Reactionary and Progressive Between Islam and Its Opponents (1-4)
Defining Reactionary and Progressive
The defeated Arab
media has continued to echo these two words without awareness or
insight, filling the Arab ear with expressions undefined in meaning and terms
unclear in indication—lavished upon some as praise and hurled upon others as
blame. Out of fairness to our minds, and to the Arab intellect confused amidst
accusations, indeed out of fairness to these two words wandering aimlessly in
the world of Arab media, we must define the concept of each and discuss it in a
studied linguistic and scientific manner, with an objective and conscious
approach.
- Reactionary
is a derived noun from “return.”
- Progressive
is a derived noun from “advance.”
Returning backward
in time or place is neither shameful nor deficient if it is a return to good, a
leaning toward truth, and a bond with the strong Islamic body and enlightened
Islamic thought. The return of Muslims to an era when they were leaders of
thought and pioneers of civilization cannot, in fairness of judgment, be
accused of reactionism. A man stepping back a pace or two from a pit in the
road to avoid falling into it is nothing but prudence and sound judgment.
A simple glance at the age when the
greatest Messenger—peace be upon him—stood with his unique humanity,
perfect character, profound humility, and wise leadership; or a quick look at
the era when ‘Umar was the pinnacle of purity in governance, integrity of
purpose, and noble care for the masses; or a view of the time of ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd
al-‘Aziz, who eradicated poverty in the first human society where not a single
poor person remained; or a reflection on the golden age of knowledge and
literature under al-Ma’mun; or on the heights of architectural art and engineering
taste in al-Andalus;
or a reading of the immortal lines that form the epic of heroism in the age of Salah
al-Din—these and more, which no pages can exhaust nor books encompass
across the fields of thought, literature, science, and civilization, are
naturally matters that draw the Muslim masses, believing peoples, and the
unified nation surrounded by enemies in varied forms. It stirs in souls the
longing to return, the yearning to look back to that radiant past in order to
forge a new dawn where piety meets knowledge, literature joins sacrifice, and
pure governance unites with conscious discipline in a complete civilizational
framework—rejecting all begging and supplication at the tables of those who
seek to exploit the Arab mind and humiliate the Muslim heart.
Some may object: this is a linguistic fallacy, not what we
meant when we used the word “reactionary.” What we meant is:
- Reactionary
in human terms: that which degrades human dignity.
- Reactionary
in economics: that which exploits human labor.
- Reactionary
in society: that which drives man back to the life of the jungle.
- Reactionary
in science: that which fights knowledge and calls to ignorance.
Yet we reject this claim, for the “defeated” mean by
reactionary a return backward fourteen centuries, alleging that the demand for
Islamic rule is a demand for outdated systems whose time has passed.
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This
text was published in Issue (15), 19 Rabi‘ al-Thani 1390 AH / 23 June 1970, p.
8.
