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).