The author in this book depicts the prevailing situation of the Muslim Ummah which is similar to a mind

when it is in a state of dilemma. In the present era, a Muslim is at a position where he is facing two
entrances of entirely different paths. One will take him towards the depth of western civilization and the
other will take him towards the real Islam. At this point, he can neither move backward nor remain
standing rather he has to move on. According to the author, the Muslim has to make an ultimate decision
which will lead him to his final destination. This position is referred to as the “crossroads” by the author.
The author says that the humanity, more specifically, the Muslims are on the verge of decline. He has
raised the question that why the Muslims have reached such a stage even though they have the weapon of
Islam in their hands. There can be many grounds which could have been discussed regarding this question
but the author has discreetly chose one ground which is the impact of western civilization as a cause of
Muslim’s decline.

If we question the inspiration of this book, we will get a comprehensive answer when we go through the
personal history of the author. The author’s own life experience is the inspiration of this book. His life can
be titled as “The journey from Leopold Weis to Muhammad Asad”. His former name was Leopold Weis
(1900-1992) and was a Jew by religion. He was a descendant of a long line of rabbis. However, his father
was a barrister. He received a thorough religious education. He started working as part-time correspondent
for a renowned German newspaper. His articles were noteworthy for their understanding of Arab fears and
grievances against the Zionist* project which eventually made him a full-time foreign correspondent for
the paper. This work led him to an ever deepening engagement with Islam. He then traveled to Palestine in
1922. It was there that he first came into contact with Arabs and Muslims and began a long journey into
Muslim lands and minds.

He started doing analysis on Islam, pretending to be a Muslim during the process and ended up in
embracing Islam (1926) in real. With this conversion, he changed his name to Muhammad Asad. He was
so grasped by the truism of the religion that his heart unconsciously accepted it. He spoke of Islam as:
"Islam appears to me like a perfect work of architecture. All its parts are harmoniously conceived
to complement and support each other; nothing is superfluous and nothing lacking; and the result is
a structure of absolute balance and solid composure."
.
* Zionism is an international political movement that originally supported the reestablishment of a homeland for the Jewish People in
Palestine and continues primarily as support for the modern state of Israel.
But then he was compelled to find out why Muslims are at a critical position at this time. Why
the Western civilization has such a powerful influence on the Muslim civilization? Why, being a
Muslim, we are so troubled? In this book, the author has discussed the issue of “"Islam versus
Western civilization"
It is evident throughout the history that Islam has always been viewed as a backward religion “A
religion of the conservative’s”. Infact, it is a complete code of life. What the general people do
not understand is that apart from prayer and worship Islam strikes a level of cooperation of
spiritual and materialistic aspects of life. It talks about “harmonious totality” .Which is missing
in the western culture of today. Islam strikes a balance between the individual and his social
surroundings; it talks about the unification of the religious system and the bodily desires. It
develops the already existing positive qualities in man and makes it possible for man to enjoy
fully the range of his earthly life without losing its spiritual orientation.

It gives us a set of moral and ethical values by following, which we can be successful in life,
unlike other religions like Hinduism, Christianity and Buddhism according to which one can
attain salvation only through annihilation. Furthermore, the diversity in the attitude of the
followers of different religions shows the disparity in the religious teachings Where Christianity
suppresses an individual, by calling him sinful by birth it lowers the morale whereas Islam uplifts
ones spirit and gives complete individual privacy, and thus it is not a religion of repression as
perceived. “The Christian idea that man is born sinful or the teachings of Hinduism that he is
originally low and impure -- the Islamic teaching contends that man is born pure.”

