In 1912, when the Muslim Ottoman Empire ended, the entire Ummah plunged into an ocean of grief. Centuries of glory, dignity, and accomplishments were blown away like a fragile flame of a candle.
During this dark time, who envisioned the next 100 years ahead of the believers? Mohammad Allama Iqbal, the matchless and distinguished thinker, philosopher, poet and barrister. His deep and true understanding of Islam paved the way for the revival of faith and identity of then-suffering Muslims.
“If a mountain of grief collapsed upon the Ottomans, then why lament?
For the dawn arises from the blood of a hundred thousand stars.”
It was out of Allama Iqbal’s relentless courage, insight and diligence that Pakistan was born. He was the one who motivated Mohammad Ali Jinnah to come forward and steer the helm of affairs of Muslims in India. But did Allama Iqbal or Quaid-e-Azam taste the fruit of the tree they planted? No. They strived for us. They were true Momins, who waited for their share in the Akhirah and were ready to forsake Duniya for a bigger cause.
What is to come in the next century? Just like both great masterminds of the past, today we have to plan our course of work, organize into viable groups, and put our efforts, education, intelligence, and skills into the right direction. Each and every one of us has to seek out a major cause to serve and invest in the lives of others, who can be either our dear ones or complete strangers.
Live a life of worth. Do not waste yourself or your resources. The money spent on wedding ceremonies in Pakistan alone can build numerous research centres, universities, and hospitals. It is a crime to burn these resources on fickle lifestyles when the world is undergoing such trials. The time wasted on social and digital media can be invested in learning the Quran and Sunnah and then in applying it to uplift the downtrodden morals of our society.
Today, we should contribute the major part of our life towards uplifting our communities. What is needed? We need a wise and applicable spiritual (religious) development at all levels for raising courageous and highly principled individuals (such as Allama Iqbal). We likewise need a more disciplined, conscious and healthy personal lifestyle that does not give into whims and fancies – mainly taming Nafs-e-Ammara. We should work on developing rational emotions that can facilitate relationship building with family, friends, peers and the community – identify their needs and invest in it.
We must aspire intellectually by acquiring education that the nation will benefit from, build skills that can later create jobs for others, and innovate rather than copy and replicate other’s ideas. When China shut down due to the Corona virus epidemic, half of the world was hit economically because China was the provider of the raw materials they used. We need to be self-reliant.
And most importantly, the brain draining of the Muslim world has to stop. Scores of Muslims are working in non-Muslim countries. They are high intellectuals, achievers and wealth creators; however, their finances, taxes, jobs, and economic prosperity are utilized by those nations that offer them nationalities, a higher living standard and more opportunities to grow. This may benefit one Muslim or his family, but it does nothing for the Ummah. By such choices in life, these Muslims are contributing only to their own dynasties and the GDP of their country of residence. And when those countries may ask them to leave, they will have to march out empty-handed.
Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if Allama Iqbal and Mohammad Ali Jinnah had chosen to stay back in England with the same mindset that many present-day Muslims have? Pakistan would not have been created. Can you imagine how one individual’s choices can change the global scene? It is like the flaps of a butterfly changing the direction of a tornado.
So never think of your efforts as being little or useless. Malcom Gladwell of ‘The Tipping Point’ explains how the actions of a very small group at the right time in history can alter the course of the future. Be the butterfly that flaps its wings to turn around tornadoes, by Allah’s (swt) will.
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