Auspices
From The Actual Time
If we leave history and the
auspices it conveys concerning the self-given power of Islam, and the power
hidden in the entity of this nation, which shows up at time of adversity; when
there exists those who can spur it, and we contemplate the status quo of the
nation during this era, we will find many other auspices, which made this
nation withstand the hurricanes, and does not, as designed for it, dissolve in
another just as salt dissolves in water. But it earnestly strove and fought
till it freed itself from its occupiers, regained its selfhood, and discovered
its self anew, despite all the fetters that shackled it, and the iron or golden
cages that were made to imprison it within.
The Diseases of the Actual Time and its Blights:
I cannot turn a blind eye
to the mental, religious and ethical diseases and blights with which our
present nation surges, and from which the preachers, the tutors and the
reformers have complained and still are complaining.
Religion has grown weak
betwixt an extremist and a deserter, as stated by Imam Hassan Al-Basry,
or betwixt (a rigorist and a denier), as stated by the prince of rhetoric
Shakîb Ârsalân, where the first (the rigorist) turns people away from Islam by
his relentlessness and the other deludes them by denying it.
True monotheism – which is
the essence of Islam and the soul of the whole Islamic being – has grown weak
betwixt the superstitions of the fortunetellers and the falsehood of
charlatans. Betwixt the polytheism of the seculars who have gone as far as
worshipping the graves, and the polytheism of the elites who have gone as far
as worshipping the palaces of the living!
Furthermore, the spiritual
side of Muslim life has grown weak when some Muslims have given up offering
Prayers and have followed lusts, though the Noble Qur’an tells us:
يقول
الله تعالى في
كتابه العزيز:
قَدْ
أَفْلَحَ
الْمُؤْمِنُونَ
{1} الَّذِينَ هُمْ
فِي
صَلَاتِهِمْ
خَاشِعُونَ {2} وَالَّذِينَ
هُمْ عَنِ
اللَّغْوِ
مُعْرِضُونَ
{3}
وَالَّذِينَ
هُمْ
لِلزَّكَاةِ فَاعِلُونَ
{4}
وَالَّذِينَ
هُمْ
لِفُرُوجِهِمْ
حَافِظُونَ {5}
إِلَّا عَلَى أَزْوَاجِهِمْ
أوْ مَا
مَلَكَتْ
أَيْمَانُهُمْ
فَإِنَّهُمْ
غَيْرُ
مَلُومِينَ {6} فَمَنِ
ابْتَغَى
وَرَاء
ذَلِكَ
فَأُوْلَئِكَ
هُمُ
الْعَادُونَ
{7}
وَالَّذِينَ
هُمْ لِأَمَانَاتِهِمْ
وَعَهْدِهِمْ
رَاعُونَ {8}
وَالَّذِينَ
هُمْ عَلَى
صَلَوَاتِهِمْ
يُحَافِظُونَ
{9} (المؤمنون: 1-9)
Almighty Allah says
in His Noble Book what means:
“Successful indeed are the
believers. Those who offer their Salât (prayers) with all solemnity and full
submissiveness. And those who turn away from Al-Laghw (dirty, false, evil vain
talk, falsehood, and all that Allah has forbidden). And those who pay the
Zakât. And those who guard their chastity (i.e. private parts, from illegal
sexual acts) except from their wives or (the captives and slaves) that their
right hands possess, for then, they are free from blame; but whoever seeks
beyond that, then those are the transgressors; those who are faithfully true to
their Amanât (all the duties which Allah has ordained, honesty, moral
responsibility and trusts etc.) and to their covenants; and those who strictly
guard their (five compulsory congregational) Salawât (prayers) (at their fixed
stated hours).” (Al-Mu’minűn, 23: 1-9)
Devious Sufism and
ostentatious Sufism have also appeared, whereas true Sufism [defined as:
honesty together with truth, and nobility of manners together with form],
that is expressive of the spirituality of Islam and its moderation has receded.
The rituals of Sufism prevailed over its realities, becoming mere Dhikr
(remembering Allah) with the tongue, more akin to the kind that Râbi‘ah
described as repentance that itself needs a repentance, not to mention the
fabricated supplications, and feigned moves,
that neither soften the heart, nor remind of Allah or the Hereafter.
The intrinsic proprieties
and conventions of Islam has grown weak in our social life, and many adhered to
two forms of traditions that disagree with the realities of Islam: (a)
traditions inherited from the accumulation of the eras of stringency, blind
imitation and backwardness, that have been wrongly attributed to Islam and do
not belong to it in the least, (b) and other intrusive traditions that were
imported from the invading occidental civilization, which are steeped in
materialistic thinking, secular tendencies, and utilitarian behavior. All this
had its effect on spreading disintegration, and ingraining individualism and
selfishness.
