The rise and fall of nations is different from the rise and fall of civilizations. Nations can be attacked from the outside, redrawn or reimagined, but civilizations cannot be killed from the outside, they simply commit suicide. The core of every civilization is its spiritual principles; when these principles die, civilizations die. The expression of our spiritual principles in Islamic civilization took place in the city of Medina of our Prophet Mohammad Mostafa (pbuh). Along with many other important principles, there were five very important guiding principles upon which the City-State of Medina was built. These principles are unity, justice and laws that lead to meritocracy, strong moral and moral foundations, the involvement of all people in progress and prosperity, and finally the struggle to seek knowledge. To help revive the spirit of the Medina Convention, the National Rahmatul Lil' Alamin Authority (NRA) was created.
THE FIRST PRINCIPLE OF MEDINA: TAWHID
The first principle that laid the foundations of the Medina Convention was unity. The idea of unity (Tawhid) comes from the Qur'an and in a sense all religion is based on it. From the unity of Allah to the unity of the human race, this is the most fundamental principle of Islam. Remember that our Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), who was forgiving for the entire human race, united people from various ethnic and religious backgrounds under a single community. Besides Muslims, there were also Christians, Jews, Sabians, and other groups that united as a single community under the Medina state.
SECOND PRINCIPLE: JUSTICE
The second founding principle is the Rule of Laws, resulting in the advent of justice and meritocracy. Our Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) very clearly stated that no one is above the law. He said that nations perish when there are two laws, one for the rich and one for the poor:
"O people, those who have gone before you were destroyed, because if any one of high rank committed theft amongst them, they spared him; and it anyone of low rank committed theft, they inflicted the prescribed punishment upon him. By Allah, if Fatima, daughter of Muhammad, were to steal, I would have her hand cut off." [Sahih Muslim 1688]
If one looks at our world today, one can easily witness that the most successful states are also the ones that enforce the laws most firmly. You can see a few western nations, as well as East Asian economies that adhere strictly to this principle, prospering recently. Japan, China, South Korea are good examples of this. But you can see that nations where the provisions of the law have been diverted are immersed in poverty and chaos. In many countries of the Muslim world, despite the use of extraordinary resources, there is much less progress due to non-implementation of the provisions of the law. In today's India, racist law provisions have brought about poverty and countless illegal acts that threaten the unity of the country. Non-compliance with the provisions of the law in Pakistan has resulted in billions of dollars disappearing as if they were flushed, and this has resulted in the imposition of poverty on our society. The patterns of politics and development in many countries in Africa and Latin America lead to the same.
The third founding principle of the Covenant of Medina is the moral and moral transformation of people - also known as the notion of Amr-bil-marouf-wa-nahy-i-anil-munkar (doing good, forbidding evil). Our holy book, the Qur'an, states the following as the task that defines the Ummah:
“You are now the best people brought forth for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah." [Surah Ali Imran, 3:110]
To enjoin what is good and forbid what is bad is a common duty that leads to a moral transformation in society. No one can argue with this principle, but there are some elements in our society who are of the opinion that the moral development of people should be left to the people themselves. The state should be neutral towards good and evil as it is considered by religion. This approach is very outdated and causes problems because it prevents the state from fulfilling its moral and moral duties and allows the enemies of our country to come to our country with a sack of money and change our values by using our education system and information channels. Using the amr bil maruf, the NRA wants to teach sharia al-nabi to the youth in our schools and universities, and it hopes to increase the morale and morale of our society.
KNOWING TO READ AND WRITE IS NOT TO HAVE KNOWLEDGE
And finally, a knowledge-based society should not confuse literacy with knowledge. Reading and writing can lead to illuminating information that brings us closer to good behavior, but literacy rates are also very high in some of the world's most crime-ridden areas. We must not lose sight of the historical fact that most early and medieval Islamic scholars have deep roots in spiritualism. Therefore, being literate alone may not be sufficient for a happy society. The knowledge that accompanies a spiritual transformation from the cradle to the grave is important.
WESTERN APPROACH IS NOT SUSTAINABLE
The fourth basic principle is to lead to a development that includes everyone by establishing a welfare state where the poor and needy of the society solve their problems and everyone has a share in the development of the society and the state. The State of Medina is the first recorded welfare state in human history. Here, the state has taken the responsibility of those in need. Because we must spread the examples of our Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), our citizens will learn to hold fast and be generous with others.
However, you should also keep in mind that recently the idea of a welfare state has been painted in the colors of Western Europe. Moreover, the West has created impressive welfare systems from the 1950s to the 2010s, the Scandinavian ones being the best. But most of the welfare states of the West are not environmentally sustainable because they are societies with very high consumption, large amounts of waste. Such a welfare state is neither possible nor desirable. Since Islam takes the middle path, only moderate well-being and consumption would be ideal, only to honorably fulfill our basic needs and to have universal health care and education.
WE MUST END POVERTY
Finally, in the light of our ideals, we embarked on a welfare state with some great initiatives. Despite tight financial conditions, we have allocated unique amounts of money for initiatives such as the Ehsaas Program that we launched in 2019. Ehsaas Program is a social security and poverty eradication program that is necessary for the needy people in the society.
In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that the most urgent challenge facing our country is the struggle to ensure the establishment of the provision of law.