Last year in Ramadan, I had to translate and briefly interpret the Qur’an after Taraweeh (night prayers). My opinion about Ramadan is that one should focus more on solitary worship. But now we have a problem that people who stay away from mosques throughout the year, start practicing worship during Ramadan. In such a situation, it is easy to convey the invitation of the Holy Quran to the people during Ramadan. This was the reason I had to fulfill this responsibility in Ramadan.
However, I always draw the attention of the people, especially the scholars, that the month of Ramadan is not the month of making speeches but the month of praying to our Lord in solitude. And that is why I’tikaf worship is connected to this holy month, which cuts off man from all over the World and connects him to God. Therefore, an individual should cut oneself off from the World during Ramadan (if possible) and be close to his Lord.
The miracle of the microphone
About a month before Ramadan, I encountered a problem that made me very uncomfortable throughout Ramadan. That is, it became challenging for me to talk due to discomfort in some muscles related to my throat and speech system. I visited several specialists and even went through an endoscopy. But there was no improvement. Although, I was taking about a dozen pills every day to relieve this pain.
Well, Ramadan started during this situation. I could not speak, delivering an hour of speech was out of the question. There was no question of speaking for an hour every day. I thought I would try to present a lecture for a day or two, but after that, I would have to stop. Despite this apprehension, I started this work by taking the name of Allah, and with His blessings, it became possible that I could translate and summarize the Qur’an in front of the people throughout Ramadan. In the World of reasons, however, God made the means of bringing this impossible event to appear due to the microphone system. The system I used was very modern and of high quality. With the stand’s help, the microphone stayed close to my mouth, and I would barely talk in a whispered manner. The whisper would have been so soft that even the person sitting next to me couldn’t hear it. But the microphone system would make this whisper a full and loud sound and convey it to the audience. So people listened without any issues. Even though whispering like this had increased my throat pain a lot, apart from that speech, I would remain silent for the rest of the time and talk to family members with gestures. However, thank God, I fulfilled the responsibility assigned to me.
The Era of Miracles
As I said, I was not sure I could do this job. I was afraid I would have to apologize to the audience and the organizers at the very beginning. But when the last decade came, and I realized it gets possible, I greatly thanked The Lord of the Worlds. And at the same time, my heart also got filled with gratitude for humanity as our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) taught us that one who is not thankful to people could not be grateful to the Lord. Feelings of gratitude arose in my heart for those who have given humanity not only the microphone but all other beneficial things like it.
As I pondered further, it became apparent that this new era is the age of miracles. Man has progressed so much in all spheres of life that man of ancient times could not even imagine it. Let me illustrate my point with a few examples. The journey from Islamabad to Karachi is about 1,200 kilometers, which the airplane covers in less than two hours. This journey was weeks, perhaps months, for an ancient man. Similarly, a 7,000-kilometer trip to the United States and Canada now takes less than a day. Take another example beyond travel. Today, people (thousands of miles away) can communicate with each other as if they are sitting face to face through phone, internet, TV etc. Take the example of medical treatment and health. The treatments of the most complex human diseases have been discovered due to the progress in this field. Complex operations have now become a daily affair. As a result, the average human life expectancy has increased significantly, and the human population has exceeded seven billion.
If you sit down to describe the details of the modern facilities and conveniences, thousands of pages are not even enough. I am drawing attention to this: human life has become very easy, comfortable, safe, and enjoyable due to these facilities. What was not even obtainable to kings in ancient times is now available to ordinary people.
Humanity, Us, and God’s law
But the most painful thing that came to me in this thought process was that today’s Muslims have no part in this development of humanity. Today’s Muslims are unconsciously taking advantage of each of these things. But they have no role to play in its creation and in giving humanity ease, goodness, and benefit. There are countless modern things around us, like cars, buses, electricity, computers, air conditioners, mobiles, TVs, telephones, and numerous household/office equipment. Looking at each of them, you will find that the credit for any inventions does not go to today’s Muslims. It was an excruciating feeling that we have not given humanity anything and have no share in humanity’s present progress, well-being, and benefit.
On this occasion, I remembered the law of the Lord Almighty regarding giving profit, which is described in the Holy Qur’an. In Chapter Ra’ad, Allah the exalted says:
“He sends down water from the sky that fills riverbeds to overflowing, each according to its measure. The torrent carries along swelling foam, akin to what rises from smelted ore from which man makes ornaments and tools. God thus depicts truth and falsehood. The scum is cast away, but whatever is of use to man remains behind. God thus speaks in parables.” (Quran 13:17).
According to this verse, foam, a useless thing, does not remain on the earth, while water, a basic need of man, remains in the ground. The same is the case with humans. The person, group, or nation who proves itself beneficial to humanity through its actions, the same nation can make its place on the earth. In contrast, the unprofitable people and the nation are useless like foam. And useless things have the same fate as foam.
Padram Sultan Bod (My father was a king)
Unfortunately, today, Muslims are being fed either hatred or pride by most of their leaders. They tell them that the whole World is their enemy and the real obstacle to their progress is the conspiracies of others. They do not tell them that today’s Muslims have lost the ability to be beneficial. They have not given anything to humanity. When nothing was given, according to God’s law, Muslims today do not deserve any progress and success.
Apart from the poison of hatred, these people are equally active in building castles of wishful thinking. They tell Muslims stories of the grandeur of their ancestors and believe that it is possible to construct the present from the stories of the past. In our curriculum, by teaching the scientific achievements of Muslims to the children, it is believed that through this process, Muslims will move forward in science. A person’s claim that my father was a king cannot change his situation. The status changes with the right way of thinking. It changes by admitting the facts. It changes by altering the direction of its action in the right direction. It changes by walking on the path of rationality, peace, and love instead of emotional slogans and hate. Nothing happens in this World by the saying “Padram Sultan Bod.”
The path of invitation
Muslims are in such a situation because it is not anyone else’s fault but their own thinking. Whatever goodness and virtue they have are from the blessing and mercy of Allah Almighty. In many of my writings, I kept stating in detail that all the blessings Muslims are receiving today are from Allah, whose only purpose is that Muslims can convey the message of truth to humanity. Muslims are trustee of righteousness. They have the World’s most special treasure in the form of the Holy Quran. If they become determined to convey this great blessing and its message to humanity, their value and worth will increase in God’s eyes, and the human race will warmly greet them.
It is the high time that people understand this reality. The thinkling of constructive work and reminder, peace and humanity, guidance and invitation, faith and morality should be promoted. Guidance is the right of humanity. God will surely give this right to humankind. Whether they accept the directive or not is their problem. But the guidance is destined to reach them. It may take some time, but it cannot stop. That is the judgment of time.