The Religion of Islam
Creator: Syed Qutb
Date: 2007-07-07
Format: text
Identifier: http://www.geocities.com/abyassin/Qutb1.html
Language: en
Subject: iman
Title: The Religion of Islam
Created on: Sat Jul 07 13:31:56 -0400 2007
Updated on: Sat Jul 07 13:31:56 -0400 2007
Version: 1
Abstract: ... ht and unique lamp, not only in the history of the Islamic commu-nity, but also in the history of mankind as a whole. The period of excellence at the beginning of Islam was able to create, in the reality of human existence, a number of ideal personages who were the represen-tatives of a higher humanity, in a manner unequalled before or since that time. By comparison all the figures who arose in paths other than that of Islam appear as dwarfs, beings who have not attained full maturity, or at least not fully rounded beings. These ideal personages produced by the divinely ordained path in that short period were not a few individuals to be counted on one's fingers, but a great concourse. The student of the matter wonders how in all their sublimity and maturity they attained such numbers, in so short and restricted a period. He is unable to account for their appearance on this large scale, at this exceptional level, with such a variety of models, unless he relates this unique phenomenon to the action of that unique path of life - Islam. It is important for us to know that those people who represented a higher humanity, models unique in their sublimity, by comparison with whom he figures later centuries appear to be but dwarfs of deficient beings, who realized the divinely ordained path in their own lives in this remarkable manner, were nonetheless human beings, who had not left the bounds of their nature or essential disposition, nor sup-pressed any of the constructive capacities. They did not impose on themselves exertion beyond their capacities, but devoted themselves to all human acti-vities, and enjoyed all the legitimate pleasures which were allotted to them in their environment and age. They acted wrongly and correctly, they stumbled and rose again, they were sometimes beset by human weakness - like the rest of mankind - and fighting against it were sometimes triumphant. It is highly important to realize this fact. It gives mankind a strong hope for the resumption of struggle; it makes it the duty and right of mankind to strive for that bright and feasible ideal, and to continue striving. It causes mankind to gain in self-confidence and to trust in its own inner nature and hidden potentialities, which enable it - if the correct path is followed - to reach that level of higher humanity which It once at-tained in the course of its history. It did not attain it by an extraordinary and unrepeatable miracle. It attained it by means of a path corresponding to its own nature, one realized by human efforts and within the bounds of human capacities. That great and exceptional generation arose in the heart of the poverty-stricken desert, poor in natural1 economic and scientific resources. Although this en-vironment was suitable to the rise of such a gener-ation, humanity, today and tomorrow, is not inca-pable, either by virtue of its inner nature or by virtue of its potentialities, of succeeding once again in its exertions, providing it takes the divinely ordained path as its guide. This path - despite the deviations, hostility and attacks it has suffered in the course of time - conti-nued to produce ideal men, similar to those of the first brilliant generation, influenced and moulded by its example. It continued to influence strongly the life of humanity through those ideal men, and to affect the course of human history. It left deep traces and impresses on the nature of life and the world. This path at all times is still capable of producing such ideal men, so long as serious efforts are made for applying and fortifying it in life, irrespective of all opposing factors and all obstacles in its path. The secret hidden within it is its direct coopera-tion with the essential nature of man, and its exploit-ation of his potential resources. These resources are considerable and permanent. When they come into contact with this path, streams of wealth gush forth, and the hidden superabundance stands revealed. This ideal period of excellence was able to esta-blish for human life principles, ideas, values and criteria which had no precedent in the whole history of humanity, all of them clear, profound, comprehensive and vital. None them were established at any other time in human history, by any other path or system on earth, with such clarity, profundity, comprehensiveness and vitality. Nor - which is the most important - with such truthfulness, seriousness, sincerity and profound devotion to truth. These principles ideas, values and. criteria em-braced every sector of human life. They embraced the human concept of God, and the relation of human-ity to Him; the human concept of existence, of the purpose of existence, its general place and function in the universe. Consequently, they dealt too with the concept of the real nature of the human being, his rights, duties and obligations; the criteria for judging his life, activity and rank, on which are based too his relations with his