The issue of women is what
we most sensibly touch in this regard, where on the one hand we find some women
hiding their faces till nothing is seen of them, and they may allow – or be
allowed – to expose both or one of their eyes. And on the other hand, other
women go out with bare arms, legs and shoulders (as the hadith describes women
dressed in revealing gowns in this world, seen as the inhabitants of hellfire in
the Hereafter, saying), (Those who are dressed yet bare, those who walk
while swaying their shoulders and swaggering alluringly). We have also
witnessed some people forbid a fiancé from seeing his fiancée – though bidden
to see her based on the Islamic law – until their wedding night and the same
applies to her. Whereas others give her free rein, thus they hold hands and she
accompanies him wherever he likes, whether in the theaters, the cinemas, the
parks or secluded places!
The Islamic mentality has
suffered feebleness, for it no longer thinks, originates, introduces novelties
to civilizations or rethink the old. Rather, it has become dependent on the
other, whether this other is (the hallowed in patrimony) or (the hallowed in
the west). Rigidity and stagnation have predominated in the aspects of life, so
there no longer existed Ijtihâd [Term designating the intellectual effort of
Muslim scholars to employ reason and analysis of the authoritative sources
(Qur’an and Sunnah) for the purpose of finding legal solutions to new and
challenging situations or issues] in Islamic jurisprudence, excellence in
literature or creativity in industry. Furthermore, two grave bywords have
prevailed that influenced the vitality of the Islamic mentality. The first
says: ‘The first left nothing to the last!’ While the second says: ‘It is
impossible to excel the creativity of what is already done!’
The call to debar the
domain of Ijtihâd spread! And no one knows who debarred it? Or who has the power
to debar a way opened by Allah, The Most Exalted, and His Messenger (may Allah
bless him and grant him peace)?
Thence,
the Islamic nation lagged behind, though it remained the foremost for around a
thousand years and it became the rearmost in the caravan after being in the
forefront. For all its countries are among the so-called (Developing Countries)
or (the Third World), and if there were a Fourth World, some of them would be
ascribed to it because of the utmost backwardness, poverty, sickness, ignorance
and illiteracy from which they suffer from.
The true virtues of Islam
were undermined by the absence of the Branches of Faith clarified for us by the
honorable Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) to be [Some seventy branches, the highest
(amongst them): is (saying) lâ illâh ilâ allâh (there is no god but Allah), and
the humblest (amongst them): is the removal of whatever is injurious off the
road and Al-Hayâ’ (a sublime moral behavior involving a mixed emotion of
modesty, virtue, bashfulness, chastity, humility, purity, piety, courtesy… and
is marked by deep reverence, respect, dread and awe shown to Allah and
reluctance to commit whatever is forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace), is a branch
of faith]. Hypocrisy has prevailed in
our community, thereon we have witnessed he who (when he speaks he tells
lies, and when he makes a promise he breaks it, and when he is trusted he
betrays, and when he makes a covenant he proves to be treacherous and when he
quarrels he curses and swears). Destructive affluence spread in an idle
class living in the lap of luxury, whereas bleak misery spread in the laboring
classes that toil and drudge but sweat for nothing. Islamic social values were
upset by the emergence of those who have money without effort and the emergence
of the kings of petrol and the thieves of open economy. The caricature drawn
for the Muslim became an Arab in a tent, beside him an oil well and a beauty!
Injustice prevailed in the
Islamic world: injustice of rulers towards their subjects, injustice of the
rich towards the poor and injustice of men towards women. And indeed, injustice
could never be the foundation of a state or its means of thriving.
Mutual consultation
weakened – and perhaps completely disappeared – in the political life of
Muslims. People were ruled by Fir‘aun (Pharaoh), Hâmân and Qârűn (Korah), by
iron and fire at times and by deceit and forgery at other times. The rulers of
Muslims were no longer the best among them, (whom you
love and who love you, upon whom you invoke the Blessings of Allah and who
invoke His Blessings upon you). But
they became conceited hardhearted tyrants, with sealed hearts, thus they
neither fear Allah nor are merciful to people. Some have their minds sealed as
well, so they know nothing about religion nor show sound judgment in worldly
affairs. In spite of that, when votes are cast in elections the leader gets
(99.999%) thus provoking the mockery of the whole world. Hence, the ruler in
Arab countries is not to be dethroned except by death or assassination or
revolt against him.
The Sick Current State Can Never Persist
But the undeniable present
state of affairs was not given free rein to influence the Muslims without
resistance, because it is inconsistent with the nature of the Islamic life, as
well as the nature of the Islamic message and the Islamic nation that can never
altogether be led astray. There will always be in it a group firmly adhering to
the Laws and Commands of Allah, who lead people with truth and establish justice
therewith. And Allah will always send in it, or for its sake, from century to
century those who revive its religion, as proven by the legible history and the
surveyed actualities.
Yesterday Versus Today
Anyone who compares the
state of the nation a century ago and its state nowadays, or has read about its
state fifty or thirty years ago and has contemplated its state during these two
decades will find that its circumstances have changed – considerably – to that
which is better and more ideal. It is a fact noticed and affirmed by every
vigilant observer keeping abreast of current events in all aspects of life, all
domains and on all levels: the intellectual, the moral and the behavioral.
