What are the things that has disappeared from the Muslim Ummah
31-03-2008
Generally, things that have disappeared from the Muslim Ummah are numerous;
whether we realize it or not. But what we always hear and what is often said and
mentioned by leaders, theologians, missionaries, Islamic lecturers and fighters
is knowledge. Almost all the Muslim Ummah know and recognize the fact that we
have lost the knowledge that we once fostered and mastered in various fields.
The Muslim Ummah once mastered philosophy, science, medicine astrology,
geography, history and mathematics besides knowledge that were derived from the
Quran and Hadith that brought forth experts in the Unity of God (Tawhid), fiqh,
mysticism (tasawuf), interpretation (tafsir), hadith, history and others.
In that era, the Muslim Ummah became teachers and were referred to in matters of
knowledge and learning in various fields by all peoples of the world. In fact,
peoples of Europe too came to the Muslim world to learn various disciplines of
knowledge. The knowledge that now belongs to the Westerners and Americans, which
they expanded and mastered, originated from the knowledge that once belonged to
the Muslims. The Westerners and Europeans fathomed, widened and expanded the
knowledge until they become teachers to the other peoples of the world. This
includes the Muslims who are forced to relearn the knowledge from them.
The fact that knowledge has been lost by the Muslims is known and recognized by
almost all Muslims because it is often said and mentioned in various speeches
and writings. But what we should remember, is it the only thing we have lost?
Are there no other things besides knowledge that the Muslim Ummah have also
lost, that we need to regain or in some cases, that is mandatory for us to
recover and redeem.
The truth is, there are many things that are lost from the Muslim Ummah, the
majority of which are mandatory for us to regain and recover because they are
precious and valuable and are Things that required for our safety on earth and
more so in the Hereafter. I shall state roughly the things that are lost from
the Muslim Ummah which can be divided into two categories as follows:
First: Things that are lost specifically
Second: Things that are lost generally
Things that are lost from
Muslims or the Muslim Ummah specifically. Among them are:
The loss of justice, love and care amongst leaders or rulers.
The loss of courage, love and care, advice and disattachment to the worldly (zuhd)
amongst theologians.
The loss of modesty and shyness amongst women.
The loss of patience amongst the poor and destitute.
The loss of generosity amongst the rich.
The loss of humbleness and humility amongst the elite in society.
The loss of knowledge amongst devotees.
The loss of gentleness and wisdom amongst the fighters of Islam.
The loss of gentleness and wisdom amongst Islamic missionaries.
The loss of concentration and attention (khushu’) amongst people who do solat
(prayer).
The loss of trustworthiness amongst people who are given responsibilities.
Things that are lost from
Muslims or the Muslim Ummah generally. Among them are:
The loss of knowledge.
The loss of leadership at global or empire status.
The loss of good character or exemplary behaviour.
The loss of brotherhood, love and care.
The loss of jealousy and protectionism towards religion and womenfolk.
The loss of unity and integration amongst Muslims.
The loss of the feeling of possessing God or the Unity of God.
The loss of love and longing for the Hereafter.
The loss of fear towards God and towards sins.
The loss of reliance upon God (tawakal).
The loss of the feeling of contentment (qanaah).
The loss of the feeling of acceptance (redha).
The loss of patience.
The loss of tolerance.
The loss of friendship amongst Muslims.
The loss of obedience and loyalty amongst followers towards their leaders.
The loss of the Islamic civilization.
The loss of Islamic jurisprudence (laws) and constitution.
Such are at random, the things that are lost from the Muslim Ummah, whether
those that are specific or are general in nature. If such is the case, then it
means that the Muslim Ummah generally has become poor in all aspects. They are
poor materially, poor morally, poor in worldly terms and poor in terms of the
Hereafter. They are poor in the physical sense and also in the esoteric or
spiritual sense.
As such, in order to recover everything that the Muslim Ummah have lost so that
they can regain all that which once belonged to them requires a serious and
diligent struggle. It demands perseverance, all forms of sacrifice, and a
struggle that is organized and disciplined. It requires leaders who can become
examples especially in their fear towards Allah (taqwa), knowledge and
leadership. It requires obedience and loyalty of the followers. It requires a
perpetual struggle that knows no end. It requires wisdom and it requires role
models who can be emulated amongst the ranks of the fighters and their leaders.
Today, because of the fact that Muslims believe that what is lost is only
knowledge, there seem to be some seriousness in the search and struggle for
knowledge although it has not yet reached its desired levels. But it is sad and
unfortunate that people do not feel that, besides knowledge, other things are
also lost. Even if they feel it, they do not regard it as important as
knowledge. As such, the effort and struggle to redeem the other things that are
lost are not taken seriously. As a result it is difficult to regain and to
redeem the other things that are lost. Not only are these things taken lightly
and the effort to regain them not taken seriously, there are in fact some
Muslims who could not care less about character (akhlaq), brotherhood, and
others.
As an example:
When a child or a student fails in his examination, his mother, father or
teacher will become angry, troubled and worried. The teacher or parent will give
all kinds of advice and will pressure the child so that he passes his
examination in the future. The teacher and parents ceaselessly scold and nag the
child who failed. But if the same child do not do his solat or does something
bad or wicked, his teacher or parents are not in the least troubled or even
worried. They do not scold or nag him nor do they give advice, reminders or
pressure the child to do the solat and to behave himself. Even if the teacher or
parents do not feel at ease if the child do not do the solat or behave badly,
such feeling is not deep, or serious and do not cause them to be pressured too
much.
Such is the case with other groups of people. When it comes to knowledge, all
groups take interest, all groups talk about it, all groups want to know and all
groups take notice. When students fail in their examinations, all groups feel
sad. If students pass and excel, all groups feel happy and excited.
Why does this happen? Because people want to use knowledge as a means to reap
worldly gains and profits. We can now imagine how difficult it is to regain and
to redeem things that are lost other than knowledge. Muslims do not realize that
the other things that are lost will jeopardize them. Even if those things are
redeemed, they do not think they will gain anything materially. Such is the
severe corruption and condemnation of the soul and way of thinking of Muslims
today.
Whereas the strength, survival, independence, progress, victory, happiness and
harmony of Muslims are not decided by the factor of knowledge alone but by the
combination of all the factors mentioned before this. Thus, it is mandatory for
Muslims to struggle and fight to regain all that is lost so that all of it can
become ours again. Upon them lies our glory and honour.
By Imam Ashaari Muhammad
Submitted by a Mujahid