Where is the Muslim Ummah Standing Today?

Where is the Muslim Ummah Standing Today?
By Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani

All praise is for Allah, the Lord of the worlds Mercy and salutation onour Sire and Master, Muhammad (Saws) the last of the Prophets, on his household and his Companions(Ra) all of them, and on all who follow them with goodness, till the Day of Judgment. Respected President, Dr. Zafar Ishaq Ansari and the honourable audience. It is an occasion of pleasure and good luck for me that I am getting an opportunity as a student to participate in an assembly of thinkers held under the auspices of a great Research Institute of the country. Exalted Allah has provided me here the good fortune of speaking on a subject which is very important for our present and future both. As regards the good opinions which my respected brother. Dr. Zafar Ansari has expressed about me he has done so by way of his affection and his favourable opinions about me. For all this I can only pray to Exalted Allah to grant me the requisite ability to come up to his expectations, Aameen!

Two conflicting sides of the Muslim Utnmah
As you are aware, the subject of today's talk is: "Where is the Muslim Ummah standing today?" This is a multi-sided subject. Where is the Muslim Ummah standing in the political field, economic field and the moral field? Thus, this question may assume different forms according to these various fields of application. Every field demands a detailed study and discussion and it is difficult to cover every field in one sitting. I, therefore, want to tackle presently in brief only one field of this question. This relates to the question: Where is the Muslim Ummah standing in the field relating to the domain of thought and thinking? Today when we are reviewing the present state of affairs of the Muslim Ummah, we come across two conflicting trends of thoughts. One trend is that, the Muslim Ummah has fallen a victim to downfall and deterioration and two, this very environment are talking with great force and favour about the birth of an Islamic awakening.

The first trend relates to a depression and deterioration of the Ummah, whereas the second trend relates to its possible renaissance and revival in the near future. When the first trend breeds dejection and despondency in our hearts the second trend sometimes creates in us undue hopes and complacency.

The "Truth" lies between the two extremes
I beg leave to assert that the Truth lies between these two extremes. There is no denying that as we as an Ummah have fallen a victim to downfall and deterioration and it is also observed that at the same time, a current of resurgence is spurring the Ummah onwards to action and revival. Even so, we should neither succumb to hopelessness and dejection nor should we be impressed by the topic of an under-current of reform and progress, so highly as to become neglectful of the need of putting in our best endeavours in the path of development and progress. The Truth lies between these two extremes. The subject of this address: "Where is the Muslim Ummah standing today?" is, therefore very important. As a necessary corollary raises other question, viz. What is the destination of this Ummah? and How does it plan to reach that destination? While on this topic, I am taking the middle course of the two extremes. I feel encouraged to say that a welcome feeling is perceptible in almost every area and sector of the Ummah that we have to return to our origin; and as Muslims it is our duty to spread the light of Islam throughout the world. This is what is called (Arabic() It is reassuring that this feeling has spring up, despite the painful realization that the Ummah has been dwindling into a gradual process of downfall and dejection.

An example of deviation from Islam
It is also a token of Allah's Omnipotence that one may get an idea of the deviation of the Ummah from Islam by looking at the conduct and character of those who are holding today the rein of political affairs and below an incident to highlight this deviation from Islam which may seem to be incredible to others, but it happened with myself Once

I happened to visit an Islamic country along with a delegation. The delegation decided to present to the President of the country a gift of the Holy Qur'an. For this purpose it was necessary to obtain permission of the protocol for which an application was made. After the delay of one day we were informed that the proposed gift could not be presented to the President, as it could create a misunderstanding among the non-Muslim subjects of that country and therefore some other gift might be presented. This is an example of the apathy to Islam at official and political levels in countries called Islamic.

An example of Islamic awakening
In contrast to this sad experience there was another. The same day we visited a mosque to offer our prayer. We found that the mosque was full of young boys. They were more in number than the older men. After the prayer these boys sat in a corner of the mosque and began discussing something in their daily routine after prayers to read some religious book to one another and discuss religious issues. The people told us that this practice was followed in all the mosque in that country. This is in spite of the fact that there is no formal organisation or association to organise and conduct these sittings.

