Author: Abdul Hameed Gurgij
The Afflictions of the Vanguard Generation (Part Four)
Imagine a young man who is so absorbed in watching football matches that he is not willing to leave it for a moment and does not listen to anyone telling him what he is doing?!
It is not that the Muslim youth and the Vanguards of the call to Islam engage in such childish thoughts and actions. If such a thing happens, it must be said that they have gone backwards and the possibility of their deviation and downfall is certain. It is that in the sphere of responsibility of the call to Islam and religious reform, such disasters are lurking in the forefront of the generation; such as: Failure to observe priorities, attention to secondary matters instead of main matters, attention to details instead of generalities, attention to religious differences instead of Islamic unity, attention to group and party issues instead of religious issues and Da’wah, sitting in judgment about companions and giving some precedence over others, discussing and arguing about some disputed jurisprudential issues and other jurisprudential gossip sometimes leads to the point where they declare each other apostates and disbelieve. Or they insult the position of Imam Abu Hanifa (MABH) or Imam Shafe’i (MABH) or the Imams and elders of other religions.
More cases and examples can be mentioned in this regard and other issues can be listed as unnecessary and trivial concerns in every region and for every person and every group; but no matter how much is said and written, it will not reach the clarity and beauty of this statement of Allah, which He has said in describing the believers: «وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنِ اللَّغْوِ مُعْرِضُونَ» Translation: “And those who turn away from falsehood and false speech.” [1]
3- Interfering in matters that do not concern a person
Interfering in matters that do not concern a person is another manifestation of demagogy. In this case, a person intervenes in something that is not relevant to him and is not necessary for him. Its effects can be listed in very low cases and in ordinary people, as follows: entering into other people’s discussions without permission, answering without being asked questions by others, becoming someone’s representative and expressing opinions on their behalf, consuming someone’s property or using their means without their permission, being curious and asking additional questions of others, and trying to discover people’s secrets and mysteries, etc.
In the field of Da’wah and reform, the following can also be considered as effects of this aspect of demagogy:
1. Immersion, contemplation, and investigation into matters that are not the field and playground of reason; such as the essence of the Almighty, the quality of the unseen and its secrets, the number of angels and the nature of their existence, issues related to the afterlife and the torment of the grave, or research into the cause and philosophy of the number of Rakah’s of prayer, etc.
2. Discussion and investigation into some philosophical and theological issues that will not cure any of the countless pains of man and humanity and will not solve any of its problems. In the words of one of the religious elders: “For the West, an illiterate Spartacus is more effective than an academy full of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, and for the East, a primitive Arab Abuzarr is more effective than hundreds of Abu Ali and Ibn Rushd.”
3. Intervention and commenting on issues that are not within the dignity and scope of human choice and are only related to the essence of Allah; such as the success or failure of our efforts for the sake of Allah’s pleasure or the time of the arrival of the Last Day, etc.
It was for this reason that the Almighty Allah would divert the minds of those who asked irrelevant and unnecessary questions to something else. [2] He even warned them not to ask about things that, if answered, would make them feel sad and upset. [3] And they would not be able to do it, and He recited to them the story of the people of Moses who made the task difficult for themselves and narrowed the scope of action by asking irrelevant and unnecessary questions. [4]
Another example of interference in matters unrelated to the sphere of responsibility and the field of Da’wah can be considered as unnecessary curiosity to learn about secrets and mysteries that are related to the agents and managers of affairs, not to all individuals.
To illustrate the example of such people, we can also mention those who tell everyone everything they hear or see and unknowingly fall into the trap of rumors of the enemies of religion or spread something that not everyone needed to know, while Allah has commanded that such cases and hearings be told to the Messenger of Allah, (PBUH). [5]
How beautiful is the statement of the Holy Prophet, (PBUH), when he said: «مِنْ حُسْنِ إِسْلامِ الْمَرْءِ، تَرْكُهُ مالا يعنيه» Translation: “One of the virtues and beauty of a person’s Islam is abandoning useless activities that are of no benefit to him.” [6]
Dr. Shariati has a very original and pleasant point about rumors appropriate for the situation of such people: “The enemy orders the rumor, a hypocrite makes it, and a fool believes it!”
4- Routine and lack of planning
Routine and lack of planning are another effect and manifestation of demagogy, meaning that a person becomes so immersed in minor, trivial and irrelevant tasks that he is unable to see a few meters ahead of him, has no plan for his future and his work, and when he opens his eyes, he sees white hair and wrinkles on his face and head, while he has left no trace of himself.
For example, consider a manager who has no plan for his management and responsibility period and is only busy answering phone calls and office letters. It is 3 pm Before he is aware of it, and before he realizes it, his period of responsibility and service has ended; But he has not left any trace of himself, has not created any change and has not taken a step forward. If, as soon as he accepted this responsibility, he had explained and analyzed the existing situation and drawn the desired situation and identified the available possibilities and obstacles in the way, he would have known where he was and where he wanted to go. Or consider someone who works day and night, accumulates wealth and makes money but why? It is not clear! The only thing that is clear is that he lives to make money and the constant repetition of this work means that he lives to make money, not to make money to live by it!!
A person who is afflicted with this plague never stops and evaluates and calculates his past and his activities and deeds. He does not know what the ratio of his profits and losses has been up to now, are they equal or not! Is his loss greater than his profit or vice versa? Should he continue his work in the same way or reconsider? Isn’t he unintentionally and unknowingly pouring water into the enemy’s mill? Has he not reached the edge of the abyss by lowering his head and not looking behind him or ahead? Is all this efforts worth these results and achievements? Is every book or every speech really worth reading and listening to? Just because they are currently available in the market and have just been printed and published? Is his life span sufficient for all this entertainment and preoccupation? Or is it necessary to prepare and formulate a plan that establishes a relationship between what is available and what is desirable and to think about what is the relationship between what is power and strength and what is an obstacle to progress? These people have a plan for the day! No planning, they are immersed in today before thinking about tomorrow and they sew before they cut!! They go without identifying their destination and run without any goal!! They are more entertained than confident.
A person who Is afflicted with this plague buys, takes, and hoards everything he sees in books, tapes, movies, etc., and has not yet used the previous and available means, so he goes in search of new means.
If a group or individuals or personalities fall into a routine, they also give up their principles and live on the daily wage. They are willing to lie and wash their hands of their past to gain more Votes, and what is important to them is to stay at any cost! If they feel that public opinion and the general public are opposed to some of their ideas and beliefs, it is likely that they will refrain from expressing them or declare them distorted, while adherence to the principles and loyalty to the principles, in any situation and at any time and place, is a sign and indication of the soundness of thought and the originality of individuals and parties.
The righteous predecessors did not recognize any mission for themselves other than to express the truth and preserve the principles and foundations of the Islamic faith and the commands and prohibitions of Allah, and they sacrificed themselves for them, not to violate them for their own preservation and survival.
Continues…
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[1] ـ Surah Al-Mu’minun, Verse: 3.
[2] ـ Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse: 189.
[3] ـ Surah Al-Ma’idah, Verse: 101.
[4] ـ Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse: 67-71.
[5] ـ Referring to Surah An-Nisa, 83.
[6] ـ Sunan al-Tirmidhi, p. 653, Hadith No.: 68, Hasan.
