Self-abandonment

Who were we? Who are we? And, why are we the way we are? These are the kinds of questions that frequent the mind of every intelligent and aware person. And in the absence of a satisfactory answer, many a people lose their way. As a penalty for their lack of understanding, not only do they fall victim to self-abandonment, but they also end up denying the Being that provides life energy to every single part of this entire machinery of existence. That everlasting Being which Being a single empowers a single drop of blood with so much strength, awareness, and intellect that outer space comes within its grasp and reaching for the stars becomes its pastime. And the same drop of blood, when desires, gives so much significance to an unspeakably small particle of matter that its value becomes greater than hundreds of thousands of living breathing men. And when the awareness to build and create comes into play, the same drop of blood magnificently rises and surpasses the peaks of the heavens; the universe stands before it wit, it lewd, and the angels stand before it with heads bowed in servitude.

In the bipolarity of construction and destruction, when this unmentionably minute particle [of blood] descends into the depths, it becomes plagued with greed, and the monster of insatiable desire to raise the material status of life consumes it completely. All its mental energy is focused on everything that lies outside the limits of morality. It conjures up terrible Innovations and inventions that are masterpieces of demonic proportions. All the constructive abilities of the brain, dressed in the demonic robe of destruction, wreck havoc on Allah's earth.

Indeed, the present age is clear proof of this. How heart. Wrenching is it that, during the blessed month of Ramadhan, we continued to hear such news every day as would make us wonder what kind of loathsome and trampled individuals we have become? And when we see that it is our youth that is involved in this ruin of society, our heart aches and cries out that all this is happening because we have turned our faces away from our teachings. We don't pay any heed to that treasure of knowledge, the acquisition of which instils peace and serenity in a person, and every part of his being rejoices.

What kind of life is it, which leads one to live without being plagued with the feelings of insecurity, and without being touched by the monstrous effects of an inferiority complex without being overpowered by any fear, and without finding one's self engulfed in the clouds of sorrow and misery?

The problem today is that the present generation has reached such a high level of mental maturity that it refuses to accept anything that is presented to it against the laws of nature. Scientific advancement has greatly matured human awareness. When the mature and aware individuals of our young generation attempt to comprehend the knowledge inherited from their ancestors, they are silenced and reprimanded, and are told that religion does not tolerate such inquisitive meddling, whereas, quite on the contrary, the Holy Quran invites contemplation at each and every step of the way. On the other hand, when they observe the life of their elders on whose shoulders rests the responsibility of the moral training and upbringing of this generation, they experience a deep sense of loss at seeing that there is a great distance between what is preached and what is practiced. Thus disappointed, they adopt a way of life which clashes with the sentiments of our elders, who know of the right path. We, as elders, repeatedly declare that the younger generation has no respect left for the elders, that they are devoid of that love and brotherhood upon which an exemplary society can be built.

By God, we should look within our own selves! Try to see the difference that has grown between our own words and our deeds. Although we have the power to assert our authority and change this life of hypocrisy, we stand idly by. Why do we expect something of our children which we ourselves are unable to follow? Today, if a father lives a life of lies himself, how can he expect that his children will live their lives truthfully and aware of the right path?

We lack courage, we steal by means of trickery and fraud. When a youngster takes the same hypocrisy to the next level and steals the cars of worshippers offering taraavih prayers in the mosque, and when he gets involved in some murder, we cry out and lament that the youth has gone astray. Our children are not born as murderers, thieves, hoarders, hypocrites, smugglers, from the belly of their mothers. They have progressed to the level of an art, what they have seen in their elders. Entire columns of newspapers and books with hundreds of pages are being written on the claim that it is all for the sake of reformation of the younger generation. We declare that if, along with these gigantic claims of reformation, the elders do not truly reform themselves, and the situation will not improve. Why do we forget that the mind of a child, when he is born, is like a clean slate, and it adopts the same habits and ways that are present in the environment. Not one person will deny that a child speaks the same language as is spoken by his parents.

In order to reform and refine our environment, it is necessary that we reform ourselves first. We must prove with our words and action that we are

among those individuals of the society who have heeded proper guidance and are walking on the right path. In reality, our youth is a clear reflection of our own character as a nation.

Holy and exalted is He who has created us with predetermined measures, and has graced those measures with the praiseworthy qualities which he finds pleasing as the ultimate Creator. He is the one who placed us in that honoured group that pleased Him, and gave us the ability to call to our Lord, and to keep the fast [of Ramadhan] —that fast for which He Himself is the reward.

Honourable are those who attained the blessings of holy Ramadhan —those who with all the dedication of their heart, spent their days and nights remembering Allah, and who treated their brothers with kindness and were of service to them.