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We are using this title because it conforms with the
historical view we have adopted, namely that which considers the
completion of the religion and seal of prophecy by the death of
Mohammed (SAW) as being the correct view of history as opposed to
the other view which was unfortunately imposed upon us.
We will first start this subject with an
introduction explaining the prevailing view of history with the
danger it represents to us and to humanity. Then we will move to
advance the correct view to show how it can accommodate the whole of
human history and prospect the future of mankind as a whole, as
well.
Finally, we will conclude with a presentation of the
contributions of this view to redress the prevailing view of
history.
(I)
A PREVAILING VIEW OF HISTORY
The West’s view of history, which they have
unfortunately imposed upon us, is responsible for the distortion of
the history of humanity and of the contributions of the nations and
cultures to human civilization. It is also responsible for the
West’s self-conceit which shuns the contributions of other peoples.
It is this same self-conceit that makes them believe that they
represent the end of history, that they are the end of humanity – if
not the last human beings, or that they are “superman”.
The West’s view of history, which they have
unfortunately imposed on us, holds that history has only one
dimension in which progress is closely linked to the progression of
time. Thus the Twenty-first Century is more advanced than the
Twentieth Century; the latter is more advanced than the Ninetieth
Century; and the Ninetieth Century is more advanced than the
Eighteenth Century, etc.
This view of history prompts them to believe that
they are at both the top and end of history; it has inculcated in
us, and in people from other cultures, the idea that we have no
other alternative but to be their subordinates. If we refuse, then
the only choice left for us, and for people from other cultures, is
to return to our own history, and to isolate ourselves from the
present and future human history.
II
THE CORRECT HISTORICAL
VIEW: Through the Completion of Religion and the Sealing of Prophecy
beginning from the death of the Mohammed (SAW)
ACCOMMODATING THE PAST
AND
PROSPECTING THE FUTURE
The historical view that we endorse holds that
history began from the time when Adam acquired knowledge and was
taught all the names by the Almighty. Because the basis of human
knowledge and the starting point of certainty in it is Revelation
which constitutes the initial cognitive framework that is constant
with fitra (human nature), and which has been confirmed through
human experiences that knows what is just and substantiates it
through enjoining what is wrong. The True Religion is based on fitra
which is inherent in human beings, and it ordains adherence to rules
and conventions.
The history of revelation, that of prophecies and
divine messages, beginning with Adam, and then Ibrahim (father of
the prophets), to Moses, Jesus, and the seal of the prophesy (hence
the importance of history in completing religion and sealing
prophecies) with the Farewell Pilgrimage (632 AC) in which the
Apostle of Allah (SAW) said that time had come full circle just as
it had on the day Allah created the heavens and the earth.
This is an announcement that human knowledge and the
human course of history has come full circle and has taken a
completely new direction with the revelation as a starting point,
after the main guidelines had been drawn, and after the process of
the sealed conclusion had been completed and the last call to the
whole of mankind had been made – through the barriers of time and
space, as Allah, be He exalted, says:(This day I have perfected your
religion for you, completed my favors upon you, and have chosen for
you Islam as your religion)
Prophecy and divine messages are a progress in
history. Prophets and messages had a role to play in the advancement
of human awareness. The completion of the message was an
announcement of the independence of the mind and resolve. The
completion of human awareness after it has achieved its goal in the
development of mankind.
This is why we can say that the course of progress
and advancement, recorded by humanity through its march, has been
charted according to fitra and the forbidding of what is wrong at
every deviation from the right path and the enjoining of what is
just, so much so that it has become its own rule by which it abides.
This is an honorable march that was led by the apostles of God and
the prophets (peace be upon them all).
Prophecy and messages are progress of history.
Prophets and messengers played an important role in the advancement
of human awareness through emphasizing what is fundamental in
preparing the human being – and all message entrusted to them with
as vice-regents on earth to people it and to take advantage of its
riches, etc.
Therefore, the words “slavery to God” means
preparing the human being for what he is good for while the term
“istikhlaf” (vice-regency) is a trust placed in him to people the
earth and to take advantage of its riches, etc. These words have all
been emphasized by all the prophets and messengers through laying
emphasis on La Ilaha Illa Allah, meaning that the human being can be
a slave to no one but to Allah, that he is not to enslave others,
and that he is God’s vice-regent.
