ISLAM AND THE WORLD SUMMARY
CHAPTER 5: THE RISE OF THE WEST AND ITS CONSEQUENCES
Key points in this chapter:
The origins of modern Western Civilisation are very similar to that of Ancient Greek and Roman Civilisation
Christian teachings suffered greatly after becoming the Roman Empire’s state religion. Christianity did not significantly help the empire but arguably made it worse.
The West has misused its scientific advancements for its own gains.
Other negative characteristics of the West include God-forgetfulness, bad leadership, national prestige and more.
Chapter Five goes to great lengths to try and make the reader understand the development of the Western world from its earliest days and its broader implications on the world. This is the longest chapter in the book, so the summary of this chapter will be split into four sections. The first will look at the origins of Western civilisation and its similarities to ancient Greek and Roman civilisation. The second will be about the role of Christianity in Europe from its earliest days, whilst the third will delve into the role of science in Europe in greater detail than in previous chapters. Lastly, the fourth section will briefly highlight other critical characteristics of the West that further show why it is unfit to lead mankind
The author begins the chapter by briefly speaking about the decline of the Turks and how authority passed from the Muslims to the non-Muslims who no longer had a rival, their influence began to spread very quickly. By mentioning non-Muslims, the author primarily refers to Western powers which became the world’s superpowers after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in World War 1. He then says that the origins of Western civilisation can be traced back to ancient Greek civilisation, which was purely materialistic. He uses the writing of Dr Haas, who says, “its religion had no spirituality, no theology, no mysticism”. He also uses the writings of Dr Lecky, who says, “the Greek spirit was essentially rationalistic and eclectic.” Although the author does not draw upon the apparent similarities to the West here, it is important to do so to gain a better understanding of just how similar Western civilisation is to Greek civilisation. Although the masses in the Western world identify themselves as Christian, it is clear that there is a lack of spirituality and mysticism within the followers of Christianity. This is also very similar to Roman civilisation whose religion had no sense of spirituality. The author says that “religion in Rome was, in truth, nothing more than a social tradition and utilitarian formula”. Christianity in the West has also become a social tradition with a lack of spirituality in its followers. Another characteristic that was present in ancient Greek civilisation was its narrow nationalism. In Greece, when a philosopher declared his sympathies for a group beyond his own state, he caused great astonishment amongst his people. There is also a great deal of nationalism within the Western world too. The author goes into greater detail about national prestige and patriotism later in the chapter. He quotes Joad here, who says, “those who wish to rule the nation for whatever purpose, will do well to find something to hate, somebody to fear…” This has given rise to greater nationalism within the masses in the Western world. Therefore, we can clearly see the similarity with ancient Greece’s nationalism. The same nationalism is seen in Roman civilisation too. Although religion existed as it does today in the West, its “self-sacrifice was patriotic, not religious.” The author also speaks about other similarities, such as the separation of religion and state in Roman civilisation and the entirely materialistic conception of life. Therefore, it is clear from this that Western civilisation has many similarities to ancient Greek and Roman civilisation.
Christianity became the official state religion of the Roman empire during the reign of Emperor Constantine (reign: 306 AD – 337AD). Christian teachings suffered significantly because it was made the official religion in the Empire. This is because many people who embraced Christianity after this did so out of a desire to be a part of the “conquering sect”. These people were, however, still pagan at heart, so their influence led to Christianity adopting certain pagan practices. Therefore, “the religion did gain an empire, but lost its soul. The Christians had won on the field of battle, but they were completely routed in the realm of faith and morality.” He then briefly mentions how the pagans and Christians “wrenched the Christian creed out of shape”. The author then makes an important distinction here between Islam and Christianity. He uses the writings of Draper, who says that Christianity was “never sufficiently strong to destroy its antagonist, paganism.” Draper goes on to say, “in this, Christianity differed from Mohammedanism which absolutely annihilated its antagonist and spread its own doctrines without adulteration.” Although neither Draper nor Shaykh Abul Hassan give examples to illustrate this, it is important to do so to fully understand how the two religions differed in their approach to paganism and its influence on their respective religions. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ did not allow any pagan or other religious teachings to be incorporated into Islam. Examples include sculptures or pictures not being allowed, the breaking of all idols around the Ka’bah and other tribes in Arabia, commanding the Muslims not to overpraise the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ such that he is raised above the level of a human and many more. Furthermore, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ abolished all festivals and replaced them with the two Eids, further distancing all pagan practices from Islam. However, it is important to note that certain pre-Islamic practices were continued with modifications such as a call to prayer, the pilgrimage of Hajj and fasting on 10th Muharram. However, these were made distinctly different to the pagans and followers of other religions. In the case of the call to prayer, the Muslims established the Azaan. The pilgrimage to Hajj was also still done. However, all traces of paganism, such as doing the Tawaf (circumambulation of the Ka’bah) naked and boasting about forefathers, were removed from it. The fast on the 10th Muharram was also made different to the Jews by ensuring an extra day was done too. Therefore, it is clear that Islam did not allow paganism to be incorporated into it, and any ideas it took from pagan culture were made very different. This is where Islam differed from Christianity, as Christianity incorporated pagan ideas entirely without distinguishing between what was part of Christianity and what was not. Another crucial aspect of the rise of Christianity in Europe was the rise of Monasticism. This is when one gives up worldly pursuits to devote themselves to spiritual work. However, unlike the Muslims, Christians could not find the