By: Dawood Khan
It was the 13th of October when I stopped in front of an air cooler installed in the university mosque. I came across an aged person – at least 75 years old – standing at the cooler after the ‘Asr’ prayer. Before drinking water himself, the old man handed me a glass filled with water. I rejected him because he was older than me and he deserved first. Despite my initial resistance, he made me drink water before he drank. In addition, he said, “when you feel thirsty, ask your parents for water. This way they will receive rewards”.
In one of the hadiths of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him), it is written that those who do not respect elders do not belong to us. Ostensibly, there is an opposite interpretation of the hadith in the above story where the old man suggested asking parents for water. I should mention it here as he also said, “even though it seems disrespectful to parents, the result is positive – parents will get rewards”. This short interaction with the aged man was a composite of a few seconds only, however, it did make me think to unfold our existence.
We can, and we should equally contribute by helping others without any materialistic expectation in return.
Having a reflection of the contemporary world and the increasing intensity of the prevailing materialistic approach we practice all around, one hardly witnesses such events when you are being fetched a glass of water. One might question the absence of spirituality in daily life but this absence is obvious and understandable. Being dwellers of the 21st century, the concept of spirituality is fading at an even greater pace.
If we look at the early period of Islam, the situation was different when the materialistic approach of human beings was not at such heights as it is today. Similarly, the then humans were more ready to help their fellows, colleagues, counterparts, and even strangers in an event or any activity. And these are the actual requirements of humanity. Contrarily, the growing concerns of the rapid pace of materialistic property among human beings teach us many lessons from a historical perspective. Using this lens, we can use the potential of our subconscious mind and filter the borderline between spirituality and materialism.
To elaborate further, we should accept the truth that there exists the concept of “vested interests” behind the “good” we do to anyone. Today, such instances are practical in nature. Nevertheless, exceptions do not alter the universal explanation of any story and the same is the case in this regard. If we talk about the poor people in our society, rarely do they get any support. Let me make it clear that support can be of any type e.g., monetary support, social support, economic support, etc. The poor, not receiving the help they need, further cements the lacuna of the spiritual and materialistic border. Imparting helping hands to the poor segment enlightens spirituality.
In short, one thing is obvious and that is the existence of the difference between the two. We have a valuable lesson in the story of the old man cited in the beginning. It reveals that there is always a ray of hope in the darkness. It shows the validity of optimism in pessimism. If an aged person can break the shackles by making a young person drink water first, then why cannot we do in every activity or segment of our life. Thus, we can, and we should equally contribute by helping others without any materialistic expectation in return. Hence, it is wiser that every individual begins working upon this unfolding. Resultantly, the net result will undoubtedly be effective.
May we be on the right path!
The writer is a Civil Engineering Student at UET Taxila. He can be reached at [email protected]