SENSE OF REFORM

I once met a young Muslim. He was a professional calligrapher. He said that he had been reading Al-Risala regularly. (Al-Risala magazine is the Urdu version of Spirit of Islam.) He went on to say that he liked the magazine very much. However, he had one reservation. He did not like that Al-Risala keeps pointing out the shortcomings of the Muslims. Such approach, he believed, would create a sense of inferiority among Muslims.

I said, “You are a calligrapher. Suppose you do not bring out the curve in O and S and other such letters. Now, if your teacher tells you about your shortcomings, will you say that my teacher is making me insecure and is creating a sense of inferiority in me?” The young man replied in the negative. I told him, “With this personal example, you can now understand the articles of Al-Risala where some aspect of the Muslims is criticized. The fact is that the purpose of these articles is not to create a sense of inferiority in Muslims, but to create a sense of reform. It is a known fact that no person or group can progress in this world without correcting their shortcomings.”

There is a saying in Arabic that the one who advises you is better than the one who praises you. This quote is totally correct. Every person who is kind to someone will do his best to point out his shortcomings. That is the way of true reformers.

The Quran mentions essential attributes to avoid loss, one of which is the essential attribute of ‘keep on advising each other for truth and patience’. In this world, only that group can escape loss and ruin whose soul is alive in the sense that when its members see someone leaving the path of truth, they should immediately reprimand him, and when they see someone getting impatient, they should make him aware of the importance of patience.

The spirit of giving advice and listening to advice was fully present in the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad. Umar Farooq once gave a ruling in a case. Ali saw a mistake in this decision. Ali brought the mistake to Umar’s attention. Although Umar was the Caliph and ruler, he immediately accepted it and said: If it were not for Ali, Umar would have perished.