In this regard, I will only
quote the testimony of a western intellect who embraced Islam insightfully and
believed in it based on clear proofs, Dr. Murad Wilfried Hofmann, the author of
(Islam: The Alternative). I chose to quote his testimony because he is a man of
broad knowledge, who masters German –
his mother tongue – English and French. He was the ambassador of his country –
Germany – to Algeria and Morocco. He is
distinguished by his realistic viewpoint and his critical tendency to the
extent that he described his own realism saying, ‘It is the cruel realism.’
He also said about his criticism, ‘I had to be a severe critic to both the
Occident and the Islamic world.’
Dr. Hofmann says in his
book (Islam 2000) and under the chapter entitled (A Bit of Optimism):
It may be more fruitful to
look at the world as it is now than to base predictions on Muslim futurologist
doctrine. And what do we see if we rub our eyes a little? Is Islam really
advancing? Or is it perhaps, appearances aside, in decline? Or are the Muslims
perhaps just muddling along, on the fringes of history, as they have being
doing for several centuries, easy prey for physical and mental colonization?
But this time, let us hear the optimist view first.
One has to read the depressing reports on life and
mores in Makkah Al-Mukaramah and in Al-Madinah during the last century in order
to appreciate the moral and physical progress made ever since. We have reliable
descriptions given in great detail by western Makkan pilgrims like the Swiss
Muslim Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. He lived in Makkah and Al-Madinah for six
months in 1814-15.
His observations were corroborated both by the wavering
British Muslim Sir Richard Burton, who visited Makkah and Al-Madinah in 1853,
and the German non-Muslim, Heinrich von Maltzan, who stayed in Makkah in 1860.
All three authors confirmed that the holy places of
Islam at that time were in decay, filthy, insecure, and full of superstitions.
Believe it or not, alcohol and prostitutes were offered right in front of the haram
and occasionally even inside, and prayer was loosely observed, even by
pilgrims. In those days, their number, decreasing year by year, was only 70,000
in 1814 (Burkchardt’s estimate) and already down to 30, 000 in 1860 (von
Maltzan’s estimate).
Indeed, even after Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt and the
successive breaking apart of the Ottoman Empire in the nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries, politicians and orientalists alike foresaw the complete
disappearance of Islam within their lifetimes. They studied Islam as a cultural
phenomenon that one should record for posterity before it vanished entirely. In
this spirit, the French colonizers for instance could appreciate ‘Abd al Qâdir,
the great Algerian hero, statesman, and Sufi, only as a quaint folkloristic
figure with some nuisance value.
Personalities who even at that time sympathized with Islam like, for instance,
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (d. 1832) only liked its unmitigated monotheism but
not Islam as lived in the Muslim world.
Against this depressing background, when one performs
hajj or ‘Umrah today, it is startling to realize how much has been achieved.
The Makkan haram and the Prophet’s Mosque in
Al-Madinah have been beautifully enlarged to hold between 480,000 and 650,000
pilgrims, and yet they are too small for the ever-increasing number of
believers who want to perform their obligatory pilgrimage. The number has to be
limited through national quotas for visa. Alcohol has been banished, theft is
barely known, single ladies are not admitted, and prayer is universally
observed.
A reversal of orientalist attitudes toward Islam,
observable since the early twentieth century, was a harbinger of further
positive change. Rather than studying Islam like the infamous Lawrence of
Arabia in the interest of British imperialism, there was now an elite group of
European academics who embraced Islam wholeheartedly.
Among them were René Guénon, Martin Lings, Titus
Burckhardt, and of course Leopold Weiss, Alia, Muhammad Asad. And among the
orientalists who refrained from formally converting to Islam, there were
personalities – like Jacques Berque, Louis Massignon, Denise Masson, and
Annemarie Schimmel – who were seen to be on the brink of pronouncing the shahâdah.
Many of their orientalist colleagues, at any rate, no
longer studied their subject – Islam – with disgust and barely disguised hatred
but with sympathy and empathy.
Simultaneously, since the 1930s, grassroots Muslim
revival movements put Islam onto the political agenda of almost every country
within the dâr al Islâm region. Their common prototype remains the
Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, founded by Hassan Al-Bannâ (d. 1949),
and their preachers, i.e., in addition to other authorities like the father of
Muslim liberation theology, Sayed Qutb (d. 1966), as well as Abűl A‘lâ al
Mawdűdî (d. 1979), Shaykh Kishk, and Muhammad al Ghazzâlî.
But revival did not only come from below. Both the
Wahhâbî and Sanűsî movements, and to some extent also the Salafiyah ŕ la
Muhammad ‘Abduh, brought about a Muslim revival from the top, greatly expanded
by the possibilities of petro-dollar financing. As it so happens, the richest
persons in the world today – the Sultan of Brunei, King Fahd, and Amir Zayed of
the United Arab Emirates – are all Muslims, giving important impulses to
Islamic da‘wah worldwide. Just think of the many millions of copies of
the Qur’an being distributed for free, also in model English and French
translations, from the King Fahd Printing Center in Al-Madinah.
