of our Beloved ( may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him!):afDalu l-jihAdi kalimatu Haqqin 'inda sulTAnin jA'irin[The best Jihad is a true (i.e., brave) word in the face of a tyrannical ruler.] (From a Hadith of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri ( may Allah be well pleased with him!) among others, which is related by Ibn al-Ja'd, Ahmad, Ibn Humayd, Ibn Majah, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i, Abu Ya'la, Abu Bakr al-Ruyani, al-Tabarani, al-Hakim, and al-Bayhaqi, with variants.)For it is possible still, and especially today, to fight injustice or zulm and taghut in this dunya through your tongue and your words and through the pen and the courts, which still amounts in the Prophetic idiom to jihad, even if not through war. As in the reminder [tadhkira] of the great scholar, Imam al-Zarkashi: war is only a means to an end and as long as some other way is open to us, that other way should be the course trod upon by Muslims. Ma sha-Allah, how true indeed are the Beloved's words, so that the latter mujahid or activist will be no less brave or lacking in any courage with his or her campaign for a just cause in an oppressive country or one needing reforms than the former mujahid or patriot who fought bravely for his country in a just war.fa-t-taqillaha wa-raji' mufatashata nafsika wa-islaha fasadiha wa-huwa hasbuna wa-ni'ma l-wakil wa-la hawla wa-la quwwata illa billahi l-'aliyyi l-'azim! wa-salawatuhu 'ala sayyidina Muhammadin wa-alihi wasallim waradiyAllahu tabaraka wa-ta'ala 'an sadatina ashabi rasulillahi ajma'in wa-'anna ma'ahum wa-fihim wa-yaj'aluna min hizbihim bi-rahmatikaya arhama r-rahimin! Amin![Fear God, and go back to controlling your self and to curing your wickedness! For indeed, He is enough for us: what an excellent guardian! There is no help nor power except through God, the High and Mighty! May His blessings and peace be upon our master, Muhammad, and his Family! And may He be pleased with our leaders, the Companions of the Messenger of God, one and all! And may we be together with them and in their company, and may He make us among their Troop! By Your Mercy, O Most Merciful of those who show mercy, Amen!]May this be of benefit.With heartfelt wishes for salam & tayyibafrom Oxford to Brunei,Muhammad Afifi al-Akiti16th Jumada' II 142623rd July 2005 Select Bibliography:Ba'alawi, Abd al-Rahman. Bughyat al-Mustarshidin fi Talkhis Fatawa ba'd al-Muta'akhkhirin. Bulaq, 1309 H.al-Bakri. Hashiyat I'anat al-Talibin. 4 vols. Bulaq, 1300 H.al-Ghazali. Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din. Edited by Badawi Ahmad Tabanah. 4 vols.Cairo: Dar Ihya' al-Kutub al-'Arabiyya, 1957.Ibn 'Arabi, Qadi. Ahkam al-Qur'an. Edited by 'Ali Muhammad al-Bajawi. 4 vols. Cairo: Dar Ihya' al-Kutub al-'Arabiyya, 1957-8.Ibn Barakat. Fayd al-Ilah al-Malik fi Hall Alfaz 'Umdat al-Salik wa-'Uddat al-Nasik. Edited by Mustafa Muhammad 'Imara. 2 vols. Singapore: al-Haramayn, 1371 H.Ibn Hajar al-Haytami. Tuhfa al-Muhtaj bi-Sharh al-Minhaj al-Nawawi in Hawashi al-Shirwani wa-Ibn Qasim 'ala Tuhfa al-Muhtaj. Edited by Muhammad 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Khalidi. 13 vols. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, 1996.al-Jassas, Ahkam al-Qur'an. 3 vols. Istanbul: Dar al-Khilafa al-'Aliya, 1335-1338. al-Kurdi. Fatawa al-Kurdi al-Madani. In Qurrat al-'Ayn bi-Fatawa 'Ulama' al-Haramayn. Edited by Muhammad 'Ali b. Hussayn al-Maliki. Bogor: Maktaba