Both decline and revival are products of the intellectual momentum which people initiate. The revival is expected to occur if such an effort or momentum is built upon a comprehensive thought and the people proceeded accordingly. On the contrary, the decline is expected to prevail if this comprehensive thought is absent and the people fail to consider any such thought as their frame of reference.

Therefore, any discussion or research related to the factors resulting in the current decline the Ummah is facing must address this issue. By surveying the intellectual history of the Muslim Ummah, one discovers that Muslims during the first three generations maintained Islam as the sole frame of reference. They adopted Islam the way the Prophet (saaw) instructed them to - by scrutinizing the reality through a deep and comprehensive thinking process. The Islamic Aqeedah, built through this intellectual process, became a reference for the thinking of Muslims. This Aqeedah would serve as the foundation upon which the Sahabah would build their understanding of the Islamic rules and systems to govern their lives with.

Muslims were particularly concerned about this process, and the Prophet (saaw) kept a vigilant eye in correcting any diversion in this approach. He would immediately correct the Sahabah and censor any misunderstanding that arose, regardless of its magnitude. For example, when the Prophet (saaw)

told the Sahabah that the people of Jannah were created for the Jannah, and the people of Jahannam were created for Jahannam, the Sahabah asked him, "Then why would we work?" He (saaw) told them, "You should work, and each one will proceed towards what he was created for." In this incident, the Prophet (saaw) detected a problem in their thinking when the Sahabah sought to connect their actions in a negative fashion with the Ghaib, in this case what they perceived as the being the Knowledge of Allah (swt). The Prophet (saaw) immediately corrected this misunderstanding by explaining to them that the Muslim should connect his actions with what he can comprehend and perceive, which is the Hukm Sharii, rather than with what he cannot fathom or comprehend, which is the Ghaib.

In another incident, an eclipse occurred after the death of Ibrahim, the son of the Prophet (saaw).

Some people began to mistakenly connect the occurrence of the eclipse to this incident. The Prophet (saaw) immediately corrected their understanding by explaining to the people that they should not connect any natural phenomenon with the process of life and because there is no relationship between the two. He told the Sahabah, "Both the sun and the moon are signs of Allah, and they do not have their eclipse due to the birth or death of any individual." This correction process did not just happen during the time of the Prophet (saaw) but also continued during the Era of the Sahabah. It was reported that Abu Bakr corrected the people when they incorrectly understood the following ayah:

"O You who believe. Guard your own selves. If you follow guidance, no harm can come to you from those who go astray. The return of all of you is to Allah." [TMQ 5:105].

Some people misunderstood this ayah to claim that a Muslim should care only for himself and not have any concern for others. Abu Bakr explained to them that the ayah is not an indication to stop enjoining the good and forbidding the evil (Amr bil-Ma'ruf wa nahy anil-Munkar). Instead, the ayah is ordering the Muslims not to follow such persons who commit mistakes. The ayah further mentions that the mistakes committed by such individuals will not harm the Muslims unless they follow them and commit the same mistakes. Abu Bakr, after explaining the ayah's correct meaning, also quoted a hadith in which the Prophet (saaw) said:

"You will continue performing Amr bil- Ma'ruf wa nahy anil-Munkar, and you will continue to hold the oppressor accountable and force him to cease his oppression. Otherwise, Allah will send a punishment, and you will make Du'a to Allah but your Du'a will not be answered." In another incident, Umar ibn al Khattab was reciting the ayah:

"and fruits and abba." [TMQ 80:31] A sahabi asked him, "What is this 'abba'?" Umar noticed that he was asking about something related to the Ghaib and instructed him not to do so and to be content with the ayah's general meaning of describing the bounties of the Jannah. Also, Umar realized that the general meaning of the text is clear and can be understood without understanding the meaning of the word "abba." Another example which illustrates this corrective process occurred when the Muslims faced the Romans in the Battle of Yarmuk. A Muslim who was overwhelmed by the numbers of the Roman Army stated, "Arabs are too little and Romans are too many. How great the Romans are and how little the Arabs are." Khalid ibn al-Walid replied, "You should say, 'How great Muslims are and how little the Romans are,' since the soldiers will be great by the victory and will be little by the defeat." In this incident, Khalid corrected the entire criteria of the balance of power between armies, and explained to that individual that the measure of an army's greatness should be based on its victories and not on its size.

