December 16, 2010
I Too Have A Dream!
Section: WRITINGS | 246 reads
(13)
I Have Yet Another Dream: Health, Wealth and Happiness
I have this other dream that every man, woman and child in Trinidad and Tobago – and everywhere else on God’s beautiful earth – including you, me and our families, will be better off educationally, economically and in their health, hygiene and happiness tomorrow than they are today.
Being a Muslim, how can I not dream that dream?
And being a human being?
Or, how can my fellow-Muslims and my fellow-human beings not share with me that hope and that dream?
Isn’t education one of the greatest blessings of God?
Aren’t we as Trinidadians and Tobagonians – well, my long association with Trinidad and my son’s birth in Trinidad, gives me a bit of a right to include myself among Trinidadians – especially blessed to have a higher level of general education and literacy as compared to many other parts of the world?
And aren’t we now also seeing an upsurge of Islamic education throughout the island?
So, can we as Muslims and as human beings afford not to wish the highest educational attainment for all those we love and for all those with whom we share our beautiful islands of Trinidad and Tobago with?
Knowing full well that education is what gives people a leg up in this life?
Also knowing full well that the best education is that which gives people the greatest success not only in this life but also in the next life?
And then isn’t economic wellbeing an important consideration for us – all of us?
Aren’t our lives often centered around our jobs and our careers and our businesses?
Then how can we not, as Muslims and as human beings, wish and pray and hope and dream about the greatest level of economic success for all of us, for all our relatives and friends and for all those with whom we share our society and daily life?
Knowing full well, of course, that the best wealth is that which makes it a source of blessings and goodness and help for all people.
And for all the creation of Allah.
And, then, what use is all the education and all the wealth in the world if we do not have good health to enjoy them and to benefit ourselves and others from them?
Health in our body.
Health in our mind.
And, more than anything else, health in our soul?
So, how can I not as a Muslim wish perfect health in body, mind and soul, not only for myself and my family and friends, but also for all Tinidadians and Tobagonians?
And for everyone else everywhere else?
And how can you not, regardless of who you are, and regardless of whether or not you are a Muslim, join me in this wish, and in this hope, prayer and dream?
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One More Dream: Compassion and Caring
I have a dream that every man, woman and child in Trinidad and Tobago – and everywhere else – including you, me and our families, will be more caring, loving, compassionate, respectful and helpful toward each other tomorrow than they are today.
Being a Muslim, and being a human being, how can I not dream such a dream, or have such a hope, or pray such a prayer?
Or, for that matter, how can you?
Regardless of who you are and regardless of what you believe in?
For, the greatest joy of being a human being is to love and to be loved by other human beings, and the rest of Allah’s creation, and Allah himself.
A most important aspect of life, therefore, is to have compassion for others and to be treated with compassion, kindness and respect by them.
Allah and his noble Rasul, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, both talk about this.
Allah says in the Qur’an that he is Rahim and he is Rahman. That means he is the most merciful, kind, compassionate and loving of all.
And that says it all.
Allah talks about his being Rahman and Rahim in the very first Ayat of the Qur’an: Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim!
Mercy is a full 60 percent of the message of that Ayat which is part of the first Surah of the Qur’an – Surah al-Fatihah.
Mercy is 40 percent of the first three Ayats of Al-Fatihah – the opening chapter of the Qur’an.
In fact, Allah’s infinite mercy – grace and compassion – is a dominant and running theme of Surah Al-Fatihah and the entire Qur’an.
To my knowledge, there is no other book of this significance or magnitude that begins with a universal declaration of mercy of the kind that Qur’an does.
Or a system of belief or thought that begins its introduction of the very concept of God with such a sweeping characterization of him as Rahman and Rahim – full of mercy and grace, and still more full of mercy and grace.
This is how the Qur’an introduces God Almighty to his creation – as a merciful God, full of grace.
This part of the Qur’an alone, standing entirely by itself, is mind-boggling, astounding, extraordinary – it is nothing short of being miraculous.
It is part of Allah’s mercy that he wants us, in our turn, to show mercy to others.
Allah shows mercy only to those who show mercy to others, says the noble Prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam.
I remember as a child, growing up, my mother, may Allah shower her with the finest blessings of this world and the next world, singing in her beautiful voice in that beautiful language called Urdu:
Karo mehrubani tom ahle zamin par;
Khoda mehruban hoga Arshe barin par.
Meaning:
“You show mercy to those on earth;
God in heaven will show mercy to you.”
And being helpful to others, in whatever way we can, that is what Islam wants us to do.
That is part of being a Muslim – an integral part of it.
It is also part of being a human being, plain and simple.
For, to be a Muslim, and to be a human being, in truth and in practice is to have the capacity and the will to help others and to do so in our daily life.
That is why I have this dream that every man, woman and child in Trinidad and Tobago – and everywhere else in the world – including you, me and our families, will be more caring, loving, compassionate, kind, respectful and helpful toward each other tomorrow than they are today.
For, that is what believing in Allah is all about.
For, that is what the Qur’an is all about.
And that is what the life story of our beloved Prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, is all about.
That is what he taught us to do.
He said:
“Allah helps the slave so long as the slave helps his brother.”
The slave being referred to here is you and me – and all other human beings. For, what are we if not the slaves of Allah?
Reach out to others, says the Prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, even if all you can do is to say a kind word to them.
According to Hadith, we must greet others with a smile and with an open countenance, if all we can do is that.
For, that is the least service we can render another human being.
We as Muslims may not have invented the human practice of smiling. But our Deen certainly made it a part of our faith and our worship.
These are, therefore, some of the basic teachings of Islam.
And these, therefore, are the ideals all of us as Muslims and as human beings need to try to adopt in our lives.
It is for this reason that I have the dream I do.
And it is also for this reason that I hope this is also your dream.
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