Five Aspects of the Mindset We Muslims Must Revisit
By Dr Waheed Siddiqee
CA
The purpose of this article is to present five aspects of the mindset that much of the Muslim population possesses and to suggest some re-evaluation of these aspects.
1. Most of us are taught to believe that Muslims, standing on the side of Haq, are in conflict with the rest of the human populace (Batil) and the latter are Kafirs. This way of thinking must change; we should stop categorizing people as Muslims and Kafirs. We should use the terms “Muslim” for ourselves and refer to people of other faiths by their proper denominations. People of other faiths have their own beliefs about God, life after death, hell and heaven. In fact, a considerable percentage of practitioners of other faiths are as good as, and sometimes better, than Muslims in regards to personal conduct and their role in the society.
2. Non-violence as a policy does not exist in the thought process of Muslims. As such, it is very unlikely that Muslims can produce a Martin Luther King, a Gandhi, or a Nelson Mandela. Gandhi’s non-violence was a key factor in India’s freedom, King’s non-violence resulted in the success of the civil rights movement, and Mandela’s non-violence resulted in the demise of apartheid Africa - indisputably huge accomplishments! We should accept the fact that non-violence is a proven and laudable technique for achieving justice and is quite consistent with our Prophet’s examples, and that Jihad does not have to manifest in violence and warfare.
3. Muslims’ reverence for Prophet Muhammad is very deep rooted. However, much of this reverence is exhibited primarily in such activities as celebrating Milad–un-Nabi, giving speeches, decorating buildings with lights, and reciting Duroods and Naats. Another way of showing their affection to the Prophet is by killing or beating anybody who they think has insulted the Prophet even slightly. This needs to change: we should simply ignore any provocative actions or writings of ill-informed people. The Prophet always ignored insults hurled by others and forgave them. The most appropriate way to show our love for Prophet Muhammad is to follow his exemplary character, his absolute truthfulness, his forgiving nature, his conduct toward the family, toward society, and toward humanity at large.
4. Whenever there is a scientific discovery, usually made by western scientists, Muslim scholars immediately find a verse or verses in the Qur’an claiming that Quran has already mentioned about that phenomenon 1400 years back. Muslim scholars took little time in identifying verses in the Qur’an about Atomic Energy, Expanding Universe, Big Bang Theory, etc. soon after those were presented by the scientists. It is true that that there are verses in the Qur’an that foretold the later-discovered mysteries of the universe, the phenomenon of life and death, and human nature. The Qur’an repeatedly encourages us to study Allah (SWT)’s creation and to seek knowledge. However, we must realize that the greatness of our Holy Qur’an is in giving us beautiful guidelines for living a good and purposeful life - it is not a book of science nor does it claim to be.
5. Muslims in general blame other countries for their sad state of affairs. Conspiracy theories are commonplace in Muslim countries. It is true that colonial powers, in their self-interest, did divide the Muslim world in a very unjust way - as Allama Iqbal has said:
Hikmat-e-Maghribsey Millat ki yeh kaifiyat hui – Jistarah soney ko tukrey tukrey kar deta hai Gaz
(By the cleverness of the West, the state of Muslim Umma has become thus: As scissors cut gold into tiny pieces)
But this happened many years back when colonial powers enjoyed almost total control over the destiny of Muslim countries. But not any more! There is so much that unites the Muslim countries – the Qur’an, the Prophet, the five daily prayers, the month of Fasting, Zakat, andthe annual pilgrimage - Hajj. With so much in common, there is no reason why the Muslim countries cannot now work together to strengthen each other by pooling their resources. As an example, Saudi Arabia with its tremendous wealth and resources should sponsor Centers of Excellence in the fields of Science and Technology in various Muslim countries. The talents and resources of various Muslim countries should be pooled together to improve the lives of Muslims. Foreign policies of various Muslim countries should be coordinated to prevent the powers that be from pitting these countries against oneanother. Allama Iqbal says:
Aik Hon Muslim Haram Ki PasbaniKeLiye
Neel KeSahil Se Le Kar Ta Bakhak-e-Kashghar
May the Muslims unite in watching over the Shrine,
From the banks of the Nile to the deserts of Kashghar.
Finally, we must remind ourselves that:
Khuda ney aaj tak us qoum ki halat nahin badli – Na ho jis ko khyal aap apni halat key badalney ka.
(Verily, never has Allah changed the condition of a people until they themselves made the effort for it)
These are purely personal thoughts of the writer. Many people may disagree with some or all the statements. Only Allah (SWT) knows the truth.
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