Uploaded on October 28, 2021
VIEWPOINT
‘PATIENCE AND PERSEVERANCE’ KEY TO CHANGING THE PRESENT SCENARIO
Dr. Mohammad Manzoor Alam
World is susceptible. Conditions change every next day. In comparison to the past, the picture of the present tends to be different, while the idea of the future rests on a distinct notion. In the preceding century, some changes came about. In the last fifteen years, conditions are changing at a fast pace. The world scenario is portraying a new picture at the cost of connection and affinity with the past. Susceptibility and changing circumstances threaten humans with hardships. Muslims are the worst hit when it comes to facing the problems. The Islamic world is bereft of power and subjected to injustice and oppression with unrest, misery and anxiety all around. At this time and in such changing circumstances, patience and perseverance, in our view, is the key to solve all our problems.
Patience has two sides to it - one positive while the other one is negative. Positive aspect is that Allah, the Almighty, guided the Kha’tam un-nabiy’yin (Peace Be Upon Him) to always follow the path of patience and perseverance; Allah’s instruction to the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) was to act with courage, not to get upset, scared and perplexed amidst difficulties and instead instructed him to exercise patience and perseverance. For such people the Holy Qur’an says: “Indeed, Allah is with those who are patient.” [2:153] It follows from this Qur’anic verse that Allah is with those who, instead of losing their nerves, stay courageous, who don’t get frightened and rather remain patient, maintaining their determination and spirit, believing in the unity of Allah, expressing their belief in the Prophethood of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him), showing respect to human beings and veneration to all the creatures. This is the positive aspect of patience, and this can happen only when the way of thinking changes, when the approach to understanding others would change and focus will be on real problems. The negative aspect of patience comes to the fore when devilish nature takes over the control of the body and mind. Devilish nature would restrain Muslims from acting according to the positive characteristics of patience; humans will be kept away from good manners; knowledge will be confined to a select people; wealth will be set aside for a few chosen people; people will be subjected to the monopoly of a few capitalists, thus reducing humans to bondage imposed by a few individuals. These actions belong to devilish nature, which is opposed to humanity and is regarded as the worst kind of oppression. In this way, oppression and injustice take people for a ride; no one takes care of the weak; a few chosen people start exploitation of humans on grounds of self-created system, coercing humans to live a life of the worst kind of servitude and denying them justice, equality and freedom. These matters violate the principles of Islam and the Qur’anic teachings. Islam insists on equality, freedom and justice. The basic principle Islam holds is that all humans are equal; no one has supremacy and precedence over others on the ground of race, caste, region and land; all humans deserve justice which can’t be bought by means of wealth, high position or office and fame, nor can justice be given to the oppressors on such considerations. Similarly, everyone is entitled to freedom; every child is born free, so he/she can’t be enslaved. In these matters, the position of Islam is quite clear. The teachings of Islam have impacted on the entire world, leading the weak to renounce ignorance and follow guidance, and therefore millions of people embraced Islam and thus experienced spiritual solace. Islam has done its level best to protect against the violation of honour and chastity, making it obligatory. The exploitation of women is also on the rise; women are being targeted on a regular basis; weaker sections are being tightened tyrannically; oppression is being let loose from all sides. In such conditions, it becomes imperative to popularise Islamic teachings, making the whole world aware of the message of Islam. It has to be to be told in an assertive way that in this world Islam is the protagonist of justice, equality, freedom and fraternity; veneration and respect of humanity are essential; all humans deserve equal treatment; no one is authorised to turn fellow humans into slavery under his control; and those who entertain such thoughts need to be exposed; their unholy designs must be unveiled; humans should be guarded from falling prey to their deceit. All-out efforts should be made to render their unholy designs futile.
Allah, the Almighty, has addressed humankind as the most eminent of created beings. At one place in the Noble Qur’an, He refers to mankind as “the best nation”; humans have been instructed to disseminate sympathy, and care. This is the characteristic of humans that they manifest sympathy and care to those in need, but how would this be possible? To achieve this goal, the first and foremost requirement is that Muslims should drive out negativity and arrogance from their attitude; Muslims must acknowledge that all humans inhabiting the entire land are the children of one and only Adam; Adam is the first human in the world who connects with all humans; all of us are his offspring and when affinity and relation connect us with him, there is no space left for boast, nobility and pride on the ground of tribe, race, caste and region. The only truth is the one enshrined in the Holy Qur’an; that all humans are equal, and all of them are included in the category of the most eminent of created beings whose progress, welfare and betterment should be our priority.
The Indian Constitution has incorporated the principle enunciated by the Noble Qur’an, making the Preamble that promotes justice, equality, freedom and fraternity as the fundamental rights. To restore human dignity, respect and grandeur of humanity, it is essential that the aforesaid rights are upheld to serve as the foundation of the society, only then the grandeur of humans can be revived and secure an honourable position in the society. The Holy Qur’an clearly states the veneration of humanity. Allah, the Almighty, says, “Indeed, We have honoured the children of Adam”, meaning that Allah, the Glorified, the Exalted, has blessed humans with honour, deserving reverence.
For further advancement and promotion of humankind, what is required most is the establishment of educational institutions; together with best education, children should be brought to schools. While focusing on quality education, we should give more importance to quantity in terms of institution building and student intake. People working in the field of education should come forward; they should be dynamic and active to extend the scope of their educational activities. People are urged to admit their children in schools, making them educated. In the case of parents not sending their children to schools, a system should be evolved whereby their children can be brought to schools; all-out efforts should be made to ensure the goal of making 100 per cent children educated. In this way, society will flourish, system will improve, humans will enjoy the fruits of freedom, justice, equality and fraternity will prevail as the law of the land; the mentality to enslave humans will fail in its mission. Thus, the country, society and humanity will embark on a march moving ahead towards development.
(The writer is General Secretary, All India Milli Council)