Some books are often said to have changed the world. Scholars choose these books according to their will and circumstances. But while books change the world, there are some books that are responsible for misleading the world and its backwardness.
After the scientific revolution and the Enlightenment movement in Europe, there were books by three thinkers who reversed ideas and thoughts about the world.
One of them is Charles Darwin's Origin of Species, published in 1859. He dealt a blow to the doctrine of creation by providing scientific evidence for human evolution, which has led to the universe being viewed and understood from a religious point of view, changing its nature and replacing it. Science took over. This led to the study of the universe and man on a scientific basis. Now a new school of thought in history, known as Big History, is researching the evolutionary process of the universe and man, which is breaking the chains of assumptions.
The Communist Manifesto was published in 1848 by Karl Marx, a contemporary of Darwin, and his Engels. Then, in 1867, Karl Marx's book Das Capital was published.
These two books opened the windows to history, economics, philosophy and politics that led to an understanding of the intricacies of the relationship between man and society. Among them were the ideas that led to revolutions around the world.
The third important person was Sigmand Freud, who unveiled the complex mysteries of the human psyche and exposed its mental and psychological state. But while these books changed ideas about the universe and man, there was no shortage of books that justified the colonial occupation and governments of Asia and Africa by reinforcing racial prejudice, anti-humanism and European imperialism. What
In his book An Essay on the Inequality of the Human, published in 1852, Gobino argued that white nations were superior, arguing that it was their right to rule over non-European nations.
The British philosopher Herbert Spencer, in his Survival of the Fittest under Social Darwinism, argued that human evolution proved that powerful nations have the right to live, the weakest. Death must be in the destiny of nations. Herbert Spencer was also opposed to making the state a welfare state because it is useless to spend on the weak people in society to keep them alive.
So when Adolf Hitler published his book Main Kampf in 1925, it echoed the ideas of racism that racist European intellectuals and scientists had said before Hitler. So when Hitler came to power in 1933, he put his racist ideas into practice and massacred Jews and gypsies. He followed the Eugenic philosophy and killed children who were born weak under the impression that his nation should be healthy and strong.
Europe endured the racial torment of these books and tried to find a solution, but the racial prejudices of these books still exist in one form or another.
We will now briefly examine which books in Muslim societies were the ones that stopped the intellectual process.
Imam al-Ghazali (1111) worked to stem the tide of enlightenment in Muslim society after the translation of Greek philosophy. In his book Tahafat al-Falasfa, he criticized philosophy and rejected it to such an extent that it had no place in Muslim society. In his book Ahyaa al-Uloom, he closed the door to any new interpretation of religion. Due to which the Muslim world came to a standstill and became captive to the chains of traditions.
From which he has not yet been saved.
With the help of the books that influenced the Muslim society of India after the fall of the Mughals and the establishment of British rule, we can gauge its mental maturity and thought. The books that fascinated him in the beginning were Talisman Hosharba, Dastan Amir Hamza, Qissa Hatim Tai and Qissa Chahar Darwish. These books were addictive to a frustrated and helpless society that took them away from the real world to the land of magic and dreams that helped them find temporary relief.
Then came a new series of books. These were Islamic historical novels. He soon gained popularity in Muslim society because the nation which was practically degraded and defeated, in the characters of these novels he himself was fighting the sleeping infidels, defeating them, winning and finally I also rewarded a beautiful Christian girl. Therefore, as a result of these conquests written in books, such feelings of superiority in these conditions of slavery arose in the Muslim society of India when in fact they were in a state of decline and decline. They were caught in a delusion that was difficult for them to get rid of.
Sadiq Hussain Siddiqui Sardhanvi took this series of historical novels further and made the minds of the society intoxicated by writing about one and a half hundred novels. The modern form of these novels is found in Naseem Hijazi
Which still retains its popularity.
When the magic of historical novels was broken, a wave of detective novels came. Ibn Safi's detective novels in particular became of interest. Detective novels are characterized by the fact that the detective reveals the secrets of the crime with his intelligence and experience. In this narrative, the reader is amazed and impressed by the exploits and then connects the impression with the national leaders in real life, who will solve all the problems of the society like a detective while the society will be silent. She will see their actions and rely on them. As a result of this mentality, society becomes a spectator.
Finally, I will mention Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi's book Beheshti Ziyar. The book was written at a time when Muslim society in India was debating whether or not women should be taught. Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi is of the view that women should be educated only to the extent that they can do the housekeeping. They believe in the supremacy of man over woman and do not like her presence in any place other than home for woman. Because this book contains instructions and tricks for a woman to become accustomed to being a slave, that is why this book is given to girls in dowry so that they remain submissive and obedient.
The publication of books in any society can be used to gauge whether the published books are going to change the world or want to keep it tied to outdated traditions.
From this point of view, if we look at the books published in Pakistan, we see that these books are influencing the minds of the people with religious prejudices, sectarian sentiments and feelings of undue national pride. This mentality is reflected in today's Pakistani society.
Impressions of history
Dr. Mubarak Ali
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