Sustainer and with his fellow-beings, his relations with the totality of creation, with living beings and With objects. They, dealt too with political, social and economic rights and duties, systems, the situations and rela-tionships that connect together these rights and duties. In short, all fields of' human life with their different features and aspects were covered. On all of these, this ideal period impressed its own distinctive nature, its unique divine, stamp. All this took place in a local, environment hostile to these principles and ideas, these values and criteria, in a worldly atmosphere denying their very basis, in economic, political and social circumstances bound by their very nature to cash with the attitudes in-culcated by Islam and established for the first time in the actuality of human life. At the very least they did not favor the swift movement of Islamic ideals. It relied for its success above all on the capacities of human nature for responding to the divinely ordained path - which profoundly corresponds to human nature - rather than being overwhelmed by superficial impressions. It activated this potential and brought it out from behind the clouds that were obscuring it. It is indeed a vast potential, capable - if the correct path for freeing it from confusion, and sloth exists - of resisting superficial impressions, which are in the eyes of some shortsighted people the be-all and end all of human life. Islam does not ignore these impressions, nor does it neglect their effects on human life. But neither does it surrender to them, regarding them as an inescapable reality. Instead it has recourse to the potentialities of human nature, at-tempts to concentrate and direct them in order to modify reality, gently and painlessly in the manner of operation described in the previous chapter. The result will then be what was attained in the ideal period: negative local and worldwide circumstances were combated and transformed into positive favor-able circumstances. This took place both in the Arabian Peninsula and beyond. Humanity today is, in some respects, in a better position than it was when this divinely ordained path was first brought. In a short period it has brought about a great revolution in prosperity and comfort, is better able to work according to the path, for rea-sons to be set forth in a future chapter. Its capacity to endure is greater, especially since we know that the potential of human nature, despite the clouds of corruption, evil and perversion that hang over it, and despite the material conditions and economic and in-tellectual factors that threaten to crush it, is able to arise, collect itself and work. This ability is rea-lized when the divinely ordained path releases, con-centrates and directs it, sends it on the course which is in accord with the essential nature of man and the essential nature of creation as willed by God. This potential, in view of its purity, profundity and vast-ness, is superior to all other factors which take on the aspect of "reality". What matter, then, if today these factors stand opposed to it? In the eyes of some who do not know the true nature of this path, "reality" appears to be something un-changeable, irreversible and almighty! This is a great illusion. The essential nature of the human being is also a "reality". It is not in ac-cord with outward reality, since everywhere it is suffering from it. Whenever the essential nature of humanity clashes with a certain circumstance or sys-tem, it is at first defeated, because behind the cir-cumstance or system there is a material force which imposes itself. These is however no doubt that hu-man nature is stronger and more lasting than any incidental circumstance, and that it will inevitably triumph in the end, particularly when it is directed in a path the nature of which corresponds to its own nature. This has already happened once1 on that day when the divinely ordained path confronted the "reality" of the Arabian peninsula, and the)"reality" of the entire world. It triumphed brilliantly over that reality, transformed its intellectual and practical bases and erected it on new foundations. This did not take place through some unique, unrepeatable miracle. It was achieved - in accordance with God's everlasting custom - through human exertion, and within the bounds of human capacities. This precedent indicates the possibility of its own repetition. The legacy of that brilliant period, the traces it has left in the life of mankind and the reality of his-tory, are all favorable factors for a new struggle. That period was able to establish in the life of mankind practical traditions and realistic institutions, based on its own principles, ideas, values and cri-teria, that did not die and disappear with the end of an era. They extended like a moving stream impelled to the far corners of the earth, and consecutive eras and epochs. The life of all humanity was affected by them, in one way or another, and they became a re-source for mankind, to which it had recourse for more than a thousand years. They affected ideas, circumstances, traditions, science and economy, all the spheres of civilization. Their traces still continue to affect the life of humanity