The need for reconstructing Islamic intellectual thought based on genuine Quranic teaching is becoming ever more critical. The current mindset that presides over much of Muslim academia is such that it, unfortunately, falls into endless apologetics and romanticism, such is the case, especially in the reading of Islamic history.
Because a blind admiration for everything Western has come to be regarded as the hallmark of progress in most Muslim countries, a dangerous urge has been induced that calls for the subconscious modification and teachings of Islam that are consistent with the trends of Europe and America. It has thus become the fashion of numerous contemporary writers to paint a glamorous picture of a very distant past:
Islamic civilization is one of those magnificent civilizations that embellish the pages of world history and fill to replenish the imperishable treasure-houses of books with its grand relics and glorious memories. During the reigns of the Khalifs Mansur, Rashid and Mamun, the city of Bagdad with its countless beautiful edifices, splendid amenities of life, unlimited wealth and resources, had reached a stage of civilization never approached by any nation before. The population of the city was 25 lakhs, Damascus, Cairo, Aleppo, Samarqand, Ispahan—what consummate models and what perfect ideals they have presented in all branches of art, in the cultivation of the sciences, in the happy and contented life of the people, in the abundance of magnificent edifices! Qairawan, Fez, Tlemcen in Morocco and other cities in Africa had attained such heights of splendor and magnificence that no nation of modern Europe can challenge or refute these claims, Cordoba, with its million and a half of population, was without a match on the continent. Geometry, Mathematics, Astronomy, Medicine, Chemistry, Geology and all the other sciences beneficial to man were taught in the academies of al-Azhar, al-Amazi, az-Zaituna, Qairwan, land the universities of Cordoba, Bagdad and Samarqand at a time when Islam could boast of its empires and its great men. How glorious was the galaxy of geniuses and scholars produced by Islam who were versed equally well in theology and in the sciences and could harmonize both like two blossoms on a garland! Al-Qazi Ibn Rushd is the Arab philosopher best known among the Europeans and he was a great theologian. We have had but a glimpse of the products of Islamic civilization and its golden age. … How many priceless books have been written by European historians on Islamic civilization; how many beautiful photographs have been published by them! Even the most malevolent critics of Islam have not dared to belittle the fruits of this civilization…
— “Our decline and its causes”, Shakib Arslan
The above quotation illustrates the error our well-meaning academics have fallen into. Firstly, the historical reading can be seen to be done through a materialistic lens. While indulging in the most elaborate praise of Muslims, for their achievements in the worldly sense it completely ignores the actual state of the culture at that time from a moral and spiritual perspective. That whether the very foundation of Islam as a moral and practical social code, is being adhered to or not, does not occur to be a concern; nor does there seem to be a question on the validity of some of those achievements as truly Islamic. It is seemingly enough that the said achievements bore Muslim names and are granted Western recognition. Maryam Jameelah highlights this point in her book “Islam and Modernism”:
To attempt to justify Islamic civilization only to the extent to which it is allegedly claimed to be the forerunner of the modern West is to assert by implication that Islam has already accomplished its mission in history and henceforth has no future as an independent and self-sufficient way of life of its own
One of the highlights of Muslim apologetics is to crown Islam as the sole foundation stone of all of Europe and America is now. Most conversations on science, democracy, or evolution, irrespective of their theological veracity, will attempt to link them, in their current understanding, to Islam from several centuries ago. Wilfred Smith puts it best, “In the endeavor to lift Islam to a level that the West accepts, it is forgotten that unless Islam…is not only as good but better than secular requirements, there is presumably no case against those who abandon Islam and go over to Westernism.”
Even if are to consider the fact that Muslim cities at a certain point in history were flourishing with wealth and infrastructure decades if not centuries ahead of the rest of the world and while Europe dwindled in the dark ages, how does this help our situation now? How does this constant over-emphasis on material wealth give us any value today other than filling us with a sense of false pride?
It must also be noted that the very figures from that period of history that are so enthusiastically celebrated today have only been bestowed such honor through the distorted perspective of a secular and materialist worldview. Individuals such as al-Kindi, Ibn Farabi, Ibn Sina, and Ibn Rushd were regarded as heretics by many respected Scholars of their time, and not because of their contribution to science, but because of their continuous attempts to reinterpret Islam under the influence of pagan Greek philosophy. They had been refuted academically by their counterparts, and almost forgotten by Muslims until Western orientalist research resurrected them.
