Islam: From Past to Future

The most striking point of Islam and its history is that Islam completely changes those who accept it, no matter how ignorant, rude, and ill-mannered they were before, into embodiments of almost all virtues and human values. The intellectual, religious, cultural, and socioeconomic decadence of the pre-Islamic nomadic Arabs is known. Islam alone elevated them to be humanity’s guides and teachers for centuries, and models for every age. The manner displayed by the Muslim envoy and his speech to the Sassanid commander-in-chief at the Battle of Qadisiya (636) shows how Islam changed “stones” into “gold” or “diamonds,” a point that by itself proves Islam’s Divine origin.

What Islam Has Brought to People

Rabi‘ ibn ‘Amir was brought up in pre-Islamic Arabia’s dark polytheistic climate, where life was considered to consist of killing and plundering to eat. However, his embrace of Islam transformed him into one of humanity’s “immortal” guides. During the War of Qadisiya (636), he entered the Sassanid commander’s richly ornamented tent, dressed in a loose white garment, wearing a turban and holding a spear. Dismounting from his horse in the tent, he seized the pillow upon which the enemy commander was reclining, tore a hole in it, and tied his horse’s reins to it. Not bowing before the commander, he rolled up the carpet and then sat cross-legged on the ground to show Islam’s dignity and superiority over all other religions and how Muslims renounce their lives for the sake of their sublime cause.

When the bewildered commander asked about their cause, he replied:

Our cause is to raise humanity from the dark pits of worldly life to the high, boundless realm of the spirit; from the humiliation of worshipping false and usually human-made divinities to the honor and dignity of worshipping the One God, the universe’s sole Creator and Sustainer; and to free humanity from the oppression and depressions brought about by false religions into the luminous and peaceful climate of Islam.

This is the testimony of one who experienced Islam’s beauties and how high Islam elevates its adherents culturally, intellectually, and spiritually.

Islam alone is responsible for major human developments, among them the following:

·           Turning human thought away from superstition, love for the unnatural and inexplicable, and monasticism and toward a rational approach, a love for reality, and a pious and balanced worldly life.

·           Inspiring the urge for rational and scientific research and proofs to verify the truth of established convictions.

·           Opening the eyes of those accustomed to identifying God with natural phenomena.

·           Leading people away from the path of baseless speculation and toward that of a rational understanding and sound reasoning based on observation, experimentation, and research.

·           Defining the limits and functions of sense-perception, reason, intuition, and spiritual experience.

·           Engendering a rapprochement between spiritual and material values.

·           Harmonizing faith with knowledge and action.

·           Replacing idolatry, the worship of human beings, and polytheism with a firm faith in God’s Unity.

·           Showing the path of spiritual evolution, moral emancipation, and salvation through active participation in this world’s daily affairs.

·           Bringing home to each and every people their true worth and position. Those who acknowledged only a “God-incarnate” or a “son of God” as their moral preceptor or spiritual guide were told that a human being like themselves, one who has no pretensions to God, actually can become God’s vicegerent on Earth. Those who proclaimed and worshipped powerful personages realized that their false deities were people just like themselves.

·           Emphasizing that no person could claim holiness, authority, or overlordship as a birthright, and that no one was born with the stigma of untouchability, slavery, or serfdom.

·           Inspiring the thoughts of humanity’s unity, human equality, and real freedom. Many principles of good behavior, culture and civilization, purity of thought and deed owe their origin to Islam. For example, Islam’s social laws have infiltrated deep into human social life, its economic principles have ushered in many movements and continue to do so, its laws of governance continue to exert their influence, and its fundamental principles of law and justice continue to form a perpetual source of guidance for humanity.

·           Establishing a practical framework for all aspects of international relations and regulating the laws of war and peace. This framework, the first of its kind in history, established an ethical code of war and foreign relations based on the ground of common humanity. Islam, as Arthur Leonard says, has left such an indelible mark on the pages of human history that it can never be effaced … that only when the world grows will it be acknowledged in full.

