Why am I so confused?----Part-1

We are taught the basic principles of Islam both at home and at school. But when I grew up and started looking around, I began to realize that there is a wide dichotomy between what we were taught and our deeds. I am not talking about the world, this essay is confined to Pakistan, the land of the pure .. We are taught that there are two kinds of obligations:

• Obligations of man towards His Creator, and
• Obligations of man towards his fellow human beings.
  
  

I read somewhere an incident in the life of Hazrat Hassan Basri (May Allah be pleased with him). Once he was trying to persuade a Jew to embrace Islam. The latter promised to let the former his decision on the morrow. The next day the Jew came to Hazrat Hassan Basri and announced that he would not become a Muslim. The latter asked him why? The Jew replied if Islam meant what Hazrat Hassan Basri was following, it was difficult for the former to practice. If Islam meant what the others were doing, he was better off being a Jew.

Once I was discussing with my Mathematics Professor (the late Mr. M.H.Siddiqui) at the Cadet College, Hasan Abdal that we were taught at school about King Arthur and his twelve knights, each knight representing a particular quality eg. humility, bravery. I asked my honorable teacher why is it that these qualities were not found in the society. I put the same question to some others, including one of my bosses, retired Brigadier M.A. Abbasi, a very fine gentleman. But they could not give me a satisfactory reply.

Indeed Islam has answers to all my questions. The qualities read about King Arthur’s knights were found in deeds of valour in lives of the early Muslims eg. Hazrat Ali , his sons , his progeny, in Hazrat Saad bin Abi Waqqas, Hazrat Khalid bin Walid (May Allah be pleased with them). Indeed, Islamic history is replete with such examples.

However, I am talking about modern Pakistan. I was talking with a neighbour, a retired senior officer of the armed forces. He was telling me that for every work dealing with the public, he has kept a portion of his income for giving it as haram ka maal otherwise no work is done. I referred him to one of my cases which is pending. He replied that my work would not be done according to my wishes unless I grease the palms of the concerned authorities. All persons working in departments which deal with the public are Muslims.

We have been taught that Allah may or may not forgive us for neglecting our obligations to Him. But He would not forgive us for neglecting our duties to humanity. But be they butchers, or milkmen, or grocers, or fruit sellers, they are liable to defraud the innocent by their cheating. For eg. there are often news reports of butchers selling meat of dead animals or dog meat. The foodstuff sold in the markets have impurities, including deadly chemicals, injurious to health. The poor innocent consumer is paying through his nose. An overwhelming majority of Pakistanis are Muslims. I find it difficult to reconcile that.

Islam teaches us humility. But we find that we are proud and aggressive. Even some clerics are not free from this disease. We find them vain and conceited. We have before us the Holy Prophet’s (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) example and the example of his blind companion. Imagine his patience and perseverance with the pagans of Mecca and hypocrites and the Jews of Medina. Again Imagine we were living and one of us approached him with a problem. The Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) would have listened to us patiently and tried to solve our problem to our satisfaction. Again I find it difficult to reconcile the preachings of the clerics with their vanity.

Once I attend a memorial service in the Jubilee Hall of Gordon College, Rawalpindi for the father of two class fellows, brother and sister, who were my dear friends. I saw plenty of grey heads sitting; a triple PhD, a double MSc. etc. But I admired their humility while was at the college. Each person spoke in Urdu for the benefit of those not knowing English.

Many of us tend to sell our souls to the devil for fame, for promotion and other worldly pleasures. While we are at it, we forget the pure teachings of Islam.

In the west, every shop from super markets to the smallest shop arranges sales from October to April so that everything is within of the meanest to enable everybody to enjoy the Christmas, Easter and the season’s pleasures. Whenever I get an opportunity, I do my shopping there. While in Pakistan, sales are meant to sell the condemned things at a higher price.

Already the prices of foodstuff are beginning to rise before Ramazan to enable the shop keepers to harvest a windfall. This happens every year. And yet they are all Muslims.

Imagine driving on Murree Road, Rawalpiindi. The road from one end to the other are covered by shops. But hardly any of the shopkeepers are tax payers. In the west the people don’t cheat on their taxes. No wonder the west is advanced.

We, in Pakistan , have customs that are vile and alien like honour killing, vani , child marriages, domestic violence that are abominable to Islam . But that is because of a lack of knowledge of Islamic teachings.

Pakistan is a place where nuisance value reigns regardless what a person does for his vocation or otherwise. Again I am referring to the west where society strives to make life easier for the people regardless their income. Despite the fact that Islam teaches to make life easier for the citizens of an Islamic state irrespective of their religious learning, the Pakistani society has yet to learn the fundamental precepts of obligations towards mankind . We have all kinds of Islamic books and more are being published annually, but the west has learnt the secret of bringing the good governance at the door step of the meanest person in society without a conversion to an Islamic way of life.

Mahfooz ur Rahman

rahman.mahfooz.pk@gmail.com

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