If every prophet/messenger makes it his business to
set right every wrong that has emerged amongst his own people as a
result of their straying from the right path, and to guide them
along the right path, the concluding message will come overwhelmed
with truth and more encompassing: the Holy Qur’an which came with
the absolute Truth – the True Religion that deals with every aspect
of life, enjoins what is just, and that is consonant with fitra (To
Allah religion is Islam).
The base of progress and advancement was established
and time has come full circle just as it did when Allah created the
heavens and the earth. This noble history was made by prophets and
messengers, and by the message that was brought by the Prophet (SAW)
to his people, to the worlds, and to all the people marking the
birth of an Ummah that has human and universal dimensions. The
message of the Prophet (SAW) was the last stage of the revelation in
history which can be taken as the source of all laws and
legislations. Therefore, as an American orientalist rightly said,
“the Holy Qur’an has changed the course of human history.”
Prophet Mohammed (SAW) had elevated his people and
the nations that had gone before and which existed in his age to a
lofty level of progress and advancement, thus making them, by virtue
of their being an Ummah of moderation, truthful witnesses on
humanity, and they shall be held to account.
* If those who deny the existence of God and
advocate secularism because they want to free the human being from
fear and submission to nature, to rid him of the feeling of holiness
while he is dealing with his daily problems of daily life, to
liberate himself from social classes that have given themselves
special privileges, Islam, through its rejection of all forms of
paganism and the worship of entities other than God, and by
declaring that everything in the universe is at man’s service, seeks
to free the human being from submission to nature..
Islam does not forbid the enjoyment of the good
things in life; besides, there is no duality in Islam; it is a
religion of equality, for none is infallible, except Prophet
Mohammed (SAW) in conveying his message to humanity as a hole).
There is no divine government; there is a
“government of all the people” which may be right or wrong in what
it does. Shura (taking council) is the basis of the community which
is to choose those who would govern it from among its own members
(They are our guardians, not our rulers, what if only one guardian?
The Shadow of God on earth).
* If the monotheistic call in Islam seeks to achieve
equality - except with God – among people in terms of their
humanness, humanity and human characteristics in terms of going
right or wrong. Islam believes that there is no place, whether in
the community of the faithful or in the Muslim society, for conflict
over power on the basis that some groups in the community are better
at a non-human level than others: this group is holier or more
infallible than that. The people of the Prophet’s Medina were an
Ummah different from other peoples, but each people had their own
religion – which in fact is one religion, regardless of the number
of messages, prophets or nations. The Messenger of Allah (SAW)
followed in their path, and he was an example and mercy to the
worlds. His Ummah shall be the law for the people and a witness to
the truth.
Matrimony (a spouse is just one half of the married
couple, s/he needs the other half to form a couple; the husband and
the wife are both spouses) is the first component in the making of
human nucleus. Matrimony is the origin of the multiplication of
mankind to form peoples and tribes so that they may know one
another, and of the spread of humanity across the world. The most
honored amongst mankind is the most pious. He who purifies himself
shields himself from all sins in his march to success. Success is
survival not extinction, wealth not poverty, dignity not
humiliation, and knowledge not ignorance.
* The prophetic application of this revelation to
people’s lives and needs was evidence that every ayah (verse)
constitutes a solution, a treatment and a stance, and that all the
ayahs (verses) that had been accumulating over a period of 23 years
have advanced solutions, treatments and stances.
* This revelation that springs from the real world
is meant to help people understand the message, and understanding
the Holy Qur’an is just one of the possible interpretations of the
Holy Book. This means that if we want to consider revelation both as
a source of knowledge and its subject matter, we would need to
elaborate a theory of interpretation. Hence the need for a theory of
interpretation rather than philosophy. The religious laws that have
been sent down to us are not a specific science. They constitute a
point of view, a basis, or a referential framework through which we
can see things. It is from this basis and from this framework that
sciences, literature, conflicts and orientations are to be seen. Our
view of them will be different from that of a person who sees them
from another angle or ideology.
