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Ibn Taymiyyah on the True Reasons for the Decline of Islamic Nations and Societies
Posted by Abu.Iyaad on Thursday, April, 12 2012 and filed under Articles
Key topics: Ibn Taymiyyah

The Shari'ah explanation behind the rise, fall, success, failure of nations, and the explanation of the emergence of tyrannical rule, or an enemy that is granted ascendancy and authority, is very apparent in the texts of the Book, the Sunnah and in the statements of the Sahaabah and Taabi'een. These explanations and the divine laws upon which they are based are blatantly denied (and if not, then cheap lip-service is paid to them) by these groups who emerged in the 20th century, who brought "fikr" (ideology) into the Muslim Ummah, and who incorporated the Marxist-Leninist revolutionary thought into their methodologies of reform. At the same time, they ignored the fact that much of the Ummah is steeped in shirk (polytheism), bid'ah (innovation) and ilhaad (heresy). These thinkers (like Qutb, Mawdudi and al-Nabahani) thought they could meet the same success as those Communists did in their lands. Shaykh al-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah said in a lengthy passage in Majmu' al-Fataawaa (13/177-182), in explanation of the divine law (we have simply quoted the relevant excerpts for our purpose in this article):

وهذا الجعد اليه ينسب مروان بن محمد الجعدي آخر خلفاء بنى أمية وكان شؤمه عاد عليه حتى زالت الدولة فإنه إذا ظهرت البدع التى تخالف دين الرسل انتقم الله ممن خالف الرسل وانتصر لهم ... فلما ظهر النفاق والبدع والفجور المخالف لدين الرسول سلطت عليهم الأعداء فخرجت الروم النصارى الى الشام والجزيرة مرة بعد مرة وأخذوا الثغور الشامية شيئاً بعد شيء الى أن أخذوا بيت المقدس فى أواخر المائة الرابعة وبعد هذا بمدة حاصروا دمشق وكان أهل الشام بأسوأ حال بين الكفار النصارى والمنافقين الملاحدة ... وكذلك لما كان أهل المشرق قائمين بالإسلام كانوا منصورين على الكفار المشركين من الترك والهند والصين وغيرهم فلما ظهر منهم ما ظهر من البدع والإلحاد والفجور سلط عليهم الكفار قال تعالى: {وَقَضَيْنَا إِلَى بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ فِي الْكِتَابِ لَتُفْسِدُنَّ فِي الأَرْضِ مَرَّتَيْنِ وَلَتَعْلُنَّ عُلُوًّا كَبِيرًا فَإِذَا جَاء وَعْدُ أُولاهُمَا بَعَثْنَا عَلَيْكُمْ عِبَادًا لَّنَا أُوْلِي بَأْسٍ شَدِيدٍ فَجَاسُواْ خِلاَلَ الدِّيَارِ وَكَانَ وَعْدًا مَّفْعُولا ثُمَّ رَدَدْنَا لَكُمُ الْكَرَّةَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَأَمْدَدْنَاكُم بِأَمْوَالٍ وَبَنِينَ وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ أَكْثَرَ نَفِيرًا إِنْ أَحْسَنتُمْ أَحْسَنتُمْ لِأَنفُسِكُمْ وَإِنْ أَسَأْتُمْ فَلَهَا فَإِذَا جَاء وَعْدُ الآخِرَةِ لِيَسُوؤُواْ وُجُوهَكُمْ وَلِيَدْخُلُواْ الْمَسْجِدَ كَمَا دَخَلُوهُ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَلِيُتَبِّرُواْ مَا عَلَوْاْ تَتْبِيرًا عَسَى رَبُّكُمْ أَن يَرْحَمَكُمْ وَإِنْ عُدتُّمْ عُدْنَا وَجَعَلْنَا جَهَنَّمَ لِلْكَافِرِينَ حَصِيرًا} ... والمقصود هنا أن دولة بنى أمية كان انقراضها بسبب هذا الجعد المعطل وغيره من الأسباب التى أوجبت إدبارها وفى آخر دولتهم ظهر الجهم بن صفوان بخرسان ...

