REASONS FOR DECLINE OF MUSLIMS
 

Part III

 

This is the state of Muslims today. His world is in the accursed grip of despotism. Monarchical governments, capitalism, feudalism and landlordism, in short, all the social and economic disharmonies (which Quran has termed as Fasaad Fil-Arth) are all but demonstrations of this great curse. Now think, after this how can a ray of light from anywhere enter his heart?

And his future is hidden in the darkness of religious rituals and traditions, scholastic polemics, and the mystical spell. Entwined in the darkness of these will-o'-the wisps this poor Muslim looks up to the other nations with wistful eyes, wondering what is happening to him. According to Allama Iqbal,

There remained not that mirror of your conscience O'Slain, Unrequited love of royalty, priesthood and the Mullahism, The Basic Reason for This Decline: These then are the reasons for the decline of the Ummah. Reasons being merely by way of details, for in fact there is only one reason, that is, the Muslims' own man-made religion. The difference between religion and Deen be once again brought forth so that you do not enter into the misunderstanding that I am (Allah forbid) an atheist teaching Atheism. Deen is the name of that code of life which Allah gave us in its complete form and is now enclosed in the Quran, and which His last Nabi has shown us pragmatically in a practical form. Nor was there in it monarchy, nor priesthood, nor monasteries, nor sectarianism nor any schism. The entire people and nation were one unity, the Ummah had one order, and this order had one central headquarter. The orders from this centre were obeyed, by way of act and deed, by the followers. Whereas against this and in complete contrast, religion is the name of those collections of beliefs, of the theories, rites, and rituals all of which are man-made. Its aim is that every individual shall have his salvation, (Mukti, in Hindi) which will be attained only after death. It has no share in this world, as it is not relevant to it. In it, monarchy, capitalism, priesthood, monasticism, sectarianism-all this exists. Therefore in this book wherever the word Religion occurs in contrast to Deen, it should be understood accordingly so as to avoid any misunderstanding. All the Anbiya of Allah brought Deen but their followers, after their passing away, turned this Deen into Religion. At Nabi Muhammad's manifestation there was no Deen anywhere. Every where Religion prevailed. Islam was a challenge to these Religions. It came to wipe them out, so that the shackled humanity gained freedom. The freedom to lead a life in accordance with the laws of God. But after the departure of Nabi Muhammad (PBUH) whatever the previous people did with their respective Deen were the very things we did with our Deen. We too, changed it in to Religion. Hence whatever happened to the people of yore happened to us, and is continuing to happen.

To date, no Religious minded people have made any progress. Look far and wide and you will see it. The more religious a people, the more lowly and backward they are. The totally religiously immersed people of Tibet, the Lamas, and their followers are an example. Then again, among those people wherein one section is religious and the other worldly, the worldly one is far better off and successful than its religious counterpart who is but poor and indigent. In India, the Hindu orthodox faith, the Sanathum sect, never ever progressed. In Europe itself, the Christian monastic groups always lagged behind. The buffeting of the world's bellows gradually makes the religious minded groups to be sheared and sliced off and melt into the worldly "groups'', which is gradually increasing in numbers, while the religious-minded are decreasing within the confines of the four walls of their places of worship. When the intensity of these buffeting bellows increases, as it is generally happening in Europe nowadays, then religion is waved a final goodbye and the people in their entirety become purely "worldly'', as has happened in Russia, China and other East European countries. While the majority of the Muslims are religious minded therefore they are in the miserable, lowly and indigent state. All that has happened to the other "religious-minded'' else where, has happened to them and is still in vogue. Note with what clarity Quran states this great fact. It says Allah's message has always been one of guidance and mercy,

From this very Quran many people will receive guidance, mercy and counsel and to many others will come the share of going astray. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Destruction In Accordance with the Laws of the Quran: Consider this great and illustrious Ayat stated above. Allah says that from this very Quran many people's share would be to go astray. That very water which is fundamental in saving life can also become the very cause of man's death. Who then are those in whose share would come nothing but destruction. It states:

Going astray would be the share of the Fasayqeen. But the question is who are the Fasayqeen - It says, Those people who had pledged to establish the code of life according to the laws of God but after that broke that pledge. A greater clarification is given in these words: Yes! They are those people who have cut into pieces those things that God ordered them to keep intact. God's law has shown life to be an indivisible unit, in length as well as in breadth. In length, this world, and the Hereafter, in the present and the future there is no limit, separation, or division. It is a continuous and coherent flow from here to there. Therefore, the division of the world and the Hereafter into two different entities is a Fisq and is also Shirk. In the same manner, human unity is shattered by disharmony dividing of humankind into persons, races, tribes, and nations. This is Fisq. The practical result of this Fisq and Shirk will be thus: In life disharmonies will be created and the fate of such people would be big failures and their objectives will remain unfulfilled. Have you noticed that in these brief Ayat how Quran has hinted towards an immense basic Human Law? It states that the code of Deen came to put into practice the unity of life. This was the code whose result would have been reformation of the world (harmony in the cultural life of man) and was the centre and focus of the pleasant and wholesome and brilliance of the future. This was the correct way (of guidance and counsel). After that the believers of the Quran themselves dismembered this unity and with it dismembered the Quran too. "The result was destruction of the Present and destruction of the Future too". This is, in Quranic terms, degradation. But when people made this Quran serve their personal motives and used it accordingly then the Quran, instead of being a spring of advice and counsel, became a cause of their straying away. And what else, it says, could be the consequence? In Deen it was a code of life but in the hands of Religion it became the means of sending Savaab to the dead. For a thousand years these people are moving around evidently with the Quran clasped to their chest but from this Quran they received nothing except humiliation and non-fulfilment of their ambitions. Because it is the law of the universe that every element must be in its original position, only then it would avail itself of its latent gains. If it is removed from its original position the same element becomes harmful. Place a craft on water and the water becomes its means to float. Bring the same water atop the craft and the water will become a flood to sink the craft. According to Quranic connotations, to remove an element from its correct position is called Zulm. Which is why Quran has indicated that for the Zalaymeen is failure, ruination and nothing else. And whatever we have sent down in the Quran for the believers is a mercy and a healing. But those who displace it from its correct position for them is harm and loss and nothing else. In the life of a Muslim the thing that is proving to be a source of loss is the Quran which has been displaced from its correct position. When it was in its true and original position it was called Deen and when removed from its position it became Religion. In any case, Quran remains the same although its position is altered.
 
 

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

 

Once again, it should be understood that the Ayat (with which we began this discourse) does not mean that in the world people will get both guidance and deviation from the Quran! Quran is totally a source of eternal guidance and counsel; it is light. From it, guidance is attained in totality. Then one does not go astray. What it has said is that if the Quran is regarded as the code of life and life lived accordingly, then only guidance will be obtained. But when it is assumed merely as a "religious book'' with the aim of using it to send Savaab to the dead, thereby removing it from its correct position, and subordinating it to one's own ideas and beliefs then the share of people, who act in such a manner, can be nothing but humiliation and going astray. This is in fact what is happening to the Muslims today for their not using the Quran as it should be, and are therefore enduring the consequences.
 
 

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

 

The Quranic reason for the decline has now come before us loud and clear; it is also clear as to what are the paths that could lead us from decline to our ascent. The matter is plain and transparent, although I doubt whether our people will comprehend this vision.

"It is possible to explain the subtle point of the unity of God but there already are idols in your mind which make it difficult."

So far we have seen:

(1) That in the ascending paths and the life of people the main stumbling block is "Religion''.

(2) No people can advance until it totally dissociates itself from "Religion''.

(3) Many peoples of the world took their step towards advancement only after deciding to drop their religions.

Since they did not have before them the revelation of God, so some of them:

(a) Restricted their religions in the confinements of the four walls of the temples and the churches and for their worldly and day to day affairs, they decided by expediency. This is "Secularism''.

(b) Some of them absolutely rejected religion. This is also secularism.

(4) As for the Muslims, the Deen of Allah in its pure and original state is with them in the Quran. Therefore, if they care to attain ascent or soar in life, then they will have to discard their present "Religion'' and act and adopt the Deen of Allah.

(5) But if the "Religious-Minded'' section among us stubbornly sticks to its arrogance, and keeps telling the people that the Deen is what is in practice presently amongst them, this will result in either one of the other (a) These people will be destroyed totally or (b) they too will confine themselves within the of the four walls of the mosque and go "secular''.

In both cases Deen will not remain with them. Through "Secularism'' they, too, will gain immediate profits, but like the westerners, they will also live in international hell.
 
 

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

 

Let us once again consider both the paths referred to above. That is the path of pure politics, described as "Secularism'', or the code of Deen. These are the two paths which may be adopted provided that we first give-up the present (self-faked or trumped-up) "Religion''. If we are keen to escape further humiliation we will have to give up the man-made religion, and Hereafter decide whether you want the purely worldly existence (immediate gains) and opt for this path or the path which is glorious for both the present and the future. At the moment, majority among us does not like to come out of its opium-like drowsiness. But to state it more correctly, they are actually being kept in their self-contented state by being administered (religious) opium. There are some who try to emulate the nations of the world, and their feelings are aroused to get out of this life of indignity. Since the right way is not before them, they too cannot extricate out of their own self-made or faked present religion, and its effects. What they try is a mixture of sorts comprising of worldly affairs, add to it some principles of Morals and Manners, mix it with past penal code (laws of Fiqqah), all blended in a cocktail and call it ``Islamic Government''. They keep before them the "Islamic Governments'' of Haroon-al-Rasheed and Mamun-al-Rasheed, of the glamorous era of Muslim Civilisation. But what they fail to understand is that with this concoction of cocktails, blending and mixing and thus creating a patchwork-government can never become the code of Deen.

