Founder & Leader of Hizb ut-Tahrir 1953-1977)
Background
The Scholar,
Muhammad Taqiuddin bin (son of) Ibrahim, bin (son of) Mustafah, bin (son
of) Ismail, bin (son of) Yusuf al-Nabhani. He belonged to the ancient
Arab tribe of Bani Nabhan, from North Palestine. He was born in the
village of Ijzim, within the district of Haifa, in 1909. While his
father was also a scholar of Islamic jurisprudence, and accordingly
worked as a lecturer in Islamic Law or Shari’ah, his mother mastered the
Islamic sciences and was also an Islamic scholar. She had been taught
by her father, the famous Ottoman poet, Islamic scholar, and Islamic
judge Yusuf an-Nabhani, who was appointed as judge at different Shariah
courts in Jenin, Constantinople, Mosul, Latakia, Jerusalem and Beirut.
The Islamic surroundings in which Taqiuddin grew up in, contributed to
the consolidation of his personality, so he was able to memorise wholly
& rehearse the entire Qur'an by heart at 12 years of age. Through
his grand-father, he was introduced into the then relatively sound world
of politics of the Ottoman Khilafah. His grandfather (father of his
mother) Yusuf an-Nabhani was known to have strong ties with high-ranking
state personalities in Istanbul, Iraq, Syria, Palestine and Lebanon.
His grandfather was Yusuf bin Ismail bin Yusuf bin Hasan bin Mohammed
An-Nabhani Al-Shafii (Abu Al-Mahasin). He was a prominent judge in the
Ottoman state and was in charge of judicial affairs in the Jenin area
that belongs to the Nablus district in Palestine.
Education
The sagacity
and intelligence he was able to show during Islamic study circles held
by his grandfather, convinced the latter, that the exposed capacity
should be promoted by all means. Instead of accomplishing his secondary
Shari’ah legal education in Haifa, al-Nabhani headed for Cairo, where in
1928 he boldly enrolled at both the al-Azhar University and the
Dar-ul-Ulum college of Cairo at the same time. He graduated from both,
according to the traditional education curriculum, in 1932, obtaining
the Universal Shari’ah Diploma, with excellent academic achievement. At
al-Azhar he attended different extra-curricula circles, held by famous
scholars such as Al-Akhdar Hussein, where he showed capacity during
debates and discussions.
Career
On his return
to Palestine he worked as a teacher from 1932 to 1938, but because he
abhorred the corruption in this field at that time, he shifted to the
judiciary. In his eyes, education and all the hereto-related curricula
were laid down by Western colonialist nations, and were therefore prone
to corruption. Judiciary, he felt was a safer haven, as it rested in its
entirety on Islamic jurisprudence and the Ottoman Islamic laws were
still applied. He applied to the high court in Palestine, which
consequently appointed him in different judicial areas in Bisan,
Tiberias and later Haifa. He also held the position of a legal Assessor
from 1940 to 1945. From this date until Palestine was occupied in 1948
he held a very high position at the court of Haifa. The exodus from
Palestine that followed, took him to Syria, nevertheless, a short while
later he was summoned back to Jerusalem which at the time wasnot
occupied by Israel, where he was appointed as Shari’ah judge or Qadi in
the Court of Appeal, where he remained until 1951. He stepped down in
1951 and went to Amman, where he held numerous lecturer posts at the
faculty of Islamic Sciences.
Politics
The political
activities of Taqiuddin an-Nabhani started very early. Before
establishing Hizb ut-Tahrir he had no organised political activity, save
for the period in his teens and twenties he had spent with the famous
mujahid Sheikh Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, whom he helped lay down plans for
the well known revolutionary upheavals against British colonial rule,
and against plans to set up the state of Israel by the Zionist movement.
He also met with the Muslim Brotherhood, and exchanged views with
Sayyid Qutb. Many of his early al-Azhar colleagues later bore witness to
his tireless activity in attending political and Islamic study circles.
They also praised his contribution to numerous political discussions
during which he did not abstain from criticising the internal
circumstances, which he believed had led to the political and
intellectual downfall of both the Muslims and the Islamic Caliphate. In
addition, he used to urge the Ulema at al-Azhar to give up the adopted
lassitude vis-à-vis the Ummah and her affairs and appealed to them to
seek the best way for revival.
