GENERAL FEATURES OF ISLAM (6). (iv) HISTORICAL OVERVIEW. Muhammad (peace be upon him) appeared in an environment that was suffering abject poverty, ignorance and diseases and at a time when Arab were divided into tribes fighting each other. Then he called them through the words of the Glorious Quran that addresses both mind and heart and fights myth and superstition. It turned man, who previously worshipped the sun, the moon, the stars, and idols into a elevated being that worships only the Almighty and bears this Book, which involves a cultural approach and addresses all people equally, regardless of their race or color. The Glorious Quran astonished people with its esteem for knowledge and scientists. It calls them to explore the facts in the universe. The Almighty has given Adam superiority over angels through the knowledge He granted him and, thus, commanded angels to prostrate themselves before Adam. The Almighty has made a distinction between literate and illiterate people: {{Say (unto them, O Muhammad): Are those who know equal with those who know not?}} (Az-Zumar: 9). He has also made knowledge a medium through which the greatness of Allah is acknowledged: {{And those who have been given knowledge see that what is revealed to you (O Muhammad SAW) from your Lord is the truth, and guides to the Path of the Exalted in Might, Owner of all praise.}} (Saba: 6). Moreover, He raises the rank of scientists to equal that of the angels, when He ratified that both (angels and scientists) are witnesses to His Oneness : {{ Allah bears witness that La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), and the angels, and those having knowledge (also give this witness);}} (Al-`Imran: 18). They were surprised when the Prophet (peace be upon him) urged them to acquire knowledge : Whoever travels a path seeking knowledge Allah makes easy for him a path to paradise, and when he said, seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim, And, Those in the heavens and the earth, and the every fish in the water ask Allah to forgive the person endowed with Sacred Knowledge. In addition, a well-known saying among Muslims reads, A single learned Muslim is harder on the Devil than a thousand worshippers. Islam hit ancient kingdoms and different peoples like lightening, and other civilizations, religions, traditions, and philosophies fell before the Muslim conquerors who built in each conquered town a mosque as a center for worship and study. Thus, entire nations willingly converted giving up false religions, and ancient philosophies. Accordingly, they became loyal members of the Muslim army and were active in propagating Islam, as in the case of Muslim in Persia (Iran), the stronghold of the Persians civilization, Egypt, Iraq and Syria. This mass conversion created a formidable Muslim state that extended from China eastward to the Atlantic Ocean westward, encompassing different peoples of different tongues. Motivated by the instructions of the Glorious Quran, Muslims set out to explore the facts of its various phenomena through regulated scientific research far from legends and illusions. Therefore, they achieved within a brief span of human history great leaps on the path of scientific, exploratory and cultural development. Then, decline began when some Muslim rulers violated the political system of Islam in choosing the ruler and bequeathed rulership to their offspring by force; which led to the appearance of a line of unqualified rulers, who wasted the religious duties and the rights of the subjects. They stole Muslim funds, and overlooked reviving their military power and revitalizing the interests of the state. Accordingly, enemies seized the opportunity and attacked the Muslim world in the form of neocolonialism exploiting negligence of the Muslim rulers. Colonizers did their best to alienate the Islamic Law in all walks of life. Thus, the current Muslim generation grew up on non-Muslim ethics and dismissed the civilization established by the early Muslim generation through observing the duties mentioned in the Glorious Quran. Even those colonizers left the Muslim countries their impact remained, as Muslims were almost alienated from the Muslim culture and civilization. Moreover, there are vehement organized campaigns that are dedicated to distorting the image of Muslims abroad and to driving the Muslims away from Islamic Shariah (Jurisprudence). Thus can Islam be responsible for the present awkward condition under which Muslims live today?( ¹) *** NB *** (¹). Thus the Muslim world cannot be called backward but decadent because it is a civilization in decline. TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW INSHA ALLAH.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 12:05:41 +0000
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