June 02, 2006
Quantum Note
Two Views of History—I
Dr. Muzaffar Iqbal
‘History is a nightmare from which I am trying to wake up.’ Stephen Dedalus’ oft-repeated and haunting sentence has not become an axiomatic truth despite its fame; perhaps Joyce could have liberated himself from the tyranny of history if he himself had not been so mired in the raging conflict of his own soul, a conflict which stemmed from his rebellion against the particular construct of Christianity he had inherited from his parents. Be that as it may, one cannot help but agree with Tolstoy in that all conflicting modes of writing history eventually fall into two basic categories: one assumes the omnipotent presence of God, Whose Will rules over all events; the second ascribes each event to particular sets of conditions which come into existence due to the presence of certain accidental factors at a given time and place. The former is essentially a religious viewpoint, anchored in the concept of ‘the Custom of Allah’ (Sunnatu’Llah), from where it deduces laws which govern events; the latter is a product of an irreligious worldview which reduces each event to its immediate locale in time and space.
The former construes time as a continuum, spanning all human existence from its beginning to its inevitable end; the latter attempts to create delimited time zones in which various civilisations gain distinct forms, flourish, and pass away because of their internal weaknesses. According to this view there is an unending conflict between civilisations, and only the fittest survives. The most obvious pitfall of the former is fatalism: if God's Will is controlling all that happens on earth, then human efforts are rendered essentially meaningless; no matter what we do, we cannot alter the outcome of any situation. The most obvious consequence of the latter is the tyranny of the law of the jungle; only those with the physical means to subjugate the hapless and the helpless emerge victorious.
The religious view of history has remained essentially unchanged throughout the span of human existence. It is an older, unVirgilian view, in which it is the Creator Who has the central role and not chance, coincidence, or raw power. The ultimate and real success, according to this view of history, is beyond time and death; it is to be realised in the everlasting abode in the fullness of time. Each human being comes to this world for a short and appointed term, is given certain provisions (arzaq), and is placed in a given historic situation; each one of us is then asked to discover and abide by the Straight Path (Sirat al-Mustaqeem) that would lead us back to the Creator in the manner pleasing to Him. We are held responsible for our actions judged with supreme equity and justice according to the provisions and capabilities granted us. Ultimately, however, final success on the Day when deeds will be weighed rests on the Mercy (Rahmah) of the Most Merciful, He Who places us in different situations throughout our lives in order to test us.
All religions have held this transcendental view of history; it is one of the three primary sources from which the Qur’an draws its arguments for its essential message, the other two being the cosmos and the human nafs. It narrates stories of mighty and haughty peoples who deemed themselves invincible, and who were destroyed by Divine Order for their transgressions.
The religious view of history does not hold a particular time-period or aspect of a given civilisation as its focal point, but rather encompasses the entire span of human existence in one broad sweep, providing a comprehensive standard for the success and failure of a people. It views ruins as places for reflection; it cites the examples of mighty kings to create an awareness of their basic impotence when viewed in the light of Divine Will; it leaves no room for cults of hero worship. According to this view, true power is God’s alone: He is the First and the Last, the Originator and the One to Whom all shall return.
Human beings enter the stage of history, act their parts and disappear; they neither construct the stage, nor set it, nor own it; even before the echoes of their last sentences fade, they are swiftly carried away, their appointed time having come to an end. This has always been the case, and so will it remain until the Day when the Trumpet will be blown, because Allah's ways are unchanging and constant.
This view is unequivocal in stressing that the ultimate fate of all humans depends on Mercy external to them. Thus, the ultimate arbitrator of human affairs, according to this view of history, is not man himself but his Creator. The powers and prestige of an individual as well as of whole nations are but temporary phenomena, dependent on abiding by a certain mode of existence.
The `Ad and the Thamud, for example, were mighty people who constructed fortified dwellings, believing they would rule forever, yet they perished in a manner no one could have foretold. Sumerians achieved dominance over most of the known world around 3500 BC and their technological excellence was unprecedented in history—they had wheeled vehicles, a numeral system based on multiples of 6 and 12, and cuneiform writing. They were proud and haughty, and were wiped off the face of the earth in a manner no analyst could have predicted. Thirty-one dynasties of Pharaohs ruled over Egypt for more than 1,600 years before being destroyed by the Creator in a manner that was left as a reminder for all subsequent generations. Likewise, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Hittites, the Phoenicians—all were mighty powers in their own times and all have vanished.
At the beginning of the 7th century, Rome and Persia were two ‘superpowers’ while Makkah and Medinah were two small towns in an unattractive desert. Forty years later a new world order had emerged in which the old Persian empire had no place and the Romans were a minor force. At the beginning of the 13th century, the Abbasids were ruling over most of Arabia and Africa from their fabled city of Baghdad and Cordoba was at the height of its glory; 36 years later, Castile had won Cordoba from the Arabs, while 58 years later Baghdad was merely a pasture for Mongol horses.
(To be Continued)
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