Pardoning a servant

Pardoning a servant.

1989 12 December 10 Pardoning a servant. (28) A desert Arab once came before the Prophet and asked how many times a day he should pardon his, servant. “Seventy times,” replied the Prophet.

(AI-Trimidhi, Abu Daud)

The Cause Lies Within

1989 12 December 10 The Cause Lies Within (305) By the end of the seventeenth century Islam had reached the peak of its ascendancy. The great symbols of Muslim power in the world were the four huge empires – the Mughal, the Safavid, the Alawi (Filati) and the Ottoman, the last mentioned spreading from Baghdad to Algezier and from Aden to Hungary. But, from the beginning of the eighteenth century, a decline set in the governing of these empires. Although revivalist movements were launched during this period, they could neither prevent this decline nor lead Muslims once again to their former position of dominance. It was a very different situation from that of the great empire of Baghdad which, although devastated by the Tartars in the thirteenth century, had regained its pre-eminence in the space of a single century. From the seventeenth century to the present day, the struggle to revive Islam has been going on, led by innumerable secular and religious bodies, but all that this activity has accomplished is to add to Islam’s history of failure.

The truth is that all past incidents of aggression have been engineered by non-Muslims. The problem could, therefore, be solved by successfully combating external enemies. But the decline of present times has been the result not of external activity, but of Muslims’ own intellectual and spiritual backsliding. The actual need of the hour is to bring about a spiritual and intellectual revolution from within the Muslim fold. But our Muslim leaders cannot see this, and continue not only to blame non-Muslim nations for their fall, but also to engage in futile counter-attacks. This is just like firing arrows at non-existent targets, or like planting seeds in such stony ground, that no tree is ever going to come up. This is why, in spite of countless sacrifices, the dream of Muslim revival is never going to be fulfilled.