ISLAM

What others said about Islam

Those who listen to the word and follow the best of it; those are the ones whom God has guided, and those are the ones endowed with understanding (Holy Qur'an 39:18).

This is a collection of short quotations from a wide variety of Non-Muslim notables, including academics, writers, philosophers, poets, politicians, and activists belonging to the East and the West. To our knowledge none of them ever became Muslim. These words, therefore, reflect their personal views on various aspects of the religion of Islam.

Bertrand Russell

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) British philosopher, mathematician, and Nobel laureate, whose emphasis on logical analysis greatly influenced the course of 20th-century philosophy.

"Our use of the phrase 'the Dark Ages' to cover the period from 699 to 1,000 marks our undue concentration on Western Europe... From India to Spain, the brilliant civilization of Islam flourished.

What was lost to Christendom at this time was not lost to civilization, but quite the contrary... To us it seems that West-European civilization is civilization; but this is a narrow view." (History of Western Philosophy, London, 1948, p. 419)

Mahatma Gandhi

I wanted to know the best of the life of one who holds today an undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind.... I became more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life.

It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet the scrupulous regard for pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle. When I closed the second volume (of the Prophet's biography), I was sorry there was not more for me to read of that great life

James A. Michener

James A. Michener (1907-1997) Leading American writer; recipient of honorary doctorates in five fields from thirty leading universities and decorated with the Presidential Medal of freedom, America's highest civilian award.

"No other religion in history spread so rapidly as Islam . . . The West has widely believed that this surge of religion was made possible by the sword. But no modern scholar accepts that idea, and the Qur'an is explicit in support of the freedom of conscience." (Islam - The Misunderstood Religion, Readers' Digest (American Edition) May 1955)

Edward Gibbon

Edward Gibbon (1737-1794). Considered the greatest British historian of his time.

"'I believe in One God and Mohammed the Apostle of God,' is the simple and invariable profession of Islam.

The intellectual image of the Deity has never been degraded by any visible idol; the honours of the prophet have never transgressed the measure of human virtue, and his living precepts have restrained the gratitude of his disciples within the bounds of reason and religion."(History Of The Saracen Empire, London, 1870, p. 54.)

"More pure than the system of Zoroaster, more liberal than the law of Moses, the religion of Mahomet might seem less inconsistent with reason than the creed of mystery and superstition which, in the seventh century, disgraced the simplicity of the gospels." (The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 5. p. 487)

Annie Besant

Annie Besant (1847-1933) British theosophistand nationalist leader in India. President of the Indian National Congress in 1917.

"I often think that woman is more free in Islam than in Christianity. Woman is more protected by Islam than by the faith which preaches Monogamy. In Al-Quran the law about woman is more just and liberal. It is only in the last twenty years that Christian England, has recognized the right of woman to property, while Islam has allowed this right from all times." (The Life and Teachings of Muhammad, Madras, 1932, pp. 25, 26)

Sarojini Naidu

Sarojini Naidu (1879-1949) A writer, poetess and one of the most visible leaders of pre-Independent India. President of the Indian National Congress and the first woman governor of free India.

"Sense of justice is one of the most wonderful ideals of Islam, because as I read in the Qur'an I find those dynamic principles of life, not mystic but practical ethics for the daily conduct of life suited to the whole world."

"It was the first religion that preached and practiced democracy for, in the mosque when the call for prayer is sounded and worshippers are gathered together, the democracy of Islam is embodied five times a day when the peasant and king kneel side by side and proclaim: "God Alone is Great." I have been struck over and over again by this indivisible unity of Islam that makes man instinctively a brother." (Lectures on "The Ideals of Islam;" see Speeches And Writings Of Sarojini Naidu, Madras, 1918, pp. 167-9)

Arnold J. Toynbee

Arnold J. Toynbee (1889-1975) British historian, Lecturer at Oxford University.

"The extinction of race consciousness as between Muslims is one of the outstanding achievements of Islam, and in the contemporary world there is, as it happens, a crying need for the propagation of this Islamic virtue." (Civilization On Trial, New York, 1948, p. 205)

William Montgomery

Watt William Montgomery Watt (1909- ) Professor (Emeritus) of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Edinburgh. "I am not a Muslim in the usual sense, though I hope I am a "Muslim" as "one surrendered to God," but I believe that embedded in the Qur'an and other expressions of the Islamic vision are vast stores of divine truth from which I and other occidentals have still much to learn, and Islam is certainly a strong contender for the supplying of the basic framework of the one religion of the future.'"

