How to Win Back Leadership of the World? Proposing a Simplistic Model Based on Quranic Teachings for Muslims
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How to Win Back Leadership of the World? Proposing a Simplistic Model Based on Quranic Teachings for Muslims
.... by Shakeel Ahmad (shakeeluae@gmail.com)
We have discussed in another article why Allah deposed bani-israel (Israelites), or any nation for that matter, and replaced by another and why this process must be an ongoing process until eternity (Click here to read the article). We also discussed the fundametal reasons for Muslims to be deposed by all sorts of people around the world. Is there anyone among us who doesn't want to win back the leadership position again? How can we translate this intense desire for the Ummah into reality? Quran being the text-book, the operational manual, the compilation of standard operating procedures needs to be understood well so that the misconceptions that creep into our thoughts, attitudes and practices and condition our minds weakening our faith and taking us on the devil's path (please click here to read some of those misconceptions discussed in other articles) must be removed first. Is it not a rebellion against our Lord that we follow our whims and fancies and the whispering of Ibless, and keep ourselves away from Allah's text-book which becomes a piece to show-off in the shelves of drawing-rooms or to decorate the walls with? The 2nd step has to be the practice of what we understand from the text book (and its supporting/ supplementary interpretations/ explanations) in all aspects of our lives so that the commandments of Allah and our commitments to follow Allah and His prophets could be internalised so well that they alone become our way of life.
Although the entire quran is a guide-book, just two verses of Quran provide enough guidance to achieve the coveted position of world leadersip and I have tried to present a model based on my humble understanding of them (in the above picture). The life of the last prophet (صل الله عليه وسلم) appointed for the guidance of humanity must be the final model for the Ummah to win sucess in this world as well as in the hereafter. Since holy quran also reflects his life completely, this text book from the Lord must also be our guide in every aspect of our lives.
The first verse of Quran taken to derive our model is 24:55 which confirms that Allah would transfer His khilafah (world leadership), like He had done it before as well, to those who:
1. believe (faith - in Allah as the Only God, in His book, in His last prophet Muhammad (صل الله عليه وسلم), in the judgement day and the life coming hereafter), and
2. do righteous deeds or good deeds (that is, practice the knowledge and wisdom coming directly from Allah - revealed in Quran and from the life of His last prophet (صل الله عليه وسلم) and indirectly coming through acquired knowledge and wisdom).
The second verse of Quran considered for the proposed model is 103:3 which confirms the above and then provides us guidance on the challenges that are likely to be faced during the practice of knowledge and wisdom.
The model proposed here considers that the "five pillars of Islam" constitute the foundation for a strong structure of islamic way of life that alone can make us eligible for khilafah. It may be relevant to read the misconceptions related to these five pillars that may keep us away from becoming Allah's reprsentative for the world (the leadership position promised to the true believers)
Click here to read an article about the primary reasons for deposing us from the leadership position after more than a thousand years at the top. This is essential to understand so that we do not repeat the mistakes that led to transferring of the leadership position from our past predecessors to the kuffar and the mushrikeen who are possibly more eligible to lead the world - govern with wisdom, maintain a just order with respect to every creation of God, explore every possible opportunity to make the world better for humans to live, strive to invent means (e.g. technology) that utilises the miraculous bounties of Almighty God in the best possible way to explore the world and the universe beyond this world, to spread goodness more easily, effectively and speedily. God has created humans as the best of species, full of miracles (human body itself is a combination of thousands of miraculous components perfectly coordinating with each other). If the humans are sent to this temporal world for a trial/ test that makes us eligible for a permanent life in the heaven or the hell, then this test may be linked to every limb, every miraculous component of human body including our hearts and minds. We pass or fail depending upon how we use them; whether we use them for the benefit of the world and God's creations or we use them for harming them (become agents of the devil). One very important benefit that we could contribute to the world is of course to spread the message of God Almighty contained in His text book; to fulfill this important responsibility, it is of prime importance to understand the message ourselves first, practice them every second in our own lives and internalise them as if we are a living model to follow, each one of us becoming an ambassador of Islam.
For us to become living examples of a role model, the internalisation of the foundation provided by the "5 pillars of Islam" (and developing real taqwa) is essential.
