Shift in Focus

to establish the system of the righteous community.” Naturally, those whose minds are shaped by this specific interpretation will feel compelled, by their mental framework, to make political change their primary objective. This is because, in their view, establishing the righteous leadership is not possible without political transformation. Under the concept of shahada, a person considers success as simply conveying their message to the very end. But the interpretation under discussion assigns a task that cannot be considered fulfilled unless it takes the form of a system established in practice on earth. According to this interpretation, the Quranic term “shahadah” and similar words could have led someone to the misunderstanding that mere verbal testimony was sufficient to fulfil this responsibility. However, by creating the philosophy of “practical shahada,” it has been asserted that unless a formal state is established, the responsibility of shahada cannot be fulfilled. Those who fall into this mentality will, by nature, seek a political program to exercise their powers. They will consider “the task” to mean striving for a change in government. For them, mere preaching and understanding will not constitute the task they need to accomplish in the external world to fulfill their faith.