Muslims in India are over joyous on having Jamia Millia Islamia gained the minority status. Reportings in Urdu newspapers are full of celebrations and greetings even after passing of several days. Undoubtedly, there are reasons to celebrate this occasion. Nevertheless, still there are many other issues which need urgent attention of the whole community and in particular those who are sympathisers of society as a whole. As a matter of fact, we have contributed, in the past, in a substantial way and still continue to contribute well toward the development of the country. However, the country needs more from us, taking into consideration the present challenges.
The biggest challenge before the country, what one feels, is moral crisis. This crisis is rampant in every walk of life. Newspapers are full of crime-related reports so also other mediums of dissemination of information. This is indeed unfortunate scenario but the irony of fate is that in the era of globalisation and commercialisation wherein supreme consideration is to earn more and more money and no organisation, no party, no institute and even no community is paying attention the way the prevailing situation demands. If at all there is any effort from some corner, this is negligible as when fire is all around, efforts to counter the fire should come from each individual living in and around the vicinity. Because, if carelessness is seen from any quarter, it will destroy all living beings in the society. The fire will then work as a destructive agent irrespective of the people’s faith, race or complexion. If this fire spreads, it will mar the chances for survival of all – be it male or female, innocent or sinner, young or old, sick or healthy, poor or rich, literate or illiterate, school-going or drop-out, suppressed or oppressed, etc. Moreover, if the fire is allowed to spread, this will also ruin college, university, mall, cinema hall, mosque, temple, library, hospital and everything in the vicinity as not enough efforts have been made to douse it.
In the same way, our society is facing perhaps the greatest challenge ever witnessed; and if we continue to keep ourselves busy leading a comfortable life with a self-centred attitude, sooner or later we will realise that we are sailing in a sinking boat. There is a wake-up call for all of us and we all should make efforts to save our country. There is no doubt that each citizen should make all possible efforts to remove the prevailing evils in the society. However, the responsibility of Muslims is greater as they read and recite the Qur’ān – the supreme gift of God to entire humanity. However, unfortunately the community, with a handful of exceptions, has not changed their lives in accordance with the Qur’ān which they believe is the direct Word of Allah revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) through the Angel Gabriel over a span of 23 years (610-632 C.E). Notably, these words which have been compiled in the form of the Qur’ān are not only for Muslims rather for entire humankind.
Sadly, Muslims have not done justice to spreading the message of Qur’ān to their fellow beings though it was their bounden duty. This message could have been served even by way of making the Qur’ān available to all. However, the more important task was to implement these holy words of God in their lives. Had this happened, the whole scenario of the Muslim community must have been changed and more importantly the present society would have been in a better shape.
If we see it in a historical perspective, Muslims have done this remarkable job not only in the seventh or eight century when they brought a new spirit in Roman and Persian empires but also in the later periods when the barbaric Mongol community was changed dramatically. Edward Gibbon, in his masterpiece, The Decline and Fall of Roman Empire, has mentioned the malaise which the Roman society was suffering from. According to Gibbon, the Roman Empire fell due to the gradual loss of Civic Virtue among the citizens, unwilling to live a tougher ‘manly’ military lifestyle. Apart from the Romans, the Mongols, once known for their notorious character, turned cultured and civilized after adopting Islamic teachings. Significantly, this change was witnessed because Muslims of that period were not devoid of Qur’ānic teachings rather they were, in toto, real practicing Muslims. They adopted the virtue of forgiveness rather than taking revenge, practised honesty instead of corruption, preferred peace to violence, fed their neighbours be they belonged to whichever faiths even though they themselves remained hungry, and followed justice no matter their own near and dear ones suffered. More importantly, they were givers and not takers from the society.
If we analyse the prevailing situation, the situation now is worse than that in the past. Our society has been confronted with countless problems and some of them are so severe that if we continue to remain apathetic, perhaps the very survival of entire humankind will be in danger. These circumstances demand sincere efforts from each individual but unfortunately we continue to think, most of the time, in terms of material benefits at the cost of disorder all around. Barring a handful, almost all are leading a self-centred life without fulfilling our social responsibility judiciously. There is a serious kind of decline in moral values and the saddest part is that feeling of that degeneration is substantially missing.
Undoubtedly, there is discussion on existing evils in the society but that is, by and large, restricted to criticising one or the other. Can we remove this dirt merely by way of pointing them out in private or public? Surely, it is not going to contribute in any way to removal of the malaise as touching some dirt will either make us dirty or spread more bad odour around. The real need is to think sincerely about the various ways helpful in wiping out these evils. In this backdrop, it is the duty of Muslims to spread the messages of the Qur’ān once again as they have transformed even barbarians such as Mongols in the past. Notably, the Holy Book is not for the Muslims only as is mentioned in the beginning of the Qur’ān, “That Book has no doubt in it – a guidance for the God fearing’’. Yet another verse emphasises explicitly, “You are the best Ummah raised for mankind. You bid the Fair and forbid the Unfair and believe in Allah”.
Unfortunately, for a long period the community has shown a serious laxity in performing this duty. As a result, decline in moral and spiritual values in the community has been seen everywhere. Furthermore, Muslims have failed to prove their utility as a community before the majority community in India due to negligence in this divine duty. It is worth pointing out here that unless we demonstrate Qur’ānic teachings in our lives, no significant improvement can be expected in the society as a whole because mere sermons may not go well with the people ready to reform themselves. They may consider these theoretical explanations unfit for practical environment. Therefore, it is our bounden duty to purify ourselves first and start living a life in accordance with the Holy Book if we are real well-wishers of this morally downtrodden society. Notably, there is warning also for the Muslims as the Qur’ān says, “And if you turn away, He will replace you by some other people, then they will not be like you”. Finally, it is up to us not to land up in that troublesome situation and ruin the present as well as the life hereafter.
[The writer is Assistant Professor, AMU, Aligarh and can be reached at mehtabalamansari1@gmail.com]