First Period of Decline - Lessons From History

First Period of Decline

The Arabs gradually became corrupted as a result of their unprecedented power and wealth. The simple, frugal, and almost self-denying life style of the early Muslims slowly disappeared, giving way to the luxurious and hedonistic trend that  is  the  hallmark  of  all  worldly  rulers.  Due  to  their materialistic and this-worldly ambitions, the faith and religious enthusiasm of the Arabs faded away, leading ultimately to their political decline. Although clear signs of their hollowness and exhaustion remained shrouded for quite some time, it became increasingly obvious by the 10th century that the Arabs were reaching their senility.

During the 11th century, Arab decline and decadence became severe enough to create a power vacuum in the heart of the Muslim world. This attracted tribes from the North East, i.e., the Kurds and the Seljuk Turks, to the center of the Muslim land.  These  tribes,  after  embracing  Islam,  strengthened  their hold in Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. This led to the infusion of fresh and energetic blood into the ailing Muslim Ummah. It was during this period that Afghan tribes started invading the Indian subcontinent, paving the way for the establishment of Muslim rule in India.

In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Arabs experienced their  first  taste  of  Divine  punishment,  and  the  words  of  the Qur’an — “We sent against you Our creatures full of martial might who ransacked your cities” — were fulfilled once again. Previously, the Jews were destroyed by the Assyrians from the North and then by the Babylonians from the East. History was repeated when the Arab Muslim were devastated first by the Crusaders from the North, and then by the Mongols from the East.

The Christian Europe launched a series of attacks, in order to recapture Jerusalem from Muslims, after Pope Urban II had declared a Holy War in 1096 to liberate the city from “infidels.” Wave after waves of Crusaders invaded the Muslim territories for the next two hundred years. During one of their initial attacks, the Crusaders conquered Jerusalem in 1099, violating   the   sanctity   of   Al-Aqsa   mosque.   The   Christian warriors, in their extreme religious frenzy, went completely berserk after this conquest. Such wholesale butchery took place in  Jerusalem  that  it  embarrasses  the  Western  historian  even today.

The  Holy  City  remained  under  Christian  rule  for  a period of 88 years, as the decrepit Umayyads ******** were no longer capable of launching an offensive. Finally, the fervent and  zealous  elements  from  among  the  non-Arab  nations  — under Salahuddin Ayyubi (1137-1193), an Egyptian ruler of Kurdish descent — fought successfully against the Crusaders and brought Jerusalem again under the Muslim rule in 1187. The real extermination of the Arabs, however, was still to come. Genghis Khan (1162-1227), after uniting the Mongol tribesmen, had already established a ruthless and powerful army that plundered  North  China,  Turkestan, Transoxania, Afghanistan, and Persia. After Genghis Khan’s death, his empire was divided among his sons and grandsons. The fierce Mongol warriors, however, continued to advance further east, towards the heart of Muslim land. 

The destruction of the romantic city of Baghdad in 1258 was brutally thorough, as most buildings were razed to the ground. For a period of forty days, the conquerors continued to massacre the inhabitants, even pregnant women were not spared. Dead bodies in street and market places were too numerous to be properly buried, leading to uncontrollable epidemics of disease which  further  added  to the death toll. The whole social and economic framework collapsed, along with the rich traditions of culture and learning. With the execution of Mu‘tasim Billah, the already  flickering  lamp  of  the  Abassids  Caliphate  was  also extinguished.

The fall of Baghdad was not only the last episode in the first manifestation of Divine punishment to the Muslims, but it also constituted the coupe de grâce for the Banu Isma‘el, as Almighty Allah (SWT) sacked them from the leadership of the Muslim world. The following Qur’anic words came true, at least regarding the Arabs:

If you turn away, then Allah will bring other people in your place, who will not be like you. (Muhammad 47:38)

Source:Lesson from History (Book) by Dr. Israr Ahmad

The Muslim Golden Age - Lessons From History

The Muslim Golden Age

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was born in 571 C.E., in the predominantly pagan environment of Makkah, and started his mission around 610 C.E at the age of forty. After an exhausting and onerous struggle that spanned 23 years, the domination of Islam was established throughout the Arabian peninsula. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) had started the process of expansion, or export, of the Islamic Revolution into the neighboring countries before his death in 632 C.E. This expansion continued unabated during the Caliphate of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman (RAA), when the Banu Isma‘el or the Ummiyeen gushed forth like a mighty flood, and in less than a quarter of a century Iran, Iraq, Syria Palestine, Egypt, as well as a major part of North Africa came under their rule. These were the days of pure, authentic, and pristine Islam.