equilibrium between material pursuits and spiritual work. Monks completely detached themselves from this world and had practices such as maceration of the body, which “was considered to be the highest proof of moral excellence”. Some saints, such as St Macarius of Alexandria, are said to have slept for six months in a marsh. Others abstained from washing their hands and feet. Other hermits seduced children. Children who forsook their parents and became monks were held in high public esteem. This caused many domestic issues as “social ties were rent apart and the foundation of family life shaken”. It is interesting to distinguish this from Jihaad in the 7th Century. Family ties were still regarded as extremely important when the call for Jihaad was given. This is seen during the life of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ when a Companion came to fight in the way of Allah ﷻ but was instructed to return as he had acted against his mother’s wishes. This was also seen during the reign of Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (May Allah ﷻ be pleased with him), where he made reforms which limited how long men could be away from their families whilst fighting. Soon after Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire, high-ranking religious figures started to become corrupt and extravagant with the extreme wealth they attained. It is reported that all the revenues of France were insufficient to meet the expenditure of the Pope. The Church had great power and could have used this to advance the empire. However, they were too focused on their own desires to do this. The practice of celibacy slightly reduced population growth. However, the main causes of it were bad food, wretched clothing and absence of physicians and the popularity of shrine cures. The Church discouraged physicians from advancing their art as they profited from the use of shrines for cures. Furthermore, struggles between Church and State began to break out, and many centuries later, the Church conceded. There were also struggles between the Church and religious sciences. As the volcano of knowledge erupted in Europe and refuted religious theories, the Church reacted very harshly, and between 1481 and 1801, the inquisition punished 340,000 people. People like Galileo and Bruno were among these victims. Finally, the intellectuals rebelled against the Church. They concluded that religion and science were not compatible. The author correctly notes that it was a mistake to generalise all religions and not look at Christianity individually. It is clear that Islam was not part of this, and Islam did not punish its intellectuals. These ideas have given rise to the thoughts of people like Bernard Lewis, who says Islam fell behind due to a separation of religion and state. Therefore, it is clear that the rise of Christianity did not play an entirely positive role in Europe and the problems it caused, go back to the initial adoption of Christianity as the state religion in which the religion was changed and its creed ‘wrenched out of shape’.
It is without a doubt that the West has made incredible advancements in the field of secular sciences. The material advancement of the West has “given rise to a generation that looks almost superhuman insofar as its power over matter is concerned, but is not very much superior to the beasts when judged with reference to its own inner state”. The West has misused scientific advancements. He uses the writings of Joad here, who speaks about aeroplanes and the “great knowledge of mathematics, of dynamics and mechanics… the ingenuity in the application of knowledge… that have gone into its making, are such to suggest that its inventors were supermen. The intrepidity, resolution, and courage which were shown by the early flying men were the qualities of heroes. Now consider the purpose for which the modern aeroplane has been and seems increasingly again to be used – to drop bombs, to shatter and choke, burn and poison and disember defenceless people…; these, one feels, are the purposes of idiots or devils”. This shows that the West has abused the great advancements that early thinkers made. He uses the writings of an Indian philosopher who said “Yes, you can fly in the air like birds and swim in the sea like fishes; but how to walk upon the earth, you do not yet know”. The author makes a distinction between how the Muslims used science and how the West has used it. He says that “Muslims believe that the real purpose of science is to remove obstacles in the way of true development of man’s personality by using the latent forces in nature in such a way to broaden life and make it rich in all aspects.” Therefore, there is a clear difference between how a Muslim uses science and how non-Muslims do. The author says “There is a clear distinction between how the believer and the non-believer engage with the gifts of Allah ﷻ. A believer remains grateful knowing that he is the trustee of these gifts and not the owner whilst the non-believers were so overcome by their own power and wealth that they insolently refused to acknowledge anyone as superior to or more powerful than themselves.” Therefore, it is clear that the West has misused and abused science for its own gains.
The author also briefly goes through other characteristics of the West. These include the characteristic of God-Forgetfulness. They have entirely forgotten God and in times of adversity, such as the blitz, they would sing songs and dance together instead of calling on God to help them. Such a trait is only seen elsewhere in ancient Greece and ancient Rome. He says, “the idea of divine approval has no place in their calculations”. Another characteristic is pride. Europe is like ancient Greece and Rome in thinking it is the only civilised place and all those living to the East of the Mediterranean are barbarians. Another characteristic is bad leadership. States are now more concerned with their economy than their moral state. Instead of using radio, cinema and television to educate the masses and refine them morally, it perverts their taste and makes them frivolous. In contrast, a religious state will operate as an organisation for enlightenment and moral uplift. Once Umar Ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz was told that revenues of the empire had decreased due to the reforms he had made. However, he reminded them that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ had been sent as a guide, not as a tax collector. Therefore, it is clear from this that the West is in a state of utter moral decadence similar to the Greek and Roman civilisations.ﷺ
To conclude, it is clear that the West is very similar to ancient Greek and Roman civilisations. The rise of Christianity did not benefit Europe either but led to great struggles and the slowing down of scientific advancements. Although it may look like the rise of the West benefited mankind, its abuse of science and other negative characteristics show that this is clearly not the case, and the West is in a state of utter moral decadence.