In sum, this development, perceived as a “fundamentalist”
threat both inside the Muslim region and by the world at large, turned Islam
into the most topical media subject of the last quarter of this century.
Islam is no longer expected to disappear but rather to
expand and even to explode. NATO generals, when making operational plans, are
advised to take into account that the most likely military confrontation of the
future will not be an East-West but a North-South conflict, Islam being the new
expansive and aggressive potential enemy.
This fear is brought home by emigrant and local
Muslims, whose number is visibly increasing almost everywhere. Some two million
Muslims now live each in the United States and Germany. The Muslim population
of Great Britain is around one million and 2.5 million in France. The total
number of Muslims in 1991 was given by the western sources as 990,547,000 –
(conservative) numbers causing fear and trepidation.
Thus mosques are now springing up all around the world,
from Los Angeles and Moscow to Rome and Zagreb. In Cordoba, former seat of the
Umayyad Khilâfah, Spanish Muslims in 1994 founded the international
Islamic University “Averröes” of Al-Andalus. Not far from the fantastic old
mosque of Cordoba, a mu’adhdhin is again calling for prayer. What a
provocation, this happening five centuries after the last Muslim had been
expelled form Spanish soil!
All this is symptomatic of the fact that Islam
worldwide is the only growing religion.
In 1943 already Muhammad Asad (d. 1992 C.E./1412 A.H.)
had made startling predictions about the ascension of Islam in his famous
pamphlet “Islam at the Crossroads,” written in Dehli. Rather than being
apologetic or imitative versus the West in the Salafiyah manner, Asad described
Islam as a complete and sound alternative program for life, contrasting it
plainly with the decadent materialism of the contemporary western civilization
(which included the Soviet Union).
Asad foresaw World War II as an inevitable global
struggle between the atheistic capitalist West and the equally atheistic
communist East. He predicted that their antagonism would spell disaster for
both of them, “leading the material self-conceit of Western civilization in
such a gruesome way ad absurdum that its people will begin, once more, …to
search after spiritual truth; and then a successful preaching of Islam may
become possible” (my emphasis).
These visions of more than
sixty years ago had seemed imprecise after World War II when the Occident,
rather than collapsing, split into two superior camps which seemed to stabilize
each other for decades to come.
Today, after the bankruptcy of communist ideology and
system evident since 2990 and the alarming sins of a spiritual and value crisis
in the West, we know that Muhammad Asad was right after all: Christianity is
going through a virtual change of paradigm, and the so-called “project of
modernism” is failing under our very eyes.
Western theologians
and scientists have begun to doubt whether their basic assumptions are valid
after all.
Continuance
of the Revival and Renaissance Movement
Amongst the lineaments of
Islam is the fact that its renaissance and rejuvenating movement, emanating
from within, is permanent and will never stop till the Last Hour through the
true heirs of the knowledge and teachings of the Prophet (may Allah bless him
and grant him peace), which they present
to people utterly pure without adulteration, perfect without division, clear
without vagueness whereby (they negate the distortion of the extremists, the
plagiarism of the fabricators and the misinterpretation of the ignorant).
No wonder that for the sake
of Islam Allah has paved the way for men who revive it, arouse its nation and
bring up generations who will follow in their footsteps. Surely, their efforts
are not wasted. The fruits of Islamic revival together with rebirth and
rejuvenation movements are not – as some have imagined – a cry in a wasteland
or a blow puffed in dead ashes. By the Grace of Allah and His Help, they have
originated a big Islamic arousal in all homelands of the Arabs and Islam, even
outside the Islamic territories where reside the Muslim Minorities, and inside
the Islamic colonies East and West. Such an arousal has awakened the minds and
hearts, stirred up the willpower, and restored to people their faith in Islam
and hope for its ultimate victory after some have gone so far as to believe
that its banner is half-masted, its dominion has shrunken, its nation is
lagging behind the caravan and secularism has pervaded among its children.
Whereupon, the forces
antagonistic to Islam were shaken as if by a mighty earthquake, so they started
to plot against the arousal, intrigue against it, accuse it of crimes it is
guiltless of and incite people to oppose it. They – regretfully – exploited the
ideological or moral depravity of some members in the arousal so as to aim a
blow at the whole arousal and block its way but Allah, The Most Exalted says:
يقول
الله تعالى في
كتابه العزيز:
وَيَمْكُرُونَ
وَيَمْكُرُ اللّهُ
وَاللّهُ
خَيْرُ
الْمَاكِرِينَ
{30} (الأنفال: 30)
The noble Qur’anic
verse says what means:
“They were plotting and Allah too was planning, and Allah
is the Best of the planners.” (Al-Anfâl, 8: 30)
If
some are trying to underestimate the power of the Islamic movement and
undervalue the significance of the Islamic arousal while puffing up the secular
currents antagonistic to Islam, its law and regime for conducting life, I
believe they are wrong in their estimations or they know the truth but they
deliberately reject it to follow their own whims.