However, no man is perfect. They all differ with one another in their characteristics.
Nevertheless, one is free to shape his own personnel life; a certain standard of perfection can
never be set as this is against the law of individual variation. Being an ascetic would only stifle
an individual’s feelings. The free will of man is not restricted by anyone and is at liberty to enjoy
his life within the lawful limits as Allah has bestowed upon him the treasures of this world. Thus,
Islam gives a message of hope to the world, it does not hold a child responsible for his father’s
wrong doings nor does it allow man to underrate his earthly life. Here the writer clarifies the
point that every person his self has to choose between the right and wrong path there is nothing
in between that, thus the choice between good and evil is ours ,it is up to us
how we spend our lives . Like the western nation restless and impatient or like a true contented
Muslim

We witness the cultural influences on our religious attitude and psychological perception. Unlike
other religions like Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity according to which salvation can only be
achieved by annihilation from the world.

The author compares the Islamic and western civilization. He says that the two cultures differ in
their viewpoint, quality of life, spiritual developments and practical achievements.

The most contrasting point as mentioned by the author is the fact that the west considers our soul and
body, both to progress and improve where Islam says that soul is not a biological quantity, it is static
and does not “grow like a tree”. The goal of spiritual improvement lies between birth and death. One
can not achieve it with the passing time in fact one has to strive towards it.
Many a times, Islamic civilization is compared to the western civilization whose roots arise from
Rome. Further more the difference in the religious attitude clarifies the diversity in concepts. The
Islamic law “Shariah” counter balances the humans’ spiritual and material side. We, the Muslims,
fully embrace the need to submit to our Creator’s command.

The Roman and the Islamic Empire are compared even though it is evident throughout the history
that these two are so unlike. Except multicultural people and vast territories, there is nothing in
common. The inner strength and social structure of Islamic world is far more superior then anything.
Islamic empire rose to its height in the limited time frame of near 80 years while Roman Empire
took 1000 years to grow. Similarly, the Huns and Goths affected the Roman Empire that nothing
except literature and architecture remained where as the Caliphate underwent many dynastic changes
but even the Islamic social organizations were not torn down.

In the author’s view the famous Roman justice was justice for the Romans alone. They exploited the
weakened and their ultimate conquest has been for power alone. They had no spiritual element that
kept them integrated. Their traditional gods were imitation of the Greek’s mythology. The priests
were to give oracles but their religion was never supposed to confer moral law upon them.
Mohammad Asad explains the root cause of the present western culture. He says that one can trace it
back
to the Roman civilization. The today’s western community is following in the Roman footsteps.
Thus western society does not strictly deny God, but has simply no room or use for Him.

They have no concept of totality and are materialistic in approach. They look for scientific proof and
focus all their energies on the development of material and intellectual possibilities. That is why they
excel in practical achievements but are restless and impatient at heart. However, considering
Christianity as the basis of today’s western culture is out of question. As Christianity has oppressed
and contributed very less in the scientific development. Christianity in real can be interpreted as a
primitive and crude religion.

The author then talks about the European liberation. He elaborates about the Middle Ages when
science was stagnant, superstitious reigned and social life was fading out. In such a time, the Arabs
theology and the Muslim philosophy influenced the European minds. And a whole new world was
revived.

The infusion of Islamic civilization with that of west proved to be a fresh breath of life. It was in fact
“the rebirth of Europe”. It gave new strength to European culture and the religion and science
reconciled. The tyrannical gloom of the Middle Ages and the chains of religions, in which man was
imprisoned for ages, were finally broken down. The west, because of their subconscious fear of once
more being overshadowed by the supernatural powers, returned to Roman heritage. Once more the
concept of God and spiritual authority was weakened. This could be inferred as the cause of material
power and progress of the Europe.

By the end of the chapter the author signifies the reason that why the West is so anti-religion. The
Roman civilization is so utterly materialistic. The dissolution of culture and moral values,
unrestricted individual freedom, technical efficiency, tangible material benefits, mutual relations are
the factors that play a significant part in the western anti-religion concepts.

One can conclude that this mode of life is impossible without deforming the Islamic structure as the
western domain and the Islamic social setup do not go hand in hand
The history of European civilization tells how the Muslims were maltreated by Europeans. Their
behavior with Muslims was not less than animosity. In the ancient times, the Greeks and Romans
called themselves “civilized’ whereas all other nations living towards the East were labeled as
“Barbarians”. Since then, the Europeans believed that “they are superior to all others” and
according to them this is a known fact which can neither be falsified nor be denied. Their
superiority was a matter of honor for them.

