In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Ever-Merciful…
Controversial American preacher, Yusuf Estes, explains his take on Islamic law and its application in today’s world. He explicitly denies the existence of an Islamic state, and explains how this means it is not allowed to implement Islamic Law. Specifically, he disqualifies Saudi Arabia from being an Islamic state because women cannot drive there. He explains the applications of Islamic Law there as being motivated by tribalism, not Islamic Law. Here are his exact words:
Islamic state doesn’t exist, so nobody can cut off anybody’s hand anyway. Saudi Arabia does so, not because of Islamic Law as much as they do out of tribalism. They got a lot of tribalism over there, they follow a lot of what they want to do. But I will tell you this: Is there any law in Islam that said a woman can’t drive a car? Huh? Islam – does it say a woman can’t ride a camel? A horse? That she can’t get up on a piece of conveyance and go somewhere? Does it say that anywhere in Islam? Any page of anything? Does it, OK, does Saudi Arabia allow women to drive a car? (Audience responds: No.) Will she go to jail? Absolutely! Yea, so don’t, don’t tell me that’s an Islamic state, I don’t want to hear it, OK? We got a lot of good brothers over there, don’t get me wrong. There’s some very good people there. That’s not my point. But, don’t say it’s an Islamic state, because it’s not. And by the way, (chuckling) nobody over there said it was.
Source: A lecture given at an American university in 2005, uploaded to YouTube on May 10, 2010. ( YouTube / Safeshare )
His total denial of the existence of an Islamic state is also confirmed from one of his lectures on his 2008 Malaysian tour:
Is there an Islamic state? NO!
Important Commentary:
This is another clear lie from Yusuf Estes, who has been to Saudi Arabia many times and knows full well that it is an Islamic state.
He has personally seen that the call to worship in Saudi Arabia is purely for Allah alone. He has witnessed the markets closing down for the five daily prayers, from the athaan until after the prayers are completely finished. The restaurants in Saudi Arabia are closed down during the daytime in Ramadhan, opening only near sunset for Iftaar service. Yusuf Estes has personally witnessed the Saudi government’s services organizing and controlling Hajj and ‘Umrah many times.
Religious police are on patrol, shutting down stores at the call to prayer, ordering people to head for the masjids, reminding women to cover properly, preventing intermingling, etc. Islamic Law (Sharia Law) is in place in the Saudi court system, applied every day all over Saudi Arabia. Students in universities study Islamic Law and head for careers working with it in Saudi Arabia. The Sharia Law is in place, and hudood (divinely legislated punishments) are applied openly when needed. Terrorists are executed in public. Murderers and drug traffickers face the death penalty.
Saudi Arabia is not perfect. It is not free from all violations of Islam. Yet, for Yusuf Estes to say it is not an Islamic state because women cannot drive is nothing short of ridiculous. Or to say that Islamic punishments are only applied because of tribalism, not because of Islamic Law, is a severely unjust slander of an entire nation of people.
The Scholars of Islam Say the Exact Opposite
Compare the lie of Yusuf Estes to the words of Islam’s most senior and respected scholars, the likes of Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have Mercy on him):
Click the picture to listen to the words of Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen.
Shaykh Saalih al-Fowzaan (may Allah preserve him) said about Saudi Arabia’s implementation of Islamic Law:
This is a thorn in the throats of the people of hypocrisy and the people of dissent!
Source: Al-Ajwibat al-Mufeedah (p.117) as sourced in this English translation.
No One in Saudi Arabia Ever Claimed it was an Islamic State?!
As mentioned above, Yusuf Estes (may Allah prevent him from lying) said:
…And by the way, (chuckling) nobody over there said it [Saudi Arabia] was [an Islamic state].
This is just another oppressive lie against a whole nation of people striving to uphold the commands of Allah. The late king of Saudi Arabia, Fahd ibn Abdul-Aziz Al Saud (may Allah have Mercy on him) stated in a 2002 royal decree embodying the basic law of governance of Saudi Arabia:
Article 1: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a sovereign Arab Islamic State. Its religion is Islam. Its constitution is Almighty God’s Book, The Holy Qur’an, and the Sunna (Traditions) of the Prophet (PBUH)… [sallallaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam]
Source: Official Website of the Saudi Embassy in America
Compare this to the blatant lie of Yusuf Estes, that nobody in Saudi Arabia claimed that it is an Islamic state! Furthermore, compare it to his other words in the same lecture:
The only constitution calling for Islam based on Quran and Sunnah is Pakistan.
May Allah aid the Muslims in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and all the other Muslim lands to uphold their Religion in truth.
The Reality of Yusuf Estes & Islamic Law
To be direct and to the point, this is the speech of someone who is simply not pleased with Islamic Sharia Law. This is known since Yusuf Estes openly teaches – as many non-Muslims believe – that the Islamic Sharia Law is barbaric and intolerant. We have previously reported these vile teachings that he openly spreads:
Review this article: Yusuf Estes: Most Muslims Would Get Their Heads Chopped Off in an Islamic State
Review this article: Yusuf Estes: Allah is not Tolerant at all – ZERO!
Furthermore, he has openly rejected Allah’s legislated punishment for apostasy. (Review this.)
It is not just one or two laws in the Sharia, but the entire system of Islamic Law. This manifests openly in his statement quoted above:
Islamic state doesn’t exist, so nobody can cut off anybody’s hand anyway.
Conveniently, without the existence of an Islamic state, there will be no way to implement Islamic Sharia Law, which is good thing according to Yusuf Estes, as it would save most of the Muslims from getting their heads chopped off!
Further Reading
These teachings are not shocking to those who have taken the time to learn what Yusuf Estes really teaches. Read the following important book explaining the deviation of Yusuf Estes and his numerous violations to basic Muslim beliefs:
Yusuf Estes & the Quran
Rev.HS.JF.AW.QM – Updated May 19, 2013
Yusuf Estes And the Quran 