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The Ummah: its role and responsibilities, Part 1

Zafar bangash, jumada' al-akhirah 20, 1434 2013-05-01.

What or who constitutes the Ummah and how should we define progress? Zafar Bangash examines these concepts and sheds light from the Islamic perspective challenging some long-held but erroneous beliefs.

In the first part of this series of articles on the theme, The Ummah: its role and responsibilities, Zafar Bangash, director of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought (ICIT), discusses such concepts as progress and what or who constitutes the Ummah.

The Muslim world is beset by so many problems — both internal and external — that many Muslims have become despondent about the future of the Ummah. Some wonder out loud whether Muslims will ever make progress like other peoples and communities. Before this question can be properly answered, we must first have a better understanding of the meaning of the word progress and also, what or who constitutes the Ummah.

we must first have a better understanding of the meaning of the word progress and also, what or who constitutes the Ummah... Since Western values and ethos dominate much of the sociopolitical discourse in the world today, Muslims too are not immune from their corrosive influence. In the West, progress is equated with material or financial gains.

Since Western values and ethos dominate much of the sociopolitical discourse in the world today, Muslims too are not immune from their corrosive influence. In the West, progress is equated with material or financial gains. A society that becomes industrialized is said to make progress regardless of what destruction it causes to the environment or how much inequality in wealth it spawns. Growth in a country’s gross domestic product (GDP) — that is the value of goods it produces — is generally taken as a sign of progress.

Each government’s performance is measured by the growth it achieves in its GDP in a specified timeframe. These are all material parameters. Whether such “progress” brings satisfaction or happiness to families or the society at large is not factored in. Similarly, degradation of the environment or the rate at which non-renewable resources are being depleted is also not considered. There is absolutely no room in this materialistic vision of progress for moral growth, spiritual elevation or satisfaction because these are non-quantifiable entities.

Yet those familiar with his Sirah would confirm that his progress in society was not based on his success in business, the number of camels or the acres of orchards he possessed or even the square miles of territory he controlled.

But we cannot accept this Western view of progress. Let us consider this in light of the Sirah of the noble Messenger of Allah (pbuh). Muslims believe he was the most successful human being in history. Even many fair-minded non-Muslims agree with this view. Yet those familiar with his Sirah would confirm that his progress in society was not based on his success in business, the number of camels or the acres of orchards he possessed or even the square miles of territory he controlled. His success was measured in terms of the number of hearts he liberated through his exemplary character, pleasant manner, forgiving nature, and principled determination. People longed to be in his company because of his lofty qualities of character. He had what we would term in contemporary terminology, immense charisma. How does one measure charisma on a materialistic scale.

He not only left this world without any material possessions but he also inspired his companions to adopt the same simple lifestyle... They established a civilization that lasted nearly 1,000 years, a feat unequaled before or after the advent of Islam. So we need to move beyond the Western-imposed definition of progress.

According to the Western materialistic view of progress, the Prophet of Allah (pbuh) would not be considered to have been very successful. After all, he did not leave a huge bank balance, palaces or vast estates at death. He not only left this world without any material possessions but he also inspired his companions to adopt the same simple lifestyle. Yet who can say that the early Muslims were not successful or did not make progress? They established a civilization that lasted nearly 1,000 years, a feat unequaled before or after the advent of Islam. They certainly did not dazzle people with their wealth or fancy clothes.

So we need to move beyond the Western-imposed definition of progress. But even by the standards of their own narrowly crafted definition of progress, the West has failed. A small coterie of people has accumulated enormous wealth while the vast majority has been turned into slaves working like automatons to merely make ends meet. Broken families leading to rising levels of depression, suicides, crime and burgeoning prison populations all point to the failure of this system, its values, and its notion of progress. The Western definition of progress, regrettably, is also the one accepted by most elites in the Muslim world although they have demonstrably failed to show any “progress” in their respective societies even on their own accepted scale.

In the Qur’an, Allah (swt) describes the Muslims as the “best Ummah raised among mankind” (3:110), yet the qualities required to make them the “best community” do not exist among most Muslims today. What accounts for this dismal state of affairs?

Who is responsible for this failure in the Ummah is a question we will address a little later. First, let us establish a better definition of the Ummah. One opinion posits that the nearly two billion Muslims in the world today constitute the Ummah. Some Muslims even proudly proclaim that Islam is “the fastest growing religion in the world.” Perhaps, but this definition only accounts for numbers. Do vast numbers automatically translate into transformative power? While constituting one-fourth of the world’s population, occupying 20% of the earth’s landmass, producing 20% of its mineral and 40% of its energy resources, the Muslim world should be a leading if not the leading power in the world, yet at the global level it is quite insignificant, whether assessed on the material or moral scales. In the Qur’an, Allah (swt) describes the Muslims as the “best Ummah raised among mankind” (3:110), yet the qualities required to make them the “best community” do not exist among most Muslims today. What accounts for this dismal state of affairs?

The issue of numbers also needs a closer examination and whether the reverse — that is, small numbers — automatically means lack of power. During the colonial period, the European colonial powers with their relatively small populations — Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, for instance — colonized and ruled societies many times larger. They did not even maintain large armies in the colonized lands yet for centuries the colonial program was able to project power in occupied societies. What accounts for the European colonialists’ projection of power despite their relatively small populations compared to the Muslim countries’ lack of power today despite their large populations? Similarly, we must address the issue of why Muslims lost power along with the pre-eminent position they had enjoyed in the world for nearly 1,000 years. As recently as 200 years ago, the Muslims were a dominant force on the world stage.

A large population may become powerful only if it functions in conjunction with several other factors. In the contemporary global situation, the US, China and Russia’s relatively large populations only augment a power formula that was consolidated by other means. Power is not only a function of a large population but also of such other factors as the determined pursuit of clearly-stated objectives, judicious use of material resources and military strength, but above all, coordination between the objectives to be pursued and the willingness of the masses to support them. In short, what results in power projection is the alignment of a number of factors to maximize one’s strength. When all these factors support each other to optimize output, the result is often quite spectacular. But the power of such states, lacking in moral authority or certitude, declines fairly rapidly; other predatory competitors overtake them. America’s position as a pre-eminent global power is declining while that of China and Russia is rising. Only a century earlier, Britain appeared unrivaled. It would be immediately apparent that all these powers were and are non-Muslim. Power, however, is not the monopoly of any group or religion; Allah (swt) has no favorites. He gives wealth and power to whomever He wills. How they use such blessings is what determines their ultimate position with Allah (swt). That the pre-eminent position of these powers is short-lived clearly points to their weak and unstable ideological and moral foundations.

Often, when we Muslims think of the Ummah, our emotional fascination with what could be someday if we were united, obfuscates our understanding of the meaning of the Qur’anic word ummah, and thereby the intent and purpose of its use along with the binding concept that lies behind it. Few Muslim scholars have attempted to attach a contemporary value to the word so that ordinary Muslims can have a tangible idea of what meanings the word is supposed to elicit when used. It is interesting to note that the Arabic words, umm for mother, and imam for leader, derive from the same root as the word ummah. In a metaphorical sense, umm leads one in the direction of source, origin, foundation, gist, and essence.

For instance, Makkah is often referred to as Umm al-Qura, meaning the original city, country or place of settlement; and similarly, Surah al-Fatihah is sometimes characterized as Umm al-Qur’an, meaning the foundational surah. When one thinks of the word imam, what comes to mind are things like in front of, in the lead, pacesetting, guiding, and setting direction. Thus when we hear the word ummah, all of these layers of meanings ought to occur in our collective consciousness, the only difference being that while umm and imam may apply to individuals, ummah refers to a social aggregate that functions as if it were one entity.

To solidify this view, listen to how Allah (swt) uses the term in describing an experience of Musa (a) when he was at Madyan,

“Now when he arrived at the wells of Madyan, he found there an ummah of men who were watering [their herds and flocks]; and at some distance from them he came upon two women who were keeping back their flock…” (28:23).

Notice that in this description, the collective strategies, energies and labors of a large group of men are being harnessed to accomplish a singular objective — drawing water for livestock — that would be difficult, if not impossible, for one to achieve by himself. Therefore, in a generic sense, an ummah is: many hands, one purpose.

...to collect people with different understandings, different backgrounds, different problem-solving approaches, different ways of processing information, different cultures, different upbringings and different mindsets on a unified mission is not an easy task...

