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Aspects of Islamic History
M. A. Bari
Ever since the first man and woman stepped on the earth, the
history of human
civilisation started rolling. In a broader sense that was also
the beginning of the"Islamic history". The first man Adam (alayhis
salam) was a "Muslim", an obedient
servant of Allah who wholeheartedly submitted to the will of his
Lord. The words
'Islam' and 'Muslim' originate from the same Arabic root which
mean 'peace' and'submission'. Adam was a Prophet too, who taught
his progeny how to lead their life
as true servants of God. From Adam to Muhammad (peace and
blessings be uponthem) all the Prophets of God were bestowed with
the same message, the message
of teaching and leading humanity to live in the world according
to the divine will. Assuch they were all "Muslims".
Human being is the emissary or caliph (al-Qur'an, 2:30) of God
on earth. Man is
created with the free will to choose between right and wrong.
Two inherent butcontrasting nature is imbedded within him, the
ability to do good or evil (al-Qur'an,
91:8). This is an immense test for him. But man is also born in
nature (fitrah), thenature of submission to the will of his
Creator. According to a tradition from Prophet
Muhammad, "every child is a born Muslim". This is a trust and a
heavy burden on
every human being. Unfortunately, many have decided to follow
their whims anddesires. God, out of His love and compassion, sent
Prophets to warn and remind
these people of their responsibility. The Qur'an mentions twenty
five of these envoysto man. Out of them, Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham),
Musa (Moses) and Isa (Jesus)
occupy special places in Islamic history.
The "Muslim history" begins with Prophet Muhammad who was a
direct descendantof Prophet Ibrahim through his eldest son Ismail
(Ishmael). While the messages of
other Prophets were confined to time and space, Prophet Muhammad
was sent for
the whole of humanity and for all time to come. He is a blessing
for the universe (al-Qur'an 21:107) and he started his mission by
addressing, "O! mankind," rather than"O! my people". Although he
initiated his task from his own people of Arabia, Islam
transcended all boundaries of race, colour and land. Within a
decade after his death
Islam spread like wildfire and engulfed the then Persian and
Roman empires. Islam'soverwhelming message of love, justice and
balance won the hearts and minds of the
'conquered' people. For those who know little about Islam it was
a miracle thatelevated a barbaric people into the peak of human
civility. In actual fact, the early
followers of Islam created a model society with their sacrifice
against all possibleodds.
After Prophet Muhammad's death his mantle was carried forward by
his blessed
companions. The four rightly guided Caliphs ruled the embryonic
Muslim empire withextreme simplicity and humility with, of course,
utmost efficiency. The guidance of
the Qur'an and the teachings of the Prophet were at the core of
their success. Theirthirty-year rule was followed by monarchy,
first the Umayyads and then the
Abbasids. The Umayyads ruled for about one hundred years from
Damascus and
expanded the frontiers of the Muslim empire from Spain in the
West to China in theEast. When their rule ended the Muslim empire
was, for the first time, divided into
two. The Abbasids took over the main flank and transferred their
capital to Baghdad.
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The Umayyads were left undisturbed with their sovereignty in
Spain. The Muslim rule
in Spain continued for nearly eight hundred years.
During the 500-year Abbasid rule the Muslim empire was at the
peak of glory andprosperity. Creative knowledge and scholarship
flourished across the Muslim world.
The scholars in the major cities opened up new frontiers of
knowledge which later
directly influenced the European Renaissance. The treasures of
Greek and Indianknowledge were revived, digested and enhanced
effectively by them. Unlike in the
then Christian Europe, the Muslim scholars were encouraged and
patronised by theruling class in their challenging works of science
and other creative subjects.
However, as time passed and the new lands and people were
joining the fold of
Islam, the central authority was gradually diminishing. This had
its long-termdisastrous effect in all spheres of Muslim life.
During the last decades of Abbasid khilafah the ruling class
became engrossed with
the pleasure of life. With the material ascendancy and
intellectual supremacy entered
the flood of social and moral diseases, reminiscent of all the
collapsing empires. As aresult, the central authority started to
crumble by the intrigue of the people in the
upper echelon of the ruling elites. This invited, in 1258, the
unprecedenteddestruction of Baghdad and the end of Abbasid rule by
the barbaric Tatar hoards.
