many things but Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning): "O Children of Israel! Remember My Favour which I bestowed
upon you and that I preferred you to the Alameen (mankind and jinns)"
[al-Baqarah 2:47]. Have these many blessings that Allah bestowed upon
the descendants of Ya'qoob ceased in our time, or will they continue
until the Day of Resurrection? If they have ceased, then why are they
advanced so far ahead of us in this world and at this time in so many
things? What are we Arabs lacking or what is hindering us from being
better than them in our thinking, inventions and manufacturing?
Praise be to Allah.
It is not fair for anyone who wants to examine the causes of any
nation's decline to focus only on some outward aspects of its decline
that everyone can see, because achieving cultural advancement is a
huge process in which innumerable interrelated factors play a role;
these factors are accumulated throughout the years and penetrate
deeply in all aspects of life, which leads to raising the level of
communities little by little. Humans can hardly feel this progress
because it is like the light of dawn; it keeps coming out until its
light spreads over the horizon.
The Holy Qur'an tells us some of the aspects of material advancement
that were – and still are – a means of trials and tests, of which no
one understands the great wisdom behind it and the great impact it has
on historical dynamics except Allah, may He be glorified and exalted.
Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
"On the Day when those who disbelieve (in the Oneness of Allah Islamic
Monotheism) will be exposed to the Fire (it will be said): "You
received your good things in the life of the world, and you took your
pleasure therein. Now this Day you shall be recompensed with a torment
of humiliation, because you were arrogant in the land without a right,
and because you used to rebel and disobey (Allah)"
[al-Ahqaaf 46:20]
"Do they not travel in the land, and see what was the end of those
before them? They were superior to them in strength, and they tilled
the earth and populated it in greater numbers than these (pagans) have
done, and there came to them their Messengers with clear proofs.
Surely, Allah wronged them not, but they used to wrong themselves.
Then evil was the end of those who did evil, because they belied the
Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations,
Messengers, etc.) of Allah and made mock of them."
[ar-Room 30:9-10].
Al-'Allaamah Muhammad Rasheed Rida (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The first Muslims' belief in the Oneness of Allah (Tawheed), their
knowledge of Him, their love for Him and their reliance on Him are
what purified their souls, honed their ambitions and gave them a sense
of pride and power; that enabled them to establish truth and justice,
and motivated them to conquer lands, rule nations, ransom them from
spiritual and intellectual slavery to soothsayers, rabbis, monks and
clergy, liberate them from the injustice and tyranny of kings,
establish the foundations of civilisation, and revive and develop
different branches of science and technology. They were able to
achieve all of that in an unprecedented manner that no other nation on
earth had ever achieved or even come close. Gustave le Bon, the famous
sociologist, said: Mastery of different branches of science and
technology was not possible for any rising nation in less than three
generations: the first generation clings to the past; the second
generation started the process of freeing themselves from blind
following; and the third generation is the generation of independence
and hard work. (He said that this applies to all nations) except the
Arabs; they are the only ones who were able to lay the foundation of
science and technology in the first generation.
I say: The cause of that was the teachings of the Qur'an, which taught
them to be independent in thinking and to avoid blind imitation. It
taught them to be prepared to lead mankind in spiritual and worldly
matters alike. But all of that disappeared for subsequent generations,
after the demise of the Islamic caliphate and after Arabic
civilisation ceased to flourish, when power shifted to the non-Arabs
who had nothing of Islam except superficial traditions and were not
strongly connected to the guidance of the Qur'an.
Tafseer al-Manaar, 11/173
We cannot ignore the impact of conspiracies, both internal and
external, against our ummah throughout the ages, which led to its
enemies getting ahead of it in material matters. But our thought and
the thought of our ummah is far above feelings of defeatism, relying
on others in order to achieve revival, and feeling overwhelmed in the
face of great responsibility, the responsibility of being in a leading
position in relation to other nations. As for our enemies among the
Israelites, they excelled at making the most of every opportunity and
they strove hard in engineering events that had a global impact. They
strove persistently for decades until they achieved what they wanted
and reached a position of power in our times. But that has nothing to
do with the verse (interpretation of the meaning):"O Children of
Israel! Remember My Favour which I bestowed upon you and that I
preferred you to the Alameen (mankind and jinns)" [al-Baqarah 2:47],
because this verse speaks of previous blessings that Allah had granted
to the Children of Israel throughout history, and is meant to remind
them of that. Among these blessings are what is mentioned in the Holy
Qur'an, where Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):"And (remember) when Moosa (Moses)
said to his people: 'O my people! Remember the Favour of Allah to you,
when He made Prophets among you, made you kings, and gave you what He
had not given to any other among the Alameen (mankind and jinns, in
the past)'" [al-Maa'idah 5:20].
Al-Haafiz Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Here Allah, may He be exalted, reminds them of previous blessings that
He bestowed upon their fathers and forebears, and the favour He
bestowed upon them by sending the Messengers from among them,
revealing the Books to them and favouring them above all other nations
at that time. End quote.
Tafseer al-Qur'an al-'Azeem, 1/255
However, we regard our current situation with optimism that motivates
us to advance further and succeed by striving harder to use all
possible means, both spiritual and worldly. The foundation of that is
the righteous individual who always remembers that Allah, may He be
glorified and exalted, is watching him in all situations. Such
individuals are a constructive factor in the reform of communities and
families; they do not wait for the revival to be presented to them on
a golden platter or hope that programs will be set up for them to
achieve that. Rather they hasten to take the initiative and strive
hard to do all that is good and beneficial, putting their trust in
Allah in the hope that He will bless their deeds, no matter how small,
and reward those who do good for their good deeds. Allah, may He be
exalted, knows who is trying to spread mischief and who is striving to
do good, and the followers of His Messengers will prevail and be
victorious if they take the measures that lead to victory and
advancement. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"Indeed, they planned their plot, and their plot was with Allah,
though their plot was a great (one, still) it would never be able to
remove the mountains (real mountains or the Islamic law) from their
places (as it is of no importance).
So think not that Allah will fail to keep His Promise to His
Messengers. Certainly, Allah is All-Mighty, - All-Able of Retribution"
[Ibraaheem 14:46-47].
And Allah knows best.
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