Author: Abdul Hameed Gurgij
The Afflictions of the Vanguard Generation (Part 6)
4- Pragmatism
Another scourge of the Vanguard generation is pragmatism. Pragmatism is the exact opposite of scientism. There was no action in scientism; there was only study and research, translation and writing, and avoidance of action and abandonment of tasks were evident. But in pragmatism, only work, effort and running are important and that is all! A person suffering from pragmatism is present at every meeting and gathering, visits everyone, does whatever is asked of him, and does not hesitate to carry out his duties and assignments. He is like a soldier who listens to orders and his mouth is sealed in carrying out orders and demands! He is unaware of even the newest, most common and most important thoughts and ideas, and knows nothing about the simplest and oldest intellectual, political and social issues! He speaks without evidence and accepts it because he is talking about a Muslim scholar, and rejecting or not accepting, it is also due to prejudice and ignorance about the issue. The scourge of pragmatism keeps a person so busy and entertained that he does not feel the passage of time and the increase in age and suddenly realizes that the period of old age has arrived and he has no strength and energy left and after his death he has left no trace of himself. A society or group that is composed of such people will undoubtedly be caught in prejudice and extremism and will resort to violence against the scientific argument and intellectual strength of its opponents because it does not have the power to compete with them. Hasan Basri, may Allah bless him, said in this regard: “An “agent” without “knowledge” is like a traveler without a path and a lamp, and before he can correct someone, he leads him to corruption. Seek knowledge diligently, for it does not harm worship, and worship, for it does not detract from knowledge, and it is only that a group of people worshipped without acquiring knowledge until they came out with swords against the nation of Muhammad, peace be upon him, and if they had sufficient knowledge, they would never have guided them to such an act.”
In such a group, there is no initiative, creativity, or innovation. One person, who usually leads it, becomes a lone wolf and plays the role of the wise, not the leader and the manager! There is no way of consulting and intellectual participation; what is important is that one or two people decide and speak, and the others cheer! People who are obsessed with action, also have less patience, resistance, and flexibility because they do not have the mood and patience for research. That is, they act contrary to the saying: “A traveler is not one who walks fast, and sometimes tired/ a traveler is one who walks slowly and steadily”
Rather, they think of harvesting the crop before its due date and picking the fruit before it ripens. The space that governs pragmatic societies is very closed, because there is no criticism to open this space. Criticism must be based on theory and documented by categorized empirical evidence.
A pragmatic society is a mass society in which there is no trace of conflicting ideas and exchange of opinions, and there is no news of diversity, change, or evolution. This society is either stagnant and immobile or stormy and revolutionary. Hypocrisy and deceit are manifestations of pragmatic societies, because everyone’s attention is on action, and if someone fails even a little, it attracts attention; even if this action is not from heartfelt conviction, everyone tries to do it.
The pragmatic society is an ocean 5 centimeters deep; while mosques and religious places are full and crowded with people, and the sessions of the Quran and Hadith are held with extraordinary seriousness and sensitivity. However, a dictator or a dependent aristocratic family still holds the fate of the people in its hands due to the poverty of theory and lack of awareness of the current developments in the world and the region, as well as the lack of theorists and architects of thought at various political, social, cultural and economic levels, and thinkers and intellectuals have no choice; because they do not see many strangers and audiences and customers for their words and thoughts among their own people.
It is necessary to remember that pragmatism is a plague when it is based on thought and not based on belief. If this criterion is observed, it is the desire of religion, and faith, belief, knowledge and awareness that do not lead to righteous action are inferior.
Continues…
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