Man’s nature, whatever faith, race and colour he has and to wherever he belongs detests living in a brawling and morally void environment. The moral and ideological transformation of a society into an ideal form has always been not only a dream but an imperative. One way for this type of social change is a tough legal process but manipulating nature and expediencies of the men sitting in the legislatures always have been contrasting to the people’s desires and needs. Nothing like this is possible to gain without a rigorous willingness of the people. It is more likely that in case of the people’s staying aloof from the situation the ruling groups keep the matter lingered till the public becomes too apathetic to more bother about it. It is vital to keep the people spirited for a change for good. Constant efforts are needed for remodeling the ideas and thoughts of the people. For such a major alteration the people have to be mentally prepared. A heat of intense desire in the depth of the hearts has to be kept burning.
Practice of cruelty and injustice, encroachment on the properties of the weak, oppressive tactics of the mighty is a manner exceptionally not of Firauns and Namruds, but it is common in despotic authorities today also. Dozens of retinues of the higher authorities and influential people are not less than Firauns and Namruds. Due to this thousands of the people live in vexation and shock. Now, in spite of abundance of comforts, we feel ourselves extremely insecure. International clashes and internal disturbances have increased the vulnerability. The communities are exploited by the big powers and the people are subject to the devious and deceptive tricks of wicked elements in their own countries.
Gone are the days when leaders and rulers used to have their agenda to serve their people. Now they are tainted with selfishness, opportunism, nepotism and greediness. The virus of corruption has penetrated deep in the veins of the social life to such an extent that not a single segment of the society seems to be free of its deadly impacts. Lies and fraudulence have become the source to earn repute, honour and wealth. Success generally in every field and particularly in the politics thought hinging upon dishonesty. Bribery and intercession are keys to get even illegal and immoral matters solved within minutes, and those who do not have these keys keep longing for whole of their lives to get their lawful and genuine works done.
Justice is either directly denied or too delayed to keep the hope for it alive. Overpowering forces, within the communities and the forceful in the comity of the nations blockade the justice to come in practice. Everywhere we see the justice stuck in double standards, for the upper class assured and for the lower class improbable. Thus the people have to experience a lot of wrongdoings and transgressions.
Influx of information and spread of worldly knowledge might have made the outer environment illuminated but man’s inner darkness has grown thicker and thicker. At this juncture of time when there are many reasons for augmentation of possibilities of peace of mind and unruffled position of life, everything of this kind has become only a dream. Restlessness is on rise. Souls are sickened and hearts are in desolation. Unhealthy race of material life has increased the feelings of malice, jealousy and hostility. Highly gratifying moral traits like love, sincerity, sympathy, cooperation have gone commercialized.
In this dire situation a venture to bring reforms is possible to succeed only when it is made the call of the hearts. Sermons of the social reformers and religious leaders can work only when everyone wants a change. Islam has, through the act of obligatory five time prayers, designed to make the change matter of conscience and made its demand of the entire society.
In the last two verses of the opening Surah of the Holy Quran, Al-Fatehah, we call upon our Lord:
Ehdinas-Seratal Mustaqeem, Sertallzina An’amta Alaihim. Ghairil Maghdhoobe Alaihim Wa Ladhaaleen
(Guide us to the straight path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favour, not of those who have evoked Your anger, nor of those who have gone astray)
Psychologically the names, intensions or the desires repeated again and again get deeply rooted in the heart and memory. It is either the most loved, extremely necessary or extraordinarily importing thing for one who shows his want for it. While repeating Surah Al-Fatehah, at least 34 times in only obligatory and Sunnah prayers and in case of a believer’s having the time for the supererogatory prayers, this number goes too much high. The more the above mentioned words of Surah Al-Fatehah are repeated the more intensity of the hate for the people who commit abominations which all the civilized people recoil and desire for a good change develops.
In the light of some Ahadith, in our classical religious literature, most of the commentators of the Holy Quran have made the groups which have evoked Allah’s anger and gone astray confined to only Jews and Christians. No doubt Jews and Christians, having sway over the world and using their mischievous nature, invented a lot of the ways to corrupt mankind and spread Fasaad on the face of the earth, but it is not wise to ignore the evil forces in our own folds, as the role models of immorality and malevolence, leading the people to the crookedness. When we call upon Allah, the Exalted, for showing us path of those upon whom His favours and blessings are showered, actually we express our determination to make all the noble and pious characters our choice to follow them and when we seek his protection from those who earn Allah’s anger, we show our disgust for them and ascertain never to emulate them. Hence, the scheme of transforming a clean and chaste society is enhanced in a natural way.
Many of the people, even good in thinking, are often seen doubtful about the rectifying role of the prayers. Prayers are a great source of creating a modest and righteous society:
“And establish As-Salat (Five time regular prayers), indeed, As-Salat prevents from immodest acts and evil deeds…” (Al-Ankbut: 45)
Our failure in gaining the fruits of our prayers is not the fault of the prayers. Actually, uttering of the words of Salat has become mostly a drill like customary act. We have not made the change of entire society a matter of conscience, a serious demand and want of hearts. Whether the prayer is performed by an individual in seclusion or it is established in congregation, in both case their earnest and humble invocation in the wording of Surah Fatehah are in a plural form, which clearly indicates that it is not the matter of only some pious believers, some enthusiastic groups and some zealous religious parties but moral and spiritual rectification is a collective need of whole of the society.
A Blog by Muneer Ahmed Khalili....
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