DAR AL HARB / ISLAM: WHAT DOES THE REVIVAL OF ISLAM MEAN?!?

The meaning of revival in Islam

Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala, created human beings on earth for a great purpose: to test the best of them in righteous deeds. His wisdom entails making human beings more akin to accept uprightness.

First, when Allah created human beings, they were one family and one nation following the straight path. Allah says: “Mankind were one community” (Qur’an 2:213). In another verse, Allah says: “Mankind were but one community (ie, on one religion Islamic monotheism), then they differed later” (Qur’an 10:19). But Satan later influenced them and turned them away from the right religion. Satan also made them enemies of one another and he enticed them to forbid from themselves what Allah has made lawful, until they reached a stage whereby they associated partners with Him.

Secondly, children are born with the innate and correct Islamic beliefs before they are influenced by external factors. In a hadith, Abu Hurairah, radhiallahu ‘anhu, narrated that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “There is no newborn child who is not born with the natural fitrah. Then his parents turn him into a Jew, a Christian or a Magian.” Imam Al-Bukhari clarifies that fitrah in the hadith refers to Islam. Allah also says: “Allah’s fitrah (ie, Islamic monotheism), with which He has created mankind. No change let there be in Allah’s creation. That is the straight religion, but most of mankind know not,” (Qur’an 30:30). Furthermore, Allah has given mankind the choice to follow either the right path or the wrong path. A person therefore has the choice to stay firm with the fitrah with which he was born or to deviate from it and follow a misguided path. Allah has also endowed people with the means and senses to know the truth. He has made it easy for them to ponder and appreciate the signs and proofs in the creation of the universe and in themselves so that the innate nature is strengthened and takes the upper hand over evil tendency. He also sent prophets and messengers, as bearers of glad tidings and as warners such that people do not have any excuse for disbelieving in Allah.

Allah in His infinite Wisdom tests people with desires and temptations to serve as criteria for measuring people’s inclinations and intentions. On the other hand, Satan and his agents continue to entice people to fall into these temptations. In this way, the struggle between truth and falsehood continues.

Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala, sent messengers to lead people to the happiness of this world and the Hereafter. Among them were those who brought new divine laws and there were those who came to renew the laws of the prophets before them which had been blotted out, until Allah sealed the messages and the messengers with Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam. With his death, there will be no more prophets or divine revelations.

As time goes by, people tend to lose clarity of purpose such that even the most crucial matters of faith become blurred. In the end, extremely dangerous deviations occur and people no longer adhere to the true monotheism due to the gradual infiltration of innovations in their beliefs. The issue is even more critical in our era where truth and falsehood have become mixed up. People’s intentions are so far apart that all kinds of voices calling for deviation are heard loudly. On the other hand, the voice of the truth has become so low and unclear that many people are confused in discerning truth from falsehood.

Consequently, this era needs the appearance of a prominent Islamic leadership which renews the religion, clarifies the blurred truth, revives the acts of worship that have been discarded, and purifies the religion from the wrong ideas and deviant concepts that have been attached to it.

The Hadith about the revivalist

Abu Hurairah narrated that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “Allah sends to this ummah at the end of each century someone who renews its religion,” (Related by Abu Dawud). The hadith has been recorded in several other hadith books and its authenticity has been approved by many of the renowned scholars such as Al-Zuhri, Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Al-Hakim, Al-Nawawi, Ibn Hajar, Al-Dhahabi, Ibn Kathir, Al-Suyuti, and many more.

The hadith contains one of the glad tidings which the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, promised his ummah. The Muslim who sincerely believes in the message of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, finds reassurance and hope that Allah will grant him a share of the reward of the revivalist if he works hard for the sake of Allah. Even though, anyone who works in da’wah and spreads the message of Islam gets a great reward, the revivalist is a step higher. He is a person who transcends his limited individual scope to a much higher horizon such that he influences the flow of events to the advantage of the Muslim ummah. In other words, he reawakens the ummah and makes it conscious of its responsibility as bearer of Allah’s final message to humanity. He instills in the community the authentic teachings of Islam and renews the ummah’s confidence in its religion and the values it represents. The revivalist does not remain content with the mediocre, but he has lofty aspirations which he backs up with action. He has such a determination and sense of duty that he cannot remain indifferent to the corruption and deviations prevalent in his society. He chooses to speak out against injustice in all its manifestations, and forcefully works against the tide.

The difference between revival and innovation

Revival refers to correcting and bringing to light some of the beliefs and practices of the faith which have been either forgotten or deviated from. Innovation on the other hand refers to the corruption of the pure teachings of Islam with additions or deletions. Innovation does not have any evidence in the Qur’an, the Sunnah, or the consensus of the ummah. Revival takes its root in the authentic sources of Islam, whereas innovation is a new invention that does not have any place in Islam.

The nature of Islamic revival

Religious revival in its Islamic context means revitalising and resurging the practical and theoretical manifestations of the religion as exemplified by the texts of the Qur’an, Sunnah, and the interpretations of the companions (sahabah). The nature of Islamic revival may be summarised as follows:

1. Islamic revival refers to reinvigorating, revitalising, renewing, and restoring the teachings of Islam so that they conform with the manner in which they were during the time of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, and the early generations of Muslims.

