- Sssshhh….It’s an open secret!
“Whosoever of you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand; and if he is not able to do so, then (let him change it) with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart — and that is the weakest of faith.” (Hadith narrated by Hazrat Abu Saeed Al-Khudri; Sahi Muslim)
The aforementioned standard of faith was shared by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) long ago, and shall apply to mankind in general, and Muslims in particular, till the world lasts.
The unfortunate part of the story is that apparently we (the Muslims), who let go of being in the top level of faith, seem to have fallen from the second level, and with any good luck, might be able to end up in weakest level; hoping that we don’t exit the defined circle of faith.
We might wonder what could be more ironic than this. Well; here is news for us!
The declining levels of faith, it is all apparently intentional; not unintentional. We, perhaps, want to be the way we are.
Our world, our countries, our societies, our streets, to speak of the least, are all consumed by wrong doings in and out, and we, somehow, don’t appear to be interested in changing the set trend. In fact, it won’t be wrong to state that we are at comfort with our surroundings the way they are.
We have chosen to become hypocrites, rather than people of the faith.
We don’t even call the wrong doings wrong anymore, let alone stopping the wrongs with our hands. Rest what lies in our hearts, is only known to God
For once, let us not put this over our so-called political leadership, bureaucracy, military, judiciary, or the state and its system, it’s not about them alone; it’s about us as a whole, and what we have chosen to become. We, as a nation and as an Ummah, are simply fearful of our hands getting dirty in cleaning up the dirt that dwells in our home. We are simply not bothered by any innocent killing, as long as our own family is safe. We simply cannot see the world beyond us.
The fact remains, ironically, that the world goes beyond us, and that we, in our own capacity, are responsible for what the world is, and where it is headed.
An entire race of innocent human beings, including children, being slaughtered in Syria, in wake of world powers merely in hot-pursuit of their geo-political interests, makes news headlines all around the world however no one seems to be bothered. The United Nations is as helpless as the Syrian people themselves, and thus resorts to ineffectiveness, which has further brought the world to a verge where major powers may collide again.
Moving east, a US airstrike killed hundreds of innocent children gathered at a madrassa in Kunduz, Afghanistan, for their graduation ceremony, and not a word of condemnation from anyone or any side. Enlightened governments silent, the so-called human rights flag bearers no-where to be found, neither any candles lit for the slain, nor any protests carried out. Why? Just because they were graduating post acquisition a particular education (religious to be precise)? We can, and without a doubt we should, raise our voice and stand up to protect the rights of our minorities, but shouldn’t we do the same for the majority? Resorting to such ignorant silence over unjust slaughter of peaceful religious scholars in the making is a major ingredient of extremism leading to our security vulnerability today, and our social and moral decline as well.
Let us even forget that! A young boy got killed in an accident in the federal capital territory, and no one bothered saying a word publicly about it. Maybe because the guilty was a defense attache from the US Embassy in Pakistan. The least that could have been done was a vocal protest audible to the nation.
We don’t even call the wrong doings wrong anymore, let alone stopping the wrongs with our hands. Rest what lies in our hearts, is only known to God.
The double standards, however, need to end. The hypocritical silence has proven to be a fuel to the fire burning our world to ashes. It is time to break this silence, and at least speak up, if not stand up, for what is right, and against what is wrong. Rest assured this could prove to be the first step in making the world a better place for all castes, colours, religions, and races of mankind. Failing, we will well be on our way to doom.
Let us be the people of faith, not the hypocrites we have become.
Speak Up!