(Islam And Christianity Today, London, 1983, p. ix)

Ottoman Empire and the faith

The Ottoman Empire was a sprawling political and military entity that arose in the late Middle Ages and survived into the 20th Century. The achievements of the Ottoman Empire include excellence in art and culture, autocratic brilliance and a large handful of initial military victories, and eventual defeats toward the end of its reign.

The following century saw the rise of the most famous ruler of the Ottoman Empire, Suleyman the Magnificent. His long reign was punctuated by a series of brilliant victories giving the Ottoman Empire control of much of Egypt and much of the Balkans territory, including Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Hungary, Moldava, Montenegro, Romania, and Serbia. It was Suleyman who installed a justice system that lasted until the fall of the empire. It was also during his reign that the great Ottoman tradition of beautiful art, architecture, and literature began its ascent. Suleyman renamed Constantinople as Istanbul and had some of the world's most breathtaking buildings and paintings created.

Origins

The Ottoman state began as one of many small Turkish states that emerged in Asia Minor during the breakdown of the empire of the Seljuk Turks. The Ottoman Turks began to absorb the other states, and during the reign (1451-81) of Muhammad II they ended all other local Turkish dynasties. The early phase of Ottoman expansion took place under Osman I, Orkhan, Murad I, and Beyazid I at the expense of the Byzantine Empire, Bulgaria, and Serbia. Bursa fell in 1326 and Adrianople (the modern Edirne) in 1361; each in turn became the capital of the empire. The great Ottoman victories of Kosovo Field (1389) and Nikopol (1396) placed large parts of the Balkan Peninsula under Ottoman rule and awakened Europe to the Ottoman danger. The Ottoman siege of Constantinople was lifted at the appearance of Timur, who defeated and captured Beyazid in 1402. The Ottomans, however, soon rallied.

Period of great expansion

The empire, reunited by Muhammad I, expanded victoriously under Muhammad's successors Murad II and Muhammad II. The victory (1444) at Varna over an army led by Ladislaus III of Poland was followed in 1453 by the capture of Constantinople. Within a century the Ottomans had changed from a nomadic horde to the heirs of the most ancient surviving empire of Europe. Their success was due partly to the weakness and disunity of their adversaries, partly to their excellent and far superior military organization. Their army comprised numerous Christians-not only conscripts, who were organized as the corps of Janissaries, but also volunteers.

Turkish expansion reached its peak in the 16th century. under Selim I and Sulayman I (Sulayman the Magnificent).

The Hungarian defeat (1526) at Moh cs prepared the way for the capture (1541) of Buda and the absorption of the major part of Hungary by the Ottoman Empire; Transylvania became a tributary principality, as did Walachia and Moldavia. The Asian borders of the empire were pushed deep into Persia and Arabia. Selim I defeated the Mamluks of Egypt and Syria, took Cairo in 1517, and assumed the succession to the caliphate. Algiers was taken in 1518, and Mediterranean commerce was threatened by corsairs, such as Barbarossa, who sailed under Turkish auspices.

Most of the Venetian and other Latin possessions in Greece also fell to the sultans. During the reign of Sulayman I began (1535) the traditional friendship between France and Turkey, directed against Hapsburg Austria and Spain. Sulayman reorganized the Turkish judicial system, and his reign saw the flowering of Turkish literature, art, and architecture. In practice the prerogatives of the sultan were limited by the spirit of Muslim canonical law (sharia), and he usually shared his authority with the chief preserver (sheyh�lislam) of the sharia and with the grand vizier (chief executive officer).

In the progressive decay that followed Sulayman's death, the clergy (ulema) and the Janissaries gained power and exercised a profound, corrupting influence. The first serious blow by Europe to the empire was the naval defeat of Lepanto (1571; see Lepanto, battle of), inflicted on the fleet of Selim II by the Spanish and Venetians under John of Austria.

However, Murad IV in the 17th century. temporarily restored Turkish military prestige by his victory (1638) over Persia. Crete was conquered from Venice, and in 1683 a huge Turkish army under Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa surrounded Vienna. The relief of Vienna by John III of Poland and the subsequent campaigns of Charles V of Lorraine, Louis of Baden, and Eugene of Savoy ended in negotiations in 1699 (see Karlowitz, Treaty of), which cost Turkey Hungary and other territories.