But, to collect people with different understandings, different backgrounds, different problem-solving approaches, different ways of processing information, different cultures, different upbringings and different mindsets on a unified mission is not an easy task: it takes planning, it takes work, and it requires institutional channels of open communication. Consistent and regular effort is required to bind people to a common purpose, for unity of purpose would have no meaning if everyone was thinking and acting the same way. Human differences are by divine decree; indeed Allah (swt) says,

“And [know that] all mankind were once but one ummah, and only later did they begin to hold divergent views. And had it not been for a decree — that had already gone forth from your Sustainer — all their differences would indeed have been settled [from the outset]” (10:19).

What this means is that all humanity has the innate capacity to recognize the existence of Allah (swt), to be conscious of His authority, to appreciate His power, and thus to conform to His command and counsel. However, man’s capacity is constantly compromised by subservience to less worthy authorities, resulting in a progressive deviation away from his inborn characteristics. And had Allah (swt) chosen, such an estrangement of man from his fitrah would never have occurred, but this would have precluded his intellectual, moral and social development — meaning that Allah (swt) desires man to use his rational faculties, cultivated through prophetic example and guidance, to discover these universal truths.

Rational confidence is a by-product of the exchange of ideas between thinking people, of a collaborative dialogue to test theses and hypotheses so that all those thus engaged can have certitude of the way reality ought to be. Developing a consciousness of Allah’s (swt) power presence, His authority, His omnipotence and His oneness is a joint effort, a cooperative exercise; in short, it takes an ummah. In other words, for an individual with his limited abilities, no matter how extensive they may be, to achieve this is problematic; but the collective consciousness of an entire society dedicated toward this recognition makes this possible.

This is why Ibrahim (a) has been characterized as an ummah unto himself; he was uniquely able to accomplish what it would normally take an ummah to do,

“Verily, Ibrahim was an ummah [a man who combined within himself all virtues], devoutly obeying Allah’s will, turning away from all that is false, and not being of those who ascribe divinity/authority to any beside Allah; [for he was always] grateful for the blessings granted by Him who had elected him and guided him onto a straight way” (16:120–121).

In Part 2 of this essay on The Ummah: its role and responsibilities, the concept of ummah and what role it ought to play in the real world will be more precisely examined.

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The Concept of Ummah in Islam

Description: the definition of ummah and its role in the advancement of humankind..

• By Aisha Stacey (© 2018 IslamReligion.com)
• Published on 02 Apr 2018
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As is the case with many Arabic words, the common translation of Ummah as nation fails to identify the layers of meaning and the nuances of Arabic grammar. The root of the Arabic word Ummah is amma, meaning to go or to go and see. The word Imama means to lead, for example, the one who leads the prayer is the Imam. Also derived from this root is the word Umm which means mother, source or origin. The definition of Ummah is a community of believers bound together with a common purpose, to worship God and with a common goal to advance the cause of Islam.

The Ummah, or Muslim community, is a group of people from diverse backgrounds, ancestry, locations and nationalities. They are a community without borders yet united in a very real way. Though separated by distance and often constrained by borders they are united. They are one nation or community united under the guidance of the One God.

"And verily this Ummah of yours is one Ummah and I am your Lord and Cherisher, therefore fear Me and no other." (Quran 23:52)

In various translations of this verse the word Ummah is replaced by religion and in this context religion means a collective way of life or course of conduct followed by a community; in other words, an Ummah or nation of believers.

In the Quran God does not use the word Ummah exclusively to refer to the Ummah of Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him. He often uses Ummah to refer to a group of people who share common religious beliefs. God tells us that in the beginning humankind was one Ummah but circumstances divided the people. Ummah is also mentioned in the Quran in relation to communities with their own messengers. For example, the Quran uses the word Ummah to refer to the communities of the past such as the Ummah of Prophet Moses or the Ummah of Prophet Jesus.

"Humankind was one single Ummah. And God sent messengers with glad tidings and warnings; and with them He sent the Scriptures in truth, to judge between people in matters wherein they differed…" (Quran 2:213)

"To every Ummah (was sent) a messenger…" (Quran 16:36)

Prophet Muhammad was sent to nurture an Ummah for the benefit of humanity, one designed to include all of humankind. He was commanded by God to transmit a divine message; both a guidance and a warning to all. And in the Quran God refers to the Ummah of Muhammad as the best community.

"You are the best community (Ummah) raised up for (the benefit of) humanity; enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong and believing in God…" (Quran 3:110)

The Ummah of Muhammad is known throughout Islamic history and throughout the world as community of believers united in their devotion to One God. Anybody who embraces Islam becomes a member of the Muslim Ummah. All members, the believers, are united by a very special bond that resembles the ties that bind a close family. Muslims are brothers and sisters to one another. They should be incapable of being indifferent towards one another but instead should operate as one body or one community with a spirit of cooperation, good will, empathy and unity. 

The example of the believers in their love, mercy and sympathy for one another can be compared to one body; when any part of the body aches the whole body responds with sleeplessness and fever. [1]

Prophet Muhammad was constantly concerned for the well-being of the Ummah. He worried not so much about their life in this world but fretted over their place in the Hereafter. He is known to have been distressed over the welfare of his Ummah to the point that he would cry until his beard was soaked with tears. My Ummah, my Ummah were the words he spoke in his supplications to God. [2]

Prophet Muhammad said to his companions, "Does it please you that you will be one-fourth of the people of Paradise?" They answered, "God is Great." He added, "Does it please you that you will be one-third of the people of Paradise." They answered, "God is Great!" He said, "I hope that you will be half of the people of Paradise." [3]

Aisha, Prophet Muhammad’s beloved wife narrated that she said, "O Messenger of God! Supplicate for me!" So, he said, "O God! Forgive Aisha her past and future sins, what she has hidden, as well as what she has made apparent." She smiled with joy.  Prophet Muhammad said, "Does my supplication make you happy?" She replied, "And how can your supplication not make me happy?" Then Prophet Muhammad said, "By God, it is the supplication that I make for my Ummah in every prayer."

Every member of the Ummah is regarded as equal before God. There is no distinction between black and white and any colour in between. Islam brings everyone together into one community; all are equal members regardless of gender or status. It commands us to follow the guidance and heed the warnings contained in the Quran and the traditions of Prophet Muhammad. And it is only through piety can one person be raised above another.

[1] Saheeh Muslim

[2] Saheeh Muslim

[3] Saheeh Bukhari and Saheeh Muslim

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Historical Perspectives

Rulership and justice, islamic period john woods.

• Introduction

Muhammad and the First Muslim Ummah: The Beginning of a New Society and Culture

• The Death of the Prophet and the First Elaboration of the Sunnī-Jamā‘ī Imamate
• The Shī‘ī Political Vision
• Structure of the First Sunnī-Jamā‘ī Imamate (632-661 CE)

Before Islam Jennie Myers

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Islamic Period

Conventional historiography describes pre-Islamic Arabia as consisting of a loose confederation of tribes and clans of nomadic Bedouins and their more sedentary counterparts who lived in small cities or maintained agricultural settlements near oases. The Prophet Muhammad was born in the city of Mecca around 570 CE, a member of the Banū Hāshim clan of the Quraysh tribe. At the time of Muhammad’s birth, Mecca was a center of commerce and trade situated in the western region of the Arabian Peninsula known as the Hijāz . In addition to being located at the crossroads of several caravan routes, Mecca’s commercial activity was also linked to the sacredness of its principal religious shrine, the Ka‘bah , which in pre-Islamic times was a site for the veneration and worship of pagan deities – or so it had become by the time of the Prophet (Islamic tradition maintains that the Ka‘bah was constructed originally by Adam and then rebuilt by Abraham and his son Ishmael). Due to the presence of the Ka‘bah , fighting in Mecca and its vicinity was forbidden throughout the year, which allowed commercial activities to proceed without interference from feuding clans and tribes.

