Apnakarachi Submissions

His Concerns and Mine

Owner: shobee2006
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Created: 2006-09-04 20:43:34

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Consider an ancient and very valuable historical artifact. Its owner
went to great lengths to acquire it and spent exorbitant sums of money.
It is something priceless to him and he would not part with it for any
sum.

Now imagine someone knocks it down and shatters it ? whether
intentionally or by mistake ? how will its owner feel about that person?

No doubt, he will be stricken with severe grief and pain seeing what it
had taken him years to acquire destroyed in a matter of seconds. He had
placed great emphasis on this thing that he possessed. Who can blame
him?

This is the intensity of feeling that can be inspired by such a small
event. Someone who does not see any value in that artifact might even
laugh at what happened. He might even think it silly for a person to
have so much concern over such a trinket.

The person stricken does not see it that way at all. He can feel
nothing less than loathing for the one who did it, and will most surely
have at least harsh words for him and demand compensation. How could it
be otherwise? No matter how good-natured, tolerant, and magnanimous the
owner of the artifact might be as a person, it will be hard for him to
simply forget the destruction of his precious treasure in front of his
own eyes. His concern is real and tangible. However, it is still a
secondary concern.

We wish to shift the focus of our concerns to what is more important ?
Islam and the affairs of the Muslims. We need to feel the same grief ?
nay, even greater sorrow ? for the sake of Islam. Our sorrow, however,
must inspire us to action, not to wallow in despair.

This is an issue of where our loyalties lie. It is right that our
concern for Islam and the Muslims and our anger at the attacks upon
them and upon their beliefs should be less than the concern that the
man had for his artifact? Should our dislike for those who attack Islam
with their tongues and their deeds be less than his dislike for the
person who destroyed his property?

Anything for which a person makes sacrifices becomes precious to him
and holds a very high status in his mind and his heart. There are many
other examples that we can give for this besides the man and his
artifact.

We can consider the money that a person saves up for years, pinching
pennies and dollars and working many long nights to attain it.

We can think about a promotion that an employee waits for with every
ounce of his patience while doing everything in his power to get it. We
can imagine what his attitude would be towards anyone who would try to
prevent him from getting that promotion.

We can think of an only child who is the apple of his parents? eyes,
and we can think of thousands of other examples where a person?s
concern will be great indeed.

Some of the concerns that people have may be permissible and others may
be sinful. However they all share one common quality in that, which is
that no matter how great they may appear and no matter how much they
might fill up our hearts and distract our sights, they are all
subsidiary to the most important concern that we should have.

Consider the case of a researcher who has expended all of his life?s
efforts in his research. Quite likely, it has taken hold of his heart
to an unjustifiable degree. He might, on account of the efforts that he
has expended, become overzealous about his conclusions that he loses
his objectivity, pushing his own evidence to the limit while rejecting
and criticizing any evidence to the contrary.

No one should ever think to dispense with all the various the concerns
that people have and try to convert them all into a single concern.
This goes against human nature. Indeed, such a notion goes against the
requirements of Islamic Law which came to put all affairs in their
proper place. No one can be criticized for giving due care and concern
to various matters in his life. In fact, he is wrong if he does not
give certain matters the care that they deserve and he may be sinful
for his neglect if the matters are duties that Islam holds incumbent
upon him.

However, we can all see that the most important concerns deserve more
care and attention than less important ones. Personal concerns are not
as important as ones that concern the whole family. Family matters are
not the same as those that affect society, the nation, or the whole
world. All matters and their subsidiary concerns have their own degree
of importance depending on their magnitude, the scope of their effect,
and their degree of indispensability.

The major Islamic concerns have to hold their proper place in our
hearts, our minds, and our sentiments. These concerns must be reflected
in the way we live our lives. This is the proof of our faith. This is
why the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ?The believers, in their
love, their mercy, and their feelings for one another are like a single
body. If one limb feels pain, the whole body is beset by restlessness
and fever.? [Sah?h al-Bukh?r? and Sah?h Muslim]

The Prophet (peace be upon him) also said: ?A believer towards another
believer is like a building in which each part supports the others.?
[Sah?h al-Bukh?r? and Sah?h Muslim]

It is this focus that imbues the heart, the mind, and the intellectual
life with a balanced approach to all other concerns, so that no concern
will completely overwhelm a person?s life, misdirect his efforts, or
blind him to other matters of importance. This is one aspect of the
justice that Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) command us
with.

It is a gross injustice for a person to become incited at some small
transgression against his person, his wealth, his family, or his
industry ? or what he perceives to be a transgression ? and respond
with a massive retaliation against society at large or against its
people, its heritage and its institutions. How could such conduct ever
be justified?

Alas, some people have been created with small minds and even smaller
hearts, and cannot see beyond their own personal concerns. Nothing else
can move them. There is nothing for it but to realize that this is a
handicap. When people of sound reason see them, they say: ?Praise be to
Allah who has spared me what he has tried you with and has favored me
above many whom He has created.? [Sunan al-Tirmidh?]

Our natural concerns for ourselves, our spouses, our children, our
wealth, and our status can be tied in with our most important concern.
They can be as tributaries that feed into the larger sea. This is the
reality for those who have good intentions and who bring forth these
intentions in every aspect of their lives. Their daily habits become in
this way acts of worship, whether they are engaged in research, busy in
their shops, or at their office desks, or in their beds, just as much
as when they are at the mosque.

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