The overall state of the Islamic world
You can realize from the foretold observations how Islam is being treated at the political and official levels and how intimately the younger generations are seen attracted by and attached to Islam. By considering as a whole the affairs of the Islamic world we come to the conclusion that the attitude to Islam at the official or political levels is either inimical or at least that of indifference. These governmental and political agencies have no interest in Islam. As against this, a current of resurgence has sprung up among the general public particularly the younger generation. This movement has gained ground in different parts of the world with the aim of applying Islam to our lives and according to a practical implementation.

Sacrifices in the name of Islam
It is quite true untold sacrifices have been offered in the path of Islam. The lovers of Islam have sacrificed their lives and properties for the success of the various movements organised in many countries to apply Islam and its Shariah. We are indeed proud of these freedom fighters in countries like Egypt, Algeria etc. In our own country Pakistan; people have from time to time made great sacrifices of their lives and properties for the application of the Islamic Shariah in the land. These sacrifices are a cause of pride for the Muslim Ummah. All this goes to show that even today the spark of Eeman is present in the hearts.
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What are the reasons for the failure of these movements?
Notwithstanding all these sacrifices, efforts and toils, we find with regret that there is not a single movement which reached the final destination of success. Either it failed midway or it was suppressed by force or it fell through later on without bearing the expected fruit. What is the basic reason for this situation? Why is it that despite all the sacrifices made, time and labour put into these Islamic Movements, they have remained foiled? Everyone present in this assembly should reflect on this sad state of affairs and try to get al its root. I want to put before you in this assembly the result of my own reflections on this issue, as an ordinary student. I shall try to disclose the basic reasons for this failure and how we can remedy this situation.

This point I want to express on this topic is indeed very subtle and critical. I also feel that the slightest error in the enunciation of this very subtle point may give rise to misunderstandings. However, taking upon myself the danger of error, I want to draw attention to these two aspects which are, in my opinion, the basic reasons for this situation and on which we should reflect with a sober and calm mind.

The conspiracies of the non-Muslims
Everyone is aware that one reason for the failure of the Islamic Movements is that non-Muslim powers have been doing their best to suppress Islam and the Muslims. It is hardly necessary to dilate on it because every Muslim is aware of it. I, however, feel personally convinced that the conspiracies hatched by the non-Muslim to harm the Muslim Ummah can never be successful, unless there is some fault or shortcoming among the Muslim Ummah itself. Foreign conspiracies succeed and become harmful when some defect and weakness finds access to our own body politic. No age has ever been free from the network of conspiracies from the time of the Holy Prophet (saws) right up to our times.

This Persian couplet means: The spark of Abu Lahab and the candle of Mustafa (Saws), i.e. Belief and unbelief have been at war with each other ever since eternity till this day.

Thus conspiracy between Islam and kufr has neither ever ended nor shall it end. Iblis had been created and was in existence when Allah created Hazrat Adam (as). It is, therefore, self-deception to expect that these conspiracies will come to an end.

Reasons for the Success of the Conspiracies
It is now high time for us to think what are those defects and weaknesses on account of which these conspiracies against us are succeeding. It is necessary to reflect on this question. This is because when we talk to anyone about our miseries we put the entire blame on these conspiracies against us and then we sit idle, doing nothing. It is necessary to ponder over the weaknesses and faults we have in ourselves. In this connection I want to point out to you two basic facts which in my opinion are the main causes of these failures.

Neglect of Personality building
The first of these causes that no attention is being paid to the need of personality-building. I mean to say that every educated man knows that the teachings of Islam pertain to all walks of life. Some of these teachings are of general impact affecting the society as a whole and some others are of individual impact. Some injunctions of Islam are intended for the entire society, while others are intended specifically for individuals one by one. This aspect of the Islamic teachings may be expressed by saying that there is a fine balance between the teachings of collective and individual impacts. An undisturbed maintenance of this balance will ensure a smooth implementation of the Islamic teachings. If one of these is ignored or is accorded undue preference over the other, it will stand in the way of a right implementation of the Islamic Shanah. However, by our actions and trend of thinking we have disturbed the balance between collectivism and thereby we have also altered the order of preferences.

