Nafsiya Reflections: Are We an Ummah that Can Shine Again?

What comes to mind when we ask, who is the world leader in science and technology? The US comes to mind in military, economic and technological advancements.

Let us look back at how the Muslim situation was when Islam ruled the Ummah. when the Islamic Ummah enlightened Europe with its uncounted discoveries, advancements, knowledge, and much more. This is often omitted in western history books on what the Islamic Ummah gave to Europe. The west stole our knowledge and attributed it to their own without acknowledging the Muslims for their advancements. This is not new because history does repeat itself as we see today. Today, the West steals resources from Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, only to mention a few.

We think we know our glorious history, or at least parts of it, with no comprehension of how vast and magnificent our history actually was. We were the leading state with the biggest civilization in history that expanded on for centuries, in all aspects... We became the biggest civilization in the history of humans with the biggest armies. Our borders reached China in the east and the Atlantic Ocean in the west and south of France in the North and the forests of Africa in the South. Not to mention laying down the foundation of science and technology.

Abu al Baraka al Bagdadi discovered laws of motion, five centuries before Newton. His books were available in the libraries of Europe, translated into English and French at the time of Newton. Al Biruni was the one who discovered the gravity of earth, and was the one who explained solar and lunar eclipses; he was the one who laid the basis for measuring the earth into hemispheres. He described that the earth is round in nature and determined the latitude and longitude of earth. He also said that the speed of light is much faster than the speed of sound and explained the speed of earth rotation. All of which were well before Newton! Ibn Sina discovered the worm causes schistosomiasis and meningitis.

Who was the first to discover the pendulum of the clock you may ask? Al Yonus AlMasri but the West attributes the discovery to Galileo in the 17th century. Abu Bakar Al Razi was the one who invented the surgical threads that dissolved and were made possible for internal surgeries; which was later spread all over the world. Al Khwarizmi discovered algorithms which paved the way for inventing the computer/laptop, programming knowledge and iPhones, etc. Let’s not forget Ibn al Haytham, the one who placed the theory of reflection and answered the most crucial question about optics i.e. “How do we see?” Al Jazari invented the water pump to pull water mechanically that increases agriculture within the Khilafah (Caliphate) manifolds and he also discovered the theory that circular motion can generate power.

French historian Debar said, “We Europeans are in debt to Arabs in attaining comfort in our daily lives, Muslims are the ones who taught us the cleanliness of our body,” he also stated that the library of Qurtaba (Qordoba) used to have 400,000 books. Qurtaba used to have 50 hospitals 700 years before Paris even knew of one hospital. Muslims are the ones who discovered sugar coatings for bitter medicine so the patient could relish it, Muslims are the ones who used to sterilize the surgical equipment before operations, Muslims were the first to use makeshift mobile hospitals, etc. The list goes on.

We were once a nation of illiteracy. What made us as an Ummah reach great civilization in a short period of time? What was the factor that came into the Ummah’s life that brought change and enlightened us? It was Islam! The ruling of Islam gave us knowledge, strength, good manners, the strongest and best army, technology, dignity, and enlightenment. These reasons are only part of why so many nations looked up to us. Even Christians living under the Khilafah (Caliphate) would fight alongside the Muslims against the crusaders, SubhanAllah. To say it was a glorious state, would be an understatement.

Islam is the Deen of knowledge, Deen of strength, Deen of good manners, Deen of complete civilization. It is all taken away from us when we lost our shield; i.e. Khilafah as Islam became unknown again after Khilafah was destroyed and now we are in a state of misery, mercilessness ruin, looted, dishonored at the hands of Kuffar around the globe, and the only way Islam becomes known again is by implementing it via Khilafah on the method of the Prophethood.

One of the tasks of the state in Islam is to look after the well-being of the people; it must provide medicines and hospitals to people. Therefore, the Khaleefah must provide individuals with health care and provide them with medicines and hospitals. Muslims and others who lived under the rule of the Khilafah (Caliphate): a health care that the world has never witnessed anything like, nor will it witness something like it again except under its shade and upon its return. This is what Islam achieved by its rational doctrine (Aqeedah) and strong law (Shari’ah), spreading happiness and mental contempt in the hearts of those who embraced it and followed the guidance of their Lord. Islam has dazzled the world with its incomparable and unique care of people, which stems from the legitimate provisions (Ahkam Shar’iyah) that Allah (swt) has sent down as mercy to all humankind; it does not differentiate between rich and poor, or between a ruler and a citizen, and everyone fears Allah and seeks His pleasure for fear of His punishment.

(كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ)

“You are the best nation [ever] brought forth for mankind: you command what is right and forbid what is wrong, and have faith in Allah.” [TMQ Surah Aali Imran 3: 110].

We truly are the best nation and let us restore our dignity, our esteem as Muslims. So, answer the call and join the workers to establish the Khilafah on the method of the Prophethood, so that we may all enjoy its glory, by Allah’s help and support.

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