Second Period of Decline - Lessons From History

Second Period of Decline

The period between 1350 and 1600 is characterized by the  revival  of  cultural  and scientific development in Europe, usually  referred  to  as  “Renaissance.”  It  is  an  undeniable historical fact that this movement was triggered under the influence of the achievements of the Muslims with regard to science and scientific knowledge. The Middle Ages were, for the Christian Europe, a period of intellectual stagnation; during this period, on the other hand, the development of the scientific and inductive method among the Arab Muslims was leading to unprecedented advancement in astronomy, physics, geology, botany, medicine, and mathematics. During the time when the Christian Europe was lost in the night of ignorance, we find that Greek, Indian, and Persian sciences were being taught in the universities of Muslim Spain, attracting scholars from all over Europe. In this way, the light of reason and science reached and started to illuminate the darkness that was mediaeval Europe.

Unfortunately, the development of science and technology in Europe coincided with the downfall in Muslim political power. By now the Arab rule in Spain — established by Abdur Rahman in 750 C.E. — was in decay. Muslim Spain, therefore, became the first target of European imperialism, culminating in the fall of its last stronghold, Granada, in 1492. Today, 500 years after the decline of Muslim rule, all the magnificent architecture of the Umayyads is still standing. Muslims and the Muslim culture, however, have completely vanished from modern Spain, as if they had never existed there. Weakness, as they say, is indeed a capital crime.

In the 15th century, Prince Henry of Portugal ordered to find a sea route to India. Various expeditions were only partly successful, until Vasco da Gama became the first European explorer  to  finally reach  India  by sea,  in  1497,  by traveling northwards after going around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa. European Imperialism, which was as yet unable  to  colonize  the Muslim lands in Asia because of the deterrence provided by the strong Ottoman Empire, was now in a position to launch her offensive through sea route. What followed was an onslaught of Portuguese, Dutch, British, and French   traders-cum-conquerors,   who,   from   16th   to   19th centuries, continued to occupy various Muslim states, exploiting all human and natural resources to their fullest. Moreover, just as the Jews were strongly influenced during the period of Greek and Roman rule by the language, culture, life-style, values, and ideas of their rulers, so were the Muslims.

By now the Ottoman Empire was in serious disarray, resulting  from  injustices  by  those  in  authority,  decline  in morality, widespread corruption, and, worst of all, lethargy and stagnation of the intelligentsia. The power vacuum created by the weakening Turks was an open invitation for the Western Imperialism to subjugate the heart of the Muslim world. And, indeed, they were only glad to oblige.

The beginning of the 20th century turned out to be the starting point for the second phase of decline in the heart of Muslim world. Thus, the British Intelligence masterminded the Arab revolt against the Turks during World War I, resulting in the  segmentation  of  the  great  Ottoman  Empire.  Numerous smaller states were created in the Middle East and north Africa, which  came  under  direct  or  indirect  control  of  different European powers. In this way, a prediction of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) came true, i.e., “There will come a time when nations of the world will invite one another to invade and exploit you, just as a person calls upon his guests to the feast” (Abu Dawood).

The second phase of Muslim decline reached its lowest ebb during the first quarter of the present century, when the whole of Muslim world was enslaved by the forces of  Western Colonialism. Then, in 1967, the Arabs received their most ignominious defeat at the hands of a cursed nation, when the sanctity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque was violated for the second time, and the Holy City was captured by Israeli army. In this the words of the Qur’an — “When the time of the second prediction came, (We roused against you another people) to ravage you, and to enter the Temple as they had done the first time, and to destroy  utterly  what  they conquered”  (Al-Isra  17:7) —  were fulfilled once again.

The most tragic and lamentable aspect of this history is the   fact   that   the   Western   Imperialism  had   succeeded   in destroying Muslim unity and their esprit de corps. Although Muslims were never a single political entity after the decline of the  Umayyads,  they still  remained  thoroughly connected  and unified because of their common beliefs and life-style. However, the seeds of racial prejudice and nationalistic chauvinism — planted by the Western Imperialism in the beginning of the 20th century — not only weakened that sense of brotherhood and ultimately led to the winding up of Caliphate, but are still producing their bitter fruits in the form of our growing disharmony.

This malignant trend of fragmentation along ethnic, territorial,  and  linguistic  lines  has  resulted  in  the  carnage suffered by the Turks at the hands of their Arab brethren, and the massacre and utter humiliation suffered by non-Bengali Muslims at the hands of their Bengali brethren in what was then East  Pakistan.  The  insanity  of  fratricide,  according  to  the Qur’an, is one of the manifestations of Divine punishment:

Say: “He has power to send you retribution form the skies above, or the earth beneath your feet, or confound you with divisions among you, and give one the taste of the vengeance of the other.” (Al-An‘aam 6:65)

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

Life After Death - Lessons From History

Life After Death

The Arabs were too severely crushed to stop the roaring and raging storm of Mongol invaders. It was the Mamluke ruler of Egypt — Saifuddin Kutuz (Al-Malik Al-Muzaffar) who defeated them for the first time in 1260, thereby shattering the myth of Mongol invincibility. After him, Ruknuddin Baybras inflicted several defeats on the Mongol armies, forcing them out of Syria. In this way, at least the western wing of the Muslim world was saved from destruction.

During the 12th and 13th centuries, however, the center of the Muslim land was presenting a desolate and hopeless picture.  The  situation  there  was  a  repetition  of  what  had happened to Jerusalem in the 6th century B.C., when Prophet Uzair (AS) was overwhelmed with grief and had, according to the Qur’an, said to himself, “how shall God bring this city to life after its death?” (Al-Baqarah 2:259). But despite the widespread devastation  and  degradation,  just  as  the  Israelites  had  risen again, so did the Muslim, and the words of the Qur’an — “Then we gave you a chance against them, and strengthened you with wealth and children, and increased your number” (Al-Isra 17:6) — were fulfilled once again.

There was, however, a significant departure from the pattern set by the Jewish history. The previous Muslim Ummah was composed of a single race, and therefore their renaissance had to take place exclusively from within that race. There was no such limitation in the case of the Ummah of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), and, as a result, the process of her revival was  accomplished  by  the  efforts  of  a  number  of  non-Arab nations.

Almost miraculously, the barbaric Mongols themselves started to embrace Islam, and this provided the Muslim world with powerful defenders and guardians. Similarly, the Temurid and Ottoman Turks also converted to Islam, the former laying down the foundations of a strong Muslim dominion in India and thereby   strengthening   the   eastern   wing,   and   the   latter establishing   themselves   initially   in   Asia   Minor   and   then founding the Great Ottoman Empire.

The terms “Turkey” and “Ottoman Empire” are often treated as synonyms, although present-day Turkey constituted only a small part of that largest of all modern states which extended into Asia, Europe, and Africa. The capital of Byzantine or the Eastern Roman empire, Constantinople, was conquered by Muhammad II in 1453 and became the Ottoman capital. The Turks  were  then  able  to  establish  their  domination  over  the whole east Europe, and also accepted the challenging and stupendous  task  of  protecting  and  leading  the  heart  of  the Muslim land, including North Africa. Moreover, the institution of  the  Caliphate  was  revived  and  the  lost  greatness  of  the Muslims  was  recaptured  in  its  totality,  although  this  was achieved by the efforts of the Turks and not by those of the Arabs. The Ottoman empire reached its zenith under Selim I and his son Suleiman the Magnificent in the 16th century, when the Turk armies advanced through the Balkans and Hungary into Austria, and later in 1683 when they again reached up to the gates of Vienna.

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

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