The Islamic
Arousal and its Influence on the Life of Muslims
No
rational fair-minded person can ever deny the influence of the Islamic arousal on
our contemporary life. An arousal that has gone as far as East and West and
illumined the homes of Muslims, then it smoothly glided into the dwellings of
Muslims living outside the homelands of Islam; amidst the big and small
minorities and colonies spread worldwide, through which Allah guides millions
of young men and women.
Such
arousal has awakened the minds by alerting them, filled the hearts with faith
and vigor, and stirred up the willpower to work and be committed to fulfilling
duties. It has influenced men as well as women and changed the beliefs embraced
by the new generations, thus shifting them from secular thought to the Islamic,
from loyalty to the West to loyalty shown to Allah and His Messenger (may Allah bless him
and grant him peace)
and from subservience to freedom. Consequently, it has brought up a Muslim
generation devotedly committed to Islam: its beliefs and Shari‘ah [Islamic
Law], its convictions and manners, its message and civilization. We hope that
it will be the generation of the aspired victory.
This
arousal has manifested itself in the intellectual domain through the
contemporary (Islamic Library), which comprise various studies tackling the
different aspects of Islam. The Islamic books became bestsellers in bookstores,
besides hundreds of theses prepared for master’s degrees and doctorates
tackling the different aspects of the Islamic culture: economy, politics, law,
education, history, the manifold humanities and social sciences.
Furthermore,
the arousal has manifested itself morally, where the Masjids abounded with
praying men and women, specially the youth. Also, the season for Hajj and
‘Umrah (minor Hajj) was overcrowded and the bedecked women willingly wore the Hijâb
(veil).
The
arousal has also manifested itself in the political domain, where a huge
popular coalition called for a return to Islam and the application of the
Shari‘ah [Islamic Law]. A state adhering to Shiite School of Islamic
Jurisprudence aroused in Iran and another adhering to Sunni School in Sudan, and
a third was about to be established in Algeria had they not blocked its way and
deprived it from reaping the fruits of the country’s free will.
The
arousal has also manifested itself in the domain of fighting in the Cause of
Allah, defeating the Soviet Union in Afghanistan,
and the Serbian monster in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Above all, the Intifada
[Palestinian heroic struggling to free the Muslim land] with its heroes and the
Islamic resistance with its champions have mightily shaken Zionism: the invincible
state and the unbeatable force!
All
these phenomena have evoked the evil instincts harbored in the forces
antagonistic to Islam, its nation and its arousal. So they rallied to plot
against it, intrigue against it and waylay its arousal. Itshak Rabin stated in
a conference held in Casablanca, “Our worldly enemies are three:
fundamentalism, hunger and drugs!” Actually, he mentioned hunger and drugs
just as a camouflage and to throw dust in the eyes, for he targeted
fundamentalism, and if you want his actual translation for the word it will be The
Islamic Arousal!
And
if we are now living the Israeli time, the Samiri time, and Israel is the
absolute master in the region and has skillfully contrived to judaize the Arab
mentality and media, do not be astonished if war is waged against the Islamic
arousal and the Islamic movement under many guises. All this to serve one
purpose: the survival of Israel, the mastery of Israel, the expansion of Israel
and the hegemony of Israel, but the Islamic arousal will surely persist by the
Will of Allah.
The Islamic
Current is Stronger and Tips the Scale
Indeed
Zionism and its crusading ally are scheming to aim a blow at Islam and its
arousal and supply the currents antagonistic to Islam by all means of power,
prevalence and authority.
But
if we thoroughly weigh the powers for and against us, we will find that the
scale of the Islamic current – all praises be to Allah – outweighs and
predominates.
(a)
By the grace of Islam we possess a great fund that no other call from here and
there possesses. Islam is backed by the great masses that belief in their Lord,
in their Noble Qur’an and in their Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him
and grant him peace);
that long for those who lead them in the Name of Allah and help them reach out
to the hand of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). They will offer possessions
complacently and heartily, and sacrifice their souls willingly and peacefully.
Verily, that nation is pious by instinct and by the testimony of its history.
Religion is the key to its personality, the refiner of its skills, the
originator of its glories and the secret of its victories. It more readily
responds to Islam and gathers around it than any other call brought by a
usurper, an occupier or sown by a greedy ambusher.
On
the tenth of Ramadan 1393 A.H. (6/10/1973) we experienced it ourselves and the
power of ‘Allahu Akbar’ (Allah is The Most Great) worked
its miracles on the battlefield.
(b)
We also possess the strength of the doctrine, the force of the great eternal
Islamic principles we are calling to. We possess the power of Islam visible in
its clarity and universality, its depth, its rationality and powerful impact.
Islam is a creed that addresses the mind, a worship that purges the soul, a
behavior that befits the pure instinct, a law that achieves equanimity and
justice, chases away vices and brings about prosperity. It secures the right of
every entitled person, for no individual should oppress the community as
dictated by capitalism, nor should the community oppress the individual as
dictated by Marxism. Islam offers absolute equanimity and perfection without
either oppression or depreciation of others’ rights.