Denial of Secularism
There was a time when on account of a propaganda in favour of secularism the people had confined Islam to Mosques, Madrasahs, Prayers, Fasting and Worship. In other words, they had confined Islam to its individual impact. Secularism also advocates the philosophy that religion is concerned with a man's private life. The political, economic and social life of man should not be subject to any religion, but it should be subject to the needs and demands of the time. As a result, a large class of thinkers sprang up in our society to reject and oppose this wrong philosophy and trend of thinking. This class of thinkers contradicted this trend of thinking and rightly asserted that the Islamic Shari ah is not confined only to worship, morality and the private life of man, but it encompasses every walk of life. Islam attaches equal importance to collectivism and individualism.

The result of denying this trend of thinking
In order to deny and refute this trend of thinking we laid so much stress on collective that we put aside and overlooked the injunctions relating to individuals. These injunctions, therefore, lost their importance at least from the practical side. For example, according to one theory it was claimed that Deen (faith) has nothing to do with politics, viz.:

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Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to Allah what belongs to Allah.

In other words, it is not at all necessary to associate Deen (faith) with politics. In this way Deen was banished from politics.

We converted Islam into a political issue
The refutation of this viewpoint gave rise to another view which laid so much stress on the political aspect of Deen that it seemed as though the only aim of Deen was to set up a political system. It is not incorrect to say that in Islam there are specific injunctions concerning politics, but it is not correct to say that Deen is in reality the name of politics or the foremost objective of Deen is to enforce a political system. This will alter the order of the preferences. The adoption of this trend of thinking will only mean that instead of making politics subservient to Islam we have made Islam subservient to politics. By so doing we have deprived ourselves of the charm and beauty of the individual and private style of life.

The life of the Holy Prophet (saws) in Makkah
We have a beautiful model in each and every branch of the life of the Holy Prophet (saws). The twenty three years of his sacred Prophet hood life have been divided in two parts - his life in Makkah covering thirteen years and his life in Madinah covering ten years. If we look closely into the Prophet's life in Makkah we shall find that it was totally free from politics, government, fighting Holy wars (Jihad) and retaliatory actions, whatsoever. The instructions were that if anyone raised his hand to beat a Muslim, the latter should not raise his hand at his adversary.ََ

Endure patiently, your endurance is only by (the help of Allah).(16:127)

It is true that at that time the Muslims were very weak, yet they were not so weak as not to show some resistance against their enemy, or a least to stop the enemy from his intention of causing harm. But they were under orders not to retaliate but to endure patiently the excesses of the enemy.

Personality building was done in Makkah
Why this order of endurance and passivity in Makkah? It was because the objective was to train and prepare such personalities as could bear in the future the burden of the Islamic society. It was the intention to cleanse and purify their conduct and character, personality, acts and morals by subjecting them to ordeals of severe work and practical training and discipline. The only work during these thirteen years was to reform their character, belief and actions and to mould them in the pattern of most polished and civilized mode of living. It was to bestow upon them the wealth of best relationship with Allah and to inculcate in them the sense of accountability and responsibility in the presence of Exalted Allah.

What kind of personalities emerged after the process of personality building?
After doing this work for thirteen years in Makkah, a new phase of life commenced in Madinah where an Islamic State came into existence and the Islamic laws and punishments (Hudood) were also enforced. All the provisions necessary for an Islamic State were made. As these persons had gone through a severe training course, none ever thought that their objective was only to attain power and authority. This was in spite of the fact that all necessary provisions and facilities had been made available to them at this stage. Despite this power and authority they had maintained their relationship with Exalted Allah and they were occupied with the work and Holy wars. Their conduct and character may be judged from an anecdote recorded in history that during the war at Yarmuk, a non-Muslim soldier thus spoke to his officer, commenting on the Noble Companions (ra) engaged in that war:

They are unique persons ()i.e. during the nights they are devoted monks (devoted worshippers) and during the days they are best archers, swordsmen and
Fighters.

In short the Noble Companions (ra) adhered in their lives to two attributes-honest work and exertion and close contact and relationship with Allah. These two attributes are inevitable for the life of a Muslim. If you separate one from the other you cannot display a true picture of Islam.

