Man's earthly mission is twofold: to know and to worship the Creator. Knowledge is comprehensive, covering matters related to Almighty Allah, the Creator, man as Allah's vicegerent on earth, and the realm of creation as the stage where existence unfolds. 

As a matter of fact, the ultimate goal is worship, but knowledge is its means, requirement, and value. Thus, there is no worship without knowledge, and since authentic knowledge depends on worship and the related ontological truths, there can be no knowledge without worship either, both as a concept and operational reality.

It follows that just as worshipping Allah is an individual duty, so is the pursuit of knowledge—first of Him and His Islam, then of humanity, and finally of the world. This hierarchy of knowledge naturally leads to a hierarchy of sources, with the revealed knowledge of Allah at the top, inspiring and guiding the other interconnected dimensions.

Distorting the concepts of worship and knowledge, as well as the vibrant relationships between them, disrupts the natural balance and can cause serious consequences. Under such circumstances, neither worship nor knowledge will be appropriate, upsetting the divinely intended order of things.

In the process, only man and his life purpose will suffer. The complexities of life dynamics, firmly held by the worship-knowledge alliance, will unravel, leaving man and his destiny in a difficult position and relying on his limited resources. If one examines history closely, one can only see a theater of humanity’s highs and lows, corresponding to the nature and intensity of people’s relationships with the worship-knowledge axis.

That is why it is fundamental in Islamic epistemological ethics that all actions are undertaken solely for the sake of Allah, that knowledge is regarded as a heavenly gift given for spiritually and morally noble objectives, that knowledge should lead to character building, and that ignorance is seen as the greatest obstacle to building civilizations and finding paths that bring about happiness in both worlds.

Muslims’ current predicaments arise from ignorance

It is both unfortunate and undeniable that the religious and civilizational state of Muslims today is dire. Compared to what Islam represents and how the centuries-old golden age of Islam shaped global human consciousness, the current status and role of Muslims are hardly recognizable.

The root causes of the problems lie primarily with Muslims and, to some extent, with the complex intrigues of their enemies. 

Nobody can deny that, upon reaching the peak of civilizational achievement and cultural refinement, Muslims increasingly became preoccupied with excesses and trivialities in both their personal and institutional lives. One might argue that this was inevitable due to the dynamics of the rise and fall of civilizations.

However, given that they were entrusted with the responsibility of guiding the world through the final revealed guidance, many Muslims should have performed better. Their religious and civilizational decline should have been less severe, resulting in a quicker recovery.

The reasons for the decline can be summarized as follows: political interests taking priority over the correlation between religion and knowledge, which led to the manipulation of the latter for political gain; the rift and eventual separation between political and religious-cum-intellectual leadership; the independent functioning of politics, religion, and knowledge, which contradicts the integrative nature of the Islamic message; and the introduction of foreign elements and influences to address the gaps created by the above issues.

The most conspicuous consequences revolved around knowledge. People were more and more content to rest on their laurels and enjoy the fruits of their predecessor's struggles, which quickly precipitated apathy and lower standards.

Problems were mounting, as an expected outcome of sunnatullah (the way life moves forward, or the way Allah governs it), but there was ever less capacity to face and overcome them and to swim with the tide.

In as much as knowledge is essential for worship, the quality and substance of worship were affected next. Without the inherent value of knowledge, people relentlessly wavered between extremes. Everything appeared more plausible and attractive than the true and beneficial nature of Islam.

People viewed Islam through flawed perspectives, resulting in inaccurate and misleading images. Ignorance led to misconceptions, misconceptions to misjudgments, and misjudgments to wrongdoing.

To correct these wrongs, instead of relying on knowledge-based diagnoses and remedies—which were scarce and often ineffective—ignorance was used instead. This cycle of ignorance perpetuated further ignorance, and existing wrongs generated more of the same, creating a vicious circle that was impossible to break.

No wonder that in the prevalent situation, all sorts of iniquities have found fertile ground, such as sectarianism, disunity, nationalism, fanaticism, immorality, ungodliness, skepticism, false knowledge, pseudo-Sufism, fatalism, and stupor. All these are clear antitheses of authentic Islamic values and principles, but people lack the ability to see events in their true light and to adjust their perceptions and behaviors accordingly.

It goes without saying that ignorance blinds, and wrongdoing incapacitates. Together, they represent the most potent source of destruction. 

The role of Islam’s enemies

Though Muslims are to be blamed the most for their sorry state, the supplementary roles of their enemies and the enemies of the truth should also be highlighted. From the moment Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) was appointed the Seal of Prophets those enemies and their persistent efforts came to the fore.

As the mission of Islam expanded, so did the range of enmity and its protagonists. And when the universal character of Islam was finally asserted on the global stage, the corresponding response from its enemies became global as well.

As if all of them were united by the antagonism component against their common adversary: Islam and Muslims.

This alarming situation was clearly described and warned against by the Prophet, who said: “The people will soon summon one another to attack you, just as people invite others to share their meal.”

The Prophet added that at that time, Muslims would be numerous but would be like scum and rubbish carried away by a torrent. Allah would remove fear of them from the hearts of their enemies and instill weakness in the hearts of the Muslims.

Someone asked: “What is wahn (weakness)?”

The Prophet replied: “Love of the world and dislike of death” (Sunan Abi Dawud).

Allah also meant the same when He said in the Qur’an that, as a rule, neither Jews nor Christians will be happy with the Prophet (Muslims) unless he (they) followed them and their religions (al-Baqarah 120).

Some of the results of those sentiments and accompanying programs were the Crusades, colonialism, the pseudo-science of Orientalism, and Islamophobia. 