down to the present, despite all the forces which resist this floodtide, and despite the relapse of the western world, which has dominated the entire earth for some time, into Greco-Roman ignorance of divine guidance. There have been established in the life of man-kind, beyond their specific effects, principles and values, theories and institutions, whose real origin is unknown to present-day humanity, and whose source is ascribed to something other than that di-vinely ordained and effective path. It is not how-ever impossible to recognize its first origin and thereby to return to following the divine path and rea-1izing its effects in human life. In a following chapter we will indicate some of the long strides taken by hu-manity towards establishing that path today, which when Islam first appeared it strongly rejected; thir-teen hundred odd years ago! It is possibly because of these steps taken in the life of humanity and because of its present situation that humanity is in general nearer today to under-standing the path of Islam, for it is in possession of the legacy of the first wave, something it did not enjoy when Islam first came. It similarly enjoys a stock of experiences derived from periods of devia-tion from the path of Islam, and the cares that today afflict it as a result. These are some of the factors favorable to an acceptance of the divine path and en-able patience in the coming struggle; God willing. THE POTENTIAL OF HUMAN NATURE When Islam was first revealed, it confronted a huge "reality", namely the Arabian Peninsula and beyond it the entire world. Beliefs, ideas, values, criteria, systems, circumstances, interests and loyalties - all these resisted it. The distance between Islam, when it was first revealed and the actual states of people in the Arabian Peninsula and the world, was huge and over-whelming. Those actual states were reinforced by centuries of history, by various interests, different forces all of which formed a barrier in the path of this new faith. The new faith was not content with changing beliefs, ideas values, criteria, customs, traditions, ethics and feelings; it insistently wanted to change also, systems, institutions, laws and the distribution of wealth and livelihood. It insisted too on removing the control of humanity from the hands of oppression and ignorance, and restoring it to God and to Islam. If it had been said to someone living at the time, that the new faith attempting all that, in the face of so overwhelming a reality and all the forces on earth, would triumph and transform that reality in the course of half' a century, the only response would have been scorn and disbelief. But this huge overwhelming reality was soon obliged to retreat from its position and to yield to the newcomer. Soon the new leader assumed the leader-ship of humanity in order to bring it out from dark-ness into light, through the Law of God and under the banner of Islam. How could this be? It seemed impossible for the one dazzled by "reality" and crushed by its weight as he weighed affairs and circumstances. How could a single man, Muhammad the son of Abdullah, the Peace and Blessings of God be upon him, stand alone against the whole world, or at least against the Arab Peninsula at the beginning? Or at least against the Quraysh, the lords of the Arabs at the beginning of his mission? Against all those beliefs, ideas, values, criteria, systems, institutions, interests and loyal-ties, and then triumph over them all? And change them all, erect a new system, on the basis of the new path and the new idea? He did not flatter their ideas and beliefs, truckle to their feelings and sentiments, or compromise with their leadership. He did not humble himself in order to secure his position. He was ordered at the very beginning, when he was in Mecca and all the forces were ranged against him: "Say: 0 unbelievers! I worship not that which you worship. Nor do you wor-ship which I worship. Nor do I worship that which you have worshipped. Nor do you worship that which I worship. To you, your religion, and to me, mine" He did not consent himself with proclaiming the separation between his religion and theirs, and is form of worship and theirs, and the unbridgeable gap between them. Rather he was ordered to prevent them from hoping for the realization of any compro-mise in the future. He repeated to them: "Nor do I worship that which you have worshipped. Nor do you worship that which I worship". He was commanded to emphasize the unbridgeable gap between them: "To you, your religion, and to me, mine". He did not dazzle them with any claim to mysterious power, to superhuman privileges of unseen origin. He was commanded to say: "Say: I do not tell you that I have the treasuries of God, or know-ledge of the unseen, nor do I say to you that I am an angel. I follow only that which is revealed to me" (al-An'am, v.50) He did not distribute promises of high office and wealth to those who followed. him, when he triumphed over his opponents. Ibn Ishaq said: "The Prophet -may the Peace and Blessings of God be upon him! - showed himself to the tribes at the season of the pil-grimage saying: 0 such-and-such a tribe! I am the messenger of God to you, commanding you to