We have leaned in one direction
As we are all aware, by now the Noble Companions (ra) had launched very dignified campaigns, had commenced Holy wars and were devoting their lives to establish the supremacy of Islam over the entire world. In spite all these honorific duties and engagements it never occurred to them that it was no longer necessary for them to offer the Tahajjud prayers, to weep before Allah in humility and submissiveness and to establish cordial relationship with Him and to turn to Him in repentance. No Companion (ra) ever thought on these lines. They followed the path of struggle and exertion, while preserving their basic attributes of devotion and sincere faith in Islam and Allah.

As regards ourselves, when we started work to attain political power, we rejected secularism and declared politics to be a part of Islam. We laid so much stress on this that we overlooked the other sides of the issue. We totally ignored the theory or at least in practice, the need of turning to Exalted Allah, establishing relationship with Him and bowing down to Him in submissiveness and humbleness. Instead, we committed the blunder of harbouring the notion that as we were engaged upon a very sublime work it was no longer necessary for us to occupy ourselves with devotional duties on the personal and individual levels.

We neglected to reform individuals
As already mentioned, we laid too much emphasis on collectivism. As a result, we began to be neglectful, in theory or in practice the injunctions which Exalted Allah has issued for the sake of individual members of the society. That is why in these times movements to awaken the Ummah to enforce the Islamic Sharee'ah are commenced with great sincerity and enthusiasm but they fall through, because the other side of the issue is overlooked. The Holy Qur’an an has stated in clear words:

يَاأَيُّهَاالَّذِينَآمَنُواإِنتَنصُرُوااللَّهَيَنصُرْكُمْوَيُثَبِّتْأَقْدَامَكُمْ

If you help Allah, He will help you and will make your foot-holds firm (47:7)

In this verse Exalted Allah has conditioned His help, victory and steadfastness on the word. if you help Allah).

Allah's help descends when man establishes a firm relationship with Allah. If that relationship becomes weak man loses his title to Allah's help.

What emerges from the core of the heart gets into the depth of the heart.
The Islamic teachings prescribed for individuals are intended to prepare every individual to put in sincere and pious efforts to ameliorate his social life. These teachings include worship, good character, and purity and soundness of the heart. If a man gets up to reform the society without complying with these teachings and if he himself has riot received adequate training in them his efforts will not bear the desired fruit and it will become frustrated. If a man's character, conduct and morals are not good and up to the mark and he gets up to work for reforming the society, his words of advice will have no weight and effect. On the other hand, if there is a man who has first improved and reformed his own private life, personal conduct and character and then launches his campaign to reform others, his words will penetrate through the ears into the depth of the hearts. If we start this work of reform without having first reformed our own lives, we cannot put up a brave resistance against oppositions and mischiefs. Instead, we shall surrender ourselves and will not display high moral or lofty character. As a result we fall an easy prey to the temptation of status and later on leave behind the real objective and become interested only in taking credits somehow. All our activities revolve round this desire only. This, in turn, leads us to take wrong decisions and we fail to reach the desired destination.

First of all try to think of your own reform.
On this issue there is a verse of the Holy Qur'an as well as a Hadith of the Holy Prophet (saws) about which we generally remain in dark. The verse is as follows:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ عَلَيْكُمْ أَنفُسَكُمْ لاَ يَضُرُّكُم مَّن ضَلَّ إِذَا اهْتَدَيْتُمْ إِلَى اللّهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ جَمِيعاً فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

O you who believe! you should take care of your
own souls. If you become rightly guided he who
goes astray cannot harm you. To Allah shall you
all return; and then He will inform you of what
you used to do (in the world), (5:105)

It occurs in the narratives that when this verse was revealed, a Companion (ra) put a question to the Holy Prophet (saws) saying: O Messenger of Allah, this verse is telling us that we should take care to reform our own selves. If others are going astray their straying will do us no harm. Should we then give up enforcing the right ARABIC and forbidding the wrong ARABIC ? Thus should we stop preaching the Deen? The Holy Prophet (saws) replied: No this is not so, continue preaching Deen. Thereafter he (Saws) mentioned this Hadith:

When you see four vices prevailing in the society; love of wealth being pursued, every man hankering after money, lusts and desires being followed, the world and its charms being preferred, the people neglecting their Hereafter, every man having some opinion, being proud of his opinion and every man thinking that he is all-wise and rejecting others advice then be careful. In such a situation take care to reform yourselves and do not follow the general public.