On his return
to Palestine, he became more and more aware of the Westernisation of the
Islamic Ummah by colonial powers such as Britain and France. The loss
of Palestine in 1948 together with the failure of a coup attempt by
Abdullah al-Tall in Jordan to which al-Nabhani had been party convinced
him that only a structured and deep intellectual work could bring the
nation back to its glory and strength. Consequently he began
preparations relating to the Party structure, literature and the like,
as early as 1949 while he was still a judge at al-Quds. In his first
written work, which appeared in January 1950 under the title Inqadh
Filastin (Saving Palestine), he showed how deeply rooted Islam had been
in Palestine since the seventh century. He also analysed the main cause
for the set backs which had befallen the Arabs which, as he said, was
due to nothing but the fact that the Ummah had resigned and submitted
itself to the greedy colonial powers. In August 1950 he sent a long
letter, published later as a book entitled Risalat al-Arab "The Message
of the Arabs", to the members of the Culture Summit of the Arab League
in Alexandria, Egypt. In his exposition of the matter, he stressed upon
the point that the true and real message of the Arabs is Islam, on whose
basis alone the intellectual, and hence, political revival of the Ummah
could be achieved. As no reaction was forthcoming by the Summit members
to this letter, Sheikh Taqiuddin an-Nabhani was now convinced, more
than at any time before, that establishing a political party was
essential.
Hizb ut-Tahrir
While employed
at the Ibrahimiyya School al-Nabhani contacted numerous individuals and
personalities such as his colleagues As'ad and Rajab Bayyud Tamimi and
Abdul Qadeem Zallum and other about the formation of a political party.
By the end of
1952, and early 1953, the whole matter was put into practice and Hizb
ut-Tahrir was established in al-Quds Jerusalem. Taqiuddin an-Nabhani
together with Dawud Hamdan, Ghanim Abduh, Munir Shuqayr and Dr. Adil
al-Nablusi in accordance with the until then practiced Ottoman Law of
Societies, sent a notice to the governor of Jerusalem and the Jordanian
government, informing the authorities about the establishment of the
Party. The Jordanian government however, reacted instantly, and issued a
decree banning the Party, and declaring its activities illegal. Hizb
ut-Tahrir, nevertheless, ignored this action and continued with its work
in al-Quds, al-Khalil, Nablus and other towns and villages. Harsh
reactions were to follow by the government against the Party members,
and these continue until this day.
Consequently
the "Preaching and Guiding Law" was issued in 1954, with the objective
of banning Party members from giving talks in mosques. Despite harsh
repression, the Party has been able to grow immensely, stretching its
work throughout the Muslim world, and even reaching remote parts of the
globe like Aceh.
After
al-Nabhani left Jordan for a short trip to Damascus and Beirut sometime
in 1955 the Jordanian government passed an edict effectively barring
al-Nabhani ever returning to the kingdom. Consequently al-Nabhani
re-located to Damascus and later Beirut from where he led the party.
During 1973
whilst on a trip to Iraq, al-Nabhani was imprisoned by Iraqi security
services and severely tortured. He was spared only due to the Iraqi
security services misidentifying him as a scribe of the party and not
its leader. His release was secured soon after however, upon the
intervention of a prominent Lebanese personality to whom al-Nabhani was
related by marriage.
Death
Due to the
continuous harassment and persecution by the Jordanian government
al-Nabhani was forced into giving up his role in public life. Muhammed
Taqiuddin an-Nabhani died in Beirut on 20 December 1977, and was buried
at the al-Auza'i cemetery.
His Books
Saving Palestine - 1950
The Message of the Arabs - 1950
The System for Society - 1950
The System of Islam - 1953
The Ruling System in Islam - 1953
The Economic System in Islam - 1953
The Social System in Islam -1953
The Party Structure -1953
The Concepts of Hizb ut-Tahrir - 1953
The Islamic State - 1953
The Islamic Personality (in three volumes) - 1960
Political Concepts of Hizb ut-Tahrir - 1969
Political View of Hizb ut-Tahrir - 1972
Introduction to the Constitution or the Reasons That Make it Obligatory - 1963
The Khilafah - 1967
Presence of Mind - 1976
A Burning Call to the Muslims from Hizb ut-Tahrir - 1965
Thinking - 1973
The Jurisprudence of Prayer (Salah)
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