ISLAM AND THE WORLD SUMMARY
CHAPTER 6: MANKIND’S REAL LOSS UNDER WESTERN DOMINATION
Key points from this chapter:
The world has lost the equilibrium between material and spiritual pursuits
The Muslims have adopted Western ideas which are very much inferior to their own
The state of the people before the West rose to power was far better than now
In chapter 6, the author speaks about mankind’s losses under the domination of the West and its ideologies. He also goes on to make a comparison to the state of the people before Western domination and after. The summary of this chapter will be split into two sections. The first section will highlight some of mankind’s losses as a result of western domination, whilst the second will draw a comparison between the state of the people before and after the rise of the West
Mankind has lost a great deal as a result of Western domination. It disregards spirituality and its focus is purely a material one. The author says that the “West has lost its quest for spiritual truths” and these things have no place in everyday life. As a result, people are only focused on the material now and do not seek to better their spiritual state. The author says about this that “the surroundings that the West has succeeded in creating for itself are not related to the eternal and the infinite; they have imprisoned man in the world of matter and the West has made him forgetful of his true self.” A consequence of this is that people’s hearts are slowly dying due to the lack of religion in their lives. The author says that “one who is devoid of the sense of religion is dead to all feelings and sensations that arise out of religious faith”. This has caused a problem even in the Muslim community living in the West as religious preachers are no longer as effective because “the inner selves of the listeners have become paralysed”. Their sermons fall on deaf ears. This is linked to an earlier point the author makes where he says that the followers of Islam are the ones who have lost out the most, both spiritually and morally as Muslim values are directly opposed to Western ideas. As seen throughout the book and made especially clear in the earlier chapters, Islam puts its focus on the spiritual state of man before its material state. The West’s disregard for man’s spiritual well-being is in direct contrast and to their loss, the Muslims have adopted these inferior ideas and practices. It is therefore clear that mankind has lost its spiritual nature and its soul due to Western domination.
The author then speaks about past Muslims to draw a comparison between the state of the people prior to the domination of the West and after. It is important to note that the author does later mention that not all people were like the ones he mentions The examples were given to “convey the fact that generally, the quality of human material was much better in the past than it is now”. He mainly zones in on the Indian subcontinent but examples do exist in other parts of the Muslim world too. The author gives examples of rulers such as Shamsuddin Iltumish, Ghayathuddin Balban and Nasiruddin Mahmud. These rulers presided over a vast empire but were still known for their piety. Another example the author gives is Sultan Muzaffar Shah who despite ruling over a large empire, took time to complete the Quran to memory and was well versed in the exegesis of it too. He said “By the grace of God, in addition to knowing the Quran by heart, I have a full command over the points of law and precepts arising out of every verse of it…” Another example the author gives is that of Sher Shah Suri who had a strict daily routine where he would spend hours in prayer. He would pray the Tahajjud prayers (night prayers) and then take care of some administrative matters so as not to be bothered by them during the day which allowed for more time to worship during the day. In addition to this, he gives the example of Aurangzeb whose empire stretched from Kabul and Khandar to the Deccan but he still ensured that he kept time for optional worship. He had memorised the Quran and even wrote his own commentary. The author goes on to mention how even the ministers in the Mughal court there were people who had a great love for religion and led very pious lives. Examples of this include Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khanan and Asif Khan. The latter possessed vast knowledge of Islam and led a very simple life. His ascension to the court did not change this simple life that he led. He was even invited to visit Istanbul by the Ottoman Sultan himself. Although the author does not mention examples outside of the Indian Subcontinent, examples of such rulers do exist in other parts of the Muslim world such as Sultan ‘Abdulhamid II and King Faisal Ibn ‘Abdul ‘Aziz. As mentioned before, the reason for mentioning these is to show that the quality of human material has severely declined under the domination of the West. It is clear that it is nearly impossible to try and find similar people today. The author says “many of the things that were then considered essential for bringing the human personality to maturity have now been ruled out of existence under the devastating spell of Western ideals and inclinations”. Even amongst the Muslims, it is nearly impossible to find rulers or even ordinary people like this. The author closes the chapter by saying “if one were to compare the daily occupations of present-day Muslims with those of the aforementioned specimens of the old Islamic civilisation, one would find it hard to believe that both professed the same ideology or that only a few generations separated one from the other”.
To conclude, it is clear that mankind has lost its spiritual nature and its soul under the domination of the West. Its disregard for man’s spiritual nature has been detrimental for the Muslims who have taken up many of these ideas which are very much inferior to their own ideals and principles.