 all believers are each others brothers and that all human beings have equal dignity and put it in practice. Its prayers system was also devised in a way as to emphasize equality and equal dignity. All believers have to stand in one line before their creators to pray. No distinction could be made between high and low. Also, the words Allahu Akbar (the God is greatest) symbolize this. Only God is the greatest and all other human beings are equally humble before Him.
No one, no ruler also can ever claim any privilege over other human beings (though in practice when feudal rulers came into existence who began to impose their regal authority over other human beings which destroyed this concept of equal humility before God). The early Caliphs maintained this equality and equal accountability including before their slaves.
Islam was not merely a spiritual religion which it undoubtedly was. It was much more than that. It set out to establish a just order in the world. Though certain distortions occurred due to development of monarchy and feudal order Islam as an ethical system asserted itself through other channels, especially that of Sufism. Islam originally was revealed in tribal Arabia which had neither any religion nor any written code of morality and since Mecca, where the Prophet (PBUH) lived, was a centre of trade, had no code of mercantile morality. Lying, cheating and fraudulent deals were common. Qur’an gave them whole code of mercantile morality. It denounced speculation, hoarding, all forms of unfair and unjust dealings. It also stressed just weighing and not giving less and taking more.
The Arabs were just not interested in acquiring knowledge, let alone in science and technology. The Qur’an stressed ‘ilm (knowledge) and that too knowledge of whole universe. The Prophet of Islam said, ‘The first thing which God created was knowledge or reason’ Such was importance of knowledge in Islam. It invited Muslims to reflect on everything in universe, how it was created and what causes behind the natural phenomenon are. Until then everything was thought to be a miracle by Qur’an stressed that there are fixed causes behind phenomena and causes and effects do not change.
This encouraged scientific approach as against superstitious approach then prevalent in the world. No wonder then the Muslims produced great thinkers, philosophers, scientists and mathematicians like Avicenna, Averros, Jabir bin Hayyan, al-Kindi, al-Farabi, Ibn Maskawaih, Ibn Haitham, Ibn Tufail, Ibn Khaldun and so on. It was these great stalwarts who developed sciences and made great discoveries in otherwise dark ages in Europe.
It was through them that Europe learned science and philosophy and but for these great thinkers, scientists and philosophers that Greek knowledge survived and European universities taught them. It was Avicenna who discovered concept of flow of blood, it is he who wrote extensively on philosophy. It was school of Mu’tazila which popularized rationalism and rational way of thinking.
But for Mu’tazilite thinkers whole theology would have remained prisoner of superstitions. Again it was Ikhwanus Safa who produced encyclopedia of philosophy and composed epistles on mathematics, music and astronomy. And it was Qur’an which developed inductive logic as against Aristotle’s deductive logic and science develops with inductive logic.
But for Qur’an medieval ages would have remained ages of darkness and it was because of Muslims that Greek knowledge survived. The Abbasids realized the importance of knowledge and paid for Greek books in gold and precious jewels. Camel loads of gold were exchanged with camel loads of gold from Greek authorities. The Abbasids in Baghdad and Fatimids in Cairo enriched world of knowledge beyond ordinary persons’ imagination.
And who produced Ibn Khaldun? He was great philosopher of history and great sociologist. In a way he was counterpart of Marx in the east that too in medieval ages. In no way Ibn Khaldun’s contribution to history of philosophy and sociology can be underrated. His Muqaddimah is considered a masterpi