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Islam Today
The Second Phase : Kingship and its Cultural Consequences
Let us now proceed to discuss the second phase of our history. This phase started with a rapid expansion of Islam over a vast part of the globe. The number of conversions to Islam during the period was so large and its speed so fast that their education and training became a serious problem and a difficult task. Despite the fact that persons of exemplary conduct existed and they were indeed the embodiment of Islamic teachings and the charm of their personality, their moral excellence and their flawless character, deeds and behaviour attracted everyone who came in contact with them to the extent that even the Quran is witness when it declares that the call was so irresistible that whole flocks of people were swept into it. But it was not physically possible to induce in these millions of converts the same radical transformation which the earlier Muslims had gone through. Consequently, the proportion of Muslims who fully understood the principled of Islam and faithfully followed them in life began to decline. On the other hand, there was a rapid increase in the proportion of Muslims who had earnestly embraced Islam but did not fully understand it and were therefore unable to mould their lives completely in conformity with the principles and precepts of the Faith. This state of affairs eventually brought about a political upheaval which swept away the institution of caliphate and established kingship.
Causes of the Success of Kingship
Different writers and thinkers have attributed the substitution of kingship for the Caliphate to various causes. To me it seems the change was due to the fact that the number of Muslims with a full and proper understanding of the principles of Islam had declined rapidly with the passage of` time; so had the proportion of Muslims whose character and conduct were in perfect conformity with the tenets and precepts of the Faith. On the other hand, the number of Muslims who did not properly understand the principles increased so enormously that it soon became impossible to save Muslim society from the harmful effects of their ignorance, deficient understanding and moral weaknesses. Consequently, the Caliphate gave way to kingship, and this phase of our history extended over several centuries. It is. not possible for me in the course of this brief address to discuss in detail all the influences at work during that period of our history and analyze various elements and factors. involved. 1 shall confine myself to a few major consequences of the change which have continued to be reflected in the: condition of Muslims down to the present day. In other words our "present" bears the influence of our "past".
Disruption of Leadership
The first and the most harmful result of the establishment of kingship was that the leadership of Muslim Millat split into two sections. During the days of the Prophet and the Right guided Caliphs the leadership of the Muslim community was centered at one place. All affairs of life spiritual, moral, intellectual, cultural, political or philosophical were held and directed by a common authority. The political affairs of the community, the dispensation of justice, the administration of the State, the conduct of war all were being organized and directed from a common center. And the very persons who controlled all these varied activities, were also the spiritual, moral and intellectual leaders of the community. The entire leadership of the Ummah was centred at the place. But the advent of kingship resulted in a rift in this leadership : while political control remained in the hands of the rulers, in the spiritual, moral and intellectual spheres, leadership passed to the theologians, the jurists and the Sufis. The jurists became the religious, moral and spiritual leaders and guides of the Muslims, and the kings assumed the political leadership of the community. This bifurcation of leadership was inherently pernicious and was in any event bound to have disastrous consequences for the community. What made it worse was that, political power, following the logic of its nature, sought to extend itself beyond the political sphere and to control and direct the life of the community in all the fields religious, moral, intellectual etc. The religious scholars, the jurists and the Sufis, for their part, were not prepared to tolerate any interference in ethical or religious matters that might be repugnant to the spirit or principles of Islam and tend to corrupt the religious or moral life of the people. This conflict between the political and religious leaderships resulted in mutual estrangement and hostility, which has continued down to the present day.
Kingship no doubt brought a host of evils in its wake, but even during that period, the Muslims did much better than other nations in corresponding portions of their history. Indeed the Muslims produced a larger number of good, God tearing kings than did any other community. But, while one must give these virtuous kings all the praise that is due to them, there is little doubt that, on the whole, the natural and necessary consequences of the system of kingship were detrimental to the interests of Islam and the Muslims. One very harmful effect of the system was that the Muslim kingdoms shirked their duties as the upholders of the cause of Islam and confined themselves, more or less, to the conquest of new lands and the realization of tribute from the conquered peoples. Their failure ultimately resulted in conditions that have caused grave and lasting harm to Muslims in a large part of the world. For instance, take this sub continent. Many of you here must have migrated to Pakistan from territories which were under the sway of Muslims for a long as eight hundred years-for instance, Delhi and the surrounding areas, East Punjab, U.P. and the Deccan. If the Muslim rulers of these territories during the middle ages had done their duty to Islam, and taken it upon themselves to spread and propagate the Faith, you would not have been forced today to abandon your hearths and homes. To the limited extent that Islam did spread during the centuries of Muslim rule in India it was due to the efforts of the theologians and the sufis. The rulers not only made no contribution towards the spread of Islam, their behavior and conduct generally tended to thwart the expansion of the creed. By their .tyrannical rule and oppressive policies, by their bullying and high handedness, by the their dissolute living and otherwise immoral conduct, most of the kings and lesser potentates tended to alienate people from Islam rather than make the Faith popular; only a few of them could boast of character and conduct that would induce non-Muslims to join the ranks of Islam. These few exceptions no doubt deserve all praise, but it is obvious that, on the whole, kingship caused grave harm to the cause of Islam.
contd.... The Nature of the Problem
The First Phase:
The Ideal Period
The Second Phase : Kingship and its Cultural Consequences
The Third Phase : Slavery and its Aftermath
The Fourth Phase : After Freedom
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