Editorial Board
May 2, 2013
The School of Imam Abdessalam Yassine seeks a two-fold renewal in the Muslim umma. It seeks the renewal of the individual’s faith and commitment to God and His Messenger, and it seeks a comprehensive renewal of the spiritual and worldly condition of the umma. The renewal of the individual’s faith consists of him or her rising in the ranks of Islam, Iman and Ihsan, and this individual renewal is the starting point from which the renewal of the umma must begin. The renewal of the umma consists of it rising out of its political, economic and cultural backwardness and subjugation to fulfill its role as a mercy, guide and witness among mankind. God says, “You are the best nation derived from mankind” (Qur’an, 3:110). In a hadith related by Imam Ahmad, the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, promised that there would be a second khilafa that runs according to the Prophetic Method at the end of time (khiliafatan ‘ala minhaj al-nubuwwa). In worldly terms, the establishment of this second khilafa is the goal of the School of Imam Yassine, but ultimately this is only a means towards attaining the eternal Pleasure of God and nearness to Him, which is the true goal of every Muslim.
This is obviously a comprehensive and multi-faceted mission, the full details of which can only be explained in volumes (Imam Yassine himself has expressed it in over 30 books), but we will attempt to present the essential aspects of it here in a brief yet comprehensive manner. As we mentioned, the goal of the School is two-fold. It has a communal and an individual aspect, a political and a religious, a temporal and a spiritual. It is al-‘Adl (justice) and al-Ihsan (spiritual excellence). “Indeed, God commands justice and spiritual excellence…” (Qur’an, 16:90). These two aspects of the School are by no means mutually exclusive. On the contrary, we consider them to be inseparable. Our aim is to follow the example of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, in the most complete manner possible, leaving nothing of his blessed sunna. “There has indeed been for you in the Messenger of God an excellent example – for those whose hope is in God and the Last Day and remember God abundantly” (33:21). We want neither a monastic worshipper who isolates himself from society and the concerns of his time, nor a mere political activist who dives into the thick of events but forgets his relationship with God. We want a balanced personality – a knight by day and a monk by night as the Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon all of them, were described. It is reported that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever reaches the morning and his concern is something other than God is not of God, and whoever reaches the morning and is not concerned with the affairs of the Muslims is not of them” (related by al-Hakim). This was the understanding that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, inculcated in his Companions, and it is this understanding that we hope to adopt, learn, live and die according to, with the blessing of God Almighty.