Countless Muslim scholars, ulema and people in authority were
butchered by the
them. Libraries and seminaries were decimated. For some time,
the rest of theempire was at the mercy of the Tatar military
machine. The Muslim world could
never regain from this catastrophe. It was a dark episode
leading to serious internal
convulsion within the Muslim nation. At that juncture of history
the Ottoman Turkscame forward and upheld the mantle of the Muslim
empire. On another front, a
mysterious event was unfolding. The descendants of the Tatar
victors convertedthemselves to Islam and later on established the
Muslim rule in India.
However, the downward spiral of the Muslim power continued
unabated. The Muslim
nation lost its central mooring and became too fragmented. While
the Ottoman
conquest was gaining land and people in Eastern Europe, Muslims
elsewhere weregradually giving in to the emerging European powers.
The fall of Granada in 1492
sealed the fate of Islam in the new world of European expansion.
The expulsion andforced conversion of Muslims by a new Spain could
not be countered even by the
military might of the Turks.
While Europe was reinvigorated by their new-found intellectual
freedom theintellectual stagnation and blind following (taqlid) of
the Muslim scholars weakened
them further. This put a lid on Muslim creativity. They failed
to maintain pace withthe European progress which was moving fast.
The post-Renaissance Europe
harnessed its potential and started expanding their sphere of
influence across theworld. The Muslim land became vulnerable to the
their expansionist expeditions and,
like a house of cards, they were falling apart. Although there
were stiff and heroicresistances from some religious leaders in
many places they were not match to theEuropean technological and
military superiority. After some humiliating defeats in the
Balkans the Ottoman Turks lost its stomach to fight back. The
last nail in their coffincame when, in 1924, the already weak
Ottoman khilafah was abolished. The new
Turkish leaders declared war against their historical past by
attempting to sever its
link with the khilafah.
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Apart from a few nominally independent Muslim territories,
colonisation of Muslim
land was total. This brought havoc in the Muslim world. The
unparalleled physical,
intellectual and cultural trauma created countless problems -
intellectual, moral,theological, social and cultural. The legacy of
these still continues today. Challenges
to the Muslim people were enormous. De-colonisation and
rebuilding of the Muslim
nation were extremely difficult. Even when the Muslim lands were
granted
independence they were systematically truncated and arbitrarily
divided, only to begoverned by the tyrants and despots, the
brain-children of the colonial era. Thelegacy today is division,
disharmony, distrust and fear. The Muslim world is yet to
cope with these.
The Muslim world now consists of more than fifty independent
nation states with
enormous resources and human potential. But most of them are run
by theautocratic regimes with no accountability to anyone except
their whims. Many of
them are, in fact, at war with their own people. Their glorious
past and present geo-
political importance have made them the victim of the global
media onslaught. Theyare the underdogs in the world community. In
spite of unparalleled atrocities and
injustices done to them in many places, e.g., Palestine and
Kashmir, they have avery bad image in the world. Often they are
presented as uncivilised and barbaric.
The world today is more divided than ever before. Economic
disparity, politicalstrangulation, cultural hegemony and military
superiority by some over the rest of
the humanity is leading mankind toward disintegration.
Religious, moral and ethical
values are being trampled upon in the name of modernity and
liberalisation.Societies are losing their age-old fabric and giving
in to permissiveness. The situation
is grim indeed. How can mankind save themselves from the dilemma
betweenmodernity and divine values?
Fourteen hundred years ago Islam challenged the world full of
oppression, injusticeand perversion. It liberated human being from
the slavery of its own creation. It built
a society on the basis of love, compassion, equality and
freedom. Can the same
Islam, with its unadulterated message and uncompromising
principles, withstand theacid test of modern challenge? It all
depends on the conviction and commitment of
its adherents. As no nation or community has monopoly over the
divine messagesbrought by the Prophets, it remains to be seen who
can rise up to the demand of
time.
