Islam Rediscovered
7. Discovery of Islam
~ 106 ~
If the Qur’an and Sunnah are taken to be the true
sources of knowledge of God’s will, all mankind, in
the words of a
hadith
, will be regarded by the
believers as God’s family; the whole of humanity
will become their concern: whereas, when the mind
is shaped by history, Muslims see themselves as
rulers, and others as subjects. If they derive Islam
from the Qur’an and Sunnah, then all God’s
creation—even a blade of grass—will appear to
them as God’s signs. Whereas when history is the
source of their Islam, the forts and palaces of their
kings become signs of grandeur and glory to them.
This is exactly what has happened with the latter
day Muslims. Almost all the activities of Muslims in
present times bear testimony to this fact. The
speeches of their leaders, the books of their writers,
the poetry of their poets, seem to centre on their
glorious history. Their writers and speakers provide
them food for thought about historical glory rather
than divine glory. This is the reason why in modern
times a large number of books have been written by
the Muslims bent on the celebration of history,
while perhaps not a single book has been produced
on the majesty of God Almighty.
