There are more than a billion Muslims in the world, almost 2/3 of them offer prayers (during ramadan it's almost 3/4), Saudia is inundated with pilgrims during Hajj, Eid shoppers crowd the markets, every mosque is overflowing during Friday prayers; yet we're divided, dismantled, disintegrated, and most shamefully, dominated! Still our behaviour is masochistic to say the least. The west can step over our values any time they want and all we do is ignore. The very west that's dominating us in our lives, is the place we all want to go. We look up to them to cure us from the ailments they've caused. Yeah right, you've heard all this before! :-)

My question has lately been, what is it that we should be doing as Muslims to be respected. One thing is clear, no matter how much we try to become "them", we can't become "them", they won't accept us as one of theirs and rightly so.

Let me confess, this questions came to my mind only after I started listening to dars-e-quran of a contemporary scholar. It was different from other Moulvis bcuz it first created those questions in my mind, and then led to the answers so logically that everything started to fall into place.

First reaction was, if we want to be respected in life, then the only way we can do that is to become ardent followers of Quran. Whatever Quran says, we follow.

Second reaction, since RasooluLLAH brought the Quran, and since he was Saadiq and Ameen, we should trust him that he(S.A.W.) described and acted upon the Quran in the best and most easily understandable manner as possible. So if we follow the Sunnah, we'll do exactly what Quran wants us to do.

Still, my mind, like the minds of many others, kept asking. There should be a logic behind this. All the rituals, practices, prohibitions, allowances, should have a logical outcome, because Islam is a very practical religion, at least as is told. On one hand, it stops from adultery, fornication, gambling, meaningless activities, and on the other hand orders to do things in a certain way, follow a certain code, do this, don't do that. This should all lead up to a grander cause than just creating mindless followers.

The reason, as far as I've understood, is in this verse of the Quran.

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"It is He Who has sent His Messenger with Guidance and the Religion of Truth, to proclaim it over all religion: and enough is Allah for a Witness."

Islam was destined to dominate. Muhammad RasooluLLAH's (S.A.W.) mission was not only to proclaim the message of ALLAH(SWT), but also to upend the prevalent politico-socio-economic system. And as we all know, systems don't give way all too easily. It needs sacrifices, sacrifices need volunteers, and volunteers should be totally committed to the cause instead of walking the fringes.

For a cause as high as this, the quality of volunteers can't be compromised. Young volunteers should be thoroughbred, totally developed in an environment in which they breathe not air, but their mission. That environment can be provided by parents who are sincere to each other and trust each other, and follow the Quran themselves. Hence the ban on adultery, and the strict rule of Hijab. The ban on gambling and other meaningless activities was because they dilute the focus away from the mission and, being the footsteps of satan, will lead them away from the correct path. Ban on liquor because a man not in his senses can do all of these banned activities. I hope you're following me.

It generally takes 20-25 years for a generation to grow. The span between the day the first Wahi arrived, and the day RasooluLLAH(SAW) departed this world, is 23 years. A whole generation grew up with this value system circulating in their blood. They did what the Quran told, but not mindlessly, the wisdom of Sahaba is well known. The way Islam spread even after RasooluLLAH's (S.A.W.) departure from this world, is enough to prove that their focus wasn't lost, they believed in ALLAH (SWT), RasooluLLAH (SAW), Quran and their mission. And whenever there will be a "successful" effort to uproot the zionist systems, it can be this way and only this way. 

The reason I've been repeating the word standardization and discipline, is that as much as belief causes action, actions cause beliefs as well. IOLA asked me earlier whether it'll be realistic to say so. I believe yes it will. Most people only "think" they need a reason to act upon something, whereas in effect they're themselves doing a lot of things just because the other guy's doing it. Most of us justify our actions "after" we act. IOLA or Khalifah or KKT or other bloggers could be the exceptions that prove the rule. I've come to believe very firmly that Muslims will soar to greater heights they once reached, there are clear Hadith that predict these. ALLAH (SWT) will get His work done no matter what. If someone works in that way, it's going to benefit himself only, no one has any might to harm or favor ALLAH (SWT)... And it's mentioned in the Quran (I miss the reference again, sorry), that if we won't do the job we're supposed to do, then we'll be wiped off the face of the earth and be replaced by a nascent, alive nation.

Diagnosis and treatment? This couplet of Iqbal from Jawab-e-Shikwa has both.

Wo Muazziz thay zamanay main musalman ho kar
Aur tum khwar huay taarik-e-Quran ho kar
(They were Muslims, and they were dignified,  You abandoned Quran, so you've been abandoned)(Iqbal)

If we say that the people currently preaching Islam are not doing it correctly, then we must do it! And if we think someone is doing it right then we must go all out and support him. All we need to do is to learn the Quran, with sincerity, not seeking conspiracy. And the same way we look for the best teacher available for our studies, we should look for teachers of this knowledge as well. The world, and Pakistan, must still have good, practicing scholars, otherwise we'd have been obliterated by now and replaced.

ALLAH (SWT) knows best!