The Holy Qur`an - a Book fully explained to
mankind, a clear proof, a word that separates the truth from falsehood and in
which every example and similitude is given – in its various verses like 6:98,
41:3, 17:89, 18:54, 86:13, provides guidelines about every aspect and every
sphere of life as well as detailed information about several sciences and
disciplines and ‘history’ is one of them.
According to Quran, history is a ‘peripheral tussle between forces of god and
evil’. According to classical Arabic historiographers history is “knowledge
pertaining to a country, customs and manners of a people, remains of the people
of yore, as well as account of the actions of those alive”. The early dogmatic
view of the purpose of writing history was to ‘obtain pleasure of Allah’. But
the Quran stresses the need of historical knowledge as a moral exhortation of
the faithful when it says:
“Have they not travelled in the land to see the Nature of the Consequences for
those who disbelieved before them? They were mightier than these in power and
(in the) traces (which they) left behind them in the earth; yet Allah seized
them for their sins and they had no protector for Allah” (40:21).
The holy Qur`an interprets history “neither a constantly moving equilibrium
between self-developing spiritual forces nor as a constant clash between
economic classes but as a perpehial tussle between forces of good and evil”.
This is a theme to which Quran frequently refers and quotes instances from
history, both the past and contemporary. The Quran asks the human being again
and again to go through the world with open eyes and diligent hearts. Nisar
Ahmad Faruqi, about ‘Islamic concept of History, in his book Early Muslim
Historigraphy writes that the Quran, while referring to the bygone nations and
extinct civilizations has, in its own way, presented the idea that ‘Nature’, or
in Islamic terminology “the Will of Allah”, does not work blindly and
arbitrarily, and there are certain historical reasons leading to every change or
revolution which the Quran calls the ‘Sunnah of Allah’. The Quranic way of
referring to ancient peoples, and their civilizations and of exhorting the
faithful to learn a lesson from their history, clearly show that “Islam is a
religion essentially history conscious”.
From the historical point of view the holy Quran is the first and most authentic
available source of the history of Islam. It covers various events of the lives
of Prophets of Allah like Hadrat Adam, Nuh, Ibrahim, Yusu, Musa, Isa (AS) and
Prophet Muhammad (SAW). It also covers account of the battles fought by Prophet
(SAW) and the circumstances in which certain Commandments of Allah were revealed
unto Prophet (SAW). Indeed, historical studies started in Islam as a necessary
adjunct of theological development. Various Quranic verses were interpreted in
historical perspective and were given a historical colour. The truth is that
with the thoughtful study of the Quran, a particular world-view takes place
giving birth to a particular behavior. In this regard Muhammad Munawar in his
book Iqbal and Quranic Wisdom argues that the study of the Quran brings us to
the conclusion that the “fountain head of several sciences and disciplines is
the Book itself and history is one of them”.
The holy Quran repeatedly refers to the rise and destruction of nations as a
phenomenon to be studied for guidance. It urges men to sojourn through the world
and see themselves the fate of those who were once powerful and proud, but
rebelled against Allah and were eventually destroyed for their wickedness.
Various verses like 20:128, 22:45-46, obviously contain a “great lesson” for
humanity. If a nation goes astray, it can only learn from history of the earlier
nations which were destroyed in punishment, for their evils. In most cases their
habitations became desolate and they now lie buried beneath the earth.
To sum up, the above mentioned views regarding concept of history in Islamic
Perspective, it is clear that holy Quran is replete with the verses which refer
to the remains of ancient civilizations and the purpose of these verses is to
remind human beings of the deeds and misdeeds of their predecessors so that they
may give a thought; they may ponder over/ upon; they may understand; they may
know what is truth; they may know what is reality; the right and the wrong; the
good and the bad; the virtue and the vice; transgression and submission; unity
and idolatory; monotheism and polytheism; justice and oppression; truth and
falsehood; and above all, “their hearts and minds may thus learn wisdom”.