The Meaning of ‘Decline of Muslims’

In the Muslim Ummah, the clamor of the decline of Muslims has been prevalent for centuries. This clamor sometimes takes the form of writings and sometimes gets diluted in speeches. In some cases, it leads to profound despair. In some cases, it gives rise to a movement. The tales of the decline of Muslims have also given birth to the state of “mourning” among Muslims. This tale prompted Maulana Hali to write “Musaddas-e-Hali” in the Indian subcontinent. This poem contains such sincerity, sorrow, and intensity that even indifferent people are moved to tears after reading it. The issue of the decline of Muslims compelled Iqbal to write “Shikwa” (Complaint). This poem, due to its influence, still has the power to overwhelm the reader’s entire being. The essence of this poem is that the intensity of the feeling of the decline of Muslims has increased to such an extent that the poet was compelled to complain not only to others but also to Allah. This intensity is such that it does not diminish even after Iqbal’s exclamation “May dust be in my mouth (KHaakam-ba-dahan)”.

The most important aspect of the intensity of the tales of the decline of Muslims is that all the strengths of Muslims have been consumed in the realization of decline and its expression, and very little attention has been paid to the question of what the concept of decline among Muslims actually means and where this expression of decline originates from.

Reading Imam Ghazali’s autobiography, “Al-Munqidh min al-Dalal” (Deliverance from Error), it becomes apparent that under the influence of Greek philosophy and Ismailism, numerous heresies emerged in the thought and practice of Muslims. To the extent that even the foundational beliefs of Muslims began to be affected by these heresies. Ghazali writes that during that time, his heart was not satisfied with the various existing interpretations of religion, but the awareness of this “decline” among Muslims was unique to Ghazali. Except for Imam Ghazali no one else was conscious of this decline. And even if they were, it did not exist at the level of consciousness and its expression, nor was any effort being made to rectify the situation. However, as soon as the Tatars took control of Baghdad, the clamor of the decline of Muslims erupted everywhere.

Before the end of the Ottoman Caliphate, the condition of Muslims was not good. There was a stagnation in the vast sea of knowledge. Indicators of self-indulgence were common among Muslims. Muslims were seen insisting on racial privileges, but the mention of decline was nowhere to be found. However, as soon as the Ottoman Empire came to an end, the clamor of the decline of Muslims erupted everywhere.

The same happened in the region of the Indian Subcontinent. Muslims ruled over the Indian Subcontinent for a thousand years. However, by the time of Emperor Bahadur Shah, many flaws had emerged among Muslims. Their morality had deteriorated, and there was a decline in their intellectual and practical capabilities. Muslims became self-indulgent and wasted time on meaningless entertainment. But there was no one who interpreted this situation as the decline of Muslims. However, as soon as the Mughal Empire declined, the mourning of the decline of Muslims began everywhere.

The meaning of this is that the concept of the decline of Muslims is deeply connected to the decline of Muslim political authority. In fact, many people take the two as synonymous. Undoubtedly, the decline of political power is a significant matter, but it is not an absolute decline; rather, it is a partial or relative decline. Unfortunately, in regard to the meaning of decline among Muslims, there is no distinction between partial and general decline in this narrative, and partial decline is projected as a general decline. It is only the revivalists of the Muslim Ummah who have even in an age of Muslim political dominance identified the moral weaknesses of the Muslims. They sought to reform and awaken Muslims to their true weaknesses of morality and knowledge. And Imam Ghazali’s contribution is in these very two spheres. Mujaddid Alif Thani, during the time of Emperor Jahangir, carried out his reformative endeavors in relation to ontology, morality, and epistemology. Shah Waliullah also focused on these matters. He worked on the moral reformation of Muslims and revived the knowledge of the Quran and Hadith in the Indian Subcontinent. Regarding Maulana Maududi, it is a common misconception that his thought is overly political in nature, but this claim is superficial because Maulana’s concept of politics is based on Islamic ontology. Another aspect of its superficiality is that Maulana’s politics is merely one aspect of his revivalist work. For Maulana the prevalence of Deen encompasses everything. Therefore, when viewed in terms of religious and contemporary demands, Maulana’s reformative model is more comprehensive compared to other reformers.

If we reflect upon it, the most uproar about the decline of Muslims was raised in the Indian subcontinent. An estimate of the weakness of this uproar can be made from the fact that during the era referred to as the decline of Muslims, they created the world’s third-largest language, Urdu. In this language, poets such as Ghalib, Akbar Allahabadi, and Iqbal emerged. After Arabic and Persian, the largest tradition of religious literature was created in this language. In this tradition, scholars like Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi and Maulana Maududi were born. The collective consciousness of the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent, during the era of decline, gave birth to the largest Islamic nation in the world under the name of Pakistan. Can any nation accomplish such a great creative feat in a state of complete decline? Here, the question arises: what is the reality and true meaning of the decline of Muslims?

The meaning of a noble hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is that the blessed era of the Prophet will remain in this world as long as Allah wills. After that, the era of the rightly guided caliphs will come, and it will continue as long as it is pleasing to Allah. After the caliphate, the era of kingship will come, and it will remain until it is according to the will of Allah. After kingship, the era of the worst tyranny will prevail. At the end of this era, the world will once again return towards the caliphate upon the prophetic method.

This noble saying implies the understanding that every era is derived from the era of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The era of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the era of revelation. It is the era of the presence of the Prophet Muhammad(peace be upon him). In this era, the earth was connected to the heavens through the means of revelation. Therefore, on the departure of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), a comment was made that the gate of revelation has been closed forever.

The era of the rightly guided caliphs is a truly glorious era. However, this era is lesser in comparison to the era of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and it carries a certain aspect of decline in relation to the blessed era of the Prophet. But the question here is, what is the true greatness of this era? The spiritual and intellectual deprivation of Muslims lies in the fact that they have forgotten the meaning of the word “Rashid.” The meaning of “Rashid” is guided or “The Guided one,” referring to the person who is blessed with guidance from Allah. Therefore, by “Khulafa-e-Rashideen,” we mean those sacred entities that were guided, but after Hazrat Ali, the caliphate transformed into kingship. Some people believe that kingship signifies the complete decline of Muslims. However, that is not the case. Kingship represents a partial decline of Muslims. The true reality of this decline is that now the ruler is no longer “Guided,” but rather relies on their “moral competence” for governance. Here, it is necessary to clarify that the moral competence of the Monarch has not been severed from the main source; rather, it has greatly deviated from it. Kingship is a lower level than monarchy, and its meaning is that the moral competence of the rulers has weakened, and they rely on intellect and worldly knowledge. The ultimate destination of this realm is the rule of tyranny, and the people who govern with tyranny are those who are deprived not only of intellect and knowledge but also of moral competence. They simply rule through the force of power.

In the light of the aforementioned Hadith, this marks the culmination of Muslims’ decline, but even at this stage, Muslims’ decline is not absolute or complete; it remains partial. This is because Muslims’ beliefs/creeds are intact, their system of worship is alive, and their morality may have weakened but has not been eradicated. Muslim decline will always be partial because Islam is not a temporal or geographical reality; it has come for eternity. And a religion that has come for eternity can never fall into absolute decline. Due to the same nature of Islam, the door of revival remains open within the Muslim Ummah, and a nation that has the institution of revival can never fall victim to absolute decline because the concept of revival contradicts absolute decline.