The Meccan phase in the history of the Prophethood is often cited as a period of establishing faith in the hearts before the revelation of practical duties. Similarly, the Medinan phase is viewed as a model for establishing the foundations of a peaceful society and achieving victory for Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) in practice.
However, the Meccan phase began with a few individuals meeting secretly in Dar Al-Arqam, believing in the truth they had accepted, hidden from the eyes of those opposed to that truth, who held dominant power at the time.
Likewise, the early days of the Medinan phase started with two delegations that arrived consecutively during the Hajj seasons. These were the people of the first and second pledges of Al-Aqabah, who believed, committed to supporting the Prophet, and then returned to their people to teach them what they had learned, preparing them for their role in providing support.
The common factor between the two phases is that the initial support for Allah’s religion in any time and place, and from any number of individuals, begins with the firm belief in the superiority of this truth over everything else. This belief is then prioritized in learning and understanding it correctly, preparing them to act upon it and support it accordingly.
Today, amid ongoing trials, we often underestimate and belittle the discourse that focuses on individual upbringing and Islamic education, viewing it as an outdated topic that has been exhaustively researched and discussed. While this is true, it is also the very reason why the need for it persists, as it has not been addressed with the clear, honest approach that neither dilutes the truth nor masks it with falsehood. If we look at the current state of the Muslim Ummah, marked by subjugation and dependency in various aspects of life, it fundamentally stems from generations of flawed and weak upbringing that Muslims have experienced over centuries.
One of the topics that has been extensively discussed for decades and becomes a point of dispute whenever a calamity befalls the Ummah is “Islamic upbringing.” Everyone calls for it, yet there is no agreed-upon comprehensive definition for it. However, it is evident that the Islamic upbringing approach based primarily on school systems has failed to produce Muslims ready for leadership, dominance on earth, serving Allah, and bearing witness over other nations. Instead, it produces Muslims patched with Islamic and non-Islamic elements, which has critically harmed the Ummah’s spirit and fostered generations with a defeated and dependent mentality.
In many Muslim communities, upbringing starts by exposing the youth to various languages, cultures, and educational mediums. When Islamic sciences or some of them are included in the curriculum, they are dominated by other sciences. Even worse, many religious and secular sciences in their modern form are the product of centuries of Islamic patchwork and various existential philosophies and beliefs (called Islamization), under the guise of global value systems, general ethical visions, and common humanity. The current reality is a testament to the effects of decades of adhering to systems established by others or ones we set up in imitation of others. While it might have produced material civilization on earth, has it built up its people, or was it at their expense?
The dominant upbringing we need is one based on distinguishing right from wrong, raising a Muslim exclusively on the language of Islam, its sciences, manners, and arts, free from the impurities of imports from the East and West. After completing this pure upbringing, they would graduate as true Muslims and then proceed to be whatever they become in life.
As for the constraints of educational molds requiring passing through specific institutions, squandering the prime of youth on fragmented knowledge from various sources, and social and professional norms demanding certificates and status, the response is that comprehensive institutional reform is challenging and almost impossible due to numerous factors. The focus should be on the individual and the household. We must understand that prioritizing the correct Islamic perspective is not a luxury or favor but Allah's right over His servants, enabling them to be true servants of Allah. The foundation should be established according to an agreed-upon method and form, with everything else secondary in order of importance, each matter addressed in its time.
In discussions about the individual Muslim’s responsibility for personal and communal reform, I often hear the comment: “Am I the one who will rectify the wrong?” My response is: Do not be part of the wrong yourself. Your responsibility is to rectify yourself. As for global systems, hidden controlling powers, and dominant authorities, their matter is easy because all sovereignty belongs to Allah alone. All affairs are in Allah's hands, who can exalt and demean, elevate and humiliate as He wills, without being questioned. Allah can overturn the existing balance of existence in less than a blink of an eye, swallow the earth and its inhabitants, and replace them with others.
Everything we see today as established systems once did not exist. Any formidable tyranny deeply rooted in the earth has seen mightier ones shaken and brought down. None of this is difficult or impossible for Allah, far from it.
The real concern is with the individual. The individual is the one tested by Allah, not Allah’s power. The essence of the individual’s test is how they will meet Allah. The answer to this test begins with the form of servitude parents instill in their children, determined primarily by the correctness and depth of their knowledge.
The world will not collapse if a whole generation were freed from the exploitation of educational institutions and the servitude of professional entities. Instead, that generation would be the nucleus for opening new horizons in Allah's universe. They would create systems on a smaller scale, paving ways on Allah's earth in line with their needs and nature.
We must move away from the mechanism of following the existing reality to be able to carve out a new one. This new reality should derive its pillars from our original knowledge model and pure conception, benefiting from others' outcomes and interacting with them on equal footing, rather than mixing chaotically or dissolving completely.
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