the continuation of the circle in the same cycle, or the beginning of a new path that restores the Ummah’s unity, the human being’s dignity, and the Risaalah (the Message) in the reality of life. Allah (swt) said, [وَلَيَنْصُرَنَّ اللَّهُ مَنْ يَنْصُرُهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَقَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ] “And Allah will surely support whoever supports Him. Indeed, Allah is Strong, Mighty.” [TMQ Surah Al-Hajj:40].

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Engineer Wissam Al-Atrash