A LESSON FROM HISTORY

A LESSON FROM HISTORY The Divine Mission T HE Caliphate of Mu’awiyah has been made the subject of severe criticism. Some say that Mu’awiyah was the first ruler to introduce kingship into Islam. But, regardless of this criticism, it should be noted that the two-decade long rule of Mu’awiyah gives us an important lesson. Any sincere effort to deter Muslims from internal strife and conflict, even if it is at the cost of introducing monarchy to a political institution, will always bring fruitful results in favour of Islam. Internal conflict leads Muslims to make destructive use of their Islamic spirit, yet, once distracted from the path of factional feuds, their zeal finds an active outlet in the efforts of spreading Islam. Factional conflicts among Muslims are highly deplorable. An attempt, therefore, to save Muslims from internal strife encourages them to eschew unlawful acts and harnesses their Islamic spirit to the peaceful conveying of the message of Islam. The energy or collective force that might otherwise be used in destructive activities is then devoted to the progress and consolidation of Islam. The target of Muslims’ reform and the inculcation of the exalted qualities of a noble Islamic character, from which they had earlier been diverted by factional feuds, is automatically achieved. Had the Muslims crusading spirit been directed to the external sphere as in its earlier days, world history today would have been quite different. The call to God is a sacred mission. This mission basically entails conveying the message of God peacefully. It is a prophetic mission. Conveying the message of God or Dawah work gives the proponent the opportunity to devote himself to outside activities. For the fulfilment of his task, he turns his zeal outwards. Externally targeted, the crusading spirit is then optimally exercised. The accomplishment of the mission of calling people to God by Muslims brings divine grace to them, and develops in the community all those exalted qualities that are considered to be the key to unity. The call to God is a sacred mission. This mission basically entails conveying the message of God peacefully. It is a prophetic mission.