All other foreign religions were disliked by Europeans to an extent, but Islam was and is the only
one which is disliked and hated by them with great enthusiasm. This strong feeling of dislike is not
only based on land issues or any other financial issues but on emotional basis. Although Buddhism
and Hinduism, as a religion and culture, are disliked by the Europeans yet they are still accepted as
a system. So there exists a balance between them. But when it’s about Islam then the balance is
disturbed as emotional facts dominate over logical facts.

Islam is treated as a client, which is presented in a court where the judges are “Europeans
orientalists”. Here the writer has very beautifully compared this court with old Catholic Churches
where, what ever the matter was, the client was treated and judged on basis of prejudice. No proper
historical facts, evidences and logical reasoning were used to make the judgment. Same is the case
with Islam and the European court session, where the client was Islam and the judges were the
European orientalists. The concept and tradition of the court was that they selected the
“conclusion” first and then made their analysis. The rest of the session proceed accordingly. The
result of such a process is that the portrait of Islam as a religion and a culture has been destroyed.
This misrepresentation is not confined to a single country but to all the European areas. Reading
the history and the present scenario, it is quite obvious that the Europeans enjoy criticizing Islam
and portraying a wrong picture of it. It seems that it is a good deed according to them. This leaves
us to a conclusion that the European mind is against Islam, the reasons for which are stated below.

One of the reasons is the classification of the cultures into the “civilized” and the “barbarians”. And
this can be explained by looking into the history of middle ages. After the decline of the Rome,
when the European civilization was just at the start, there came the first clash between European
and Islamic culture. At that time, the European civilization just started its journey towards
development. Its literature and fine art, which were strongly diminished by Goths, Huns, Avars and
cultural consciousness, were on a very sensitive position. The Europeans were so possessed about
their cultural heritage that they were not ready to bear anymore destruction of their culture at that
time.

Unfortunately, it was exactly at that crucial period when the War of Crusades started. Although,
there have been many fights before between Islam and Europe but the difference was the crucial
and sensitive condition of the European civilization at that time. Before the Crusades, the
Europeans did not had a clear cut impression of Islam. They were in a fix but it was the Crusades
which made them decide that Islam is their ultimate enemy. And the reason behind this was that at
that time European culture was at its initial stage of development. As it is a fact that a wound at
childhood is very difficult or sometimes impossible to be cured. Same was the case with the
European civilization. All of the regions included in Europe were united for the first time on the
basis of this Crusade as their ultimate goal was to destroy Islamic civilization. thus this new united
nation was named as “Western Civilisation” .

At the time of formation of “Europeans civilization” they turned their backs to the Christian
church. And as a whole, this viewpoint was not good for both the Christians Church and the Islam.
The pious knights, which maltreated Islam were also the main reasons of the conflict that is still
there between the East and West. Before that the intention of both the civilizations was to live
peacefully and side by side.

The Caliph Haroon ar-Rashid send an embassy to Emperor Charlemagne which he would have
accepted with the passage of time if there would not have been the Crusades which left the Europe
with the ultimate decision that Islam is their enemy. The wars before Crusades were based on
materialism so eventually the great enmity turned into friendship, but Crusades was based on the
intellectual evil which made it impossible to end this war. Due to this war Islam was expressed by
such terminologies i-e Islam was entitled as religion of crude sensualism, brutal violence, an
observance of formalities instead of a purification of heart. These entered the minds of Europeans
and lasted forever. It was the time when Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) was called MAHOUND
(Nausubillah).

The Conquer of Spain was the result of the enthusiasm of hatred caused by the crusades. Europe
was very happy after doing so. The reason was the failure of Muslims. The third big event which
took place was the fall of Constantinople into the hands of Turks which entitled as Europe’s
bulwark. The European culture progressed vigorously in the fields of sciences, arts and education
to beat the Muslim culture. They progressed and emerged as best people just because the hatred for
Islam. In fact hatred for Islam is the basic cause of any kind of progression of Europe. A time came
when the European nation started to get away from its religion but the thing that was still there was
hatred for Islam.

