The term ‘Islam’ is used for the ‘guidance’ that Allah(SWT) has revealed to his messengers from the very beginning of human existence on this earth. All prophets of Islam some of them namely Adam, Nuh(Noah), Ibrahim(Abraham), Lut(Lot), Ismail(Ishmael), Ishaq(Issac), Yaqub(Jacob), Yusuf(Jacob), Musa(Moses), Isa(Jesus) and Muhammad(SAW) may Allah(SWT)’s peace and blessing be upon them all were part of one nation of Islam. The message that was taught by all of them was essentially the same i.e. of Peace, Love, Submission to Allah(SWT), Restraining from the bad and indulging in the good etc. Anybody who believes and has believed in those teachings is referred to as a ‘Muslim’. Muslim Ummah is not driven or limited to any geographic location rather it is a collective stream of all believers living at a given time. The only difference between Muslims following Prophet Muhammad(SAW) and those Muslims before him (Judaism and Christianity are the terms coined by later generations) is the details of law divinely bestowed on them since Quran through our prophet Muhammad(SAW) perfected the message for the entire humanity to come while the rest of the prophets/messengers were sent locally to their own nations and tribes with the laws relevant to that time.
The reason that modern day Jews and Christians are not considered the part of that Muslim Ummah anymore (although the early believers from among them were) is because they corrupted their original scripture and added literature that was not divinely revealed to them. Hence the term ‘chosen people’ was used for the Children of Israel when they were ‘Muslim’ or submissive to Allah(SWT) and when they corrupted their faith, that privilege was taken from them and given to their cousins (children of Ismael) the Arabs and hence they and everyone who follow that message till the end of time will now be considered among the ‘chosen people’. It is an integral part of the Muslim faith to believe in all divine scriptures and messengers sent before and hence we refer to Jews and Christians as ‘people of book’, however, we have to keep in mind that they once had the guidance from Allah(SWT) and therefore their current literature may have bits and pieces from divine message but for most part we don’t recognize it as the authentic source due to the massive corruption over the centuries.
The Ummah is defined by the faith and ideology not by race, color, nationality or geographic location. The term ‘nation’ or ‘Qaum’ is sometimes confused with with ‘ummah’ or ‘Community of Believers’ which are not the same. Infact Quran mentions that we have divided you into nations so that you may recognize each other. Hence the concept of nation is used only to categorize people; however, the concept of ummah is a collection of people beyond physical boundaries who are brothers to one another as a result of following the single ‘way of life’ divinely prescribed to them.
Allah(SWT) says in Quran that the success of Muslims lies in holding tight the rope of Allah(SWT) and not getting divided among each other. When prophet(SAW) was asked about the rope of Allah(SWT), he said that it is the Quran and my sunnah. Hence the ‘falah’ or ‘success’ of this ummah is in following the foot-steps of rasulAllah(SAW) or else there will be disaster waiting for them on each step of the way since the each Muslim in the ummah has entered in a special covenant with Allah(SWT) (by professing the oneness of Allah(SWT) and prophethood of Muhammad(SAW)) that no other nation has and the rebellion of that covenant has serious consequences both in this world and in the hereafter.
As evident, Islam can’t be forced at an individual level, however, at the collective level, the ‘khliafah’ must be established and the shariah laws must be enforced (atleast in the Muslim majority country) but the conversion of the individuals is not forceful since ‘there no compulsion in religion’ in that regard. The sole purpose of the humanity on this earth is to be the ‘khalifah’ or vicergent to Allah(SWT) and establish the divine system of ‘khilafah’ by ‘enforcing’ shariah of prophet Muhammad(SAW) and hence attain the true justice, peace and serenity in order to fulfill our commitment to Allah(SWT) and as a result the reward as Al-Jannah. Failure to do so would put us in the condition that we are currently in i.e. having no significance at the global level despite of having one of the best natural resources and skill-sets. The understanding of the masses of Muslim is very limited as most don’t even bother to dive in the ocean of the religious knowledge of Islam. The true Islam is only in following the traditions of RasulAllah(SAW) and no one else’s and as its said in Quran that the ‘deen has completed’ at the time of Prophet(SAW) and hence all we need to do is to follow his footstep to reach to our destination successfully.
