12/06/2023
12/06/2023
COUNTRIES fall, which becomes a lesson in the chapters of history when there is deliberate dodging of responsibility by leaders, and when they leave the affairs and responsibilities to the mediocres as opposed to the learned ones.
Anyone who learns from others’ misfortunes and understands the ramifications of the errors committed would be able to change the fate of his nation, but those who ignore them condemns his nation to ruin.
This is what can be reaped from history, especially the Umayyad dynasty, as the personal whims of the rulers and the governors corrupted the state, after it turned into a member kingdom, and injustice and oppression prevailed in it.
This reached the extent that in order for the caliphs to preserve their kingship, they turned to arrogance and oppression, and they delegated their affairs to the young. A testimony to this is what the second Abbasid Caliph Abu Jaafar Al-Mansour said about the reasons for the fall of their state. He said, “We entrusted big matters to the young, and small matters to the adults. We kept the friend away and brought the enemy close to us in fear of his enmity, so the enemy did not turn into a friend, and the friend turned into an enemy.”
At that time, security and political unrest pervaded all parts of the Islamic state, and some of the rulers revolted against the caliph. Also, revolutions began to flare up in the state.
During 80 years, it witnessed about five of these revolutions, and its conditions did not stabilize except through Caliph Omar bin Al-Aziz who, within two years and a few months, was able to restore the state’s strength and impose justice on people.
This situation changed after his death as a result of a conspiracy by some of the Umayyads who were displeased by how Caliph Omar bin Abdul-Aziz ended their privileges and equated them with every other citizen.
Nonetheless, the dynasty continued to weaken as the result of the weakness of its caliphates after him, and their tragic efforts in bringing enemies closer, especially those who were greedy to rule, until the arrival of the last Caliph Marwan II, who was nicknamed “the donkey”.
During his reign, the calls for reforms and revolts intensified, huge sums of money were spent by their leaders, and their men spread throughout the country harming the Umayyads. On the other hand, the Umayyads did not cooperate in facing the difficult and frightening crisis. They instead stirred up the spirit of partisanship, and allied sometimes with one party and sometimes with another, which made it easier targets, and so the winds of chaos blew them away.
At that time, the Amir of Khurasan Naser bin Sayyar, who was the only one to foresee the future of the dynasty, had warned of the inevitable fate. He hence sent a letter to Marwan bin Muhammad, in which he wrote some verses of poetry in order for the ruler to rectify the matter.
He wrote, “I see through the ashes a flash of fire, and it is about to have a sore in flames. The fire is kindled by two sticks, whereas the beginning of war starts with words. If the wise people did stop the fire, it would end up being fueled by corpses and carcasses.”
In fact, this painful lesson applies today to many countries whose rulers put those who are not qualified in the position of decision-making, and gave power to advisors, conciliators, and bribe-takers. They end up messing the state, as they divide its institutions and positions within sects, tribes, and families. They keep the enemy closer and the friend away while they devote themselves to entertainment and amassing wealth. They did not work on building their countries, establishing good relations with their people, or seeking to solve people’s problems.
The destinies of such nations are similar because the principle is rational governance that is capable of realizing what Nasser bin Sayyar said, “War begins with words”. There is no greater flash of fire under the ashes, and this can only be stopped by firm action and decision.
Either the rule of any state should be like the way it is described in the biography of Omar bin Abdul-Aziz, or it will be short lived, like in the biography of Marwan “the donkey”. That is when the states will have peace.
Nonetheless, we do not need examples from history, as the Arab reality is filled with modern examples in this regard.
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times