Welcome to Islam, - The Islamic concept of history

[NajimudeeN M]

According to the Quran, Allaah )God( has created the universe with a
certain purpose, and all its parts are strictly under His control,
carrying out His divine scheme without the slightest deviation.
Similarly, man too has been created with a certain purpose. Yet man,
is completely free to do what he wants, and act upon his own
decisions. However, in spite of this freedom, he is watched constantly
by Allaah, for He does not allow any such deviation over a long period
that would nullify the plan of His creation.
Creation plan of Allaah
The universe made by Allaah is so vast that, despite the enormous
progress made by human beings in their attempts to fathom the
universe, many of its secrets still remain unknown. The planet Earth,
made by Allaah as part of the cosmos is unique in the entire universe,
in that it has been endowed with an atmosphere and all the other
factors, which are essential to make it habitable for man.
After creating a favorable world in the form of the Earth, Allaah
created the first man Aadam )Adam(, may Allaah exalt his mention, and
his feminine counterpart, Eve. Although the precise date of this event
is unknown, it is a fact that the first pair of human beings to set
foot on earth were Aadam, may Allaah exalt his mention, and Eve.
Aadam was the first man as well as the first Prophet. The way of
Allaah is to select a man as His Messenger from amongst human beings
themselves, in order to send His revelations to humankind. Therefore,
Allaah revealed to Aadam, may Allaah exalt his mention, through an
angel the purpose of man's inhabiting the earth. According to this
plan, Allaah created a creature in the form of man, upon whom He
bestowed freedom. Where the rest of the universe had no choice but to
submit to the will of Allaah, it is desirable for man to opt for this
divine plan of his own free will.
This plan of divine will is based on two basic principles: Monotheism
and Justice. Monotheism holds man to worshipping one God alone, and
not associating anyone or anything in this worship. Justice holds man
to adhering completely to ethical principles in dealing with other
human beings, and refraining from all kinds of injustice and
oppression.
Along with this, Allaah Almighty informed man that, although he
appeared to be free, he was fully accountable to Him. Allaah has a
complete record of man's actions. In the eternal life after death
Allaah would judge everyone according to this record. The one who
exercised his freedom wrongly would be thrown into eternal hellfire.
Aadam, may Allaah exalt his mention, died at a ripe old age. For a
long period his people continued to adhere faithfully to the divine
guidance. However, later, idolatry replaced Monotheism and people
began to adopt the ways of injustice and oppression instead of justice
and rectitude. After about 1000 years, the perversion became so all
pervading that they were completely distanced from the path of the
Sharee'ah )Divine Law( as shown by Aadam, may Allaah exalt his
mention.
The age of perversion
Allaah subsequently sent Nooh )Noah(, may Allaah exalt his mention, as
His Messenger. He was granted an exceptionally long life of 950 years,
during which he continued to show people the right path, generation
after generation. However, only a few people heeded his words. The
rest persisted in their sinful ways. Then, in accordance with the ways
of Allaah, a huge flood engulfed them by way of punishment. Nooh
)Noah(, may Allaah exalt his mention, and his small band of followers
were saved in a boat, while all the rest drowned.
At that time, human population was probably concentrated only in the
region of Asia known asMesopotamia. The men and women saved in the
wake of this flood settled afterwards in other parts of the world.
Their race multiplied until it spread over the three continents of
Asia, Africa andEurope.
After the death of Nooh )Noah(, may Allaah exalt his mention, his
people continued to adhere to the divine path shown by him, for a
considerable period of time. However, again rot set in the later
generations and they deviated from the path of Monotheism and justice.
Allaah's Messengers, may Allaah exalt their mention, -- the Quran has
mentioned twenty five by name -- continued to come for several
thousand years.
A Hadeeth )saying of Prophet Muhammad,sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam,
)may Allaah exalt his mention( tells us that nearly 100,000 messengers
came to the world. In this way a long period elapsed between Aadam,
may Allaah exalt his mention, and 'Eesaa )Jesus(, may Allaah exalt his
mention; whereas earlier Allaah's Messengers continued to come to the
world in almost every generation. However, only a few people believed
in them while the majority rejected these prophets in every age.
The reasons for perversion
What were the reasons for this continued transgression? There were two
main reasons: political absolutism and ignorance about the world of
nature.
In ancient times the system of monarchy prevailed everywhere. The
kings of those days had adopted an easy strategy for the consolidation
of their empire, and that was to apply a complete curb on intellectual
freedom. As a result, Science could not make any progress in the days
of old.
The same was the case with religion. The policy adopted by these kings
was not to allow their subjects to follow any religion other than that
approved of by the king. Superstitious religion served their purpose
only too well. Therefore, not only did they themselves embrace
superstitious religion, they also compelled their subjects to adhere
to it. People were denied the right to think freely and opt for any
religion other than the official one.
This policy of the king produced the evil of religious persecution.
History shows that religious persecution has continued from time
immemorial in one form or another.
The other factor was ignorance. In ancient times, man knew too little
about the world and its phenomena. Political absolutism had placed an
almost total ban on scientific research. Therefore, all kinds of
superstitions prevailed regarding natural phenomena. It was generally
held that the Sun, Moon and the stars possessed supernatural powers.
Similarly, it was believed that the sea, mountains and other such
natural features were endowed with some extraordinary, mysterious
power that exercised decisive control over human destiny.
The problem of evil
Those who want to interpret human history in the light of
predetermined law, as is done in the physical world, are doomed to
failure. While the physical world may be explainable within the
framework of pre-determinism, the events of the human world are simply
not amenable to interpretation in terms of any such law.
Others want to interpret the events of the human world in the context
of freedom, but they are not satisfied either with their
interpretation. This is because in spite of human freedom, the
suffering experienced in this world has no valid understandable
explanation. The failure of both these interpretations is due to the
fact that they attempt to explain the whole in the light of a part --
which is simply not possible.
The truth is that the right principle by which to interpret human
history is neither that of pre-determinism nor of freedom. According
to Islam, there is only one correct principle to interpret human
history and that is the principle of test. Man has been placed in the
present world for the purpose of being tested. The eternal future of
humankind will depend on the outcome of this test.
If everything had been completely predetermined in the world, the
element of trial would have been absent. Granting freedom to people
did involve the risk of some people misusing their freedom, which gave
rise to the problem of human suffering. Suffering results from evil,
yet this suffering or evil, is a very small price to pay for a very
precious thing. Although, man has a will, the will of Almighty Allaah
encompasses all wills, so nothing happens in the universe unless
Allaah ordained for it to happen.
According to Islam that person is most precious who leads his life in
this world in such a manner that, despite facing all sorts of
temptations, he succeeds in overcoming them. Despite having the power
to misuse his freedom, he refrains from doing so. Despite the
possibility of leading an unprincipled life, he chooses his own free
will to be a man of principle. To identify such individuals, it is
essential that an atmosphere of freedom prevail in the world. This is
not possible under any other system.