6. If Allah is with Muslims then why are Muslim countries falling down? If
Islam is true, should not Muslims be
winning?
God does not differentiate between His creations. In order to become acquainted with the creation plan of God, it is necessary for a person to have a thorough understanding of himself—just as the workings of a machine can only be understood when we study the drawings of the engineer who made it. Besides the mind of the engineer, there is no other thing that can clarify what the machine is meant for. The case of human beings is the same.
The existence of a human being is such a unique phenomenon that no other such example can be found throughout the vastness of the cosmos. In the first phase, man was physically brought into existence by the Creator. In the second phase, man must accomplish the task of creating himself. That is, he chooses to follow a course in life, makes decisions and is consequently accountable for the result of his actions. Any unwise decision may cause him to pay the price. While God has discharged His role in the first phase, man must discharge the responsibility of developing himself in the second phase. It is the manner in which one manages and plans with what he has in life that determines the level of his personality development.
Let me explain this with an illustrative example. In the aftermath of the Second World War, countries like Japan and Germany were left devastated. However, they planned sincerely and emerged successful as economic superpowers. Germany’s planning was based on the principle – begin from what has remained with after the War. The same was the case of Japan.
Japan was under American occupation. Yet the Japanese began their planning what still remained with them and they emerged successful. Today Japan leads the world in technology, innovation and development. India was left crippled by the British colonization, but made the best of what it had after Independence and today’s India is an emerging superpower, which has also successfully stepped into space exploration. Israel acquiesced to the 1947 UN General Assembly resolution 181(ll) and despite facing several difficulties from its neighbours, today it is a tourist destination and has a high Human Development Index (HDI).
The Muslim countries did not, however, adopt this wisdom of planning on the basis of what remains. As an example, consider the case of Palestine – Arab nations attacked Israel in order to regain what they had lost, and in the process they only added to the devastation of Palestine. Palestine, therefore, is not a case of oppression but rather one of repercussion of the actions taken by Arab states. Similarly, Pakistan kept fighting for the province of Hyderabad and the state of Kashmir, and in consequence has destroyed its own economy. The regions where these violent activities were undertaken are no longer flourishing – be it Palestine, Kashmir, Xinjiang, Chechen or any other conflict-ridden area. The quality and standard of life at these places have been severely impacted as a result of the unwise policies of confrontation adopted by its leaders.
In the struggle for Kashmir and Palestine, both Pakistan and the Arab world should have realized that planning for success starts with what is in hand and not with what is beyond one’s reach. The approach of the leaders of both places was wrong right from the beginning.
In his address, Mohammad Ali Jinnah had once said, ‘We were given a truncated Pakistan.’ Mr. Jinnah could not discover that even the Prophet Muhammad had been given a truncated Kabah and he had accepted it. This is the principle of life: in this world, we do not get the ‘whole’, we only get a ‘part’ of the whole. It is our responsibility to make the best out of whatever we get.
It is also true that every person loses his first chance, but wise is one who plans and avails of the second chance. In other words, a person must plan by availing of what still remains with him. This wisdom has been mentioned in the Quran thus:
…give good news to the humble whose hearts are filled with awe at the mention of God; who endure adversity with fortitude, say their prayers regularly and spend out of what We have given them (Quran 22:34-35)
Through the examples set by countries such as Japan and Germany, the above wisdom has been made manifest in this world by the Creator. In order to receive the help of the Creator, one needs to follow the divine laws set for this world by Creator. Present-day Muslims are no longer following the creation plan of God and are therefore paying the price.
