By: Syed Shahzaib Haider
There is a popular saying “A person’s true character is often revealed in time of crisis or temptation“. Make sure that you have what it takes to be your best at such times. As each one of us is now able to identify the ongoing situation in our country and in the whole world where the COVID -19 epidemic is taking place very rapidly. Which raises the concerns everywhere in the country? The public health authorities in Pakistan relied upon quarantine and the screening process for the first time in the history of Pakistan. That’s the reason that we are failing in most parts. For instance, the situation of the Quarantine or reliability of the screening process on the airports across the country is very much a concern, the availability and the price range of the test kits too is a big concern the isolation wards the safety measure and the prices of the commodities which we need utterly these days’ sanitizers, gloves and the masks most importantly to make people safe.
So the first and the most significant thing is to take it as a national crisis, not as a bunch of dupes. In countries like Pakistan what people do is that when something new comes to us we at the first place try not to accept it as a reality and then when it takes place and we see it as an inevitable reality we gradually get use to of it and continue to the normal life as if nothing ever happened this is something more grave about it. I quite believe that such kind of behaviour makes it more lethal for a nation or a country like Pakistan where the population is already a concern and the lack of services are no less a threat to the human life. But now I think is the time to learn something new and more dependable about it because as our very senior noble Islamic scholar (Maulana Mufti Taqi Usmani) was saying on a news channel that these kinds of pandemic diseases will come and go what we have to do is that we have to stand by each other and stay united as a nation in the time of crisis.
On contrary what we are doing right now is not hidden to anyone of us we start to black things in the market right after the news spread in our country about anything which is going to happen in near future some of our evil-minded people start to speed up manufacturing of the specific commodity not to help the nation but to sell it in black with triple the profit earned. Those who do all this are no less than a traitor to this nation moreover the poor performance of our government can be seen every time they are needed they clearly show their vulnerability and say that they can do nothing good about it. However, we! as a nation now at least have to learn from our previous mistakes and have to sort it out once and forever because the more we behave ignorantly the more we face challenges and this will have no end.
If you sit down for a few minutes and rethink of the Importance of your faith on God, you will realize that your faith replaces every otherworldly belief especially your beliefs on all the modern world techniques to tackle things and when you see them failing one by one when they are utterly needed only that is the time when you think of your creator and you start to repent to him. This ongoing crisis I tell you to urge all of us to understand that it’s never too late to repent to God for whatever sin you may have done and as I have mentioned earlier that our most high-ranked Islamic scholar of the country says that in the current hard time we have to get back to our God our creator. Because it’s only the God who put us in tests and after that, he takes us all out of it. Remember there is no power of the earth who can undo this pandemic but God.
I may not be wrong if I say that we are not the country with lots and lots of resources to fight against any of the epidemics. Its again our God who helps us in our sustainability every time we fall in such a situation. So we as a human being and as Muslims have to think again and again about our very selfish and ignorant behaviour is such periods because this life of course if not that long and worthy and by doing such evil deeds we lose our part in hereinafter. We must learn from other countries the way they made it to this point the level of humanity they have achieved is not impractical for us. I have realized this the other day when I was riding an Uber cab and the driver offered me a free mask to wear and it wasn’t used I asked him the cost so that I can pay him for that but he said sir we earn and live for money the whole life but these tests from God comes not very often for us to understand that we can still have the chance to prove ourselves as a better human being to our God and to show him that we belong to him eventually. Because I believe that the day is not so far when we return to him and will be giving answers for whatever we have done in this world and none! trust me none will be answering on behalf of anyone else. Coming back to the event the driver that cab said to me that he will not charge any of his customers for the mask today hoping that what if this mask will save somebody’s life and the deed he is doing may get him redemption. The moment I get off the cab I realized that there is so much that I can do to help my fellow citizens instead of sitting at home and doing nothing, similarly what if we all as responsible citizens of this country start to help each other in such a situation trust me this will make our life easier and your reward in hereinafter is also certain without any doubts. So I with folded hands request all of my people to start from today so that we may fight against this epidemic and to become a country where humanity is as important as religion is. Because our very beloved Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.W) Said: “To save one life is to save all of humanity”.
The writer is Special Correspondent/Columnist at The Dayspring