The revelation of the Qur’ān to Muhammad commenced in 610 CE and continued intermittently until his death in 632. The Qur’ān presents Muhammad as the “seal of the prophets” (Q: 33:40), the last in a prophetic line that can be traced backward through Jesus, Moses, Abraham, and Noah to Adam, the first human being. How does this lineage inform a Muslim’s understanding of Muhammad’s mission? In describing God’s relationship to human beings, the Qur’ān mentions a primordial event when the “progeny of Adam” – i.e. all future generations of human beings – formed an eternal covenant ( mīthāq ) with God, collectively testifying that they would obey God and live according to Divine Will (Q 7:172). While human beings are not inherently sinful, they are forgetful, and according to Islamic tradition, they failed repeatedly to observe the divine compact they had made. Communicating through prophetic intermediaries, God intervenes in history to remind human beings of the covenant. As the “seal of the prophets,” Muhammad is the bearer of God’s final message, and he is calling for humankind to fulfill its promise and return to the sacred mīthāq through islām , which can be translated as “commitment to live according to God’s Will” (the related Arabic word muslim is someone who has professed this commitment).

Over the course of several years of preaching in Mecca, Muhammad attracted only a small group of followers. Because he called for the complete moral reformation of Meccan society, most members of the Quraysh considered Muhammad to be a dangerous insurrectionist whose message undermined their total way of life. In 622 CE, after enduring years of persecution, the Prophet and his followers relocated to Medina, an oasis city approximately 200 miles north of Mecca. The year in which this migration ( hijrah ) occurred was designated the first year of the Islamic lunar calendar. It marks the founding of the ummah , the Muslim community, in Medina and the beginning of the Islamic era.

Initially, Muhammad had been invited by some of Medina’s inhabitants to serve as an impartial arbitrator in a local dispute. Within a few years of his arrival, Muhammad had become not only the city’s judge but also its foremost statesman and military commander. As the ummah grew, it began to pose a serious challenge to the regional hegemony of the Quraysh . In 630, after eight years of open hostilities, a force of some 10,000 Muslims returned to Mecca, compelling the Quraysh to recognize Muslim suzerainty in the Hijāz . Upon taking control of sacred city, Muhammad performed pilgrimage to the Ka‘bah , rid the shrine of its pagan idols, accepted the Meccans conversion to Islam, and absorbed them into his new polity. By the time Muhammad died in 632 CE, several tribes and clans of the Arabian Peninsula had either been incorporated into the expanding ummah or were clients of the Muslim state.

For contemporary Muslims, the community based in Medina under the leadership of Muhammad represents a utopian ideal where social and political authority are manifested in a person who receives communications from God. In other words, the ummah in Muhammad’s time fuses state and religion, a perfect synthesis of secular and divine sovereignty. The Qur’ān repeatedly reminds the ummah to “obey God and His messenger,” (Q: 3:32, 132; 4:59; 5:92, etc.) confirming the legitimacy and sacral nature of Muhammad’s earthly authority. In interpreting this directive, the prophetic phenomenon is so persuasive that the non-revelatory actions of Muhammad (his words and deeds apart from receiving and reciting the Qur’ān) emerge as a secondary corpus of authoritative truths.

The Utopian Medinan Ummah

With Muhammad in place as leader, conformity to sharī‘ah , God’s divine ordering of the universe, which necessarily encompasses the proper conduct of human beings, occurs organically. In such a community, a Muslim recognizing the Prophet’s leadership and abiding by his decisions means that he or she necessarily complies with Divine Will. In visualizing its structure, it is perhaps useful to conceive of the utopian Medinan community as consisting of three concentric circles. The inner-most circle represents the state and it is entirely encompassed within a larger society, which determines its membership through adherence to a particular religious tradition (Islam).

The Muslim victory over the Quraysh completed a reconstitution of the pre-Islamic way of life in the Hijāz based on new conceptions of humankind’s place in history and a new normative ethics derived from the Qur’ān and the moral example set by the Prophet. As the founding figures of a new community, Muhammad and his companions transformed notions of personal moral responsibility and the ideal qualifications for political leadership. Kinship status continued to be an important factor in constructing the social hierarchy, and within the ummah it was based primarily on two criteria: the time at which one became a Muslim (those who were among the first converts to Islam garnered higher prestige) andfamilial connection to the Prophet Muhammad. In the decades and centuries following the Prophet’s death there was considerable disagreement over which carried greater importance in determining Muhammad’s legitimate successors.

Professor of Iranian and Central Asian History, and of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations

Alexander Barna

Outreach Coordinator, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, University of Chicago  

Guiding Questions

1. What are the two kinds of rulership identified above that are critical to understanding Islamic civilization from the classical period to the fall of the Ottoman empire? Where or from whom do leaders derive their authority in each model?

2. What was the significance of the Muslim victory over the Quraysh?

3. What caused the split between the Sunni and Shi’ite factions?

Rulership and Justice  »  Islamic Period  » Essay

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The Idea of Ummah in Islam Ummah

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Disunity within in Muslim Ummah Causes and the Solution

2021, Academia

This research paper explores few published items and text book from research of comprehensive knowledge conducted and discussion of Disunity within Muslim Ummah, The Causes and The Solution, a field or real life study by Muslim scholars about their perception with my thoughts and analysis regarding the local and global Muslim sufferings in detail. This paper examines varieties of sources of texts from Al Quran, Al Hadith and academic research and statements of salaf salehin generations of Muslims scholars or their next generations of Muslim Imams or Fiqh scholars, Hadith compiling six scholars and contemporary Muslim scholars discussing their perception and views about the causes and the solution to the disunity of Muslims ummah as their challenges living locally or globally.

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DR.MAQBOOL HASSAN

Abstract No doubt unity and consensus has a miraculous role in developing a nation and achieving their higher goals. Muslim's unity is a major and undeniable problem of the time. The increasing sectarian ethnocentrism has spattered and blemished the fundamental Islamic teachings. Today's Muslims are suffering from numerous problems, and the basic reasons for their plight are i.e. sectarian hatred, creed prejudices, lust for power, intolerance and many other materialistic interests. All these things have combined to confirm falling for Muslims, which deprived them of their honor, dignity and power. On the other hand the enemies of Muslim are united and they are fully aware that their strength lies in the weakness of Muslims. Hence they are engaged in making conspiracies to divide Muslims. Historically, it is proved that sowing germs of disunity and disintegration among Muslims has been a very old and an effective tool of Jews and Christians. Where as the Holy Quran warns us to be united and to remain aloof from them. God also commands Muslims to observe patience and retain unity among them by following the principles of piety and brotherhood. It is possible only when Muslims involved in "fraternity" with broadmindedness. At the same time, it remains the core responsibility of the Muslim rulers to play their role in this connection. Keywords: Unity, sectarian, Islamic teachings, Muslims, Holy Quran

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Siddiq Washington

Can Islam reconcile the Ummah and address the issue of an Islamic state in a modern/post-modern Westernized world, while maintaining its own integrity and not be left in a “Dark Age” of its own?

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Muhammad J U N A I D Mughal

The phenomenon of the presence of Muslims all over the world by naturalization and migration is being understood in terms of a new concept, "Transnational Islam" for the united Muslim Ummah. The sense of the unity of Muslim Ummah has been always integral to Muslim conscience throughout the ages. Transnational Islam, it is expected, being a modern rubric, will create, on one side, the sense of oneness of Ummah in the presence of so many nationalities and, on the other, loyalty to individual countries. It would be helpful to face multi-dimensional challenges posed by the modern world for Muslims and humanity. To face and overcome the impending challenges, the Muslims need to study their current phenomena afresh but in the light of the teachings and spirit of the Qur'Én and Sunnah. They also need to come up with a realistic and practical framework. This proposal, therefore, identifies obstacles and suggests as solution, the regeneration of the revivalist intellectual tradition of Islam and its framework.

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The Issues of divisions between the Muslims, is one of the greatest challenges or perhaps most critical, among the challenges confronting the Muslim Ummah in the world today. The most critical of them is the challenge of doctrinal differences. However, differences are challenges to Islamic virtues and Muslim integrity. It has led to internal weaknesses and divisions. This weakness and divisions are apparent throughout the Muslim World, in government, societies, among scholars, and common people. These divisions which cut across ethnic, ideological, political and religious principles, are so deeply rooted in Islam and so malignant to the extent that we are unable to respond to the very basic obligations of the unity of Muslims. Some ideological principles tearing Muslims apart will be critically examined. Perhaps one of the most profound and most poisonous is the issue of ‘Asabiyyah and Qawmiyyah (عصبية و قومية). The trust of this paper therefore shall concentrate on the above mentioned concept.

