by Syed Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi
THE QUR’AN’S PROMISE OF VICTORY OF THE ARABS
Inconceivable Success
It is undoubtedly true that international Zionism has been successful in achieving many of its objectives beyond even its wildest dreams. Most of these aims would have earlier appeared to be simply airy hopes and day dreams even to the Jews themselves, much less to the Arabs or, for that matter, to any other people, but these have since been attained quite easily and are now accomplished facts.
The Establishment of Israel
The State of Israel was first established in the centre of the Arab world, near its sacred places, and then it was strengthened and abetted by the Zionists to inflict a grievous blow to the most powerful nation of the Arabs. It was enabled to destroy not only the Egyptian Air Force in a few hours but also to capture Jerusalem along with the West-Bank of Jordan and the Sinai Peninsula within a couple of days. What is even more dangerous for the Arabs, however, is the loss of self-confidence and the shattering of their will and determination to fight their foe. Almost all the cities of Egypt are now within the striking range of Israel which has also wrested several strategic hill positions from Syria. Now almost at will, the Israelis have the audacity to strafe the aerodromes and military sites of the surrounding Arab countries. It would seem to want to enslave the entire Arab world and take possession of even our holy places in Saudi Arabia.
The Aims of Zionism
Several Israeli leaders have not been deemed it worthwhile to keep secret their despicable aim to recapture all those towns of pre-Islamic Arabia which had, at one time or another, been subjugated by them. Zionism now looks forward to the day when it will become the greatest power on earth, as promised in the Talmud and the Protocols of the learned elders of Zion, and when all the world’s heads of state deem it an honour to serve Pax Judaeica.
The Fundamental Question
All this is a matter of grave concern which requires our immediate attention. We should ask ourselves whether the happenings in the past are also a portent of a grim future when Zionism can achieve its terrible objectives, which are yet to be accomplished? Will all Muslims and Arabs be left to the tender mercies of a handful of scheming and ambitious Jews? Will the Jews continue to achieve these astounding victories one after another till they manage to dominate the entire world? Will they be able to attain all these sinister aims to propagate their intolerably arrogant view of Jewish racial superiority and, thereby, enforce the supposedly promised ascendancy of the Children of Israel with the might of arms? Will they be enable to wield the scepture of authority over the nations of the world so as to dictate, guide and enforce obedience over them in the way certain nations and religious and ideological communities had been allowed by providence, in their own heyday of supremacy, to enjoy such privilege in the past?
We cannot of course, give any conclusive or final answer to these questions unless we cast a glance over this wondrous and limitless universe. Unless we direct our thoughts to its Superb Creator, His nature and Attributes, the laws promulgated by Him for conducting the affairs of the world as well as the historical process and experience gained by man during his terrestrial sojourn on this planet.
We can only give a satisfactory answer to the questions posed earlier after taking into account the innate predilections and capabilities of mankind. If we examine its inherent learnings towards vice and virtue and the destiny of the human race which is unmistakably indicated by the innermost purpose of the Divine Law governing the cosmos.
Divine Will
Now, are we to assume that the Lord and Creator of the Universe was created our planet simply for unfolding an uncanny drama of senseless destruction and devastation, devilish violence and turmoil, cleverly-concealed espionage coupled with cloak-and-dagger tactics? Has this vast panorama of nature— the superb mechanism of the Universe exhibiting order and design, beauty and grace, unity and purpose— been created merely to suffer the domination of a race which is allegedly the progency of certain Prophets of pre-historic times? Was Divine Guidance vouchsafed to mankind, Divine Revelation brought by the Prophets of God and the path of truth and piety walked by the illustrious sons of Adam merely to pass on the sceptre of authority to a certain people who claim to be the “chosen race” and the “Children of God”1 by virtue of their inheriting a few particles of blood from the Prophets of old. Let i also be known that this is claim which can neither be verified even by the most powerful microscope nor established by any valid scientific definition.
