POSITIVE ASPECT OF NEGATIVE EVENT
When Arabs came to India, it was apparently an invasion. However, there was a positive side to this negative event. The Arabs introduced a new culture into India, for example they brought equality. Former Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru has endorsed this fact in his book The Discovery of India, where he writes of the Arabs coming to India with their ‘brilliant culture’ (p. 227).
It is nature that creates such historical turbulence for the benefit of mankind.
The Arabs also became an instrument of introducing Indian knowledge to the rest of the world. For example, the Indian numeral system came to be known to the Arab mathematician Al-Kindi. He discovered a tract on this subject in Sanskrit and translated it into Arabic. He then wrote his Arabic book in four volumes, “On the Use of the Indian Numerals” (Kitab fi Isti‘mal al-’Adad al-Hindi) about 830 AD. The original Sanskrit text is now lost. The only source of knowing this chapter of Indian history is through the Arabic translation. Al-Kindi’s work was principally responsible for the diffusion of the Indian system of numeration in the Middle East and the West. The Arabs learned the numeral system from India and called it Indian numerals. As it was from the Arabs that the Europeans learned this system, the Europeans called them Arabic numerals.
The British entered India in the eighteenth century. This was again akin to an invasion by a foreign power. But this invasion gave unity to India. When the British came they introduced the telegraph, railways, and other means of communication. As a result of this, India became a united country for the first time.
The above examples from history show that in every event there are positive aspects. This is the law of nature, and there is no exception to this natural law. This has happened in all incidents of human history.
Radical reformers, however, have always ignored this fact. They consider only the negative aspect of events and by emphasizing on it instigate the masses through their fiery speeches. In this way they are successful in bringing about a momentum. However, this kind of event always ends up as a non-event, that is, it yields no positive result at all.
The historical scenario pointed out in the two examples above is not accidental. Rather it occurs according to a law of nature. It is nature that creates such historical turbulence for the benefit of mankind. This phenomenon can be seen everywhere in the world including the Muslim countries. The political history of Muslims from eighteenth century onwards is an example of this law of nature.
This historical process is always in the best interests of mankind. However, in order to receive the benefit of this process the condition is that the subject country should not react but remain peaceful. If the people of the country start fighting in the name of justice and human rights, then they shall not be able to benefit from this natural process. Muslim nations of today present a testimony to this fact. And similarly the present scenario of the Middle East provides a testimony to this principle. At present there are several movements going on in the Muslim world, which find place in the news media on a daily basis. But, if judged in terms of the result, it will be seen that no positive result can be pointed to. The Quran warns against adopting this kind practice. A verse from the Quran says:
Do not let your enmity for others make you go against justice. Do justice; that is nearer to being God-fearing. (5:8)
The word adl, or justice, used here by the Quran refers to the above historical phenomenon. It means: ‘Do not let false enmity make you fail to recognize the law of nature, and consequently deprive yourself of your own best interests.’
