June 28, 2009
Whither Indian Muslims – Third and Last Part
Section: WRITINGS | 142 reads
So, Muslims, let us convert every home, mosque and veranda, and let us convert every Baramada, living room and kitchen into a school. Let us teach every adult, every child, every man and every woman.
Let us teach on the streets of Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. And let us teach on the street-corners of all other cities, towns and villages throughout India.
And wherever else Muslims have their habitat.
Let us teach under the public lamps and under the blazing sun and let us teach by the moonlight. And let us teach under the Pipal, Neem, Bargad and mango trees.
And let us teach on the banks of Ganga and Godavari and let us teach on the beaches of Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. And let us teach on the rocks of every hill in India.
Let us teach in the shade of Qutb Minar and Lal Qila’h and let us teach under the burning sun on the ruby-red parapets of Jama’ Masjid, Delhi, and Fatehpur Sikri, Agra.
Let us teach until there is no one left to teach, and until there is no subject left to teach.
And when we are done teaching the Muslims, let us teach the non-Muslims. Let us teach the Dalits; let us teach the Hindus; let us teach the Brahmins; and let us teach the Christians, the Jews and all the others.
Let us teach them all what they know not, just like the Qur’an said: ‘Allamal insaana maa lam ya’lam. God Almighty, using the pen, taught human beings all that they did not know.
We are the instruments of God on earth. We are the tools of the Qur’an in this world. So, let us get on with it and teach everyone everything they do not know, just like the Qur’an says.
And let us teach everyone everywhere until there is no one left to teach. And let us teach everyone everything until there is nothing of any kind left to teach.
Let us teach the world. For, that is our mission in life. And that is the very purpose of our creation on earth.
Let us thus become a nation of teachers, Muslims, let us become a nation of educators. Let us become what we were originally and forever meant to be. Let us become what our Rasul, our dear beloved Rasul, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, was sent into this world to be: a Mu’allim: a teacher; an educator; a mentor to humanity.
Yu’allimuhum and Yuzakkeehim: teaching and building character. That was his mission on earth. That is what he came into this world to do. That is what God Almighty sent him into this world to do.
And now, in our own time and place, that is what you and I are supposed to do: do what he did, which is teach the world.
So, let us – let every single one of us, male as well as female, rich as well as poor – dedicate ourselves to this divine goal of spreading knowledge and education throughout the world for the next decade – for the next ten years of our life – and then let us see what happens.
I know all kinds of perils stalk us and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. The government will continue to deny us our rights; the fanatics and criminals will continue to kill us, burn us alive and try to bring economic ruin to us; and the agenda-setters and propagandists among the media and politicians will continue to malign us and make our name mud.
But let us put on blinders for a moment. Let us embark on this new path of educating Muslims and the world. Let us now travel this new path, which in fact should have been our old, our eternal path, the path from which we deviated with such disastrous consequences. The path that we for so long forgot and paid such a heavy price for forgetting it.
So Muslims, let us give this Qur’anic remedy of universal and all-round education a chance and let us see what happens.
If you do this for ten years Muslims, don’t be surprised if the sea parts and the fire pit turns into a rose garden for you. For, Aag kar sakti hai andaaz-e-gulistan paidaa, if only you can bring the right kind of dedication to it.
So, who among us is willing to rise to this challenge? And start a one-man, one-woman campaign to educate and change the world, including the Muslim world?
So, for the time being, these are the two paths to changing the condition of the Muslims: One, education or Ta’aleem; two, character building or Tazkiyah. And the two of them together make one incredible miraculous cure for all that ails the Muslims – in India as well as in other places.
For, education without character is empty and character without education is blind.
In part, it is divesting character from education that has gotten the world in the kind of trouble it has. Ivy League education, considered by many to be among the best in the world, without character to match, could lead to economic collapse and incalculable human misery around the world, just as it might have done over the past several years and decades.
In the same way, to arm and empower lust, greed, lack of morals and ruthlessness with the tools of the best and the most sophisticated education and training in the world is like placing the world’s deadliest arms in the hands of thieves and scoundrels.
So, to separate character from education will not help the Muslims. They must have both if they have to find success in Dunya and Aakhirat both.
So, Muslims, everyone is in a position to teach something, so round up everyone and start teaching. Don’t ask who and don’t ask what. Just start teaching.
And watch the fun.
END
THIS CONCLUDES PART III OF WHITHER INDIAN MUSLIMS
© 2009 Syed Husain Psha
Dr. Pasha is an educator and scholar of exceptional
talent, training and experience. He can be reached at DrSyedPasha [at]
AOL [dot] com or www.IslamicSolutions.com.
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