Is it obligatory to work with an Islamic group?

Introduction:

From our daily experience we can see that some actions are individualistic in nature and some are collective in nature, which needs a group of people to accomplish. Islam is a Deen (way of life) which has given us guidelines for all affairs of life. It has specified responsibilities specific to individuals, groups and rulers. Each of these categories has been entrusted by the Sharia with a set of responsibilities that they must adhere to. We must have a clear understanding of these specific responsibilities otherwise we would overstep our boundaries and hamper the implementation of Islam. (please read Priorities of obligation for more explanation)

We need at least a group of people among the Ummah to accomplish whatever Sharia has specified to be enacted in a collective manner. In reality we find most of the collective obligations are not being implemented in the world today in the absence of Islamic state (The Khilafah). Our Deen has been downgraded to mere individualistic rituals. Establishing the Deen is an obligation upon every muslim and this can't be done individually. So working in a group with the aim of establishing the Khilafah (complete Deen) is an obligation for every Muslim according to the sharia principle "Whatever is required to accomplish an obligation is itself an obligation".

Evidences to form Islamic group:

"And let there arise out of you a group inviting to all that is good (islam), enjoining the ma'roof and forbidding the munkar. And it is they who are successful" [Surah Al-e-Imran verse 104]

What is ordered here is not just any group but a group from amongst the Muslims, whose work has been described in the noble ayah as being the da'wah to the khayr (Islam) and enjoining the maroof (all that Islam has commanded) and forbidding the munkar (all that Islam has prohibited).

Primary responsibilities of a group:

From the above mentioned ayah we know that the group's primary work is two fold ; a) inviting people to Islam and b) enjoining the maroof and forbidding the munkar.

"enjoining the maroof and forbidding the munkar" is a responsibility for all including individual, group and the ruler. But for each category it takes different forms. At the individual level it takes mostly the form of advising/reminding each other. At the group level it takes mostly the form of accounting the ruler, exposing the falsehood of the prevalent ideas/systems/beliefs which are not from Islam and at the same time explaining all affairs of life according to Islam to the society in general. And for the ruler it takes the form of practically implementing the maroof and abolishing the munkar from the society. It is very important to note that the establishment and maintenance of the Maroof and the Munkar can only be practically carried out through the state authority (Khaleefah) and it is impossible to do otherwise. Khilafah is the institution through which Islam is implemented comprehensively (Maroof) and the Munkar is abolished from the society. It is not the responsibility of the individuals or a group to take over the tasks of the ruler except in some exceptional circumstances for which Sharia allows the opposite. When the ruler neglects the sharia responsibilities it is the obligation of the Ummah to account the ruler and persuade him to follow the correct path.

Abdullah bin Masud (ra) reported: Messenger of Allah (saw) said, " ......Nay, by Allah, you either enjoin good and forbid evil and catch hold of the hand of the Zalim (oppressor) and persuade him to act justly and stick to the truth......" (Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi)

Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (RA) reported: " …..I have heard messenger of Allah(SAW) saying: " When people see a zalim but do not prevent him from (doing evil), it is likely that Allah will punish them all." (Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi)

Abu Said Al-khudri (ra) reported: The prophet (saw) said, The best type of Jihad is speaking a true word in the presence of a tyrant ruler." (Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi)

The life of Rasulullah (SAW) in Makkah is the example of how a group should work in the absence of an Islamic state and the life of Medina is the example of how a ruler should work to implement Islam in the society. Our present situation is like the time of Makkah where muslims doesn't have Khilafah (Islamic State) to implement Islam on them. So the works involved by an Islamic group should resemble the works of Rasulullah(SAW) during the time of Makkah. The detail method which was followed by Rasulullah (SAW) in Makkah is out of scope of this article. I have provided a link below for an article which has detail evidences for that. For now I will just highlight the major points which was undertaken by Rasulullah (SAW) in Makkah, those are:

a. He (SAW) invited people to accept the Deen and he (SAW) formed a group with those who responded and cultured them with the Islamic Aqeedah.

b. He (SAW) attacked the prevalent social practices/beliefs/customs and the leaders of the Quraish verbally but not with swords.

c. He (SAW) persistently worked without any compromise with the aim of establishing the Deen of Allah through establishing his (SAW) complete authority in Makkah.

This is what we also need to do in present time to bring back Islam in our life comprehensively. So there has to be at least one Islamic group who will

a) culture the Muslims with the Islamic Aqeedah

b) build public opinion for Islam by exposing the falsehood of prevalent corrupt ideas/beliefs/practices/rulers and show the solutions of life affairs from Islam

c) actively work towards getting the authority from the Ummah to Implement Islam in it's entirety without any compromise through establishing the Khilafah.

In a nutshell the group's objective must be implementing Islam through establishing the "Khilafah". (For detail evidences regarding the work of group please read "The messenger's (saw) methodology of establishing the Deen").