To be complete, change must pass through two phases; first, change of the way of thinking, namely change of the mind. Secondly, change of the present conditions of life, if they are bad.

To change the present conditions one must primarily change that which is in the self, namely his concepts. This is because change succeeds if and only if one’s convictions and instincts are changed, if one’s vision of the present conditions is clear, if one changes what is in his self, if one begins to see evil as evil, and sets out to change it by action, or speech, or at least to settle it in his heart and join those who endeavor to change it.

Thus in the first phase, action is done to change one’s concept in terms of the plain revelation; “Allah changes not the condition of a folk until they (first) change that which is in their own hearts.”

In the second phase, change follows the concept of the Prophet’s tradition, “Whoever sees the wrong should change it by action; if he can’t he must do so by speech; if he can’t he must settle it in his heart, and that is the weakest of Faith.”

Thinking of change is necessary for life because stagnation of life and surrender to destiny are the most dangerous disease which cause people to become, by time, extinct. So thinking of change is one of the most significant manifestations of thought. Usually, thinking of change is disliked by the lazy and is not accepted by the idles because the cost of thinking is high, and because those who are dominated by habits find in thinking of change a sort of harm to them because it’s aim is to transform them from state to state. Therefore, thinking of change is fought by feeble minded and idle people as well as by conservatives and rulers. Hence, thinking of change is dangerous to its pursuer, who is fought without mercy and without leniency.

Thinking of change, whether it is a change of the inner selves of individuals, of societies or of the conditions of peoples and nations, begin with 1) the basis upon which man lives, 2) the society which has no basis or is built upon wrong basis, 3) the states which are run improperly. This basis for life is that which elevates or lowers life; it is that which makes man happy or sad; it is that which creates a viewpoint for life according to which man rushes into the battle of life and tries to progress.

First this basis should be observed, if it is a rational creed which responds to man’s nature, it does not need change and no man sees that it needs to be altered, because change is needed when things are not right and wrong is evident to both mind and feeling. The mind is certain of the truth of something and of the satisfaction of man’s needs, the idea of change is completely multiplied. Therefore, thinking of change does not come into the open if the basis of life is a rational creed which responds to man’s nature. But if the basis upon which man’s life and society’s welfare is established is wrong, it is useless to think of changing anything before thinking of changing the basis, namely the creed which people believe in. Therefore, Muslims who are equipped with an intellectual creed which responds to man’s nature, ought to create change in people who are without creed or have outworn creeds which the mind rejects and which do not respond to man’s nature. Therefore, it is their duty to carry the Islamic Da’wa to all non-Muslims, that is, to those who lack the rational creed which responds to man’s nature.

Therefore, change must begin with the basis. If the basis is altered and replaced by a new one, which is absolutely sound, then change of society and it’s conditions can be achieved by changing the concepts and convictions of that society. This is because if the sound basis is founded, it will be the basic criterion of all activities and the main concept for all ideas and convictions. Thus, once this basis is found, it is possible to change criterion concepts, and convictions consequently, it is possible to change societies and conditions because through this basis all values change, those of things and those of ideas. Therefore, the course of life changes. Thus, thinking of change must be practiced by and for man. Everyone who owns a rational creed which responds to man’s nature, has thought of change, either inherent in him or acquired through out of life experience.

Thinking of change does not mean that the idea of change is possessed by those who feel the necessity of changing their conditions or ideas, but it exists if there is a condition in the world which required change. For this reason, thinking of change is not confined to changing the conditions of one’s society and nation, but also of other societies and nations. By his own nature man is humane, so he views man wherever he is as a man, whether in his state or elsewhere, and tries to bring about the necessary change in every place and person who needs change.

Thinking of change springs from the deep self and is energized by the actualities of life, but is resisted by the forces which feel that change is dangerous to them. Nevertheless, its existence with man is inevitable to make people think of conviction or coercion. But once change actually occurs or it’s value achieved, then thinking of change becomes easy, because it brings people back to their feeling of the necessity of change. Therefore, every Muslim ought to possess the mentality of change.

At present, Muslims are in great need for changing the basis upon which man’s life is built, because they alone possess an orthodox viewpoint of life which agrees with man’s nature; but they should pay attention to their present condition which displays their utmost intellectual division. The later can be summed up in two main parts.
Firstly, the apostates who have deserted Islam but are nevertheless considered Muslims. These push Muslims into a state of disunity.
Secondly, Muslims branched into desperate, skeptical, and distracted groups. They include people who conclude a truce with non-believers, at least quiet down. In addition, there are those who attempt to compromise between Islam and ideas alien to Islam, and others who like to work and devote their lives to serve it. Therefore, the latter should proceed to think of change, so that their concepts, criterions and convictions will be unified on the bias of the intellectual creed which responds to man’s nature.