From Dishonor to Exaltation - Lessons From History

From Dishonor to Exaltation

We had started our discussion with the assertion that the Muslim Ummah of today is a pathetic, miserable, and extremely humiliated group of people. The cause of this unfortunate state of affairs, as we have seen, is our own wrongdoing, our own sinful behavior, our own deviations from the straight path. It follows  that  the  only way to  escape  from continuing Divine punishment and to regain our lost glory is to repent with the true spirit of repentance and to rectify our corrupted ways.

We the Muslims are the custodians of the last message of Allah (SWT), representatives of the God-given system of life (Deen al-Haq), and intermediaries between Prophet Muhammad (SAW)  and  the  entire  humanity.  This  means  that  it  is  our primary duty to struggle for the establishment of the perfect way of life, viz., Islam and its system of Social Justice, initially in a specific   territory   and   then   throughout   the   entire   globe. According to the Holy Qur'an:

You are the best of community that has been raised up for the (guidance of) humanity; you (are therefore supposed to) enjoin the good, forbid the evil, and keep your own faith firm in God. (Aal-e-Imran 3:110)

Strive in the way of God with an endeavor worthy of Him. He has chosen you...in order that the Prophet be a witness against you, and you be witnesses against mankind. (Al-Hajj 22:78)

Thus We have appointed you a middle people (between the Prophet on one hand and the humanity on the other), so that you be witnesses against mankind, and the Messenger be a witness against you. (Al-Baqarah 2:143)

Although this formidable but sacred duty of delivering the message of Islam to the entire mankind is the collective responsibility of the whole Muslim Ummah, God the Almighty does not burden any soul beyond its capacity, and therefore it is primarily the obligation of Arab Muslims, as the Holy Qur'an was revealed in their own language.

However, after the termination of Prophethood, Allah (SWT) made a special arrangement to renew and revive the Ummah and her mission. Thus, after every three or four generations, i.e., after about every hundred years or so, a pious reformer appears among the Muslims to clarify and rejuvenate the original teachings of Islam. What is most significant in this respect is the fact that, during the first millennium of Islam, all of  these  reformers  appeared  almost  exclusively  in  the  Arab world. 

After the destruction of Baghdad in 1258, the academic and  intellectual  center  of  Islam  started  to  shift  towards  the Indian subcontinent until, at the start of the second millennium, this  part  of  the  world  became  the  main  nucleus  of  Islamic reforms and revivalist movements. Thus, unusually great personalities have appeared here during the last four centuries, including Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi (11th century Hijrah), Shah Waliyullah Delhvi (12th century), Sayyid Ahmad Barelvi (13th century), and more recently, Maulana Mehmood Hassan Deobandi,  Allama  Muhammad  Iqbal,  Maulana  Muhammad Ilyas, and Maulana Abul A‘la Maududi (14th century). Now the question  arises:  Are all these sincere efforts of the last four hundred years to go in vain? We believe the answer is an emphatic NO!

It seems that the burden of Arab Muslims has largely been shifted on to the shoulders of the Muslims belonging to the Indian   subcontinent,   and,   especially   after   the   claims   and promises made during the movement for independence, the task of  reviving  Islam  as  a  living  force  has  now  become  the paramount responsibility of Pakistani Muslims. In view of the efforts undertaken during the last four centuries, this also appear to be their destiny. Especially significant in connection with the role of Pakistani Muslims are the traditions of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), which allude to the fact that our part of the world is going to be the starting point for the global Islamic domination; these traditions are given below:

(1) Ibn Maja (RA) has narrated on the authority of Abdullah Ibn Harith (RAA), that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is reported to have said that during the battles before the  Doomsday: “Armies emerging from the East shall advance, and after conquering one country after another, they shall help and strengthen the authority of Mahdi.”

(2) According to another tradition narrated by Imam Tirmidhi (RA), on the authority of Abu Huraira (RAA), Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is reported to have   said:   “Black   banners   shall   emerge   from Khurasan (i.e., areas which are now included in Afghanistan and Pakistan), and no force will be able to stop them until they are inserted in Aelia (Jerusalem).”

These prophecies mean that there shall be in the future an Islamic State in the areas which today comprise Afghanistan and Pakistan (and perhaps also those which are included in Iran and Central Asia), so that during the final series of battles in the Middle East, armies from this part of the world will advance to fight against Dajjal under the leadership of Mahdi. A similar prophecy is also found in the Book of Revelation:

The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the Great River, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up to prepare a way for the kings from the east (16:12)

It must be understood that now, after the subjugation of the entire Arab world at the hands of the New World Order, it is only our part of the world that has the potential for standing up against the nefarious designs of the global power-brokers, and to resist the rising tides of the Jewish/Zionist hegemony. In view of the traditions of the Prophet (SAW) given above, we are sure that the areas now included in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran (the ancient Khurasan) have a very special significance in the Divine scheme.

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