All good things come to an end. So have the summer holidays. For the not so old like me, now it's time to go back to schools, colleges, universities and so on. Most people holidayed in the US, Europe, Far East etc. Countries and nations that have achieved educational excellence and culminated into civilized communities. I hope we all brought back home some good attitudes and attributes from each of these communities, not just branded perfumes and apparels. It is commendable how these countries and in fact many others have reached the zenith, or getting there, through their sheer discipline, pursuit of education, intelligence and diligence. While others, particularly from the Muslim world, have sadly been spiraling downwards after a glorious past. What's ironical is that the now prosperous and powerful countries have, to a good extent, their roots of prosperity in the period when the Islamic society was a paragon of excellence. Now it is a parable for social and scientific failure and falling values. People say we have distanced ourselves from the tenets of Islam and values taught by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) resulting in the rot we find ourselves in. Holding these very things dear at heart and putting them to practice did our forefathers and predecessors create an era which is now referred by us and the West as the Golden Age of Islam. The Islamic Golden Age began in the middle of the 8th century by the ascension of the Abbasid Caliphate and the transfer of the capital from Damascus to Baghdad and lasted roughly until the early 15th century. At the same time Europe was reeling and roiling in, by its own description, the Dark Ages. In virtually every field of endeavor — astronomy, alchemy, mathematics, medicine, optics, literature and so forth —Muslim (read Arab) scientists were in the forefront of scientific advance. They were influenced by the Qur'anic injunctions and Hadith such as “the ink of a scholar is more holy than the blood of a martyr” stressing the value of knowledge. During this period the Muslim world became an intellectual center for science, philosophy, medicine and education as the Abbasids championed the cause of knowledge and established the House of Wisdom in Baghdad; where both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars sought to translate and gather all the world's knowledge into Arabic. During this era, many classic works of antiquity that would otherwise have been lost were translated into Arabic and Persian and later in turn translated into Turkish, Hebrew and Latin. During this period the Muslim world was a cauldron of cultures which collected, synthesized and significantly advanced the knowledge gained from the ancient Roman, Chinese, Indian, Persian, Egyptian, North African, Greek and Byzantine civilizations and passed on to the modern world. A number of medieval thinkers and scientists living under Islamic rule played an important role in transmitting Islamic science to the Christian West (Wikipedia). They made Aristotle known to the Western world. Some of the notable jewels of this golden age, whose contributions, amongst others, created a bridge of knowledge between the ancient past and today's modern world, were Muhammad Ibn M?s? Al-Khw?rizm? — the “father of Algebra”, Ibn Al-Haytham described as the “ first scientist “ and also known as the “father of modern optics”, Al Battani the Astronomer, Ibn Rushd (Averroes) described by some as the “father of rationalism” and the “founding father of secular thought in Western Europe”, Ibn Sina, known to the West as Avicenna — “The Canon of Medicine and The Book of Healing” his works and many others directly influenced the research of European scientists during the Renaissance, Jabir Ibn Hayyan (Geber) a prominent Arab alchemist who is praised as the “father of Islamic/Arabic alchemy” and who has often been referred to as “the father of chemistry”, Al Qasim Al-Zahrawi (also known as Abulcasis) called the “father of modern surgery, Ali Ibn Al-Abbas Al-Majusi (also known as Haly Abbas) is ranked among the top three of most eminent doctors of medieval Islam, Al-Biruni, known as the “father of Islamic pharmacy”, “founder of Indology” and “ founder of the science of comparative religion”, Ibn Khaldun is regarded by many as the “father of sociology”, historiography and modern economics, Al-Farabi: regarded as the “father of formal logic in the Islamic world, Al-Khalil Ibn Ahmad Al-Farahidi — called the “father of Arabic lexicography”, Al-Kindi, known as “the Philosopher of the Arabs”, is unanimously hailed as the “father of Islamic/Arab philosophy”, Ibn Hazm — honored in the West as that of the “founder of the science of comparative religion”, Rhazes — considered the “father of pediatrics” and also praised as the “real founder of clinical medicine in Islam”, Muhammad Al-Shaybani: the father of Muslim international law ….. The list is long. And our pride and pain endless. Where did we lose the way!? Can we get anyway closer to where we once were!? Yes, we can. If we reform our lifestyles, if we bring in a change in our home environment, if upbringing is given priority over our mundane and material pleasures and pass-times, if values are inculcated while still young and respect for ourselves and others is juxtaposed together. Home is the first school and naturally the fount of these honorable ideals. Our mothers, who indeed are very capable and capacious, just have to turn their attention toward this grave need. And lo and behold! We will start seeing the change. Napoleon once said, “ give me good mothers, and I will give you a good nation”. So true, ain't it!? But hold on, this doesn't absolve men from their responsibilities and duties. They are the patriarch of the family, the boss of the family. Hence they can, and should, implement and instill the discipline and moral foundation that will provide roots to a strong, steadfast, sincere and studious new generation that will blossom into a great society. A society that is tolerant, pluralistic, living the ideals and values propounded, preached and practiced by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh ). The fruits will follow automatically. It is time we learn to stand in queues, it is time we stopped playing on the streets, it is time we stopped driving like devils, it is time we stop throwing litter anywhere and every where, it is time we stop quarreling, it is time we stop discussing others, it is time we stop talking of the Western world's wars and ways. Let's learn their good deeds and discipline. Let's imbibe their love for keeping fit, their love for scientific research, their love for innovation and technology, their love for industry and institutions. Not just imbibe their fashion and fun. Let's begin from here — Saudi Arabia. Didn't it all start here — the advent of Islam, the birth place of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and almost all of his great companions, home to Makkah and Madina and the cradle of the glorious IslamIc civilization. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the country are selflessly and superbly playing host to the millions of pilgrims flowing-in every year. Peace summits, interfaith dialogues and international initiatives to make a better place are the norm. Not just that, King Abdullah and his government have provided the country with good schools, colleges and world-class universities. SR169 billion was allocated for education and training in the budget 2012 at the start of this year. SR20 billion allocated for over 120,000 students studying abroad. Hundreds of billions of riyals are allocated for healthcare (SR86.5 billion ) and housing (SR250 billion set aside for 500,000 houses for the poor). Infrastructure and industrial development, Transport and Telecommunications etc are part of a massive SR1.4 trillion investment program running from 2010 to 2014. Thanks to strong oil prices and high levels of production, Saudi Arabia's budget surplus could rocket to nearly SR306 billion in 2012 compared to the initial projected budget surplus of SR12 billion, as per Jadwa Investments. Apologies for straying away a little; got carried away by the wealth and wisdom this country is endowed with. Now, let's come back to the initial discussion. With such strong fundamentals and financials, and an equally strong encouragement and exhortation for education and employment, research and recreation, industry and innovation, the Kingdom — with it's good leadership and reflective of the early glory period, is an ideal place to lay the foundation for the rebirth of yet another golden age of the Muslim world. All facilities are on the offer — the pond is created and the horse is brought to the pond. But it cannot be made to drink. We have to drink — drink the elixir of goodness and progress as envisaged in the Qur'an and Sunnah and Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). That is what made our nations of the past successful and that is what it will make us if followed. So, let us go back to school, let us become more disciplined and dignified people, let us be a boon and not bane to the world, let us spread peace and prosperity, let us be the beacon of hope and a light that enlightened the world 1400 years ago and that which brought it out of the dark ages … let us go back to where we belong.
– The writer is an aviation and hospitality industry specialist who has been working in the Kingdom for more than 17 years and is currently the director of sales for an international chain of hotels.
