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AS generations passed and Muslim conquests expanded, rulers and subjects slowly drifted away from some aspects of Islamic teachings. Worldly interests were pursued and the caliphate was turned into a form of kingship.

To illustrate, an example would be how some Umayyad rulers treated the Berbers in the 8^th century. North Africa had largely been conquered by the end of 7^th century or by early 8^th century with the help of native Berbers who converted to Islam. But Berber warriors in the Muslim army were accorded an inferior status and paid lesser stipend than the Arabs.

It must be noted here that Islam prohibited racism early in the Prophet’s era itself. The bond of brotherhood was, as noted earlier, based on faith. Allah revealed in the Qur’an:

“O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).” (Qur'an, 49:13)

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, “All mankind is from Adam and Eve, 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. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood…” (The Farewell Sermon, Musnad Ahmad, no. 411)

The discrimination against the Berbers was largely condemned by pious learned Muslims. And when Umar bin Abdul Aziz, a righteous man, became the caliph (718-720 CE), he reversed the unjust laws; improved the treatment of Berbers; and declared their enslavement unlawful.[i] Umar also propagated Islam systematically among the Berbers. He appointed Ismail bin Ubaydullah, a learned traditionalist, as their leader and sent 10 prominent Tabi’een to teach Islam to the Berbers.

However, after Umar’s death in 720 CE, the injustices were reinstated by the subsequent rulers. But the role that the Tabi’een played was quite significant, as noted by Abun-Nasr[ii]:

“In the circles of pious learned Muslims the Umayyads were condemned for having transformed the caliphate, the vicariate of the Prophet, into an Arab hereditary monarchy. The exuberant luxurious style of life at the Umayyad court was condemned as a departure from the simple ascetic life of the early caliphs and on account of the violation of basic Islamic taboos which it involved.
“[…] The tabi’is [Tabi’een] were not collaborators of Umayyad rule and their prestige was so great, that they could pursue their calling as guardians of Islamic principles even after [the death of Caliph Umar bin Abdul Aziz] in 720. To the extent that the tabi’is helped in spreading knowledge of Islamic moral and legal principles, they contributed towards the consolidation amongst Maghribi Muslims of the conviction, that had already established itself amongst learned Muslims in the Mashriq, that the true Islamic system of government could not be equated with that of the Umayyads.”[iii]

It should be kept in mind that though racial discrimination occurred during some periods of Muslim rule, it was neither the norm nor institutionalized. On the contrary, non-Arabs, including slaves, have held all possible seats of power in Islamic history, because Islam was never about a race. Bernard Lewis noted that ours was the first "truly universal civilization" which brought together for the first time "peoples as diverse as the Chinese, the Indians, the people of the Middle East and North Africa, black Africans, and white Europeans."[iv] But the prevalent discrimination in today’s Arab Muslim countries would make one wonder if we ever had such a glorious past.

Arab nationalism – whose proponents among other things like to credit all Muslim achievements to the Arab race – is a modern concept (19^th century). In fact, whenever the ugly face of racism or nationalism surfaced among Muslims – Arabs or non-Arabs –, it only led to their spectacular downfall. This should serve as some food for thought for today’s Pan-Arabism vocalists.

The Scholars

As rulers indulged in sin and oppression, the responsibility of protecting and propagating religious teachings fell into the hands of another prominent body of Muslims – the Islamic scholars. They spent their lives in learning and teaching the religion. They were respected for their knowledge, piety, and struggle to nurture themselves and the society upon Prophetic virtues. The foundation of Islamic scholarship was laid by the Sahabah and carried forward by the Tabi’een. They began the development of Fiqh, the systematic compilation of Prophetic traditions and the exegesis of the Qur’an. Scholars also refuted foreign religious thoughts and practices that converts, and sometimes mischief mongers, wanted to bring into Islam from their old faiths and cultures. Allah said in praise of the scholars:

“It is only those who have knowledge among His slaves that fear Allah…” (Qur’an, 35:28)

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: “Indeed, the scholars are the inheritors of the Prophets, and the Prophets do not leave behind the dinar or the dirham as inheritance, they leave behind only knowledge as inheritance…” (Abu Dawood, no. 3641 and Ibn Majah, no. 223, graded Hasan by Al-Albani)

Therefore, it was not the rulers who inherited the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), but the scholars – and this accorded them tremendous influence and power. The result was that no Muslim ruler could ever become an absolute dictator and impose any law he wished. Even though rulers may have managed to escape jurisdiction, they at least were subjected to rule the nation by Shariah. The Shariah was always the higher law above them.

Islamic law embodied not only the Qur’an, Sunnah, and the Ijmaa of the Companions, but also the interpretation of the scholars. The scholars thus became the guardians of Shariah. Numerous scholars from all around the Muslim world contributed to the development of Islamic sciences. There was also no “official” religious mouthpiece like the Papacy in Roman Catholicism; anybody, even a slave, could (and did) become a learned scholar. Hence the Shariah never became the personal property of a select group of people who could permanently damage or change its teachings. Islamic scholarship was also largely protected from worldly interests because of the little monetary returns it offered. Scholars who achieved great recognition for their vast contribution to Islamic sciences were mostly driven by sincerity and selflessness, as their biographies reveal. Corrupt scholars would immediately be exposed because of their lifestyles and deviant teachings.

Allah protected Islam in ways more than one: The Qur’an still remains the unchanged word of God (not a letter has changed in over 1400 years of Islamic history); the Prophet’s life and teachings have been preserved like that of no other human being in this world; the classical Arabic language has been preserved; and the development of Islamic sciences like Usool al-Fiqh from the Qur’an and Sunnah meant that scholars were restricted by rules for legitimate interpretation. There always were learned Muslims who would practice and preach the uncorrupted message of Islam. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) so truly prophesied this: “There will never cease to be a group from my Ummah clearly upon the Truth until the Hour is established.” (Sahih Muslim)

The result was that alhamdulillah Islam did not become a monopoly of selfish interests.

PART 6 | Revival: The Story of Saladin Ayyubi to be published Wednesday (tomorrow) Insha Allah.