Officials and Accountability in Liberated Syrian Territories

Walking through the liberated areas in Northern Syria, one experiences a mix of joy and sadness. There’s joy in being away from Assad’s regime and intelligence, and equal sadness about the state of our areas beyond his control.
If advocates and reformers remain silent about this situation, we risk creating countless versions of Bashar and his ilk!

Since Allah has commanded the people of knowledge to clarify things for the people, as stated in the Quran (Surah Al-Imran, 3:187): {And [mention] when Allah took the covenant of those who were given the Scripture, [saying], “You must make it clear to the people and not conceal it”}, it is imperative for us to speak out about reform and identify the faults, following the prophetic guidance which says: “By Him in Whose Hand my soul is, you will enjoin good and forbid evil, or Allah will certainly soon send a punishment from Him against you. Then you will make supplication and not receive an answer.”

A Misguided Compass:
Assad’s regime policy required talking about everything except criticism or anything similar towards the ruling elite. Addressing people’s life problems was one thing, but advising the authority and ruler was completely different! Regrettably, the ghost of that policy, which we fled from, now haunts us in our liberated areas.
This leads us to the crux of the matter: the absence of religious discourse directed towards the nation according to its needs and what its benefit requires, in terms of correcting its condition and straightening its deviation. Imam Al-Izz ibn Abd al-Salam said: “Whoever enters a village where usury is rampant and preaches about adultery has betrayed Allah and His Messenger! Therefore, it is important to direct our discourse towards the authority and officials for the sake of reform and achieving righteousness.
The prophetic guidance says: {The best Jihad is a word of justice in front of an oppressive ruler}. We recall the story of the man who asked the Prophet ﷺ while putting his foot in the stirrup (land of Jihad): Which Jihad is best? The Prophet replied: “A word of truth in front of an oppressive ruler.”

From here, the ink of scholars is more valuable in the balance than the blood of martyrs themselves, as the Messenger of Allah said: {Three will intercede on the Day of Judgment: Prophets, then scholars, then martyrs}, and: {The ink of scholars and the blood of martyrs will be weighed on the Day of Judgment}, and: {Prophets have two levels over scholars, and scholars have one level over martyrs}.
These ranks and statuses are because the scholar identifies faults and addresses them, guiding people to avoid and distance themselves from paths leading to these faults.

O people of knowledge and platforms of guidance and counseling, give the people’s issues their due in research and study, along with constructive criticism and direct guidance.
Direct your criticisms towards the officials, as they are the most deserving of advice and gratitude for it (if their intentions are sincere and their resolve is right). It is narrated: “If the shepherd is righteous, the flock will be righteous; if the shepherd is corrupt, the flock will be corrupt.”

O our esteemed officials (after the time of revolution against our tormentors):
We now hear and see in our liberated areas, tyrants who see themselves as great leaders immune to criticism. We see officials who trivialize the rights of the people, barriers that ravage the liberated, and unjust and aggressive levies taken from people, with officials and the powerful behind them!!
We see courts that arrest people on suspicion and doubt, flog people’s backs, and see leaders who refuse to submit to the law and circumvent it, thinking themselves as the law, perhaps above it, as the state and authority.
We see officials who have allowed themselves public money, dividing it among themselves and those in their orbit.
Our Prophet says: {Whoever takes people’s money intending to repay it, Allah will repay it on his behalf, and whoever takes it intending to waste it, Allah will waste him}.

Finally…
Our message to scholars, preachers, and every person with a word and platform, including poets, writers, and artists, is to focus primarily on advising rulers openly and secretly.
Abu Nuaim narrated in Hilyat Al-Awliya: “I heard Al-Fudayl ibn ‘Iyad say: If I had a guaranteed answered prayer, I would not make it except for the Imam (the one in authority and power). When asked, ‘Why is that, O Abu Ali?’ He replied: ‘For in the righteousness of the Imam lies the righteousness of the subjects and the land.
And for all those in the media, they should not deceive people by talking about things that are irrelevant to their lives and livelihoods. For it is said in tradition that the heavens and the earth were established with justice.
They should focus on establishing the balance of justice in both words and actions, and strive to protect it with ink and paper, in every plain, mountain, and valley.

According to the religious perspective of the Syrian Future Movement, which is based on the objectives of the Hanafi religion and the ethics of the Abrahamic faiths, we advise paying attention to guiding those in power and influence, just as we care for the side of the people.
It is our duty to monitor every official and person in power and to advise them.
For if Assad’s regime continued in the place where it is today, Since you have in your positions a chair that you sit upon

Ahmed Bahaa El-Din.
The Religious Office
Syrian Future Movement