Leadership of the Arab world
The importance of the Arab world:
The Arab world is of great importance on the world’s political map because it is the homeland of nations that played the greatest role in human history, and because it embraces the sources of wealth and great power: black gold, which is the lifeblood of the industrial and military body today; because it is a link between Europe and America, and between the Far East, and because it is the beating heart of the Islamic world, to which it turns spiritually and religiously and owes its love and loyalty, and because it may – God forbid – be the arena of the third war, and because it contains the working hands, the thinking minds, the fighting bodies, the commercial markets, and the agricultural lands, and because it contains Egypt with the blessed Nile, with its produce, harvest, fertility, wealth, progress, and civilization, and it contains Syria, Palestine, and its neighbors, with their moderate climate, the beauty of their region, and their strategic importance, and Mesopotamia with the determination of its people and the sources within it, and the Arabian Peninsula with its spiritual center and religious authority, and the annual Hajj gathering that is unparalleled in the world, and the abundant oil wells. All of this has made the Arab world the focus of Western attention, the meeting point of their ambitions, and a field of competition for their leadership. The reaction was that a deep sense of Arab nationalism arose in the Arab world, and there was much singing about the “Arab homeland ” and “Arab glory .”
Muhammad, the Messenger of God, is the soul of the Arab world:
But the Muslim views the Arab world differently than the European, and differently than the Arab nationalist. He views it through the lens of the Arab nationalist; he sees it as the cradle of Islam, the source of its light, the stronghold of humanity, and the seat of global leadership. He believes that our Prophet Muhammad, the Arab, is the soul of the Arab world, its foundation, and the embodiment of its glory. He believes that the Arab world—with all its resources, power, and blessings—is a body without a soul, a path without clarity, if it were to separate itself—God forbid—from our Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and sever its connection to his teachings and religion.
It was God, may God bless him and grant him peace, who brought the Arab world into existence. This world was fragmented into disparate units, warring tribes, enslaved peoples, lost talents, and lands wandering in ignorance and misguidance. The Arabs could not even dream of confronting the Roman Empire.
The Persians would not even consider it, nor would they believe it if it were ever said to them. Syria, which was an important part of the Arab world, was a Roman colony suffering from absolute monarchy and tyrannical rule, not knowing the meaning of freedom and justice. Iraq was a tool for the desires of the imperial state, burdened with heavy taxes and exorbitant tributes. Egypt had been taken by the Romans as a milking camel to be ridden, shearing its wool and oppressing it in its fodder. Moreover, it suffered religious persecution along with political tyranny. Then, this fragmented, disintegrating, oppressed, and persecuted world was soon touched by a breeze of Islam brought by Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. The Messenger of God found this world lost and perishing, and took hold of it while it was falling and collapsing, and revived it by God’s permission and gave it a light by which to walk among the people, and taught it the Book and wisdom and purified it. This scholar, after the mission of Muhammad, was the ambassador of Islam, the messenger of security and peace, the pioneer of science and wisdom, and the torchbearer of culture and civilization. He was a savior for nations, a blessing for the world. There was Syria, there was Iraq, there was Egypt, and there was the Arab world we speak of. Were it not for Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and were it not for his message and his religion, there would be no Syria, no Iraq, no Egypt, no Arab world, and indeed, the world would not be as it is now in terms of civilization, intellect, religion, and morality. Whoever among the peoples and governments of the Arab world has turned away from the religion of Islam, and has turned his face towards the West or the days of the early Arabs, or has drawn the laws of his life or his politics from Western laws and constitutions, or has based his life on racism or an Arabism that has no connection to Islam, and has not accepted the Messenger of God as his leader, pioneer, imam, and role model, then let him return to Muhammad ibn Abdullah, peace and blessings be upon him, and revert to his pre-Islamic ignorance, to the Roman and Persian rule, to ignorance and misguidance, to heedlessness and idleness, to isolation from the world, to lethargy and stagnation. For this glorious history, this flourishing civilization, this rich literature, and these Arab states… This is nothing but one of the good deeds of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.
Faith is the strength of the Arab world:
Islam is the nationality of the Arab world, and Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, is the spirit of the Arab world, its leader and guide, and faith is the strength of the Arab world with which it fought the whole of humanity and triumphed over it.