How should we behave in a spoilt society?
Some Ulama have interpreted this Hadilh by saying that a time will come when the advice of one man to another man will have no effect. So at such a time the command of enforcing the right and forbidding the wrong and the duty of Preaching Deen will lose their force and become ineffective. At such a time a man should sit in his house, rehearse Allah's names and try to reform himself and he should do nothing else. Some other Ulama have interpreted this Hadith differently. According to them this Hadith is referring to a time when corruption will surround the society on all sides and everyone will become so deeply concerned with his own affairs that he will not lend ears to what others say. At such a time man should take care of himself and ignore the affairs of the public. It does not, however, mean that the injunction implied ARABIC (enforcing the right) and ARABIC (forbidding the wrong) should be abandoned altogether. At such a time more attention should be paid to the reform and correction of individuals rather than the society as a whole. This is because; society is nothing more than a group of these individuals. If the individuals do not react favourably to reform, the society can never be reformed. On the other hand, if the individuals are reformed Society automatically reforms. Therefore, the way of dispelling this corruption is the way of reforming the individuals by means of individual and collective struggles and efforts. This will lead to the building of personalities and this process of personality building will increase automatically the number of righteous persons bearing good moral conduct and character. This, in turn, will result in doing away with the corruption and vices of the society. According to other commentators, this Hadith is not concealing the injunction of propagating and preaching Deen but is suggesting an automatic process for the same end.

An important cause of our failure
I was telling you that in my opinion a major cause of our failure is that in trying to bring a reform among the society as a whole we have ignored the reform of the individual members of this society. Ignoring the reform of the individuals implies that we have totally ignored the requirement including worship, relationship with Allah, purification of character and action upon all the Islamic teachings. So, unless we come back to these teachings, our movements and our efforts will not be crowns with success. Imam Malik (rah) has observed:

The reform of the later generations of this
Ummah will take place in the same way as
reformed its earlier generations.

In other words, no new formula can be invented for reform of this Ummah. Reform of the Ummah during the time of the Noble Companions (Ra) came through the reform of the individuals and the same course will have to be taken even now.

The Afghan Jihad is a shining chapter of our History
Today we are quite alive to the need of bringing reforms in politics, economics and in the society, but organisations to reform the individuals are conspicuous by their absence. That is why our movements launched for this purpose do not succeed, and fail at one stage or another. The failures are sometimes due to our own differences and quarrels. A sad example of this lies in the Afghan Jihad which is a very shining chapter of our history. A study of this clearly brings out:

O Allah! How encouraging it is that my ashes conceal in them a spark like this!

We however, feel ashamed to mention to anyone the deplorable situation obtaining in Afghanistan today after the achievement of this success.

The traveler was quite satisfied and confident while he was yet away from the destination, but he became bewildered when he approached that destination.

The heart of every Muslim is weeping at the civil war raging among our Afghan brothers. Why is it so? It is because we did not fulfill the demands of this struggle. If we had fulfilled these demands it would not have been possible to face the ridicule of the nations of the world at this stage.

All movements of reform stop short at this stage for the only reason that they include no program of character-building of the individuals nor any scheme thereafter. Therefore, the movements fall through after some time.

The Second important cause of our failure
In my opinion, the second cause of our failure is that either no work is being done to implement Islam in the country or it is quite inadequate. I mean to say that on one hand we bestowed so much importance on collectivism that we practically declared it to be the whole of Islam. On the other hand, we did not give sufficient thought to the question as to what should be the procedure of implementing Islam during the present age. For this purpose neither we gave sufficient thought to the problem, nor did we chalk out some regular program of work, or. if we did chalk out a program it was not commensurate with the needs. I do not say-Allah forbid - that it is not possible to implement Islam in this age. The teachings of Islam were not conceived by a human mind. These are the teachings of that All-Powerful and All-Knowing Allah Whose Knowledge and Power transcend and encompass everything in the Universe. As such, a person can go out of the fold of Islam during this age. It will however, be necessary for this purpose to devise and chalk out a working program. It is regrettable that no serious attention is being paid to the question of chalking out a program for the application of Islam in our land.