These religious laws constitute a revolutionary
stand and a good ideology that would guide mankind’s struggle in our
age, too, and permit mankind to have a balanced view of things.
Therefore, the only thing that should preoccupy us is the task of
reviving Islam’s view of the world, and of political, economic and
social issues.
What we want is that Islam produce a new human
being, one who can stand on his own feet and be an example and a
model to be followed by others.
Our task is to change the Holy Qur’an from verses
read on the souls of the dead to real situations in the lives of
people, and to understand it with the same simplicity and clarity as
that with which Abu-Zarr al-Ghafari, the illiterate Bedouin,
understood it.
If specialization has been the weak point of many,
so much so that they want to extend it to Sharia (Islamic law), it
creates elites, deepens discrimination and leads to excessive
bureaucracy.
Islam’s Sharia is what our Lord has commanded to
Noah, Ibrahim, Moses, and Jesus. It was the Word of God sent down,
and was completed by His Messenger Mohammed (SAW), the seal of all
Prophets.
God’s Word (God is the Supreme Example, and has no
similitude) is the divine point of view, so to speak, the divine
framework, the glasses that if the individual puts them on, he will
see everything as it is in reality, which is different from the
other point of view which can exaggerate some things and minimize
others.
Through the cultural perspective, our view becomes
clear and things take their normal size. If the cultural perspective
is right, all our ideas, sayings and deeds will be right.
The human mind is either obedient to God or it is
not. It sees people and things either through a divine vision or a
personal vision, with all the differences this may entail.
On the basis of this view, the Sunnah of Prophet
Mohammed (SAW) provides us with a perfect example of human
experience realized in this revelation. The latter is not to change
from an idea to a person, and from a realization of the message in
the historical reality to personification.
As to Ijmaa (the consensus of the whole Ummah), it
was a realization of this revelation in history if it is committed
to this law. Regarding the methodology, they are free to follow it
or not. What Muslims “consider as good, must be good with Allah.” It
goes from Allah to the Prophet, then to the Prophet-Messenger, to
the Ummah and then back to the individual. It is history’s
philosophy based on the role of heroes, but it aims to turn groups
into heroes and nations to historical leaders.
It was possible, through the four examples and their
rearrangement, to begin with the real world reality and with
people’s lives, and with the Ummah, the community as a larger
entity, as Iqbal says – then to take as examples the traditions and
the heroes’ biographies, then end with history as a while.
Instead of moving from the text to the real world,
we go from the real world to the text. We can also understand the
importance of time and the origin of revelation, and the law of
progress and advancement.
Revelation was made to humanity to guide them in
dealing with problems and situations. The real world calls for
solutions to the problems that man cannot solve. The Book actually
represents a number of situations and events that the Muslim world
had witnessed but could not find solutions to. Every event or
situation represents a pattern that may repeat itself in any and at
any time. If the event came back again we call the same solution.
This is a known characteristic of revelation in Islam that is known
in Qur’anic studies as ‘tanjeem’ and in the science of ‘tafseer’
(i.e. interpretation science) as ‘reasons of descending’ (Asbab
Annuzul)- the Qur’an was revealed over a period of twenty-three
years. Fundamentalists call these patterns that refer to human real
life situations that are rich in psychological experiences.
In this view, the Sunnah represents, in the light of
the biography of prophet Mohammed, a set of real life situations
that define man’s behavior as a sequence of ideal patterns, as well
as models of human experience that can be followed and emulated.
The Sunnah implies that the revelation only becomes
state after a first implementation in a given society. This could be
proven in history through consensus and its interactions, rather
than through a specific era or group. The disregard by each era of
the consensus achieved during the era preceding it serves to give
new impetus to history. Giving due respect to the opposition of
consensus, even by one single vote, is an indicator of the vitality
of the nation and its respect of the ijtihad of everyone, its
acceptance of different viewpoints, as well as its disposition to
give due regard to the opinion of minorities.
‘Ijtihad’ (religious jurisprudence) is a principle
of action and self respect. Similarly, the Shurah (consultation)
emphasizes the principle of action and the respect of each and every
entity within a group. ‘Consensus’ is no more than the accumulation
of the expertise gained by successive generations through the action
of the masses in the form of collective action and historical
practice.
