History is witness to the mammoth Muslim contribution in every field, be it medicine, astronomy, mathematics or oceanography. From developing advanced arms and ammunition to designing awe-inspiring architectures and establishing cities Muslims had been in the forefront in almost every area that touched human life and culture. Muslims played a significant role in bringing about the renaissance in Europe and in unifying India as one great country.
The Muslim inventions, research and developments were rooted in ethics which was in turn rooted in their deen (Islam) which placed great value on honesty, authenticity and credit attribution. As they conquered the world through wars and ideas, they, very honestly gave credit to those from whom they borrowed concepts, theories. Muslims saved knowledge of earlier nations from extinction by translating it into Arabic language which was the only language for higher studies at the time.
Without this task been undertaken by Muslim scholars and researchers a lot of knowledge spread over many millennia would have been lost by now. They always gave credit to original authors, scientists and inventors and mentioned their contribution with rich tribute to them. Unfortunately the same cant be said of others who go an extra mile to hide and erase the earlier contributions, particularly of Muslims.
Fast forward to the present day Muslim world, and there is hardly any concept of originality, authenticity, reliability, factuality and truth. Anything and everything can be claimed, produced, distributed, forwarded, accepted and believed. The scholarship, caliber and wisdom have become the first casualty in this game of mediocrity.
The outcome of our ignorance and disconnect to our wonderful past is a generation which is lost in purpose. In the name of knowledge, we share ignorance, shamelessly attributing street poetry to Iqbal and circulating bogus treatments for life threatening diseases.
And most of us circulate these posts as if it is Thawab e Jariya (reward in hereafter). Today originality, reliability, factuality and truth are no more a requirement for any claim. From literature to language, ideas to inventions, theories to developments; we have hit stagnancy.
For the community to come out of this deep pit, we need vibrant brains that can churn-out ideas, thoughts, theories, postulates and turn them into products, programs and movements.
However this cannot take place in vacuum, nor can it happen overnight. Young minds need to be nurtured in this direction. They need to be provided proper atmosphere and stimulated with training, competition, fair playing field and meritocracy. Once the above conditions are met, it is but natural that talent will evolve. More and more people will take-up the subjects of their choice not just to make a living but to learn, train, lead and discover. But all the above must be governed by the strong character and high morals and ethics.
In parallel Islamic knowledge should be imparted to broaden their approach. It is only then that the Ummah will set out on the path to leadership.
The Article First Appeared In Caravan Daily
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