worship Him and not to ascribe Him any partners; to abandon whatever idols you worship in His place; to believe in me and to help me so that I may proclaim the message God has entrusted to me". Ibn Ishaq also records as follows: "I was informed by al-Zahri that the Prophet went to the tribe of Banu Amir bin Sa'sa'a, summoning them to the worship of God Almighty. He appeared before them and a man from among them, by name Bayhara bin Firas, said: "By God, were I to take this man from Quraysh with his help I would devour all the Arabs". He then asked of the Prophet: "If we vow allegiance to you and then God gives you victory over your enemies, will we en-joy power after you? The Prophet replied: "Power belongs to God; He places it where He pleases". He answered: 'You wish us to fight against the Arabs, and then if God supports you, power will not be ours? We have no need of your cause'. And they rejected him". How 'then did it all come about? How was that single individual able to overcome all that "reality"? He did not overcome it by some extraordinary, unrepeatable miracle. He proclaimed - may the Peace and Blessings of God be upon him! - that he would not perform any such miracles, and he never - not even once - considered it necessary to attract attention by such means. That which took place did so in accordance with a constant and repeatable method that holds true whenever people invoke it. The triumph of the divinely ordained way of life took place because of its cooperation - beyond apparent reality - with the hidden potentialities of human nature. This potential, as we - have already pointed out, is vast and huge; superficial clouds cannot overcome it when it is liberated, concentrated, directed and released in a certain direction. Perverted and corrupt beliefs were enthralling mankind. False gods were crowding the courtyard of the Ka'ba and the minds, imaginations and hearts of men. Tribal and economic interests were based on these false gods, and behind them stood the guardians of the Ka1ba and the soothsayers. This situation derived from the distribution of the attributes of divinity among men, and from giving to the guardians of the Ka1ba and the soothsayers the right to legislate for the people and to lay down a path for their life. Islam came to oppose this "reality" with, the One True God. It addressed itself to true human nature which knows only the One True God, and informed the people of their true Lord, His attributes and properties, which were already known to human nature be-neath the debris of false beliefs. "Say: shall I take to myself as protector other than God, the Originator of the heavens and of the earth, He who feeds and is not fed? Say: I have been commanded to be the first of them that surrender unto God: "Be not thou of the idolaters". Say: "Indeed I fear if I should rebe1 against my Lord, the chastisement of a dreadful day". From whomsoever it is averted on that day, He will have mercy on him; that is the manifest triumph. And if God visits you with affliction, none can remove it but He; and if He visits you with good, He is powerful over everything. He is omnipotent over His servants, and He is the All-wise, the All-aware. Say: "what thing is greatest in testimony?" Say: "God is witness between me and you; and this Qur'an has been revealed to me, that I may warn you thereby, and whomsoever it may reach. Do you indeed testify that there are other gods with God?" Say: "I do not testify". Say: "He is only one God, and I am free of what you associate unto Him". (al-An-am, vv. 14-19) "Say: 'I am forbidden to serve those you call on apart from God". Say: 'I do not follow your caprices, or else I had gone astray and would not be of the right-guided". Say: "I stand upon a clear sign from my Lord, and you would have cried lies to it. Not with me is that which you seek to hasten; the judg-ments is God's alone. He relates the truth, and He is the best of deciders." Say: "If what you seek to hasten were with me, the matter between you and me would be decided; and God knows very well the evil-doers". With him are the keys of the Unseen; none knows them but He. He knows what is in land and sea; not a leaf falls, but He knows it. Not a grain in the earth's shadows, not a thing, fresh or withered, but it is in a Book Manifest. It is He who recalls you by night, and He knows what you mark by day; then He raises you up therein, that a stated term may be determined; then He raises you up therein, that a stated term may be determined; then unto Him shall you return, then He will tell you of what you have been doing. He is the Omnipotent over His servants. He sends record-ers over you till, when anyone of you is visited by death, Our messengers take him and they neglect not. Then they are restored to God their Protector, the True. Surely His is the judgment; He is the swiftest of reckoners. Say: "Who delivers you from the shadows of land and sea? You call upon Him humbly and secretly, 'Truly, if Thou deliverest from these, we shall be among the thankful". Say: 'God delivers you from them and from every distress; then you assign Him associates'. Say: "He is able to send forth upon you chastisement, from above you or from under your feet, ~r to