Author: Abu Raef
The Role of Muslims in the Formation and Development of Sciences (Part 80)
In the Field of Manners and Social Sciences
One of the most important areas of Western civilization’s influence by Islamic civilization is the influence in the field of manners and social relations. Manners and social relations were among the causes that expanded Western culture and made it deeply influenced by Islamic civilization and culture.
Borrowing and influence in the fields of sciences, technologies, and poetry are visible and obvious; because these influences are material and tangible, they can be clearly and precisely observed and traced.
However, social and human influence (that is, in the field of education, relationships, and dealings) is less visible, and the broader the historical scope becomes, the clearer the social transformation appears. On the other hand, social issues are usually connected with culture, philosophy, and religion—and these domains are still battlefields between Islam and the West.
For that reason, we have avoided mentioning many comparisons here, since we have truly observed that many matters established and commanded by Islam have not yet been achieved by Western civilization; and this is due to the continuing differences in outlook, perception, and philosophy.
In this discussion, we will examine aspects of the influences that Islamic civilization left upon Western civilization.
“Jolife Gustave” says in his book The Law of History: “Europe is indebted to the pure and beneficial intellectual atmosphere from which it benefited through Arabic thought during that era, for four centuries passed in which there existed no civilization other than the Arab one, and its scholars were the bearers of its raised banner.” (1)
It is logical that any transformation in the scene of modern Western civilization compared to the Roman civilization goes back to that medieval era—the era of Islamic civilization; because it was this Islamic civilization which, upon its emergence, influenced and affected all of Western history.
In the second chapter, we mentioned examples of those achievements that Islamic civilization had presented in the field of law, freedoms, education, and social relations; and here we observe the effect of those achievements on Western civilization.
In the year 890 CE, when Alphonse the Great wanted to choose a teacher for his son and heir, he summoned two Muslims from Cordoba to entrust them with his son’s upbringing, because he did not find among the Christians anyone qualified enough for that task. (2)
When the Muslims conquered Andalusia, some preferred to migrate to France rather than live under Islamic rule.
About this, Thomas Arnold (3) narrates the kind of treatment Muslims gave to the Christians who agreed to live under Islamic rule and compares it with how those who migrated were treated. He says: “Those who migrated to the lands of France to live under Christian rule were, in fact, in no better condition than their co-religionists who remained in the Islamic land.”
He explains that in the year 812 CE, Charlemagne intervened to protect the exiles who had fled from Spain, but the imperial agents treated them with harshness and injustice. After three years, Louis the Pious was forced to issue an order to improve their condition, yet those exiles again complained of the tyranny of nobles who had seized their lands.
A short time later, despite efforts for reform, the complaints rose again, and royal decrees and orders were of no benefit.
In later centuries, the Spanish society that had fled Islamic rule became a degraded and humiliated class under the domination of their Christian co-religionists. In other words, those who had remained under Islamic rule were in a better state. (4)
Another piece of evidence is that Thomas Arnold says: “The behavior of Muslims toward Christians itself caused refinement and gentleness in Christian morals.”
He narrates that Isidore (the Andalusian historian), although strongly objected to the Muslim conquest, when he spoke of the marriage of ‘Abdul-Aziz ibn Musa ibn Nusayr to the widow of King Ludriq, he did not write a single word of condemnation.
Arnold adds: “Many Christians adopted Arabic names and borrowed some of the religious customs of Muslims; many of them practiced circumcision, and in eating and drinking, they followed Muslim customs.” (5)
The Crusaders who occupied the lands of al-Sham during the Crusades were an example of religious fanaticism. Montgomery Watt (6) says: “It is astonishing that the Crusader warriors believed their religion to be a religion of peace!” (7)
But after interacting and living alongside Muslims, their condition changed.
Will Durant writes in The Story of Civilization:
“The Europeans who settled in Syria and Palestine during the Crusades established relations with the Muslims living in those same kingdoms, and the hostility between the two peoples diminished. Muslim merchants freely entered Christian cities and sold their goods; Christian patients preferred Muslim and Jewish doctors over their own; Christian priests allowed Muslims to worship in their mosques. Even Muslims sent their children to learn the Qur’an in the Islamic schools of Christian cities like Antioch and Tripoli.” (8)
This tolerance and coexistence, of course, was not out of innate leniency, for how those same Crusaders behaved in Spain with their opposing sects and other religions (five centuries later) is well known.
However, the conduct of Salahuddin al-Ayyubi (may Allah have mercy on him) with the Crusaders after the liberation of Jerusalem was met with special admiration and recognition in the West.
Maxime Rodinson (9) says:
“The great enemy of the West, Salahuddin, aroused widespread admiration; he waged war with humanity and chivalry, though few of his enemies ever behaved as he did, except perhaps Richard the Lionheart.” (10)
Thomas Arnold says:
“The heroic character and life of Salahuddin had such a magical effect on the minds of Christians of his time that a group of Christian knights, out of admiration for him, abandoned their religion and nation and joined the Muslims.” (11)
Will Durant also writes of the amazement of Christian historians at the greatness of Salahuddin (may Allah have mercy on him):
“Salahuddin was extremely firm in religion, and although he was harsh with the Knights Templar and the Hospitallers, he was kind to the weak and merciful to the defeated; in fulfilling covenants, he surpassed his enemies to such a degree that Christian historians wondered how a religion they considered false could produce such a great man.” (12)
After thirteen centuries since Islam’s proclamation that said: «أَنتُمْ بَنُو آدَمَ وَآدَمُ مِنْ تُرَابٍ، وَأَنَّهُ لَا فَضْلَ لِعَرَبِيٍّ عَلَى أَعْجَمِيٍّ، وَلَا أَسْوَدَ عَلَى أَحْمَرَ، وَلَا أَحْمَرَ عَلَى أَسْوَدَ إِلَّا بِالتَّقْوَى (13)» Translation: (“You are all the children of Adam, and Adam was created from dust; there is no superiority of an Arab over a non-Arab, nor of a black over a red, nor of a red over a black, except by piety.”)