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In recent times it has proven to be extremely difficult to unite the Muslim world under a unified ideology and also a unified definition of good and wrong. Thus this article seek to paint out partly a picture of what causes this divide or disunity amongst Muslims and the rest of the world.

Luqman Ahmad

This paper characterizes Muslim sectarianism as a major contributing factor to modern day Muslim moral dysfunction. It suggests that Muslims living in the United States are in a better position to address this issue within the context of national discourse than Muslims living in other paces.

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The intellectual unity of Nigerian Muslims is the background of this study. The study discusses the Islamic verdicts and scholastic view points on certain issues that have been causing disunity among Nigerian Muslims who are expected to be bounded in the spirit of one religion. The discussion embodies a close look at a number of jurisprudential and doctrinal issues upon which there is a huge debate among scholars, ranging from: eating the food of ahlul kitāb, to the usage of misbahah (rosary), the issue of tawassul bi Rasūlillah (seeking intercession with prophet Muhammad), the hadīth of division, bowing in greeting ('inhinā') and saying a salat for the Prophet other than the Ibrahimiyyah one. In the long run, it is found out that these issues are branches (furū') of the main tree of the religion, which have optional and numerous alternative views. Each group of Muslims and individuals can choose the school of thought that fits his own condition, place and time, making the whole thing a mercy and easement for the Muslims. In addition, the study covers the framework of fiqh al-ikhtilāf as postulated by scholars, using the historical method to do a content analysis of the books of scholars concerned. On that, it is found that if Muslims can stick to the principles of fiqh al-ikhtilāf as postulated by Al-Qardawi, Fiqh al-wāqi' of Ibn Al-Qayyim and Suhayb Misbah's Fiqh al-I'tilāf among others, disagreement may not always lead to disunity. The solution therefore will be that the act of upholding a particular school of thought on an issue upon which there are other valid opinions from notable sources, should be done free of 'asabiyyah (sectarianism), hamiyyah (overzealousness) or hamāsah (over-enthusiasm). On the whole, this study concludes that disagreement on issues that are branches of the religion is a natural phenomenon, which is inevitable. On the other hand, upholding the unity of Muslims is obligatory, as commanded in the Qur'an. It therefore becomes a necessity for Muslims to embrace tolerance, flexibility and open mindedness towards their fellow Muslims, even in the presence of points of disagreement. 2

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Russia-Ukraine, China-Taiwan; An attempt for Unipolar World Order

Changing regional dynamics and pakistan, aurat azadi march: they should fight for equity not equality, why pakistan can’t recognize israel, has pakistan shifted its foreign policy from geo-politics to geo-economics, major contemporary challenges faced by muslim ummah.

At present, Muslims are facing numerous challenges that have caused a serious damage to their overall development. Unless, these major issues are solved, the Ummah would continue to move towards darkness. There was a time when the prominent scientists were Muslim. The literacy rate among Muslims was higher and they had world’s largest library and universities. They were economically rich and involved in the enormous economic and business activities. However, now, it seems that they have diverted from their old traditions of inventions, writing, research, trade and getting education. Today they are not only disintegrated but also lag behind in education and research.

The following are the major contemporary challenges faced by Muslim Ummah

• Disunity among Muslim:

The immediate and most serious challenge faced by Muslim Ummah is disunity among them. It is contrary to the teaching of Islam. Islam, in order to unite Muslims, has established a bond of brotherhood and equality. Allah Almighty says in the Holy Quran, “And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. And remember the favor of Allah upon you – when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favor, brothers. And you were on the edge of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make clear to you His verses that you may be guided.” (Al-Imran 3:103).

Abdullah ibn Umar reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The Muslim is a brother to another Muslim…”In his last sermon, our last prophet (PBUH) said, “An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black, nor a black has any superiority over a white- except by piety and good action…” The above saying of our last prophet (PBUH) clarifies that how much emphasis does Islam lay for the unity of Muslims

If Muslim countries are united and start to help one another, they would not require any sort of assistance from their Western clients. There are around 50 Muslim majority countries having Muslim population more than 50 per cent. 1 Approximately 2 billion and about 25 per cent of the world’s population are Muslims. [2][3] Nowhere around the globe, a group of countries speak a common language except Arab world. Close to 25 Muslim majority countries located in North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East, known as the Arab world, speak a common Arabic language. Language remains source of unity. Unfortunately, this is not a case with the Arab world.

Besides, Muslim controls main gateways of the world’s trade and commerce like Straits of Gibraltar Malacca, Suez canals among others. They produce more than two third of the world’s oil. 4  They are also inter-dependent. For instances, Some Muslims countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran are rich in energy resources. Others like Malaysia and Turkey are advance in technology. Pakistan possesses a nuclear weapons and well professional army. Hence, through unity, they could help one another in development by transferring technology, exporting energy and getting military training. However, instead of extending the hand of support, Muslim countries are not only divided but fight with one another to create their own influence as evident in the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran and weak status of Organization for Islamic Conference (OIC).

Internally, Muslims are also divided on the basis of sects. It is irony of fate that sectarian violence in Muslim countries has caused more deaths of Muslims than US military interventions without U.N. approval. 6 Hatred among Muslims has increased to such a level that some Muslims proudly declare another Muslim brother as infidel causing further disintegration of the Ummah. Thus, Muslim can rule the world if they are banded together. But, they are poor, backward, illiterate, face atrocities and so on because they are not united as per Islamic teachings.

• Rapid rise of extremism and terrorism:

Another major challenge, confronting by the Ummah, of course, is the rapid rise of extremism and terrorism in some Muslims. Is the evil of extremism caused by poor status of education in Muslims? No. Osama-bin-Laden, a person who formed the Al-Qaeda, was a university graduate. He studied economics and Business administration at king Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah. Ayman al- Zawahiri, who became chief Lieutenant of Osama, was a general surgeon.  Syed Qutb, an 20 th century activist from Egypt, who justified the violence against non-believers and urged radical action to seize political power, was also sent to Northern Colorado Teachers College in Greeley, the United States, but he left without completing the degree. 7 It is also not because of poverty. Osama-Bin- Laden was very rich and could afford to purchase even a small plane.

The poor governance of Muslim countries and their failure to prevent the spread of radical material in their educational institutions caused the rise in extremism in Muslims. For instance, the radical teaching of Syed Qutb was taught from Morocco to Indonesia including in some major universities of Muslims like King Abdul Aziz of Jeddah and Al-Azhar. According to Qutb, Muslims leaders who govern through un-Islamic systems such as capitalism or communism should be declared unbelievers and become the targets of revolutionary jihad. He also justified violence against non-believers.  Owing to poor governance of Muslims countries, it completely failed to stop the spread of hatred in its campuses. Consequently, it led to an increase in extremism in some Muslims.

Besides, the rapid rise of extremism was seen during Soviet’s invasion of Afghanistan. To prepare local people to fight with the army of Soviet Union, around 1000 Madrassas were established along Pakistan and Afghanistan’s borders. The students were taught radical material to encourage them to fight with Moscow. The war was won, but the radical thinking was left behind and Pakistan completely failed to limit it. As a result, it faced resistance from the local people in the form of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in 2007, that pointed their weapons at the government and desired to replaced the un-Islamic government run by capitalism with their so called Islamic rule by acting on Qutb’s ideology.

Terrorism is directly linked to the extremism. It is caused when some extremists try to give practical shape to their radical thoughts like Al-Qaeda started to target American people after its formation. The extremism and terrorism also gave birth to a serious issue of Islam phobia. Afterwards, the Western people started to see Muslims with suspicious. Thus, the poor governance of Muslim countries causes the rise of extremism. It is, now, controlled to the larger extent.

 For detailed study on the extremism, please read the article from the link:

What causes the rise of extremism in Muslims?

• Lagging behind in education:

The daunting problem encountered by the Ummah, today, among others, is their lagging behind in education. Benazir Bhutto has written in her book, Reconciliation: Islam Democracy and the West,” “Islam’s first generations produced knowledge and wealth that empowered Muslims to rule much of the world. But now almost half the world’s Muslims are illiterate……….. More books are translated annually from other languages into Spanish than have been translated into Arabic over the past one hundred years. The 15 million citizens of tiny Greece buy more books annually than do all Arabs put together.”

