Truth cannot be denied. Truth should not be denied either whether it is as unpalatable as brackish water or as deadly as poison. It does not become a sane and sensible Muslim to do so. He has not been taught to believe that a mirage is a river, dark night is dawn. The fall of the Islamic Emirate was a bitter truth and now the ruin of Baghdad is a poisonous but living reality too. All that happened was contrary to the wishes and desires of a lot of people. Our eyes could not see what they had wanted to see, our ears could not hear what they had wanted to hear.

An analysis has been offered. There’s no harm in giving it some serious thought. It has been said that through a well-planned conspiracy, through propaganda and self-created news, we Muslims are usually placed upon a high peak of possibilities and charming suppositions. Then when we are pushed from this imaginary height into the depths of reality, our hopelessness intensifies, our inner world becomes a victim of chaos and confusion, our trust dies a violent death, our castle of hope comes crashing down, the future becomes more bleak and the clouds of unseen fears create a threatening darkness around us. This is exactly what our enemy wants. He wants to see us beaten outwardly as well as the victims of inner disintegration too, for this is the real defeat. A person or nation that is broken up from the inside cannot be expected to do something great. His hands, feet, heart and mind, all cease to function.

Creating turmoil and utter confusion in the minds and hearts of people is not such a difficult task either in these days, when the entire print and electronic media is in the hands of the enemy. Armed with the latest weapons of war, our enemy drops bombs upon our cities and our people, blowing them up into pieces and then through the media gains control over our thoughts and mind. The whole world listens to what our enemy wants them to listen to, looks at what it wants them to see and thinks what it wants them to think. In this media war, our enemy is not all alone but is assisted by countless organizations. The organizations we think of as our own are not our own either, those we think of as impartial are not impartial too. Some of us sing praises of ‘Jiyo’, some have pinned their hopes on Al-Jazeera, some have blind faith in BBC while others believe that Channel Abu Dhabi is the epitome of truth and facts. This thinking of ours is nothing but simplicity raised to the height of exaggeration. Just think for yourself. When not only a people’s politics, economy and defense but their ground, air and sea bases are also under the control of the enemy, how can their media be free of its control? Is it not a fact that the headquarters of the American Central Command is in Doha, Qatar? That the Al-Jazeera network is in Doha too? And to top it all, the entire management of the Al-Jazeera network is in the hands of the same people who allowed America to set up military bases on their land!

Is it not a fact that before the Iraq war started, Pentagon had itself selected the journalists who were to cover the war? Nearly all of these newsmen belonged to America. The few who did not were nothing but America’s paid servants and drum-beaters. Is it not true that now journalists and those who command the media are more in demand than politicians? That their rates are very, very high now-a-days?

Is it not a fact that the Zionists are highly experienced, more than any others, in buying the pen, tongue and conscience of people? That they exercise total control of this market? Is it not true that in the present times, the media war has far more importance than a war of weapons? And that the Muslims are no more than imitators and beggars in this field? Let alone Al-jazeera or BBC, even if Voice of Makkah and Sada-i-Madina were to report and comment upon the present political situation too, we would have to think whether it is untampered-with reporting or not.

We have suffered enough, conducted an experiment too many, seen many a castle of hopes come tumbling down. We should now face the fact that there is a vast difference, a difference as of the East from the West, between the world of reality and our fruitless imaginings.

If we look up to the Heavens for Divine Help then He too looks down upon us to see whether we deserve His help or not. No change in our inner or outer self, no facet of our individual or collective life, no change in the angle of our outlook, in our way of thinking, no contradiction between our words and deeds is hidden from Him. He knows everything. We can deceive everyone but we cannot deceive Him. The order He had given us of arming ourselves with weapons and emaan against the enemy, we did not carry it out. We want to win the war only on the dint of emotional slogans, pleasurable hopes, tales of our forefathers and charms and incantations.

But this is what our enemies used to do. Muslims had always been practical, down-to-earth and realistic. They had been the ones to destroy wild imaginings, futile hopes and superstitious beliefs by their very roots. It was not they who had said to their Prophet (sallallahu `alaihe wasallam):

These were the words and way of thinking of the most accursed, damned people of the earth. The subjected people of yesterday are becoming the rulers of today, those who were respected and honoured are humiliated and disgraced to-day —— the reason? The most apparent reason seems to be that the ruling group of yesterday has adopted the same path of couragelessness, superstition, indolence, division and dispersion, mutual jealousy, malice and hero worship which used to be the distinguishing mark of the accursed group of the past; and the subjected people of yesterday have adopted hard work, punctuality, discovering the universe, love of work, faithfulness to their own people, and preparation of the latest weapons of war, which was the distinctive characteristic of the Muslims of yesterday.

What can be more surprising than the fact that the nomads of Arabia are living in air-conditioned luxury villas, sleeping the sleep of the dead, and the young men of Europe, used only to the cold weather of home are carrying out military exercises in burning deserts? Filth-eating crows have made their nests on lofty mountain-peaks while the falcons are lying dead drunk in bars. Let alone ruling the deserts, the

Arab lions by their very helplessness, seem as if suffering from an inborn disease. The owls are watching everything in the darkness but the falcons cannot see anything even in the light of day. Our subjugation, our backwardness in the economic, political and military fields has become an old story now and autumn seems to be taking hold of the spiritual garden of our emaan and faith too. We seem to be becoming helpless in tending to this garden of ours. Some helplessness is this!! We were not only deprived of this world but have lost Aakhirah too.

It is possible, no, very probable that some smashers of wine-cups, some eager, insatiable ones may rise from the idol temples of India and the bars of Europe to take over the reins of Arabia. History is a witness that when the Guardians of the Haram become negligent of their responsibilities, Allah Ta`ala either places tyrants upon their heads in order to shake them awake or replaces them with the sons of people like Abu Jahal, Abu Lahab and Ghenghis Khan to guard the Haram. His Quran, His Deen, His Haraam need no one and neither has He selected any particular race or family for the distinguished honour of being guardians or rulers of a country. Allah Ta`ala blesses him only who possesses, true, real emaan. He gives honour to him only who adopts the measures given by Him for acquiring honour and victory.

He shall raise the flame of the lamp which has some spirit, some strength in it only. Now when the Anti-Christ winds have begun to blow so frighteningly, when the advent of the storm has created such an atmosphere of dread, when the Abu Lahab’s of this world have launched an attack upon the followers of Hazrat Mustafa (sallallahu `alaihe wasallam), when the designs of the enemies of Islam have become crystal clear to everyone, when all preparations have been made to repeat the story of Kabul and Baghdad in each country, in each city of ours, wishing for the moon, building castles in the air, looking through rose-tinted glasses won’t work. Neither will imaginary planning, tales of our glorious ancestors, raising action-empty slogans, customary protest rallies and processions, spirited speeches, fiery articles, and superstitions beliefs have any effect. Work and only hard work is what is needed. Now if someone wants to keep his eyes and ears closed against the knocking, thundering winds of storm, wants to live in a fool’s paradise, we cannot stop him from doing so. Otherwise the signs of the times are:

Ab hawain hi karein gi raushni ka faislah
Jis diyay mein jaan ho gi woh diya reh jayay ga