·           Founding one of the most brilliant civilizations in history. This should come as no surprise, since the first revealed verse of the Qur’an was: Read: In the Name of your Lord Who creates (96:1). But why does the Qur’an order “read” when the local people have almost nothing to read? Because they – and humanity – are to “read” the universe itself as the Book of Creation, of which the Qur’an is the counterpart in letters or words. We are to observe the universe and perceive its meaning and content so that we can gain a deeper knowledge of the beauty and splendor of the Creator’s system and the infinitude of His might. Thus we must penetrate the universe’s manifold meanings, discover the Divine laws of nature, and establish a world in which science and faith complement each other so that humanity can attain true bliss in both worlds. Otherwise, as Bertrand Russell says, “unless man increases in wisdom (and faith) as much as in knowledge, increase of knowledge will be increase of sorrow” (Bertrand Russell, The Impact of Science on Society [New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 1951], 121) and “Science teaches man to fly in the air like birds, and to swim in the water like fishes, but man, without faith, cannot know how to live on the earth” (Quoted by C. E. M. Joad in Counter Attack from the East, 28).

The Qur’an’s Purposes and Sciences

The Qur’an contains everything that the Creator deems necessary for us to make material and spiritual progress. Its most important aims are to make God known to us, open the way to faith and worship, and organize our individual and social life in such a way that we can realize perfect happiness in both worlds. Thus it mentions things in proportion to their significance and uses them to achieve these aims. Such matters as the pillars of faith, which are the fundamentals of Islam as well as the foundations of human life and essentials of worship, are explained elaborately, while other things are only hinted at briefly. The meaning of a verse may be compared to a rosebud: It is hidden by successive layers of petals, and a new meaning is perceived as each petal unfolds.

For example, the Qur’an hints at technological advances and marks their final development by mentioning the Prophets’ miracles. It encourages us to fly by alluding implicitly to spaceships and aircrafts: And to Solomon the wind; its morning course was a month’s journey, and its evening course was a month’s journey (34:12). It invites us to search for cures to all illnesses: (Jesus said:) I also heal the blind and the leper, and bring to life the dead, by the leave of God (3:49), and hints that one day we will reach this goal and thus come to imagine that somehow we are immune to death. The verse: Said he who possessed knowledge of the Book: “I will bring it (the Queen of Yemen’s throne) to you (Solomon in Jerusalem) before your glance returns to you,” (27:40) foretells that one day images or even actual things will be transmitted in a moment through knowledge of the Divine Book of the Universe, just as one with knowledge of the Book of Divine Revelation brings things from a great distance before one’s glance returns to him.

The Qur’an also symbolically informs us that a killer can be identified by some cells taken from the victim’s corpse. Such a case took place during the time of Moses. As recounted in 2:71-73, God told the Children of Israel to slaughter a cow and then place part of it on a murdered man’s corpse. These are just some of the examples of Qur’anic allusions to future scientific and technological advances.

The Qur’an, being the book for every age and person, has great depths of meaning. It is an infinite ocean into which all people with knowledge and ability can dive deeply and, according to their capacity, find its pearls and coral. The passage of time only rejuvenates its scientific wisdom. Every generation discovers its wisdom anew, and its secrets continue to be revealed over time.

In: Then He turned to Heaven when it was smoke, and said to it and to Earth: “Come willingly or unwillingly.” They said: “We come willingly” (40:11), the Qur’an indicates that there is some difficulty in such cooperation. We know that the atmosphere’s molecules and atoms try to escape into space, while Earth tries to attract and capture them. But for there to be an atmosphere, the motions leading to the molecules’ escape must be counterbalanced by the Earth’s gravitational attraction.

This is an almost impossible condition to fulfill. From the standpoint of geophysics, these conditions require that three important balances be preserved: atmospheric temperature, Earth’s proportionate gravitational attraction, and the nonviolation of this balance by various radiant energies arriving from space. The Qur’an expresses these facts in the verse mentioned above. That the almost impossible conditions are fulfilled only by God’s power is indicated in: They said: “We come willingly.”

Scientists interpret: No, I swear by the positions of stars; and if you but knew, that is indeed a mighty oath (56:75-76) as alluding to star locations, black holes, and white holes (quasars). The verse: Glory be to Him, Who created in pairs all things that the earth produces, as well as their own selves, and many other things of which they know nothing (36:36), after beginning by proclaiming that God duplicates nothing and that He has no likeness or equal, proceeds to say that all things were created in pairs. This type of existence indicates opposition simultaneously with similarity. The scientific definition of creation in pairs implies “similar opposites.” The Qur’an gives three examples:

·           Pairs produced by Earth (positron-electron, antiproton-proton, antineutron-neutron), those with different physical and chemical characteristics (metals and nonmetals); biologically opposed pairs (male and female plants and animals), and physically opposed pairs.