And this al-Ja'd [bin Dirham] to whom Marwan bin Muhammad al-Ja'dee, the last of the khalifahs of Bani Umayyah, ascribed [himself], his [al-Ja'd's] evil returned upon him [the khalifah] until the entire [Umayyad] state came to an end, for verily, when innovations which oppose the deen of the Messengers emerge, Allaah seeks vengeance from whoever opposes the Messengers and He aids them [the Messengers]...So when hypocrisy, innovations, and sin that oppose the deen of the Messenger emerged, the enemies were given ascendancy, mastery over them, and thus Christian Rome departed to Shaam and the [Arabian] peninsula, time after time, and they took the Syrian ports progressively until they took Bayt al-Maqdis at the end of the fourth century (hijrah), and they also lay siege to Damascus shortly after, and the people of Shaam were in the worst situation, in between the Christian disbelievers and the Heretical Hypocrites (i.e. the Baatiniyyah)... And likewise, when the people in the East were established upon Islaam, they were aided against the pagan disbelievers from the Turks and (from) India and China and other than them. But when there appeared from them what appeared of innovations, heresy and sinfulness, the disbelievers were empowered over them, He, the Exalted said:

And We decreed for the Children of Israel in the Scripture, that indeed you would do mischief on the earth twice and you will become tyrants and extremely arrogant! So, when the promise came for the first of the two, We sent against you slaves of Ours given to terrible warfare. They entered the very innermost parts of your homes. And it was a promise (completely) fulfilled. Then We gave you once again, a return of victory over them. And We helped you with wealth and children and made you more numerous in man power. (And We said): "If you do good, you do good for your ownselves, and if you do evil (you do it) against yourselves." Then, when the second promise came to pass, (We permitted your enemies) to make your faces sorrowful and to enter the mosque (of Jerusalem) as they had entered it before, and to destroy with utter destruction all that fell in their hands. [And We said in the Torah]: "It may be that your Lord may show mercy unto you, but if you return (to sins), We shall return (to Our Punishment)." And We have made Hell a prison for the disbelievers. (al-Israa 17:4-8)

... and the intent here is that the state of Bani Umayyah its demise was on account of this al-Ja'd, the divester [of Allaah's attributes] and other such causes which necessitated its retreat (i.e. decline into non-existence)...

The deviation mentioned here by Shaykh al-Islaam, which is that of ta'teel (denial of Allaah's attributes), ilhaad (heresy, statements of disbelief such as al-ittihaad, and al-hulool and so on), and likewise clear shirk, and much fujoor (sin) amongst the common-folk, then this is what is found in abundance today yet this is ignored by these "thinkers" who brought "fikr" (ideology) into the Ummah in their vain attempts to bring reform as they claimed. What they are attempting is impossible and clashes with the clear divine law in Allaah's creation. It is clearly stated by Hizb al-Tahrir in much of their literature, that their movement is purely political, that they are not interested in preaching and in rectifying beliefs, and in cultivating Muslims upon Tawheed, Eemaan and the Sunnah. They actually see this to be an impediment to their political work - which according to them is the only way that khilaafah can be established. They, like all 20th century political movements masquerading as Islamic reformers, rely upon large numbers to implement their goals. Realizing that purifying the beliefs of the Muslims, calling them to single out their worship for Allaah alone, and making them abide by the Sunnah and abandoning blind-following and partisanship is not going to be very fruitful for their objectives and will not lead to the required large numbers, they do not make these matters as the foundational basis of their da'wah. Rather, it is the last thing they have in mind. As such, they are attempting the impossible. And so they involve and distract the average common Muslim away from the true basis of rectification and play with their minds using psychological and emotional games by using the sorry and sad state of the Muslim ummah and its turmoil to argue that a Muslim is obligated to be a member of a party, meaning their party, and by not joining and getting involved they are sinful!