Readers
of History
As compiling or writing a book of
history is an uphill task, to study history and derive full benefits from it is
equally difficult. Readers of history should consider the study of the past
events as source of taking lesson and warning. They are required to save
themselves from the mistakes and evildoings which the people of the past had
committed and paid for them, and try to practice virtue by being acquainted
with the best consequences of the virtues of the virtuous. To decry or abuse
anyone who has already departed from this world is not an act of bravery.
However, it is not a matter of shame to express love for the dead and gone and
to invoke blessings of Allâh for him.
To roam the countries, cities,
mountains, forests, show places and bazaars, and to study history books are
very similar. The only difference is that the experience a tourist collects
through tourism and travels of his whole life, the reader of history can
collect more of it by the study of history books for a day or a week. The more
a reader of history is victim of uncalled-for fanaticism, the more he will find
his study of history barren and unproductive for him.
Sources
of History
The sources of history are generally
divided in three types:
Solid Evidences: It refers to all written works like
books, memoranda, official papers, commands, decisions, documents etc.
Repeated Narratives: It means things that are talk of
the town; for instance, stories, poems, proverbs etc.
Archaeological Finds: It contains signs and relics, for
instance, ruins of the cities, forts, buildings, plaques of buildings,
sculpture, ancient weapons, coins, utensils etc.
But it is however, not easy to
exploit all these three kinds of materials to compile a book of history. These
all appear to be meager without intellectual power of high degree, labor,
courage, urge and insight. Besides national character, particular habits, rites
and customs, background and geographical conditions prove helpful to the
historian.
Types
of History
From different respects history may
adopt different forms. Quantitatively speaking, it may be divided into two parts
— general and particular. General history makes mention of the people of the
whole world; particular kind of history gives knowledge about one particular
nation or country or dynastic rule. Qualitatively speaking, it is also of two
kinds — narrative and critical.
Narrative history is one where the
statement of the narrator is being enlisted on the basis of his personal
observation, and the acceptable and satisfactory narratives have been available
to the historian; or the historian would have directly observed the occurrence
of the event. Such histories are useful most of all because they need not
translating conjectural and imaginary matters into real one. Such histories
rather bring about reforms in mistakes and rationalistic faults.
Critical history is one which is
based totally on archaeological finds, reported materials and rationalistic
frauds, and any statement of the contemporary historian or narrator regarding
the event is not available, like the recently compiled histories of ancient
Egypt, Iraq, and Iran. However, these histories are also not without utility.
But one cannot be sure of real knowledge.
Historical
Ages
Some of the historians have divided
history in three ages:
1. The Earlier Ages
2. The Middle Ages
3. The Modern Ages
The Earlier Ages contain historical
account from the beginning of the world to the Roman rule. The Middle or
Medieval Ages comprise the period from the last of Roman rule to the conquest
of Constantinople (Istanbul) under Sultan Muhammad Usmani, the second.
From some great events are traced
the periods of the occurrences of some other events, for instance, such and
such events occurred so many years after the birth of Adam, or so many years
before or after the Deluge. Similarly, years are counted from the birth of
Jesus Christ or Vikarmajeet, or the emigration of Muhammad from Makkah to
Al-Madinah or from the enthroning of a certain king. Currently, Christian or
Hijrah Era is in vogue most of all.
Islamic
History
Among all the nations and religions
of the world, from the beginning to the end, Islam alone is such a religion and
Muslims alone are a nation which have their history wholly and solely preserved
and intact, and no part thereof has ever been doubtful. The Muslims have never
from the days of the Prophet up to the present day, acted with negligence and
carelessness in reducing states and events to writing and preserving them for
days to come. The Muslims are, therefore, privileged to take pride in the fact
that they can at any time, compile the whole history of Islam with the help of
contemporary historians and eyewitnesses. Moreover, they can very safely show
the similar statements about events with unbroken chain of different
authoritative narrators.
In short, the Muslims are the only
nation which has a complete, exhaustive and authentic history of its own, and
no nation of the world can share this peculiarity and distinct feature of this
nation. Historians of Islam have practiced as much caution as to take down the
event and its nature as it were, without their personal opinion whatever so
that the readers are influenced not the least with the views of the historian.
Thus, the readers are at liberty to make their own decisions and form their own
opinions in their own way, without toeing the line of thinking adopted by the
historian. The greatness and glory of Islamic history exerts deeper impressions
on heart when it is noticed that any time or any part of Islamic history can be
safely put to the acid test of reasoning and it will pass off without any
impurity, flaw and defect.
History
of Histories
Having seen the ruins of Babylon and
Nineveh, pillars of Ad and Iram in the desert of Najd, pyramids and mummified
idols of Egypt etc., an urge is aroused in man to know about the builders. They
have attempted to write about the Babylonian people and have collected immense
materials on account of their incomplete critical analysis. However, the lives
and works of the founders of pyramids can be penned through the strange letters
available.
Zoroastrian scriptures, Dasatirah
Safrang, Bible and the present scriptures, Ramayan of Balmiki Mahabharat are
such books which may give some right or wrong information. Idioms, phrases,
proverbs, stone weapons, iron tools, ornaments of silver, gold and copper etc.,
idols of stone, preserved dead bodies of Egypt, pillars of Asoka, Caves of
Ellora, idols of Sarnath and Sanchi, Throne of Rustam, Wall of China etc., put
together make interesting materials which may shed light not only on the whole
inhabited quarter of earth as brightly as it is required, but however, they can
bring to light some of the areas here and there, howsoever dim the historical
rays happen to be. True or false stories of the Indians, old plaques of the
Egyptians, ancient traditions of Chinese, ruins of the Iranians, writings of the
Greek—particularly the book of Herodotus, Israelite traditions, Arabic
morals—these are all vital and elementary parts of history.
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