The State is an Executive Entity for a Set of Concepts, Criteria, and Convictions

প্রশ্ন · Question

Assalamu Alikum Wa Rahmatullah.
Before I ask my question, myself and my brothers in the Dawah, and
they are many, pray for you with all the good, long life and to achieve
the best work, Ameen.
As for my question, it is about getting the explanation of the phrase
contained in the “Introduction to the Constitution”: (The state is an
executive entity for a set of concepts, criteria, and convictions). What
do these three terms specifically mean, with examples?
May Allah honour you and bless you.

উত্তর · Answer

Wa Alaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuh
To begin with, may Allah ﷻ bless you and your brothers for your kind
prayers for us, and we pray to Allah to grant you the good.
In your question, you referred to what came in the book Introduction
to the Constitution Part One in the explanation of Article 1, which
states: (Hence, the state was defined as an executive entity for a set of
concepts, criteria, and convictions that were accepted by a group of
people.) By the way, this statement is not only found in “The

Introduction” book, it is included in other books such as the” Islamic
Personality” book, Part Two, where it says: (Because the entity of the
Ummah is a group of people, with a set of concepts, criteria and
convictions. The entity of the state is a group of people who have the
authority to rule with a set of criteria, concepts and convictions), But
the book that quoted this the most is (Entering the Society), in which
this statement was mentioned dozens of times.
By examining this statement, the three terms (concepts, criteria,
convictions), in general and in particular, become clear, as they say, as
follows:
1- Ideas are the meanings of words, and concepts are the meanings of
ideas. If a person believes in an idea, it turns from a mere idea to a
concept that affects behaviour. It was stated in the “Islamic
Personality” book, Part One, page 12-13, in the Word file:
[Concepts are the meanings of thoughts and not the meanings of
statements. A statement or expression denotes a meaning that may or
may not exist in reality. Thus, when the poet says:
ومن الرجال إذا انبريتَ لهدْمِهِمْ *** هَرَمٌ غليظُ منَاكِبِ الصُّفَّاح
فإذا رميتَ الحَقَّ ف ي أَجْلادِهِ *** تركَ الصراعَ مُضعضَعَ الألواح
There is amongst men he who when attacked… is found to be robust
and sturdy,
But when you hurl at him the truth….. He flees the fight at once, worn
out;
These meanings exist in reality and are comprehensible through sense -
perception, though comprehending them may require deep and
enlightened thought. However, when the poet says:
قالوا: أَينظم فارسي بطعنةٍ *** يومَ الب ّ الِ ولا يراه جَليلا
فأجبتهمْ: لو كانَ طولُ قَناتِهِ *** مِيلا إذنْ نَظَمَ الفَوارسَ ميلا

They asked: does he pierce two horsemen with one strike… and find
this not a grand act? I answered them, ‘If his spear were the length a
mile… A mile of horsemen he would pierce;
This connotation is absolutely non -existent. The man praised did not
pierce two horsemen with a single strike of his spear, nor did anyone
ask this question, nor is it possible for him to pierce a mile of
horsemen, these meanings illustrate and explain the words.
As for the meaning of fikr (thought), if the meaning indicated by the
words exists in reality and is sensorially perceivable or conceivable by
the mind as something that is sensed and thus believed in, this
meaning is a concept for the person who senses it, or conceives and
believes in it. It is not a concept for anyone who does not sense it or
conceive it although he may understand the meanings of the sentence
said to him or read by him. Therefore, concepts are the
comprehensible meanings whose reality is comprehended by the
mind, whether it is a perceivable reality existing outside the mind or
one that is accepted on the basis of perceivable reality as existing
outside it. Anything apart from these meanings of words and
sentences is not termed as a ‘concept’, it is mere information] End.
Accordingly, every thought that has become a belief is called a
concept, regardless of the narrow or wide meaning contained in the
concept.
2- Among the concepts are those related to only one branch, such as
the prohibition of drinking alcohol. It contains one meaning, that the
Shariah forbids drinking alcohol, meaning it contains only one branch
ruling only. But some concepts relate to multiple meanings because
several branch -ideas can be measured by them, so they are not
confined to one matter, for example, the concept of halal and haram is
a concept that covers all human actions. It is a criterion of human
actions. It is not related to one t hing only. Rather, this concept in this
case is a measure by which other ideas and concepts are measured, for

example, the concept of the “origin in things is that they are
permissible” is a criterion by which many things are measured and is
not confined to one thing. For example, the concept of “the end does
not justify the means” is a criterion for many political and non -political
actions. It is a criterion for many political thoughts and actions. So, the
criteria are wider than the concept. On the other hand, it is more
specific than the concept, as the term concept is given to partial ideas
as it is given to th e criteria. Thus, it becomes clear that every criterion
is an idea and a concept for those who believe in it, but not every
concept is a criterion because the concept may be a branch idea and it
may be a criterion, but the criterion can only be something on which
branches are built and measured, so it is not a branch idea.
3- As for convictions, they are the concepts and criteria that took the
role of traditions in the individual and the Ummah, and became so
concentrated in the soul and in the society that are difficult to remove.
If the concepts and criteria become deep rooted in the souls, they
reach the higher degree to become a conviction in the individual and
society that are difficult to remove. There are some concepts and
criteria that must reach the degree of convictions in individuals and
society to protect the individual and the Ummah, such as the concept
and criteria that “the origin of actions is the adherence to the Shariah
ruling”, and such as the concept of obedience, and the example of
jihad, and the example of trust in Allah (tawakul) ... etc.
Considering what is mentioned above about conviction, every
conviction is a concept or a criterion, but not every concept or criteria
is a conviction, because the concept and criteria that are not rooted in
souls and in society do not reach the degree of conviction even if
people believe in them. That is, they do not reach a degree of firmness
and establishment and stability, so that they are defined as
convictions. This, of course, does not mean that people are not
convinced of them in the linguistic sense of conviction, because they
believe in them; rather, they do not achieve the description of

convictions in the technical meaning, although they have become a
concept and a criterion.
In the book, The Social System, p. 11, Word File: [As for the reason for
this intellectual disturbance, and the deviation in understanding from
what is correct, it is due to the sweeping invasion by Western
civilization and its control of our thinking and taste completely, by
which it changed our concepts about life, our criteria of things and our
deeply rooted convictions in our souls like our protective jealousy for
Islam and our veneration of our sanctities.] End
Conclusion: If the idea is a branch idea and becomes a belief then it is
a concept, and if it is an idea upon which other branch ideas are based
and becomes a belief, then this concept becomes a criterion, and if the
concept and the criterion are rooted in the souls, in the society and the
Ummah they become convictions. Thus, the intended use of these
three terms and the need to differentiate between them when
working to change society and establish the state becomes clear.
When the party works in the Ummah for chang e, it must be aware and
should know the branch ideas that it wants to transform into concepts
in the Ummah, and be aware of the criteria that it wants to establish in
the Ummah, and be aware of concepts and criteria which it wants to
take on the role of tradition so that it is rooted in the souls, in society
and the Ummah, to become convictions that are difficult to remove.
Thus, the party can set its priorities in work before the establishment
of the state and after its establishment by focusing on the con cepts
and criteria that are the most important and most necessary to
preserve the Ummah and the state, and gives them the most
attention, and works to transform them into convictions that cannot
be easily shaken from the soul.
I hope the answer is clear.
Your Brother,

Abu Yasin
17 Muharram 1444 AH
15/8/2022 CE