History is the Key
Before discussing the Divine Law which deals with the
rise and fall of nations, civilizations, and empires, it is necessary to
emphasize that Almighty
Allah (SWT) is
never a passive onlooker vis-à-vis human history, but
that each and every event takes place as a manifestation of His omnipotence and
infinite wisdom.
There was an interesting idea called Deism that became
popular in the 17th century Europe, the subtle remains of which are still
lurking deep down in our minds. According to this view, God did create the
universe, but He has long since removed Himself from its affairs, and only the
blind and deaf laws of nature are now running the show. God is busy, so to
speak, in a sort of self-contemplation, and He doesn’t care at all about the
humanity He once created.
The Islamic perspective, in sharp contrast to Deism, is
that Almighty Allah (SWT) is not only the Creator, Designer, and Fashioner of
the cosmos, but He is also its Sovereign, Ruler, Administrator, and Guardian.
The logical conclusion that necessarily follows from this belief is that
nothing happens in the universe — not even the movement of a tiny leaf in the
morning breeze — without the permission of Almighty Allah (SWT). Although
human beings enjoy
a limited freedom
of action and are,
therefore, responsible for the consequences of their actions on the
overall historical process, the fact remains that a human action as such is not
effective in causing any event, unless it is allowed by Almighty Allah (SWT).
Since Almighty Allah (SWT) — in addition to being All-
Powerful — is also the Most Wise, everything that takes place in the arena of
human history has a profound reason which may or may not be immediately
apparent to us. Human beings are extremely myopic creatures, lacking the
infinitely broad perspective, in terms of both time and space, that is required
to appreciate the wisdom
and the long-term
planning of the Creator. However, with the help of the
Holy Qur’an and the guidance provided by Prophet Muhammad (SAW), it is possible
to understand the general purpose and direction of history in an overall
manner, although the meaning behind every individual event and its significance
in the Divine scheme will probably remain elusive.
The Holy Qur’an urges us to contemplate the events of
the past, as they are indicators of the sunnah of Almighty Allah (SWT); it
teaches us to try and penetrate into the apparently meaningless succession of
historical happenings and to discern the design and will of the Creator behind
them, and to try and appreciate how the events in the world actually represent
the plans of an Omnipotent Supreme Being.
It is important to keep this fact in mind: However random
and aimless the events of history may appear, there is a definite purpose
behind each one of them. It is the Divine Creative Energy, or the Will of
Almighty Allah (SWT), that is active in the entire sweep of history. There is a
certain order and pattern hidden beneath the plethora of seemingly
inconsequential and disconnected historical facts. Nothing is useless, no event
is arbitrary or futile. In fact, as we shall see in the later part of this
book, a profoundly meaningful evolutionary process is taking place by which
humanity is moving, slowly but steadily, toward its final destination. Although
the details and finer points of this ongoing process are beyond the reach of
human understanding, its broad outline is quite comprehensible.
Within this general scheme of things, there are certain
universal truths which remain constant. As the Qur’an warns us:
You will not find any change in
the law of God (Al-Fath 48:23)
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