A question surfaces that why other nations are better off while Muslims are in such a mess. We should remember the ayat of Quran in Surah Raad that Allah(SWT) will not change the state of the nation unless they collectively make effort towards that goal. It clearly means that there are certain pre-requisites for a nation to prosper most important of which is the unity and a willingness towards one’s goal. The only common ground for the unity of the entire Muslim ummah is Islam and hence once we start following it as divinely prescribed, we will be bonded by a new spirit that would bypass the geographical boundaries and give us the passion and willingness to spread the goodness to the entire humanity. We have to remember that those other nations also have their flaws but in general they are united in their core cause of prosperity and development and hence have prospered. On the other hand, we Muslims at the moment are in total chaos across the globe as we are simply suffering from the continued effects of our rebellion to divine message as per the verse 285 of Surah Baqara. Muslims are also subjected to other insults like the imposition of unworthy rulers over them which have made it very difficult for the ummah to advance and take simple steps for the betterment and advancement.
Nobody can deny the importance of logic in Islam but the fact remains that the vision and wisdom of the ummah as a collective entity will be blinded or blurred unless the majority comes back to their core religion. A few individuals might be able to achieve excellence to a degree but the masses will still remain in turmoil and confused. Our core issue is our disregard of the divine revelation that not only was supposed to make us better people but also gives us the vision to look way beyond our pity differences. Muslims in the early era of Islam were both Islamic scholars as well as mathematicians, scientists; surgeons etc. since they understood the core message of Islam and applied in their life with clear vision and wisdom and hence became the leader of the world. The west has managed to exploit one aspect of material means but they are missing the very essence of spiritual enlightenment that makes this advancement a blessing to the rest of the humanity therefore most of the humanity is still suffering from trivial issues like hunger or lack of clean water etc. across the world. Islam offers the solution to all those problems not only for the Muslims alone but for the entire humanity as it preaches the propagation of goodness to every corner of the world and allows people to prosper in a peaceful environment regardless of their faith or race.
Some of Muslims consider Islam as a religion (Madhab) while its is evident that it infact is a way of life (Deen) henceeverything we do as a Muslim from individual to collective manner should be driven by what we are divinely instructed something that Prophet(SAW) has practically showed us during his life. If we abandon those teachings then we will surely get stranded between the uncertainties and won’t be able to help ourselves unless we turn back to the point where we lost our collective way which inshaAllah we eventually will as foretold to us in the ahadeeth since despite of being in the footsteps of Jews, Allah(SWT) will show us the way and guide us to the light with His special mercy and kindness and clear the darkness around us.
The trial and tribulation of this world can be of variety of nature. The concept that I understood from hadiths is that the unbelievers are subjected to certain similar trials along with the non-believers since that phenomenon is the common for the entire humanity but in general unbelievers are given more luxuries of this duniya so that they would indulge themselves in it completely, forget the akhira and have nothing left in the hereafter. On the other hand, the believers are subjected to bigger and harsher trials and tribulations so that they will cleanse themselves in this duniya and enjoy the most in akhira. Quran also addresses to believer that they shouldn’t think they will get Jannah for granted and that they will not be tried in this world. There were Muslims of the past who were cut into two pieces with saw and still they remained steadfast. Those believers, however, are the ones who were sincere and submissive to Allah(SWT) commands and perhaps not common Muslims of today who take selective approach and subjected to the wrath of Allah(SWT).
In the end, glory belongs to Allah(SWT) and his deen and anyone associating himself to it by becoming part of the struggle towards the upholding the religion of Allah(SWT) will automatically be glorified (although personal glory is not intention of the believer) as a logical conclusion. The secret is in ‘ruj-allal-Quran’ or returning back to Quranic teachings along with a persistent & sincere collective effort to better ourselves. Once we combine these two, we inshaAllah will be successful in both worlds.