2. Islamic revival entails safeguarding the original texts of the religion (Qur’an and Sunnah) in their pure form as stipulated by Allah and His Messenger.

3. Islamic revival requires adherence to the correct methodology for interpreting and understanding the texts of the religion and deducing their meanings from the explanations offered by the companions and their followers.

4. The essence of revival is to make Islamic law effective in all spheres of life and to restore the parts that have been made inoperative by secular law.

5. The Muslim scholar exerting his utmost effort to arrive at religious rulings is contributing to the revival. This is because finding Islamic solutions to new developments and new issues broadens the scope of the Islamic law to encompass all the beneficial laws that are in accordance with the general principles and objectives of Islam.

6. The precise meaning of revival in Islam is to separate the true teachings of the faith from innovations regardless of whether these innovations emanate from internal factors within the Muslim community or are due to external influence.

One person or a whole group

Scholars differ as to whether the revivalist mentioned in the hadith of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, refers to a single person or a group of persons could also qualify. While many individuals have been listed as worthy of being called revivalists (such as Umar Ibn Abdul-Azeez, Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Imam Al-Shafi’i, etc, proponents of the group theory also provide evidence from the Sunnah to support their argument. In a hadith recorded in Sahih Al-Bukhari, the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “A ‘group’ of my ummah will always hold firmly to the truth and will not be harmed by their adversaries until Allah’s ordinance is established.” Some scholars interpret the ‘group’ here as referring to hadith scholars.

Furthermore, Imam Al-Nawawi in his explanation of this hadith says: “It is possible that this group might be distributed among different sections of the Muslim community in various capacities. They may be among the brave mujahideen, jurists, hadith scholars, ascetics, Muslims who promote righteousness and forbid evil. Also, they may not be gathered in the same place at the same time but could be dispersed in different parts of the Muslim world. What is important, however, is that there will always be individuals or groups in the Muslim communities who will stand for the truth. These groups will have the following characteristics:

1. Their beliefs regarding matters of faith will always be in accordance with that of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, and his companions.

2. They adhere to the divine revelations of the Qur’an and the Sunnah, or other recognised sources derived from them.

3. As adherents of the Sunnah, they apply the directives of the Islamic law strictly and abide by the principle of enjoining good and forbidding evil.

Areas in which revival takes place

The concept of the revival of the ummah is not limited to only one area, but goes much further to encompass reviving all aspects of the religion. Some of the areas in which revival takes place include:

a) The Basic Beliefs: This definitely does not mean adding new concepts to the divine religion of Allah. To the contrary, revival here means purifying the faith from any human interference such as human ideologies and philosophies. The first step of revival is therefore to free the Islamic beliefs from the effects of all external philosophies as well as deviations from within. Furthermore, the Islamic beliefs must be presented in such a way that they push the believer to their practical applications.

The manifest deviations in many parts of the society cannot be rectified without inner purification of the individual. So, in directing people to abide by the tenets of the permissible and forbidden (ie, halal and haram), the person’s conscience must be trained so that it serves as a guide and a deterrent against falling into unlawful actions. Actions of the heart such as, loving Allah, fearing Him, obeying Him, hoping for His forgiveness and relying totally on Him Alone should be emphasised.

The Muslim must have a clear conviction as to what his identity is and where his allegiance belongs. Also his actions and aspirations must stem from the Law of Allah. Every Muslim should take it as a matter of faith that governing by Islamic laws in all aspects of life is an absolute necessity and a condition for the completeness of one’s faith and submission to Allah.

b) In the Area of Jurisprudence and Scholarship: This involves activating the field of scholarship by studying the shari’ah as a whole based on sound evidence from the primary sources and away from adhering to just a single school of thought (madhab) to the exclusion of all the others. Muslims should be made to realise the place of the seerah (biography) of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, the methodology of the companions, the early significance of the vast heritage of scholarship they left behind.

c) Moral Behaviour and Social Etiquette: Revival in this respect refers to modifying the moral behaviour and social norms of the society in such a way that they conform with the directives of the shari’ah. Thus, when emphasis is placed on issues of the unseen such as the Punishment of the Grave, the Resurrection, the Reckoning, Paradise, Hellfire, etc, a connection must be made between these matters and the desired effect the belief in them must have on the person’s daily life. Hence, helping the Muslim overcome the temptations and weaknesses from within himself will have a great impact upon his outward behaviour. Once the individuals become pious and God-conscious, this will reflect on the society as a whole. It will become a responsible society which knows its duty towards its Creator both in this world and in the Hereafter.

d) Educating Muslims on the Negative Effects of Non-Islamic Ideologies: Exposing the shortcomings of non-Islamic principles, laws and ideologies is an important aspect of revival. Due to the ignorance of Muslims over the years regarding the true Islamic teachings, many deviant ideologies both from within and without have crept in. It is therefore essential for the scholars, preachers, and callers to explain to the people the Islamic perspective regarding these ideologies. Indeed this was the main duty of all the prophets. Every prophet pointed out the right path and exerted his utmost to differentiate truth from falsehood.

Thus, Islamic revival means striving to make the reality of the Muslim community at any given time conform with the model example of the religion as practised during the era of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, his companions, and the following generations.


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