All the above mentioned factors highlights the fact that how even after such a long time hatred of
Islam persists in the hearts of western people.

Taking education into consideration, is it harmful for Islamic civilization to educate its youth in a
western institute? The question raised is a matter of fact the basic point on which the future of
Islamic culture depends. The author has mentioned this scenario like this “ How could we expect
that the education of Muslim youth on Western lines, an education based entirely on European
cultural experiences and values, would remain free from anti-Islamic influences.”

Muslim youth when being educated in a Western institution may unconsciously and automatically
astray from the path of Islam. They are bound to destroy their will to believe the message of
Prophet and Sovereignty of Allah. It does not mean that the western sciences which are studied by
the Muslim youth contains parameters against Islam in particular, but that the intellectual
atmosphere is so anti-religious that dominates over the religious importance of Muslim youth.

The potency of the belief of a Muslim towards its religion is influenced by the society. The author
elaborates this with an example of music. If a child listens to music, he will have more knowledge
about it gradually by the passing time. His interest towards music would be developed. A child
who has not listened to music in his childhood would not be impressed by it later on. So, for a
person the decision between his beliefs and disbeliefs is made by the atmosphere in which he is
brought up.

The early development of a child depends upon its family, school and social circle. In the present
scenario the Muslim family would give a child a good Islamic environment but when time of his
education comes then the problems is there. When he will be guided under western lines his
mentality would be moulded according to those teachings. He will be taught all the ways of life
according to western civilization and his standard parameters would be set accordingly. He would
not be aware of his own cultural values. And here the problem initializes which later on turns into
a big one.
The writer has raised a question i.e.: “What should be our attitude towards modern learning?”
Answering this he has said that no where in the Holy Quran it is written that sciences should not be
studies. Instead it is the religion which has encouraged the scientific research and study. The
studies done by Umayyad and Abbasids are a known example of this. Europeans themselves have
progressed due to Islam.

Islam has never been a milestone in the way of progress and sciences. Deeper study of our religion
reveals that it never eliminates the modern learning. A Muslim must work in the fields of science
and technology. He should have a desire to progress scientifically, but the thing which is not to be
wished is to see through Western eyes, to think in Western thoughts and to exchange the spiritual
civilization of Islam for the materialism of West.

Knowledge itself is universal. The point is that the interpretation, the viewpoint should be in the
boundaries of religion. As German philosopher Kant said:
“It seems surprising at first, but it is none the less certain, that our reason does not draw its
conclusion from Nature, but prescribes them to it.”
The point that matters is angle of vision. The interpretation and conclusion should be according to
the respective religion.

Unfortunately, our age long indifferent attitude, so far as scientific research is concerned, has made
us dependent on Occidental learning. In short, whatever the problems are, we can still have
Western education, as we don’t have any other choice left but without a slavish submission to the
intellectual outlook of the West.

The Muslims of today are very much attracted by the west. Their view has been blurred by the
glamour and glitter of the western world. They are compelled to think that their own religion Islam
is out of date and they feel shame in revealing their religion to others. This feeling of shame is the
key thing that has made the author realize what the real problem is. The author also analyzes this
as a feeling resulting from inferiority. The Muslim society has been viewing the western culture as
their final destination and wants to reach that phase. They think that the western society has
reached this stage as a result of their power and progress. Now Muslims think that their religion
Islam has no room for progress. The basis for this type of thinking have been provided by the so
called “ulama” class who aren’t eligible for this title that is so high in rank and respect. The narrow
mindedness, lack of knowledge and misinterpretation of Islam by these “ulamas” has been a major
cause of the problems faced by today’s Muslims. They blame Islam as a cause of their present state
and believe it to be an obstacle in their path to progress and prosperity. Hence they want to modify
it on the western lines. Their given justification is that they are just imitating the western culture to
achieve that level of success, which through their religion is impossible.