Abraham Lincoln, in the mid-19th century and under very difficult conditions with strong opposition from those who benefited from slavery, issued the decree of freeing slaves, even though he himself did not believe in racial equality. (14)
Racial discrimination still exists in behaviors in Europe, especially in countries like France and Germany.
Gustave Le Bon says: “The Arabs, according to their political system, possess the spirit of absolute equality, and the principle of equality which in Europe was only declared in words, in Islamic law has a firm root; Muslims were never acquainted with those social classes which in the West caused the most violent revolutions.” (15)
After fourteen centuries from Islam’s declaration regarding the treatment of captives: «فَإِمَّا مَنًّا بَعْدُ وَإِمَّا فِدَاءً» (16) Translation: (“Then, regarding the captives, either show them favor and release them, or ransom them in exchange.”),
and the command of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) regarding women when he said: «اسْتَوْصُوا بِالنِّسَاءِ خَيْرًا» (17) Translation: (“Treat women well and with kindness.”),
In 1949 CE, the Geneva Convention regarding the treatment of prisoners was issued—yet even then it had not reached the level of prisoners’ rights in Islam.
The same is true of the Geneva Convention concerning the treatment of civilians during war, adopted on August 12, 1949, CE—this convention came fourteen centuries after the command of the Prophet (Peace be upon him): «اغْزُوا وَلَا تَغْدِرُوا وَلَا تَغُلُّوا وَلَا تُمَثِّلُوا وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا وَلِيدًا (18)» Translation: (“Engage in battle, but do not betray, do not act dishonestly, do not mutilate, and do not kill a child.”)
The words of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding the ethics and treaties of war are extremely rich and instructive. He said: «لا تعصوا، ولا تغلوا، ولا تجبنوا، ولا تهدموا بيعة، ولا تعزقوا نخلاً، ولا تحرقوا زرعًا، ولا تجشروا بهيمة، ولا تقطعوا شجرة مثمرة، ولا تقتلوا شيخًا كبيرًا، ولا صبيًّا صغيرًا، وستجدون أقوامًا قد حبسوا أنفسهم للذي حبسوها له، فذروهم وما حبسوا أنفسهم له.» (19) Translation: (“Do not disobey, do not betray, do not act cowardly, do not destroy places of worship, do not cut down palm trees, do not burn crops, do not harm animals without reason, do not cut fruit-bearing trees, do not kill an old man or a small child, and you will find people who have devoted themselves to worship—leave them to what they have devoted themselves to.”)
Likewise, in the matter of divorce: Islam legislated it fourteen centuries ago, but European civil laws only reached that point in the twentieth century, as the British civil law granted permission for divorce in 1969 CE.
It is clearly seen that the Universal Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (1967 CE) was obviously influenced by Islamic law; the statements about women’s rights of ownership, inheritance, and legal capacity are almost identical to those found in Islamic jurisprudence.
Meanwhile, the West until recent times witnessed strange incidents concerning women—for example, a woman whom the church grew tired of supporting was sold in 1790 CE for the price of two shillings!
Until the early nineteenth century (1805 CE), a husband in England had the right to sell his wife for a fixed price (six cents!), and when a man in 1931 CE sold his wife, his lawyer used the pre-1805 laws to defend him—but the court sentenced him to ten months in prison.
A woman did not obtain the right to own property in Britain until the late nineteenth century (1882 CE), and in France until 1938 CE, women were still considered “incapable,” alongside lunatics and children.
continues…
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References:
- Ali, Muhammad Kurd, Al-Islam wa al-Hadarah al-‘Arabiyyah, p. 796, Hindawi Foundation.
- Ibid., p. 799.
- Thomas Arnold (1864–1930) was an English historian, regarded as one of the greatest British Orientalists.
- Arnold, Thomas, The Preaching of Islam, p. 158, Maktabat al-Nahdah al-Misriyyah, Cairo, Egypt.
- Ibid., p. 160.
- Montgomery Watt — English Orientalist specializing in Islamic studies with numerous writings on Islamic sciences and teachings.
- Watt, Montgomery, The Merit of Islam over Western Civilization, p. 102, translated by Hussein Ahmad Amin, First Edition, 1403 AH, Dar al-Shuruq, Beirut, Lebanon.
- What Have Muslims Contributed to the World? p. 718.
- French Orientalist, one of the most prominent specialists in the history of religions; authored several works on Islam and economics.
- The Preaching of Islam, p. 110.
- What Have Muslims Contributed to the World? p. 719.
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1787.
- What Have Muslims Contributed to the World? p. 720.
- The Civilization of the Arabs, p. 391.
- Muhammad: 4.
- Muttafaqun ‘Alayh (Agreed upon).
- Ahmad, Hadith 2738.
- What Have Muslims Contributed to the World?, quoting from Tarikh Dimashq by Ibn ‘Asakir, p. 721.
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What Have Muslims Contributed to the World? p. 721.