Second Stage of Transition Towards Eligibility for World Leadership
Allah raised the status of Adam (عليه السلام) above that of all other creations, including the angels and the jinns, who were created before the humans, based on the knowledge and wisdom that He bestowed upon humans represented by Adam (Quran 2:31-33, 7:11 and 15:29) - Allah breathed into him of His soul, along with must have come as much of His attributes as He wanted along with the perfection and balance (Quran 15:29) (سَوَّيْتُهُ وَنَفَخْتُ فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِي). سَوَّيْتُ means "balance" which quite well represents the wisdom that alone can help us maintain a balance between extremes in every aspect. Is Allah's "soul" (رُّوحِ)a part of His being that transfers a tiny fraction of it into us? Or, is it some kind of an electronic chip that connects us humans directly with Allah, enabling to and fro communication between humans and the Creator?
In numerous verses of Quran, Allah directs us to seek knowledge and wisdom by exploring the universe and His creations (researching and discovering what was hidden from our conscious being). For example, refer to Quran 39:9 ("Ask them, "Can those who know and those who do not know ever be equal? Only men of understanding do accept the advice/ warning."). Refer also to verses 2:269, 3:18, 16:125, 17:36, 20:114, 29:20, 35:28, 58:11, etc. Even the prophets were sent to train us in this aspect - recite God's instructions, purify us (remove any confusions), share the book (do's and dont's) and knowledge with us and teach us wisdom [e.g. 2:151 and 3:164]. Click here for a list of Quranic verses highlighting the importance of knowledge and wisdom. The importance of seeking knowledge and wisdom to achieve the capacity required to manage the affairs of the world (capacity building), as individuals as well as a society/ community has also been highlighted in numerous ahadith and traditions of our beloved prophet (صل الله عليه وسلم) (Hadith collections have listed them in dedicated chapters).
If the foundation of our faith based on the 5 pillars is strong (fundamentals are internalised properly), then we would seek beneficial knowledge that would benefit ourselves as well as the society & the universe in general and help us build a thriving civilization based on love and care for each other. If the foundation of faith is weak (has not been internalised), then we would seek enjoyment and benefit in our progress that actually harms us by harming other creations (including humans and environment) around us. Therefore, capacity building must be based on beneficial knowledge (علم النافع) and wisdom in order for us to come one more step closer to the eligibility of khilafah (world leadership) as a civilization.
Practice Knowledge & Wisdom: Third Stage of Transition Towards Eligibility for World Leadership - Practice Good Deeds
Unused knowledge and wisdom cannot benefit anyone while it is common knowledge that practicing them leads to perfecting them. What better use of knowledge and wisdom and their practice than for good deeds (For a list of verses commanding us towards "good deeds", please click here)! The capacity building gets further fine-tuned with practice of the acquired skills, knowledge and wisdom, and helps in removing any bugs/ defects, in improving them further and providing ideas for enhancements in speed of delivery, quality and quantity, etc. Therefore, by indulging in good deeds, a nation can progress further towards the eligibility of world leadership. It is immensely critical to comprehend that "good deeds" encompass every creation and creativity within the entire universe; every aspect of human life being just a small set like a drop in a vast ocean. The belief that good deeds means just proclaiming faith in Allah (and His prophets) praying, fasting, paying zakat and performing hajj is a dangerous misconception that must be cleared from our minds before we consider an action plan to regain the coveted position of world leadership. Click here to read an article in which we have discussed the misconceptions relating to good deeds in a separate article and listed a sample of the good deeds Allah commands us to do (race with each other to do). Transfer of knowledge that we acquire, to others, making it widely and easily accessible to everyone in the world, is an important item in the list of essential good deeds. Thus, establishing quality educational institutions that cater to all kinds of knowledge and that are available freely to the entire humanity is of great importance - education for all should be the vision.
