What are the reasons for the failure of these movements?
Notwithstanding all these sacrifices, efforts and toils, we find with regret that there is not a single movement which reached the final destination of success. Either it failed midway or it was suppressed by force or it fell through later on without bearing the expected fruit. What is the basic reason for this situation? Why is it that despite all the sacrifices made, time and labour put into these Islamic Movements, they have remained foiled? Everyone present in this assembly should reflect on this sad state of affairs and try to get al its root. I want to put before you in this assembly the result of my own reflections on this issue, as an ordinary student. I shall try to disclose the basic reasons for this failure and how we can remedy this situation.

This point I want to express on this topic is indeed very subtle and critical. I also feel that the slightest error in the enunciation of this very subtle point may give rise to misunderstandings. However, taking upon myself the danger of error, I want to draw attention to these two aspects which are, in my opinion, the basic reasons for this situation and on which we should reflect with a sober and calm mind.

The conspiracies of the non-Muslims
Everyone is aware that one reason for the failure of the Islamic Movements is that non-Muslim powers have been doing their best to suppress Islam and the Muslims. It is hardly necessary to dilate on it because every Muslim is aware of it. I, however, feel personally convinced that the conspiracies hatched by the non-Muslim to harm the Muslim Ummah can never be successful, unless there is some fault or shortcoming among the Muslim Ummah itself. Foreign conspiracies succeed and become harmful when some defect and weakness finds access to our own body politic. No age has ever been free from the network of conspiracies from the time of the Holy Prophet (saws) right up to our times.

This Persian couplet means: The spark of Abu Lahab and the candle of Mustafa (Saws), i.e. Belief and unbelief have been at war with each other ever since eternity till this day.

Thus conspiracy between Islam and kufr has neither ever ended nor shall it end. Iblis had been created and was in existence when Allah created Hazrat Adam (as). It is, therefore, self-deception to expect that these conspiracies will come to an end.

Reasons for the Success of the Conspiracies
It is now high time for us to think what are those defects and weaknesses on account of which these conspiracies against us are succeeding. It is necessary to reflect on this question. This is because when we talk to anyone about our miseries we put the entire blame on these conspiracies against us and then we sit idle, doing nothing. It is necessary to ponder over the weaknesses and faults we have in ourselves. In this connection I want to point out to you two basic facts which in my opinion are the main causes of these failures.

Neglect of Personality building
The first of these causes that no attention is being paid to the need of personality-building. I mean to say that every educated man knows that the teachings of Islam pertain to all walks of life. Some of these teachings are of general impact affecting the society as a whole and some others are of individual impact. Some injunctions of Islam are intended for the entire society, while others are intended specifically for individuals one by one. This aspect of the Islamic teachings may be expressed by saying that there is a fine balance between the teachings of collective and individual impacts. An undisturbed maintenance of this balance will ensure a smooth implementation of the Islamic teachings. If one of these is ignored or is accorded undue preference over the other, it will stand in the way of a right implementation of the Islamic Shanah. However, by our actions and trend of thinking we have disturbed the balance between collectivism and thereby we have also altered the order of preferences.

Denial of Secularism
There was a time when on account of a propaganda in favour of secularism the people had confined Islam to Mosques, Madrasahs, Prayers, Fasting and Worship. In other words, they had confined Islam to its individual impact. Secularism also advocates the philosophy that religion is concerned with a man's private life. The political, economic and social life of man should not be subject to any religion, but it should be subject to the needs and demands of the time. As a result, a large class of thinkers sprang up in our society to reject and oppose this wrong philosophy and trend of thinking. This class of thinkers contradicted this trend of thinking and rightly asserted that the Islamic Shari ah is not confined only to worship, morality and the private life of man, but it encompasses every walk of life. Islam attaches equal importance to collectivism and individualism.

The result of denying this trend of thinking
In order to deny and refute this trend of thinking we laid so much stress on collective that we put aside and overlooked the injunctions relating to individuals. These injunctions, therefore, lost their importance at least from the practical side. For example, according to one theory it was claimed that Deen (faith) has nothing to do with politics, viz.:

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Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to Allah what belongs to Allah.

In other words, it is not at all necessary to associate Deen (faith) with politics. In this way Deen was banished from politics.

We converted Islam into a political issue
The refutation of this viewpoint gave rise to another view which laid so much stress on the political aspect of Deen that it seemed as though the only aim of Deen was to set up a political system. It is not incorrect to say that in Islam there are specific injunctions concerning politics, but it is not correct to say that Deen is in reality the name of politics or the foremost objective of Deen is to enforce a political system. This will alter the order of the preferences. The adoption of this trend of thinking will only mean that instead of making politics subservient to Islam we have made Islam subservient to politics. By so doing we have deprived ourselves of the charm and beauty of the individual and private style of life.

The life of the Holy Prophet (saws) in Makkah
We have a beautiful model in each and every branch of the life of the Holy Prophet (saws). The twenty three years of his sacred Prophet hood life have been divided in two parts - his life in Makkah covering thirteen years and his life in Madinah covering ten years. If we look closely into the Prophet's life in Makkah we shall find that it was totally free from politics, government, fighting Holy wars (Jihad) and retaliatory actions, whatsoever. The instructions were that if anyone raised his hand to beat a Muslim, the latter should not raise his hand at his adversary.ََ

Endure patiently, your endurance is only by (the help of Allah).(16:127)

It is true that at that time the Muslims were very weak, yet they were not so weak as not to show some resistance against their enemy, or a least to stop the enemy from his intention of causing harm. But they were under orders not to retaliate but to endure patiently the excesses of the enemy.