·           Pairs of their selves (man and woman; such personality traits as cruel-compassionate, generous-mean; and traits that are similar but subject to opposed value judgments, such as hypocrisy-consideration).

·           Pairs about which we do not know. The discovery of the positron and “parity” (creation in pairs), mentioned by the Qur’an 14 centuries ago, may be regarded as a turning point in contemporary physics.

The planets’ spherical shape and rotations are indicated in: He is the Lord of the heavens and Earth, and all that lies between them; He is the Lord of the easts (37:15), for the concept of the “easts” introduces infinite dimensions and differs for each location on Earth. A point on Earth is in the east with respect to its western regions. Therefore the concept of east differs at every point on Earth, and these form an ensemble of easts. Besides, there are 180 points of sunrise, which means that the sun rises at one place for only 2 days in the year and thus there are 180 easts. And so this verse also indicates meridians, infinite dimensions, space’s relativity, the planets’ spherical shape, and Earth’s rotation.

French scientist Jacques Cousteau discovered that the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea have different chemical and biological constitutions. After conducting undersea investigations at the Straits of Gibraltar to explain this phenomenon, he concluded that “unexpected fresh water springs issue from the southern and northern coasts of Gibraltar. These water sprouts gush forth towards each other at angle of 45°, forming a reciprocal dam like the teeth of a comb. Due to this fact, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean cannot intermingle.” Afterwards, when shown the verse: He has let forth the two seas, that meet together. Between them a barrier, they do not overpass (55:19-20), Cousteau was amazed.

This verse further draws our attention to the plankton composition of the seas, and to the flora and fish distributions that change with variations in temperature. Many other Qur’anic verses shed light upon scientific facts, and every person is invited to study them: We made the Qur’an easy for reflection and study. Will anybody study and reflect? (54:17).

The Two Books and Islamic Civilization

Islam founded a most brilliant civilization. This should not be considered surprising, for, as mentioned above, the Qur’an begins with the injunction: Read: In the Name of Your Master Who creates (96:1). This order, which came at a when there was very little to read and most people were illiterate, means that we should “read” the universe, which is the “Book of Creation.” Its counterpart is the Qur’an, a book of letters and words. We are obliged to penetrate into the universe’s manifold meanings, discover the Divine laws of nature, and establish a world in which science and faith complement each other, for all of this will enable us to attain true bliss in both worlds.

Obeying the Qur’an’s injunctions, Muslims studied both the Book of Divine Revelation (the Qur’an) and the Book of Creation (the universe), and founded a magnificent civilization. Scholars from all over Europe and elsewhere benefited from the great Muslim centers of higher learning at Damascus, Bukhara, Baghdad, Cairo, Fez, Qayrawan, Zaytuna, Cordoba, Sicily, Isfahan, and Delhi. Historians liken this Muslim golden age, in full flower when Europe was enduring its dark Middle Ages, to a beehive. Roads were full of students, scientists, and scholars traveling from one center of learning to another. Such “Renaissance” men and women as Jabir ibn Hayyan, Ibn Ishaq al-Kindi, Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, Abu al-Hasan al-Mas‘udi, Ibn al-Haytham, al-Biruni, al-Ghazzali, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, and Abu Bakr al-Razi were shining like stars in the high sky of science.

Islam has maintained an intimate connection between science and Islamic studies. Thus the traditional education of Islamic scientists, particularly in the early centuries, comprised most of contemporary sciences. In later life, each scientist’s aptitude and interest would cause him or her to become an expert and specialist in one or more sciences.

Universities, libraries, observatories, and other scientific institutions played a major role in the continuing vitality of Islamic science. These, together with students who would travel hundreds of miles to study under acknowledged scholars, ensured that the whole corpus of knowledge was kept intact and transmitted from one place to another and from one generation to the next. This knowledge did not remain static; rather, it continued to expand and enrich itself. Today, there are hundreds of thousands of Islamic (mainly in Arabic) manuscripts in the world’s libraries, a large number of which deal with scientific subjects.

Abu Yusuf Ya‘qub al-Kindi (the “Philosopher of the Arabs”) wrote on philosophy, mineralogy, metallurgy, geology, physics, and medicine, among other subjects, and was an accomplished physician. Ibn al-Haytham was a leading Muslim mathematician and, without doubt, the greatest physicist. We know the names of over 100 of his works. Some 19 of them, dealing with mathematics, astronomy, and physics, have been studied by modern scholars. His work exercised a profound influence on later scholars, both in the Muslim world and in the West, where he was known Alhazen. One of his works on optics was translated into Latin in 1572.