Vicious Assumptions
Now, if we agree with the Jewish claim that they are the only people endowed with the endless capabilities of head and heart, that intelligence and wisdom are their exclusive domain and that all other nations are no better than worthless chaff, devoid of brains and intellect, talent and prudence, then, one should have no difficulty in acknowledging the other claim too that these “holy people unto the Lord” have been chosen “above all nations that are upon the earth” to rule over them. The Jews would then be justified in their claim that the goyim (A Yiddish term meaning Gentiles or non-Jews )— a flock of sheep— should be entrusted to the care of their wolves, that if the Jews. It would then indeed be the birthright of the Jews to use non-Jews as pawns in their games of power politics!
Similarly, we would have to assume that human nature is essentially vicious and meritless and that “men with bad instincts are more in number than the good,” that people prize anarchy and destruction more than order and reconstruction. Human nature is assailed with doubt and distrust, its wistful dubiousness brands everything with suspicion, and belong dissatisfied with both its past and future, it is eternally consumed in the fire of its own caprice, hatred, revolt and revenge. The heart of man is an abode of senseless and vicious enmity against everything existing under the sun: man is prone to find fault with everything and to take delight in whatever in shady and dark in his heritage. Being himself burdened with an inferiority complex, he is not prepared to concede equality to others. Indifferent to all values of nobility, virtue and charity, man has no other ideal than the satisfaction of his carnal desire, has no other view of life than crass materialism. As a conqueror, he is a merciless avenging brute but turns into a miserable coward when vanquished. Nothing is bad enough for him if it serves his purpose: deceit, injustice, cruelty, hypocrisy or any other nadir of depravity is ill-beseeming so long as it helpful in achieving his end.
It would have to be assumed, then, that the main prop of human actions and the driving force behind the history of mankind, civilisation and culture, in short, the common urge of humanity, is nothing else than espionage and treachery and that “the principal fact of success in the political is the secrecy of its undertaking.6 The social, culture and economic advancement of humanity depends, in the last analysis, on breaking up family bonds, crossing the limits of decency, fomenting a spirit of revolt and rebellion, popularising intemperate drunkenness and luxurious living. In essence this assumes that the secret hands of the saboteurs and agent provocatures are the only potent instruments for bringing about any change in the existing order. Man has, thus, to repose confidence in deception and fraud, infidelity and treachery, meanness and viciousness; for, notwithstanding the detestable means to be employed, egoism and conceitedness are the only qualities favoured by God and crowned with success.( The Qur’an alludes to the Jews as: “those who earn Thine anger.” The national history of the Jews bears testimony to this revealed truth, certainly as regards their characteristics and behaviour down the ages and the role played by them in world history.)
Let us then also suppose that the besmirched face of humanity has ever been so; instead of having peace, amity, fraternity and kindness, it has always oscillated from one war to another, from one shocking tragedy to another, and from one misery to another. It is ultimately doomed to fall in the raging inferno of hate and anger, wrath and rancour, jealousy and selfishness.
Then, we will also have to assume that prophethood and Divine Revelation are merely fictions; Faith and the search for truth are meaningless; conscience and moral sense do not exist; Divine Law does not exist nor is it necessary for man. There is only one reality, one truth, and that is Jewish racial superiority, purity of blood, noble descent, ancient traditions, hatred of others and an intense and haughty desire to regain the lost glory and possessions of their forefathers, by hook or by crook.
In sum, if we are prepared to accept all these preposterous assumptions, then, undoubtedly, the Jews have a right to “direct humanity towards that order which is defined by nature, namely, submission.” We can also infer from it that the present state of affairs brought about by the conspiracy of international Zionism will continue; the policy of extending its frontiers by ruthlessly grabbing the territories of its neighbours will be successful despite all impediments; and that the insidious plots hatched by satanic Jewish minds will work out according to their plans. Such is the portrait of the Jews which emerges from the books of the Old Testament, the Talmud and the Protocols, the speeches of their leaders, the proceedings of their meetings and, above all, the actions of Zionist leaders after the War in June, 1967.