She further writes, “It is notable that fifty seven member countries of OIC have approximately 500 universities, compared to 5,000 universities in the United States and 8,000 universities in India. In a compilation of the academic ranking of world universities conducted in 2004 by Shanghai’s Jig Tong University, not a single university from the Muslim world was included in the top 500 universities on the earth. In addition, the Muslim world spends 0.2 percent of its GDP on research and development, while the Western nations spend more than 5 percent on their GDPs.”

It is irony of fate that Dubai spent money in the constructing of the world’s tallest building. Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, has decided to build world’s largest shopping mall. Neither of the countries has ever tried to establish world’s largest university or research Centre as per Islamic traditions. When Mughals were busy in constructing magnificent buildings like Taj Mahal, the Europe was erecting Cambridge and Oxford Universities. Still time is not gone; the leaders of oil rich Muslim countries should spend more money to uplift the status of education of Muslims.

• Weak economic status of Muslim countries:

Most of the Muslim countries are economically weak. For instance, the total world’s trade of OIC countries is less than a single country, China. Besides, the average per capita income of the US is approximately $ 62,000, while the average per capita income of Muslim world, a part from their oil revenue, is below the world’s average. In addition, the combine GDP of OIC countries is less than the total GDP of the United Sates.

Some Arab countries like Saudi Arabia are rich because of their oil revenue. For example, Saudi’s five-year budget from 1969 to 1974 was $9.2 billion. During the next five years it became $142 billion. 8 It was because of the rise in oil price after 1973 oil crisis. Instead of spending the oil revenue on industrialization, it spent in Afghanistan during Soviet war to reduce the influence of Iran in Kabul. Unless Muslim countries work together and help one another, they could not improve their economic status.

Un-Islamic authoritarian rule:

Almost all the Arab countries are run by authoritarian rule that is condemned by Islam. Owing to one man or family ruling system, there is seen avowedly misused of government’s authority and power. In some countries, it has led to the growing human rights abuses and suppression of minorities. Middle class people are pushed back and are not given opportunity to run the state. Policies are framed without consultations. As a result, crisis of governance is often witnessed. Intellectual people, having capacity to turn the country into economic hub by exploiting its potential, are often sidelined by the one-man rule. Thus, the one-family rule has caused much damage to the overall better development of the Arab countries.

Conclusion:

Thus, among others, the major contemporary challenges faced by Muslim Ummah are disunity among Muslims, rapid rise of extremism and terrorism, lagging behind of Muslims in education, weak economic status of Muslim countries and un-Islamic authoritarian rule. The OIC should be made an effective body to solve the issues of Muslims. It is imperative for Saudi Arabia and Iran to work together for the better future of Muslim world.

List of references:

• Muslim population by country 2020 by world population review.
• Countries in the world by population (2020) by world meter.
• Ghulam Sarwar (2003), Islam – Belief and Teachings, London: Muslim Educational Trust.
• Benazir Bhutto, Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West, p.3
• Steve Coll, Ghost wars, p. 112.
• Ibid, p.79.

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Very informative. Arguments are quite unique.

Jazakallahu khayran for this information you’ve share very informative

MashaAllah Good Work

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American Muslims Are in a Painful, Familiar Place

By Rozina Ali

Ms. Ali is a journalist who covers war, Islamophobia and the Middle East.

When President Biden landed in Tel Aviv days after Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre of more than 1,400 people, he told an audience of Israelis that this was not just Israel’s Sept. 11, that “ it was like 15 9/11s .”

The comparison, which emerged widely and immediately, seemed apt on the surface: a brutal attack that shocked a nation and changed the course of its history. Indeed, it’s been dizzying to witness the speed at which the same patterns we saw after Sept. 11, 2001, are playing out. The mourning of a terrorist attack has been interrupted by the swift bombardment of civilian neighborhoods. American officials, pundits and companies have quickly rallied around Israel in its war on Gaza, which has rapidly intensified by the day. In the first week of the war, Israel dropped more bombs on Gaza than the United States did on Afghanistan in a year. Civilian casualties in Gaza have climbed exponentially. And in the West Bank , recent images of Palestinians being tied, blindfolded, stripped and allegedly subjected to attempted sexual assault by Israeli soldiers and settlers recall Abu Ghraib.

In the United States, it’s as if the country has turned back the clock two decades, but not in the way that Mr. Biden suggests. For those who experienced waves of harassment and government surveillance in the years after Sept. 11, the president’s pledge of “ unwavering ” support for Israel set off alarm bells. I’ve been speaking with lawyers, community groups and advocacy organizations that worked closely with Muslims after September 2001 about what they’re seeing. Not since that time — not even after the election of Donald Trump, who signed an executive order banning visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries within days of taking office — have I heard so many Muslim and Arab community members say they feel isolated. After living through and reckoning with the devastating aftermath of the war on terrorism, it seems the lessons of Sept. 11 have been forgotten.

There seems to be a sense of both resignation — we’ve been here before — and shock — but we’ve been here before .

In the wake of Sept. 11, the U.S. government activated the full force of the national security and law enforcement apparatus to prevent another terrorist attack on American soil. And it bore down on one particular group: Muslims in America. Mass arrests and a national registry of immigrant Muslims led to the deportation of thousands. F.B.I. and police informants, sent to monitor mosques and Muslim neighborhoods, were later found to have been overzealous and accused of entrapping people who committed no violent crimes. The government’s focus on potentially dangerous Muslims spread to American media and society. According to F.B.I. data, hate crimes against Muslims spiked in 2001 . Though that pattern slowed in later years — assaults skyrocketed again in 2015 and 2016 — rates have never dipped back to their pre-2001 numbers.

Today, many Muslims in the United States fear a new outbreak of violence. Days after the attacks in Israel, the Biden administration announced that local and federal law enforcement officers across the United States are “closely monitoring” for connected threats. Within a week of Oct. 7, scattered reports were made to the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee of F.B.I. visits to mosques, and women in hijabs were reportedly being assaulted in several cities.

Though communities were braced for what was to come, no one could have predicted that the first hate crime would be the killing of a 6-year-old Palestinian Muslim boy , Wadea Al-Fayoume, whose mother was rushed to the hospital after also being repeatedly stabbed. Joseph Czuba, their landlord, was charged in the killing. (He has pleaded not guilty.) According to the boy’s mother, Mr. Czuba had become violent after the news of Oct. 7 and yelled, “You Muslims must die,” before stabbing Wadea 26 times. While speaking at Wadea’s funeral , one religious leader, Imam Omar Suleiman, wondered in his remarks: “Have we not learned anything from 9/11? Do we really want to live those dark years again?”

Perhaps because those “dark years” were not so long ago, attacks like the one on Wadea feel as though they are opening a barely closed wound. One Illinois resident told me that community members are now planning patrols for their children, not dissimilar to those started by some mosques after Mr. Trump was elected. “This is exactly what we were afraid of,” Abed Ayoub, the director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, told me recently.

What happened to the Muslim community in the United States after Sept. 11 — the surveillance, the targeting, the fear — was intimately tied to many Americans’ belief in the righteousness of what our government was doing abroad. As the United States invaded first Afghanistan and then Iraq, both wars that wrought devastating civilian casualties and paved the way for political chaos, the public perception of Muslims in America plummeted to new lows. Within a year of the Iraq invasion, a Pew poll found that a larger number of Americans believed Islam was more likely than other religions to encourage violence. By 2014, Muslims ranked lowest in another Pew poll of how the American public views different religious groups.

That unfounded perception has remained in the years since. The sudden arrival of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria only deepened the suspicion of Muslims in America as an ever-present threat. Once again, Islam appeared in close connection to terrorism in the American imagination as images of masked figures carrying out gruesome executions reinforced twisted stereotypes of Muslims. The ISIS phenomenon of the Western recruit meant that any wayward Muslim teenager could be a threat and that even the most assimilated people had the potential to become terrorists.

Since the Israel-Hamas war started, these long-held suspicions now appear to be seeping into the public debate again over showing support for Palestinians in Gaza, more than 8,000 of whom have been killed since the bombardment began, according to the Gazan health ministry. The false connection between supporting civilians in Gaza and the terrorist activities of Hamas is manifesting across our country’s public institutions. From college campuses to places of work, people are facing retribution for expressing support for Palestinians that is being misconstrued as anti-Israel or pro-Hamas. Companies have rescinded job offers, journalists have been fired for sharing posts, and students whose organizations have signed statements have been smeared publicly . The scale of suppression of speech by social media platforms, such as the shadow banning of Gaza-related posts and the blocking of accounts on Instagram , has been alarming enough that Human Rights Watch has started to document it.

