Islam and the World the Rise and Decline of Muslims and Its Effect on Mankind
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ISLAM AND THE WORLD THE RISE AND DECLINE OF MUSLIMS AND ITS EFFECT ON MANKIND SAYYED ABUL HASAN cALI NADWI UK ISLAMIC ACADEM Y ,fj lJK ISLAMIC ACADENlY, 2005 C.E. /1426 A.H. ISIl'J ( 872531 31 8 (HU) (StlN ( 117253 I 32 (j (PB) All rights reserved. No parr of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means. electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Translation: Dr. Muhammad Asif Kidwai General Editor: Iqbal Ahmad Azami Puhlished hy UK ISLAMIC ACADEMY PO BOX 6645 LElCEST[R LE) )WT U~lTF.D KINGDOM Website: www.ukiabooks.com E-mail: [email protected] Bnusl! Library Cola/oguil1g in Pllb/ird!i"" Data A catalogue record tor this book is available from the British Library Des(~11and 'l'vpescttino: Sohail Nakhooda CONTENTS Foreword v Translator's Note XI Preiace xvi Before the Advent of Prophet Muhammad ~ 11 The Advent of the Prophet $ 33 III The Era of Muslim Glory 62 IV Muslim Decadence 79 V The Rise of the West and Its Consequences 102 VI Mankind's Real Loss Under Western Domination 153 VII The Revival of the Muslim World 174 VII The Leadership of the Arab World 193 Notes 207 Index 215 In the /lame (if Allah, 1'v10St Gracious, Most Iv/ercijiJl FOREWORD The most important need today is to help the Muslim acquire confidence in himself and in his past so that he is able to face the future with hope, courage and determination. His faith in the religion he professes. but whose genius he does not always understand, has to be revived and vitalized. His bonds with Islam are sadly mainly those of heritage. He is a Muslim because he is born to Islam. He has rarely made allY serious attempt to acquire a real understanding of his religion. Of all the books, both ancient and modern, I have read on an understanding of Islam, this book, by Sayyed Abul Hasan 'Ali Nadwi, deserves particular attention. The teaching of Islam is essentially a teaching of leadership and world welfare. One of its most important characteristics is that it teaches its follower how' to acquire self- confidence without conceit or egotism; it breathes into him the fervour of faith and conviction, free of self-deception and, by weaning him from all dependence on others, instils in him complete trust in God with a faith that never falters nor weakens. This faith requires the Muslim to shoulder the responsibility of humanity at large and enjoins on him the trusteeship of the entire human race. It is the duty of Muslims to guide to the right path those who have gone astray, and lead men, with the help of the light and guidance given by God, from darkness into light. The Holy Qur'an says: YOH are the best of people evolved Jor mankind. You enjoin what is right andjorhid what is W/"()I/~~ and you believe in God (AI 'Imran 3:IlO). Also: '1'hus liVe have made you a people justly balanced (of the Middle Path) so that you could be a witness (an example) to people and (i!lst as) the Prophet is /0 you (al-Baqarah 2:143). VI ISLAM AND TiLE WORLD This book succeeds in stimulating an awareness of this responsibility in its readers and in bringing home to them its validity. In its style and treatment, however, it does not pander to mere sentiment or excite passions of dogmatism. The claims that the book makes are sustained by solid scholarship and objective research in a manner that appeals to both the mind and the heart. The enlightened and unprejudiced approach of the author is clearly revealed by the scrupulous care and deep concern for truth with which historical events and their sequences are recorded and environmental effects and ramifications analyzed. Decisions are left to the discernment of enlightened minds and to consciences that are sensitive to truth. Topics have been discussed, arranged and interfused in such a manner that no conclusion is ever forced on the reader. What was the condition of the world hefore the advent of Islam and the state of affairs in the East and the West, the North and the South? What was the intellectual temper of man from China to India, from Persia to Rome? What was the colour and texture of contemporary society? In what state were those religions of the world that are based on Heavenly sanction, such asJudaism and Christianity, and those that preach idol and fire-worship, such as Hinduism and Magianism? These questions with which the book begins are dealt with in a concise but comprehensive manner. The picture presented of that age is clear-cut and delineates its features with accuracy and insight. In preparing the picture, the author never gives the impression that he is self- opinionated or bigoted. He quotes non-Muslim authors, particularly those who have