In The Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
RENAISSANCE OF MUSLIM UMMAH
[Shamim A Siddiqi,
INTRODUCTION: Islam is nowhere traceable in the body politics of
any land though there are 57 Muslim countries in the world. Muslim Ummah stands
discarded, degraded and in a very wretched condition though in numbers it is more than 1.5 billon [1/4th of world population].
Under this situation every sane Muslim on earth is nurturing grave concern over
this dilapidated condition of Ummah. Some brothers say let us concentrate on R
& D, some cry to have unity in our ranks and files, some suggest to concentrate
on modern education, some are making every effort for “Tableegh”
of Deen whereas some are struggling to get rid of foreign influence in the
internal affair of the Muslim world. I don’t blame anyone of them for their
respective truncated solution. If we go in depth as a truthful Muslim
and Muslimah, the cause of the steep fall of the Ummah is quite
different than what appears to most of us.
Just see how lamentably the poet of the East, Allamah Iqbal has
summarized the situation of Ummah in a couplet: “Tum Sabhi kuch hu
bata’wo ki Muslman Bhi hu”
[Translation: “You are every thing but tell: Are you Muslim too?]
Let us dig in the state of Ummah as it stands today. The cause
of its fall is a “solitary” one deeply rooted within the Ummah itself.
The cure of its Resurrection too is equally simple and manageable
provided we have the will to do so.
1. THE GREATEST TRAGEDY: Ummah has lost the Concept of Islam
as Al-Deen, the system of life as a whole. It is divided into different
sects, different Mazahib, deviated paths: Shiia, Sunni; Hanafi. Maliki, Shafeii, Humbali; Sufisim and its various
branches, thereby sticking only to some rituals, some segments of Islam, some
concocted dogmas and some illusive beliefs and “Hazar
Imam”, culminating in many ritualistic forms of worships, involving
themselves in: Worshiping
forefathers, Pirs, Graves, and Dargha
– fighting with each other bigotedly, forgetting, Islam as Al-Deen in this
process altogether. ISLAM has just been rendered virtually into a religion as Judaism
and Christianity are.
This tragedy does not end here.
Islam is not only a Deen but a Movement and that is totally
missing from our day to day life pattern. If Muslims can offer some routine
rituals, they are happy as if they have “conquered”
The life long pursuit of Rasulullah (S) confirms it. Whenever he (S)
used to meet someone during his (S) contact for dawah
Ilallah, he (S) used to invite him with these words: “O the people: Say
[Accept] La Ilaha Ilallah, You will be benefited; you will become the master of
Arabs and the “Ajam” [the non-Muslim world] will come under you domination; and
when you die, you will also be the master in Jannah”. This was his (S)
message of DI all along 13 years in Makkah as narrated by Ibne Hisham in Seerah
of Rasulullah (S), Balazari in “Fatuhul Baladan” and Ibne Katheer
in “Albadayah wa Alnahayah”
I request the reader to think over the situation that just by saying
the Kalimah “La Ilaha Ilallah”, how one will become master of Arab and Ajam
unless he/she struggles for it for the whole of his/her life. In fact, the Kalimah
was the most Revolutionary Political Slogan of Rasulullah. It would never
keep a Muslim or Muslimah idle in his home if he accepts and starts rightly to
comply with what this Kalimah demands. The Kalimah motivates him/her to get
up, call the people to the fold of Allah, organize
those who accept it into a Jama’ah, trim and
polish their character, and struggle jointly and concertedly towards establishing
the authority of Allah on self, family and society accordingly. A Muslim
cannot feel rested unless his/her Dawah efforts engulf the entire humanity.
That is what Rasulullah (S) expressed in his (S) statement when he (S) addressed his
(S) uncle Abu Talib and said: “If the idolaters put sun in my right hand
and moon on my left, I will never give up this work [of DI] till Allah’s Deen
becomes dominant or I give up my life in that pursuit”.
Islam is a Deen and a Movement but Ummah has lost this Vision, This
is our # One Tragedy.
2. Along with the bifurcation of Muslim community into hundreds of
sects and by-sects, Ummah has lost its position of “Ummatun
Wasata” and the “Best of Nations” as ordained
by Allah in Verses # 143 of Al-Baqarah and Verses # 104 & 110 of Surah
Al-Imran. In the midst of this doldrums, Ummah has lost its sense of priorities
as “what to do and how to do”; “from where to start and how to start” the
process of its Resurrection.
