HIGHER STANDARDS

 

HIGHER STANDARDS

Asad once said something along the line of Muslims have the greatest treasure but they are the most impoverished (intellectually and cultural). Iqbal once remarked that if Muslims must remind the world of the greatness of Islam, they must also inform the people that we Muslims are the worst ambassadors, bad advocates for a great case. Al Farabi wrote extensively about "Al Insaan al-Kaamil" (the accomplished Muslim) as he theorised about the ideal society "the Virtuous City" whose highest ideal is felicity and happiness (in this life and in the next), a goal achieved only through MUTUAL HELP AND SUPPORT between the Virtuous citizens. The accomplished Muslim is an individual who combines spiritual virtue with intellectual brilliance and moral courage, therefore cultivating these three attributes is the objective of every cognisant and intentional member of the Virtuous city. Malcolm spoke about self knowledge and self accountability. He told his people "why do you seek to find a job with the Man, to live in the house built by the Man and to be accommodated and welcomed at restaurants owned by the Man?? Why don't you build your own economy so that you can create your own job, find your own accomodation and create your own restaurants...that way you will not have to complain about the Man denying you". Iqbal's Shakwah (complaint to Allah) shook the population, many clerics declared him a Kaffir and riots broke out. Apparently, his poem had been taken literally and many failed to grasp the message intended. Later on, he would write a follow up piece "Jawaab e Shakwah" (the response to the complaint) providing answers to the initial poem, this time - the introspection of Iqbal was more apparent. Asad died in exile, silently contemplating the condition of the Muslims he had encountered over the years and throughout his journeys. His conclusion was a simple one, "Islam is Great but Muslims are little", the latent potential and force of Islam has not yet been spent or exploited, he complained about the endless bickering, sectarianism and superficial outrage of the Muslims, lamenting the everyday reality of his fellow coreligionists. Iqbal said it best "I do not seek the applause of today, my words are intended for the ears of tomorrow" There is an immense potential that is yet to be reached, a tremendous amount of transformational energy and impact to be channelled out into the world - but we are not making the most of this. Ahmed Deedat once said that the West is "Hungry" and they will consume anything to fill the spiritual void...."why are you Muslims not fulfilling this need?". He was correct, they all were. I was once in a religious seminary wherein students were granted direct and personal access to scholars who taught us exegesis, jurisprudence, sacred traditions and language. On one occasion, the topic of Islamophobia was raised by a student seeking to understand how the Muslims should "deal with it"... The most senior scholar in attendance responded with the following words "there is no such thing as Islamophobia, there is only Muslimaphobia. Most people do not fear Islam, they fear the Muslims and their ill conduct" It was genuinely a startling moment, he formulated the answer in such a way as to place the emphasis on the right subject and with the appropriate focus. He too, was right. I quite admire Al-Farabi's concept of the accomplished Muslim, someone who not only espouses Islamic virtues but also carries the gifts of intellectual brilliance and moral courage. The Virtuous city can only ever be established by virtuous individuals, and virtuous individuals can only cultivate virtue when they work for the collective good of society by helping one another. A wonderful framework that can be summarised as follows... Change begins within. But until we hold ourselves to a standard that is higher and more elevated than that where we hold our adversaries ("they" are not letting us etc etc), no progress can be made. Introspection is critical. What are we not doing right and where are we making errors, how can we do things better and bring more benefit to the people. These are conversations worth having on a regular basis. The Believer is always evolving and elevating, never stagnant. Imam Ash-Shafi'i said that "the arrow that does not leave the bow, never strikes it's target" Let's create a space together where such conversations can be had in an open, mature and direct way more regularly (live discussions etc). Looking for 1000 like minded individuals to kickstart the project