4 Reasons Why Civilizational Change Is an Inevitable Necessity

Change is one of the divine laws that God has embedded in His creation, ensuring the balance of power on earth and preventing the unchecked spread of injustice. When corruption prevails, morals vanish, and tyranny dominates, God Almighty decrees change so that oppression may cease, and life may be renewed upon the earth. Thus, God replaces one nation with another. As He, the Exalted, says: (If God did not drive some back by means of others the earth would be completely corrupt, but God is bountiful to all.) (Al-Baqarah:251)

And He, Glorified be He, says: (If God did not repel some people by means of others, many monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, where God’s name is much invoked, would have been destroyed. God is sure to help those who help His cause- God is strong and mighty-) (Al-Hajj:40)

There are also reasons that hasten the process of civilizational change among nations and civilizations. Among these reasons are:

First: God’s Law of Change and Civilizational Succession:

Let us imagine if permanence were the defining trait of societies and civilizations, and that once a civilization seized control, there would be no way to change it regardless of the circumstances. Undoubtedly, such a situation would be extremely difficult—especially knowing that when man feels assured that responsibility will remain in his hands, his soul tends to transgress and his morals deteriorate. Thus, the strong devour the weak, the rich prey upon the poor, and the powerful crush the small—except for those upon whom God bestows His mercy.

Ibn Khaldun says: If decline is natural in a state, its occurrence is akin to the occurrence of natural phenomena, just as senility occurs in the animal constitution. Senility is one of the chronic conditions that cannot be cured or removed, since it is natural, and natural phenomena do not change.’ (1) He also devoted in his Muqaddimah a separate chapter entitled: ‘On the fact that states have natural lifespans just as individuals do.’ (2)

The Noble Qur’an laid the foundation for the principle of change, and these divine laws did not exempt any nation or civilization. History is filled with traces of nations that were once powerful yet fell when justice disappeared from them. As the Almighty says: (God does not change the condition of a people [for the worse] unless they change what is in themselves) (Ar-Ra'd:11)

This verse is not a legal ruling, nor merely an admonitory verse; rather, it represents a civilizational principle. It establishes that change is intrinsically tied to human action and behavior—shifting from obedience to disobedience, and vice versa.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) If you sell anything on credit to anyone, on the condition that you will buy it back for a lower price (al-'Einah), take hold of the tails of cattle, become pleased with agriculture and give up Jihad - Allah will make disgrace prevail over you and will not remove it from you till you return to your religion.’ (Narrated by Abu Dawud). Thus, civilizational decline occurs as a result of internal disorder rather than external conspiracy. And for the ummah to emerge from weakness, humiliation, and frailty, it must first return wholly to its religion—not partially, but in its entirety—for this is the condition of civilizational change.

Second: The Conflict Between Values and Morality and Reality:

Among the most significant reasons driving major processes of change throughout history is the absence of the set of moral values necessary to move societies toward the principles of goodness, justice, mercy, and human dignity. When these values disappear, lose their balance, or remain mere empty slogans without practical substance, God Almighty decrees change.

The message of Islam was, at its core, established for this very purpose. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘I was only sent to perfect noble character.’ (Reported by Ahmad). Thus, when politics becomes detached from justice, trust from economics, and knowledge from education, society is afflicted with weakness, losing both its resilience and its capacity to move toward its divine objectives—objectives through which it attained its status by bearing their responsibility.

Change requires prior effort that the ummah must undertake in order to renounce the morals that have afflicted it and that contradict the teachings of its authentic identity. Shaykh Muhammad al-Ghazali states: ‘No message succeeds, no civilization flourishes, and no nation advances unless a radical transformation occurs within the structure of the preceding dominant nation, or unless material and moral characteristics converge in the foundations of that successful message and flourishing civilization. Indeed, the rise or fall of communities does not occur through blind fortune or accidental coincidence! Rather, ebb and flow have hidden causes—though they may escape the naked eye, they will not escape the sharp insight and penetrating intellect.’ (3)

And the Noble Qur’an affirms this constructive meaning in His saying: (It is most hateful to God that you say things and then do not do them) (As-Saf:3)

Speech without action does not merely represent a moral flaw; it is a major cause of a nation’s civilizational downfall. And such a nation will not rise again until it restores the value of character, the value of speech, and the value of action.

Third: The Decline of the Civilizational Human from a Position of Agency to a Position of Dependency:

Some people confuse the essence of civilization by equating it with what human hands have produced. In reality, civilization is man himself before it is architecture or material development. And when man shifts from being a producer of civilization to merely a consumer of the civilization of others, then change becomes necessary. As God says in describing the believers: (Do not lose heart or despair- if you are true believers you have the upper hand) (Ali 'Imran:139)

O believers, the outcome is yours (4). A Muslim is not befitting to remain merely a spectator of what unfolds around the world, distant from responsibility and leadership, reduced to a follower of others without guidance or awareness. Whoever finds himself in such a state has no right to speak of change unless he begins with himself—rebuilding it morally, spiritually, and intellectually.

Fourth: The Pressure of Global Transformations and the Necessity of Preserving Identity:

It is not only the Islamic identity that is subjected to the accelerating pressures of globalization; Western identities too have been affected—those that once adhered, at least outwardly, to the teachings of the Church in Europe. With the rise of globalization and secularism, all divine references have been challenged, and at their core, Islam in particular—since it is the only revealed religion that still carries a comprehensive program for the construction of life, preserved by God Almighty, who says: (We have sent down the Quran Ourself, and We Ourself will guard it. Even before you [Prophet]) (Al-Hijr:9)

It has been, and continues to be, subjected to a fierce campaign of doubt regarding its rulings, with attempts to undermine them through waging war against the Sunnah and seeking to deny it.

Therefore, it has become necessary to accelerate the process of civilizational change—first, in defense of the sanctities of the ummah, and second, in salvation of the world itself. A world now threatened by wars that pit humanity against itself, and by manufactured diseases that dominate it. Humanity has no hope left except that the ummah of Islam rises, realizes its position, and fulfills its civilizational mission entrusted to it. As God Almighty says: (We have made you [believers] into a just community, so that you may bear witness [to the truth] before others and so that the Messenger may bear witness [to it] before you.) (Al-Baqarah:143)

Some confuse the meaning of moderation, thinking it applies to the religion itself. Yet Islam has described it precisely: moderation is a characteristic of the ummah, not of the religion—for the religion is one, and it is Islam.

Whoever works to change the condition of the ummah should be assured that this religion will remain, and that its ummah, even if weakened, will inevitably return. For Islam came to endure, not to be replaced; it came to prevail. Our task is only to awaken that dormant giant, to revive within it its creed and identity, so that it may reclaim the position for which it was created.

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