Abu al-Rayhan al-Biruni was one of the greatest scholars of medieval Islam, and certainly the most original and profound. He was equally well-versed in mathematics, astronomy, the physical and natural sciences, and also distinguished himself as a geographer and historian, a chronologist and linguist, and as an impartial observer of customs and creeds. Such figures as al-Kharizmi (mathematics), Ibn Shatir (astronomy), al-Khazini (physics), Jabir ibn Hayyan (medicine) are remembered even today. Andalusia (Muslim Spain) was the main center from which the West acquired knowledge and enlightenment for centuries.

In his monumental Introduction to the History of Science, George Sarton divided time into chronological chapters and named each chapter after that period’s most eminent scientist. From the mid-eighth century to the mid-eleventh century, each of the seven 50-year period carries the name of a Muslim scientist: “The Time of al-Khwarizmi,” “The Time of al-Biruni,” and so on. Within these chapters we have the names of about 100 important Islamic scientists and their main works.

John Davenport, a leading scientist observed:

It must be owned that all the knowledge whether of Physics, Astronomy, Philosophy or Mathematics, which flourished in Europe from the 10th century was originally derived from the Arabian schools, and the Spanish Saracen may be looked upon as the father of European philosophy. (Quoted by A. Karim in Islamic Contribution to Science and Civilization.)

Bertrand Russell, the famous British philosopher, writes:

The supremacy of the East was not only military. Science, philosophy, poetry, and the arts, all flourished… in the Muhammadan world at a time when Europe was sunk in barbarism. Europeans, with unpardonable insularity, call this period ‘The Dark Ages’: but it was only in Europe that it was dark – indeed only in Christian Europe, for Spain, which was Mohammedan, had a brilliant culture.” (Pakistan Quarterly, vol. 4, no. 3.)

Robert Briffault, the renowned historian, acknowledges in his The Making of Humanity:

It is highly probable that but for the Muslims, modern European civilization would have never assumed that character which has enabled it to transcend all previous phases of evolution. For although there is not a single aspect of human growth in which the decisive influence of Islamic culture is not traceable, nowhere is it so clear and momentous as in the genesis of that power which constitutes the paramount distinctive force of the modern world and the supreme course of its victory – natural sciences and the scientific spirit.... What we call science arose in Europe as a result of a new spirit of inquiry; of new methods of investigation, of the method of experiment, observation, measurement, of the development of Mathematics in a form unknown to the Greeks. That spirit and those methods were introduced into the European world by the Muslim Arabs. [1]

During the tenth-century, Muslim Cordoba was Europe’s most civilized city, the wonder and admiration of the time. Travelers from the north heard with something like fear of the city that contained 900 public baths and 70 libraries with hundreds of thousands of volumes. Yet whenever the rulers of Leon and Navarre needed surgeons, architects, dressmakers, or musicians, they applied to Cordoba. [2] The Muslims’ literary influence was so vast that, for example, the Bible and liturgy had to be translated into Arabic for the Christian community’s use. Even non-Muslim Spaniards were vividly attracted to Muslim literature.

For the first 5 centuries of its existence, the realm of Islam was a most civilized and progressive area. Studded with splendid cities, gracious mosques, and quiet universities, the Muslim East offered a striking contrast to the Christian West, which was sunk in the Dark Ages. Even after the disastrous Mongol invasions and Crusades of the thirteenth century and onwards, it displayed vigor and remained for ahead of the West.

The Ethos Brought about by the Messenger

It is difficult for us to understand Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, fully. As we tend to compartmentalize the universe, life, and humanity itself, we have no unitary vision. However, Prophet Muhammad perfectly combined a philosopher’s intellect, a commander’s valor, a scientist’s genius, a sage’s wisdom, a statesman’s insight and administrative ability, a Sufi master’s spiritual profundity, and a scholar’s knowledge in his own person.

Philosophers produce students, not followers; social or revolutionary leaders make followers, not complete people; Sufi masters make “lords of submission,” not active fighters or intellectuals. But in Prophet Muhammad we find the characteristics of a philosopher, a revolutionary leader, a warrior and statesman, and a Sufi master. His school is one of the intellect and thought; revolution, submission and discipline; and goodness, beauty, ecstasy, and movement.

