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A learned friend once told me…“ The moment you become involved with yourself, you are cut off from Allah.”
The holy month of Ramadan has a sobering effect on people. The numerous Iftar gatherings I attended and mingled with Muslims brought out one thing very clearly… that we as Muslims are extremely worried about the state of affairs of the Ummah and we all want to do something to change the pathetic state. The Ummah is going down, so we all want to take it up.
As I clear up my dessert plate and swallow the large chunk of kulfi served to me, I realise its time to reflect. I have my empathies and sympathies for all the ambitious projects that the Muslim community is coming up with to uplift the Muslims socially, economically and educationally. While the older generation of Muslims charts out plans to leave a more civilized world for the new generation, the young Muslims are all set to bring in innovative ways to make life better. I admire their spirit.
Going back a bit into the past, my mind travels to the Golden Age, when inventions, discoveries in every field, be it medicine, astronomy, science, surgery, physics and chemistry was pioneered by the Muslims. It is amazing to read their achievements. What was the spark in them that led them to be so creative? It’s crystal clear… they were selfless, they did not crave for name and fame, they were close to Allah and detached from the greed of praise and wealth, they were focused and committed to their endeavours, did not boast about their abilities and more than anything else, they put Allah and Islam on top priority before their own selves, their families and friends. For them each little deed was linked with Allah and was for the sake of Allah alone.
A learned friend once told me-“ The moment you become involved with yourself, you are cut off from Allah.” When its all about ‘I, me and ‘myself’, the person drifts away from his or her own soul.
This is just about materialistic achievements. Today, Muslims are finding it tough to acquire even khuloos in their salat and prayers. I call this spiritual bankruptcy. Praying is a conversation with God. How can one externally extend his hand to God, when internally his heart and mind is clogged with anger, jealousy, hatred, ego, bad temper and pride… one brief word for this…filth! Those 15 minutes of silence inside the mosque during salat is over and the minute one steps out of the mosque, we are back to our good old acts of hurling abuses in the loudest volume over the mobile, back-biting and many other deceitful acts. We take pride in memorising the 99 names of Allah, then why cannot we Muslims live our lives adopting such attributes of kindness, mercy, forgiveness and generosity?
In our professional endeavours, in our personal lives, in our relationship with our colleagues, business associates, our friends and family, the moment the satanic influence of “what’s in it for me” arrives, it is the dead end. I don’t suggest ‘forget yourself’, I only mean to stress on the point that if you start your life, a project, a noble cause or anything for that matter, with your nose up in the air, rubbing your hands in glee, hoping to reap name and fame at the end of the road, then if you trip and fall, you have only yourself to blame.
While globe-trotting for the “Discover Yourself, Workshop” I encountered thousands of Muslims from all backgrounds. They all are searching for happiness and peace. I give them one simple prescription… “Life isn’t about finding yourself, Life is about creating yourself.”
Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) and his companions did not complain about their hardships while on their path towards spreading the message of Islam. They did not have comforts and luxuries as we have today. But yet they achieved their noble objective of bringing people closer to Allah through examples of their own lives-they lived and died for Allah.
I am a hard-core optimist. I see a good future for the Muslims despite the fact that today there is a decline socially, educationally, economically, morally and spiritually among Muslims. But there is something called the code of conduct charter, if we follow, will push the Muslims higher first in the eyes of Allah and then in the eyes of the world.
We need to stop this ‘self-important’ attitude of reminding ourselves about “who we are”. In professional circles, I often hear grumpy voices saying, “its not my job”. The designation hype goes straight to his head. Team spirit in Muslim-run organisations is at its lowest because of the rising trend of emotional-blackmailing- so you have the employee telling his employer-“ if you rub me the wrong way, I will leave you”.
When ambitious projects for the welfare of the community are chalked out, can we not worry only about how it will benefit the poor and downtrodden, than losing sleep over will ‘my name be nominated by the election committee’?
In our personal relationships with family and friends, can we give unconditional love and affection without bothering about how much ‘I will get back?’ Can you make a simple goodwill ‘ how are you’ phone call to your friend without adding the string-‘you know why I called was can you do this for me’?
The code of conduct charter may sound as if only angels can do it. No, it is’nt! Muslims in the past and the companions were human too. They were spiritually, morally, ethically, professionally and in many other ways superior and superb. Why? Because never in their lives did the thought ever cross their hearts and minds- “What’s in it for Me”?
It’s the last day of the holy month of fasting as I put my pen down. Just 15 minutes left for Iftar time. I ride towards the market to fetch some crunchy snacks. I spotted a frail old man with a white flowing beard, frying samosas on the roadside-there was a crowd of Muslims around him. A customer after paying him said-“so no business for you from tomorrow? Who’s going to buy your samosas now? The old man said: “ So many families enjoyed my snacks for their Iftar all these days, they thanked Allah for it. That’s enough. About my business, Allah will help,”
This was like a re-winded picture of the Golden Age of Muslims right before me!
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