The Mindset of
Individuals, Societal Leadership
It is precisely the task of understanding and reforming the modern mind, Ulama’s most pressing task. Without reforming people’s thinking, no sort of practical political effort can ever succeed.
As indicated above, the individual’s condition is of the utmost importance, while political or societal leadership is that of the outer structure. If the state of the former (i.e., the individual) is good, then inevitably, that of the latter will also be so, and then no conspiracy can cause it to deviate from the right path.
The caliphate of Abu Bakr and Umar provides this example. Moreover, when people’s ways of thinking (mindset) become corrupted, even a just ruler cannot transform society into a perfect one, simply by wielding political power.
In the present day, we are confronted with the painful reality that all the efforts of the Ulama in practical politics have continuously proven to be ineffective. As we mentioned earlier, Sayyed Ahmad Barelvi established an ‘Islamic government’ in the Peshawar region, but, shortly after that, the entire structure collapsed. Later, when Pakistan came into being, Maulana Mufti Mahmud was given the opportunity, as the Chief Minister of the country’s Frontier Province, to form a ministry consisting of ‘pro-Islamic’ forces, but this ministry was unable to complete its term in office, and so proved to be a failure. In Sudan, in the late 1980s, the Muslim Brotherhood had the opportunity to play a vital role in the government of Jafar Nimeiri, but their participation made no positive difference to the conditions of the Sudanese society, and soon they went out of power. In Pakistan, General Zia-ul-Haq had the opportunity to rule the country as a dictator for more than a decade. He received the support of many Ulama. However, he failed in bringing about any truly Islamic change in Pakistan. And so on.
A primary cause for the continuous failure of the Ulama in the field of practical politics is that they are going against the divine plan. It can be better appreciated when we see their activities in the light of the statement made by Hazarat Aisha, as referred to earlier. They want to acquire leadership over people without reforming the latter’s mindset. As Hazarat Aisha’s statement tells us, such a course of action would not have succeeded even at the time of the Prophet. So, how can it succeed today, fourteen hundred years later?
The Ulama are not aware of the vast transformations that have taken place in human thought in the modern age. They have no real idea of the modern mind. However, it is precisely the task of understanding and reforming the modern mind that is Ulama’s most pressing task—one which they should have taken up at the very outset. Without reforming people’s thinking, no sort of practical political effort can ever succeed.