Perhaps the Sept. 11 comparison and the good-guy/bad-guy binary can be evoked successfully because there has been almost no accountability for the failures of the war on terrorism. The oversimplification is made worse by Mr. Biden, who, in the same visit to Tel Aviv during which he cautioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to avoid the “mistakes” America made after Sept. 11, he also referred to Palestinians as “the other team.” There is no call from Israel to win the “hearts and minds” of Palestinians, as George W. Bush claimed to do with Iraqis; there is no call to bring freedom to Gaza, as the United States said it wanted to do in Afghanistan. Instead, Mr. Biden has not publicly admonished the Israeli defense minister for saying that his country was fighting “human animals.” And at home, he and other leaders have offered little to assuage the growing fears in the Arab and Muslim community: Last week he had a private meeting with Muslim leaders that the administration never publicly announced. Though the White House released a statement the day after Wadea Al-Fayoume’s killing, the president didn’t call the boy’s family until five days later.

The Oct. 7 attacks didn’t happen on American soil, but this is an intimate war for many Americans. Some families wait desperately for scraps of news of their loved ones taken hostage by Hamas. Others search for some sign of their loved ones in Gaza, waiting for the blue checks to show that their WhatsApp messages have been read by family members who are trying to stay alive amid near-constant bombing and a lack of food and water.

The first Friday after Oct. 7, the first holy day for Muslims and Jews since the attacks, New York City and the rest of the country seemed to be on high alert, bracing itself because a former Hamas leader in Qatar had called for protests across Arab nations in support of the Palestinians, a call which was mislabeled as a day of jihad. I decided to visit the Islamic Center at N.Y.U., expecting a tense and nervous congregation. Instead, an imam finished his speech, and the women around me lined up to pray. As we knelt together, all I could hear was sobs.

We’ve been here before, but we don’t have to be here again.

Rozina Ali is a contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine and a contributing editor at Lux magazine. She is also a 2024 New America fellow.

Source photographs by Fadel Senna, Jonathan Ernst, Jim Watson, Tolga Tezcan/Getty Images.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook , Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram .

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Unity of Muslim Ummah: Historical Viewpoint

Unanimous faith of every Muslim on One Allah, His Messenger (Muhammad PBUH) as last prophet, Holy Quran and Sunnah/Hadith of Prophet became a binding force bringing together people of different region as one Ummah. However, anti-Islamic force couldn’t swallow this growing religion and unity among them considering it as major threat towards their ideologies and religions. Muslim history is replete with glory and down fall, having difference as a healthy and creative activity, however there was no question on differences on religious matters as are prevailing today. “Muhammad (PBUH)” as Binding force for unity of Ummah.

His teachings clearly elaborate affection and love for prophet and if we critically analyze, it is evident that anti-Islamic forces have been trying to diminish love of Muhammad (PBUH) in the heart of Muslims, by creating clear division among them. He has quoted so many versus of Holy Quran, “Obey Allah, his prophet and the one Who is designated to command amongst you (Verse 59 Al Nissa-Chapter 5), O Believer don’t shout in front of Prophet and avoid talking with him as you normally talk with each other, otherwise your worships will go wasted and you will not be aware of it (Verse 2, AlHoojrat, Chapter 26), The one who obey Prophet, without any doubt he obeys Allah(Verse 80, Al Nissa, Chapter 5). Therefore to take out love of Muhammad (PBUH) from the heart and lives of Muslims, enemies of Islam fuelled controversy among Muslims about Great Personality of our Prophet, thereby creating disunity.

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Unity between Tongue and Heart (Iqrarum Bill-i-san wa Tasdeequm Bil Qalb) Present day world is full of hypocrisy (munafqat). This is major disease and impediment for unity of Ummah. If our heart and tongue have unity then we can create unity in a society, in a country and resultantly in the whole Ummah. He has elaborated in detail the procedures which can help in attaining unity between Tongue and Heart.

Muslims are supposed to work together towards a common goal set by Quran and shown by prophet PBUH through Sunnah. Dr Allama Iqbal Says: Khirad ney keh bhee deya La-Illa to keya hasil, Dil-o-Nigah Musalman Naheen to Kuch bhee nahin( If our tongue narrates 1st Kalama then nothing is achieved, because until and unless our heart and soul is not converted into Islam, we have attained nothing).

Probably there are no people in the world today who have been as divided as Muslims. They are divided along religious, political, ethnic, cultural,racial,linguistic,and sectarian lines. These Divisions extend further into subdivisions status,wealth,fame,fortune have also created social differences among Muslims. These Differences and divisions do create physical, emotional and physiological barriers amongst us.Iqbal says these differences create prejudice in human beings

Hadrat Sultan Bahoo Says: Zabani Kalma har koee parhda, dil da parh da koee Hoo, (Every Muslim read kalama with tongue but rare people read kalama with their hearts.  We are all Muslims, we believe in one God i.e. Almighty Allah, we believe in one Prophet i.e. Muhammad (Sallallaho Alaihe wa Aal-e-hee Wasallam) and we all have the book of Allah i.e. Qur’an. With due respect to my fellow Muslim brothers and sisters, this sentence is nothing more than a lip service.

All Muslims know the value and importance of uniting the Muslims around the world. We have read and heard many times the famous verse from Surah Al-i-Imran, ” And hold fast all together by the rope which Allah (stretches out for you) and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude Allah’s favour on you; for you were enemies and He joined your hearts in love so that by His grace you became brethren; and you were on the brink of the pit of fire and He saved you from it. Thus doth Allah make his signs clear to you: that you may be guided”. (Verse 013, Al-i-Imran)

Delivering long and long speeches about the Unity of Muslim Ummah does not tire our leaders, Imams and scholars. Every Muslim talks about the unity. However, as days are passing by Muslims are getting more and more divided. The division is multidimensional. Muslims are divided based upon languages, ethnicity, regional preferences, nationalism and above all sectarian beliefs in the name of Islam. The reasons of these divisions could be many. But in this paper I would like to focus on two reasons.

After almost 13 centuries of Muslim rule, the focus of Muslim Ummah changed. What Qur’an describes the attributes of Muslims as, “They (Muslims) are very kind among themselves but very hard on Kuffaar”. Muslims slowly adopted the opposite attributes. They became very kind to KUFFAAR and very hard and cruel to Muslims. Our religious leadership started focusing on minor issues. Instead of healthy intellectual discussions, our religious leadership started emphasizing on resolving the differences through force. Some Muslim scholars intentionally used Qur’anic verses and misinterpreted their meanings. Those verses which Allah had revealed in Qur’an to inspire Muslims to fight against Kuffaar, these scholars used those verses to create animosity among Muslim brothers. They made a Muslim an enemy of another Muslim by using Qur’an and Hadith.

The struggle between HAQ (right) and BAATIL (wrong) has always been part of human history. Started from Hadhrat Adam (May Allah’s peace be upon him) this struggle is still going on. The forces of evil have never accepted the truth of Islam and they have always used their wicked ways to destroy this TRUTH (HAQ). The only way these forces could undermine this Truth (Islam) was to disunite its followers. The disunity among Muslims could only be achieved if some of the Muslims disconnect themselves from the following and obeying of Hadhrat Muhammad (Peace be upon him).

How the Unity of Muslim Ummah can be achieved? There is only ONE way to achieve the unity of Muslim Ummah and that way is the way of Muhammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam). This way was used by the Companions of Allah’s Messenger (May Allah be pleased with them) and the Muslim scholars during the 13 centuries of Muslim rule of this world. One may say that everyone follows Qur’an but we are still disunited. That’s true.

The dispute is not in the Qur’an. The dispute lies with those scholars and their followers who interpret Qur’an based upon their own sectarian beliefs and ignore consensus of Islamic scholars (IJMA’). Muslims must return to the consensus of Islamic scholars which did exist from the period of SAHABAH (Companions of Allah’s Messenger) till the fall of Khilafat-e-Islamiyah just one century ago. Muslims must think as one nation and must overcome the linguistic, geographical, regional and ethnic differences. The agents of colonial empires have seeded the linguistic and regional nationalism among Muslims. Muslims must leave linguistic and regional nationalism behind and become one body.