2. DAWAH ILALLAH – THE ONLY MEANS TO ACCOMPLISH THE
* When Rasulullah (S) came out of the
Now one must envision that what Rasulullah (S) was thinking in the Hera:
about the peace, human rights, insecurity, poverty, bloodshed and constant fear
of violence. However, none of these burning issues he (S) took after his(S)
assignment as the Messenger of Allah. His (S) main concern was now to
correct the man, the epic center of human troubles: If men and women are
corrected, rejuvenated, imbibed with Allah-consciousness [Taqwah] and a
trustworthy character with a constant fear of accountability after death, every
thing will be Ok and streamlined in the society. Accordingly, he (S) resorted
to two most natural steps to augment his (S) efforts of Dawah Ilallah [DI]:
I. Rasulullah (S) started his (S) campaign of Dawah contacts from person-to-person
with his (S) close relatives, friends and the citizens of Makkah with one
message as quoted above. Those who responded to his (S) call, he (S) organized
them into a Jama’ah [organization], trim and polished
their individual character. In thirteen years of Makkah, through his (S) hard
and constant efforts, he (S) got just 124 persons in the fold of Islam [Ibne
Hisham has listed their blessed name individually in his Seerah (S)]. This was the INTENSIVE DAWAH WORK of
Rasulullah (S) in Makkah. This process continued in Madinah too after Hijrah unabated.
II. Beside, this individual contacts,
Rasulullah (S) used to meet and address the trade caravan in the markets of
Makkah and in its vicinity and with different tribes at Mina during Hajj with the
same message as quoted above. Thus, his (S) message was reaching or spreading to
almost all the tribes of
Both Intensive and Extensive Dawah works were and are complementary to
each other. The means have changed with the change of time but the methods
and the process of DI remains the same.
3. Building the Requisite Team of Da’ees in the Context of Modern
world -
Briefly speaking, A Da’ee in
the field must have:
* Clarity of vision and conviction in
* Acquired the working knowledge of Islam;
* Understanding of the country, its people, and their problems with
Islamic
solution;
* A Trustworthy character;
* Developed the habit of sacrificing time, talents and resources for
the
* Willingness to work collectively with the Movement or the Jama’ah
[I have elaborated these fundamental prerequisites of a Da’ee Ilallah
in my paper: “Importance of Dawah in America & Our Obligation”. It
is available on my Website: WWW.dawahinamericas.com
under Section “B” – Islam as a Movement]
4. RENAISSANCE OF MUSLIM UMMAH - HOW ?
II. Dawah Strategy – For different
people, different region at local, national and International levels: Separately for Muslims and
Judeo-Christian-Pagan world with a Global Strategy at the top. This I have
discussed in detail in my paper: “Who are our Addressees & How to
address them?” It is on Website under Section “B” as referred above
III. Comprehensive Re-awakening Program for Muslim countries to
make them Conscious Muslims and Muslimah on the basis of Surah Al-ASR;
V. Developing Model Muslim
Communities [MMC] in different parts of the Muslim world and in the West
too, inviting non-Muslims to be their guest at least for 3 days and observe the
practical model of Islamic life in action in modern age. It would be one of
the best TOOLS of Dawah Ilallah. These MMC will be basically inhabited by
movement-oriented brothers and sisters [DI], bearing a trustworthy character
and demonstrating to the world as how to live, act and behave like conscious
Muslim and Muslimah in the context of the modern world.
VI. Organizing the Institution of Zakah in the Muslim world
locally, nationally and Internationally to cater the needs of the poor, the
needy and the “have-nots” in the Muslim countries FIRST then Globally – making
Islam Extremely attractive to the deprived and oppressed people of the world
and fulfilling the Global Financial Needs of DI under wider connotation of “Fi Sabeel Allah”; [ Its details can be
seen in my paper “Zakah- A Guaranteed Solution For Have-nots” on my
Website under Section “A” – Islam As A Way of life [Al-Deen]’
VII. Preparing vast quantity of Effective Dawah Literature – Print,
Video, Audio and Internet, in different languages in millions and millions to
flood the Muslim and non-Muslim world to encounter the anti-Islam propaganda and
presenting Islam positively to humanity at large as an alternate way of ;life. It
would be the best TOOL of Muslim Da’ees in the field of Dawah Ilallah.
CONCLUSION: If Muslim
Ummah resolves to go along with it and is really interested to resurrect its
fate, it can do it very easily as all the means and resources are at its disposal.
The only things that Muslim Ummah and its leadership lack are: the “WILL to
do it “, “Fear of Allah, and “Accountability in Akhirah” along with it the
haunting “Fear of death” and “Love of this world” i.e. “Wahan”
as described by Rasulullah (S) in a Hadith.
May Allah protect our Muslim leadership with these illusionary images!
Amen!
April 12, 2007