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Before we ask ourselves what it
takes to revive the Muslims, we must ask ourselves two fundamental
questions:
1). Do we care whether or not the Muslims revive?
2). What does it take to revive a nation?
If the answer to the first question is ''no,'' then as far as that
individual is concerned, the case is closed, and there is nothing
further to be said. Nothing can be built upon apathy; it is just
dead material that has no capacity to produce. And any such
individual who does not care about the Muslims might as well save
himself or herself the time and not even bother to discuss the
issue; after all, one who invests time and resources in discussing
an issue that he or she does not care about is cheating himself.
However, if the answer to this question is that we do genuinely care
about the affairs of the Muslims, then before we bounce theories and
speculate as to why the Muslims are in this situation, we should ask
ourselves: What is it that any nation (Muslim or otherwise) requires
in order to revive and achieve progress? Once we address this issue,
when we can ask ourselves: Do the Muslims have the tools to revive
once again, and are these tools attainable?
Understanding what it takes to revive a nation requires an
understanding of the human being. The human being is distinguished
from all other creations in the sense that he possesses the capacity
to think and adopt ideas, and these ideas become the basis upon
which he understands things, conducts his affairs, and proceeds
through life. A human being who possesses clear thoughts based upon
a clear and solid foundation will proceed through life in a positive
manner. However, a human being who possesses ambiguous thoughts
built upon shaky ground will either stagnate or regress. Similarly,
nations, as collection of individual human beings, are defined by
certain thoughts and ideas that they carry, and these thoughts will
produce a unique outlook and unique culture for every nation. A
nation that possesses a clear basis will progress because it will
have a well-defined reference which it can refer to with confidence
whenever a problem or issue arises demanding a solution, and a clear
thought basis will produce the vision and the motivation to
progress. However, if these thoughts are not clear and crystallized,
then such a nation will be devoid of a clear reference, and as a
result it will either stagnate or be unable to address new problems
or issues, or it will scramble for solutions in a haphazard fashion.
Therefore, revival of a nation will occur through a revival of the
thoughts and ideas that the nation possesses. Throughout history,
one can see the impact of a clear idea in transforming a nation or a
group of people. Before Islam, the Arabs were a silly people steeped
in tribalism, idolatry, and backwardness. However, upon adopting
Islam, they became the most powerful nation in the world within a
generation, and within a century, they produced a civilization that
achieved unparalleled heights in science, technology, and many other
disciplines, and they were able to convey their culture and way of
life to most of the known world at the time. Similarly, Europe
during the Middle Ages was steeped in darkness, stagnation, and
backwardness. However, upon adopting the Capitalist ideology, with
Secularism as its doctrine, Europe blossomed into a world power.
Also, Russia was for the most part a feudal, agrarian society, even
until the 20th century. However, upon adopting the Communist
ideology, they were able to elevate themselves from a primarily
feudal, agrarian society to a technological juggernaut that began
the Space Age - all within a generation.
The examples of Europe and Russia illustrate how adopting an idea -
even one that is incorrect - can lead to revival. However, only by
adopting the correct idea will the revival be comprehensive and
truly positive for all humanity. While Europe and Russia experienced
revival, because the ideas that they adopted were not correct, their
revival was only felt primarily in the materialistic aspect of life
such as science and technology. In addition, the revival they
experienced brought with it severe oppression, injustice, and
misery. And because the systems that were established in both
societies were built upon incorrect ideas, then they were
ill-equipped to solve all the problems of humanity in a correct and
productive fashion.
In this regard, the Muslim Ummah is unique because not only do the
Muslims possess a clear idea, which is Islam, but this idea is the
correct idea for humanity. Thus, the Muslims do possess the tool to
initiate a revival once again. All that is needed from us is two
things:
1). To have the confidence that Islam is the correct idea and that
it can solve the problems of humanity. We must remember that this
confidence is something that comes naturally by virtue of being
Muslims. We are Muslims because we believe that Allah the Creator
exists and that Islam is the system revealed by the Creator to
humanity. If we do not have the confidence that Islam will work,
then perhaps this means that we believe that Islam is incorrect, or
worse, that we have doubt as to whether Allah exists or not. And if
this is the case, then we must prove to ourselves that Allah exists
without a doubt and that Islam is the system from Allah. And the
fact that we are Muslims means that we are convinced that Allah
exists and that Islam is from Allah, and as such, Islam is the
correct solution for humanity.
2). To understand the Islamic system, the Islamic ideology, and the
Islamic culture. Simply having the correct idea will not produce a
revival; all it means is that we have the potential for revival.
However, it is through understanding the idea that the revival will
occur. And this requires education as well as fostering continuous
discussion and dialogue among Muslims so that we can develop and
nurture this understanding. And this process is something that all
of us can contribute to in some fashion or another.
Let us remember, above all, that the process of building the
thinking of an entire nation is not something that can happen
overnight. This requires extensive time and effort, and sometimes
the slow pace will cause us to become impatient and demand quick
results or even to give up entirely. Both avenues are equally
dangerous. Giving up will cause stagnation and eventually will kill
us altogether. And rushing to take premature action or hastening
towards quick results will exhaust us, which may cause us to give
up. Examples of this were the attempts in Sudan, Iran, Afghanistan,
and other areas, where Muslims rushed to establish Islam without
building the Muslim Ummah, not to mention that those who spearheaded
such movements themselves lacked a clear understanding of Islam as a
complete system of life. The result of these projects were disaster
stories that caused many Muslims to despair, and despair is now our
worst enemy more than anything else.
May Allah give us the guidance to understand His Deen so that we can
worship Him correctly and fulfill our responsibilities in the best
possible manner.
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