Prophet Muhammad transformed crude, ignorant, savage, and obstinate desert Arabs into an army of skilled fighters, a community of sincere devotees of a sublime cause, a society of gentleness and compassion, an assembly of sainthood, and a host of intellectuals and scholars. Nowhere else do we see such fervor and ardor combined with gentleness, kindness, sincerity, and compassion. This is a characteristic unique to the Muslim community, one that has been visible since its earliest days.

The “Garden” of Muhammad. Islam, the school of Prophet Muhammad, has been a “garden” rich in every kind of “flower.” Like cascading water, God has brought forth from it such majestic people as Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, ‘Ali, ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, Mahdi al-‘Abbasi, Harun al-Rashid, Alp Arslan, Mehmed the Conqueror, Selim, and Sulayman. These were not only statesmen of the highest caliber and invincible commanders, but also men of profound spirituality, deep knowledge, oration, and literature.

The Messenger’s blessed, pure climate produced invincible generals. Among the first generation we see such military geniuses as Khalid, Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas, Abu ‘Ubayda, Shurahbil ibn Hasana, and A‘la al-Khadrami. They were succeeded by such brilliant generals as Tariq ibn Ziyad and ‘Uqba ibn Nafi‘, both of whom combined military genius with human tenderness and religious conviction and devotion.

When ‘Uqba, the conqueror of North Africa, reached the Atlantic Ocean, 2,000 miles away from Arabia, he cried out: “And now, God, take my soul! If this sea didn’t stretch out before me, I would convey Your holy Name across it to other lands!” We can hardly imagine Alexander “the Great” thinking such thoughts as he set out for Persia. Yet as conquerors, the two men achieved comparable feats.

‘Uqba’s idealism and his “possibility” with respect to the Divine Will would be transmuted into irresistible action in this world. Alexander’s empire crashed after his death; the lands ‘Uqba conquered still retain Islam as their dominant worldview, creed, and lifestyle 14 centuries later, despite attempts to change this reality.

Tariq was a victorious commander, not only when he defeated the 90,000-man Spanish army with a handful of self-sacrificing, valiant men, but also when he stood before the king’s treasure and said: “Be careful, Tariq! You were a slave yesterday. Today you are a victorious commander. And tomorrow you will be under the earth.”

Yavuz Selim, an Ottoman Sultan who regarded the world as too small for two rulers, was truly victorious when he crowned some kings and dethroned others, and also when he silently entered Istanbul at bedtime, after conquering Syria and Egypt, to avoid the people’s enthusiastic welcome. He also was victorious when he ordered that the robe soiled by his teacher’s horse be placed over his coffin because of its sanctity-it had been “soiled” by the horse of a scholar.

During the rapid conquests after the Prophet, many conquered people were distributed among the Muslim families. Those emancipated slaves eventually became the foremost religious scholars: Hasan ibn Hasan al-Basri (Basra); ‘Ata’ ibn Rabah, Mujahid, Sa‘id ibn Jubayr, and Sulayman ibn Yasar (Makka); Zayd ibn Aslam, Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir, and Nafi‘ ibn Abi Nujayh (Madina); ‘Alqama ibn Qays al-Nakha’i, Aswad ibn Yazid, Hammad, and Abu Hanifa Nu‘man ibn Thabit (Kufa); Tawus and ibn Munabbih (Yemen); ‘Ata ibn ‘Abdullah al-Khorasani (Khorasan); and Maqhul (Damascus). They all opened as splendid, sweet-smelling flowers in the garden of Muhammad. They established the Islamic legal code and brought up thousands of jurists, who wrote and complied volumes that are still valued as legal references.

One of these jurists, Imam Abu Hanifa, founded the Hanafi legal school, which has hundreds of millions of followers today. He brought up such great scholars as Imam Abu Yusuf, Imam Zufar, and Imam Muhammad Hasan al-Shaybani, who taught Imam Muhammad Idris al-Shafi‘i. The notes Abu Hanifa dictated to Imam al-Shaybani were expounded centuries later by Imam Sarakhsi (the “Sun of Imams”) in the 30-volume work Al-Mabsut.

Imam Shafi‘i, who established the methodological principles of Islamic law, is regarded as a reviver or renewer of religious sciences. However, when his students told Imam Sarakhsi that Imam Shafi‘i had memorized 300 fascicles of the Prophetic Traditions, the latter answered: “He had the zakat (one-fortieth) of the Traditions in my memory.” Imam Shafi‘i, Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik, or Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and so many others, were brought up in the school of Prophet Muhammad.

