An important principle upon which Islam is founded is the equality of the human race. It is the religion which unites all human beings without any discrimination. Thus, Prophet Muhammad’s message to the world was based wholly on bringing the human race to the reality of their equality before the Creator, Allah. Having been denied the platform to establish this principle in his birthplace of Makkah, his eventual migration to Yathrib (later known as Madinah) and the wide acceptance of the new faith there provided the opportunity for the messenger to fully demonstrate this important ideology. Muhammad thereby instituted the brotherhood of faith among the Muhajiruun (migrant Muslims) and the Ansar (the indigenous Muslims of Yathrib).
That bond, which transcended race, colour, gender and class, transformed the participants into models, the likes of which have never evolved in history. It was an activity which radically galvanized the economic, social and judicial systems of Yathrib and by extension, the whole world. In the words of Imam Ghazali, “the brotherhood in faith was holding subordinate every distinction of race and kindred and supporting the Islamic precept: none is superior to the other except on the basis of piety and God-fearing.” The prophet practically lived and elapsed on his saying: “O mankind, your Lord is one and your father is one. You all descended from Adam, and Adam was created from the earth.” (Tirmidhi)
His companions comprised Arabs, non-Arabs, blacks, the wealthy, slaves, women and children, with emphasis on the rights of each class in the community. According to Spahic Omer, this brotherhood helped to assert Islam as a universal code of life overlooking no segment of human existence.
The major ingredients of Islamic brotherhood were faith, personal submission and sacrifice, in that order. In the establishment of brotherhood in Madinah, Omer noted that “spirituality was never to be bartered for the trivial delights of this world. Maximum efforts were always to be made towards absorbing fully the Word of God, putting it then into action and disseminating it to whomever, wherever and however possible, making it stand highest among all other sham and pretentious words.” Though numerous bonds have been designed among various interest groups, none has replicated the Islamic bond due to the absence of the most significant prerequisite, faith in the oneness of God. The lifestyle of the companions demonstrated a full understanding of the message. Abu Dharr Al Gifari once had an encounter with Bilal in which he referred to the latter as the son of a black woman. The prophet intervened, and replied Abu Dharr: “you are the man who still has the traits of jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic period of ignorance).” Recognising the enormity of his slip, Abu Dharr placed his face on the ground for Bilal to step on. There was another incident that confirmed the eternity of the bond.
The fruits of the Islamic brotherhood were enormous. Trust, prosperity, comfort, peace and development reigned in the territories of Islam and Muslims championed the cause of the world order, as encapsulated in the Encyclopedia Britannica: “The madrasahs (Islamic centres of learning) generally offered instruction in both the religious sciences and other branches of knowledge. The contribution of these institutions to the advancement of knowledge was vast.
“Muslim scholars calculated the angle of the ecliptic; measured the size of the Earth; calculated the precession of the equinoxes; explained, in the field of optics and physics, such phenomena as refraction of light, gravity, capillary attraction, and twilight; and developed observatories for the empirical study of heavenly bodies. They made advances in the uses of drugs, herbs, and foods for medication; established hospitals with a system of interns and externs; discovered causes of certain diseases and developed correct diagnoses of them; proposed new concepts of hygiene; made use of anesthetics in surgery with newly innovated surgical tools; and introduced the science of dissection in anatomy.
“Muslims furthered the scientific breeding of horses and cattle; found new ways of grafting to produce new types of flowers and fruits; introduced new concepts of irrigation, fertilization, and soil cultivation; and improved upon the science of navigation. In the area of chemistry, Muslim scholarship led to the discovery of such substances as potash, alcohol, nitrate of silver, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, and mercury chloride.
Muslims scientists also developed to a high degree of perfection the arts of textiles, ceramics, and metallurgy.” This was when education, science, technology, commerce and arts were tools of succour to the world, because the innovators were connected to their Lord, who was the guide to all achievements.
The loss of that golden spirit of brotherhood by Muslims is responsible for the retrogression that has engulfed the world ever since. When the Muslims jettisoned the main mission of the prophet and gave in to dissent, shaytan infiltrated them, tore apart the bond and left the Islamic state, nay the whole world in tatters. Having limped off the various discordant traps of the enemies of Allah, the last caliph of Islam was deposed in Turkey on 28th Rajab, 1342 (3rd march, 1924).
To nail the coffin of any resurgence of the Islamic brotherhood, perpetual seed of discord were sown among Muslims, with which they have been largely occupied. The Washington Post has reported that most modern-day wars are taking place in majority-Muslim countries, with Muslims mainly fighting each other. Not only that, the blood of Muslims is spilled relentlessly, holy place of Quds occupied and resources of Muslims aggressively plundered.
Various economic and social systems have been introduced as alternatives to the Islamic system but the failure of feudalism, monarchy, communism, capitalism, secularism and democracy is well documented. Each step towards innovation has since become a leap unto retrogression. Largest chunk of global resources are now channeled towards resettlement for refugees or as aids to the poverty ravaged population. The number of diseases and health challenges witnessed in this century has swelled the record books while the social order is glaringly on the reverse.
Why, then, has the world not returned to the system that brought tranquility, social justice and advancement in human endeavours? It is because Muslims are in deep slumber. Re-introduction of Islamic brotherhood is a task for Muslims in all spheres: homes, institutions of learning and centres of commerce. New breed of divinely inspired individuals can thus evolve to take up the challenge of saving the world from the present chaos. This is because Allah has not decreed a passive position for Muslims in global affairs: “You are the best nation produced (as example) for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah.” (Q 3 verse 110)
Adesina is the Imam, Hijra Mosque, Mokola, Ibadan.
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