The Muslims of today do not appreciate the true spirit of Islam and have unconsciously adapted
their living styles to the western society. One can only imitate a culture when he is touched by its
spirit or when he really wants to be part of that culture. One can never adopt a certain aspect of a
foreign culture without molding his self according to that culture. In this context, the author has
quoted the following hadith which upholds his point:
“Whoso imitates other people, becomes one of them”
(Musnad Ibn Hanbal, Sunan Abi Dau’d)

The author plainly states that the fundamentals of western culture are divergent to that of Islamic
culture. It is impossible to do two contrary things at once, i.e. to adapt oneself with the western
culture and to remain a good Muslim. So what the Muslims ought to realize is that their real
progress is not in attaining the level of western civilization but to obey and respect the teachings of
Islam, which is the best and the only true religion in the world. They should change their attitude
towards their religion and deem it as their pride. Only in this way, they will be able to interpret the
Islamic teachings and it will lead them to the success of the whole Islamic society.

It is not a deviant act to adopt a cultural trait from a foreign culture rather its good but only when
it’s done by not destroying the fundamental nature of your own culture. This is where the Muslims
lag behind. Their blind admiration for the riches and material power of the west forces them to
leave their own culture behind. As the author has stated about the European Renaissance that,”
European culture used the Arab influences only as a fertilizer upon its own soil”. Again the author
has emphasized on this point that a culture can adopt a foreign cultural trait only to enrich its own.
When Europeans imitated some elements of the Arab culture, they never descend from their own
foundation rather they built over it. This made them stable and they established themselves as one
of the most powerful cultures of the world.

This is the one of the important factors which has resulted in the prevailing situation of the
Muslims that they are standing at the crossroads and are totally indecisive about their next step.
They have to make a final decision, to choose between either ways. If they remain standing where
they are, they’ll end up in the ultimate death of their Islamic society.

The author has given the following metamorphic view of the present degeneration of the Muslims,
“Many reform proposals have been advanced during the last decades, and many spiritual doctors
have tried to devise a patent medicine for the sick body of Islam. But, until now, all in vain,”. All
these doctors ignored one thing that was the only cure for the “sick body of Islam. Their
“prescriptions” lack one basic thing which was the “natural diet”, i.e. the most important factor on
which the early development of the “patient” has been based. The author actually refers to the
Sunnah of our Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) which is the key “medicine” for this “sick body of
Islam”.

Sunnah includes all the sayings and actions of our Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) which he said or
demonstrated in his lifetime as a perfect Muslim. His life style is the perfect example for all the
Muslims. After the Holy Quran, the Sunnah has the highest rank in Islam. If we compare both, it
will be revealed to us that both are in perfect harmony, i.e. the Holy Prophet led his life according
to the teachings of Quran. His sayings and actions help us to a better understanding of the Quran.
He (P.B.U.H) practically performed all the teachings and ways that have been stated in the Quran.
The Quran teaches us to keep a balance between things, like a balance between the moral and
material sides of life. It tells us“the new message that the earth need not be despised in order that
heaven be gained”. The life of Holy Prophet illustrates this perfect balance which is a
characteristic feature of Sunnah. That is why he (P.B.U.H) is considered as the ultimate guide for
humanity. Now the matter at hand is that there could not be a better interpreter of the teachings of
Quran than he (P.B.U.H) through whom they were revealed to humanity.

