Common Denominators - Lessons From History

Common Denominators

The Jews remained the sole custodians of the Divine Message and His Book for almost two millennia — from about 1350 B.C., when Prophet Musa (AS) was given Torah and the Covenant with the Israelites took place at Sinai, to 624 C.E., when   the   change   of   qibla   from   Jerusalem   to   Makkah symbolically announced the birth of a new Ummah.

The Jews were relegated from their rank because of their transgressions and haughtiness. The Qur’an severely criticizes and upbraids them for their long record of ingratitude and repeated violations of Divine injunctions, and declares them a condemned people. These reprimands were issued by Almighty Allah (SWT) because of the continued failure, on the part of the Jews,  to  carry  out  their  responsibilities  as  custodians  of  the Divine Revelation. 

From the Second year of Hijrah onwards, the followers of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) were appointed as guardians of the Message of God, as well as His representatives among  all  nations.  Thus,  this  supreme  blessing  of  Almighty Allah (SWT), i.e., His revealed guidance in the form of a Book, is  something  common  to  both  the  Jews  and  the  Muslims, although the Hebrew scriptures are no longer in their pure and unadulterated state. In this context the following verse appears twice in the Qur’an:

Remember,  O   Children  of   Israel,   the   favors   I bestowed on you and made you most exalted among the nations of the world. (Al-Baqarah 2:47 & 122)

Another point of convergence between the Jews and the Muslims is the prominent personality of Prophet Ibrahim (AS), the patriarch who is equally revered by the followers of both faiths. The Jews, of course, are the descendants of Prophet Ishaq (AS),  younger  son  of  Prophet  Ibrahim  (AS).  Similarly,  the earliest Muslims were Arabs — the descendants of Prophet Ibrahim’s elder son Prophet Isma‘el (AS) — and they constitute today the nucleus of the Muslim Ummah. But irrespective of this genealogical relationship, the whole of the Muslim Ummah has an attitude of veneration and high regard for Prophet Ibrahim (AS), as they consider him to be their spiritual father.

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

The Present and Former Muslim Ummah - Lessons From History

The Present and Former Muslim Ummah

The word “Islam” stands for submission before the Sovereignty of Almighty Allah (SWT), as proclaimed by His prophets throughout human history. The number of these holy men, as mentioned earlier, is reported to be 124 thousand. However,  irrespective  of  the  exact  figure,  it  is  generally accepted by scholars of the Qur’an that five of them are the most prominent and most notable. These include Prophet Nuh (AS), Prophet Ibrahim (AS), Prophet Musa (AS), Prophet Isa (AS), and Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

Out of these, Prophet Nuh (AS) was probably not endowed with any Divine Scripture. Prophet Ibrahim (AS) did receive some sort of scriptures, but there was no formal law or Shari‘ah in them. Similarly, the Zabur or Psalms of Prophet Dawood (AS) and the Injeel or Gospel of Prophet Isa (AS) contained nothing that can be described as law; instead, they were composed of hymns and exhortations, respectively. It follows that, among the known Divine Revelations, only two can be  described  as  “Books,”  in  the  sense  that  they  contained Shari‘ah, — the Torah (or Tauraat) and the Holy Qur’an. The former is the name given to the “Five Books of Moses,” also called the Pentateuch, which are included in the beginning of the Old Testament. The latter, i.e., the Holy Qur’an, is the final and ultimate Book as revealed to Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

It is significant to note that the Torah was revealed to Prophet Musa (AS) as a guidance only for the Israelites, whereas the Qur’an — being the last of Revelations — describes itself as “The Guidance” for the whole humanity, for all times to come.

The main conclusion of the above discussion, however, is that there had been only two Muslim “Ummahs” during the entire  period  of  known  human  history.  This  is  because  the genesis of such a community is always preceded by — and is the direct result of — a Shari‘ah being given to a messenger and through him to his followers. Since there had been only two versions of the Divine Law that we can be sure about, i.e., the Mosaic Law and the Shari‘ah of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), it follows that there had been only two Muslim Ummahs — the Israelites or the Jews who were the previous Ummah, and the community of the followers of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), which constitutes the current and final Ummah.

