By R. David Coolidge (Friday Prayer Service (Salat al-Jumah), Dartmouth College, May 16th 2008)
In previous khutbas we have talked about theology, Islamic law, spiritually, and many other matters pertaining to our religion. What we have not talked about, and which is an issue of vital importance, is the issue of Islamic History.
Every single one of us carries around in our head an idea of history. We don’t draw on it very often, but it helps us understand where we are and where we are going. For example, if we think that centuries ago, most people were poor and ignorant and oppressed, whereas now we are rich, knowledgeable and free, we will always be looking forward. If, on the other hand, we think people in the past were happy, righteous, and close to God, whereas now people are generally depressed, sinful, and distant from their Creator, then perhaps we will long for the past, and work to revive long lost virtues of humanity.
In the case of Islamic History, what we think about the past will have a definite bearing on what we choose to do today. For example, most people agree that once Muslim empires were the leaders of the world, politically, economically, and culturally. And most people agree that now the Muslim-majority nation states are struggling to keep up with Europe, America, and now increasingly, even India and China as well. But what people do not agree upon is why this happened. A determining why this happened has major implications for what Muslims are supposed to do now.
Some have argued that the Muslim world fell behind because they became trapped by taqlid, i.e. blind adherence to tradition. This manifested itself on numerous levels, but most importantly, in terms of their interpretation of religion. The no longer delved into the original sources, and instead were content with rehashing the ideas of previous centuries. When European powers came to the Muslim lands, armed with a whole host of new innovations in political, military, and commercial matters, the Muslims were not able to respond properly. Thus, the key to restoring the glory of Muslim civilization is by shedding our traditions, and simultaneously returning to a so-called “pure Islam” while at the same time adapting the benefits of European and American ingenuity to the Muslim context.
On the other hand, there is a thesis that runs in the complete opposite direction. This one argues that Muslim lost touch with their traditions, and tried to mimic the West, and as such lost not only the unique beauty of their civilization, but also lost the tawfiq (success) of Allah in the process. The thesis argues that the center of Muslim civilization was always the scholars (the ulama) and that once the Muslim world stopped putting it’s best and brightest students into madrasas, and instead into faculties of engineering, it lost touch with its foundation, and thus began to crumble.
Two completely opposite theses, but both probably with a ring of truth. As Muslims, we cannot but look to the time of the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as an ideal time. Sure, there were many difficulties and challenges, but that was when the Beloved of Allah walked the earth, and as such it is always considered a blessed time. After the death of Prophet (may the peace and blessings of God be upon him), Muslims diverge in their understanding of the meaning of Islamic history. Some extend the “golden age” of Islam only so far as the early Caliphs. Others extend it through the time of the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid, one of the greatest sovereigns in the history of the world. And others extend it further, to the middle or late Ottoman Empire, roughly around 1800. So when was this so-called golden age, and what criteria do we use to determine when it began and ended?
I do no presume to be able to answer that question for each and every one of you, but rather to encourage you to look more deeply into our history, and began to construct for your self a vision of what happened, and what it meant. I, for one, when I look at 14th century Egypt, for example, I see both good and bad. I see massive illiteracy amongst the populace, not because it was discouraged, but just because not everyone had the luxury of schooling. When I look at the present, I see an improvement on that. But I also see so many examples of people whose knowledge and piety far exceed what we find amongst Muslims today. People like Ibn Ata’illah, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, Abu’l Hasan al-Shadhili – great scholars, and great pious Muslims who we still look to for guidance today. And when I look around today, it is hard to find such luminaries.
When I look at the great battles that took place between the Ottomans and Safavids, two of the last great Muslim empires, I realize also that there is continuity with the present. Those battles were the staging ground for the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, wherein the Western Sunni power felt obliged to hold back the perceived threat of resurgent Shi’ism in the East. And when I reflect on this, I wonder if it will ever be in my lifetime that Muslims will stop spilling each other’s blood in the Fertile Crescent. I hope so, but I realize this tension has a long history.
When I look at the skyscrapers in the metropolises of the Muslim world, I am enthused about the further integration of the Muslim world into the global community, but when I see the magnificence and the serenity of places like the masjid of Ibn Tulun in Cairo, built in the 9th century, I wonder what beauty we have lost over the centuries as Muslims. The buildings we used to build, the gardens we used to plant, the books we used to write – these are some of the greatest treasure in human cultural history, and are filled with beauty and spirituality. Even though the Muslim world is now technically richer in absolute terms than it has even been, it cannot produce works to match those of the past. But at the same time, we see the increase in schools and hospitals and so on through the Muslim world, and we cannot help but be happy at that development.
Ultimately, it is a mixed bag. There is good and evil in the past, just as there is good and evil now. But as we begin to learn more about our history, and understand where we have come from, what matters most is where we are going. “Those who do not know history are condemned to repeat it” is the mantra of the historian. At the same time, the Qur’an has its own teaching to help us understand history: “Tilka ummatun qad khalat, lahaa ma kasabat wa lakum ma kasabtum, wa la tus’alunna amma kanu ya’malun (That was a nation who has passed away. They shall receive the reward of what they earned, and you of what you earn. And you will not be asked of what they used to do.) [2.141]
What matters most is what we will build, what we will accomplish. We hope that in future, people will look back at us and say, “what amazing books they wrote! What beautiful clothes they wore! What harmonious societies they created! What profound worship they engaged in!” We hope that future history books carry stories of our excellence, just as innumerable books carry to us the stories of the great Muslims of the past.