And then there are such Qur’anic interpreters as Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, Ibn Kathir, Imam Suyuti, Allama Hamdi Yazir, and Sayyid Qutb. In addition, there are such famous hadith collectors as Imam Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Ibn Maja, Nasa’i, Ibn Hanbal, Bayhaqi, Darimi, Daraqutni, Sayf al-Din al-‘Iraqi, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, and many others. They are all ever-shining stars in the luminous sky of Islamic sciences. All received their light from Prophet Muhammad.

According to Islam, God created humanity on the best pattern, as the most universal and all-embracing theater of Divine Names and Attributes. But people, because of their heedlessness, can fall to the lowest levels. Sufism, the inner dimension of Islam, leads people to perfection or enables them to reacquire their primordial angelic state. Islam has produced countless saints. As it never separated our metaphysical quest or gnosis from the study of nature, many practicing Sufis were also scientists. Such leading saints as ‘Abd al Qadir al-Jilani, Shah Naqshband, Ma‘ruf al-Karkhi, Hasan Shazili, Ahmad Badawi, Shaykh al-Harrani, Ja‘far al-Sadiq, Junayd al-Baghdadi, Bayazid al-Bistami, Muhy al-Din al-‘Arabi, and Mawlana Jalal al-Din al-Rumi have illumined the way to truth and trained others to purify their selves.

Being embodiments of sincerity, Divine love, and pure intention, Sufi masters became the motivating factor and the source of power behind the Islamic conquests and the subsequent Islamization of those lands. Figures like Imam al-Ghazzali, Imam Rabbani, and Bediüzzaman Said Nursi are revivers or renewers of the highest degree, and combined in themselves the enlightenment of sages, the knowledge of religious scholars, and the spirituality of great saints.

Islam is the middle way. Its elaborate hierarchy of knowledge is integrated by the principle of Divine Unity. There are juridical, social, and theological sciences, as well as metaphysical ones, all deriving their principles from the Qur’an. Over time, Muslims developed elaborate philosophical, natural, and mathematical sciences, each of which has its source in a Beautiful Name of God. For example, medicine depends on the Name the All-Healing; geometry and engineering on the Names the All-Just and All-Determiner, and All-Shaper and All-Harmonizing; and philosophy reflects the Name the All-Wise.

Each level of knowledge views nature in a particular light. Jurists and theologians see it as the background for human action; philosophers and scientists see it as a domain to be analyzed and understood; and metaphysicians consider it the object of contemplation and the mirror reflecting suprasensible realities. The Author of Nature has inscribed His Wisdom upon every leaf and stone, upon every atom and particle, and has created the world of nature in such a way that every phenomenon is a sign singing the glory of His Oneness.

Conclusion

Although Islam ruled two-thirds of the known civilized world for at least 11 centuries, laziness and negligence of what was going on beyond its borders caused it to decay. However, it must be pointed out clearly that only Islamic civilization decayed – not Islam. Military victories and superiority, which continued into the eighteenth century, encouraged Muslims to rest on their laurels and neglect further scientific research. They abandoned themselves to living their own lives, and recited the Qur’an without studying its deeper meanings. Meanwhile, Europe made great advances in sciences, which they had borrowed from the Muslims.

What we call “sciences” are, in reality, languages of the Divine Book of Creation (another aspect of Islam). Those who ignore this book are doomed to failure in this world. When the Muslims began to ignore it, it was only a matter of time before they would be dominated by some external force. In this case, that external force was Europe. European cruelty, oppression, and imperialism also contributed greatly to this result.

A civilization, which is far from satisfying humanity’s perennial needs, cannot last for long. Such Western sociologists as Oswald Spengler and many others have predicted the collapse of modern civilization on the same grounds. Whether these predictions are true or false, we believe that the world’s people will soon be awakened to the perennial values brought by the Divinely revealed Religion. These values were preached during history by all the Prophets and Messengers, and represented by them and their followers. Islam, which God sent through Muhammad as the last and perfected form of the religion He appointed for humanity during its history, is the last or perfected form of these religions to meet the needs of all peoples until the Day of Judgment, and the Prophet Muhammad is the last of the Prophets and Messengers. The world’s people will be awakened to these values inherent in the Divine Religion, in which the world and the Hereafter, matter and spirit, mind and heart, and faith and science exist in a united and harmonious form. In addition, the bright world of the future will be established on the firm foundation of Islam’s creed, ethics, spirituality, and morality, as well as its legal, social, and economic structures.