These two Empires...

These two Empires, which had been the leaders and rulers of the world, were in a state of chaos and anarchy at the time of the advent of Islam. Evidently such conditions create an unusual longing and desire in the hearts of the people for a proper law which may ensure their welfare.

Seasonal Discussions in Rome In some countries some idle and sensual persons put forward for discussion a number of meaningless and futile problems with the object of keeping back people from all sorts of scientific and industrial progress and thus render the precious lives of the people useless. In this context we have a large number of specimens and precedents in many Muslim countries which it is not possible to recount at present.

It so chanced that Rome of those days was, more than anything else, entangled in problems of this kind. For example, the emperors and the statesmen held, under the influence of some religious institutions, the belief that Prophet 'Isa had two natures and two wills, whereas some Ya'qubi Christians were of the view that he had only one nature and one will.

This baseless proposition hit out the independence and harmony of Rome and created a deep cleavage amongst those people, for the government was obliged to defend its beliefs and, therefore, subjected its opponents to severe persecution. As a consequence of pressure and mental aversion some of them took refuge in Iran. These were the very people who, on encountering the Muslim army, quitted their trenches and greeted the Muslims with open arms.

Rome of those days was just like the Europe of the Middle Ages. The famous French astronomer Camile Flammarion relates this story about the level of learning in Europe in the Middle Ages: "The book entitled 'Majmu'a-i Lahutiah' (Theological Collection) was a perfect manifestation of the scholastic philosophy in the Middle Ages and was taught in Europe for four hundred years as a text book.

A part of that book discusses whether it is possible for a few angels to settle themselves on the point of a needle or how many leagues apart the pupils of the right eye and of the left eye of the Heavenly Father are?". How unfortunate for Rome! Just at the time when it was entangled in foreign wars, torrents of internal differences, most of which were manifested in the garb of religion, were drawing it, day after day, nearer to the precipice.