“Naadaan Dosts”

In a discussion on “naadaan dosts” a very good friend asked this scribe “how we have to identify the Naadaan Dost? Do you have any idea? Can you name some of them, please?” To the humble submission that “ALL those who quote from Qur’an and Hadeeth SELECTIVELY are “naadaan dosts”, I am afraid” the friend further asked to “Explain in clear terms who are Naadaan Dosts and how the Ummah can identify them”.

Surrendering to the persistence of my dear friend I am obliged to disclose the identity of one “naadaan dost”, at least.  He is a few years older to his friend (for no choice of his and no fault of his friend). He is growing older (not up) every moment with a lot of misconceptions, preconceived notions and false assumptions. Despite having spent a lot many years in educational institutions he isn’t truly ‘educated’. He is merely informed about a few things.

This “naadaan dost” does not know the time and the people that he is living in and with and he is extremely happy about it, too. There is no need to contrast this situation with the aim of Jami‘atul Falah (http://www.jamiatulfalah.org/) to produce those who “clearly understand the issues of their time”. He is floundering in a flood of confusion and mired into self-contradictions, the latter being his forte. But he doesn’t mind (or notice) it.

This “naadaan dost” is fond of quoting – almost always with the idea of proving himself or his ideology right. He does not notice that like his favourite verses the other groups, too, have their own favourite verses and the fact that it has obscured the spirit of the Book. It is not important for him to stay with the serious problems a bit longer. He doesn’t need to undertake any such painstaking job as he has already arrived – before even undertaking the journey! He has automatically inherited all those things which many others work very hard to earn.

Being an INCOMPLETE PRODUCT because of coming out from the un-integrated system of education, the worldview (Weltanschauung) of that “naadaan dost” is highly distorted. He doesn’t know whether to look at the world as the enemies of Allah or as prospective customers. This “naadaan dost” gets angry and frustrated forgetting all the ideals that he should be holding. He is not in need of anything like the interesting article titled Bahs-o-Takraar (by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan). 

This “naadaan dost” is fond of spoon-feeding. This is how he has wants to be overfed and would like to feed others. He is not much comfortable with healthy engagement in an objective manner. He immediately takes sides and magnanimously invites the truth to join him in order for the latter to feel emboldened. This “naadaan dost” always feels threatened and under attack. The foundation under his feet is shaking all the time. His structure is ready to crumble to pieces anytime. And he doesn’t try to find out why is he witnessing this shakiness?

He is not sure what do the words “broad-minded enough in order to carry out the duty of social reform and reconstruction” mean and how could it be applied today. He is happy with the status quo, no matter how many times he repeats “ta‘meer-e-nau”. He is not sure what could be the implications of “above all kinds of prejudices against any sect, group or faction” and how can we relate it with our current affiliations and outlook. He is precisely the kind of “naadaan dost” whom we need to save the Ummah from. How to accomplish this task is what we need to find out.