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Progress and regress, the strengthening and decline of religious communities [ummas], are based on the beliefs on which they establish themselves.  Belief is the axis of all revolutions and the political, economic, scientific and literary struggles that take place in the world.  Likewise, belief is the source of every kind of discovery and invention, religious as well as scientific renewal and reform.  The problems, disputes, alliances and disagreements among mankind, and all their accompanying difficulties and troubles, come from belief.

When their belief serves as a guide, the most miserable nations climb upward; however, when their beliefs are coerced, the most powerful religious communities fall to the bottom in a confused and scattered state. They leave behind only their names–on documents and manuscripts, on  buildings and in books, written in small or great numbers. For this reason, if a nation makes progress, one should look at its belief.  However, if a nation displays signs of regression, it is urgent to study its belief, and the necessary precautions should be taken accordingly.  The same thing can be said for human beings. A person who says, “God created me unlucky, I am unfortunate,” falls into desperation and becomes unsuccessful in life. However, a person who has a strong belief and says, “If this thing is within the power of human beings, why can’t I do it?”––this person will be successful.  For this reason, if we wish the advancement of a nation, first we have to correct its belief system.

Under the motivation of Islamic belief, Arabs, who had previously fought unending battles among themselves, gained a new life.  They established a brotherhood among themselves and attained a unifying consensus. Holding a sword in one hand and the Qur’an in the other, they went out from the wilderness and expanded into a vast range of lands. While some were conquering countries and cities, still others occupied themselves with trade. They became the successors of [Julius] Caesar [Roman emperor, died 44 B.C.] and left their footprints throughout the world. Places dominated by the family of Mundhir [the Lakhmids], the Himyarids, and the Ghassanids [dynasties based in present-day Iraq, Yemen, and Syria] became the cradle of Islam. The science of the Muslims became known everywhere, and the earth’s surface grew prosperous with the works of Islam. At a time when transportation was difficult, Muslim caravans traveled from south to north and from west to east. Great bazaars filled up with the goods of Muslim merchants,  and the Muslim trade network reached to the shores of Andalusia.  It was considered most unacceptable for a Muslim to remain idle, to envy and covet another person’s property. As if in a busy factory the entire Muslim world was involved in similarly intense activities.

What was the reason for this extraordinary pattern of innovation and wondrous activity?  There is no need to ask; the reason was the change in their belief. Numerous verses of the Qur’an and hadith [sayings of the Prophet] changed the belief of these immoral Arabs and led them to a true path.  According to the noble Qur’an: “He made for you all that the earth contains”; [Sura 2, Verse 29] “And we taught him [David] the art of making coats of mail”;[Sura 21, Verse 80] “Do not forget your part in this world”; [Sura 28, Verse 77] “And that each man shall receive for”; [Sura 53, Verse 391] “And when the prayers are over, spread out in the land, and look for the bounty of God”; [Sura 62, Verse 10] “It is God who has subdued the ocean for you, so that ships may sail upon it by His command, and you may seek His bounty, and may render thanks happily.  He subjugated for you whatever the heavens and earth contain, each and every thing.  Verily there are signs in this for those who reflect”;  [Sura 45, Verses 12–13] “ It is He who made the earth subservient to you, that you may travel all around it, and eat of the things He has provided; and to Him will be your Resurrection”. [Sura 67, Verse 15] According to hadith: “There is no better food for a man than food he has earned by his own labor.  Even the prophet David ate food which he had grown with his own hands”; “It is better for a man to make a living at hard work than to beg from another, whether that one gives or not”; “If a Muslim plants a tree or grows grain, and someone, or a bird or wild animal, eats from it, this is counted as charity for the Muslim”. If this righteous belief had remained in existence among Muslim, civilization its real meaning would have appeared in the Muslim world.  Schools, teachers and students in these schools, scholars and artisans, inventors, factories, architects, engineers, doctors and professors––all those people the Europeans have today, would have come from the Muslim world. Unfortunately, the later Muslims did not follow the path of the earlier Muslims. They lent their ears to those merchants of religion who forbade, in the name of religion, the trades and businesses that were necessary for the happiness and prosperity of humankind.  In addition, whether it was adopted from Christianity or invented by coincidence, some people were given titles of sainthood, though the Prophet had said nothing about this.  The common people surrendered themselves to such persons, contrary to the clear prohibition: “Do not follow that of which you have no knowledge”. [Qur’an, Sura 17, Verse 36] These persons were believed to be “master of two worlds” [heaven and earth], “the best of all creation,” and “ the pole of the universe,” and people began to submit their wishes to these saints, requesting help from their spirits in humble supplication.

(From Ibn Taymiyya by Rizaeddin bin Fakhreddin in Modernist Islam by (ed.)

Charles Kurzman, pp. 238-39)

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