conscientious Muslim. Since there is no priesthood in Islam or
sacerdotal class among Muslims, the duty of the call to Allaah cannot
be limited to an ill-conceived and imaginary group called the 'men of
religion as is the case with other religions.' In Islam, everyone is a
man (or woman) of religion and everyone will be accountable to Allaah
as to whether or not one fulfilled their obligations sincerely and to
the best of their abilities.
Urging Muslims to own up to their responsibilities in this respect,
Almighty Allaah Says (what means): " And who is better in speech than
one who calls to Allaah and does righteousness and says, 'Indeed, Iam
of the Muslims.'" [Quran 41: 33]
Therefore, one need not be a profound scholar or a great jurist to
call others to Islam. A Muslim should better be a caller to Islam by
his good conduct than by eloquentoration, for to preach others to do
something not practically embodied in the preacher's character is a
vain attempt to win hearts and minds. Moreover, doing so incurs
Allaah's displeasure, as He, the Almighty Says (what means): " O you
who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do? Most hateful it
is with Allaah that you say that which you do not do ." [Quran 61:2-3]
The adage: "Actions speak louder than words" was well embodied in the
Islamic history, namely the spread of Islam in many non-Muslim
countries- like parts of Asia, Africa and Europe- through the good
conduct of Muslim merchants who came into commercial contacts with the
people of those countries.
Hereunder is a brief survey of that peaceful spread of Islam:
Southeast Asia
By the 14 th century CE, as Islam made its way through Indian and
Chinese merchants into the area of today's Malaysia , Buddhist and
Hindu influences gave way. Islam became the source of legitimacy for
the Malay feudal rulers. It was during this period that Islamic and
Malay identities combined together, though many Hindu and pre-Hindu
customs and practices remained part of the Malay cultural and social
mix.
Muslim influence in Southeast Asia is at least six centuries old,
i.e., it was present by 1400 A.D. Some argue that the Islamic presence
there goes back to at least 1100A.D. in the earliest areas of Islamic
influence, such as in Aceh and northern Sumatra in Indonesia .
Whatever exact dates and sources one chooses to support, there is no
doubt that the acceptance of Islam by many nations in present-day
Malaysia , southern Thailand , Indonesia , Brunei , and the southern
Philippines occurred within a few hundred years.
In the year 1500, the historian Anthony Reid notes that Islamic
influence was present in coastal ports of Sumatra, Java, and Malaysia
. Southeast Asian peoples came into direct contact with Muslim traders
who had been not just to India , but also to Arabia . Arabic scholars
also came to Malaysia and Indonesia , facilitating information about
the new religion.
The successful spread of Islam in Indonesia , Malaysia , and the
Philippines owed much to the introduction of theNoble Quran and other
Islamic books and references.
Today, 90% of Indonesians are Muslims, while over half of Malaysia 's
population is Muslim. In the Philippines , where the Spanish (andlater
Americans) won the war for religious converts, only 5% of the
population is Muslim.
Africa
The growth of cities was both a cause and effect of the spread of
Islam and economic growth in Muslim-ruled areas in Africa . Cultural
developments in literature, arts and sciences, manufacturing and trade
accompanied the spread of Islam and its influence on
religious,intellectual, economic and political life in those regions.
Although unified Muslim rule lasted only about a century, Islam kept
spreading and Muslim culture and society flourished.
Before 1500, Islam spreadwidely in sub-Saharan Africa . The first town
south of the Sahara that became majority Muslim was Gao on the Niger
River in Mali before 990, when a ruler accepted Islam. Over the
centuries, many rulers followed. By 1040, groups in Senegal became
Muslims. From them Islam spread to the region of today's Senegal ,
west Mali , and Guinea . After the Soninke of the Kingdom of Ghana
became Muslims about 1076, Islam spread along the Niger River .
Muslims established the kingdom of Mali in the thirteenth to fifteenth
centuries, and Songhai from1465 to 1600. Farther east, Kanem-Bornu
near Lake Chad became Muslim after 1100.
In West Africa, as was the case with Southeast Asia , it was traders
who introduced Islam, and many rulers accepted it first, followed by
others. African Muslim scholars became established in the major towns
like Timbuktu , and they taught, wrote and practiced Islamic law as
judges. Islam was established in West Africathroughout the Sahel belt
and along the Niger River into today's Nigeria .
It was famous trade routes which led to the empire of Ghana and
connected prominent African places like Timbuktu (in Mali ), the
present Nigeria , Tripoli and Tunisia . These routeshad made all the
above mentioned places famoustrade centers. These centers of trade
invariably became centers of Islamic learning and civilization. New
ideas came through visiting traders in the field of administrative
practices.
In East Africa , traders hadspread Islam down the coast by the tenth
century, and it gradually developed further in the following
centuries. In the Sudan , south of Egypt , the population of Nubia
gradually became Muslimduring the fourteenth century, through
immigration of Muslim Arab tribesmen. Muslim rule and influence,
however, did not extend south of Khartoum , where the Blue and White
Niles before 1500. - - ▓███▓ Translator:->
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