WESTERN CIVILIZATION

WESTERN CIVILIZATION Age of Peace T HERE are several verses in the Quran which make predictions of future events. For instance, the prediction of the victory of the Romans over Sassanid Persia (30: 1-2). This prediction was fulfilled within ten years, but of greater significance is the prediction in the Quran which clearly applies to the rise of western civilization—a pro-human civilization—in the later period of human history: ‘We shall show them Our signs in the universe and within themselves, until it becomes clear to them that this is the Truth.’ (41: 53) This verse clearly foretells the developments which took place in western nations one thousand years after the revelation of the Quran. This civilization of the West was, in reality, based on science. There are two aspects to this: the theoretical and the practical, or applied aspect. The applied aspect of western civilization may also be called the technological aspect. It is this aspect which is mentioned in the following tradition of the Prophet: God will certainly support His religion with the fajir or non-believer. (Sahih Bukhari) Fajir here means a secular person. This saying of the Prophet is, in fact, a prediction of the emergence of western civilization which, in essence, was pro-human. That is, it would benefit all of mankind as well as the divine religion. Western or modern civilization is not the property of a certain race or community. It owes itself entirely to the discovery of hidden natural laws and the development of a technology which benefitted and still benefits the whole of humanity. For example, the discovery of the laws of nature introduced a new age of communication, from which everyone benefitted, including the proponents of the religion of Islam. The greatest benefit of these modern developments is that for the first time in human history the age of peace has been ushered in.