The problem of today’s Muslims is that they differ Sunnah from Quran. Most of them question the
authenticity of the sources of Sunnah. This issue has already been raised before by the Eastern and
the Western critics but they have not been able to support their argument with logical and solid
evidences. However, the reliability of the hadith especially those compiled by Imam Bukhari and
the companions of Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) have already been checked and are sound proof. These
people, knowing the sensitivity of the matter, have done everything that is humanly possible to put
the authenticity of every tradition to a careful test. After a lot of effort, these hadith have been
compiled and treasured up till now. Another justification for this is the very hadith of the Prophet
(P.B.U.H) which states that:
 “Whoever intentionally lies about me will take his place in the fire”
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Sunan Abi Da’ud, Jami’ al-Tirmidhi, Sunan Ibn Majah, Sunan ad-Darimi,
Musnad Ibn Hanbal)
Now, after this direct warning, how can the compilers be careless in doing such a sacred job? They
were always so anxious that a saying or doing of Prophet should escape their notice that they form
groups so that one of them is always with the Prophet while the other was busy. Moreover, the
Quranic verses were also preserved by the companions of the Prophet either in memory or in
written form, so it was also possible for them to preserve the hadith.

According to any scientific method, if there is no logical proof against any argument or matter,
then the burden of proving it wrong falls on the person who questions its accuracy. Same is the
case with hadith. If anyone still consider its sources unreliable then his claim will only be valid if
he has his proves with him.
The present generation, who marvels at the materialistically brilliant western world, finds its
bidding very difficult within the limits of Sunnah as it is entirely opposed to it. So the only excuse
they have is to regard the Sunnah as unreliable so that they can imitate the western styles without
any feeling of guilt.

The next question raised by the critics of Islam is that why the observance of Sunnah has been
made compulsory for the Muslims. They call it an “infringement on the individual freedom of
human personality”. They regard Sunnah as the cause of the declination of the Muslims as due to
its limitations, one can not live his life on his own accord. Our salvation as a Muslim culture and
society relies on the answer to this question.
Islam is the only true religion in the world. It welcomes all such inquiries as our right to know. It
is mostly based on logical reasoning, with some exceptions, the reasoning of which is beyond the
human interpretation. Now these exceptions are because of the nature of our mind. Human mind
can never grasp the concept of totality, it only get the details of all things. The author has given the
examples of infinity and eternity in this context. Similarly, in our religion, there are certain things
which we can never totally understand. But our belief is that our Prophet (P.B.U.H), who can think
beyond the normal reasoning, is the only guide for us. We are supposed to follow his orders
blindly, that is, whether we can reason them out or not. We know that whatever he tells us to do
will be good for us either in this life or in the life hereafter.
Now after this belief is established, one can inquire about it. Like the most logical question can be
that what is the spiritual meaning of that set of rules and limitations which are imposed on us from
our birth till death. If we apply this on some orders which appears to be of trivial nature, like if
both of hands are equally cleaned then what difference does it make if one eats with his left hand
or with the right one. Such acts, apparently, doesn’t matter or doesn’t affect the welfare of society.
Then why specific directions are there for every single step of our life.

According to the author, this is the right time to answer such questions. He himself has explicitly
given the answers. The first reason is Self-observation which is done to train a person to live
permanently in a state of wakefulness and consciousness. Complete body and mind control is
necessary for the spiritual progress of a man. Everything we do should be according to our own
will. Through this, Islam unifies the Muslims into one single entity. It might not be important
which hand to use for eating, but the purpose lies beneath this action, that is, moral control and a
systematic resolve.

The second reason of the Sunnah is its social importance and utility. This can be explained with an
example of social conflict caused by misunderstandings between individuals. This happens
because of variations in temperaments and characters of individuals. Keeping this point in mind, if
we analyze our previous question of Sunnah, we will get a clear answer. The purpose of our
religion is to make the habits and customs of individuals resemble with each other so that through
mutual relationship, social welfare can be achieved.

The third reason is that after all the above mentioned factors; one has to decide whether to regard
the Prophet as one of the greatest men or the greatest of mankind himself. He (P.B.U.H) is the
supreme messenger of God who never said a single word against God’s will. He never did the
actions on his own accord rather he was always under the divine inspiration. Whatever he said or
did was due to Allah’s command. Therefore to follow him as a guide and “Mercy to the worlds” is
the right way for the Muslims. Thus to disregard his Sunnah is the same as to disregard Islam.
“Today I have made perfect for you your religion, and fulfilled My favor unto you, and
chosen Islam as your religion” (Surah5:3)
.