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Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...testing my writing skills in English aite...?

Ok, I won't let you scratch your head thinking what that verse of the Holy Book means. The verse means "In the believers are nothing else than a single brotherhood..." [Al Hujurat, 49:10]. Clear enough aite?

Well, let us look back at the history of the Islamic civilization. Yes, it started off from one single individual, the prophet Muhammad (pbuh). And, slowly, but certainly, Islam went on to grow, and spectacularly, progressed to a point that Islam actually conquered two-thirds of the world. From Al-Andalus (modern Spain) to Africa to the Malay archipelago, Islam reigned supreme.

Now, let us look at why Islam once became so powerful. Alright, the common reasons are that the Muslims then held on tight to the teachings of the Qur'an and the Sunnah, and implemented thoroughly in their everyday lives. Besides, there was this factor of the great caliphs that ruled the Islamic empire at the time. The Ar-Rasyidin Caliphate, the Umaiyids, the Abbasids, and the Ottomans, all had great rulers who led during the golden time of the empires. Well, those are the common reasons why Islam became so powerful.

And, there is another reason why Islam became powerful, and it has a relation to the verse stated above, that is the spirit of brotherhood and togetherness amongst the Muslim people living then.

One example is the brotherhood of the Muslims, the Muhajirin, who went to follow the prophet (pbuh) to the Hijrah (pilgrimage) from Mecca to Medina. Yes, they had to leave behind everything that they had (family, home, possessions) in order to go for the pilgrimage. But, did they refuse to go? No, they didn't. Yes, they might lose all that they had, but for the sake of Islam, and the prophet (pbuh), they voluntarily went for the pilgrimage. And, look at what happened...Islam went on to spread it's wings to Medina, and eventually, the first ever Muslim country was formed, Medina Al-Munawwarah. This pilgrimage then proved to be a catalyst for Islam's rapid expansion, and enabled Islam to be very powerful by the Middle Ages.

However, Islam did not last that long as a world superpower. By the 16th century, Islam had just about neared rock bottom. To make things worse, Christianity had by then started to emerge from the shadows of the Dark Ages, and started to become powerful. Al-Andalus was taken away by the Christian kingdoms, Malacca was conquered by the Portuguese, and so on.

One of the reasons why Islam started to deteriorate in terms of dominance is definitely because of the lack of brotherhood between the people. One example, the fall of the Abbasid Empire on 1258, thanks to the Mongols - Baghdad was destroyed by the Mongols. Yes, the Mongols were powerful with their splendid cavalry...but how can Islam had lost, since many other powerful kingdoms had fallen before and heeded Islam - plus the fact that the Mongols were literally nomads, and didn't have the technology in their weaponry? The answer, simple - brotherhood. The Mongols were initially seperated and divided clans in their own country. However, a man by the name of Genghis Khan united the clans, and from then on the Mongols unprecedentedly went on to conquer kingdom after kingdom, and in the end by...ermm...approximately 1350 (couldn't really remember what year), had a gigantic empire, ranging from Mongolia to Hungary. And they did this because they were united, and worked together hand in hand. Going back to the Abbasids' decline, the Abbasids were actually in turmoil. Power struggles were happening then, in which one thought he should be king, when another person was chosen as king, then campaigns to oust the king was commenced. Thanks to these campaigns of power struggles, the Abbasids were no more a peaceful empire, and this made it all too easy for the Mongols to crush the Abbasids. Where is the brotherhood that had brought much glory to the earlier Abbasids? Greed for power, lack of understanding, had destroyed the brotherhood, and in turn, caused a great decline in Islam, in which we had never recovered.

The Mongolian Army

Pax Mongolia (around 1350)

Now, let us take a look at the current state of Islam. Wars between Muslims themselves occur just about every often. The Hamas-Fatah conflict in Palestine, the Shiites-Sunni-Kurds conflict in Iraq...all of these conflicts now keep affecting our beloved Islam. What does it affect? Well, now, we are nowhere near as powerful as the great Islamic empires of the past... And, why? The answer is simple, the lack of brotherhood amongst us, Muslims nowadays. With all of those wars, fights and misunderstandings, how can we progress?

I would like to address this to myself, all my brothers, and sisters, come, let us practice the one simple priciple of brotherhood, since we are together, as MUSLIMS. No matter who we are, where we come from, we are bearing the flag of ISLAM, as simple as that. Let us get to know together, and be friends with one another, and go on to form a powerful ummah...and get to rekindle the fire in Islam, and recover back what we have lost...POWER!

Wassalam.