History writing is not a neutral endeavor. As in all disciplines, worldview is embedded into it as well; if you do not discern it, your view of the past will be distorted, which will impact both your present and future. The Islamic history we typically study in [non-madrasah] schools today was written by orientalists who held liberal worldviews and sinister goals. If we don’t realize this, we will hate our past, the past that defines our identity and provides direction for the future.
Consider the example of prominent sahaba gathering in the hall of Banu Saidah for electing a Khalifah while the Prophet’s (saw) burial had not taken place. From one perspective, it is unusual that the greatest of the sahabah were involved in the selection of a ruler during a time when people should be mourning at the deceased’s residence!
A historian with a non-Islamic worldview would portray the sahabah in a bad light and interpret this event as an act of power lust. On the contrary, a historian/scholar with an Islamic worldview would interpret the incident in a radically different way; in fact, scholars like Al-Nawawi, Al-Taftazani, etc. based on their Islamic worldview, explain the incident as occurring for the reason that the issue of appointing of a Khalifah was more important than the fardh of burial!
Recognize that worldview/ideology is embedded in history books and be careful of who you take your history from!
Written By: Hassan Mehfooz