But we should never forget that this is a picture tinged with caprice and hatred. This portrait vividly depicts the age-old vendetta nourished by the Jews against all the other nations of the world on the one hand, and the veneration of their own blood to the point of immoral consecration on the other, and which has given birth to their national characteristics of intrigue, crime and violence.
This is not a portrait of the present-day Jew alone: he has been so down the ages. Intrigue and crime, violence and high-handed tactics have been the essential ingredients of the Jewish heritage. There are their inborn tendencies, which can be clearly discerned at any time or place where they have happened to reside. They act as a pivot on which their entire intelligence and endeavour have always revolved. Theirs has been the master mind and the secret hand9 behind every insurrection and revolution, conspiracy and intrigue, lawlessness and anarchy, and every movement designed to foment the social, political, economic and moral disintegration of non-Jewish peoples. An eminent Jew, Dr Oscar Levy, exultingly summed up the characteristics of the Jews when he claimed that in fact they are the rulers of the world; mischief mongers who foment every trouble and turmoil, wherever it might be.
The Jews have no Message for Humanity
The Jews have never had any message of salvation for humanity. The reason for this is that the ideas bound up with the superiority of the Jewish race, and its predetermined salvation simply by virtue of birth, no matter what one believes or what one does, are signally incompatible with the spirit of any universal message of brotherhood and the equality of man. Conversely speaking, this denial of the equality of human beings is irreconcilably opposed to any transcendental call meant for the whole of mankind. In fact, the very acceptance of the idea of the superiority of a particular race which, in its view, is endowned with all the noble qualities of head and heart, is nothing less than uncharitable to all other nations. This view of the life and the world is fundamentally opposed to any ideology which is meant for the entire world and which is willing to share its message, its teachings and benefits with every human being. Such an idea, naturally, delimits even the scope of Divine Guidance and salvation and places a restriction on its dissemination beyond the closed circle of one’s blood kin.
This is the reason why Judaism could never become a universal religion, and why the Jews were not required, by their own scriptures, to preach and convert other people to their faith10. On the contrary, the scriptures of the Jews expressly prohibit missionary endeavour. The logical result of such an attitude is that the Jews have discriminated against other nations and evolved such norms of virtue and vice, right and wrong, which allow for the superiority of one race over the another. Thereafter, nothing more is required to justify the cruelest injustices against the non-Jewish peoples. The Holy Qur’an alludes to this very Jewish attitude when it says: “That is because they say: We have no duty to the Gentiles.” (al-Imran:75)
It is, thus, crystal clear why all those nations which ever happen to fall under the domination of the Jews are subjected to flagrant injustices and barefaced tyranny. The Jews simply do not treat such people as human beings enjoying certain fundamental rights. Instead, they regard them as no more than beats of burden or lifeless objects created to serve the beloved “Children of God.”
Judgement of Reason
The light of reason endowed by God and the wisdom vouchsafed in the Revelations, which undeniably lay stress on the love and compassion, justice and equity of the Lord and Creator, refute the assumption that the purpose of the creation of this marvelous universe and the vicegerent of God on earth is to tolerate the rapacious despotism of one race over all others. Similarly, the sequence of cause and effect, properties immanent in every object and substance, the laws governing the rise and fall of empires, nations and civilisations, unmistakably identity that the Master and Creator of our Universe does not favour any particular race or tribe, nation or country. The history of mankind too bears irrefutable testimony to the fact that nations prosper and rise if their message, call or ideology is more compatible, more consistent with the laws of nature, and, hence, more beneficial to humanity. The Holy Qur’an expresses the same idea in these words:
Then, as for the foam, it passeth away as scum upon the banks, while, as for that which is of use to mankind, it remaineth in the earth. (Al-Ra’d: 17).
