My Thoughts on Muslim History: A Bit of Reality

When we look at Muslim history, we can’t afford to be naive. The world has changed massively over the past 1400 years politically, economically, academically, and militarily. These shifts have shaped how Muslims governed, educated, built economies, and fought wars. And they continue to shape us today.

No Muslim government has lasted continuously without the need for adjustments since the days of the Rightly Guided Caliphs. Many started strong but eventually fell apart, sometimes due to internal issues, other times because of changes happening around them. This is simply how civilization works. It’s not about Islam governance failing; it’s about the natural reality that no system that's applied by humans survives unchanged unless it constantly adapts.

For Muslim societies to remain stable and successful, there needs to be a continuous process of adjustment, a constant re-engagement with the Qur'an and Sunnah through a level of ijtihad. Without it, we’re simply recycling old solutions for new problems, and eventually, that breaks down.

One of the biggest issues I see today is how our history gets taught or shared. People pick out stories of great rulers, amazing scientists, or powerful armies and present them as if that was the full picture. We cherry-pick quotes and moments that make everything sound ideal and perfect. But real history is messier. It involves mistakes, conflicts, weaknesses, and lessons not just victories and golden ages.

When people only hear these polished versions of history, they walk away thinking the solutions to our problems today are simple, like we just need to copy a utopian model from the past and everything will fix itself. But that’s not how the world works. Every period had its own challenges, and every generation had to figure things out according to its time while staying grounded in the core teachings of Islam.

In the end, I believe two things really help us develop a more mature understanding of where we are today: experience – actually living through events and seeing how the world works – and reading proper, honest history that looks at things as they really were, not how we wish they were.

Books on the rise and fall of islam course

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OMwqfr6R7Eih-yjiOZmqIXPGePgBVh7_

Episode out now! Join us with Mufti Liaquat Zaman as he opens up about his years as a student in Pakistan, sharing the challenges he faced and the key lessons that shaped his journey. With humility and depth, Mufti Liaquat reflects on the realities of studying abroad, from cultural adjustments to the rigorous academic demands at Jamiah Uloom Al-Islamiyyah, Banori Town - and offers heartfelt advice for aspiring students of knowledge.

YouTube: https://youtu.be/oZT1BXti_wA

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/memory-lane/id1800291241

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1iRs2Ro2oHYhEp6pAjcYZy

Mindmap of my Rise and Fall of Islam notes. Link : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qlwsEiGxO5qTBtw9keZvtf4b8ROtOemd/view?usp=sharing

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When Islam Leaves the Public Sphere

Islam can only be fully appreciated when the laws of Allah are seen as guiding every layer of society, from the ordinary individual to those in positions of leadership. When Islam is applied holistically, its true impact transforms homes, streets, institutions of education, systems of governance, and even international relations. The Seerah of the Prophet ﷺ stands as the greatest proof of what it means to embody divine guidance at every level of life.

Islam also breathes new life into human creativity, giving meaning to exploration, innovation, and technological advancement, all within the ethical framework of preserving life, dignity, and the balance of creation.

If Islam is confined only to the mosque, the heart, or the private home, it loses its ability to challenge injustice and offer real solutions to societal ills. Muslims risk becoming passive in the face of oppression, while the Qur’an, a book meant to lead humanity, is reduced to a relic, admired like an exhibit in a museum, but detached from the living world it was meant to shape.

Without this comprehensive structure in place, whenever Muslims rise to challenge a force more powerful than them in military or technology, they are either crushed or branded as violent rebels, accused of seeking to spread harm rather than justice. The absence of a visible, functioning Islamic framework leaves their efforts misunderstood and misrepresented, no matter how sincere or principled.

No Comfort for the Seeker

The pursuit of knowledge is a lifelong journey. The more I study, the more I realise how vast the world of knowledge is and how incapable we are of understanding it all.

Every time I start reading something, I want to gain more than a superficial comprehension. I want to go right to the core of the issue, explaining how it functions, how it was created, and how it changed over time. The issue, though, is that I frequently find myself drawn into related conversations. One subject leads to another, and before I realise it, I've gone far from my starting point. It delays what I was originally looking for, but it’s rarely ever a waste, it all adds value in the long run.

There are no set rules when it comes to learning. Everyone determines their own pace and goals. Some people are content with only grasping the basics. Others desire to go further, even if it means foregoing some comforts, such as sleep or socialising. And then you have the relentless ones the “super seekers.” For them, asking “why, who, what, when, and where” is almost like oxygen. They live to discover.

I’ve heard incredible stories of sacrifice. People walking from one part of the world to another just to hear a hadith from its source. Others selling parts of their home to finance their studies. Some would sell old newspapers to feed their families while continuing their education.Some even forced themselves to sleep every other night in order to make more time for reading and writing.

It is encouraging, but it also serves as a reminder that too much intensity without balance can be detrimental to one's health, family life, and community relationships. True growth occurs when you achieve the correct balance between profound learning and daily life. That is what makes a journey of knowledge sustainable and appealing.

The Future of Islamic Education | Mufti Liaquat Zaman & Maulana Ateiq | Ep. 27 - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djo9EuRJApw

Does the Qur’an Mention Secularism, Capitalism, and the Other Isms?

Words like 'capitalism', 'atheism', and 'secularism' don’t appear in the Qur’an at least not in the form we use today. But that doesn’t mean the Qur’an is silent on the problems they raise. It speaks directly to the realities behind these ideologies. The names might change from one era to the next, but the core ideas arrogance, denial of truth, obsession with wealth, turning religion into something private have always been around.

The Qur’an is a book of guidance for every time and place. It doesn’t just describe what went wrong with past nations. It gives us a framework to recognise those same patterns playing out in our own time. That’s why, no matter how much the world changes, the Qur’an still speaks clearly to what’s happening around us.

It’s not a book you read once and move on from. The more you come back to it, the more it connects with your own life. When you’re struggling, the stories of the Prophets hit differently. When you see injustice or arrogance spreading, verses about past tyrants start to feel very familiar. And when you reflect on Allah’s mercy and punishment, it forces you to stop and think about where you’re heading.

As for these modern “isms” that keep coming up atheism, secularism, capitalism they might not be listed by name, but the Qur’an deals with them in principle. Human beings have always come up with ways of thinking that go against revelation. The Qur’an doesn’t chase labels. It exposes the mindset behind them.

Take atheism. It’s the belief that life has no Creator, no ultimate purpose. The Qur’an challenges that straight on. Allah says:
“Were they created by nothing, or were they themselves the creators?”

That question alone shuts down the whole worldview.

Secularism, keeping religion out of public life, is also addressed. The Qur’an makes it clear that revelation isn’t just about private worship. It’s supposed to shape society, law, and justice. Allah says in Surah al-Ma’idah:
“Whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, they are the disbelievers.”

Capitalism, especially in its extreme forms where wealth becomes a god and the poor are trampled, is no different. The Qur’an is full of warnings about hoarding money, exploiting people, and turning life into a race for possessions.

“Woe to every scorner and mocker who collects wealth and keeps counting it, thinking that his wealth will make him live forever.”

And of course, riba (interest), injustice, and neglecting the needy are all condemned in clear terms.

So no, the Qur’an doesn’t use our modern terms but it speaks to the mindset, the symptoms, and the consequences of these ideologies. Whether it’s called liberalism, atheism, capitalism, or something else, if it’s built on rejecting truth, the Qur’an already addressed it.

That’s what makes this Book so powerful. It doesn’t need updating. It just needs honest reading.

“Indeed, this Qur’an guides to that which is most upright.”