These examples illustrate that the Prophet (saaw) as well as the Sahabah after him were very concerned about the thinking process. They would correct the misunderstanding of a certain concept in addition to addressing the way of thinking of anyone whom they needed correction. Therefore, Muslims always strove to eliminate any alien idea from Islam in order to preserve the correct understanding of Islam and eliminate the possibility of any divergence emerging. Muslims paid careful attention towards maintaining their point of view towards the life in addition to preserving their understanding of the Aqeedah, the Islamic thoughts and rules, and the mechanism through which they understood Islam.

However, by the third generation, patterns of divergence began to appear in the thinking of some Muslims when they incorporated some alien ideas into their thinking. Consequently, the understanding of Islam among Muslims gradually deteriorated. Even though Muslims are expected to maintain a high level of understanding, they failed to do so as a result of an accumulation of several factors. The three most significant factors which contributed to the decline of the thinking among Muslims were: Greek Philosophy, the Oriental or Eastern Philosophies, and the recent Western intellectual invasion.

Greek philosophy can be considered a specific outlook toward life since it has an Aqeedah as well as certain key fundamental thoughts, all of which produce a unique way of thinking based upon logic.

This philosophy was exposed to Muslims through two channels: The Christians living under the Islamic State, and the Translation movement. The Christians who were ruled by Muslims were already equipped with the Greek philosophy because Christianity became devoid of any rational thoughts and concepts and, therefore, could not be considered as an basis for building any substantial thoughts upon. Due to this deficiency, the Christians began to look towards Greek philosophy and logic in order to their system of thoughts. Unfortunately, some Muslims were influenced by the Greek thoughts as well, and they began studying Greek philosophy, thinking that doing so would enable them to intellectually face the Christians with the same tools.

They failed to realize that delving into Greek philosophy would lead them to be influenced by it.

The Muslims did not understand that any way of thinking is defined by a unique Aqeedah, which will result in the person adopting any way of thinking to ultimately be influence by the Aqeedah which shaped such a way of thinking.

An example illustrating how the Muslims relied upon Greek philosophy to substantiate their arguments was when the Christians claimed that Christ in the Word of Allah that was given to Mariam. According to their argument, since the word is one of Allah's Attributes, it is eternal because any descriptive adjective is connected to the object it is describing. And because the object in this instance is Allah, Who is eternal, then any attribute related to Allah is also eternal. The conclusion that the Christians derived as a result of this logic is that Christ is eternal and not created. To support their claim, they quoted the following from the Bible: "In the beginning, there was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Some Muslims, such as the Mu'tazilah, thought that the best method to counter the Christian argument was to claim that the Qur'an was created. According to them, saying that the Qur'an, which is Allah's Word, is created would lead to the conclusion that Christ is also created on the basis that Christ is also Allah's Word. As a result, the entire concept of discussing the Attributes of Allah influenced by this approach. The Mu'tazilah claimed that no difference exists between Allah's Attributes and His Essence, and that both are one and the same. They propagated the notion that the descriptions of Allah's Essence are not separated from His Essence. According to them, if the Attributes of Allah, which are eternal, are separated from His Essence, this would result in the existence of several eternal things, which would justify the existence of the Trinity.

To counter this claim, others such as Ahlul-Sunnah viewed such a stance as denial of Allah's Attributes. Ahlul-Sunnah claimed that while Allah has eternal attributes, they are neither a part of Allah nor separated from His Essence. According to them, Allah's Attributes are not a part of Him because the descriptions are never an integral part of the object being described. And they are eternal because no description which carries a limited meaning can be attributed to Allah's Essence.

Two of the most significant Eastern philosophies that influenced Muslims were the Indian and the Persian philosophies. Many Persians and Hindus became Muslims, but they attempted to reconcile between their old thoughts and the new Islamic thoughts they adopted. Eventually, many of their philosophies and literature was translated into Arabic, and as a result, many of their concepts, such as Brahmanism, Dualism, and the ideas of Mazdak, spread among Muslims. Heretics (Zanadiqah)

emerged for the first time in Muslim history, some propagating the Communistic teachings of Mazduk,2 while others promoting Brahmanism,3 which is rooted in the notion of torturing the body in order to elevate the spiritual aspect. In addition to individuals, entire sects whose foundation and structure exceeded the boundaries of Islam emerged, among them the Karamitah and Hashashin (Assassins).

The rapid spread of Sufism among Muslims was one of the most evident products of the Eastern philosophies. Sufism began as a call for Muslims to detach themselves from the worldly issues, such as financial and political affairs and material enjoyments, and to focus solely on the Hereafter.

