| Pharaoh exalted himself arrogantly
in the land and divided its people into camps,
oppressing one group of them by slaughtering their
sons and letting their women live. He was one
of the corrupters. (Surat al-Qasas: 4)
Under such circumstances where
people suffer economic and social problems under
the tyranny of unjust leaders, a need for a saviour
is profoundly felt. This is the person who removes
the unfavourable aspects of the system caused
by the disbelief (kufr) of the ruler and his people
and brings the peace, justice and security which
come along with obedience to Allah and His Messenger.
After the Prophet Musa (as),
the Children of Israel also faced the same difficulties
under the rule of tyrants. They were driven from
their homes and lands and suffered intensely.
Realising that neither the idols they worshipped,
nor their possessions, nor ancestors would save
them from such undesirable circumstances, they
asked for a king from their Creator; a saviour
who would save them from this cruel system. Allah
answered the call of these people and sent them
Talut (Saul in the Bible):
What do you think
about the council of the tribe of Israel after
Musa's time when they said to one of their Prophets,
"Give us a king and we will fight in the
way of Allah?" He said, "Is it not possible
that if fighting were prescribed for you, you
would not fight?" They said, "how could
we not fight in the way of Allah when we have
been driven from our homes and children?"
But then when fighting was prescribed for them,
they turned their backs - except for a few of
them. Allah knows the wrongdoers. (Surat al-Baqara:
246)
"You Will Not Find Any Changing in the Pattern
of Allah"
From the stories related in the
Qur'an, we understand that almost the same thing
befell past civilisations who revolted against
their messengers. The circumstances under which
people led their lives, the sending of messengers
to warn them and their destruction all follow
the same pattern.
Modern societies also undergo
rapid corruption and degeneration. Poverty, misery
and disorder throw the lives of people into complete
disarray and make them wish for a peaceful life
where virtue prevails. Apparently, justice can
prevail only if the values of the Qur'an becomes
predominant among people. Only people having real
values can bring solutions to all the trouble
that people experience today. Indeed, Allah sent
prophets and messengers to the earlier generations
who experienced similar social depressions, and
He sometimes granted amazing wealth and splendour
to those who followed the messengers. This fact
is related in the following verse:
If only the people
of the cities had had faith and feared, We would
have opened up to them blessings from heaven and
earth. But they denied the truth so We seized
them for what they earned. (Surat al-A'raf: 96)
This verse, as well as many others
confirming it, reveals that the one and only way
to attain bliss and peace is adherence to Islam.
This principle will apply to coming generations
as it did to previous ones. In places bereft of
Islam, injustice, insecurity and instability prevail.
This is the law of Allah. That there exists no
change in the law of Allah is stated as follows
in the Qur'an:
...But then when a
warner did come to them, it only increased their
aversion, shown by their arrogance in the land
and evil plotting. But evil plotting envelopes
only those who do it. Do they expect anything
but the pattern of previous peoples? You will
not find any changing in the pattern of Allah.
You will not find any alteration in the pattern
of Allah. (Surah Fatir: 42-43)
The Prevalence of Islam According to the Qur'an
As mentioned in the previous
section, that Allah sends prophets and messengers
to communities for their deliverance from disbelief
and injustice is something the Qur'an informs
us about. This prophet or messenger leads his
people to believe (have iman) in Allah without
ascribing partners to Him, and to fear Him. If
the community persists in denial, he warns them
of Allah's wrath. Allah tells that He destroys
no tribe before this warning is delivered:
We have never destroyed
a city without giving it prior warning as a reminder.
We were never unjust. (Surat ash-Shu'ara: 208-209)
In the age in which we live,
one observes degeneration, both physical and spiritual,
in society at large accompanied by economic and
political instability. Huge gaps exist between
poor and rich, and social corruption steadily
escalates. The Qur'an reminds man that after and
even during such dark periods, Allah always shows
the way to salvation to those who earnestly desire
it. This way, Islam will certainly prevail over
the entire world and the true religion will supersede
all pagan religions. To His true believers (muminun),
Allah gives the good tidings of this in surah
at-Tawba:
But Allah refuses
to do other than perfect His Light, even though
the unbelievers detest it. It is He who sent His
Messenger with guidance and the Religion of Truth
to exalt it over every other religion, even though
those who worship other things than Allah (mushrikun)
detest it. (Surat at-Tawba 32-33)
In Surat an-Nur, Allah informs
his true believers who engage in "right actions"
without associating partners with Him and who
purely seek His good pleasure, that they will
attain power, as preceding believers always did:
Allah has promised
those of you who believe and do right actions
that He will make them successors in the land
as He made those before them successors, and firmly
establish for them their religion with which He
is pleased and give them, in place of their fear,
security. "They worship Me, not associating
anything with Me." Any who disbelieve after
that, such people are deviators. (Surat an-Nur:
55)
One point deserves mention here.
In the above verse, the requisite for the diffusion
of Islam is given; the existence of believers
who are purely slaves of Allah without ascribing
partners to Him and who engage in good deeds in
His way...
The Expected Saviour
What has been related so far
is the following: in every age, Allah answered
the call of His slaves who desperately needed
His help. This also holds true for this age and
for the future. As it was the case with the earlier
ages, in our day, too, it is expected that Allah
will save people from the injustice of the system
of disbelief and present them with the beauties
of Islam.
It is especially expected that
the Islamic world will find a way out of the corruption
it experiences today and the sincere believers
will communicate the values of Islam to the whole
world. Surely, as in every age, today people hope
that a saviour will appear. This saviour, who
will take mankind from the "darkness to the
light," is the religion of Islam. The people
leading the way to live by these superior values
will defeat all the systems that deny Allah, and
they will render corrupted ideologies invalid.
In brief, Allah will help each
people as He did in previous ages. Allah promises
this to His slaves who sincerely turn to Him and
have deep fear of Him.
Those who were expelled
from their homes without any right merely for
saying, "Our Lord is Allah" If Allah
had not driven some people back by means of others,
monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques,
where Allah's name is mentioned much, would have
been pulled down and destroyed. Allah will certainly
help those who help Him - Allah is all-Strong,
Almighty, those who, if We establish them firmly
on the earth, will establish prayer and pay the
poor-due, and command what is right and forbid
what is wrong. The end result of all affairs is
with Allah.
(Surat al-Hajj: 40-41)
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