The Noble Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) foretold about the coming of such people in the Hadith narrated by “Abu-Yaa’li” on the authority of “Huzaifah” who said: The Noble Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said: “What I fear most for you, is a man who reads the Qur’an until such time when the blessing of Qur’an is reflected on him and he takes Islam as his Cloak … he then turns around and strips himself off from Islam and then tosses it away behind his back, then he heads quickly towards his neighbour with his sword unsheathed and he calls him a ‘MUSHRIK'” I said: “O, Prophet of Allah! Who is more worthy of being called a MUSHRIK the one being attacked or the attacker”. He replied, “It is indeed the attacker.” May Allah keep us on the right path, the path of SALEHEEN and keep us with the SALEHEEN.

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Muslim Community, Essay Example

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Muslim Communities Around the World

Describing and analyzing the Islamic community firmly having drawn key identify across the world, mostly within the United States. The Islamic community has been connected with geographical, societal, cultural, religious, work-related, media-related aspects of living across the world (Hassan, Kabir, Mustafa Raza and Yomna 51). Most of the examiners have effectively recognized themselves to describe Islamic religion and culture worldwide, for instance, women, Muslims, and athletes’ cultures. Most of the Islamics have recognized themselves as gamers, sneaker gatherers, artists, and also as competed and well-known bloggers (Khan, Maryam, and Nick  Mule 25). The significant thing included choosing an Islamic community culture that matters to most of the individuals.

The culture, social, religion describes Islamic groups as having fundamental shared norms and acceptable actions. The Islamic culture described most values, while Society defines a group of individuals living in a described geographical part and interacting with each other while sharing key culture and common values (Hassan, Kabir, Mustafa Raza and Yomna 51). For instance, the United States as a community involves encompassing various cultures. Social organizations and key instruments, designs of social directive emphasized aspects of meeting social requirements, like government, economy, learning, household, healthcare, and religion (Khan, Maryam, and Nick  Mule 25). The sociological approaches emphasize inspecting social organizations over the period and comparing them to social establishments along other zones across the world.

In the U.S, for instance, there is the scheme of free public education but lacking widespread healthcare database, where considered as not within a case in numerous other prosperous, democratic states occupied with the Islamic community. Countering violence has established, beyond any hesitation, the highest national security importance for United States (Hassan, Kabir, Mustafa Raza and Yomna 51). The change has arisen with Congress’s full provision, both main political parties, the media, and United States people in ending terrorist who some of the Islamic community have brought. The land has committed massive resources to state security and to disputing violence.  Re-counting and analyzing the Islamic public firmly having drawn key recognize across the world, mostly in the United States. The Islamic public has remained linked with geographical, shared, cultural, religious, work-related, media-related features. Most of the examiners have efficiently recognized themselves to describe Islamic religion and philosophy worldwide, for example, females, Muslims, and athletes’ values across the world (Khan, Maryam, and Nick  Mule 25). Most of the Islamics have identified themselves as gamers, sneaker gatherers, artists, and likewise as competed and well-known bloggers (Hassan, Kabir, Mustafa Raza, and Yomna 51). The important thing included selecting an Islamic public culture that matters to most of the persons.

Between the financial year 2000/2001, the former budget accepted before 9/11, and current fiscal year 2005, entire central expenditure on defense (comprising costs on both Iraq and Afghanistan), motherland safety, and global affairs rose by over 50 percent, from $360 billion to around $550 billion. The US has not experienced such a quick surge in nationwide security expenditure since the Korean War came across. The design has happened before in U.S history. The U.S experienced an unexpected crisis and directive a marvelous national energy action (Hassan, Kabir, Mustafa Raza and Yomna 51).

The Islamic countries, also recognized as Muslim National of Iraq and al-Sham (isis), trails a characteristic diversity of Islam whose views around the trail to the Day of Ruling matter to its plan and helping the Wester distinguish its opponent and forecast its behavior. Therefore, it is considered a key rise to control is less compared to the Muslims’ victory within the U.S (Khan, Maryam, and Nick  Mule 25).

Artistes Jeroen and Dre Urhahn make public art by painting the whole neighborhood. Therefore, Most individuals nowadays have heard of the key creativity, Favela Painting. While Using equal unplanned logic of development as major slums themselves, Favela Portrait has become an Islamic public driven creative involvement that has changed slums and deserted neighborhoods (Hassan, Kabir, Mustafa Raza and Yomna 51)

The values, social, faith defines Islamic collection’s as having main shared norms and satisfactory actions. Islamic values are described to have represented most of the values, whereas Society describes a group of people living in a described topographical part and interrelating with each other while sharing main culture and common standards (Khan, Maryam, and Nick  Mule 25). For instance, the United States as public includes various cultures. Social administrations and key tools, designs of communal instruction emphasized features of meeting social necessities, like government, economy, learning, household, health care, and religion (Hassan, Kabir, Mustafa Raza and Yomna 51). Generally, sociological methods emphasize reviewing social organizations over a period and comparing them to social formations along other zones across the world (Moshfeghyeganeh, Saeed, and Zahra Hazari 10).

The Islamic nations, also recognized as Muslim Nationwide of Iraq and al-Sham, trails a distinctive variety of Islam whose views around the track to the period of Ruling substance to its plan and helping the Wester differentiate its opponent and prediction its behavior (Moshfeghyeganeh, Saeed, and Zahra Hazari 10). Consequently, it is measured as the main rise to control is less similar to the Muslims’ victory within U.S. Artistes Jeroen and Dre Urhahn make public art by painting the whole neighborhood. Therefore, Most persons nowadays have heard of the main originality, Favela Painting (Hassan, Kabir, Mustafa Raza, and Yomna 51). While Using equal unplanned expansion as main slums themselves, Favela Portrait has become an Islamic public-driven creative involvement that has changed slums and deserted neighborhoods (Khan, Maryam, and Nick  Mule 25). s

Most of the examiners have effectively recognized themselves to describe Islamic religion and culture worldwide, for instance, women, Muslims, and athletes’ cultures. Most of the Islamics have documented themselves as gamers, sneaker collectors, performers, and competed and well-known bloggers (Moshfeghyeganeh, Saeed, and Zahra Hazari 10). The significant thing included choosing an Islamic community culture that matters to most individuals (Khan, Maryam, and Nick  Mule 25). The nation, society, religion defines Islamic groups as having fundamental shared norms and acceptable actions. The Islamic culture is described to have portrayed most of the values, while Society defines a group of personalities living in a described geographical part and interacting with each other while sharing key culture and common values. For instance, the United States as public involves numerous cultures (Hassan, Kabir, Mustafa Raza, and Yomna 51). Social administrations and key instruments, designs of social directives emphasized aspects of meeting social requirements, like government, economy, learning, household, healthcare, and religion. Usually, sociological methods emphasize reviewing social organizations (Khan, Maryam, and Nick  Mule 25).

In the U.S, for instance, there is a scheme of free public education but lacking widespread healthcare database, where considered as not within a case in numerous other prosperous, democratic states occupied with the Islamic community (Khan, Maryam, and Nick  Mule 25). Countering violence has established, beyond any hesitation, the highest national security importance for the United States. The change has arisen with full provision of Congress, both main political parties, the media, and United States people in ending terrorist who has been brought by some of the Islamic community (Hassan, Kabir, Mustafa Raza and Yomna 51).

