The Power of Islamic Thought
Al-Risala (English), November 1988, 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.
The Power of Islamic Thought
1988 11 November 3-4 The Power of Islamic Thought (449)
“We will show them our signs
in all the regions of the earth and in their own souls, until they clearly see that this is the truth. Does it not suffice that your Lord is watching over all things?” (Quran, 41:53) This verse from the surah, entitled ha-mim as-Sajdah, (Revelations Well Expounded) tells us that a time will come when the signs which appear in the world of nature will be all that is necessary to make clear the truth. That is to say that man’s knowledge of himself and the world around him will increase to such an extent that he will, thereby, have unassailable confirmation of fundamental truths: the scientific learning which will, become available to man will fully substantiate the teachings of the Quran and of the Prophet of God.
It was this very point which God’s Prophet made when he recounted the allegory of the fall of a great city.* He began by asking his followers if they had heard of the city which faced inland on one side and towards the sea on the other. Receiving a reply in the affirmative, he went on: “The Last Day will not come until an onslaught has been launched on this city by 70,000 of the sons of Isaac. On reaching the city, this army will alight, but they will not fight with weapons, nor will they shoot any arrows. They will say: “There is no God besides Allah. Allah is great,’ upon which the city will fall to them on one of its flanks.” Their utterance of these words a second time will mark the capitulation of its second flank and when they pronounce them a third time, the doors of the city will be opened to them and they will enter it and partake of its bounty. They will be distributing the spoils among themselves when a cry will be raised: ‘The Anti-Christ (Dajjal) has come forth.’ On hearing this, they will leave everything and retrace their steps.”
In essence, what this hadith has to tell us is that a time will come when victory will be gained on the mere utterance of the words: “la ilaha illa llahu Allahu akbar”. In other words, the power of Islam which will conquer other nations will not be military, it will be ideological. According to the Prophet, the form of campaign – 1ghazwah – which would subsequently bring the Muslims their greatest triumphs would in effect eschew fighting in favour of the communication of ideas.
*Taken from a Hadith reported by Abu Hurayrah and transmitted by Imam Muslim.
1 The word ghazwah, which is normally used in a military sense, may also be used for a purely ideological campaign.
