We live in a time where information is at our fingertips, and we are bombarded with images and stories from all over the world at a phenomenal rate. Social media in particular leads with current events far quicker than breaking news from more traditional or established sources. This has lead to a very real need to verify what is credible and what is fabricated. But is this problem new?

History is written by the victors

Growing up in a time when you had to read books and newspapers to learn about the world around us, I can remember as a child devouring history books to learn about societies, cultures and empires of old. As a young adult I became keenly aware of the bias an author could weave into an article. What comes to mind is the adage “History is written by the victors.” and although this may be contested, there is some truth in the fact that an article never fully covers all sides of the story. Take for example the history of Islam as it is portrayed by European writers in the 19^th century commonly known as orientalists. People with an interest in Islam but writing from the vantage point of another religion or culture or agenda.

Documenting Islamic History

From the other side, Islamic history has been well documented by our own chroniclers, the Sahaba (companions of the Prophet SAW) for example and more prolifically by the generations that followed (Tabi’in and Tabe Tabi’in – two generations that followed the generation of the Sahaba). As Islam grew in numbers and in far flung regions, there was a need to convey Islamic history to the newly converted. By comparison Islamic history is short, 1446 years is little if compared for instance to the empires of Egypt, Rome and Persia. Today we can still see the vestiges of these old empires, physically in the ruined remains of their famous cities, in artifacts in museums around the world and in religious institutions where their relics are housed.

As time went by, and through the shifting of power away from the Hijaz (now Saudi Arabia) to different dynasties, Islamic artifacts have spread around the world. The Ottomans for example, took numerous relics and housed them in Istanbul, the capital and seat of power of their empire. The Top Kapi museum boasts a large collection of Islamic artifacts though surprisingly does not appear in a list of the top 10 museums worldwide. When the Ottomans lost power in the early 1900s to the Wahabis and the birth of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, many historic buildings and artifacts were destroyed in the Kingdom to discourage Muslims from venerating them as sacred. In so doing historical artifacts of the Golden era of Islam have been lost to later generations.

In early 1994, I was fortunate to have participated in the commemoration of 300 years of Islam in the Cape. A celebration of those shining beacons who kept Islam alive through a dark and trying period of history as slaves and dissidents far away from their native land.  I can remember looking in awe at the handwritten Quran of Tuang Guru at the Auwal Mosque in the Bokaap.

The Sacred Prophetic Relics

A few years ago an organization called the Syed Ehraz Foundation from Dehli, India presented an exhibition of sacred relics in Cape Town. These relics have their permanent home in Jamia Masjid in Dehli and have been there for over 400 years. The foundation had made it possible for people around the world to get to see these artifacts through a series of International Sacred Trusts Exhibitions. Selected artifacts were displayed for the public to view. One cannot explain the emotion one feels when in the presence of these pieces of our Islamic history, The key to the Kaaba, material from the cloak of the Prophet (SAW), the sandal of blessed prophet (SAW) and also strands of hair from the blessed Prophet (SAW).

This weekend I was fortunate to see a much smaller exhibition by the same foundation in Benoni. In a time when we are faced with so much uncertainty, subterfuge and misinformation, it is grounding to see tangible physical evidence from the time of the birth of Islam, when leaders were honest and God fearing and stood for values far superior than their own gain. Lest we forget, we have a proud heritage of standing up against injustice, leading thinkers, mathematicians and scientists, striving for a better world, one where all mankind is equal except in piety.

Sometimes we need to look to the past to draw inspiration and strength to be better Muslims so we can leave this continuing legacy to our children in the future.  

Images sourced from Masjidul Quds.

Written By Zulfikar Umar