Changing a Society

Changing a society entails much more than just removing a leader, because if the society is corrupt and the level of thinking in the society is declined, then there is not much that a sincere leader can do. A case in point was Sultan Abdul Hamid II. When compared to Khalifah Harun Al-Rashid, most people would rush to conclude that Harun Al-Rashid was the more capable one; however, in reality, while both Khulafah were very capable and great men, Abdul Hamid II was far superior in his capabilities. The reason why Harun Al-Rashid is more noticeable is because, during his Khilafah, the Muslim Ummah was at its zenith; however, during the time of Abdul Hamid II, the Muslim Ummah was in a state of severe decline. Thus, the state of the Muslim Ummah at the time of Harun Al-Rashid enabled him to exercise his capabilities as a great ruler, but Abdul Hamid II, in spite of his capability, was unable to do very much.

Therefore, changing the society is a comprehensive change and not just a matter of replacing a few individuals, which means that we have to re-define our concept of what a society is. Unfortunately, many of us have become influenced by the Western view of society, which defines society as a collection of individuals. As a result, many Muslims look towards changing the society by changing its individuals, and ''revival of the Ummah'' to many Muslims means more Muslims praying, fasting, and observing the morals and values of Islam. While improving the individuals is important, it is only part of the picture because a society is more than just a collection of individuals. A society is composed of individuals who have certain thoughts, concepts, and sentiments among them, and who live within a system of life. For this reason, America is called a Capitalist society, even though the individuals are mostly Christian with some other minorities. But all of these individuals (with few exceptions) have Capitalistic thoughts and submit to a Capitalistic system of life. Ten thousand people in a stadium is a collection of individuals, but a thousand people who live in an island constitutes a society. And any effort towards change must, therefore, be directed at not only changing the individuals, but also towards changing the thoughts and concepts, the prevailing values and sentiments, and the system that is applied.

On the political front, the Western definition of society has caused many Muslims to view change as a matter of replacing the individual ruler, not realizing that the ruler does not function in a vacuum but rather operates within a system. Therefore, what must change is not just the face of the ruler but rather the system and the society. Otherwise, a corrupt society and system will only breed corrupt rulers, and even a sincere ruler will be forced to become part of this corruption or his term in office will be very short-lived.