confuse you in sects and to make you taste the violence of one another". Behold how we turn about the signs that maybe they will understand. (al-An'am, vv. 56-65) Essential human nature listened to this non-create voice that addressed it through the clouds of a heavy reality", in the wide waste of error. It returned to its One True God, and the new summons triumphed over the weighty "reality"! When men returned to the One God, it became im-possible for people to worship people All stood erect in dignity before each other, on the day when all heads were bowed in front of the One Omnipotent God. The legend of superior stock and race, of inherited nobility, rule, and kingship - all this same to an end. How did this come to be? There was a social reality, backed by class, racial, material and intellectual interests, dominant in the Arabian Peninsula and in the surrounding world. None objected to this reality, for those who profited by it did not tire of it, and those crushed by it were not able to condemn it. The Quraysh called themselves "the noble" and attributed to themselves rights and traditions not granted to the other Arabs. During the pilgrimage, they would stay at Muzdalifa while all others would be at 'Arafat. On the basis of these privileges, they enjoyed economic. advantages over the rest of the Arabs. Thus they, forbade circumambulation of the, Ka'ba in clothes, other than those bought from the Quaraysh. Otherwise it was to be peerformed in, a state of nudity. The world surrounding the Arabian peninsula was groaning under the weight of, discrimination based on blood and race. "Iranian society was based on discrimination of stock and profession. An unbridgeable gap existed between the classes of society. The state forbade the general2 population from buying the property of a prince or a notable. One, of the, base of the Sasanian polity was that each individual s.houl4 content himself with the position bestowed. upon him by his descent, and should not strive for something beyond it. None might engage in a trade other than that God had created him for. The kings of Iran did not delegate a single one of their duties to a commoner. The common people were similarly divided into distinct classes, each of which had a well-defined position in society" (Quotation from Arthur Christensen's work on Iran in the Sasa-nid period) "The kings of Iran used to claim that divine b1ood ran in their veins. The Persians used to regard them as gods, and to believe that there was something sublime and divine in their natures. They begged them for forgiveness of their sins, sang hymns in praise of their divinity, and regarded them as above law, above criticism and above humanity. They might not men-tion their names or sit in their assemblies. They believed that they had a claim to all men, but had themselves no obligations to others. Any paltry gift bestowed out of their superfluous wealth was an un-deserved act of charity towards a people whose only duty was subordination and obedience. All this is true in particular of a certain house, that of the Kaya-nis, who alone were regarded as fit to bear the crown and to exact tribute. These rights were transferred from father to son, and only the unjust would dispute them. They believed in the institution of monarchy and its hereditary transference within the royal house, desiring no substitute for this system. If an adult could not be found among them to rule, then a child would come to the throne. If a man was not to be found, then a woman would rule over them. After Shirvayh, his son Ardeshir came to the throne at the age of seven. Similarly, Farrokhzad Khosrou. Son of Khosrou Parviz came to the throne while still a child. A second daughter of Khosrou, by name Azarmaidukht, was appointed to rule, and it did not occur to anyone to choose some great general or leader such as Rustam or Jaban, simply because they were not related to the royal household." (Quotation from Abul Hasan al-Nadawi's 'What the World has lost by the Decline of the Muslims). The caste system' in India represented the vilest and harshest of man's deeds to man. "Three centuries before Christ, the Brahmin civi-lization flourished in India which gave a new impress to Indian society. A new civil and political law was religious authority. This was known as the Manushastra. "This law divided the people into four distinct classes. Firstly, the Brahmins, the caste of the soothsayers and the men of religion. Secondly, the Kshatris, the men of war. Thirdly, the Vaishyas, the cultivators and merchants. Fourthly, the Shudras, the servants. "Manu, the author of this law, says: "The Absolute and Almighty One, in the interest of the world, created the Brahmins from his mouth, the Kshatris from His arms, the Vaishyas from His thighs, and the Shudras from His legs. He distri-buted among them various obligations and duties for the sake of the world. The Brahmins are to teach the Vedas and offer up sacrifices to the gods and to dis-tribute alms. The Kshatris are to guard the people, to offer up sacrifices, to study the Vedas and to shun the passions. The Vaishyas are to pasture cattle, to read the Veda and to engage in trade and agricul-ture. The Shudras are only to serve the