The Patching and Grafting towards Forming Islamic Governments: By just merely adding Hydrogen and Oxygen in a bottle does not create water. For this mixture, a definite chemical reaction is required. Without this a theoretical chemical reaction is created and the unification is only apparently visible. True amity1or friendship is not created. This superficial and external patchwork would conversely be a loss. Quran also shows pure Kufr as a resultant gain. (With this, at least the immediate gains are achieved) and it also shows Pure Deen to be also gainful (wherein both the present and the future becomes brilliant and glorious and prosperous). But the efforts and endeavours to mingle Deen and Kufr in this way it calls it half-truth and declares it as Munafiqath that is Hypocrisy, wherein, no effort bears fruit or result. Once again, let us peruse the Ayat of Surah Baqra that has been referred to before. The issue will be clarified thus:

Do you want to opt for that sort of life where some clauses of the law are accepted, while others are discarded? Remember! Any people who choose and opt such a way, the results of such efforts would be nothing else but its present life would be that of notoriety and humiliation and in the next life too they would be punished severely. Quran stresses "the adoption of Deen purely in its entirety":
 
 

Not the "Ostrich'' sort of way.

 

This, according to my understanding, is the right course. That is to say, all that is being put forward in the name of religion should be tested on the touchstone which is the Quran. What comes out exactly in accordance with the Quran should be accepted as purely of Deen. And that which does not pass this test should be rejected immediately no matter to, or with whom it is associated. The pure Deen is only in the last and complete book of Allah, the Quran. Without it, we have no other way to attain salvation and felicity. I am aware that whatever I have written or have said this, it is acceptable to a limited few who are able to reach its depths (provided the subject is studied with an open mind). Amongst those who will understand, there again will be very few who will act upon it or will find the inspiration to act upon. The reason for .not being able to understand it is because the present man-made or faked religion has made its beliefs and its rituals so sanctified and holy that man is not ready to hear a word against it. Whereas, talk to an atheist and he will be prepared to listen at least to the intellectual and rational arguments of wisdom. But the religious-minded will not allow wisdom and intellect even to flutter near them. And whatever that has reached them through blind ancestral following will not allow it to be tested by any means or mode of test. This is that fact which Quran has stated as follows:

Whose evil deed becomes to him pleasant and seems to him extremely beautiful, then, can he ever come onto the straight path? This is that law of retribution according to which the issue of going astray or guidance is decided. But what possibility is there for one who regards his evil way to be the correct one, to leave that path? Which is why it is said to Rasool: Those people whose state and condition has become such then why should you, in trying to bring them on to the right path, destroy yourself in grief? But after understanding it, it is hard to act upon because there are such deities standing on the way (ascribing Allah's omnipotence to others and obeying their commands) that pulling or breaking them down with one's own hands require the help of some great companion. Also that the path of religion is that of easy going, so much so that to abandon it for Deen's life of effort and action is like chewing peas of iron. For this very reason Quran has said that those who go against Deen would always be the Muthrafeen, the easy-going. Their easy-going, lazy and luxurious life comes to an end in the order of Deen. I am aware of all these points. But at the same time my Quranic insight and discernment has brought me to the conclusion that I should safeguard it by putting it on paper so that if not today then in the coming generation some one may gain from it. And then if some one begins to think and act on the way of Deen, then my footprints will at least give him the satisfaction that someone else too had walked on this path.

Then again, among my readers are also gentlemen of thought and vision who also agree with me. To them, I request that they send and write to inform me about it. This will give me immense pleasure because in the world the relationship established through Quranic thought and contemplation and seeing eye to eye in harmony is a relationship so strong and firm that none other relation compares with it. It is also possible that through this mutual contact and communication, we could give more serious thought on this issue and devise ways and means to remove the obstacles and make the path smoother. And in this manner and in the universal-light of the Quran, with its discernment and insight go on raising the curtains, the curtains which have for a thousand years of dark conformity with the ancestors and religious tyranny have fallen on them.

It is my Eemaan (and my experience is making my Eemaan stronger and firmer all the more) that as long as we do not place before us the Quran alone, the order and code of Deen cannot be understood by us. And we will not be able to create that Revolution which Quran had created once and has in it the potentials to create it again any time. This is the only method, which the followers of the Quran, by way of action and deed, could create a beautiful Revolution in the entire humankind.

At present, the entire world is engaged in the non-divine way of life and therefore enduring the punishments of its own creation. Included in them, are those people who believe in God but whose order is secular (e.g. the Western democracies). And also those who have totally discarded God (the communist governments), all of them cannot find a way out of this hell created by themselves. While the Quranic Order has the power to rescue humankind from this hell, and convert the earth into o Jannath-e-Arthi, the paradise on earth (and after that into the Jannat-e-Akharvi, the paradise of the Hereafter). If we begin to establish this order ourselves then not only will we extricate ourselves out of this present hell but also show the remaining world the way to paradise. If we do not act upon this path then not only do we destroy ourselves but become the cause of the destruction of other peoples of the world as well.

May God make this small plea of mine become the means of penetrating the sincere hearts and become rousingly effective.

1. For unification, Quran demands "amity'' The summing up or addition of constituents and parts in one place; their friendship and unification of one with the other so that it forms a merger, at the same time retaining their individuality. Their becoming or being bonded into one is just solidifying their individuality.