War with Nature
These facts conclusively establish the truth that the Jews, challenging the law of nature and the Divine purpose for which this Universe and the masterpiece of all creations, man, was created, and denying the inherent longing of man for peace and prosperity, welfare and happiness, will not be allowed to enjoy the fruits of their dubious success, a success achieved at the cost of flagrant violations of justice. The hurried dream of the Jews for world domination shall never materialise: their destructive and detestable plots against mankind will never again the day, no matter how many states lend their support or whatever destructive weapons are amassed by them.
Victory if Certain
It is, therefore, as clear as day that only those will ultimately be victorious who treat the entire progeny of Adam as members of one family. Those whose compassion and benevolence are for every man, who are prepared to fight tyranny and injustice, who are willing to die for the good of humanity, who abhor tumult and turmoil, and who uphold the banner of justice and truth.
The Temporary Success of Destructive Forces
Hindi which also darkly treacherous and perfidious, destructive and sanguine, conceited and gasping, which deny human rights and the norms of moral conduct, have often won splendid victories. Sometimes though their conquests have had such a demoralising effect that people post their Faith in the efficacy of truth and justice, godliness and piety. The annals of history contain several instances when the destruction wrought by dark forces has made the most bravest and learned of people lose all hope in Divine succour. The Qur’an graphically described these occasions in the following verses:
Till, when the Messengers despaired and thought that they were denied, then came unto them Our help, and whom We would was saved. And Our wrath cannot be warded from the guilty. (Yusuf: 110).
When they came upon you from above you and from below you, and when eyes grew wild and hearts reached to the throats, and we were imagining vain thoughts concerning Allah.
There were the believers sorely tried, and shaken with a mighty shock. (Al-Ahzab: 10-11)
The human mind has been so tempered that one is deeply impressed by every victory, howsoever shortlived or insignificant it may be. Here is the Qur’anic remedy for this weakness of man:
Let not the vicissitude (of the success) of those who disbelieve, in the land, deceive thee (O Mohammad). It is but a brief comfort. And afterward their habitation will be hell, an ill abode. (Al-Imran: 196-7).
Again, the Qur’an says:
None argue concerning the revelations of Allah save those who disbelieve, so let not their turn of fortune in the land deceive thee (O Muhammad) (Al-Mumin:4)
The Qur’an also warns that such apparent success, achieved through deceitful means, will soon turn into an ignoble defeat. The warning given by the Qur’an also serves as a timely cure for the inborn weakness of man to be deceived by the shortlived success of intrigue and conspiracy:
…and lo ! the frailest of all houses is the spider’s house, if they but knew (Al-Ankatrl: 41).
The Qur’an is emphatic that no good can ever come from evil. For, like the tree which has no roots grounded in the earth, evil is bound to come crashing down at any moment:
Is he who founded his building upon duty to Allah and His good pleasure better; or he who founded his building on the brink of a crumbling, over-hanging precipice so that it toppled with him into the fire of hell? Allah guideth not wrong-doing folk (Al-Taubah: 108).
Again, it says:
And the similitude of a bad saying is as a bad tree, uprooted from upon the earth, possessing no stability. (Ibrahim: 26)
It alludes to the same fact by quoting what Moses said to Pharaoh’s magicians:
Moses said: That which ye have brought is magic. Lo! Allah will make it vain. Lo! Allah upholdeth not the work of mischief-makers. (Yunus: 81).
The Qur’an tells us that the final outcome of insidious plots is grievous failure:
… and the evil plot encloseth but the men who make it. Then, can they expect aught save the treatment of the folk of old? Thou wilt not find for Allah’s way of treatment any substitute, nor wilt thou find for Allah’s way of treatment aught of power to change. (Al-Fatir: 43).
And again,
…but those who plot inequities, theirs will be an awful doom; and the plotting of such (folk) will come to naught. (Al-Fatir: 10).
The Qur’an proclaims a Universal Truth which transcends time and space, race and country, fleeting success and failure, transient victory and defeat; and quite indifferent to those who are awe-stricken by the pretentious success of ambitious kings and war-lords, it advises thus:
Then have patience. Lo! the sequel is for those who ward off (evil) (Hud: 49).