In every age there has been a different method for implementing Islam
We have been working for Islam and putting in efforts in its cause; we have also been launching practical movements for Islam. Before conceiving these movements and during their operation every one should be clear about the meaning of implementing Islam, which is the implementation of the laws of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. In this context it is generally said that we have with us the Fatawa Alamgir (A famous book of Islamic Religious Rulings). This will help us in taking decisions on various issues. We go ahead with this innocent notion in our minds. It should, however, be borne in mind that it is one thing for some principles to be eternal and quite another thing to implement those principles in different conditions and in different ages. There is no denying the facet thai the teachings and injunctions of Islam are eternal and applicable for all times to come, but the needs and requirements for implementing them differ from age to age and time to time. For example mosques are built also today. Previously they were built with date-palm leaves and wooden beams; now they are built with cement and iron bars. We see that the needs and principles of building mosques have remained the same, but the methods and materials of their construction have changed considerably. Again the Qur'an has said:

Make ready for them all you can of (armed) forces and of horses tethered. (8:60)

The forces of fighting in the olden days consisted of arrows, swords, horses, etc. and now they consist o artillery, fighter planes and modern war weapons, tanks bombs, and missiles, etc.

What should be the method of implementing Islam?
Likewise, it will be necessary to decide upon procedure and course of action for applying the Islam Shariah to our present style of living. What should be that course of action? How should we enforce those eternal principles of Islam? So far, we have not been able to chalk out a well-considered procedure which we may claim to be a firm and final procedure to answer our purpose in this age. Efforts in this direction are indeed being made in the entire Islamic world, including our country, but we cannot claim that these efforts are final. In the absence of such a firm and final procedure of action, serious problems and difficulties will crop up in implementing the Islamic injunctions and principles, even if power and authority are attained as a result of one of these movements.

The point of searching for new interpretations is quite wrong
Some circles are seen advocating the need of searching for new interpretations of Islam for implementing it practically. They argue that we want to implement Islam in the present age which has drastically changed from the past ages. Some circles are making demonstrations in favour of this “ New Interpretation” with a sinister mover to obtaining sanctions for what is being practised now, e.g. Islamisation of usury, gambling in the garb of lotteries and betting, drinking wine and mixed gatherings of men and unveiled women, etc. These circles have the audacity to demand that what is unlawful may be declared as lawful on the authority of these “New Interpretations”.

Such a notion is totally wrong and condemnable. All this boils to the conclusion that whatever is being practisd today is all right. In their view the implementation of Islam only means that authourity and power should pass into the hands of the Muslims without effecting any change in what we have received from the western civilisation. If this notion is accepted, the efforts being made to implement Islam will become meaningless and disastrous.

To seek ways and means to implement Islam in the present age does not mean to subject Islam to an operation and to alter its feature so as to mould it on the western pattern and trend of thinking. In fact, the implementation of Islam means that all the injunctions and principles of Islam will remain intact and unaltered in their places, as indeed they should so remain. All that we have to decide is what should be the practical procedure for the implementation of the Islamic injunctions and principles in this age. All books of Islamic jurisprudence are full of answers to trading and business problems, yet these books may not furnish clear-cut answers to the various trading and business problems arising from day to day. We shall have to search for answers to these problems in the light of the Qur’an the Sunnah and the accepted principles contained in the books of Islamic jurisprudence. So far we have made little headway in this direction. Unless we complete this work, we cannot achieve full success in our work. In the same way, Islamic injunctions and principles about politics are available in these books. We have only to find out what shall be their practical shape when the Islamic Shari ah is implemented in our age. In this field also our work is not complete, nor is it up to the standard. Sometimes we fail in our efforts on account of these defects and shortcomings.

Summary
In my opinion, the foretold two causes stand in the way of implementing the Islamic Shari ah and both are concerned with the trend of thinking:
The first cause: Negligence in the reform and personality-building of the individual Muslim, and undertaking social and collective activities without
reforming the individuals.

The second cause: Sincere and thoughtful research work is needed on the subject of implementing Islam and adequate work has not been done in this field also. These are the two causes.

If we succeed in understanding them and eradicating them, we can hope to succeed- Allah willing - in our work.

May Exalted Allah bring the day, by His mercy, when these movements of awakening may be crowned with success in the true sense. Aameenl