Getting what one Deserves
Al-Risala (English), January 1986, p. 19
By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan is named as the default author of the periodical; a piece that carries another writer’s byline is credited to that writer.
Getting what one Deserves
1986 1 January 19-20 Getting what one Deserves (880) The past of the Muslims, known as the golden period, has been an object of great pride. Writers and speakers are eloquent upon it. Here we must pause and give some thought to how it was that this splendid era came into existence.
To derive only food for vanity from events is wholly against the spirit of Islam. The Islamic way of studying events is to learn lessons from them. Doing so involves linking events with reality. In the process we come to a conclusion which really teaches us something. When events are not linked with reality, far from providing food for the soul, engenders only a false sense of pride.
By studying Muslim history of the past in the light of facts, we learn that this golden period did not emerge from launching campaigns demanding our rights, such as the Muslims of today have engaged themselves in the world over. It was rather our beneficence that had given birth to it. The success of this period can be defined in terms of our usefulness to others. It was by virtue of this quality that Muslims reached such heights of success.
Today, the USA, Britain and the USSR are known as the centres of modern civilization, but, as we all know, these were not its birthplaces. The revival of knowledge did not commence from these points. It was Spain, Sicily and Italy which saw the beginning of knowledge and civilization in Europe. It was in these coastal areas that the revival of knowledge initially began, and the seeds of modern civilization were sown to be disseminated later to other European countries.
What is the reason? It is because knowledge and civilization reached Europe through Muslims. Prior to the Muslim age, the continent of Europe was a continent of darkness, the period known in history as the Dark Ages. Muslims at first entered Europe from Africa by crossing the sea. They sailed the sea to Spain from Morocco. Similarly, they crossed the Mediterranean from Tunisia, and entered Sicily and Italy, and laid the foundation of knowledge and civilization in these European countries, whence it was passed on to Western Europe and later on to the USA. There is no denying the fact that it was Muslims who bore the torch of learning to Europe.
The age of the Muslims, in which they held a dominant position in the world, was one in which their capacity to spread enlightenment had grown to such a high degree that whatever part of the earth they set foot on, would gush forth fountains of knowledge, turning the dark ages of history into a brighter era of civilization. Whenever Muslims settled in a place it was like heaven-sent water reaching parched earth.
In the British Museum in London, there is a gold coin, minted in 774, during the rule of an ancient king of England, Offa Rex, who reigned from 757 to 796. This coin bears the name of Offa Rex on one side and the article of faith of Muslims, on the other in Arabic. Prof. Philip K. Hitti has published the photograph of the coin in his book, History of the Arabs (1979) on page 316, under the caption:
“Anglo-Saxon Gold coin imitating an Arab dinar of the year 774.”
This shows that in the 8th century Muslims were so far ahead in science and technology that they had become an object of imitation in every field, even if it be in the matter of an article of faith.
Muslims had adopted the tenets of Greek medicine, but later, by dint of great effort and dedication on their part, they made great advances and finally became the leaders of the world in medicine in their own times. The Encyclopaedia Britannica (1984) describes a book by the physician Avicenna in the following terms:
“The canon of medicine, which is among the most famous books in the history of medicine (1/681)”.
The king of Sicily, Roger II, (1095-1154) one of the outstanding European kings of his time, was interested in preparing a world map which could show the actual location (territory) of his kingdom. The most learned person to be found for this purpose was Al-Idrisi who was born in Morocco and educated in Muslim universities in Spain. Afterwards he travelled extensively through Asia, Africa and Europe. Of his time he was the most outstanding geographer of the civilized world. The Encyclopaedia Britannica says of him:
“AI-Idrisi was a close friend and adviser to Roger II, the Norman King of Sicily, at whose court he served as Official Geographer. Roger II invited AI-Idrisi to Sicily to make a map of the world for him (9/198)”.
Such were our ancestors. Today the state affairs is quite the opposite. Muslims, throughout the world, have become a liability: they are no longer an asset. They lag behind in all fields of science and technology, in no department of life do they enjoy the dominant position they did in the past. Their leaders lull them to sleep, helping them to live in the fool’s paradise they have created for themselves. In short, they are only takers, and not givers. If they never regain an honourable position in this world of competition and struggle, it will simply be what they deserve.