other three classes". "This law granted to the Brahmin caste rights and privileges that bestowed on them almost the status of gods. It said that they were the chosen of God and the lords of creation; all that existed in the world was their property; they were the most noble of creatures and the masters of the world. They might take away from their Shudra slaves - without any crime - what-ever they wanted. For the slave possesses nothing, and all his property belongs to his master. The Brahmin who memorizes the Rigveda has all his sins forgiven, even if his sins and foul deeds were to anni-hilate the universe. The king is not permitted, even in the direst hours of need, to impose any levy on the Brahmins or tribute. No Brahmin may be permitted to die of hunger, even though he may be deserving of death". "The Kshatris, even though superior to the Vaish-yas and the Shudras, are far inferior to the Brahmins. Manu says: "The ten-year old Brahmin is superior to the centenarian Kshatri, in the same way as the father is superior to his son". "As for the "untouchable" Shudras, they were in Indian society, on the basis of this religious and civil code, lower than beasts and more despised than dogs. The law declares: "It is the happiness of the Shudra to serve the Brahmin, and for this they need no re-muneration or reward. They may not acquire wealth or store up treasure, for this pains the Brahmin. If a Shudra stretches out his hand or a stick to attack a Brahmin, then his hand shall be cut off. If he kicks him in anger, his foot shall be severed; if an untouch-able attempts to sit in the company of a Brabmin, the king shall brand his posterior, or banish him from the realm. If he reviles a Brahmin, his tongue shall be plucked out. If he lays claim to acquaintance with a Brahinin, he shall be made to drink boiling oil. The compensation to be paid for the murder of an un-touchable is the same as that to be paid for a dog, a cat, a frog, a lizard, a crow or an owl". (Quoted from the same work of Abul Hasari Nadawi) As for the celebrated Roman civilization, it was based on luxury that the slaves - three quarters of the population - provided for the nobility - the remaining quarter. In law too there was discrimination between slaves and masters, between noble and plebeian classes. In the famous code of Justinian we read as follows: "Whosoever ravishes a respectable widow or a virgin, his punishment, if he be from a noble house-hold, is the forfeiture of half of his wealth. If he be from a lowly family, he shall be scourged and driven out of the land". While this was the state of affairs throughout the world, Islam addressed itself directly to the true and essential disposition of man, which unwittingly re-jected and disapproved of this position. Its response to the call of Islam entirely overcame the prevailing situation. The nature of man heard God Almighty addressing the totality of mankind: "0 people, we have created you of male and female, and made of you people and tribes that you might recognize one another. Truly the most noble of you in the sight of God is the most God-fearing among you". (al-Hujrat, v.13) It heard Him too addressing Quraysh in particular: "Then run forth (in the pilgrimage) where the others run forth". (al-Baqara, v.199) It heard the Prophet of God - may the Peace and Blessings of God be upon him! - addressing all men: "0 people! Your Lord is one. Your ancestor is one. You all belong to Adam, and Adam was of clay. The most noble of you in the sight of God is the most God-fearing among you. There is no superiority of Arab over non-Arab, of non-Arab over Arab, of the dark-skinned over the fair-skinned, of the fair-skinned over the dark-skinned, unless it be by piety and fear of God". It heard him addressing the Quraysh in particular saying: "0 assembly of Quraysh! Buy your souls, for nothing will avail you against God. 0 sons of Abd Manaf, nothing will avail you against God. 0 Abbas ibn Abdul Mutallib, nothing will avail you against God. O Fatima daughter of Muhammad, demand from me what you will of my wealth, for nothing will avail you against God". Human nature heard and responded, and the con-sequences followed in accordance with God1s eternal custom that may recur at any time. The system of usury prevailed in the Arabian Peninsula, and the entire economy was based on it. Let no one imagine that it was a question simply of isolated transactions between individuals. The Qu-raysh undertook a considerable trade with Syria in the summer and the Yemen in the winter. The capital of the Quraysh was invested in this trade. Let us not forget that the caravan of Abu Sufyan that the Muslims ambushed at the battle of Badr and then evaded them to be replaced by God with something better for them, contained a thousand camels loaded with goods. If usury had simply been practiced in restricted indi-vidual dealings, and not been a comprehensive system of economic life, it would not have deserved the re-peated and scorching attack made on it by God Al-mighty in the Qur1an, and the pursuance of that attack by the Prophet - may the Peace and Blessings of Good be upon him! - in the Hadith. This capital, this commercial activity, this eco-nomy - all were based on the