REVIVAL OF THE INDIVIDUAL
Khalid Ishaque
Individuals committed to the Islamic Movement are like the building bricks fused together to form a solid wall. Each individual, like a brick, must be strong and capable of withstanding the loads and stresses that it is called upon to bear. Just as each brick must be fully burnt and purified in a kiln and pass certain minimum standards, so too an individual has to go through a process of training and development in order to be effective within the edifice of the Movement. But what is involved in this construction of the individual? What has the individual got to do in order to prepare himself for his role in the Movement? These are fundamental questions - for a pre- requisite to the revival of Muslim society is a revival of the individual or the self.
The starting point in this process is what the Qur'an calls the qalb - man's heart. Look at yourself and you will find inside you a whole universe - emotions, desires, urges, instincts - which motivate you from within. The qalb does not mean the pump which pushes blood around the body -- it means the centre or locus of the personality which is pumping motivations, desires and urges and which makes man do what he wants to do.
The Qur'an goes on to explain that this is the key to man. His success depends not on what he is physically, nor on what he does, but on what lies at the centre of his personality. The Qur'an declares that
"Except the one who comes to Allah with a sound heart on the day of Judgement,"
none will be successful in His eyes. Another hadith of the Prophet - peace be upon him - is:
"Beware, there is a piece of flesh in the human body. If it is right, then the whole body is right and sound and if it is corrupted then the whole body is corrupted. Look, this is the 'heart'."
According to the Qur'an, the basis of corruption stems from within man. The social institutions may be corrupt, there may be exploitation and abuse in the economic sphere and politics, but the basis of all these diseases lies inside man's heart. The Qur'an says
"The disease (is not somewhere in the body, it) is inside their heart."
What it is tkat stops man from seeing right and doing right, that turns him blind? The Qur'an explains
"It is not the eyes which go blind but it is the heart inside you which goes blind."
This then is the basic starting point for the Movement - to purity the heart and then summon it to the service of mankind, whether it be in government, in political institutions or in economic ventures. For us who are committed to Islam as a Movement and who are involved in the path of Jihad, attention should always remain riveted on keeping the heart - the centre of our personality - pure. Our whole attention must be focused on this continuous struggle. All the rites that have been prescribed by the Qur'an reach out to purify the deepest regions of our self. The Qur'an states
"It is not the flesh and blood that reaches Allah, it is the taqwa within your heart that finds acceptance. "
If the individual is the primary building brick of society, then the heart is its foundation within each man. The important question is therefore how should we set about preparing this most basic of building bricks.
First we must understand that the 'heart' must submit totally and exclusively to its Creator. It cannot be compartmentalized - we cannot dedicate one piece of it to Allah, and another to some other god, like wealth, status, career, women and so on. There is a beautiful verse in the Qur'an which throws light on the absurdity of such a situation. It tells about some of the Mushrikin who sacrifice animals and then say that one part of the animal is for Allah and another is for their other idols. Then it asks us to remember that whatever is assigned to Allah is also, in reality, assigned to the idols, because Allah does not accept something divided. He is One, indivisible, and wants man to be undivided in service to Him. So long as we remain divided within ourselves, so long as our heart lies in a hundred places, so long as our eyes are set in a hundred directions, so long as our destination is not one but many, we shall never be able to achieve that first condition for building a strong and pure personality.
Why do we allow divided loyalties to capture parts of our heart? Nothing of this world is going to be of use to us when we breathe our last, however hard we may have striven for it and however valuable it might seem to us. We must recognise that the prizes we should want are not the worldly possessions received from human beings like ourselves. It is only our Creator who can put a real value on our striving and bestow the real reward. "
Shall I tell you of a 'business' which will deliver you of a tormenting punishment?" This 'business' amounts to a man committing his whole undivided being to Allah alone, and selling himself in order to seek His pleasure. This is the first step towards the building of the individual.
The second step is to love Allah. The Qur'an says
"Those who believe love Allah more than anything."
It does not say that one must love only Allah. Love is a blessing given to us by Allah which is manifested in so many aspects of life. In Islam, however, it must be foremost for Allah, our Master. What is love? Perhaps it cannot be defined in terms which adequately reflect its nature and importance in man's life. It is not possible to define it by a formula as we define a scientific fact, nor can we define it by a mathematical equation. But still each one of us knows what love is and can tell, from his own experience, the powerful force that it is once it comes to reside in the heart. It becomes the overpowering force in life. It captivates you, it grips you, it moves you and you are prepared to do anything for the sake of it. Once love is there, what you do is not something which has to be imposed upon you, because you need imposition only for the things you do not love. Iman is something which must penetrate deep in our heart and generate love for Allah and His Prophet, more than for anything else. Unless that happens inside you, you cannot even get the real taste of Iman. According to one hadith nobody can taste Iman unless Allah and His Prophet are more beloved to him than everything else.
Revival Of The Individual