Strive & Struggle: Fourth Stage of Transition Towards Eligibility for World Leadership - Enjoin Truth & Justice
As we strive for good deeds by making the best use of revealed and acquired knowledge and wisdom (capacity), the real struggle begins. The ibless (devil) has been given the freedom to try its best to stop us from all directions and raise obstacles & challenges for us. For establishing a fair and just system that ensures the rights of every constituent unit or member of the society, struggle with the evil forces is a norm (not an exception). Selfishness and lust, greed for power and wealth, the urge to dominate over others (we invent a category of "others" for this purpose) leads to ignoring the commands of Allah, His book and the revealed as well as acquired knowledge. This then makes us disobey the Lord and make it easy to fall prey to the whispers of iblees. In order to remain an obedient servant of Allah, and continue to fulfill our commitments as His slave, we must strive and struggle against the enemies of Allah that belong to the genre of jinn as well as humans (hidden as well as exposed). Before sending Adam (عليه السلام) to become Allah's khalifa (representative ruler) of the earth (Quran 2:30), Allah made him learn in Jannah by means of a practical demonstration how iblees is an avowed enemy of human beings (how Iblees motivated Adam to disobey the only command of Allah - just one thing was forbidden while everything else was allowed to Adam and his spouse). Thus, we must understand that our struggle actually begins when we move ahead to utilise/ practice the revealed and acquired knowledge and wisdom (capacity) for good deeds and establishing of haq (truth and justice - (وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ). In order to pass this test and become eligible for khilafah (world leadership), we would need to continue striving despite all the challenges and hardships.
Easier said than done! We humans are made weak, at least individually. However, as a society in which individual weaknesses of some are taken care of by individual strengths of others, thus making us strong overall. For this, we need to obey the command of Allah to remain united and focused on His cause, while the Iblees tries us divide us in order to make our struggle even more challenging. Although Allah allowed the Iblees (and equipped him with the tool-kits) to deviate us from the straight path leading to Jannah and create variety of challenges for us, He did not endow Iblees with the capacity to succeed in winning over the true slaves of Allah.
Iblees Attacks Us from All Sides - Explanation (English) by Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan
Are we ready to become true slaves of Allah? Remember, when the going gets tough, the tough get going! Higher the goal, higher is the difficulty level. How else the can the hard-working sincere people be separated from the less sincere (or the hypocrites)? Greater the efforts to counter an impediment, or to conquer a challenge, greater are the rewards. We need to remember at all times that (Allah is with us if we are from among the following:
"the believers" (8:19) (الْمُؤْمِنِينَ), "the patient" (2:153, 2:249, 8:46, 8:66) (الصَّابِرِينَ), "the pious" (those who are afraid of displeasing Allah) (2:194, 9:36, 9:123) (الْمُتَّقِينَ), those who are with the prophet (obey him unconditionally, like the sahaba-e-karaam) (9:40, 47:35) (لَا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَنَا), "those who are afraid of displeasing Allah" (16:128) (إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوا), and with "those who are good-doers" (16:128, 29:69) (إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوا وَّالَّذِينَ هُم مُّحْسِنُونَ).
We must also remain confient that Allah is our "friend", "benefactor", "protector" and everything that we need from Him (He is our Wali اللَّهُ وَلِيُّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا) (2:257, 3:68), and of those who fear displeasing Him (45:19) (وَاللَّهُ وَلِيُّ الْمُتَّقِينَ). He listens to our calls the moment we call Him, as He is closer to us than our jugular vein (50:16) وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِ). Therefore, Allah does make it easy to move through all the stages of efforts. Then, why become weak (against your enemy) (3:139) fear or be sad (3:139) (وَلَا تَهِنُوا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا) at moments of difficulties (7:49) (لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْكُمْ وَلَا أَنتُمْ تَحْزَنُونَ)!
Enjoin Patience in the Ongoing Struggle: Final Stage of Transition Towards Eligibility for World Leadership
After internalising the five pillars of faith, acquiring the revealed and acquired knowledge and developing a proper understanding of them, practicing them for the benefit of the world with an intention to perfect them and internalise them, strive and struggle against any challenges that are thrown in our path, the final stage requires a lot of patience and perseverance (وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ) so that we could continue on the path that would make us eligible to be appointed as the khalifa (representative/ ambassador/ governor) by Allah. This means that we must pass the tests and trials by making 100% concerted efforts (strive/ struggle), without any excuses, to implement what Allah wants us to, as His truly obedient slaves.
أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَن تَدْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَأْتِكُم مَّثَلُ الَّذِينَ خَلَوْا مِن قَبْلِكُم ۖ مَّسَّتْهُمُ الْبَأْسَاءُ وَالضَّرَّاءُ وَزُلْزِلُوا حَتَّىٰ يَقُولَ الرَّسُولُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ مَتَىٰ نَصْرُ اللَّهِ ۗ أَلَا إِنَّ نَصْرَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ
"Do you think that you will enter Paradise without undergoing such trials as were experienced by the believers before you? They met with adversity and affliction and were so shaken by trials that the Prophet of the time and his followers cried out: "When will Allah's help come"? (Then they were comforted with the good tidings): "Yes, Allah's help is near."" [2:214]
کیا تم یہ خیال کرتے ہو کہ (یوں ہی) بہشت میں داخل ہوجاؤ گے اور ابھی تم کو پہلے لوگوں کی سی (مشکلیں) تو پیش آئی ہی نہیں۔ ان کو (بڑی بڑی) سختیاں اور تکلیفیں پہنچیں اور وہ (صعوبتوں میں) ہلا ہلا دیئے گئے۔ یہاں تک کہ پیغمبر اور مومن لوگ جو ان کے ساتھ تھے سب پکار اٹھے کہ کب خدا کی مدد آئے گی ۔ دیکھو خدا کی مدد (عن) قریب (آيا چاہتی) ہے
Allah made even His best of prophets go through much more difficult and excruciating trials than we could ever imagine or bear - we need to remember the examples of Ibrahim (عليه السلام) and our own prophet's (عليه السلام) trials during the trip to Taif and the three most unbearable years spent in the Valley of Abu Talib (Shi'b Abi Talib شِعب أبي طالب) followed immediately by the deaths of Abi Talib (under whose protection he was safe) and Hazrat Khadijah (رضي الله عنهأ) whose moral, finacial, as well as physical support (in terms of the bringing up of his children and managing the household and other family affairs) was critical for him to be able to freely discharge his duties of prophethood. For details, please download pdf versions of the most authentic biography of prophet Muhammad - Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum (The Sealed Nectar) (صل الله عليه وسلم) in English (Pages 116 to 119) or Urdu (Pages 157 to 161) or watch the biography as videos. We have provided a huge collection of materials on the life and times of prophet Muhammad including all the authentic ahadith books (صل الله عليه وسلم) here (click to find them). Since Allah is the Lord of the world, not just of believers (Muslims), He would appoint a people to lead who deserve the most in terms of all the qualities that make them eligible (I have proposed a model for this to best of my understanding). Unless we prove that we have delivered on our promise as best of the people (خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ), we cannot claim the khilafa. Our claim would easily be rejected if we are nowhere in competition with other nations, because Allah is the most just.
End Note: The proposed model has considered that we must move in stages - step by step. Progress in steps is sustainable, and patience here is the key. Jumping the steps is liable to cause falling back to lower steps and damage ouselves. Jumping more steps at once makes the fall even more certain. If you believe that there are others working hard to harm or damage the Ummah, then this fall will surely give them a chance to trample upon you. Even otherwise, your competitors wait for your fall, which came as a golden chance for them, so that they rush upwards while you try to recover from your injuries.
For the current generation, we need to nurture the roots, otherwise just focusing on the branches and leaves would not help the tree from wilting away further. The downfall of the Ummah took more than seven hundred years; how can the revival happen in just one generation? Our plans should align with this reality. Dreams would remain dreams if the strategies are not aligned with the needs and wants of our time. Nurture the roots now (focus on efforts to build a strong foundation), so that the trees are grounded strongly and do not get uprooted by weakest of winds. A strong tree (structure) is impossible with more than 90% of the roots (foundation) weak and unable to nurture the trunk, branches and leaves (the building).
Allah designed humans to grow in stages, every limb gets its strength by slow but consistent nurturing. We must not try to (and cannot) make a new-born human baby walk or run. Same consideration must be given to the groups of humans, the society, the Ummah. Patience and perseverance backed by confident, consistent and persistent efforts backed by strategies that suit the current state of the Ummah must be the way forward, not jumping of the steps.
Article: Internalising the divine text book is the only way to counter the all-round attacks of iblees and his agents.
Click here for a vast collection of Quran in Urdu, English and Hindi as text, audio, video and as downloadable pdf files.
Article: Why is the Muslim Ummah deposed as World Leaders?
Article: Good Deeds and the Five Pillars of Islam - a Critique of Prevalent Misunderstandings
Article: Spend Beyond Zakat, to Win Back Favour of Allah for Muslims
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