Civility and politeness is the highest human quality. People in our culture have always shown this courtesy. In this regard, I heard an incident of Maulana Maududi a long time ago. The incident was that once a thief came to Maulana’s home at night. In the morning Maulana mentioned this incident in his gathering. But wherever he mentioned thief, he called him “Mr. thief”.
This modesty reflected in Maulana Maududi’s words “Mr. thief” was not a coincidence but rather indicates the general attitude of our civilization and culture. The biggest proof of this culture is our language. Our language is one of the few languages in the world that uses the plural rather than the singular for any person who is elder in age, knowledge, relationship and position. For example, if it is intended to say about someone in Arabic or English that he ate an apple, then in English it will be said: “He ate an apple” and in Arabic it will be said: Akal altufaaha. If the apple eater is an adult, the style of Arabic and English will remain the same, but in Urdu, saying the words “he ate an apple” will be considered uncivilized. The correct sentence would be ‘They ate an apple’.
Unfortunately, this civilization of ours is ending now. We should not expect “Mr. thief” from people, but on the basis of religious and political differences, the harshest language we use about each other is undoubtedly the death of our cultural traditions. Those who are doing this are sowing seeds of hatred. When these seeds become trees, they will grow the thorns of savagery that our nation is reaping today.