They May Fail Us Again

I meticulously try to find some soul searching in the writings of our leaders. Mostly I fail - miserably. For all our pitiable conditions they squarely blame the Hindutva forces and communal politics. Blame them as much as you can and want. But please also point out something which we can fix – internally. It is hard to argue that everything is fine within. If it was, we wouldn’t be discussing this matter in the first place.

The second Caliph, ‘Umar ibn al Khattaab said, “May Allah have mercy on the one who sends my shortcomings to me as gifts”. How many such gifts have we received from our leaders? Not many. They, however, lull us into sleep – mostly - and thrive on our ignorance and emotionalism, generally.

Let us believe in that one Real Leader. He was the one who put his own life, too, in danger, before anyone else; in all the challenging situations and for the principles he stood for (pbuh). Always in the forefront!

Please spare a few seconds and read the following (in blue) from The 8^th Habit of Stephen R Covey, Simon & Schuster, 2006, p. 306):

‘I had the privilege of teaching former President Kim Dae-Jung of South Korea and some of his advisors in the Blue House in Seoul, Korea. Near the end President Kim asked me, “Dr. Covey, do you really believe the things you teach?” I was taken aback by this question and sobered by it. After a short pause I said, “Yes I do.” He then asked me, “How do you know you do?” I answered, “I try to live by these teachings. I know I fall short, falter a lot, but I keep coming back to them. I believe in them and am inspired by them and I keep returning to them.” He responded, “That’s not good enough for me.” I said, “I better listen to you.” He asked, “Are you prepared to die for them?”’

Now we have a different lot altogether. Self-aggrandisement is their topmost agenda. Are they ready to die for the principles they advocate? I seriously doubt it. Our friends on this forum know it better than me. If I am not mistaken, Akbar Ilahabadi has very aptly said:

Qaum kay ghum meiN dinner khaatay heiN hukkaam ke saath

Runj leeder ko bahut hai magar aaraam ke saath

Therefore, let that two liner (vision of Aligarh Movement – after we arrive at it) guide us in our journey. In all those situations when we think of finding a leader we come back to our own hearts. This is what our Real Leader advised us for when he said, “istafti qalbak” (‘seek fatwaa from your heart’ - Musnad Imaam Ahmad). Let us relate it. Let us apply it. Because “A believer is not stung from the same hole twice.” (Saheeh al-Bukhaaree and Saheeh Muslim) Let us leave the ‘world of personalities’ behind and move on to the ‘world of ideas’.