The human mind (‘aql’) is not sheer motion. It is a
fully integrated structure and appears to be causal, condition-bound
and able to transcend obstacles. It may be achieved in an ideal way,
in the form of determination, or in a realistic one, in which case
it becomes license. This mind is ultimately assessed through its
soundness and faultiness. Furthermore, it may in origin be an
expression of commitment to a compulsory duty, and in the case of
refraining from action, a commitment to abstention for the sake of
avoidance or outright prohibition. The obligatory deed or abstention
therefrom represent two different poles. One generates obligation
and the other negates this obligation. An action could be lesser in
degree than an obligation in general, and it may be a multi-faceted
obligation that shares responsibilities between a group that should
assume leadership and a group that should appoint those who are
better qualified. This is the deed that confers authority on the
others. Would all parties be sinful if they failed to act
accordingly!
Then there is the desirable action, as well as the
action that is determined by nature and of which the lawfulness is
inherent to its original innocence. Is this kind of action lawful at
all?
In fact, revelation, for us, is the final phase in
the history of revelation that started with Adam and ended with
Mohammed (SAW). Revelation therefore took its final shape and became
the ‘source’ and the ‘reference framework’ for which all means of
preservation and documentation were made available. It is not a
bestowed revelation, but one that was born out of the needs and
conditions of people. Each verse contains a solution to a particular
situation. The Holy Book was compiled out of the entirety of the
verses that addressed these given situations. The Sharia was laid
down to facilitate understanding, and understanding the Qur’an is
only a theory of interpretation.
To summarize, we can say that:
1- Our understanding of history gives the latter two
dimensions: one is seen as a parameter, or the benchmarks that
signal the level of betterment on the required human or
civilizational level, the second is the chronological dimension that
defines the course of relational interactions in reality…
2- Our frame of reference is the religious laws that
God prescribed to Noah, to the forefather of all prophets, Ibrahim,
to Moses and to Jesus, and finally to Mohammed (SAW), and to all the
prophets and messengers, peace be upon them all…God completed the
faith and His grace by sealing prophecy with the last message he
revealed to Mohammed (SAW).
3- Proclaiming the end of prophecy and revelation is
tantamount to announcing that humanity has reached maturity and the
stage of shouldering heavy burdens.
When the Almighty concluded religious revelation
with the final message, Mohammed’s, mankind had already tested all
its potentialities, starting with the first sin and repentance from
it, through the fight of Habeel and Qabeel (Abel and Cain), and the
experiences of every generation, century or people that followed and
what they learnt about the generations, centuries or peoples that
preceded them. This process is similar to the growth of a child. He
starts as a fetus, goes through certain stages of development when
he is a non-entity, then grows to become a baby who learns all the
names. Then he enters the phase of reasoning, acquires the
responsibility of making choices, faces experiences and engages in
battle. Then he grows stronger and reaches maturity, before advice
and then he has to forge ahead.
4- Mohammed (SAW) was the carrier of the final
divine word to the mature humanity. Subsequently, the human mind
(‘aql) became free and capable of choice, guided by the light of the
Qur’an and inspired by Mohammed’s tradition. Man used his mind to
confront the implications of events occurring in the course of his
arduous march towards the final meeting with his Creator.
In his sermon at the farewell pilgrimage, the
Prophet (SAW), having quoted the divine words: “Today I have
completed your religion, concluded my grace and made Islam a
religion of yours”, declared that time had come a full circle to the
day the Almighty created the heavens and the earth.
Despite the metaphorical reference of this
declaration to the dawning of a new era for mankind, it truly means
that during the farewell pilgrimage of Mohammed the days and months
reverted back to their original order, as the Almighty intended them
to be before the pre-Islamic Jewish manipulations. In fact, during
the pre-Islamic era, people, following the lead of the Jews, used to
defer months. Thus, at the time of the farewell pilgrimage, the
cycle of deferred days and months completed a full turn, bringing
back each period to a cycle of twelve months.
Consequently, the Holy month of Moharram of the
eleventh year of the Hijra was identical to the Moharram in which
the Almighty created the heavens and the earth. Since that time,
every month of Moharram has been the same as it was when Allah
created the heavens and the earth. After that, it became known that
since the tenth year of the Higra and to date, the cycle of Islamic
lunar months was never marred by any delays or deferment.