been notorious for their enmity towards Islam and for their persistent efforts to belittle Islam and the achievements of the age associated with Muslim glory. The age before Islam was steeped in ignorance in which the mind and the spirit of man had become benighted and high standards and values of life debased. It was an age of tyranny and slavery in which the very roots of humanity were corroded by a criminally luxurious and wasteful lite on the one hand, and hopelessness and frustration and despair on the other. In addition, clouds of scepticism, agnosticism and infidelity hovered overhead and the religions of the world were helpless to dispel them. Religions that Foreword Vll called themselves Heavenly had already fallen victim to interpolations and disintegration. They, and particularly the Christianity of the day, had lost their prestige and had become a body devoid of all spirit. There was no life, no vitality left in them. They had become, in short, a depository of certain rituals and symbols, the meaning and pertinence of which had lost all its validity. Mter describing the salient features of the age of ignorance, the author outlines the part played by Islam in the reconstruction of humanity. He shows how, when it had the opportunity, Islam liberated the soul of man from superstitions and banalities, emancipated him from the evils of slavery and degradation, and lifted him out of the slough of filth and disease. The author makes it clear how Islam saved human society from degradation, and civilization from disintegration and ruin, and liberated man from the tyranny of kings and the dominance of priests. Islam constructed life on new foundations, purified belief and morality and gave them new sanctions. It imparted a high resolve to life, endowed it with noble values and stimulated love for freedom and creativeness. It blessed life by giving it faith and knowledge, fraternity, justice and self-confidence. It prepared and trained men to bring out, through constant effort and endless toil, the hidden potentialities of life so that it could develop and flower into a just, healthy and balanced system. By a correct appraisal of men and their aptitudes, Islam put the right people in the right place for the reconstruction and development of life and took from each according to his worth. All this was achieved when Islam had a controlling hand in the affairs of the world and had the opportunity to fashion lite according to its own special genius. Since Islam is pre-eminently a faith that inspires leadership, its real mettle is tested and proven only when it assumes responsibility. It can lead the caravan of life. It cannot be a camp follower. Then came a period whereby Islam lost its leadership. This was mainly due to the failure of the Muslims to efficiently sustain and discharge the great responsibility of the trusteeship of mankind which Islam had enjoined upon them. Vlll ISLAM AND THE WORl.D The author succinctly describes the reasons for the material and spiritual decay of the Muslims and identifies the harm the Muslims sustained by deviating from the principles of their [lith and turning away from the responsibilities it entailed. In describing what happened to the world when it was deprived of this noble leadership and when it reverted to its previous state of ignorance, the author points out, in no uncertain terms, the horrible depravity towards which the world is heading today. Unfortunately this depravity belongs to a time when knowledge has opened out new paths and vistas and man has made considerable material progress. In identifying this depravity, the author does not indulge in fiery rhetoric or sensational writing, but instead employs a critical and objective approach to events. He presents facts in a manner free from all exaggeration or attempts at "fine" writing. The historical analysis Sayyed Abul Hasan cAli Nadwt gives compels one to believe strongly that the time has come when the present leadership should be changed and humanity brought back from darkness to light and from ignorance to knowledge and wisdom. The reader soon realizes how important such guidance is to the world today and, in losing it, what a terrible loss humanity has suffered. This loss is sustained not only by the Muslims, but is shared by the world at large. It is a loss that encompasses the past, the present and the future, both immediate and distant. If upon reading this book the Muslim is filled with shame and contrition for his criminal neglect and carelessness, he also becomes acutely aware of the tremendous potentialities that have been given to him and begins to feel an overpowering desire to regain the world leadership he has lost through his own neglect and lack of appreciation of its qualities.