With Islam, the people of Sudan are fused into one crucible
And live a dignified and just life under its state
The population of Sudan is 49.4 million, according to indicators from the United Nations Population Fund in 2024, 96% of whom are Muslims. Sudan includes a small Christian community and individuals who follow pagan religions. Sudanese society consists of tribes of Arab, African, and Nubian origins dating back to more than 500 ethnic groups, with Arabs being the dominant ethnicity at 70%, in addition to other ethnicities including the Beja, Nubians, Fulani, Jabartah, Fur, and Masalit, among others. The colonizers exploited this diversity and difference to ignite conflicts and civil wars, using it to implement their plans, foremost of which was tearing Sudan into small states by playing on the string of self-rule, the right to self-determination, and the rights of small ethnic groups. Thus, the north was separated from the south, and now there is talk of separating Darfur. We are not here to delve into the origins and details of the components of society in Sudan, nor are we discussing the mechanism and stages of tearing Sudan apart. Rather, what we are concerned with here is to show that Islam alone is capable of fusing these different components into one crucible, and to show that the Caliphate state alone is capable of dealing with them from the standpoint of care and subordination, and achieving justice, equality, and a decent life for them.
The rulings of Islam have brought together different, even conflicting, peoples and tribes, unified their word, and leveled their ranks, creating a sophisticated nation; they worship one Lord, turn to one Qibla, the humblest of them strives on their behalf, and one of them sacrifices his blood for his brother after shedding his blood. Islam alone is the principle capable of fusing people into one crucible. It fused Arabs, Copts, Berbers, Turks, Nubians, and others, making them one nation before the hand of the colonizer extended to revive these fanaticisms and conflicts to serve his plans. Islam did not differentiate between people based on race, color, or gender, but rather focused on the human being as a human being. People are equal in his view, and differentiation between them is based on their deeds, not on their shapes, genders, and races. The criterion for differentiation between them is piety and the extent of their commitment to God's commands and prohibitions in their lives. As for the different matters between people, such as race, color, and gender, they are natural matters and are among God's signs and manifestations of His power. They are not viewed negatively or preferentially. God Almighty says: ﴿O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted﴾. Jabir bin Abdullah, may God be pleased with him, said: The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, said: «O people, your Lord is one, and your father is one. There is no superiority for an Arab over a non-Arab, nor for a non-Arab over an Arab, nor for a red person over a black person, nor for a black person over a red person, except through piety. Have I conveyed the message? They said: The Messenger of God has conveyed the message. He said: Let the one who is present convey it to the one who is absent».
Islam has made the correct bond that can connect human beings with each other the ideological bond from which a system emerges that addresses the problems of human beings in all aspects of their lives and organizes the relationships of individuals in the same society, which is the bond of the Islamic ideology, not the national, ethnic, tribal, or pre-Islamic bond of fanaticism, about which the Prophet ﷺ said: «Leave it, for it is foul». With this bond, Suhaib al-Rumi, Bilal al-Habashi, Salman al-Farsi, and Abu Bakr al-Arabi al-Qurashi became brothers. With this bond, Islam united the Aws and Khazraj after they were in conflict and harbored enmity and hatred for each other, so they turned into loving brothers and became the supporters of the religion, and they had the virtue of supporting His Messenger ﷺ and establishing the Islamic state. God Almighty said: ﴿If you had spent all that is in the earth, you could not have reconciled their hearts, but Allah has reconciled them. Indeed, He is Exalted in Might and Wise﴾.
These rulings that Islam has brought through legislation have been guaranteed by the Caliphate state through implementation. There is no concept of minority and majority in the Caliphate state as is the case today. Islam considers the group that governs according to its system a human unit, regardless of its sect and gender, and nothing is required of it except subordination, that is, residing in it and loyalty to the state. It views all people as human beings only and considers them its subjects, as long as they hold subordination. The internal policy of the Islamic state is the implementation of Islamic law on all those who hold subordination, whether they are Muslims or non-Muslims. Everyone who holds subordination is a subject of the Islamic state, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, and has rights and duties towards the state as required by Islamic law. The state is responsible for him, for his care, for his protection, and for the protection of his wealth and honor, and for providing him with security, livelihood, well-being, justice, and tranquility, without any difference between Muslim and non-Muslim. Everyone is equal before the state like the teeth of a comb.
