It is not the first time we encounter such an epidemic. Plague, Typhus, Cholera, Smallpox, Ebola are some of the epidemics that have killed millions of people up to now. Coronavirus also named as Covid-19, is one of them and it will not be the last.

Until today, the number of people who died from epidemics is much more than people who died in world wars. Despite everything, people struggling with these epidemics and wars are also struggling to build the future of the world.

This shows that; “Peace and tranquility can only be brought to the world by those who have an understanding of society based on justice and compassion. When we look at the societies that exist around the world, you will see that Muslim societies does not colonize people, but design societies with a fair and equal sharing model.

That is where Bernard Lewis' Middle East book comes in. In this period when we had to work from home due to the measures taken within the scope of Covid-19, I started reading the aforementioned book. The following sentence in the beginning lines of the book caught my attention;

“According to the Muslim belief, He (Muhammad peace be upon him) was the last prophet and with his death the revelations that Allah sent to humanity were completed. No more prophets or revelations will come. Thus, the spiritual mission was completed and the spiritual function ended. But the religious duty which have the purpose of continuing the divine law and spreading it all over the world had not come to an end.”

When we look at past prophets, none continued their prophetic duty after him, and it was not even possible to establish a state. Prophet Moses (pbuh) did not have the chance to enter the land promised to them according to the Torah, and he died while his people progressed.

Prophet Jesus (pbuh) was crucified and the religion he brought was accepted only by being corrupted and with the support of the Byzantine Emperor.

However, this did not happen to our Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). While he was alive, he established a state and had the chance to implement justice, internal and foreign affairs activities.

Well, Muslims overlooked or maybe forgot but that Bernard Lewis made a note on the pages of history; "But the religious duty which have the purpose of continuing the divine law and spreading it all over the world had not come to an end.” How could his motto be applied today?

That is to say, the prophet of Islam had passed away, but continuing the mission he undertook remained as a duty on the people called ummah until doomsday.

While the last prophet was alive, he was making laws, doing justice, collecting taxes, conducting diplomacy, making war and peace. In the beginning the Ummah was a community then it became a state, and later it became an empire.

Allah stated the following in verse 144 of the surah of Ali 'Imran; “Muhammad is no more than a messenger. Other messengers have gone before him. If he were to die or to be killed, would you regress into disbelief? Those who do so will not harm Allah whatsoever. And Allah will reward those who are grateful.”

Yes, he died. And will we regress now? Or will we go straight ahead?

We will not regress for sure. We will go forward and carry the legacy of the prophet on our shoulders and carry it higher. Do you think how?

This is the whole point actually. It is hidden in the answer to How. There is no need to reinvent the wheel, right? We should see Muhammad (pbuh) as a clear example. We will rebuild his understanding of the state and society.

We will implement the understanding of the state, the practice of justice, the understanding of internal and external diplomacy, the perception of warfare and peace with today's universal values. It is now clear that these are essential for the establishment of peace and tranquility in the world.

It is time for Muslims to appear as a superpower on the world political scene. In order to achieve it, Muslims should increase their economic and political cooperation between them. They should share its underground and surface resources with the world in an equal, balanced and fair way.

Today, all the organisms affiliated to western imperialism, especially the European Union, have collapsed. It is obvious that an order aiming at the exploitation of humanity is desired to be established. While all the power centers collapsed, there has been an Islamic civilization which survived after all. Despite difficult situations, Turkey is rushing to aid even the Western countries.

There is ASSAM “Association of Justice Defenders Strategic Studies Center”, which puts forth the works that can bring the legacy of the Muhammad (pbuh) to life. There is a structure that researches the management and cooperation opportunities that will bring the principles of this prophet, which is about to be forgotten, and put forward a model and strives to demonstrate how cooperation can be achieved in today's understanding of the state.

Let us show the world that peace and tranquility can only be brought by Muslims with help of ASSAM.

We should not forget “Allah will reward those who are grateful.”