A Present to Kings — Page 10
( 10 ). Mussalmans. If we leave aside the exceptional times of the companions of the Prophet (peace be on him) then, it will be found that the Muslim soldiers of the present day have not shown fewer instances of self-sacrifice than the Muslim heroes of olden times. If the Muslim kingdoms of the present day have to suffer defeat at the hands of other rulers, the reason for it is not the want of courage in the Muslim soldier. Oa the contrary, it has generally heen seen that the Muslim soldiers have endured greater dangers than their adversaries and still have remained unshaken. But nevertheless circumstances have arisen which inspite of their displaying the noblest feats of heroism have ultimately led to the defeat of the Muslims, and instead of winning the territories of their enemies, the Muslims have had to give up some of their own lands. If one will carefully study the wars of the Islamic countries during the last century, one will find that secret causes more than open ones have contributed towards their defeat. In inany a battle it has happened that success and victory have everywhere attended the Muslim ranks, but towards the end something has occurred which has left the field eventually in possession of the enemy. Such occurreness oblige one clearly to admit that underlying all these losses, there must be operating, in addition to the material, some other secret causes, and this is nothing but what I have mentioned above, viz. , that the. Mussalmans have abandoned their God. At the present time there is, on the one hand, hardly any Islamic kingdom left which properly deserves to be called a sovereignty and, on the other hand, even those that retain are a source of affliction to the Mulims rather than of happiness. As a rule, governing power is a source of happiness to a people and the co-religionists of the ruler consider the government as a support of their faith, but the Islamic governments instead of proving a source of happiness to the Muslims have become a source of pain, and are so constantly in the grip of misfortunes as to make the whole. Muslim world feel as if they lay on a bed of burning coal. . Thus are these kingdonis, far from bringing any joy to the. Muslims, become a source of constant grief and pain to them. . In short, the natural condition of the Mussalmans is so