Volume 18 Surah 78 - 114 - Enjoy Islam

Al-Bayyinah (The Clear Proof)These pure revelations are indeed the Qur’ān which contains valuable and importantdirectives.Hence the message delivered by the Prophet came at a most suitable time. Thenew revelations, with all that they included of themes and decrees, were vouchsafedso that they could bring about a far-reaching reform of this world. As to how badlythe world needed this message, let us content ourselves with some inspiring remarksfrom Sayyid Abū’l Ĥasan `Alī Nadwī:The sixth century of the Christian era, it is generally agreed, represented thedarkest phase in the history of our race. Humanity had reached the edge ofthe precipice, towards which it had been tragically proceeding for centuries,and there appeared to be no agency or power in the whole world which couldcome to its rescue and save it from crashing into the abyss of destruction.In his melancholy progress from God-forgetfulness to self- forgetting, manhad lost his moorings. He had grown indifferent to his destiny. The teachingsof the prophets had been forgotten: the lamps that they had kindled eitherhad been put out by the storms of moral anarchy or the light they shed hadbecome so feeble that it could illumine the hearts of but a few men, most ofwhom had sought refuge in passivity and resignation. Having beenvanquished in the battle between spiritualism and materialism, they had shutthemselves up in monasteries or gone into the wilderness. Such of them aswere still left in the whirlpool of life had aligned themselves with the rulingclasses of their lands. They helped them in the satisfaction of their sensualdesires and in the maintenance of unjust political and economic systems andcooperated with them in reaping unlawful benefits out of the wealth of thepeople...Great religions became playthings in the hands of debased ecclesiastics whocorrupted and twisted them beyond recognition, so much so that if it werepossible for their founders to return to the physical life, they could not haverecognized them. In consequence of the moral debasement of the greatcentres of civilization and general disorder and unrest, people everywheregot entangled in their internal problems. They had no message to offer to theworld. The world had become hollow from within; its life-springs had driedup. It possessed neither the light of religious guidance for their personalconduct nor any abiding and rational principles for running a state. 37This outlines briefly the condition of mankind and religions just before the advent37 Abu’l Hasan `Alī Nadwī, Islam and the World, Academy of Islamic Research Publications, Lucknow,1980, pp. 13-14.214