Part 3
Author: Mufti Bashir Ahmad Muhajir
The significant obligation of jihad bears immense virtues. However, abandoning it leads Muslims to humiliation and disgrace. History testifies that any nation that renounced jihad ended up with later generations becoming morally weak, shameless, cowardly, and indulgent in desires.
Allah Almighty emphasizes repeatedly in the Quran, instructing believers to engage in jihad, describing it as a beneficial trade and a source of honor. It is evident that if someone forsakes jihad—whether with their wealth or self—and becomes preoccupied with worldly matters and desires, they face great loss, humiliation, sin, and failure.
2. Ignorance
Ignorance is one of the primary reasons for the decline and backwardness of the Muslim Ummah. It can be classified into two types:
a. Religious Ignorance
This refers to Muslims being unaware of the commandments of Shariah, whether in essential religious matters or beliefs, obligatory acts of worship, or permissible transactions.
– If beliefs are weakened, a Muslim cannot remain a complete believer in Islam.
– If worship is neglected, it distances one from Allah’s religion.
– If permissible transactions are compromised, a person loses the ability to distinguish between halal (permissible) and haram (forbidden), becoming indifferent to whether their earnings are halal or haram or whether they uphold their own rights or violate others’.
b. Modern Ignorance
This involves neglecting the acquisition of modern sciences, such as technology, medicine, and other contemporary fields.
Historically, Muslims were pioneers in modern sciences, to the extent that Crusader rulers sent their children to Muslim schools for education. However, Muslims eventually abandoned these sciences, resulting in their inability to even manufacture basic tools independently today. If they manage to create something, they often need external assistance for further refinement.
This ignorance has pushed the Ummah backward both in the modern world and within the Islamic framework. One major reason the youth of the Ummah are detached from jihad is their lack of awareness about its significance, which stems directly from ignorance.
Conclusion:
If the Muslim Ummah seeks to regain its former glory and compete with the world, it must first turn to jihad and then eradicate both religious and modern ignorance from within. Currently, the Ummah considers religion the responsibility of scholars and students while turning away from modern sciences, resulting in widespread harm.
3. Incomplete Knowledge
Incomplete knowledge is another major problem within the Ummah. The renowned scholar Shakib Arslan, in his book “لماذا تأخَّرالمسلمون وتقدَّم غیرُهم”, states:
“The greatest cause of Muslim decline is incomplete knowledge, which is even more dangerous than ignorance. A completely ignorant person may listen to and obey a knowledgeable one, but a person with incomplete knowledge is unaware of their own shortcomings and refuses to admit their ignorance.”
A Pashto proverb echoes this sentiment:
“A half-doctor is a danger to life, and a half-scholar is a danger to faith.”
This lack of complete knowledge hinders progress, as professionals in various fields (engineers, doctors, university professors) often lack expertise in their respective areas, leading to collective failure and decline over time.
4. Corrupt Scholars and Leaders
A major cause of the decline in the Ummah is the prevalence of corrupt scholars (ulama-e-soo’) and oppressive rulers. When leadership rests in the hands of such individuals, corruption and destruction become inevitable.