However, Sufism later incorporated many alien ideas such as Brahmanism, Incarnation, and Dualsim. Since then, Sufism evolved from a call to detach the people from the life affairs into a comprehensive philosophy with its own ideas, symbols, way of thinking, order, literature, and poetry. The Sufi thought became distinguished in its usage of distinct symbols and styles of communication that no one except the Sufis themselves could comprehend. For example, the Sufis claimed that each ayah or hadith has two meanings: One that is understood by common people (the apparent meaning), and the Batini (hidden) meaning, which only they can understand. They justified this stance on the basis that everything became unveiled to them as a result of certain practices and acts of devotion which they conducted. Below are some examples of some ayahs along with the Batini meanings which the Sufis attributed to them: Allah (saws) says, "He has let loose the two seas which meet together; between them is a barrier which none of them can transgress." [TMQ 55:19-20] Ibn Arabi, a prominent Sufi, stated regarding this ayah: "The two seas (the saltwater and freshwater seas) refer respectively to the physical body and the spirit, and they meet in the human existence.

The barrier alludes to the animalistic aspect of the human soul which prevents either of the two components (the physical body and the spirit) from overcoming the other." Allah (saws) says, "The first house erected for the people is that one in Mecca." [TMQ 3:96] According to Sufi understanding, the apparent meaning of the house is the Ka'abah, whereas the hidden meaning is the Prophet (saaw).

Allah (saws) says, "Worship Allah and join none with Him and do good to parents, kinfolk, orphans, the poor, the relative neighbor and the neighbor, the companion by your side and the wayfarer." [TMQ 4:36] Al-Tusturi says that the known meaning is the apparent meaning, however the hidden meaning is different. The "relative neighbor" is the heart, the "neighbor" refers to nature, and the "wayfarer" refers to the bodily organs that obey Allah.

While Muslims were experiencing a state of intellectual decline, Europe began to emerge as a new intellectual power in the world. During this time, Europe experienced the Renaissance, which resulted in the emergence of Capitalism as a new ideology. The Capitalist ideology had as its foundation the Secular creed which defined the relationship between Church and State. Thinkers such as Hobbs and Rosseau began propagating the newly-emerging concepts of Democracy, Freedom, Individualism, and Liberty. Parallel to the intellectual development was the emergence of the scientific way of thinking, which Europe embraced. All of these intellectual developments ushered Europe into the Industrial Revolution. With the emergence of the Capitalist ideology and the Industrial Revolution, the West emerged as a new intellectual and material force in the world.

Muslims, content with their military superiority, were either unaware or heedless of the sweeping changes which were occurring throughout most of Europe. This contentment was further strengthened by their belief that Islam could not be conquered, the long history the Islamic State enjoyed as the First State in the world for a millennium, and their ability to defeat both the Crusaders and the Moguls. Further adding to this feeling of contentment was the fact that the Muslims were able to sweep across Europe, ultimately reaching Central France and Vienna.

Although the Ottoman State was a military giant, its political and intellectual influence was miniscule. Politically and intellectually, the Muslims were declining due to the accumulation of several internal factors, and this deterioration became more widespread and obvious during the days of the Ottoman State. The Muslims in this state of decline were ill-prepared in dealing with the sudden changes that swept through Europe, and consequently the progress that Europe experienced was a shock to the Muslims that took them by surprise. While the Muslims before continuously expanded their frontiers to new lands, the Muslims during the days of the Ottoman State witnessed the European Nations, particularly Spain, Portugal, Holland, Britain, and France, colonizing Muslim lands in different regions. In the past, the Europeans were forced to cross the Muslim world in order to trade with other nations and territories in remote areas such as China. However, with the discovery of new trade routes by Vasco De Gama, Magellen, Columbus, and others, Europe no longer depended solely upon the Muslims in this regard.

In light of such events, the Muslims began to realize their weakness and decline, but this realization was not initiated by any intellectual awareness of the situation. Instead, the Muslims reacted based on physical criteria to the material advancements in Europe and the conquering of Muslim lands. As a result, the Muslims were overwhelmed by the material advancement of Europe. Although the Muslims attempted to initiate a revival, the concept of revival in their minds was no longer an intellectual revival but was restricted to keeping pace with the progress occurring in the West. As a result of this reactionary stance towards the revival, Muslims became enchanted with the West for the first time in their history.