And say: ‘Trith hath come and falsehood hath vanished away. Lo! falsehood is ever bound to vanish.
Arabs in the Custodians of Divine Guidance
Despite all their ailings, the Arabs are, unlike the Jews, the custodians of the Divine Message of universal fraternity, of the love and equality of mankind. They have had the privilege of being addressed by Allah and favoured with that Divine Guidance which is meant for the whole of humanity, without any distinction of race and colour. No privilege, no prerogative, no immunity was granted as a birthright to the Arabs, or, to one of their tribes as claimed by the Bani Lavi of the Jews or the Brahmins of India. The standard applied by this Message of peace, that is Islam, is that the nobility, prestige and higher rank of a man is not something which can be attributed to race or blood. Righteousness and endeavour in the way of God are the only criteria admitted for rendering honour to any individual. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal narrated a tradition of the Prophet of Islam wherein he is reported to have said:
If knowledge were to be had even on the Pleiades, some of the people of Persia would have acquired it.
The Large-heartedness of the Arabs
The Arabs have always been broad-minded enough to pay homage to all those non-Arabs who have achieved any distinction in the field of religious learning. They have acknowledged such persons as their religious leaders and very often paid such glowing tributes to them as one would fail to find even for Arab scholars. Imam Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari (d. 356/966) was awarded the title of Amir-ul-mominin15 of the science of traditions, while Imam Abul Ma’ali Abdul Malik al-Juwaini (d.-478/1095) of Nishapur was known as Imam-ul-Harmain16. Al-Ghazali (d. 505/1111) was recognised as Hujjlat-ul-Islam.17 Several Persians and non-Arab mawalis were in fact, acknowledged as savants, saints and leaders of religious thought throughout the wide and far-flung Islamic realm, and this by the close of the first century after Hijrah. The entire Islamic literature—history, translations, biographies and several features of Islamic culture bear testimony to the fact that non-Arabs continued to dominate the religious, cultural and educational fields of the Arab civilisation so completely that Ibn Khaldun (d.808/1406) expressed his amazement over it. He writes: “It is rather strange that most of the Muslim savants and scholars— in the field of religious as well as secular sciences were non-Arabs. Despite the fact that this is an Arab civilisation and the Prophet was also an Arab, the compiler of Arabic grammar was Saibuya, and after him came Abu Ali and Zajjaj, and all these were non-Arabs. Similar is the case in other branches of learning— among the scholars of traditions, jurisprudence, dialects and exegesis.
The Dignity of Mankind
The Arabs are instinctively more alive to the equality and dignity of the human race than other nations of the world. Furthermore, they have whole-heatedly translated this into practice. This had been the guiding principle of the Arabs during the era of their glorious victories, when the world learnt from them new concepts of knowledge, culture, piety, the dignity of man, and the like. It was only due to the Arab’s sense of compassion, equality and the dignity of mankind that instead of nourishing hatred for their conquerors, vanquished peoples instead began to love and adore them. So much so, that the inhabitants of Sind and Multan installed an idol of Muhammad Ibn Qasim, the conqueror of Sind, among the myriad gods they worshipped: this as a mark of their respect and love for him. The extremely lenient and just treatment administered to the people of Samrkand by Umar ibn Abdul Aziz cleared the way for the swift conversion of the inhabitants of surrounding areas to Islam.20 Most of the countries conquered by Arabs adopted their culture and religion and even th Arabic language was fallen in preference to their own local dialects. The stirring pronouncement of Caliph ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, made to admonish one of his most brilliant generals, will ever shed luster on the character of the Arabs. In this respect Caliph Umar said to Amar ibn Al-Aas:
Whence didest thou make slaves of these people who had been born free from the wombs of their mothers.