Collapse

In 1908 the Young Turk movement, a reformist and strongly nationalist group, with many adherents in the army, forced the restoration of the constitution of 1876, and in 1909 the parliament deposed the sultan and put Muhammad V on the throne. In the two successive Balkan Wars (1912-13), Turkey lost nearly its entire territory in Europe to Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, and newly independent Albania.

The outbreak of World War I found Turkey lined up with the Central Powers. Although Turkish troops succeeded against the Allies in the Gallipoli campaign (1915), Arabia rose against Turkish rule, and British forces occupied (1917) Baghdad and Jerusalem.

In 1918, Turkish resistance collapsed in Asia and Europe. An armistice was concluded in October, and the Ottoman Empire came to an end.

Courtesy: Encyclopaedia-Ottoman empire

Sacred Conversation

Yasmin Mogahed

There is a time of night when the whole world transforms. During the day, chaos often takes over our lives. The responsibilities of work, school and family dominate much of our attention. Other than the time we take for the five daily prayers, it is hard to also take time out to reflect or even relax. Many of us live our lives at such a fast pace, we may not even realize what we're missing.

But there is a time of night when work ends, traffic sleeps and silence is the only sound. At that time-while the world around us sleeps-there is One who remains awake and waits for us to call on Him.

We are told i: "Our Lord descends during the last third of each night to the lower heaven, and says: 'Is there anyone who calls on Me that I may respond to him? Is there anyone who asks Me that I may give unto him? Is there anyone who requests My Forgiveness that I may forgive him?'" (Bukhari and Muslim).

One can only imagine what would happen if a king were to come to our door, offering to give us anything we want. One would think that any sane person would at least set their alarm for such a meeting. If we were told that at exactly one hour before dawn a check for $10,000,000 would be left at our doorstep, would we not wake up to take it?

Allah (exalted is He) has told us that at this time of night, just before dawn, He will come to His servants. Imagine this.

The Lord of the universe has offered us a sacred conversation with Him. That Lord waits for us to come speak with Him, and yet many of us leave Him waiting while we sleep in our beds. Allah (swt) comes to us and asks what we want from Him. The Creator of all things has told us that He will give us whatever we ask.

And yet we sleep

There will come a day when this veil of deception will be lifted. The Qur'an says: "[It will be said], You were certainly in unmindfulness of this, and We have removed from you your cover, so your sight, this Day, is sharp." (Qur'an 50:22).

On that Day, we will see the true reality. On that Day, we will realize that two rak`at (units) of prayer were greater than everything in the heavens and the earth. We will realize the priceless check that was left on our doorstep every night as we slept.

There will come a day when we would give-up everything under the sky just to comeback and pray those two rak`at.

There will come a day when we would give up everything we ever loved in this life, everything that preoccupied our hearts and minds, every mirage we ran after, just to have that conversation with Allah. But on that Day, there will be some from whom Allah (swt) will turn away... and forget, as they had once forgotten Him.

The Qur'an says: "He will say, 'My Lord, why have you raised me blind while I was [once] seeing?' [Allah] will say, 'Thus did Our signs come to you, and you forgot them; and thus will you this Day be forgotten.'" (Qur'an, 20:125-126) In Surat al-Mu'minoon, Allah says: "Do not cry out today. Indeed, by Us you will not be helped." (Qur'an, 23:65)

Can you imagine for a moment what these ayat (verses) are saying? This is not about being forgotten by an old friend or classmate.

This is about being forgotten by the Lord of the worlds. Not hellfire. Not boiling water. Not scalded skin. There is no punishment greater than this.

And as there is no punishment greater than this, there is no reward greater than what the Prophet (PBUH) describes in the following hadith:

"When those deserving of Paradise would enter Paradise, the Blessed and the Exalted would ask: Do you wish Me to give you anything more? They would say: Hast Thou not brightened our faces? Hast Thou not made us enter Paradise and saved us from Fire? He would lift the veil, and of things given to them nothing would be dearer to them than the sight of their Lord, the Mighty and the Glorious." [Sahih Muslim]

But one does not need to wait until that Day to know the result of this night-time meeting with Allah (swt).

The truth is, there are no words to describe the overwhelming peace in this life from such a conversation. One can only experience it to know.

Its effect on one's life is immeasurable. When you experience qiyam, the late night prayer the rest of your life transforms.

Suddenly, the burdens that once crushed you become light.

The problems that were irresolvable become solved. And that closeness to your Creator, which was once unreachable, becomes your only lifeline.