Seek the Cause Within
Al-Risala (English), February 1986, p. 3
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.
Seek the Cause Within
1986 2 February 3 Seek the Cause Within (240) Professor Friedrich Von Hayek (B. 1899), a prominent British economist of Austrian origin, is famous for his studies of cyclical crises, and received the Nobel Prize for Economic Science in 1974. In his book, “The Road of Serfdom”, published in London in 1944, dwells on the failure of western civilization. He writes:
“We are ready to accept almost any explanation of the present crisis of our civilization except one: that is, the present state of the world may be the result of genuine error on our part, and that the pursuit of some of our most cherished ideals has apparently produced results different from those which we expected.”
The weakness he points out is one found the world over in every nation. And it is certainly no less a failing of the Muslim world. In present times, Muslims have lead movements with lakhs of followers for the revival of Islam. Despite their huge following and vast material resources, all these movements without exception have failed in achieving their objectives. But whenever their leaders are confronted with the question of their failure, they invariably hold their enemies or other external factors responsible for it. They altogether rule out the possibility that their own wrong analysis, bad planning or weak judgement could be the reason, When the cause lies within and you persist in seeking it elsewhere, it is just like having migraine and seeking its cause up somewhere in the air.