A Truthful and Sincere People
The Arabs have never been deceitful, imposers, hypocrites or ploters, thanks to their natural inclination towards truthfulness, sincerity and straightforwardness. This is as much sue during the age of Jahiliah (Ignorance) as after the advent of Islam. They were either friends or foes: they first challenged an enemy before engaging in hostilities and openly entered into alliances of mutual help. The character of the Arabs, as depicted by historians, shows that they were a frank and generous people. Their folk-lore, tribal feuds and forays, their language and literature all lead to one conclusion only. That is that duplicity and deceit are foreign to the Arab character. Almost all the commentators of the Qur’an hold the view that hypocrites were not to be found in Mecca mainly because the town was free from foreign influences. This is also the reason why the Meccan verses of the Qur’an do not make any mention of hypocrisy, all the verses dealing with this problem were revealed in Madina. Some commentators quote the following verses in support of their contention:
And among those around you of the wandering Arabs there are hypocrites, and among the towns-people of Al-Madinah (there are some who) persist in hypocrisy whom thou (O Muhammad) knowest not (Al-Taubah: 101).
Therefore, in all those lands where the Arabs predominate or have a hand in the making of their culture and politics, there is no danger of any movement arising to achieve its end through intrigue, conspiracy or any other secret device. The Arabs owing to their peculiar traits of character, are averse to double-dealing and defection, sedition and creating unnecessary distinctions of class or creed. Their nationalism has no place for chauvinistic, cramped and parochial policies blind to the demands of justice and fair-play or has it any place for discrimination against non-Arabs.
Aggressive Nationalism and Partisanship
In so far as the menace of present-day aggressive nationalism and partisan spirit in certain Arab countries is concerned, it owes its existence to the blind imitation of the West by certain demoralised politicians. It is, in truth and reality, an extraneous tendency foreign to truly Islamic and Arab characteristics, and will be overcome by the latter as soon as the domination of such misguided Arab leadership comes to an end. Whenever this happens, and it shall happen soon, the Arabs will find peace and solace in the lap of their enchanting faith. Allah’s edict already proclaims that:
O mankind! Lo! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. Lo! the noblest of you, in the sight of Allah, is the best in conduct, Lo! Allah is Knower, Aware (Al-Hujarat: 13).
Islam: The Eternal Message of God
If Islam is the final and eternal edition of Divine Guidance for humanity, if God has undertaken to preserve it till the Day of Judgment and if God is the protector of His last word, then with the Qur’an, the Arabs are also assured of their continued existence as a distinct and dignified people. God has guaranteed the safe preservation of the Holy Qur’an in no uncertain words:
Lo! We, even We, reveal the Reminder, and lo! We verily are its Guardian. (Al-Hijr:9).
The Qur’an cannot be preserved in its pristine purity without keeping alive the Arabic language and the language itself cannot last without the Arabs. This is bound to be so if the promise of God is to be fulfilled. It is unthinkable that the eternal and universal Message of God should become an obscure riddle or unintelligible document of merely historical importance to be preserved in archieves and museums. Likewise, it is inconceivable that Arabic should become as extinct as the Phoenician and Hamitic languages of yore. Allah, the Most High and the Almighty turn the course of events in favour of the Arabs, if only to re-emphasise. His benevolent care and concern for the protection of a people vouchsafed with the Message of peace for the world. In the same way, it appears to be against Divine Wisdom that the Arabs should be condemned to slavery for any length of time; since, this is likely to rob them of their dignity, capability and courage-qualities so essential for the guidance of humanity. Nor can it be deemed to accord with Divine Will that these areas should ever fall into the evil clutches of the Jews. These are the very lands from where the light of Islam once radiated and illuminated the whole world. The history, culture and language of the Muslims and the development of Islam are so intimately linked with these regions that no parallel can be cited in the religious history of the world. Here is the land with the Holy of the Holies, the sacred House of God, which has been an object of the absorbing love of countless Muslims in every age. This is the place which has always been treated as a sanctuary of peace. Then, there is also the city of the Prophet, the nursery of Islam and the recipient of the greater part of Divine Revelations. All these regions constitute the citadel of Islam and they contain numerous places sacred to Muslims living throughout the world. No other Islamic country, nay, not a thousand of them, however strong and populous they might be, can preserve the honour of Islam if these areas are lost by the Arabs. Verily, it is absolutely correct, as the saying goes, that Islam would be degraded if the Arabs were to suffer indignity.
