History in Quran’s light

By Prof Mohammed Rafi


HISTORY is a record of the rise and fall of nations. Through it we realize facts about nations that flourished, the goals they pursued and above all the values around which their culture and society was organized. It can help us assess values and solve our own problems.

We can avoid the steps taken by those nations which led to their calamitous end. For a better future we cannot escape from the study of history. The Quran exhorts us to go round the world and see for ourselves the fate of those who defied God by ignoring His laws. The source of worldly power i.e. wealth and military strength, could not save them. In the future, history will judge us too. The prognosis is within our grasp.

The Quran is not a book of history. It first states laws that govern the fate of nations and then cites examples from history to illustrate those laws. Those who believe in the Divine Revelation get a deep insight into the nature of the life process. The Quran says, ‘Have they not travelled in the land to see the nature of the consequence for those before them? They were more numerous than them and mightier in power. But all they used to earn availed them not. And when the Messengers brought them clear proofs of the consequences of their doings, they exulted in the knowledge they themselves possessed. And that which they were wont to mock befell them (40:82-83).

These nations were extremely powerful, rich and influential, but when they defied the moral code, their efforts to ward off fate were of no avail. They decayed and finally dwindled away. Their fall could not be attributed to ignorance as the Messengers (Anbia) warned them time and again. They refused to mend their ways and ignored the warnings. The Divine laws have limits and whosoever crosses them must face the destructive consequences. Remorse and repentance could not save them when their final fall was in sight. In the Divine system of laws there are possibilities of change and recovery. Beyond those limits the result is imminent.

The Divine laws demand that justice should be done and the dignity of man should be respected at all costs. Any nation disregarding this value usually exploits other nations and human beings. Such nations are definitely doomed. The consequences may be delayed, but they are inevitable. Allah has created the heavens and earth so that His law of Requital may be set in motion (45:22). This law measured accordingly to a definite pattern called Divine laws (33:39) or the ‘Habit of God’ knows no change. It has operated in the past and will operate in the future as well (33:62).

The Quran views the historical process as a manifestation of the evolutionary process in which the participants are free individuals with foresight which can only take developing steps in the light of Divine directives. The resultant social order is the ultimate goal.

Ibn-i-Khaldun viewed history as a cycle. He reached this conclusion by looking back on the rise and fall of nations. He believed that human society is an eternal up-and-down movement. It develops and completes itself not into something higher and better, but into something different which comprises the old and the new at the same time. This development is purposeful and not merely a part of a movement as Hegel and Marx believed.

Some thinkers believe that the rise and fall of nations depends upon devotion and commitment of the people to their ideal purpose and how hard they work for it. The role of education, tolerance, knowledge and social values is also an important factor. Endurance does not mean meekness, haplessness or weakness, as is generally understood. Endurance in the Quranic sense means resistance, firmness, determination and the will to face troubles in living up to one’s ideals. Only those survive who benefit the whole humanity is another message of the Quran.

History proceeds in line with the fixed moral principles: The effects of a particular way of life may not be obvious for years. Nations are usually deluded by a false sense of security. If they do not mend their ways, they are doomed and ‘God shall lead them on to destruction by steps they perceive not’ (68:44). At times history plays the role of Changez and Halako, as the universal Divine order has no use for nations which merely impede the progress of humanity and are incapable of developing the power to ensure their own security.

Such nations drop out of the procession of mankind and the disappearance is not even noticeable. “And the heaven and the earth wept not for them, nor were they reprieved (44:29). If a nation retraces its path and reforms itself before reaching the point of no return, it is saved. This respite is called ‘ajal’ in the Quran. ‘For every nation there is an ‘ajal’ (7:34) and for every ‘ajal’ there is a law (13:38). The limit, beyond which a nation cannot pass, without being irretrievably lost, is determined by the Divine law.

If a nation suffers, it has brought the suffering on itself. “He who has to perish” says the Quran perishes by a clear proof and he who has to survive, survives by a clear proof (8:42) ‘God does not do injustice to anyone. It is the people who do injustice to themselves (11:101) ‘why should God punish you if you are grateful? (4:147). The Quran points out that a nation begins to decline when it pursues wealth and hoards it instead of spending on the needy. Such nations are supplanted by another nation carrying more weight in the balance of humanity and (47:38). ‘It is better than its predecessor’ (70:4).

A nation which relies on brute force ultimately fails. The rivalries of political and religious factions and the mounting discontent of the people also bring about the downfall of an unjust society. (6:65) This is a situation Pakistan is facing today. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) once said that the kingdom of disbelieves may last, but not the kingdom of tyranny.

In the Quran we read about the misguided leaders and rulers of the past like Pharaoh (political power), Haman (Religious hierarchy) and Qaroon (Economic control). They paid the price for disregarding the universal moral order. The Quran also cites the example of Aad and Thamud; both were rich and powerful nations, highly intelligent and keen observers (29:38); but their scales of values were wrong.

The Quran points out that it is the duty of intellectuals and thinkers to discover the right path and ask people to follow it. And verily we had empowered them with that wherewith We have not empowered you and had assigned them ears and mind, but their eyes and mind availed them naught since they rejected the laws revealed by Allah and what they use to mock befell them (46:26).

According to Briffault (Making of humanity) what really happens is that the phase of society, the order of things in which disregard of right is habitual and accepted, inevitably deteriorates and perishes. Rene Guenon (Crisis of the modern world) predicts that those who unchain the brute forces of matter will perish, crushed by these very forces, of which they will no longer be masters.

Man was not meant to become a glorified beast. The cure for this malady lies in turning back to God by adopting the absolute values. The masses too are not quite blameless as they allow themselves to be misled. It is their duty to pull up their leaders when they go wrong. On the day of judgment the followers and the leaders will hurl accusations at each other when they see their doom. The followers, while admitting that they had obeyed them of their own accord, will plead that they had been taken in by their specious arguments and plausible reasoning (34:32, 33). This sounds very familiar in our present day scenario? Backward nations also eagerly follow advanced nations as their leader. When disaster befalls them both; they will blame each other.

‘Every time a nation entereth Hell, it curseth its sister nations (that went before them), until they follow one another; the latter of them shall say of the former of them’ Our Rabb these led us astray so give them double torment of the fire (7:38). How ephemeral is glory is shown by the ruins of the great cities of the past. They are but a tourist attraction now.

We are exhorted to study history and avoid the path which led others to ruin. The Quran also tells us to roam the world and carefully observe the life of contemporary nations. We will see that knowledge, power and wealth cannot save a nation when it pursues false values. Destiny lies in our own hands. If we live in harmony with the eternal moral order and pursue the Divine permanent values, an unlimited vista of progress lies before us. On the other hand if we defy these values, we will bring disaster and ruin to ourselves.

We cannot stop the tide of history. The Quranic social order which assures a peaceful, prosperous and glorious life to mankind has not been established in the world, not even in any Muslim state. This order is neither a utopia nor unworkable. The Divine course, once adopted so successfully by Prophet Muhammad, is still there and can be taken up by any nation that wishes to reach human destination safely and surely.