Knowing that there will be a state of corruption, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave glad tidings to those who would carry the burden of the reform message after him, combat corruption, and rectify deviation from the straight path.

But what are the fundamentals of successful reform? Here we mention ten fundamentals with their proofs from the Qur’an, the Sunnah, the reality of the Ummah, and history.

Any reform that goes under a banner other than faith is incomplete and cannot last long. Actually, only the reform that emanates from the Qur’anic principles and has its bases deeply rooted in the Islamic creed can be destined to succeed. Such a reform should be initiated by people who seek with their endeavor Allah only, with full conviction that that reform is their responsibility and mission, about which they will be asked and held accountable before Allah Almighty.

It is the nature of the corrupt to conspire against reform; thus when you entrust such a task to a person of corrupt history, you in effect trust the dishonest. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) declared, “When the authority comes in the hands of unfit persons, then wait for the Hour.” What do you expect when such people have a say in public affairs?

Compare a ruler like `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) who said, “If a mule stumbled in Iraq, I would fear that Allah may ask me, ‘Why did you not pave its way?’,” to another one who persecutes and oppresses his people.

When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) intended to deliver his message to the Quraish, he addressed them, “You see, if I were to tell you that there were some horsemen in the valley planning to raid you, will you believe me?” They said, “Yes, we have never experienced any lie from you.” Here, the Prophet introduced himself before introducing his message because it is important for any upholder of a reform message to be himself an example of honesty and integrity. Otherwise, no fruitful results can be expected.

When `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) intended to enact a rule, he used to turn to his household first saying, “I am going to command such-and-such. I swear by Allah if I know any one of you breaching my command, I will make an example of him.” When people see that the ruler starts with his household, they will absolutely obey. This is why messengers used to start by reforming themselves.

Reform should proceed gradually, but not so slowly that people lose hope or abort the project. In this respect, `Umar ibn `Abdul-`Aziz set an example for us. When he assumed the responsibilities of his caliphate after taking the pledge of allegiance from people, he went home to take a midday nap. His son came to him wondering, “Are you going to take a midday nap after being burdened with this heavy responsibility? You have to rise and rectify this corruption.” `Umar said, “My son, people lived with this situation for long years and they got accustomed to it. If I forced them to follow the truth all at once, they could not bear it and would leave it wholly. But see, I vow that every day I will revive a sunnah and eliminate a bid`ah (innovation).”

Our reform mission is not restricted to one aspect of life. We cannot say that it is limited, for example, to economic reform only. Actually, reform must be all-embracing, including economic, political, scientific, moral, and all aspects. Man is a single entity that cannot be separated, so attempting to reform one part or another of this entity is destined to fail.

Therefore, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not say, let’s start with economic reform, or follow me blindly for the time being until we weather this difficult phase. Rather, even before establishing the state, the revelation came to him announcing that believers are to conduct their affairs by shura or mutual consultation (Ash-Shura 42:38). The establishment of this principle is nothing but a matter of political reform.

Economic reform also was initiated before establishing the state. There are a lot of Makkan verses that talk about spending in the cause of Allah even before zakah was ordained and before the establishment of the state entitled to collect zakah and regulate its expenditure.

Moreover, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called people to avoid injustice and oppression. Thus, we can see how comprehensive was the Prophet’s reform project even from the very beginning. A project was applied fully afterwards in Madinah.

What will happen when a leader takes the nation into a war while the nation and the soldiers are not convinced of this war? Inevitably, they will raise the white flag and whoever can run away will not hesitate.

This means that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is to present the truth, his proofs and his arguments, and try to convince people of their usefulness, then let them choose without any compulsion.

The reform project cannot reap any success in the shade of tyranny. Freedom is a must and the Ummah should express its opinion freely. Besides, any successful project necessitates counseling. Actually, you could not ask the frightened or the subjugated for their opinion. The nation could not think in the atmosphere of tyranny, and even if it did, it would be shaken and confused. Consequently, you cannot claim that you are a reformer or seek reform while you are suppressing people and ignoring their opinions. What would have happened if Al-Hubab ibn Al-Mundhir or Salman Al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with them) had not expressed their opinions in the battles of Badr and Al-Khandaq? It was the atmosphere of freedom that enabled them to introduce their suggestions and comments, which turned to be highly useful. So freedom, counsel, and justice are indispensable.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) assured the rights of non-Muslims who live in the Muslim community. As long as the non-Muslims do not work against the community they live in, they can live among us and we have to protect them and deal justly with them.

Successful reform does not use religious differences to corrupt society by discriminating between people. When a project discriminates between people and stirs up discord among them, some people will find this project useful while others will find it harmful. Consequently, wars and troubles break out. A successful reform project should work in the favor of the whole Ummah, not for a certain group, party, sect, or ideology.

The whole Ummah should work and exert effort. Allah Almighty made reform obligatory upon all people. The very act of repentance is a type of self-reforming. This is applicable to everybody whether ruler or ruled, child or youth, man or woman.

Even children have a role to play in this reform. This may seem surprising, but just consider the following example:

When Zaid ibn Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) heard `Abdullah ibn Ubay ibn Salul swearing that if they returned to Madinah they would expel the Messenger, he decided to tell the Prophet, so he came to the Prophet and said, “Messenger of Allah, I heard `Abdullah ibn Ubay saying, ‘By Allah, if we return to Madinah, the mightier will soon drive out the weaker.’” `Abdullah ibn Ubay came and swore he did not say such a thing. His friends said, “Messenger of Allah, do you listen to such a lad and disbelieve an aged man?” The Prophet was about to believe them but Allah Almighty revealed the surah that bears their name—Al-Munafiqun (The Hypocrites). This was a child but he realized that he had a role to play.

Umm Sulaim (Ar-Rumaisaa), the mother of Anas ibn Malik, represents an example of woman reformers. When she converted to Islam, she asked her husband to embrace Islam. His insistence on disbelief led her to refuse to live with him. Then when Abu Talha, who was not a Muslim at this time, proposed to her, she said, “One like you should not be refused, but I am a Muslim while you are not. So if you embrace Islam, this will be my dower.” And it was.

She started her reform project from her dower. Commenting on this, Ibn `Abbas said, “We do not know any dower better than this whether in the pre-Islamic period or afterwards.”

Is it not considered reform to turn a person from disbelief to belief and receive equal reward without any decrease in this person’s reward? Actually there are a lot of examples of woman reformers.

This is the most important fundamental because there can be no successful reform unless Muslims’ blood and honor are a red line that is not approachable. How can you achieve reform while you kill people, shed their blood, and violate their honor and privacy? The reform project does not take up arms except for defending the religion and the Ummah. On the other hand, if you were to take up arms against your fellows because they oppose you, then you could not be a reformer and your project is nothing but a project of destruction and ruin.

On the sacred Day of An-Nahr (sacrifice, Dhul-Hijjah 10, AH 10) and in the sacred city of Makkah, the Prophet made his conclusive speech and set the eternal code, saying, “Your blood, properties, and honor are all inviolable. They are as sacred as this sacred day, in this sacred month, in this sacred town.”