The Revival of Islam

The Revival of Islam

1990 3 March 7-12 The Revival of Islam (2173) There are many people in this world who would like to see the revival of Islam reduced to a programme, rather than have it develop into a full-fledged movement springing naturally from a vital and personal sense of mission. But human life is just too vast – and complex – to be confined within such narrow limits. It is indeed unfortunate that they feel they cannot understand what has to be done unless they have a definite plan outlined for them by someone else, for this, ultimately, means substituting the bare bones of a programme for a real flesh-and-blood movement. It is also to underestimate the potential magnitude of any such movement. The truth is that if individuals must have a programme, they themselves must actively become its makers, as opposed to being passive recipients. They themselves must breathe life into it.

This is the true function of Islamic da’wah to arouse the minds of individuals, and to inspire them to become the programme makers. We must remember that all that the Prophet Muhammad may peace be upon whom, did was to call the people of Mecca to worship one God. He did not give the people a ‘programme’ as it is understood in modern times. Yet, whoever was influenced by that da’wah call, was able to fabricate the whole ‘programme’ for himself. After imbibing the concept of monotheism from the Prophet, he would himself discover all the forms of practical action required. It is especially noteworthy that although those Muslims who left Mecca for Abyssinia were given no actual ‘programme’, they were so successful in representing Islam in Abyssinia that, from there, Islamic call became international in its scope. Those Muslims too, who left Mecca for Medina before the Prophet’s emigration were likewise able to launch the Islamic da’wah movement so effectively – with nothing other than the verses of the Quran to support them – that Medina eventually became the greatest focal point for Islam.

Religion as a conscious option, as opposed to an inherited tradition.

The spreading of religion is the greatest revolutionary undertaking. It brings into existence such people as are in themselves a complete programme. Such a mission makes its impact on a man’s whole existence. It stimulates his nature in such a way that a whole fountain of divine wisdom springs up within him. Once the Prophet had awakened this divine wisdom in his companions, they had no need of anything else in this world, its effect is such as to make people hold God by the hand, walk with God’s feet, hear with God’s ears, see with God’s eyes. In the words of the Hadith, they become limitless, profound human beings, unsurpassed in wisdom.

Such man become substitute for everything else. No matter how difficult a problem they can always be relied upon to produce best solution. Whatever the occasion, they can decide upon the most propitious course of action. One should rightly tremble before the insight of a believer, for it is through God’s eyes that he sees.

God has indeed imbued human nature with everything that man needs in life. But it is only when man responds to the call of Islam that God’s bounties stand revealed. Before that, they remain concealed behind an impenetrable veil, causing man to be a prey to mental and moral stagnation, prejudice and thougthlessness. But once Islam has removed these imperfections from man’s psyche, human nature is at once illumined by that divine light which radiates upon the heavens and the earth. After that man sees everything as it actually is. And for one who can see things as they are, the problem of having no ‘Programme’ is as easily solved as taking a lift – and not a staircase – to the top of a very tall building.

The following incident is an apt illustration of this point.

An Indian woman living in Tripoli with her husband once found herself in a terrible predicament. One night her husband told her that he had a severe pain in the stomach and obviously needed a doctor. Now, in Tripoli there is no arrangement for house telephone by means of which a doctor can be directly summoned from his house or the hospital. Even if there had been, the wife knew no Arabic, and being a simple housewife, had no contact with anyone outside her own home. But the sight of her own dear husband writhing in agony was enough to make her overcome all her drawbacks. Out she went into the night, ignorant of the streets and with no idea even of the names or addresses of any of the local doctors. Her determination to save her husband drove her on and despite her unfamiliarity with the local language and topography, she eventually found herself on the doorstep of a Pakistani doctor to whom she could speak in Urdu. To her great relief, he promptly agreed to come and see her husband. On examining him, he found that it was a case of appendicitis which required an immediate operation. The doctor thereupon took him in his car to the hospital where he was operated upon without delay. The patient took only a few days to make a full recovery.

Most people find themselves in similar straits at some time or the other in their lives. Every individual is sooner or later confronted with situations for which he has made no advance preparations. But he pulls himself together, faces up to whatever crisis it is and ultimately wins through. Such situations, however, tend to be handled well only when they are of direct material interest to the person concerned, or to the members of his family. If we were to develop the same personal interest in religion, it would be a simple matter to become familiar with the demands of religion and to make sacrifices for its cause; problems relating to religion would in fact begin to solve themselves, just as non-religious problems are solved everyday by the interested parties. Then people would have no difficulty in finding their ‘programme’ or religion, just as the above-mentioned lady was able to find a doctor for her husband in the face of considerable odds.

