The Outset of Dissension in Islam — Page 20
20 H A D RAT MIRZA BASHIR-UD-DIN MAHMUD AHMAD why should one disgrace himself. 16 In contrast, now, if even the smallest punishment was imposed in order to maintain the boundaries of the shariah, these people disliked this. Hence, there were some people who would not refrain from violating the shariah because Islam had not penetrated their hearts. Moreover, when the shariah would be upheld, these very people would be infuriated and raise objections against the Khalifah and his officials. In addition, they would harbour malice in their hearts against them and plot to uproot their administration altogether. The fourth cause for conflict, in my view, was that Islam progressed at such an extraordinary pace that in the beginning, its opponents were unable to perceive this. The Makkans were still living under a false sense of pride over their might and thought that the Holy Prophet sa was weak, when Makkah was conquered and Islam spread throughout the Arab peninsula. The Caesar of Rome and Khosrau of Persia viewed this growing power of Islam with such contempt in the likeness of a spectator, just as a tyrant wrestler looks upon the first attempt of a child to stand up. The Persian and Byzantine Empires were shattered into pieces with a single blow from the strike of the Prophet Muhammad sa. So long as the Muslims were engaged in confronting these tyrant governments, that had forced people into slavery for over hundreds, if not thousands of years, and their humble and ill-equipped army was at war with the massive 16. S a hih ul-Bukh a r i , Kit a bul- H ud u d, B a bu Su ’ a lil-Im a mil-Muqirr , H ad i th No. 6825 [Publishers]