An acquaintance said to me the other night, “Wither Muslims?” When I beckoned further explanation, he replied and I quote him, “All talk no action.” I thought it an ironic phrase coming from him, but other than that, I refrain from further comment. Admittedly, that choice twist on Shakespeare, I believe, made my brain move at a furious pace, and I duly credit him for the choice of my topic.
Wither Muslims, indeed? Have we all hidden behind the mirage of anonymity of blogs set up to spread the word? Have we all sought refuge in our scholarly items and have found no other way out? Have we submerged ourselves in the familiar enclosure of culture and refuse to crawl back out?
As Muslims, we are oft-reminded (and in turn, remind others) of how we live to serve only one purpose, which is to worship the Almighty Lord, and that in so doing, we strive to do all that is deemed worthy of acceptance of God.
In other words, we have been set forth to do good.
Now, there seems to be a misconception amongst this particular generation of Muslims, where we tend to contain shallow perspectives of how this good is to be perpetrated into the world. The distinct lines between blatant selfishness and general goodwill have somehow been blurred by the wonder that is the human mind. Where our purpose in life is to do good by all, we find it sufficient to do good by ourselves and appease our own conscience.
Which leads me to the question: Are Muslims allowed to choose their battles? To pick among a lot and select the most convenient to champion? To pay attention to those that interest Muslims alone, and to blatantly close an eye to all others?
Shame on me, and shame on you.
The word Muslim itself is an adjective, which means ‘one who submits to God’. And as for acts of submission, God did not tell us to only pay attention to the matters that concern us most, but to do good by all. And the definition of ‘all’, the last time I checked, meant something in its entirety. So when we talk about all of mankind, we really should mean it.
As bearers of God’s deen, it surprises me at times, how ignorant we are by choice. Granted, we have been persecuted and demoralized beyond belief in the past century alone, but it is no excuse for the level to which we have secluded our concerns – into and unto ourselves is where the world ends. Selfishness was never part of Islam, and should not be within the Muslim ummah.
Therefore it pains me to see people rant on and on about
It is this placidity and acceptance to mediocrity that helps shoot my blood pressure past the safe level. Because I’ve come to learn that Muslims should not succumb to mediocrity. We should not choose our battles, or limit our concerns, because humankind is our concern.
This reluctance to act has prompted many of our contemporary scholars to remind us oft and again of the need for Muslims to play a part in the community, before they dare speak of the building of an ummah, much less an actual caliphate. They keep reminding over and again, on every platform they can reach, that change begins from the individual – that we have to stop being selfish, and to go out there to give more, and without thinking. That in everything we do, we should stop and consider about how our next action can be done to benefit other than ourselves.
In short, they are advising us to quit being hypocrites and to begin walking the walk. Because we are Muslims, and the only limit for a Muslim is perfection as depicted in the Beloved, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), which while may never be attained anyone else, should not remain a lofty dream, but to be retained as a standard model for us all – of modesty amidst greatness, of humanity amidst apathy, of courage amidst oppression, and of the negligence of impossibilities in doing what is right and true. He taught us to always reach for higher than what we knew, but to never hold the world in our hands. He was never selective in doing good, nor did he ignore one aspect of life in committing to the other. The Prophet never encouraged selfishness, not even in the most dire of states.
I feel that on the blessed day of his birth, we should at least pause from picking at the flaws of others and to peek a look at our own nafs, and re-evaluate our position and our intention in working and living as we do. There is nothing wrong in comparing ourselves to the Prophet, because it would only serve to humble and humiliate, rather than to feed the ego. And then in doing so, maybe we would progress, instead of just talking about it.
For if we wish to live in the shadow of the Prophet, then we should at least work to deserve the shade.
To further my point, I recommend this audio clip by Dr. Tariq Ramadhan, al-Azhar scholar, celebrated author, and incidentally, grandson of the late Imam Hassan al-Banna. (Coutesy of TheRadicalMiddleWayProject)
Labels: frustration, self-reflections, societal issues