The land has committed massive resources to state security and to disputing violence.  Re-counting and analyzing the Islamic public firmly having drawn key recognize across the world, mostly in the United States. The Islamic public has remained linked with geographical, shared, cultural, religious, work-related, media-related features of living worldwide (Moshfeghyeganeh, Saeed, and Zahra Hazari 10). Most of the examiners have efficiently recognized themselves in describing Islamic religion and philosophy across the world, for example, females, Muslims, and athletes’ values across the world (Hassan, Kabir, Mustafa Raza and Yomna 51). Most of the Islamic have identified themselves as gamers, sneaker gatherers, artists, and likewise as competed and well-known bloggers (Khan, Maryam, and Nick  Mulé 25)

The important thing included selecting an Islamic public culture that matters to most of the persons. Between the financial year 2000/2001, the former budget accepted before 9/11, and current fiscal year 2005, entire central expenditure on defense (comprising costs on both Iraq and Afghanistan), motherland safety, and global affairs rose by over 50 percent, from $360 billion to around $550 billion. The US has not experienced such a quick surge in nationwide security expenditure since the Korean War came across. The design has happened before in U.S history. The U.S experienced an unexpected crisis and directive a marvelous action of national energy (Hassan, Kabir, Mustafa Raza and Yomna 51)

The nation, society, and religion define Islamic groups as having key shared norms and acceptable actions. The Islamic culture is described to have portrayed most of the values, while Society defines a group of personalities living in a described geographical part and interacting with each other while sharing key culture and common values. For instance, the United States as public involves numerous cultures (Hassan, Kabir, Mustafa Raza, and Yomna 51). Social administrations and key instruments, designs of social directives emphasized aspects of meeting social requirements, like government, economy, learning, household, healthcare, and religion. The US has not experienced such a quick surge in nationwide security expenditure since the Korean War came across. The design has happened before in U.S history. The U.S experienced an unexpected crisis and directive a marvelous action of national energy. The Islamic countries, also recognized as Muslim National of Iraq and al-Sham, trails a characteristic diversity of Islam whose views around the trail to the Day of Ruling matter to its plan and help the Wester distinguish its opponent forecast its behavior. Therefore, it is considered a key rise to control less comparable to the Muslims’ victory within the U.S (Khan, Maryam, and Nick  Mule 25).

Works Cited

Khan, Maryam, and Nick J. Mulé. “Voices of Resistance and Agency: LBTQ Muslim Women Living Out Intersectional Lives in North America.”  Journal of Homosexuality  (2021): 1-25.

Hassan, Shaima M., et al. “How do Muslim community members perceive Covid-19 risk reduction recommendations-a UK qualitative study?.”  BMC public health  21.1 (2021): 1-14.

Moshfeghyeganeh, Saeed, and Zahra Hazari. “Effect of culture on women physicists’ career choice: A comparison of Muslim majority countries and the West.”  Physical Review Physics Education Research  17.1 (2021): 010114.

Al-Muhsin, Muhammad Anas. “Reasons For Choosing the Arabic Language As A Third Language: A Case Study In Uitm Perak.”  Psychology and Education Journal  58.2 (2021): 1527-1537.

Hassan, M. Kabir, Mustafa Raza Rabbani, and Yomna Abdulla. “Socioeconomic Impact of COVID-19 in MENA region and the Role of Islamic Finance.”  International Journal of Islamic Economics and Finance (IJIEF)  4.1 (2021): 51-78.

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Islam Phobia Essay Example

Islamic art essays example, islamic art: understanding visual wealth behind religion.

The consistent way of adding in faith into their work was a distinct characteristic of Islamic art. Among the primary themes that are found in such artistic works include the presentation of Mohammad, the distinct identification of Allah’s power and the way the Moslems prayed and praised their God Allah. These particular presentations about common themes in the Islamic belief create a well-drawn definition on how they ought to follow the distinct rules of Islam in their lives. What is specifically evident in most Islamic art forms is the absence of personas unlike other religious works.

Islam Development Essay Examples

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Good Essay On International Faux Pas

A very important issue in inter-cultural communication is the varied difference in the gestures and practices across cultures of the world. For Americans it is quite troublesome that the peace sign is actually taken as showing the finger in nations like United Kingdom, South Africa and Australia. Actually, the palm needs to face outwards so that an individual is not mistaken in this context.

The Islam Religion Essay Sample

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Muslims are one of the world’s most influential religious groups occupying an equal position with Christians, Buddhists, Judaists, and followers of other less known religious confessions. Muslims were traditionally associated with certain countries in the Middle East, and preferred to inhabit specific regions not to mix with other religions’ representatives. However, modern evidence suggests that Muslims are disseminating around the world, inhabiting countries in which they were previously not met. To identify the current socio-demographic trends in the Muslim world, the Pew Report experts analyzed trends typical for Muslims regarding changes in their geographical location.

A Ritual Essay Example

Introduction, example of essay on international relation in the gulf region.

Characterized by an impressive history and dynamic foreign relations focused on controlling the resources of this area, Gulf region is an interesting case study for understanding the international relations (IR) theories. This essay aims to identify how IR theories explain the situation in Gulf countries and to decipher the Arab Spring and its foreign relations.

Example Of Essay On Religion

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The discrimination against Shia Muslims, in the Middle East, has existed for centuries. The act of injustice needs to stop since Muslims are only allowed to practice their belief only in their city. The Shia Muslims forms the minority population of Saudi Arabia. However, Wahabi Muslims who are their greatest enemies normally humiliate and degrade them with the aim of making them feel as outcast in that community. Their attitude towards Shia Muslim is totally deplorable.

Selim: The Ottoman Convert Essay

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The Month Of Ramadan In Islam Essays Example

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of the most important building of the particular styles:

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HOW DOES RELIGION AND GENDER STRUCTURE PLAY A ROLE IN SWAHILI PORTS TOWN BEFORE AND AFTER 1500’s THROUGH THE CONCEPT OF WEALTH IN PEOPLE? How does Religion and Gender Structure Play a Role in Swahili Port Towns Before and after the 1500’s Through the Concept of Wealth in People?

Good Example Of Rituals In Islam Essay

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Admission Essay By A Muslim Student

709 words 3 page(s)

I am writing this essay because of the invitation to express the way that my cultural identity has provided an important foundation for my personal development. I am hoping that my story will help create an understanding of how my goals have been formed. I am a practicing Muslim, a female who has attended an international American high school located in Lisbon, Spain. I am the product of a multicultural family, with a mother from Mozambique and my father from Portugal. My family background has certainly had an impact on creating the person that I have become, and in particular I have struggled with being a Muslim in a post-9/11 world.

Living in Europe, there is a tremendous amount of ignorance about the Muslim faith, because Islam is portrayed as an extremely negative force in modern Western history, i.e., Muslims are the “bad guys.” I understand that the behavior of a faction of extremist Muslims has contaminated the image of the rest of our flock, but I find it very difficult to confront on a personal basis. I am dismayed that people are not able to separate those very horrendous acts of terror from the peaceful and accepting behavior and attitudes of the vast majority of Muslims. My parents always instilled in me the positive values associated with my religion, and I only wish that other people could be exposed to them as well, in order to prevent such stereotyping.

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That said, I work at a social development network, and even though it is nonsectarian, i.e. not linked to any specific religion or faith, it is chaired by His Highness the Aga Khan, the imam of Muslim Shia Ismailis for the entire globe. My education has been a combination of Islamic culture combined with a western secular education, and while being exposed to two very diverse cultures, it has been a challenge for me because at times, there is a clash between the two foundations. I completely understand and sympathize with the apprehensions that people have had about the Muslim faith after the attacks of September 11, but I also feel strongly that many of these doubts have been reinforced by the coverage from the media. However, the tremendous amount of so much misunderstanding has allowed me to clarify my goal in life, which is to work in a management position at nonprofit organizations in countries that are both Islamic as well as Western. I would like to utilize my experiences and my talents to build a bridge between the two cultures that will result in mutual respect and understanding.

My intentions have been formed as a result of my excellent educational experiences where I unfortunately was exposed to prejudice against my religion. Prior to attending my current high school, I was a student at an all-girls’ military boarding school, and at times, I was excluded by my peers as well as my teachers because of their attitudes about my Muslim faith. I worked hard to overcome that by demonstrating that their perceptions of Muslims were stereotypical. I am a Muslim woman who is also a product of Western culture and beliefs, so that I consider myself to be progressive as well as open-minded. My moral beliefs are those of the universal humanitarian ethos, and that is also the situation for the majority of Muslims throughout the world. We are a peace-loving people, and want the rest of the world to know that their ideas about Muslims have been negatively impacted by the actions of a very few.

I am hopeful that attending an excellent university and working to receive my diploma and a degree granted by that institution, I will be able to help reconstruct the image of Muslims by providing an example of the values that are inherent in our religion. I am also enthusiastic about attending university because I know that it will prepare me to be a spokesperson that will be able to unite the Muslim culture with our Western brethren. I would experience a great deal of satisfaction if I could contribute to building a bridge between two very different cultures that happened to have a great deal in common as well. Thank you for the opportunity to express my goals and dreams.

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