Let's give peace a chance

Assalamu alaikum. Today our society is witnessing an unfortunate scene in its history. The concept of unity and brotherhood has become something of the past while chaos, civil unrest and absence of spirituality has become the order of the day. We wake up in our societies today driving and walking in the pool of our brothers' blood almost knee-high to the cats and this has become part of our lives. We get emotional when we see footage of innocent souls lost as a result of the combined effect of ignorance and oppression. When will we see the peaceful and serene atmosphere that characterized our societies?

There are two types of poverty (my postulate): The material poverty and the intellectual poverty. A lot of us are only aware of the first  type of poverty which has taken a serious toll on the general masses in our society. We seem to be lamenting seriously about this type of poverty and hence, we undermine the damaging effects of the second type which is more dangerous and devastating.  Even when we claim to be graduates in various fields of human endeavor we are still oblivious of the basic knowledge about Allah and how to interact with our fellow beings. Ask an average Muslim a question about the latest technology he will explain the minutest detail of it but ask the same person the simplest question about the nature of the Prophet's prayer, sadly you will be moved to tears after discovering how ignorant he is about the fundamentals of our deen. Allah says in suratul Rum verse 7: "They know only the outside appearance of the life of the world (i.e. the matters of their livelihood, like irrigating or sowing or reaping, building, latest cars, handsets, etc), and they are heedless of the Hereafter".

Those suffering from material poverty are in most cases cut in the web of violence and unrest. They can easily be manipulated by the evil ones in order to achieve their evil and corrupt agenda. Their level of poverty as undoubtedly taken over their sense of reasoning and so they are vulnerable and always on the alert to unleash their devilish potentials. However, a critical analysis of the situation reveals an ugly picture which indicts those that have been blessed with the position of power whose responsibility is to provide an enabling environment for these impoverished category of the nation. Where there is good quality education violence will be reduced to the barest minimum, because education is the key to the peaceful coexistence between people of various nations and believe systems. 

Those suffering from the second type of disease are more dangerous than the first category because they only see things from the material point view and are  usually greedy, manipulators and self-centered. All they care about is the immediate and tangible things of this world, nay they are heedless about the punishments of Allah. Their failure to provide the basic needs of people gives birth to violence and civil unrest and the result is not far-fetched from us. They are totally oblivious of the sufferings of the masses.

Today, our society that was once peaceful is drowning in the ocean of violence and bloodshed with little concern from its leaders. Innocent souls are being lost on daily basis, our streets are becoming blood baths and neighbors kill neighbors, friends kill each other and communities are fighting against themselves. Where are we heading to? what are we going to achieve shedding innocent blood? Indeed Islam advocates peace, and murder is murder, there is no such thing as legitimate murder except where Allah has ordained so. We are pro-life, and we make no excuses about that. Let us be our brothers keepers, let us spread the message of peace where there is no hope for a peaceful co-existence between people. Every soul is sacred and we must stop the carnage. The poor illiterates kill each other while the rich lavish in the comfort of their loots. Let me end by relating a poem from 'Enjoy your life' of  Dr. Al-'Arifi:

-The relationship between me and my brothers

-And my cousins is indeed problematic

-If they consume my flesh, I spare theirs

-If they destroy my honor, I build theirs

-They do not hurry to my aid

-But I hurry to theirs

-I do not hold grudges against them

-For the leaders never bears grudges

  

May Allah continue to give us peace and tranquility in our societies. Let peace be our slogan