Fellow Muslims! When the sense of reason carries no weight; when hostilities and wishful desires become the order of the day; and when injustice and oppression reign, a group of people will go astray from the right path, uttering false statements and giving arbitrary judgements without any evidence. At such a time, some innocent men will be wrongfully accused and attacked. Wise people should rather attempt to discover the truth behind the lies, basing all evidence on rationality, fact and reason.

Among the baseless utterances one often hears is that other cultures and civilisations are greater than Islaam’s. This statement can be regarded as a product of ignorance about the teachings of Islaam and the light and guidance that it brings to mankind.

Brothers in faith! The religion of Islaam is the system by which Allaah established the best of all civilisations. It was a great source of happiness and prosperity for those nations and individuals who sincerely followed its teachings, and it shall continue to be so – Inshaa Allaah – in this present age and the future.

The Islaamic civilisation succeeded where others failed because it calls people to shun the worship of false deities and worship the Only Lord.

“Say, O people of the scripture: Come to a word that is just between us and you, that we worship none but Allaah alone, and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as Lords besides Allaah. Then, if they turn away, say, ‘Bear witness that we are Muslims.” (Aal-Imraan 3: 64)

In recent years there has been a spiritual and intellectual resurgence in the Muslim world, and marked progress has been made in diverting people from worshipping false deities and enjoining them to worship Allaah alone. It is on this principle that the real human civilisation should be based. It is also acceptance of this principle that makes people aware that no race or colour should be regarded as superior to another and that the only criterion for superiority should be piety and righteousness. Allaah says, “The most honourable of you before Allaah is the most pious.”

Islaam encourages the acquisition of both religious and scientific knowledge. In fact, it commands that they should be sought and it honours the knowledgeable ones and deems them far above the ignorant. Allaah says,

“Allaah will exalt in degree those of you who believe and those who have been granted knowledge.” (Al-Mujaadalah 58: 11)

Islaam does not preach asceticism, nor does it shy away from the material aspect of this world. Islaam teaches man how to make use of all the worldly treasures with which he has been blessed to the best advantage; in such a way that will guarantee for him and his fellow human beings a fulfilling and meaningful life. It teaches man not to take his material possessions as an end in itself but as a means to an end.

Islaam comes with a unique set of rules that leaves no right of man’s uncatered for. It clearly stipulates the rights of every individual member of the society in an all-encompassing, and comprehensive way that is possible only in a divinely inspired system. Its rules and regulations are free from error, injustice and defects which typify and characterise all man-made laws. Islaam controls the ardent human passion by obligating and enforcing the institution of marriage and forbidding adultery and fornication.

All these, dear brothers, are some of the excellent blessings that Islaam brings and which are attested by its friends and foes alike. Remnants of Islaamic heritage in Andalusia is also a living witness to the greatness of Islaam.

Brothers in Islaam! The present situation of the Muslims should never be made a criterion for judging the Islaamic civilisation. The Islaamic civilisation should instead be judged by its basic principles, fundamentals and ethics.

The retrogression, backwardness and sense of inferiority that has infected the Muslims in recent times are the results of their negligence of Islaamic principles, adoption of inferior cultures and their turning away from the remembrance of Allaah. Allaah says,