Amongst
the signs of the power in Islam is the fact that it is not man-made, but it is
sent down by the Lord of the Worlds. That Divine factor makes it free from
extremism and imperfection, from weakness, insufficiency and inefficacy
suffered in every law mankind pass for themselves.
Furthermore,
these attribute make Islam more willingly accepted and obeyed by the multitude
because Islam is man’s submission to his Lord, Who created him then fashioned
him in due proportion and poured forth His Blessings and Mercy upon him. Allah
is the One Whom man begs for His forgiveness and fears His Punishment, contrary
to the principles of positivism, which man does not obey except when afraid or
hungering for something, from whose sway he tries to escape as far as he can.
One
of the sources of Islam’s power is the fact that the doctrine emanates from the
profound depths of the nation. It is neither foreign nor alien to it, so it
does not need a subjection of the nation to a physical or moral pressure in
order to make it swallow it and yield to drink its cups of sorrows.
(c)
That power treasured in the Islamic doctrine is only poised by the power hidden
in the depths of the Islamic nation.
The
day that power erupted, when Muslims were weak, disunited and deserted, it
destroyed the crusaders in the Battle of Hittîn (Hittin), defeated the Tatars
in the Battle of ‘Ain
Jâlűt (Spring
of Goliath), and captivated Louis IX in (Dar Ibn Luqmân) in Mansűrah.
The
Power the Nation Possesses
The
power our Islamic nation possesses is neither modest nor trivial if well
implemented and utilized, truly it is a mountainous enormous power.
1. Manpower
First
of these powers is manpower in terms of number; as our nation currently numbers
over a billion and quarter Muslims who believe in the monotheistic creed,
spread over the six continents of the world.
True,
what counts is how and not how much, but the sum has also a significance and we
shall see in the reports of the westerners how far they fear the multiplication
of the Muslim populations, specially since they have begun to suffer an
alarming decrease in their birth rate.
Superiority
in terms of number is a blessing in itself; furthermore, it is a prerequisite
for any economic or cultural excellence, therefore nations strive to compensate
it by consolidating themselves into alliances in spite of difference in race,
language, religion and history.
Therefrom,
the Noble Qur’an mentioned it as a reason for thanksgiving and among bestowed
blessings in the noble verse saying:
يقول
الله تعالى في
كتابه العزيز:
وَاذْكُرُواْ
إِذْ كُنتُمْ
قَلِيلاً
فَكَثَّرَكُمْ
ْ (الأعراف: 86)
The
noble Qur’anic verse says what means:
“And remember when you were but few, and He
multiplied you.” (Al-A'râf, 7: 86)
2.Material and Economic Power
Second
of these powers is the material and economic power, as our nation possesses
what other nations do not of minerals and treasures buried deep under the
earth, wealth spread out on its surface, in addition to aquatic and sea riches.
Moreover, we have fertile
plains and valleys, hills and mountains, seas and oceans, great rivers,
springs, wells and reserved groundwater. We also have the major metals that the
world needs and, most importantly, a majority of the oil reserve in the entire
world.
Our geographical location
poses a great strategic and cultural value, as well. It is the junction of the
continents, the wellspring of civilizations and the place of the descent of the
great celestial messages: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
3.Spiritual Power
Third of these powers that our
nation possesses is the spiritual power, the power of the message we believe in, invite to, live for and die
adhering to; the universal and eternal message of Islam with which Allah has
ended prophecy and celestial messages.
It is the message
characterized by divinity; it is from Allah and its end is for the sake of
Allah:
يقول
الله تعالى في
كتابه العزيز:
قُلْ
إِنَّ
صَلاَتِي
وَنُسُكِي
وَمَحْيَايَ
وَمَمَاتِي
لِلّهِ رَبِّ
الْعَالَمِينَ
{162} (الأنعام: 162)
Almighty Allah says
in His Noble Book what means:
“Say: truly,
my prayer and my service of sacrifice, my life and my death, are (all) for
Allah, the Cherisher of the worlds.” (Al-An'âm, 6: 162)
We Muslims alone
possess the sole Divine Book that embraces the Last Words of Allah addressed to
mankind, secure from any
distortion or alternation whatsoever: the Noble Qur’an
that no falsehood can approach it from before or behind it.
This message is
also marked by omneity:
يقول
الله تعالى في
كتابه العزيز:
وَنَزَّلْنَا
عَلَيْكَ
الْكِتَابَ
تِبْيَانًا
لِّكُلِّ
شَيْءٍ
(النحل:
89)
Almighty Allah says
in His Noble Book what means:
“And We have sent down to you
the Book (the Qur'an) as an exposition of everything.” (An-Nahl,
16: 89)
It is marked by its
superior moral tendency attested by the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (may Allah
bless him and grant him peace) who said, “Verily, I was sent to perfect
noble manners.”
