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severe weakness that had overtaken the minds of the Muslims




 In the Jumu’ah Khutbah which is considered to be the political director of public opinion, the Khutabaa’ would read Khutbahs from a book of Ibn Nabaatah in accordance to the number of weeks in the year and the occasions that occur in it. So they would address the occasion of the month of Ramadhaan, the merits of fasting, a Khutbah for the Jumu’ah of the orphan near the end of Ramadhaan, the Khutbah of Laylat ul Qadr, the months of Hajj and its merits, ‘Aashoraa’, Hijrah, the birth of the Nabi (saw) and the middle of Sha’baan and so forth continuing in this manner for the entirety of the year. So if this is the case in regards to the supposed thinkers in the Ummah (Moslems Society) and those who are responsible for directing the Ummah (Moslems Society), then what will the case be in regards to the Ummah (Moslems Society) that is directed and led in this way? And if these Imaams were to be asked about a matter outside of these matters then they would only deflect it and divert from answering it. 

As for the effect of the time of the Ummah (Moslems Society)’s downfall upon their feelings and sentiments, then due to the absence of the live thoughts addressing and treating their problems from the basis of their Aqeeda, the Ummah (Moslems Society) became dominated a lot of the time by a large number of feelings and sentiments that were contradictory and in opposition to their Aqeedah. This included matters like the sanctification of shrines and the burial sites of those considered to be from the righteous Awliyaa and A’immah (Great Imaams) in which they bestowed upon them attributes and descriptions that even exceeded those of the Anbiyaa and Mursaleen. Some would even say that the Nabi did not reach his high status due to his own efforts but was rather sent by Allah and that his merit was diminished as he was revealed to, whilst these others (Awliyaa) have reached their heights due to their own efforts and what they did in terms of acts. 

They made various statements which strongly encouraged the people to go to the shrines of these Imaams or Awliyaa or their students and their teachers. In addition they were affected by some Sufi feelings from the Hindu philosophy which called to detachment from the Dunyaa and the torturing of their bodies so that their souls could ascend to the heavens. In this era the group or category of Mashaayikh and Daraaweesh (Dervishes) appeared and it was said in regards to the person who did not have a Sheikh, that Shaytaan then was his Sheikh! There were many other feelings like this that led to the dulling (weakening) of the sensations of the people until they lost their sentiments related to the might and honour of Islam and living by it, for its sake and for the sake of advancing it and the strength of its authority. 

Or in the very least they lost the sensation related to the obligation of making change whilst the feelings of the unseen Qadariyah (acceptance of fate) became terribly widespread and they would consider all that happened to them and what they suffered from as their Qadar (fate) and that they should be content with what Allah had decided for them. This was accompanied by the spread of the idea of waiting for Imaam Mahdi who had been entrusted and delegated to deal with matters of change. They said that it was necessary for the land to be filled with evil and oppression as this would speed up his appearance. In addition to all of this some patriotic, nationalistic, Madhabi and sectarian feelings also began to appear. 

As for the effect of this period of the Ummah (Moslems Society)’s downfall upon the system and those who were in authority over it, then for many centuries there were no notable changes in the regime or system and even if it some of the fundamental principles began to change and some western concepts that had been taken from them began to be included. The reason for this was the severe weakness that had overtaken the minds of the Muslims in regards to understanding Islam and the negligence in respect to the Arabic language, which is the language of Islam and the language that Islam cannot be understood except by it.

 In addition closing the door to the performance of Ijtihaad led to the rulings of the system being taken as rigid texts which fell short in respect to following up the problems of the time and in terms of the system being able to deal with them and treat them. This in turn made the people who were in authority and responsible for the system feel like they were in need of principles or laws to treat the problems of the time and deal with them. This feeling was encouraged and helped by the Fatwaa of the Sheikh of Islam that stated: ‘That which does not oppose Islam is from Islam’, which led to the inclusion of a number of principles and legislations from Roman or French jurisprudence into the systems of the Muslims with the argument and under the pretext that it does not oppose Islam and as such is from Islam. This was despite Islam being that which Muhammad (saw) came with as a revelation from Allah (swt). It either came in wording and meaning which is the Qur’aan or it came in a meaning that was expressed in the words, acts or silence of the Messenger (saw). 

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