Islam has brought several rulings for the People of the Covenant (dhimmis), including that they are not tempted away from their religion and are not forced to enter Islam. Rather, they are left to their beliefs, what they worship, and what they eat. Matters of marriage and divorce between them are decided according to their religions. They are not burdened with any of the obligations that Muslims are burdened with, such as jihad and zakat. They are not forced to fight, but anyone who wishes may fight in the Muslim army of his own choice. These dhimmis only pay the jizya, which is an amount of money taken from adult, capable males, according to the verse ﴿until they give the jizya willingly﴾. The "willingly" is a metaphor for ability. It is not taken from women and children, and if the dhimmi becomes poor, the jizya is waived and the state takes over spending on him from the treasury. The People of the Covenant are treated well, and they are viewed before the ruler and before the judge, when taking care of affairs, and when applying transactions and penalties as Muslims are viewed, without any discrimination. They are subject to the rulings of Islam as Muslims are subject to them. They are subjects of the Islamic state like all subjects, they have the right to be subjects, the right to protection, the right to guaranteed living, the right to good treatment, and the right to kindness and leniency. They have the same rights to fairness as Muslims and the same obligations to fairness as Muslims. Justice with them is as obligatory as it is with Muslims. Anyone who holds subordination and has the competence, whether male or female, Muslim or non-Muslim, may be appointed as a director of any interest or administration, and may be an employee in it. The People of the Covenant may be in the National Assembly in order to complain about the injustice of rulers or the misuse of the rulings of Islam.
If we look at the history of the Islamic state since the Prophet ﷺ established it, we see that non-Muslims lived with dignity and honor under the rule of Islam, and that they were viewed from the perspective of subordination and care, and that there was no first-class and second-class subject in the Islamic state. Diversity prevailed in the first Islamic state that the Prophet ﷺ established in Medina at the moment of its establishment. It included immigrants and supporters, and its subjects included Arabs and non-Arabs, Muslims and non-Muslims. Then it expanded to include the entire Arabian Peninsula in the life of the Prophet ﷺ, and its expansion continued in the era of the Rightly Guided Caliphs and those who came after them in the time of the Umayyad, Abbasid, and Ottoman states, thereby increasing its diversity, as people entered Islam in droves from various tribes and peoples, and people of many religions that were not known in the Arabian Peninsula became subject to its rule. Despite all the differences in race, color, language, culture, and religion among all these, the prevailing relationship between them and in their relationship with the state was harmony, compatibility, and good fellowship. The evidence of the Islamic state's kindness to the dhimmis is abundant, as testified to by history books, such as the story of Ibn Amr ibn al-Aas with the Copt. As a result of this kindness, they preferred to live in it and sought refuge in it. Rather, they sided with it against their own people. In the Crusades, the Christians of the East sided with the Muslims and fought with them against the Crusaders, despite the Crusaders' attempts to win them over and incite them against the Islamic state, to the point that they deprived the Crusaders of one of the cards they were counting on in defeating the Muslims.
From this, it is clear that Islam alone is capable of fusing the people of Sudan, with all their different races and religions, into one crucible, as it fused them before. Dr. Salah Ibrahim Issa says in his book "The Entry of Islam into Sudan and its Impact on Correcting Beliefs": (Sudan known today by its geography did not represent a unified political, cultural, or religious entity before the entry of Muslims. It was divided among different customs, nationalities, and beliefs. In the north, where the Nubians were, Orthodox Christianity was widespread as a creed, and the Nubian language in its various dialects was the language of politics, culture, and communication. In the east, the Beja tribes live, who are of Hamitic tribes, have a special language, a separate culture, and a different creed from that in the north. If we go south, we find the Negroid tribes with their distinctive features, special languages, and pagan beliefs. The same is true in the west. The entry of Muslims into Sudan brought about a tremendous revolution in the identity of this region, changing its religious and cultural features, as Islam became the dominant religion among most of the peoples of the region. The language of the Qur'an became the common denominator between them. Thus, a unity was formed between them on the religious, political, and social levels. After the Baqt Agreement between the Muslims and the Nubians in 652 AH, Muslims began to trickle into Sudan in groups and individuals, carrying with them Islam and the Arabic language, seeking pasture and trade, and mixed with the original inhabitants of the country, so their impact was clear in changing the features of the region, and its people moved from Christianity or paganism to Islam, and from corrupt beliefs to the doctrine of monotheism, and from foreignness to Arabic thanks to the Muslims). It is clear that the Caliphate is the political system that is capable of achieving a decent life, justice, and stability for them as subjects of the state without any discrimination or distinction.
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Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir
Baraa Munasra