The same can be said about the individuals that developed the various branches of math and science, most of them had major issues with their aqeedah (creed), particularly that of Mu’tazilite thought. Their philosophical basis once again stemmed from Greek paganism, despite their achievements having far surpassed that of the Greeks.
But it must be noted just as importantly that although Islam always encourages robust intellectual and academic pursuits in all fields of knowledge, many reputable Muslims, unfortunately, abandoned these fields completely simply because of who they were associated with. Imam Ghazali himself points this out:
A grievous crime indeed against religion has been committed by the man who imagines that Islam is defended by the denial of the mathematical sciences…If the learned non-Muslim believes that Islam is based upon ignorance, he thus grows in love for philosophy and hatred for Islam.
Thus, Muslims failed to realize the need for differentiating these sciences from Greek philosophy and rebuilding them upon a genuine Quranic basis. This allowed European imperialism with all its technological advancement to conquer and dominate Muslims. In all spheres.
Thus, in light of the above premise, we should boldly own our history with all the good and the bad, and not be manipulated through it, as it does us no good to indulge in wishful thinking and romanticism. As Maryam Jameelah says:
“All pagan influences which infiltrated into the culture of the Muslim world in the past should be rejected as irreconcilable to Islam as the anti-religious forces of the present. We should take our inspiration from the moral and spiritual excellence of the pious and devout rather than merely gloating over materialist brilliance and worldly success.”
For us to seek genuine inspiration we do not need to look further than the times of the 3 best generations after The Prophet (PBUH). They actualized building their worldly success upon a genuine basis of the Quran and Sunnah. One can even say that worldly and material success despite not being of concern to them, nevertheless came into their possession simply due to their complete adherence to their purpose as Muslims. That and only that is what Muslims should glamourize and be wishing for, a revival of complete adherence to the Islamic code and way of life, while openly rejecting all that goes against it tries to modify it.
With a deeply permeating defeatist mentality now infecting Muslims, many colonized minds still latch onto what little glory and honor they can draw out from reminiscing the selective and convolutive past. This phenomenon has come to take the worst shape in the modern world in the wake of a neoliberal world order. What I have attempted to demonstrate thus far is but a glimpse of what one might call ‘the intellectual stagnation of Muslims’. The liberal world order has simply ramped up its efforts to take this ‘stagnation’ to unprecedented levels. Positioning itself as the ‘free world’, it regularly portrays an understanding of Islam that appeals to the most negative emotions. The most heinous of images and gross descriptions of Islamic law, life, and beliefs are projected across the globe. Once again, a justification for the conquest and division of Muslims is quickly appealed to and all technologies are employed to put up the most barbaric form of oppression done on entire nations.
Matters are exacerbated further when the same ‘defeatist mentality’ that so eagerly latched onto its perception of the golden age now begins to define Islam along the lines of what the ‘free world’ dictates. In an effort to reconcile one’s faith and way of life with the increasingly encroaching might of the liberal west, Islam itself now begins to take on new forms. “Islamic feminism”, “Islamic democracy”, “Islamic human rights”, in short, “Islamic anything” that signifies western liberal thought. This then is nothing less than a continuation of colonization, at a subconscious level yet fully influencing everyday life. The colonized automatically assumes all values that come from its master to be true and universal and therefore doesn’t stop to question them, as the most complex and elaborate arguments are put forth to justify them. Anyone found resisting such encroachment of ideas is immediately labeled a “fundamentalist”, “backward”, and “extremist”.
Ibn Khaldun put it best:
The vanquished always seek to imitate their victors in their dress, insignia, belief, and other customs and usages. This is because men are always inclined to attribute perfection to those who have defeated and subjugated them. Men do this either because the reverence they feel for their conquerors makes them see perfection in them or because they refuse to admit that their defeat could have been brought about by ordinary causes, and hence they suppose that it is due to the perfection of the conquerors. Should this belief persist long, it will change into a profound conviction and will lead to the adoption of all their characteristics. This imitation may come about either unconsciously or because of a mistaken belief that the victory of the conquerors was due not to their superior solidarity and strength but to [inferiority of] the customs and beliefs of the conquered. Hence, arises the further belief that such an imitation will remove the causes of defeat.
