intellectuals, thinkers, and philosophers - arabs, muslims, and foreigners alike - have long looked into the causes of our backwardness. after centuries during which we were a beacon of enlightenment to the world, we have become, in many respects, a symbol of injustice and stagnation.

some argue that our current low standing is due to our abandonment of religion. yet this overlooks the fact that during the golden age of islamic civilization, religious observance was often at its weakest. despite that, scholars flourished in dozens of fields such as science, philosophy, medicine, mathematics, without being constrained by religious, racial, or sectarian restrictions.

others trace the decline to the exodus of muslims from andalusia. still others go further back, citing the breakdown of the rightful caliphate, or more recently, the collapse of the ottoman empire. some blame the colonialism of the british, french, and italian occupations for leaving us in disarray. but our decline predates colonialism by centuries. many countries were colonized, yet managed to rebuild and progress. our stagnation, however, continued

most observers believe the reasons are many, such as the balfour declaration, the sykes-picot agreement, percy cox’s partitions, the military coups that followed, and the rise of religious fundamentalism that reshaped our educational systems. add to this the absence of scientific and cultural thinking, and a bigger picture of regression emerges. others believe that these factors are the results of backwardness, not necessarily the causes.

a person begins life young and unknowing, gradually learning, gaining experience, and becoming more intelligent. typically, one starts out with little, then works to earn a living and build a better life. those who fail to evolve and who remain in ignorance and poverty without seeking knowledge or experience tend to stay stuck, or worse, see their mental, physical, social, and economic conditions decline. this makes them easier to control. even if such individuals happen to acquire wealth or health at some point, they are likely to lose it due to a lack of understanding. this pattern has repeated throughout the history of individuals, societies, and nations.

arab muslims inherited a rich and influential legacy, but they failed to develop it or keep pace with the changing world, except for a brief period, lasting little more than two centuries. after that, stagnation returned as the forces of rigid textualism overtook the advocates of reason and progress.

muslims, unlike followers of other faiths, particularly judaism and christianity, believe that what they possess was revealed directly and literally from god, without any human interference. in contrast, followers of other religions acknowledge that their holy books were inspired by, transmitted through, or attributed to prophets, rabbis, or priests.

as a result, it was less difficult for them, even after long periods of time, to revise or reinterpret their religious concepts to keep pace with changing times. they managed to free themselves from many restrictive constraints and evolved their doctrinal understanding in ways that served their communities, enabling them to achieve progress time and again.

there is no clear or universally agreed-upon islamic text that explicitly contradicts development, change, or keeping pace with the times. in fact, islamic jurisprudence includes a foundational principle - “necessity permits the prohibited”. this was a principle often applied by caliphs throughout history, who adapted rulings to fit the circumstances of their time, prohibiting certain actions or permitting others as needed.

there are many historical examples of this flexibility, such as suspending the punishment of hand amputation for theft during the year of the great famine, and halting the distribution of a portion of zakat to those “whose hearts were to be reconciled.” over time, many issues once considered central to the faith have faded into obscurity.

we have dozens, if not hundreds, of rituals practiced by followers of various islamic schools of thought, including the shafi ’is, hanbalis, malikis, hanafi s, shiites, and others. each group performs these rituals differently, yet all consider themselves muslim and righteous in their beliefs and practices.

these rituals include areas such as marriage, dowry, alimony, inheritance, prayer, zakat, and countless other debated matters. so, how is it that we have accepted these differences over time and managed to coexist with them, yet continue to resist change or development in matters that are far less significant?

our problem lies in our insistence on clinging to stagnation, remaining, for over a thousand years, trapped in the same mold, with the same mindset, the same interpretations, and the same attitudes, without the slightest willingness to change. we have contented ourselves with the arguments of al-ghazali and al-shafi ’i, favoring them over the views and intellectual legacy of thinkers like al-farabi and ibn rushd, refusing to grant reason its rightful place.

by preventing muslims from renewing and evolving their understanding of life, we have fallen behind, both individually and collectively, becoming weak and easily dominated by others. stagnation inevitably leads to backwardness. perhaps what is needed is a muslim equivalent of martin luther, or a reformer like mustafa kemal, to help bring us back into the fold of advanced nations, just as türkiye managed to do.


email: a.alsarraf@alqabas.com.kw