system of usury. Short-ly before the mission of the Prophet, the economies of various countries came to be gathered into this system, as for example in Medina, where the eco-nomy was dominated by the Jews. Usury is in fact the basis of the economic system of the Jews. This was the economic "reality" on which the life of the land was based. Then Islam came, denying and rejecting this un-just and criminal system, and setting forth in its stead a new basis: that of zakat, of the goodwill loan, of cooperation and mutual solidarity. "Those who expend their wealth night and day, secretly and in public, their wage awaits them with their Lord, and no fear shall be on them, neither shall they sorrow. Those who devour usury shall not rise again except as he rises, whom Satan of the touch prostrates; that is because they say 'Trafficking is like usury'. God has permitted trafficking and has forbidden usury. Whosoever receives an admonition from his Lord and gives over, he shall have his past gains, and his affair is committed to God; but who-soever reverts - those are the inhabitants of the Fire, therein dwelling forever. God blots out usury, but freewill offerings He augments with interest. God loves !1ot any guilty ingrate. Those who believe and do deeds of righteousness, and perform the prayer, and pay the alms - their wage awaits them with their Lord, and no fear shall be on them, neither shall they sorrow. 0 believers, fear you God; and give up the usury that is outstanding, if you are believers. But if you do not, then take notice that God shall war with you, and His messenger; yet if you repent, you shall have your principal, unwronging and unwronged. And if any man should be in difficulties, let him have re-spite till things are easier; but that you should give freewill offerings is better for you, did you but know. And fear a day wherein you shall be returned to God, and every soul shall be paid in full what it has earned; and they shall not be wronged". (al-Baqara, vv. 274-281) Human nature found that the summons of God was better than the situation in which it found itself. It grew disgusted with the vile system on which usury subsisted. Despite the hardships involved in changing the economic situation on which the life of people was based, the response of human nature again proved stronger than the weight of "reality'1. Muslim society was purged of that pollution from the days of ignor-ance. This too took place in accordance with the custom of God which repeats itself whenever human nature is summoned out from behind the debris of false belief. In this chapter we will content ourselves with these three examples of the triumph of true human nature over "reality", of its emergence from the debris of false beliefs, its victory over the external "reality" which had been erected by human ignorance of divine guidance. This reality consisted of beliefs and ideas, circumstances and traditions, economic factors. All these appear to the one who is unaware of the power of faith and of true human nature to be an overwhelming and irresistible fact. Islam did not fold its hands in surrender to this "reality". It abolished it, or changed it, and erected in its place its own sublime and unique structure, on its firm and profound basis. What happened once can happen again. What hap-pened was in accord with a continuing custom, not an extraordinary miracle. That structure arose out of the potential of human nature, a potential available to all who wish to exploit it, to concentrate it, direct it and release in the correct direction. Humanity today may well be better able to follow that direction, because of the traces left on its his-tory by that first wave of Islam, which confronted the harshest opposition, but continuing on its path left behind it the most profound of imprints. THE RESOURCES OF EXPERIENCE When Islam confronted humanity for the first time, it had at its disposal in meeting the challenge of the prevailing situation only the potential of human nature. Human nature stood on the side of Islam, despite the long centuries that had passed by during which the debris of the age of ignorance of divine guidance had piled up on it. Human nature was able to free itself, and its response to Islam was enough to clear away the debris. That was a remarkable period, a sublime summit, an exceptional generation of men, a bright beacon. It was, as we have said, decreed and willed by God, so that this unique image might be materialized in the situations of real life and recourse might later be had to it, in order to repeat it within the limitations of human capacity. It was not the natural outcome of its environment, but rather the fruit of the actualized potential of hu-man nature, when it found the path, the leadership, guidance and the movement to bring into action and impel it forwards. However, humanity as a whole was not yet pre-pared to remain for long at that lofty summit which that select group of men had ascended. When Islam spread throughout the earth with such amazing speed, unparalleled in the course of history, and the people in their masses entered the religion of God; when the mass of the Islamic community did not receive the deep, unique and gradual training that