Title: Is it Obligatory to Join a Group Aiming for the Establishment of an Islamic State? Question: I have a very serious and somewhat personal situation I am in at the moment. Insha-Allah you can help me. For some time now, I have been in contact with members of Hizb-ut-Tahrir (the party who's aim, they say, is to re-establish the Islamic State/ Khilafa ). In retrospect I tend to agree with their objective, and based on my (limited) understanding of Islam, I also agree it is good to join a group to "uphold the good and forbid the evil." (3:104) This verse is also the verse the Hizb was founded on. Because I want to do the best I can for Allah and for His chosen deen , I said to one of the members I was interested in joining the Hizb . I then started going to some open circles commonly held every week in a Masjid . It is only recently that I find they are telling me that certain things that I did not know about were actually obligatory ( fardh ) upon every Muslim. They claim: It is fardh for a Muslim to join a group. But only a group like Hizb-ut-Tahrir , who's soul aim is to re-establish the Islamic State/ Khilafah upon the earth. They also claim that once a member of the Hizb , it is " fardh " to attend a private "culturing" session (as they call it), which has the purpose of making one a more, "Islamic person and a better, more politically aware Muslim". When asked for the evidence of it being fardh to attend these weekly private meetings, they simply said that the Prophet (pbuh) used to privately "culture" certain believers in Mecca at the start of his mission (pbuh). Although I know this is true (although I would probably word it differently i.e. "teach" instead of "culture"), I do not think that the claim of it being " fardh " is necessarily true. They also quote so many Hadith now and again as "evidence" to what they say, but I am in no position to tell if the Hadith they are quoting is truly " Sahih " or not. They also claim to use the method that the Rasu'l (pbuh) used in establishing and teaching Islam to the people. Now, they assume that I am a already member of the Hizb . And they say they will contact me in order to start the "obligatory" culturing sessions. I am reluctant to answer my phone now because I do not want to do anything that would be forbidden in Islam - i.e. making something " fardh " when it is actually not, which would be an invention in religion. They also claim that only their group should be joined and that all others, i.e. Jihad groups are in error as they should be working for the Khilafah (forgive me if I am using this word wrong). I ask you to please advise me if what they say is true based on your (I find very excellent) knowledge of the Qur'an and Sunnah . Please try and reply soon as this is a matter of some urgency - but of course, only if you have time, brother. I do not mind if you post this on your site but please do not include my name if you do. May Allah reward you and your team for your efforts in the clarification and defense of Islam. Regards and Jazaak Allah Answer: The following points may help you take your decision. Obviously, in case any point requires any further elaboration, feel absolutely free in writing back to me. The first thing that should be remembered is that a group may hold the creation/establishment or 're-establishment' of an Islamic state or " Khilafah " (as some insist upon using) as its basic objective or purpose and an individual may agree with such a group, as well. Nevertheless, the important thing is that the establishment/re-establishment of an Islamic state is neither the basic objective of Islamic teachings nor is the very idea of such establishment or reestablishment based on Islamic teachings. In other words, there is no clear directive of the Qur'an or one ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh), in which it is said that the creation/establishment/re-establishment of an Islamic state is obligatory upon Muslims or a requirement of Islam. It is the responsibility of those who consider the creation/establishment/re-establishment of an Islamic state to be obligatory upon all Muslims to provide clear directives from the Qur'an and the Sunnah to the stated effect. As far as the directive of "promoting good" and "forbidding evil" is concerned, once again, compliance with this directive does not necessitate joining or forming a group for this purpose (though it would not be prohibited to so). An individual is required to comply with this directive in his individual capacity; an informal collectivity, like a group of Muslims may comply with this directive (informally) in their informal collective capacity; while, a formal collectivity of Muslims, like an Islamic state, is required to comply with this directive (formally) in its formal collective capacity. Thus, the directive of "Promoting Good" and "Forbidding Evil", per se , does not necessitate joining or establishing a group for the stated purpose. Whoever claims that it is ' Fardh ' (i.e. obligatory) for a Muslim to join any given group, has either to provide his basis of holding such an activity as " Fardh " from the clear directives of the Qur'an and the Sunnah or to openly declare that he is a prophet of God. For no one, besides a prophet of God, has the right to declare anything to be ' Fardh ' or ' Haraam ' in God's religion. The aforementioned principle also holds true for the 'Culturing Sessions'. As should be clear from the foregoing points, according to my present knowledge of the directives of the Qur'an and the Sunnah , I do not agree with the idea that you have represented in your letter. I would, nevertheless, be completely willing and open to learning any new aspects of Islam, which may have remained hidden from me. 14 th June 2000