Therefore, the holy month of Moharram of the
twenty-fifth year of the hijra is still the same holy month of
Moharram that elapsed 1425 lunar years ago. For this reason, it is
the month we ought to use in dating history having been included in
the divine count of months when Allah created the heavens and the
earth, and because:
5- It announces the completion of the faith
(religion) and grace….and a turn in time of which the responsibility
is thrust in the hands of Arabs and the Muslim nations surrounding
them in, namely (1) Africa, (2) Persia or Iran, and (3) Turkey…
Indeed, the Prophet (SAW) once said: ‘Bilal has precedence over all
the Abyssinians (ancient inhabitants of Ethiopia), Salman has
precedence over all the Persians, and Suhayb has precedence over all
the Romans!’
Indeed, the neighboring states of Arabs are still
(1) Ethiopia and the far reaches of eastern, central and western
Sudan, (2) Iran and the lands beyond it, (3) Turkey and the lands
beyond it…
In any case, the Qur’an is a reminder for the
Prophet (SAW) and his (Arab) people, and we shall be held to
account.
The prophet (SAW) was our witness, and we in turn
have to serve as witnesses. The first condition in a witness is to
be present. So, are we present? This is a question that we will
answer by stating the need for us to be present in our modern world
III
Conclusion
On Correcting History According to our Vision
Our vision of history introduces numerous
corrections to history as presented by those who lack our vision of
knowledge and history!!! Our own vision is founded on a specific
theory of knowledge.
A well-defined theory of history takes into
consideration the role of revelation and its development in raising
the awareness of man. It also associates the fulfillment of human
awareness with the achievement by revelation of its objective in
developing mankind. The completion of the prophecy and the message
entails the completion of man’s awareness, in mind and in will…
History began when Adam acquired knowledge and came
to know all the names. The messages of prophets and messengers are
meant to redress, advance and enhance history. These prophets and
messengers had the role and mission of correcting, advancing and
enhancing the awareness of man. Therefore, the completion of the
message announced the independence of mind and will, and the
attainment of human awareness.
Then time took a turn so that people could move
along two axes: time and evolution! Modern history began, but
instead of marking the movement of all people, it was a history of a
Judeo-Christian legacy, and of the legacy of an Arab-Islamic
experience that was in one of its aspects a model experience of the
successful implementation of the revelation. Nevertheless and
regretfully, to the Jewish-Christian legacy clung the remnants of
Greek-Roman legacy, and to the Arab-Islamic legacy clung remnants of
the transfer of revelation from the concept to the person, and a
shift from the implementation of revelation in real life to the
glorification of the individual. What followed was a shift from the
concept of ‘Every human being is the vice-regent of Allah on earth’
to one making this vice regency the prerogative of one person. This
same concept replaced consultation for all those who obeyed the
Almighty, performed their prayers, adopted Shura as their way, and
gave charity out of what Allah bestowed upon them, by a form of
shura that was confined to a few people!!! Resolve and consensus
-the consensus of the nation which could have brought about an
implementation of the revelation provided the law of God was adhered
to and the rule ‘What Moslems consider good would be good in the
eyes of God’ was respected, also became confined to the few select.
Thus, the Shura collapsed and wealth, God’s bounty,
was preyed upon and grabbed. This was the wealth of Allah, His table
laden with the bounty provided to all his worshippers and which they
all were supposed to possess.
Then came the Umayyads’ division which gave rise to
a sectarianism that made feuds, chauvinism and ethnic conflicts a
synonym of the saying ‘We have made you peoples and tribes to become
acquainted with one another’.
The first battles waged in Arab-Islamic history
occurred between those who strove to reinstate Shura, justice and
coexistence on the one hand, and those hankered after tyranny, a
Cesar or Kisra-like rule, with exploitation, Umayyad division and
despicable sectarianism.
Our vision of the past, however, brings many
corrections to history. Indeed, it is:
1- The first attempt made in modern times to present
a new interpretation of our civilizational history which had been
subjected to interpretations founded on theWest’s vision.