select group had received; then the pressure of remnants from the age of ignorance surviving in the masses who had pledged allegiance to Islam, began to drag down the entire body of the community from the lofty heights to level ground. Only a great leap could lift the com-munity up to those heights, such as that of the select group who had received a unique, profound and grad-ual training, a training which had mobilized the re-sources of human nature and released them in the correct direction. So the Muslim community remained for more than a th6usand years not at a lofty peak, but at different levels, all of them higher than those of other societies throughout the world. Indeed, other societies sought help from it, as history bears witness, if it is honest. But how rare is honest history! That unique leap forward in the history of mankind, and the high levels maintained for a thousand years thereafter, were not in vain, nor were they lost to the world of humanity, for they left behind a different world from that which they had first encountered. Such is not the custom of God with regard to life and to man. Mankind is a cohesive unit over a long span of time, and the body of humanity is a vital or-ganism which makes use of its store of experiences and accumulates resources of knowledge. These re-sources, however much they were covered up by clouds of ignorance and however much dominated by blindness and darkness, remained immanent and per-manent, and even circulating through the body of mankind. If the call of Islam at first found only the potential of human nature with which it might oppose and con-front the actual situation of man (excluding the slight potential represented by the previous messages which had been set to certain nations, rather than to the whole of humanity, like Islam), today it has at its disposal not only this potential but also the resources brought into being by the first wave of Islam - those who believed in Islam, lived under its rule and were influenced by it. Similarly it disposes of the bitter experiences of mankind collected in the wasteland of isolation from God. Principles, ideas, values, criteria, systems and institutions confronted by Islam at the very beginning when it had at its disposal only the resources of hu-man nature, it condemned and resisted utterly. Then the principles, ideas, values, criteria, systems and institutions of Islam established themselves in the life of a group of men for a period of time. Thereafter they were established in the broad Islamic world, at different levels, for a further period. Finally they became known to almost the entirety of humanity, for approximately thirteen hundred years. They were known of as a dream, as a hope, if not in practice, devotion and experience. Hence they did not appear strange to mankind as they had on the day when Islam was first proclaimed. They did not appear reprehensible to its feelings and customs as they had then. It is true that mankind did not experience them as did that select group of the first generation of Muslims in that unique period. It is also true that when it attempted to apply some of them at different times, including the modern era, it failed to perceive their spirit and to apply them in accordance therewith. It is true that it is still stumbling as it seeks to mount towards the peak the early Muslims attained at one leap. Despite all this, humanity as a whole, from the intellectual viewpoint, is closer to perceiving the true nature of this divinely ordained path, and to being able to follow it, than it was when Islam was first revealed. Specific examples will clarify this point. We will select only a few; without treating 'them in detail. This for two reasons: firstly, the present discussion is only a brief indication of the elements contained within the great topic of the Islamic faith. Secondly, the broad lines which have been traced by the first wave of Islam in the life of the whole of humanity and of all regions of the earth, are too numerous, signi-ficant and extensive to be dealt with by a single writer in a single work. These traces have sunk into the life of humanity since that distant period, and have em-braced the being of all humanity on a broad scale in a manner not entirely visible to the observer. It is possible to say - by way of summary - that this universal phenomenon which manifested itself on the planet earth, namely the religion of Islam, did not leave unvisited a single aspect of human life, and al-though its influence may differ in degree of intensity, the reality of its effect is not to be doubted. Every single one of the great movements of history derived, directly or indirectly, from that momentous happen-ing; or, to be more precise, from that vast universal phenomenon. The movement of religious reform, undertaken by Luther and Calvin in Europe; the renaissance from which Europe is still nourished today; the destruction of the feudal system and liberation from aristocratic rule; the movement of equality and the rights of man which appeared in the Magna Carta in England and the French Revolution; the experimental method on which is based the scientific glory of Europe - all these, which are commonl... [Full Article...]
