On the fate of nations

By Amin Villani

13th April 2012

ONE of the important themes in the Quran is the fate of earlier nations. In many verses Allah enjoins us to travel around the world to see the ultimate fate of those who went before.

Many Prophets mentioned in the Quran had travelled a lot during their lives. Thus the Quran makes it incumbent on every generation to travel around the earth and see the glory of Allah, the majesty of His nature and learn how nations rose and went down. The land bears testimony to the fact that many nations have emerged, raised and reached the heights of civilisation but ultimately they went down and lie buried under the earth. Similarly, history is also evident that the world witnessed many rulers, dynasties and nations that touched the zenith at one point in time and then slid into oblivion.

Many warriors conquered vast lands, enslaved weaker nations, ruled over them and then their successors faced decline and met their fate. A nation which reaches the pinnacle of its height and a nation which falls to its lowest ebb have both left marks for the coming generations to ponder upon and learn from the causes of their rise as well as their downfall.

The Quran also mentions the vicissitudes of some nations like of those of ‘Aad, Hud and Saleh, etc. for drawing lessons. It directs the Prophet (PBUH) to relate such stories so that his followers may reflect. The narrations indicate certain core values upon which a nation can stand and grow and also warn us to abstain from such vices that cause downfall.

From verses in the Quran, it can aptly be derived that there are aspects that can derail a nation from the road to human development. These can include excessive materialism, abuse of power and use of intoxicants, for instance.

A nation engrossed in excessive materialism tends to ignore higher spiritual values, human rights and sense of equality among its members. It falls into corruption and goes haywire. The Holy Prophet (in one of his sayings warned that excessive love of the world (materialism) was the root of all wrongs (Ibn Majah).

Similarly, disregard of human rights promotes lawlessness, violence, crime and use of intoxicants make a nation drift towards catastrophe. Therefore, every nation needs to guard its lines against such vices. Human history provides ample proof that the great dynasties that ruled over nations for hundreds of years fell just because they sold their souls.

In Indian history, the Mughals’ was one such dynasty which ruled India from 1526 to 1857 but it fell because of negligence of eternal verities. Many Mughal princes were involved in excessive drinking, infighting for succession and pursuing acrimonious policies.

Among the core values, the following of which is fundamental for a nation to touch its zenith, is education. In Islamic teachings, acquiring education is made obligatory. The Prophet is reported to have said to acquire education even it be in China. In Muslim history, we see education has played an important role in the uplift of the nation.

Muslims founded educational institutions such as Jamia Al-Azhar in Cairo during the Fatimid rule in 969CE and Madressah Nizamiyyah in Baghdad during Seljuk times in 1067. The role of the Aligarh Muslim University in India cannot be ignored. It enabled Indian Muslims to achieve the desired status in society. Such efforts supported Muslims to develop; however, when they stagnated, they started facing decline.

In Pakistan, the education sector faces a dismal situation. The issue props up every now and then and every government has been aware of it. As per government-approved curriculum, we teach Islamiat in our schools. But many schools are unaware of its importance; they teach Islamiat as a formality while its real purpose is to build character and inculcate a sense of fear and presence of the Almighty in the individual’s heart and mind. Everyone lives, moves and has his being under the watch of Allah and is accountable for his/her deeds.

Acquiring education in the Islamic context is not only for worldly improvement, but also to better understand Allah’s creation.
It has a role in developing a nation, helping a people to live ethically as rational beings. Further, it enables them to differentiate right from wrong. Education is essential to develop critical faculties among learners to think freely and challenge some of the negative stereotypes. Thus education is a core value to equip the people to realise their potential.

Presently, the education sector is beset with untold problems. Every now and then we hear and read about ghost schools, ghost teachers and even unqualified people occupying teaching posts on the basis of their political affiliations. Such gross irregularities over time can make a nation’s ship sink. Therefore, those who are charged with the responsibility of imparting and managing education, need to awaken their conscience and devise a system of monitoring and evaluation to check the ills. The curriculum needs strong and meaningful content.

Though the present sorry state of affairs has led to polarisation in society to some extent it can still be argued that things can move towards betterment if we continue to straighten our directions in the light of the Quran’s value system based on the knowledge of right and wrong. Our success lies in educating our children in letter and spirit because a nation that loses the sense of educating its people is well on the way to decline.

The writer is an educationist.

amin.valiani@itrebp.org