The Spread of Islam
 

Muslims did not learn Islam just for the sake of knowledge because this would have made them to be merely like books containing information about Islam. Also they did not listen to Islam merely as a form of advice or as directions, this would have turned them into shallow minded individuals with no strong belief. The Muslims made sure that they avoided these two dangerous paths. The Muslims restricted their learning of Islam and its rules to the method decreed by Islam, which is the understanding of Islam clearly and deeply in order to implement it practically in all walks of life.

One of the great questions puzzling the Orientalists and historians that studied the rise of Islam was how it could happen that the Muslims could conquer three quarters of the known world civilization in less than one century? Or how could the Muslims move seemingly small numbers of soldiers vast distances with such great success, finding conquered lands supporting the Muslims and providing assistance with provisions, maps and help in further conquests? Or what happened to the millions of people conquered, why were there not mass slaughtering or deportation of the vanquished as was and is still the case in ignorant societies? If the people were forced to embrace Islam, why did the conquests continue with the new Muslims eagerly helping? Or why did the Muslims move with equal determination to lands without great resources or wealth like North Africa?

The answers lie in the way that Islam treats the people of the lands opened to Islam, and how those conquered were not exploited but were given a new way of life, a way far superior to the corruptions of man made laws or man controlled religions. The motivation of the Muslim armies was not greed or material benefit but to seek the pleasure of Allah (swt) and as a result the people rushed to embrace Islam, implement it and help in its further spread.

Several factors helped consolidate the Islamic conquests permanently and implanted the seeds of Islam to the Day of Judgement; among these factors was the legislation which made the governing of the countries easy from the very first day, the nature of the rule and the behaviour of the rulers which persuaded the people to embrace Islam, and the implantation of the seeds of Islam into the hearts of those who embraced it forever. This was all possible due to the nature of the Islamic ‘Aqeedah and the Islamic laws, which can be summarised as follows:-

1. Islam is rationally and intellectually based on its ‘Aqeedah. It compels whoever embraces it to believe in it rationally and understand its rules by using the intellect, thus the moment a human being embraces Islam he turns into a thinking person. Allah (swt) directs man to consider the universe and life to realise the existence of a Creator and thereby encouraging him towards gaining knowledge of His rules, to extract them and solve his problems with them. Therefore, Islam settles within his heart and mind conclusively and will motivate him to understand its rules and implement them.

2. Islam obliges the Muslim to read and study. It is not enough for the Muslim to simply profess the two Shahadas in order to become both knowledgeable about Islam and to understand it. The Muslim must study and acquire its culture deeply with a full awareness and clear vision. This knowledge broadens the Muslim’s horizons and develops his perception which enriches his mentality, making him a teacher of others.

3. The nature of the Islamic ideology and of the Islamic Divine rules necessitate that the learner acquire them progressively, affecting in the process both the learner and the society he lives in. The Muslims learnt about Islam in order to implement it, they acquired its rules intellectually and this subsequently affected their emotions. Therefore, their feelings of life and its responsibilities were derived from an effective thought. This is why Muslims were always eager and zealous towards Islam, they had a wide thought and a rich knowledge and broad horizons because the Islamic ‘Aqeedah was deeply rooted in their hearts and minds. They also received the Islamic rules and opinions after a great deal of study and clarification and because the practical implementation of Islam was dominant.

Muslims did not learn Islam just for the sake of knowledge because this would have made them to be merely like books containing information about Islam. Also they did not listen to Islam merely as a form of advice or as directions, this would have turned them into shallow minded individuals with no strong belief. The Muslims made sure that they avoided these two dangerous paths. The Muslims restricted their learning of Islam and its rules to the method decreed by Islam, which is the understanding of Islam clearly and deeply in order to implement it practically in all walks of life.

4. Islam is progressive, it leads the Muslims to new heights and sets them on the path of perfection. It obliges the Muslim to perform certain actions, the performance of which would lead the Muslim to a level of perfection where he can enjoy a spiritual superiority, peace of mind and true happiness. The human being, once raised to such a level, will remain there and will not degrade. However, if the reaching of such a level of perfection were hard to achieve, the maintaining of such a level is even harder, therefore, the actions performed by the Muslims have to be consistent and permanent, not temporary. This enables the human being to maintain that level of superiority and progress.

These actions are acts of worship, some of which are obligatory and others are preferable (Mandoub). Performance of all the obligations by all the people would lead to realising a common level of progress, performing what is beyond the obligatory actions encourages people to stream ahead towards perfection.

Performing these acts of worship is not a hard task, nor is it a tiring or shattering experience, nor does it entail deprivation of life’s pleasures and an abstention from its joyful and happy aspects. It doesn’t lead to the suppression of instincts nor to a contradiction with human nature. No, the performance of such acts of worship, especially the obligatory ones, is an easy task quite within the capability of every human being no matter what his strength and will-power. Acts of worship do not interfere with the humanly pleasures in life. The Muslims perform the desirable (Mandoub) acts of worship with great zeal and eagerness, knowing that by doing so they will gain the pleasure of Allah (SWT).

5. The Muslims conquered other countries in order to convey the Message of Islam and spread it amongst the people. As a result they felt that they were envoys of compassion and guidance. They would enter a country, rule it according to Islam and as soon as the people embraced Islam they would enjoy the same rights that the Muslims enjoyed and they would then become eligible to carry out the same duties that the Muslims had to perform. That country would enjoy the same rights that the State provided for other Muslim regions and would become an integral part of the Islamic State (Khilafah) because the Islamic ruling system is a system of unity. Accordingly the people of the conquered countries never felt as if they were being colonised, nor did they ever sense the slightest signs of colonisation. It therefore comes as no surprise that people embraced Islam in huge numbers, more so after they had witnessed, in practice, true Islam being implemented by Muslims, for themselves.

6. The Islamic ideology and rules are universal. It is permitted to teach them to all people and it is in fact an obligation to teach them to everyone so that they can taste the sweetness of Islam and realise its true nature. The Messenger of Allah (SAW) would send Walis (Governors), judges and teachers to rule people by Islam and to teach them its rules. The Muslims who came after him (saw) conquered many countries and set up rulers and teachers there who would teach the people Fiqh and the Qur’an. The people welcomed the Islamic education with open arms until their culture became Islamic, which included those people who chose not to embrace Islam.

7. The Islamic Shari‘ah is a universal and comprehensive ruling system. Therefore, the Muslims never needed to study the laws of the country that they were about to enter. They never needed to try and accommodate or harmonise between the laws they had brought to solve life’s problems and the laws in existence within that country. They would conquer a country with the complete Shari‘ah in their possession and they would implement Islam from the very first day they entered a country. Their method too was radical, no graduation and no patching up. The Muslims would not give any consideration whatsoever to the reality of the situation or the state of the country, simply because they conquered the country with the sole aim of conveying Islam to its people in order to change their corrupted state of affairs and their turbulent way of life. This necessitated the uprooting of the old regime and replacing it with a new regime in a most comprehensive manner. That is why it was always easy for the Muslims to rule the country from the very first day. Their rule would establish itself completely, they never suffered any legislative crisis, nor did they undergo a transitional period because they had their Message and it was an ‘Aqeedah from which the systems, the legislation and the rules emanated.

It is a Shari‘ah that is valid for implementation for any human race, anywhere and at anytime.

Islamic Revival Homepage

http://islampages.cjb.net   http://pzq.cjb.net

Site designed and maintained by Sultanah X