Next, we shall discuss the common features and distinguishing characteristics of these two communities, along with a brief review of their history and the present state of their affairs. The relevance of this topic is based upon the fact that, according to the predictions of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), the Muslims and the Jews of the world — as custodians of Divine Revelations — are going to act as two key players with regard to the ultimate destiny of mankind.

Certain pointers of the Qur’an and detailed prophecies in the Hadith literature predict the events that would happen before the end of the world, that is, they foretell the final acts of the global drama. It is vital to comprehend these predictions with reference to their proper background, not only to clear our minds of any distrust or doubt, but also to prevent any feeling of bewilderment when that which has been promised does take place.

Another reason for discussing the history of the previous Ummah,   as   will   be   elucidated   shortly,   is   the   stunning resemblance between the history of Jews and that of Muslims, a fact that was also foretold by Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

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

Privileges and Obligations - Lessons From History

Privileges and Obligations

A community that obeys the commands of Almighty Allah (SWT) becomes dear to Him. This privilege is, however, coupled with many obligations. The more glories and bounties a nation is blessed with, the more are its responsibilities in the sight of Almighty Allah (SWT). Privileges and obligations go together.

A community that claims to be the follower of a messenger of Allah (SAW), and custodian of His message in the form of a revealed Book, automatically becomes the representative of the Almighty among other nations. This is a tremendous responsibility. If the behavior of such a community is  in  contravention  to  its  claim,  then,  according  to  Divine Justice, they deserve all the humiliation and disgrace, sufferings and  miseries  in  the  life  of this world. If their character and morals, their way of life, their society and culture, and their politico-economic norms are contrary to the teachings of the Divine Revelation, then this constitutes an unpardonable crime. The reason is that such behavior, instead of presenting an attractive and true picture of the way of life based on the Right Ideal — and thereby bringing people nearer to Allah (SWT) — serves only to repel them away from the Divine Guidance by displaying a distorted and ugly image of that guidance. The Qur’an is very explicit on this point:

O you who believe, why do you profess what you do not practice? Saying what you do not practice is most hateful in the sight of God. (Al-Saff 61:2,3)

Do you believe a part of the Book and reject a part? There is no other award for them who so act but ignominy in this world, and on the Day of Judgment the severest of punishment. (Al-Baqarah 2:85)

A strange characteristic of such disgraced communities is that, in spite of receiving frequent installments of Divine punishment, they continue to believe that Allah (SWT) truly loves them. Due to this self-deception, which is based upon their claimed association with a holy messenger of Allah (SWT), they continue to live in a fool’s paradise of their own making. They feel satisfied in the unfounded conviction that they deserve, as a birthright, some kind of preferential treatment from their Lord, just because they belong to a particular community and for no other reason. The Qur’an tries to shake such complacent people from their deluded slumber thus:

The Jews and the Christians say: “We are sons of God  and  beloved  of  Him.”  Say:  “Why  does  He punish you then for your sins? No! You are only mortals, of His creation.” (Al-Ma’ida 5:18)

And they (the Jews) say: “Hell fire will not touch us for  more  than  a  few  days.”  Say:  “Have  you  so received a promise from God? Then surely God will not withdraw His pledge. Or do you impute things to God of which you have no knowledge at all?” (Al- Baqarah 2:80)

Unfortunately, the image we get from these verses is a disturbingly true representation of today’s Muslims. Even the repeated episodes of severe punishments, in the background of continuous sufferings, has failed to produce in us any sense of guilt or remorse. Instead, our deeply ingrained myth of being a privileged people has remained intact. Unbelievable as it may sound, the more disgrace we receive, the more we fall in love with ourselves, blinded by our supposed righteousness and delusion of our own grandeur. Such irony, however, may well be a part of our punishment.

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