Muslim Ummah and its Disintegration in the Past: A Critical Analysis of the Tablighi Jamaat Perspective

Abstract

One of the largest Islamic evangelical movements in the contemporary world, that is, the Tablighi Jamaat (TJ) has recently received the attention of many scholars both in Muslim and non-Muslim countries. So far, majority of the scholars have focused on its origin and rapid spread in countries around the world. Therefore, the current study aimed to answer an important question that scholars may have either overlooked or paid scant attention to until this day. The ideology of TJ has raised a certain question as to what were the various causes that led to the downfall of the Muslim Ummah (world community of Muslims) in the past? To investigate this issue, the researchers encountered many primary and secondary sources to reach a comprehensive understanding of TJ’s doctrine of ‘Islamic decline’. Resultantly, the study found that TJ’s belief regarding the decline of the Muslim Ummah is similar to that of the other religious groups in Pakistan, that is, deviating from the path of the Prophet Muhammad. According to Tablighi activists, the main purpose of the Prophet Muhammad was Dawah, and by neglecting the fundamental duty of Dawat-i-Tabligh (Tablighi evangelization), Muslims have constantly been on the path of decline. Moreover, Tablighi activists mention few specific factors behind the social, economic, and political backwardness of the Muslim nation. These factors include religiosity of ordinary Muslims, focusing on academia by Muslim scholars in the past, the concentration of Muslim’s ruling class on just collecting taxes and revenue from the masses, and the moral decline of common Muslims.