Obstacles that stand in the way of revival

03/11/2005 |A.Sodiq
The populace is suffering a from a huge intellectual vacuum due to the absence of a correct Islamic movement which can raise them from the abyss of decline and champion the cause of Islam. Although the number of scholars are increasing every year, they are completely inept in presenting Islam in an intellectually convincing manner. Also, instead of taking up the responsibilities of conveying Islam to general masses, they are consistently inventing excuses and passing the buck. We will examine some of their baseless excuses:-

1) ''This Quraish like government and have destroyed the moral fabric of the society''

Lets, for the sake argument, assume that the government is indeed like the ruthless Quraish government or Fira'un government. If that is the case, the duty of conveying Islam to the people is the duty of the Islamic scholars. Naturally, a ruling system with Quraishi credentials cannot be expected to foster and inculcate a set of values that contradicts Quraish way of life. Thus this accusation is analogous to a Palestinian scholar accusing Ariel Sharon for the absence of Islamic values amongst Palestinians and Bin Laden accusing George Bush of not conveying Islam to the Americans. When Allah (swt) commanded Prophet (saw) to proclaim the message of Islam in the society, he (saw) delivered the call without any excuses. He did not did not throw this weighty burden to the Quraish clans and went about increasing his livelihood.

2) ''This oppressive government has persecuted scholars and prevented scholars from undertaking their duty''

So what? Did not Prophet Mohammed and the Sahabah face torture for their struggle ? Every Prophet and messenger had to face extreme hostility from the status quo they were trying to change. Furthermore it is an universal fact that differing value system would always clash. Muslims have been reminded in the Quran and Hadiths about the importance of patience (in fulfilling the obligations) in the face of hardships and trials:

''Or do you think that you shall enter the gardens of Bliss (al-Jannah) without such (trials) as came to those who passed away before you? They encountered suffering and adversity and they were shaken, that even the messenger and those who believed with him cried, When will come the help of Allah! And verily, the help of Allah is near!''

''Be sure We shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods or lives or the fruits (of your toil), but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere. Who say, when afflicted with calamity: ''To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return. They are those on whom (descend) blessings from their Lord, and Mercy, and it is they who are the guided ones'' [Al-Baqarah: 155-157]

''Only those who are patient shall receive their rewards in full, without reckoning.'' [ az-Zumar:10]

Prophet (SAW) said : ''When Allah azza wajalla loves a people he tests them. The one who is patient will begranted the patience. The one who shows anguish will be given anguish.'' Reported by Ahmad via Mahmud b. Labeed.

Also Ahmad reported via Mus'ab b. Sa?d from his father who said: I said: O Messenger of Allah (saw): which people are tested most?

He (saw) said:

''The Prophets come first, then the righteous, then the next best, then the next best of people. A man will be tested on account of his adherence to the Deen. If he is strong in his commitment, he will be more sorely tested, and if there is some weakness in his commitment the test will be lightened for him. A man will continue to be tested until he walks upon the face of the earth with no sin on him.''

''You shall certainly be tried and tested in your wealth and properties and in your personal selves, and you shall certainly hear much that will grieve you from those who received the Scripture before you (Jews and Christians) and from those who ascribe partners to Allah, but if you persevere patiently, and become Al-Muttaqun (the pious) then verily, that will be a determining factor in all affairs, and that is from the great matters.'' [ Aali Imraan:186]


''And surely, We shall try you till We test those who strive hard (for the Cause of Allah) and the patient ones, and We shall test your facts (i.e. the one who is a liar, and the one who is truthful).'' [ Muhammad:31]

The Sahabah (may Allah be pleased with them) who were steadfast did complain to the Messenger of Allah (saw), they asked him to make du'a and ask Allah for help, his (saw) answer was what al-Bukhari reported from Khabab b. al-Aratt who said:

''We complained to the Messenger of Allah while he was resting in the shade of the Ka'ba, and said to him: 'Will you not ask for victory for us? Will you not pray for us?' He(saw) replied: 'There was a time before you, where a hole would be dug, and a man would be placed in it and a saw would be placed on his head and would be cut in two; he would be brushed with brushes of steel, which would tear through his meat and bone, and not even this would make him leave his Deen. By Allah, this matter will be completed so that a rider would ride from San'a to Hadhramawt not fearing anything but Allah and a wolf from his sheep, but you are a people who rush.

Therefore, anyone involved in Islamic activism has to bear in mind that his duty is to focus on delivering the Islamic message in its pristine form using all permitted styles and means. Torture and persecution are the Qadha (divine decree) and Allah (swt) may test some of the Muslims with some affliction. What should concern a Muslims is achieving the objective of imbuing Islam within the hearts and minds of the people and focus on ways to ensure the continuity of the work even in case of potential persecution. Thus a Muslim who undergoes suffering whilst engaging in calling for Islam according to the correct method, will be immensely rewarded for fulfilling his duty and the oppressor will be punished on the day of judgement for his oppression .If someone gets arrested for name calling, stirring up unnecessary controversies about non-vital issues as Qunoot and creating distaste for Islam in the minds of people, then his suffering was not for the sake of Allah (swt). Such a person could probably end up in hell for showing off along with the oppressor for his brutality. Many Maldivian scholars may have gone for jail, but the level of Islamic awareness still remains low. This proves that the scholars have been ineffectual in presenting Islam to the people and leading the revival. .Some of them were arrested for engaging in character-assassination outbursts mixed with Islam. This can be witnessed in the discourses in the political parties. All what we hear in these party meetings revolve around a certain personality or some '27 years'. Enlightening the people with Islamic solutions to the problems of the society and presenting Islamic evidences from Islamic legislative sources do not feature in these meetings.

''This oppressive government has not updated the Friday Khutbah for the last 27 years ''

As said earlier, this is a case of great irony. On one hand, the government is regarded as a kufr Fir'aun government. So by the same token, exposing the same kufr government's failure to foster Islamic values is moot. Regarding the issue of outdated khutbahs, the scholars are not any better either in terms of creative thinking. Their personal lectures are bland, lacking in substance and do not make any impact except for some temporary arousal of emotions. This is because linguistic flair and entertainment are given more importance than intellectual conviction. Also, they have failed to produce any original scholarly research work of their own. All what we see is some copy and paste stew of the works of classical scholars or the translation of books written by some Indian or Pakistani writers.

Conclusion

These excuses are nothing but obstacles that stand in the way of a sound revival. If the scholars and intellectuals are sincerely interested in fostering Islamic values they would have found possible avenues even under the rule of Fir'aun like ruling system. However, instead of enlightening about how to live as a Muslim under such conditions, they are busy discussing the personal traits of the Fir'aun. There are Muslim communities living in Europe, US, India and elsewhere as minorities and yet they are able to preserve their Islamic identity thanks to sincere efforts of learned scholars.
Ends.