ISLAM AND THE WORLD SUMMARY
CHAPTER 8: THE LEADERSHIP OF THE ARAB WORLD
Key points from this chapter:
The Arabs are the flag bearers of the Muslim world and play an important role in today’s geopolitics
The Arab world is ‘the cradle of Islam’ so it should assume leadership of the Muslim world
To do this, the Arabs must unite, rediscover their roots, and undergo a great deal of self-sacrifice
This chapter briefly goes over the importance of the Arabs in today’s world. The author also briefly highlights why and how the Arabs should assume leadership of the Muslim world once again. The summary of this chapter will therefore be split into two. The first will highlight the importance of the Arabs in the geopolitics of today whilst the second will speak about how the Arabs can assume leadership of the Muslim Nation and why they should.
Not just the Arabian Peninsula but the entire Arab world plays a huge role in the geopolitics of today. Most Arab countries have very large oil fields which “is the life-stream of military and industrial power”. Arabia is the “pulsating heart of the entire Muslim world”. The Muslims don’t just turn to the two holy sites in the Arabian Peninsula but also to other Arab countries which are hubs of Islamic knowledge. The author does not mention these but an example of this is Egypt and its prestigious university – Al Azhar University. It is also known for its masters in Qur’ān recitation and many people travel there to study Islam. Another example is Jordan which is also known as a centre of Islamic learning. It is clear that the Arab world is the flagbearer of Islamic knowledge. He also mentions the importance of the geographic locations of these countries. Egypt has very fertile lands due to the river Nile and history has shown that the availability of fertile lands has greatly helped many empires to rise to power. Palestine is also another country of great strategic importance. He finally mentions the Iraqi people who are known for their courage and valour. This clearly shows that Arabs play a very important role in today’s world and they only need to wake up from their ignorance to shake the world out of the problems it faces today.
The Arabs should assume leadership of the Muslim world for many reasons. One of these is that Muslims see the Arab world as “the cradle of Islam,” “a refuge for humanity” and “a tower of light and the very source of Muslim Leadership”. Allah ﷻ chose them to be the earliest followers of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and to be the leaders of the world. Therefore, Muslims naturally see them as the leaders of the world. One of the ways to be able to lead the Muslim world again is by uniting once more. The Arab World has become very dependent on the West and looks to them as allies instead of its own neighbours. They must unite with their own neighbours and become one body as they did in the 7th century. Another action they must be do is rediscover their roots. The Arabs have neglected the very habits and practices that kept their material characteristics alive and active. This will help them rediscover their inner courage and rise to a position of stewardship over the Muslim world. Another quality they must rediscover is self-sacrifice. The salvation of humanity is not achieved by force. It depends on the moral courage and self-sacrifice of a handful of people. The earliest Companions displayed a self-sacrifice that was and still is unseen in history. The author mentions several examples but he does not mention the greatest example which is when the Ansār (the name given to the Muslim inhabitants of Yathrib prior to migration) gave half of all their possessions to the Muhājirūn (the name given to the Muslims of Makkah who migrated to Madinah). The Arabs of today must display this self-sacrifice too. They must also become self-sufficient in finance, commerce and industry. It cannot rely on the West to train its armies or run its departments. It must become the master of its own house. The Arabs already have all the necessary prerequisites for self-sufficiency and so achieving this will not be such a great challenge. It is worth noting that they have already made significant progress towards achieving this but there still remains room for furthering this. The Arab Youth also have an important role to play in this. They too must display self-sacrifice and help to build the Muslim world again.
To conclude, it is clear that the Arabs play a key role in today’s geopolitics and because of this are in a prime position to assume leadership of firstly the Muslim world and then the whole world. However, this can only be achieved by addressing the aforementioned issues.
In conclusion, Islam and the World indisputably shows the positive effects of the rise of Islam on the world and the devastating effects its downfall has had. Islam rescued humanity from a state of seemingly eternal bleakness and allowed it to usher in an era of moral contentment and great material progress – finding a perfect balance between the two. Its decline has meant that the world has slowly returned to its 6th-century state where man has lost touch with its inner state. Islam remains the sole viable cure for humanity’s illness and only when Muslims reassume stewardship of the world will the world once again return to a state of glory and peace.
The author ends the book with a poem by Muhammad Iqbal (A South-Asian Muslim Poet and philospher):
The initial poem was translated into Shakespearean English but has been translated into Present-Day English here for the ease of the reader
You are the custodian, the trustee of the Eternal Order.
You are the right and the left flank of the Lord of the Universe;
O! You creature of dust, You are the Time and You are the Earth.
Drink the wine of conviction and get away from the tavern of uncertainty.
Wake up! wake up! from your deep slumber.
From your deep slumber, awake, from your deep slumber, awake, awake.
From your deep slumber, from your deep slumber awake.
l cry mercy from the wantonness of Europe.
I cry mercy from the Sheerins and Purvazes of Europe.
The world has become dissolute by the despoilation of Europe.
O! thou builder of the Ka’bah, arise and build a new world again.
We ask Allah ﷻ to grant the Muslims the strength to rediscover their roots and cure a terminally ill mankind.