Scholars
and intellectuals have raised the point whether political
freedom is more important than freedom of thought. No
sane person can favour political slavery but if a nation
inspite of being politically free continues to fetter
itself with the chains of ideological, educational and
cultural slavery then this nation can never truly enjoy
the benefits of freedom. As a nation we are facing a
similar tragedy. Although it has been almost six decades
since we got independence but our traditions, our dress,
our festivals and way of living still show that we remain
bound by the chains of slavery. Every passing day is
making the bonds of our mental and ideological slavery
stronger and stronger. As far as political freedom is
concerned, everyone knows to what extent we enjoy it.
Whenever a ruler of our country has tried to oppose
the United States, he has been eliminated. Therefore,
fearing the same fate, every new ruler thinks twice
before taking any steps. Our outward appearance and
mental state bears a great similarity to that of Bani
Israel, who, despite escaping from the cruelties of
the Pharaoh and the forced rule of the Qabtis (Egyptians
who worshiped bulls), spent 40 years of their lives
wandering in the Valley of Tih. The wisdom behind isolating
them thus way that having lived as slaves for so long
they had become devoid of humanity. Slavery ran like
blood in their veins and cowardice and fear had become
second nature. They did not even hesitate in requesting
Hazrat Musa ‘alaihissalaam to find a god for them
whom they could easily see and touch as the Qabtis and
other atheist nations had. And when they were ordered
to enter the holy land (Palestine) and fight, they felt
no shame in saying said, “O Musa, go you and your
Lord and fight you two, we are sitting right here.”
Their answer proved how deeply they were enslaved, mentally
and ideologically and how hollow were they spiritually.
They were kept in the Valley of Tih so that they, who
had been born and spent so many years of their lives
in slavery, would die altogether and in their place
would grow children, in the free air of Sina Desert,
who would be mentally and ideologically free from all
traces of slavery. It is regrettable to say that the
Bani Israel did manage to get free of the signs of slavery
after having stayed in the Valley of Tih for 40 years
but we, in spite of living in a free country for the
last 55 years, are not mentally or ideologically free
yet.
We acquired this country in the name of Islam but even
after 55 years of independence we do not see Islam anywhere
except in mosques and madaris (religious institutions).
Neither can it be found in our business, our politics,
our judiciary, government affairs, or in our economy.
It can be argued that it was the responsibility of our
rulers to bring changes in these institutions but it
is our bad luck that we never had a single ruler blessed
with mental freedom; a ruler who loved the Islamic way
of life more than the manners of the West. Yet rulers
are also from the masses. Like people like rulers, as
the saying goes. Let us for the time being, leave the
discussion over the social departments, let us discuss
the state of our individual lives. How many are there
among us who, having acquired education in schools and
colleges, love their own history, culture, language,
religion and traditions? Suffering from a deep inferiority
complex they think that the road to progress lies only
in blindly following the culture and manners of the
West. These mentally enslaved go so far as to change
their own accent when they come across an American or
Britisher speaking distorted English. Mentioning such
people in his poetry, Khawaja Azizul Hasan Majzoob (rahimaullah)
said:
Meaning: “When a Mister spoke to me in a language
that was neither English nor Urdu, neither Pushto nor
Persian I thought he was suffering from some disease
which did not allow him to pronounce the words correctly.”
You must have definitely come across people in hotels,
business centers, educational institutions, government
offices or in your daily life, who, while talking of
political, social, educational or business issues in
Urdu consider it necessary to use fifty percent of English
words. There are others who barely manage to use 25
per cent Urdu words in their conversation. In the same
way do they try to copy the English in their style of
living, eating and drinking. What else can it be called
but mental slavery?
As people are becoming more and more enlightened, and
as the light of Islam continues to spread, not only
are men and women in Europe embracing Islam but they
are being irresistibly drawn to the Islamic social values
and Islamic way of life. They can see innumerable medical
and scientific benefits in acting upon the Sunnahs of
Rasoolullah (sallallahu alaihe wasallam). But the modern
Muslims? They consider making fun of Sunnah a fashion!
They are of the view that it is necessary to follow
the Europeans in every sphere of life in order to make
progress.
Had the Europeans only been imitated in the fields of
science and industry, in being religiously punctual,
in love of their country, in strengthening welfare and
judicial institutions as they have done it would not
have mattered, in fact, it would have been praiseworthy
indeed, but the problem is we do not adopt the good
habits of the Europeans in the departments where they
are needed but we do copy them in, and blindly, in their
animal traits, selfishness, nudity and fulfillment of
carnal desires. The fact remains that there does not
exist any natural desire, the fulfillment of which has
been banned by Islam while remaining within the prescribed
limits. Take the expression of joy, for example. It
is not that Islam is a dry, spiritless, impassive sort
of a religion which forbids people from smiling and
expressing joy. Besides individual occasions of joy,
Islam has designated, in consonance with its special
nature, two festivals on the social level. The first
one comes immediately after the month of Ramadhan (fasting)
and the second falls on the tenth day of the historic
month of Zil Hajj.
On both these occasions the whole Muslim world enjoys
itself but in a way that no one forgets Allah Almighty
nor forgets his less privileged brothers. On these festivals,
the non-Muslims, just to please the Muslims, send them
greetings but it does not happen that the Hindus, Christians
and Jews celebrate them just as the Muslims do, or consider
the Muslim’s festivals as their own, though if
they were to do so, it would not cause any harm to their
religion, for after all they are Kafirs, yet the surprising
thing is that the Muslims, who are bound by Islamic
laws in their expression of joy and sorrow, have become
so liberal-minded that they have begun thinking of the
festivals of the non-Muslims as their own! It may be
Holi or Basant, it may be Christmas or New Year Eve,
Muslims do all that the non-Muslims do on these occasions.
It can only be called the evil influence of the TV that
now when he gets married, the bridegroom is made to
circle the fire as Hindu bridegrooms do! Matters might
come to just such a head in the near future that some
accursed heirs might put the dead bodies of their father
or mother on a pier and set fire to it.
Who does not know that the first month of the Islamic
year is Muharram? Yet we have turned it into an accursed
month of mourning. And at the beginning of the Christian
year our young brothers and sisters indulge in such
revelry that very Decency is put to shame. What happens
at drinking parties, in get-togethers, in special hotels
is something a Muslim can never even think of. Muslims
purposely dress and act in a way that no one can differentiate
between them and non-Muslims. What we are afraid of
is that our mental slavery just might lead us to mental
apostasy.
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