History is a witness to the fact that so long as the Islamic community as a whole discharged its divinely ordained duty, it was itself exalted and honoured along with the Truth it stood for. But when it turned a blind eye to its very raison d’etre and became only a nation like other nations pursuing worldly riches and comforts, it became the target of Divine wrath in the same way as the children of Israel had become earlier. In the beginning the punishment was confined to-
“And if you turn your
backs He will bring in your stead a people other than you” (48: 38)
That is, the
leadership of the Islamic world was taken away from the “children of Ismael”
(i.e. the Arabs) and was entrusted to the Kurds and Saljukes. And when they did
not take a lesson even from this, the more severe warning of Divine wrath
overtook them in the form of Tatar onslaught and thus providing an
exemplification of a state depicted in the Qur’an in these words:
“We sent against you
Our servants, of mighty prowess, so they went to and fro among the houses
ruining them completely.” (17:5)
Historians surmise in
vain as to why the Tatars marched straight down to Baghdad and did not turn
toward India even though the Indians very much anticipated their attack. The
answer to this enigma is not far to look. The nucleus of the Islamic Ummah at
that time was constituted by the Children of Ismael (Bani lsmael) and Baghdad
was then the political centre of their government. And it was God’s will to
punish them severely for their misdeeds.
It is an historical fact that the groups of people who gained ascendancy afterwards in the Ummah were not from the ‘Children of Ismael’. Rather they hailed from other people - ‘akhereen’ in the Quranic terminology, viz; Moghuls in India and Turks in Asia Minor who also ultimately held the Ummah-wide religio-political leadership of ‘Khilafat-i-lslami’.
In this way the vestigial religious superiority of the ‘Children of Ismael’ vanished completely and made them the subject and tax-payer of the Turks. It was only in the early part of this century that they came out from the subjugation of the Turks and were later dominated by the European Imperialists. In the middle of the century they however gradually got freedom from them and heaved a sigh of relief.
A quarter century after this occurs the most painful chapter of this story. Even after having political freedom after a long spell of subjugation, they did not learn a lesson from their history. They turned their backs to the ‘Deen’ and adopted westernized luxurious and lavish way of living, and indulged in mental and behavioural vagrancy. Instead of promoting the global unity of the Muslim Ummah, they took to racial and territorial nationalism. They completely repudiated the fundamental teachings of Islam and oppressed the advocates of the true religion. Until at last to the extent of the ‘Children of Ismael the “second warning” of Allah (SWT) was also fulfilled at the hands of a Divinely proclaimed damned nation (i.e. the Jews) they suffered a terribly disgraceful defeat in 1967.
It is an historical fact that the groups of people who gained ascendancy afterwards in the Ummah were not from the ‘Children of Ismael’. Rather they hailed from other people - ‘akhereen’ in the Quranic terminology, viz; Moghuls in India and Turks in Asia Minor who also ultimately held the Ummah-wide religio-political leadership of ‘Khilafat-i-lslami’.
In this way the vestigial religious superiority of the ‘Children of Ismael’ vanished completely and made them the subject and tax-payer of the Turks. It was only in the early part of this century that they came out from the subjugation of the Turks and were later dominated by the European Imperialists. In the middle of the century they however gradually got freedom from them and heaved a sigh of relief.
A quarter century after this occurs the most painful chapter of this story. Even after having political freedom after a long spell of subjugation, they did not learn a lesson from their history. They turned their backs to the ‘Deen’ and adopted westernized luxurious and lavish way of living, and indulged in mental and behavioural vagrancy. Instead of promoting the global unity of the Muslim Ummah, they took to racial and territorial nationalism. They completely repudiated the fundamental teachings of Islam and oppressed the advocates of the true religion. Until at last to the extent of the ‘Children of Ismael the “second warning” of Allah (SWT) was also fulfilled at the hands of a Divinely proclaimed damned nation (i.e. the Jews) they suffered a terribly disgraceful defeat in 1967.
As a result of the
recent Arab-Israel war, no doubt the entire Muslim Ummah has been disgraced
and the stigma has been shared by all Muslims. But surely the Arabs are the
worst hit as the Qur’an says:
“Who took on himself
the lead among them, will be given a grievous punishment”. (24:11)
Religious and moral
decadence is undoubtedly visible in the whole of Muslim Ummah, but the fact is
that in this some Arab countries are far ahead of other Muslim nations. It is,
therefore no wonder that they got the lion’s share in the disgrace and
humiliation. As the Arabs were historically top most in honour and respect,
quite logically they should now have the largest share in humiliation and
disgrace.
To cut the long story
short the sole aim of this Ummah is to invite people to the call of Allah. And
not only its honour and respect, its very survival rests on the fulfillment of
this aim.
There is only one
way, both for the ‘ummiyyeen’ (unlettered people i.e. the Arabs) and ‘akhereen’
(other non-Arab nations) taking inspirations from the happy tidings contained
in the Qur’an:
“It may be that your
Lord will have mercy on you” (17:8)
they should build up
their morale and pay heed to the Divine warning:
“....and if you again
return (to disobedience) We too will return (to punishment).”(17:8)
They should get up to
discharge their duties honestly and sincerely. These repeated warnings are for
us only to remind that there is no way for we Muslims but to turn to Allah
(SWT). And that not only for regaining the past grandeur and glory but also for
the guarantee of our survival, there is no programme of action for us except
turning ourselves and inviting others to Allah (SWT).
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