After  a  brief  respite  due  to internal strife during the Caliphate of Ali (RAA), the process started again during the Umayyad era, and, within a short span of time, new lands were conquered  that  extended  up  to  Turkestan,  Afghanistan,  and Sindh in the east, and included the entire North Africa and parts of Europe in the west. Spain was vanquished, and the Muslim armies reached even up to the heart of France. However, with the passage of time, the zeal of establishing the Just Social Order of Islam had started to diminish, and the element of Arab Imperialism began to dominate the Muslim conquests.

The supremacy of the Muslims reached its zenith during the  8th,  9th  and  10th  centuries  C.E.,  when  initially  the Umayyads and then the Abbasids held the leadership of Islam as well as that of the Muslims. Strictly speaking, however, only the Umayyad era represents the true domination of pure Arab rule, as the Abbasids were generally infected and spoiled by Persian influences. Still, during this period, Banu Isma‘el were in ascendancy over a big chunk of land, and their culture, civilization, arts, sciences, and religion were dominant. The first three hundred years can therefore be described as the golden era of the Muslim history.

At  this  juncture,  a  point  of  contrast  between  the Muslims and the Jews becomes apparent. That is, while the first phase  of  rise  for  the  Muslims began during the life time of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), the corresponding period for the Jews could not start until about three hundred years after the death of Prophet Musa (AS). The reason for this difference is that the establishment of Islam as a politico-socio-economic system was achieved, at least within the boundaries of Arabian Peninsula, by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and his devoted Companions  (RAA).  On  the  other  hand  the  Israelites,  by refusing to fight for the Promised Land, had brought the revolutionary process to a halt. Hence the delay of three hundred years.

Source:Lesson from History (Book) by Dr. Israr Ahmad

Two of a Kind - Lessons From History

Two of a Kind

The rationale behind going through all these details of Jewish history is to be able to see our faces in their mirror. Both the Muslims and the Jews claim to be the followers of a holy messenger of Almighty Allah (SWT), and both were endowed with Divine Scriptures. This in itself constitutes a significant common factor, meaning that the two are essentially similar communities.  According  to  a  tradition  that  appears  in Jame‘ Tirmidhi, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is reported to have said: “My Ummah will undergo and experience all those conditions which were experienced by the Children of Israel, just as a shoe resembles its pair.” The parallelism between the history of Muslims and that of Jews is indeed amazing. A comparative study of their past reveals that, like the Israelites, we Muslims have  also  undergone  two  phases  of  rise  and  two  phases  of decline,  as  alluded  to  by Prophet  Muhammad  (SAW)  in  the above prediction.

What follows, therefore, is an outline of the history of Muslims vis-à-vis their rise and decline over the last fourteen centuries, and this will clearly demonstrate the points of resemblance between the Jews and Muslims.

The principal reason, however, for presenting this comprehensive yet brief chronological sketch of our past is two fold: First, as far as “rise” is concerned, we need to fully appreciate our past grandeur and glories, so that our younger generations can be motivated to recapture that lost greatness and to try and revive this half-dead tiger that was once the Muslim Ummah. Second, with reference to “decline,” we need to clearly understand that Allah’s Justice is the same for everyone, and His laws are permanent and immutable. The manner in which He treated  the  previous  Muslim  Ummah  —  the  Jews  —  was repeated in His dealings with us. When we indulged in the same sins and crimes as were committed by the Jews, we received the same punishment as was given to them.

To begin with, we need to have in our minds a rough idea  of  the  geography of  Muslim world.  For  the  purpose of description, the Muslim world can be seen as consisting of three sections. That is, the center or the heart of Muslim world, which is made up of the Arabian peninsula in the south and Iraq, Palestine, Syria, and Asia Minor in the north; the right wing, which extends from Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asian republics to Malaysia and Indonesia in the Far East; and finally the left wing, which includes the whole North Africa and, in the good old days, extended even upto Spain.

Source:Lesson from History (Book) by Dr. Israr Ahmad