The West appointed itself as the focal point of
history by rendering the movement of this history governed by
timeframes the beginning and extension of which were defined by the
West as a criterion for progress. Each era succeeding a previous one
reflected more progress. Consequently, the Twentieth century is the
most advanced era in the history of mankind.
If the West is at the summit of this century, is it
also at the peak of civilizational history?
What we are attempting to say here is that history
has two dimensions or two axes. These are the dimension of extension
in time, with a definition that differs from that of the west, and
the dimension of evolution and progress. The movement of
civilizational history within these two pivots can take the shape of
a chart but it may not reflect the prevalence of a recent timeframe,
while an earlier timeframe may show more merit.
2- This attempt also indicates that the history of
man has reached the peak of evolution and progress with the
fulfillment of monotheism. The final revelation of religion and the
end of prophecy signal the start of the age of reason and the
independence of the mind, while still respecting the eminence of the
era guided by prophets and messengers and calling for monotheism:
‘The best of what I have said and the prophets who came before me,
is the phrase ‘there is no God but Allah’’. The seal of monotheist
religions was announced by Mohammed, (SAW), when he quoted the words
of the Almighty: ‘Today I have completed your religion, finished my
grace and accepted Islam as a religion for you’. On that day, the
Prophet (SAW) announced the end of deferment and manipulation of
months, the turning point in history signaling a day parallel to the
day Allah created the heavens and the earth.
3- The present attempt reveals that the movement of
the Ummah’s civilizational history, within these two axes, has
reached the apogee with the completion of religion and the end of
prophecy, and that any shortcoming that tarnished it since is one
that is comparative to the peak this history reached and not to its
general historical framework. This enables us to engage in an
objective historical criticism of the nation’s civilizational
history through a relative comparison of the eras of our Arab
Islamic history with the moment of perfection (p) and the
after-perfection (a.p.), and comparing these eras with the history
of the world, allowing us thus to engage in self-criticism without
relishing the hurt we could inflict upon this self. It would also
enable us to confront the deficiency occurring in the issues of
governance, wealth and unity in preparation for correcting such
deficiency.
This attempt also makes it clear that the weakness
that hindered the continuity of the perfect experience, which
deficiency came after perfection, does not mean that this weakness
dates back to the very first day. Instead, it accompanied a process
of deterioration that brought us to a point where the indicator of
deficiency rose higher than that of strength, hence the
deterioration…
4- This attempt exposes the error made by our nation
in its modern attempts at renaissance. This error tarnishes, and
will continue to do so, our contemporary endeavors if we fail to
realize that our attempts should have as objective to rise - and not
a return to the past since it is impossible to bridge time—to the
peak that was defined by the moment of perfection, and not by any
other inferior level.
5- Our nation can rescue itself and the others by
opting for its and the entire humanity’s wellbeing, the day it makes
the right choice in the midst of the questions that technology is
raising. The technology of war is raising the question: Shall it be
war or peace? Total annihilation or survival? The technology of
agriculture and industry raises the question: Should the system
based on exploitation and unfair distribution be allowed to
continue, or should it be replaced by a new world order that brings
about self-sufficiency and a fair distribution for all? The
transportation technology, thanks to which the world has shrunk into
a small village, is raising the question: Will racism and division
prevail over coexistence and fraternity? The telecommunications and
information technology raises the question: Will it be a
one-directional flow of information, or dialogue, consultation and
the pursuit of truth instead?
The options open for us are to either to choose a
belligerent culture that would lead to wars, if exploitation, the
ill distribution of wealth, famine and discrimination persist, or a
culture of peace based on self-sufficiency, justice, dialogue and
mutual consultation.
Choosing the best and final option is in our hands.
The prophet, (SAW), was a witness for us, so that we serve as
witnesses for other peoples….
It is the concluding message: accommodating the past
and prospecting the future.
Wednesday, 5 Shawwal 1414 corresponding to
17/11/1372 of the death of the Prophet SAW).
Mr Ibrahim Bachir Al Ghweil
(One of those who strive, toil and struggle for a
a progressive Arab/Islamic, contemporary and future,
universal and human civilizational project…for all
mankind) |