It is, thus, evident that the present state of affairs, unnautral and illogical as they are, cannot last long. Human nature and reason, the logic of things, the natural laws governing this Universe, religious teachings, predictions contained in the Scriptures, geographical conditions, the lesson taught by history, and even a realistic assessment of the political situation (unless it is dangerously trained by a partisan spirit to back the aggressor at any cost , conclusively indicate that this tragic situation will soon be altered.
The War of 1967 and Islam
The temporary success achieved by Zionism in the War of June, 1967, cannot be treated as a victory of one call or message, philosophy or religion, over another. The Jews have never had a message for the world, nor have they one today. The Battle fought on June 5th, 1967, was also not a confrontation between Islam and Judaism, not even between the Jews and the Arabs were in fact, never allowed to participate in the struggle: they were kept at arm’s length, in accordance with a well-calculated plot, to deny them any effect role in this confrontation. The so-called victory of the Jews was, thus, at its best, a success gained by a realistic and intelligent leadership over a miscalculating and worthless dictatorship. There is no denying the fact that at least for once in their history, after thousands of years, the Jews were fortunate enough to have such persons as their leaders who were able to raise them from ignominy and disgrace. They, undoubtedly, created history. It is a misfortune for the Arabs that their leadership was unable to do justice to them and to their history. Their leaders pushed them between the devil and the deep blue sea, and now they can neither retreat nor go forward.
The fate of the Arabs is not doomed, however. Whatever mistakes the Arab leadership might have committed and however serious these might have been, there is still room to make amends and turn the corner.
Blind Imitation of Others
It is the philosophy of life that makes or mars a nation; but no philosophy borrowed from others can revivify a sticky people. The Arab-Islamic Millat does not need a new call, Religion or philosophy of life to fill itself with ardent zeal, spirit and courage. There has, in fact, been no diminution of spirit and the Millat is prepared, as ever, to undergo the greatest sacrifice for its Faith. But, alas, its leadership is like a tidal-wave which often rises sky high only to make its presence felt by all. It sometimes encloses a ship to submerge it beneath the sea, and then, loses its own identity in the surging ocean, which ever remains where it was, unchanged, unperturbed.
The Leadership of the Arabs
We have come across several such leaders in the past who have risen to towering heights only to go down in history unsung, unlamented. How many empires have they founded which were shattered to piece in the twinkling of an eye. Yet, Islam has remained as sparkling and zestful as ever with the same call, the same Qur’an and the same Faith in the eternal Truth.
The Change Must Come
Every nation, unless it is dead and gone, has to face the inevitable vicissitudes, ups and downs, in order to test its strength and purge its unwholesome elements. These painful ordeals fortify a nation against being cast down by adversity or from yielding to flattering vanity in the hour of sweeping victory:
That ye grieve not for the sake of that which has escaped you, nor yet exult because of that which had been given (Al-Hadid:23).
A nation which can bravely endure all afflictions and adversities is like a healthy person who can stand against illness and changes in the weather. The Arabs have, by the same token, to breast the current of opposition for they have been the custodians of the noblest call for humanity; and, therefore, final victory is their destiny as promised by Almighty God and guaranteed by the Holy Qur’an.
Systems have passed away before you. Do but travel in the land and see the nature of the consequence for those who did deny (the Messengers).
This is a declaration for mankind, a guidance and admonition unto those who ward off (evil).
Faint not nor grieve, for ye will overcome them if ye are (indeed) Believers.
If ye have received a blow, the (disbelieving) people have received a blow the like thereof. These are (only) the vicissitudes which We cause to follow one another for mankind, to the end that Allah may know those who believe and may choose witnesses from among you; and Allah loveth not wrong-doers.
And that Allah may prove those who believe and may blight the disbelievers. (Al-Imran: 137-41).