The danger of Orientalism

Admittedly, the danger of Orientalism is greatest and most uncontrollable because it is subtle, veiled, and fluid. As a false and biased science, Orientalism was created to distort the image of Islam and, in doing so, provide a tailored narrative about it, its people, history, and civilization to the progressively curious Western mind.

By hook or by crook, Western audiences had to be indoctrinated about Islam so that the planned crusades against it could proceed unhindered. This was done in the name of exploration, enlightenment, education, and emerging globalization.

In other words, it was done to systematically reject spirituality in general and to institutionalize sacrilegious alternatives in particular. The truth about Islam, as well as about the West itself, had to be kept from Westerners, especially their future generations.

People were taught that their most important fundamental rights were freedom and education, but in reality, they were met with anarchy, confusion, and preconceived narratives. One of these narratives portrayed Islam as the sole remaining threat to the status quo and its emerging unholy world order.

Baseless fears, lies, unrealistic ambitions, and false hopes were fed to the restless Western mind, maintaining a firm grip on people's thoughts and actions. It was astonishingly evident just how profoundly misguided and out of touch everyone truly was with reality.

In his groundbreaking book titled “Orientalism,” Edward Said encapsulated these truths when he said that where Islam was concerned, European fear, if not always respect, was in order. To the rise of Islam and Islamic civilization, Europe could respond with very little except fear and a kind of awe.

Islam came to symbolize terror, devastation, and the demonic hordes of hated barbarians. In short, “Islam was a lasting trauma. Until the end of the seventeenth century the ‘Ottoman peril lurked alongside Europe to represent for the whole of Christian civilization a constant danger, and in time European civilization incorporated that peril and its lore, its great events, figures, virtues, and vices, as something woven into the fall of life.”

However, there was more to the danger of Orientalism. Once stripped of the truth, especially under the pretense of false progress, modernity, and scientism, the Muslim mind and soul were also exposed to the harmful effects of Orientalism.

A multitude of iconic schools, universities, research institutes, reference books, and scholarly authorities were created to serve this purpose. The common belief was that traditional Islam was outdated and obsolete, and that new modern interpretations and practices were necessary, for which the proponents of modernity, seen as the peak of human evolution, were deemed most qualified.

Unlike Christianity and other bogus religions around the world, which have proven to be ineffective, Islam is different. As the religion of truth, it cannot be weakened or removed from the scene. The only approach has been to obscure and misrepresent it, confusing people and diminishing their interest. For this reason, the initial Western mood of religiophobia eventually morphed into Islamophobia.

From Orientalism to postmodernism

The way it was originally conceptualized and subsequently developed, Orientalism can also be said to have expedited the current popularity of postmodernism with its trademark notions of religious, ethical, socio-cultural, and epistemological relativism.

Given that all religions, ideologies, philosophies, and systems of life associated with the West have demonstrated that they are unviable over the long term, often collapsing spectacularly, the case of Islam, which is gaining strength and appeal daily, had to be staved off by any means necessary.

Generalizing and aggressively promoting the intrinsic inabilities and resultant failures of religion overall was a strategy. About it, people needed to be brainwashed and with the ostensibly attractive boons of liberty, erudition, and material progress they were to be kept superficially appeased.

In this strategy, Islam too was included, owing to which the last hope was cut off from the beleaguered lost sheep of the West – and by extension the world, suffering from sham globalization. Thenceforth, the tenets of relativism and the subjectivity of truth were allowed to take complete control over existence Needless to say, those Muslims who subscribe to the Western ideas of (post)modernity and progress find themselves in the intellectual pandemonium of relativism. 

Liberalism, leading to religious permissiveness, is their lot. In this way, these Muslims not only do a disservice to their religion but also act as proxies for the harmful elements of the West. They become mere instruments of the West's will and intricate plans.

The way forward In light of the above, it is incumbent upon Muslims from all walks of life to do or contribute to the following:

First, to consciously respond to Allah’s commands regarding proper worship and genuine knowledge, integrating them rather than separating or opposing them. The worship of Allah should follow the guidelines set by the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and the universally accepted authorities of Islam. The revelation of Allah through the Qur’an and Sunnah functions as the foundation of knowledge, from which all other knowledge branches out and ultimately returns for validation and acceptance.

The Prophet’s statement that seeking knowledge is an individual duty for which people will be held accountable on the Day of Judgment denotes the importance of knowing Allah, Islam, and the Prophet’s Sunnah above all else. The pursuit of this knowledge should be lifelong, whether it is formal or informal, systematic or self-initiated.

Second, not to engage in any act of worship unless it is based on true and sufficient knowledge—except when it is part of a learning curve. Additionally, one should not learn anything useful unless it is immediately translated into action that enhances worship, making him a better Muslim and a better person on the whole. It is clear that this should be part of a new knowledge and worship culture, following the example of the Prophet and his immediate followers, who represent the best generation to have ever lived.

Third, to promote and contribute to the revival of authentic Islamic cultures and civilization, to better understand distorted Muslim history, and to strive to make Muslim unity and brotherhood a reality.

Fourth, to work on comprehending and redefining Islam-West relations – both past and present - calling a spade a spade and giving credit wherever credit is due. 

Fifth, to try to get to the bottom of both Orientalism and postmodernism so that people can reject their many drawbacks and recognize their few benefits. If this requires blacklisting certain authors and even "burning" their books, then so be it. Tumors are often happily removed for the health of the body. Indeed, the destiny of Muslims and their civilizational path can only be reformed from within and by themselves, not from outside and by others.

The Qur’an is unequivocal about this prescription: “Truly, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves” (al-Ra’d 11).

“That is because Allah would not change a favor which He had bestowed upon a people until they change what is within themselves” (al-Anfal 53).