It is also marked
by its humane and universal tendency:
يقول
الله تعالى في
كتابه العزيز:
وَمَا
أَرْسَلْنَاكَ
إِلَّا
رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ
(الأنبياء: 107)
Almighty Allah says
in His Noble Book what means:
“We have
only sent you (O Muhammad) as a mercy to the worlds.” (Al-Anbiyâ', 21: 107)
Moreover, it is marked by its realistic perspective;
thus it sanctions special rules for necessities, tolerates man’s excuses and
prescribes allowances and offers alleviations.
It is also singularly marked by its just moderation:
يقول
الله تعالى في
كتابه العزيز:
وَكَذَلِكَ
جَعَلْنَاكُمْ
أُمَّةً
وَسَطًا
(البقرة: 143)
Almighty Allah says
in His Noble Book what means:
“Thus We have made you [true Muslims - real
believers of Islamic Monotheism, true followers of Prophet Muhammad, blessings
and peace be upon him, and his Sunnah (legal ways)], a Wasat (just) (and the
best) nation.” (Al-Baqarah, 2: 143).
It is the balance stricken between body and the soul,
between mind and heart, between worldly life and the Hereafter, between rights
and duties, between the individual and the community without weighing more or
less.
The world is the poorest it can be for this message to
set it free from extravagant materialism, unjust utilitarianism, deadly
libertinism and from the eras of fear, anxiety, sorrow and despair to the eras
of security, tranquility, happiness and hope.
The
West Warns Against the Power Treasured in Islam and its Nation
We Muslims may be unaware
of our immanent power but the foreigners who closely examine the nature of our
nation and the power reserved in our people are those who truly realize the
self-given power we actually possess and they try to guard themselves against
it. They are haunted by the fear of its outburst one day. Professor Jeb said in
his book entitled (Islam Destination): [The Islamic movements usually progress
in an amazingly tremendous speed. They explode suddenly before the observers
detect from their signs what may arouse suspicion. The Islamic movements lack
nothing but leadership; it lacks nothing but another Salâh
Al-Dîn (Saladin)].
The German explorer, Paul
Achmid wrote a book specifically about that subject entitled (Islam: The Force
of Tomorrow) which appeared in 1936. He asserted: The elements of the force of
the Islamic Orient are confined to three factors:
1. In the force of Islam
itself (as a religion) and belief in it and its examples, and its
fraternization between different races, colors and cultures.
2. In the abundance of the
natural resources in the Islamic Orient that extends from the Atlantic Ocean on
the borders of Morocco westward, to the Pacific Ocean on the borders of
Indonesia eastward. And in the assimilation of these numerous resources into a
powerful sound economic unity and a self-sufficiency that leaves the Muslims in
absolutely no need of Europe or others if they fraternize and cooperate with
each other.
3. Finally he pointed out
the last factor, that is: The fecundity of the Muslim populations, which makes
their numerical force a transcending one.
Then he added, “If these
three forces united and Muslims fraternized with one another based on the unity
of the Islamic doctrine, and the oneness of Allah, and their natural resources
covered the needs of their increase, Islam would be a real danger announcing
the end of Europe and universal sovereignty in a region which is the center of
the entire world.”
After detailing these three
factors based on official statistics and the knowledge Paul Achmid has about
the essence of the Islamic doctrine embodied in the history of Muslims and the
history of their coherence and their onward march to repel the attackers, he
suggested, “That the Christian Occident unite together, people and
governments, and repeat the Crusades but in another image that befits the
epoch, yet executed in a more effective and conclusive manner.”
Robert Ben said in the
prelude of his book entitled (The Sacred Sword): “We have to deeply study
the Arab and delve into their thoughts for they ruled the world in the past and
perhaps they may rule it once again. The torch Muhammad has lighted is still
burning vehemently and there exists what evokes the conviction that it will
never be extinguished. Therefore, I have written this book so that the reader
may perceive the origin of the Arab and I have named it after the two-edged
sword that Muhammad gained in the Battle of Badr as a memorial of his victory,
because that sword became an emblem of his imperialistic demands.”
Regardless of the prejudice
conveyed through these words and the envy they steam with, they do clarify for
us the extent of the power the Muslims possess from the viewpoint of the
outsiders. Today they call Islam (the green danger) after (the red danger)
ended with the downfall of the Soviet Union and after they approached (the
yellow danger) embodied in China. But Islam is no danger except to atheism,
corruption, depravity and slavery.
Allow me to give a
contemporary example of the innate power of Islam; that example is Turkey.