I am often questioned about our Islamic Center’s programme. Ah! How to tell our questioners that we need people – devoted workers not a programme! Be the issue Islamic, or non-Islamic, it is, in any event, men who are needed, rather than a programme, or a plan of action. Revolution in congregational life is invariably brought about by those who are in themselves programme-makers rather than by those who need to be given a set programme to follow.

On one occasion, when Aurangzeb (1618-1707), the last great Mughal emperor had just completed his prayers (namaz) he again raised his hands in supplication, his eyes filling with tears. In this state he continued to pray in silence for a very long time. All the while, his vizier (minister) stood by his side. When the emperor’s supplications finally came to an end, the vizier, Sadullah addressed him thus: “Your Majesty, the flag of your empire can be seen flying everywhere, right from Kashmir to the Deccan. Is there still some wish in your heart which has been left unfulfilled and because of which you are so grief-stricken?” Aurangzeb remained silent for a while, then, his voice changed with emotion, he replied, Sadullah, marde khwaham.” (Sadullah, I need a man.)

Aurangzeb’s plan of action lacked nothing, and he had all the resources necessary for good government. Yet he failed to consolidate the Mughal rule, because he had no worthy men to shoulder this responsibility. If Aurangzeb had had a team of true, sincere people, the course of history after his reign would have been very different from what it was, and what we see it as today.

The mission of Islam means searching among the crowd – among the multitudes who are loquacious in the name of God, for a man whom fear of God has left speechless. Amongst those who are in pursuit of the world, it is looking for one who has stopped dead in his tracks for the sake of the Hereafter; amongst those who revel in the name of God, it seeks those whose eyes fill with tears when they remember God: amongst those who are fighting for God’s cause, it seeks those who have desisted from fighting and quarrelling for the sake of His Religion; amongst those who are bent on settling accounts with others, it awaits those souls who know how to reckon with themselves. Such are the people of whom Islam has the greatest need. It is through such people, and such people alone, that Islam will once again be able to resume its position of intellectual ascendancy.

Today, Islam needs such people as can purify themselves, demolishing appearances in order to penetrate to the reality: who have the foresight to steer clear of irrelevant problems; who have the patience to give their full attention to the real target, who consider this world of paltry insignificance when compared to the Hereafter, so much so, that no sacrifice of worldly things appears too great for them; who are such great realists as can see greater virtues in others than in themselves and who can in consequence, step down in their favour; who see the truth so clearly that nothing can make them waver in its pursuit; who are so free of negative feelings that no personal grievances can make them deviate from the right path: who cannot be made to feel jealous of others: who are in love with reality and not with appearances, having the eyes on the future rather than on the present. To sum up, Islam has need of those who live in the Hereafter rather than in this world; who have lost themselves, not in their own greatness, butt in God’s. If it was people such as these who made Islam the dominant theology in its earliest stages, it will be people of like bent who will raise it to the highest position of honour in our time.

The question of having a programme, is in actual fact, the question of how human should be prepared for a specific way of life. Individuals of the right mould cannot be formed only by training, and certainly not by exposure to the hue and cry of processions, speeches from platforms, and so on. There is only one way to prepare pare individuals, and that is by launching an unadulterated movement based on pure established religion in such a manner as to influence human nature and arouse the dormant, inner, spiritual personality of man, striking some chord deep within him. It should so colour human thought that man’s being should become dyed in the hue of the Almighty.

Such a movement cannot be launched in the negative spirit reaction, for, in essence it should sing the eternal, divine melody to the rhythm of nature. It should be a model of the beauty of divine creation, emanating the fragrance of the flowers and the splendour of the sun. Such a movement, in giving temporal expression to the prophetic message, should – in the idiom of our times – reveal the wisdom of the Book of God, thus presenting medium of contact between God and man.

The advent of such a movement in a society is the great guarantee that such divine souls will emerge as are able to ‘programme’ themselves. For them, there will be no difficulty in discovering what their role ought to be. The history of the prophets shows, however, that even after such a da’wah movement has been set in motion, it is only those whose soil is fertile who can receive its seeds. In other words, only those will benefit who have the innate capacity to receive its message. It is common knowledge that barren land will remain barren, even after it has been lashed by the rain.

If Islam is to launch itself on a new phase of its history, its first prerequisite will be people so vital and responsive, that when the call of Islam is addressed to them, they will feel the awakening of a vast potential. When the seed of Islam is sown it must bring forth a blessed verdure – a great and wonderful crop: for that to happen the soil on which it falls must be sufficiently fertile. The call of Islam simply awaits the right people to receive it.

If people of high spiritual vitality emerge from the Muslim community itself, that will be a matter of the greatest good fortune: But if no such individuals make their appearance, we shall have to come to terms with the fact that God will eventually give His blessing to some other community. It will then be for the members of that to come forward, not only to bathe in the light of Islam, but also to devote themselves whole heartedly to enabling the rest of the world to benefit from that enlightenment which only Islam can bring.