Turkey which Kemal
Ataturk and his party wanted to disrobe
of Islam and Islamic morals, customs, rules, language and everything related to
it, even annulling the Hijâb (women’s veil) and writing in Arabic
letters! He (Kemal
Ataturk) dictated that the head cover
should compulsorily be the hat and writing should be in Latin. He forbade speaking
in Arabic even in announcing the Azân [the Muslims summons to prayers called by
the muezzin from a minaret of a Masjid
five times a day]! He allowed Muslim women to marry Jewish or Christian men,
and made men and women equal in the rights of inheritance. He applied all the
western code of laws, in their flesh and blood, even the laws known as the
personal law. The Islamic and Arabic culture was chased away, and its people
were fought against and killed. People believed that the sun of Islam had
declined in Turkey forever and the shade of Islam had shrunk away from it sans
return. Tens of dreary years have passed capable of deadening Islam in the
bosoms and allow the hands of despair, along them, to crawl into the hearts.
But Islam sheltered in the
hearts of the Turkish people never died. You could say that it stagnated or
slumbered until it was given the opportunity and it manifested itself as an
influential power. We still read and hear about the spread of piety and
devotion there and the withdrawal of atheism and libertinism, and the abatement
of their voice one day after the other in spite of the financial and
psychological support they enjoy and the assistance their advocators receive
internally and externally. Thousands of schools teaching the Noble Qur’an have
appeared, Masjids were rebuilt, Islamic books were published and the Islamic
teachings and instructions have emerged strongly influencing life.
At last, the religious
Intifada (uprising) in Turkey led to the success of the Islamic Al-Rafâh party
in winning the relative majority in the Turkish parliament in spite of the
hurdles that were planted in its way.
Indeed, the most miraculous
among the signs of this religion and its effect on its nation is what we have
aforementioned: that it becomes the most powerful, the most steadfast and the
loftiest it can ever be when hardships befall it, when it is beset by dangers,
when adversities grow severer on its people and there remains no way out for
them and it stands deserted by all supporters and helpers.
At that time, Islam works
its miracles, whereupon life is breathed into the still body, the vigorous
blood flows into the veins of the nation and the soldiers of truth rush forward
like a giant released from its dungeon. The asleep awake, the coward summons
courage, the weak becomes strong, the runaway returns, and those dispersed get
together. And behold! Those successive incessant droplets from hither and
thither fashion a vehement flood, which no barrier or impediment can stand in
its way.
The Hardships of the Preachers
There are those who deplore
the state of the callers to Islam for the hard adversities that batter them and
the severe blows that are aimed at them from all sides, and believe that there
is no hope that these persecuted, dispersed and tortured people will ever stand
on their own feet, or raise aloft their flag, or have the regime they call for
or the message they have faith in embraced by the people when everyday they lay
their lives between the anvil and the hammer.
To those protestors or
mistrustful people we say:
The hardships you are
mentioning are not signs betokening the weakness or death of Islamic preachers,
but they serve as proofs of vitality, action and force, because what is dead
and motionless is not fought, rather what is fought and victimized is that
which is true, alive, dynamic and resistant.
The call whose champions
are neither persecuted, nor its preachers are wronged, is a trivial or a dead
one, or its preachers – at least – are trivial dead people.
Moreover, such adversities
and persecutions are evidence for the vitality of the doctrine itself; the
Islamic doctrine which perpetually sacrifices martyrs in the battlefield, who
water its tree with their blood and erect the edifice of its glory by their
martyred bodies.
Such adversities are the
wisest tutors and the greatest masters to the champions of causes, looked upon
as individuals, who by experiencing hardships, their souls only grow more
serene and their hearts far purified, as states the Prophetic hadith, “The
parable of the believer when he suffers illness or fever is that of an iron
piece that is driven into fire, whereupon its dross is removed and its goodness
remains.”
Truly, more than enough for
us is the Qur’anic verse in which Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, says:
يقول
الله تعالى في
كتابه العزيز:
وَلاَ
تَهِنُوا
وَلاَ
تَحْزَنُوا
وَأَنتُمُ
الأَعْلَوْنَ
إِن كُنتُم
مُّؤْمِنِينَ {139}إِن
يَمْسَسْكُمْ
قَرْحٌ
فَقَدْ مَسَّ
الْقَوْمَ
قَرْحٌ
مِّثْلُهُ وَتِلْكَ
الأيَّامُ
نُدَاوِلُهَا
بَيْنَ النَّاسِ
وَلِيَعْلَمَ
اللّهُ
الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ
وَيَتَّخِذَ
مِنكُمْ
شُهَدَاء وَاللّهُ
لاَ يُحِبُّ
الظَّالِمِينَ
{140} وَلِيُمَحِّصَ
اللّهُ
الَّذِينَ
آمَنُواْ
وَيَمْحَقَ
الْكَافِرِينَ
{141} (آل عمران: 139-141)
The noble Qur’anic
verses say what means:
“So do not become weak (against your enemy), nor
be sad, and you will be superior (in victory) if you are indeed (true)
believers. If a wound (and killing) has touched you, be sure a similar wound
(and killing) has touched the others. And so are the days (good and not so
good), We give to men by turns, that Allah may test those who believe, and that
He may take martyrs from among you. And Allah likes not the Zâliműn
(polytheists and wrongdoers). And that Allah may test (or purify) the
believers (from sins) and destroy the disbelievers.” (Âl-‘Imrân, 3: 139-141)