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By Mushfiqur Rahman, Posted 08/1/2002 After making my morning prayer at the crack of dawn Sunday morning, I turned the TV on and jumped to the news channel - before allowing the screen to brighten up first - with a nervous and sensational expectation of good news. And there it was. All nine miners were rescued, and they were all alive and well. Three days of anxious following thus came to an end. It was, as if, a psychological burden that occupied a position in the background of the mind was finally taken off the shoulders and laid to the ground. Until then, the ordeal occupied my mind for most of my wakeful time. While at work, I followed frequently on the internet. Back at home, it would be the TV. By Saturday morning when I took my kids out for a drive, pessimism started to gain on optimism, a humanely weakness on which an average soul like me had little control. Throughout much of the drive on I-495, the nine miners occupied my mind. It was now more than 2 days since they had been trapped 240 feet under the ground at Somerset, Pennsylvania. Like the rest of the people in the country, I had been anxiously following the rescue effort expecting for the news that everyone had been waiting for. But as my car came close to one of the busiest section of the highway – the Wilson Bridge – two days of anxious waiting turned into loss of hope. For how long, I thought, could they survive down there in dark without food, water, heat and fresh air? For me, one of the best times for reflection is when I am driving. This is the time when the mind is not occupied with engaging works or tied up in interactions with others. Driving from point A to point B, thus, often provides a long enough stretch of time in which to reflect on something. So did this Saturday morning drive as I thought about some of the positive things that this Somerset ordeal brought to light. One of the first things that came to mind was the wonderful phenomenon of love and empathy that was displayed (1). All on a sudden, the entire nation became anxious to save the lives of these nine souls. In an overwhelming display of genuine brotherhood, much of the population of the entire country longed for their rescue as if these 9 souls were their own brothers! What a sacrifice on the part of those countless workers, engineers and volunteers who had been working nonstop in a desperate effort to save the lives of these 9 otherwise unknown people! It was, as if, by the touch of some magic stick, the entire nation was captivated by feelings of brotherhood and empathy. Is love and empathy, then, like an afternoon breeze that comes from somewhere beyond the horizon, touches us and then moves on? Or is it a primordial nature implanted in our hearts by God (2)? Where does that overwhelming love come from that a new mother suddenly feels for her child after she gives birth? What makes parents spend sleepless nights if their child is sick? And why do they work hard for their child’s welfare and a secure future? Why do birds fly in and fly out from dawn to dusk to bring food for their youngs, then mince the food, drop in their throats, and off go again? Why even ferocious carnivores delicately nurture their youngs and often go hungry themselves by leaving the kill for their youngs? These are feelings that cannot be acquired. There is no evolutionary gain for one man to show selfless love and mercy for another in need of help. It is all implanted in our hearts by God. Without these feelings, we are not humans. To love is in our nature. To move by a scene of disaster, to shed tears for those in distress, to go out to help is a reflex wired within us by God. And the sum total of all that love and mercy that men, animals, birds, and all other creatures nurture in their hearts and display towards one another is but a fraction of the Mercy that God has and which He will display in the Hereafter towards his servants. Said Prophet Muhammad -
"Allah divided Mercy into one-hundred parts and He kept its ninety-nine parts with Him and sent down the one part on earth. Because of that single part, His creations show mercy to each other, so that even the mare lifts up its hoofs away from its baby animal lest it will trample on it."
What, therefore, appeared to be a wonderful phenomenon of empathy at Somerset is but all natural (3). It would have been abnormal otherwise. Sign of love and empathy is not something to wonder about. Lack of it is. If heart does not show mercy and empathy, then it is because its natural properties are buried under the layers of artificial build up of arrogance, pride, and hatred. If the heart does not move at the sight of suffering, then such a heart needs treatment by God’s message that will remove the plaques and open up the natural arteries so that it is refreshed and revived again to the original configuration with which it was created. If empathy towards fellow humans (and creatures) is a natural property, then it’s logical conclusion is that no human being is to be hated or looked down upon because of his or her ethnic origin, color, or creed (4). If a person hates or looks down upon another person just because he is a Hindu, a Jew, a Muslim, or a Christian, then such display of his attitude is done under the presumption that only he and his co-believers are special people in the eye of God while the rest of the world belongs to a different camp whom God hates. Certain realities are forgotten when such an attitude is maintained: That It is the same God Who created them. That He provides sustenance and feeds them everyday. That He heals them from sickness everyday. That He delivers them from calamities everyday. If it is not God Who does all of these, then who does? This is not a secular humanist discourse. This author is a believer in the Divine Message that God sent to the humanity time and again via His messengers from Adam to Muhammad, and he does it with intellectual conviction. But having faith in a religion may not be compatible with nurturing hatred for the people of other religions (5). If one is intellectually convinced of the truthfulness of his or her religion, if one rationally and objectively comes to the conclusion that his religion provides the most satisfactory answers to those profound philosophical questions that arise in every human mind (i.e., "what is life?", "Who created the universe and how?", "Who am I?", "Where have I come from?", "Where am I going?", "What will happen to me after I die?", and so on), then let the truth and beauty of his religion reflect in his mannerism and attitude. If such a person invites others to his religion so that they are saved, then that is an indication that he cares for them and desires their well-being. Having such a frame of mind is contrary to having hatred and dislikes. If he hates people of other faith or looks down upon them, then he himself is likely to be in need of guidance. If a Muslim suffers from such an attitude, then he should recall the benevolent attitude that Prophet Muhammad (p) had for the idol worshippers Mecca who rejected his message and persecuted him and his few followers. He should recall the incident of Taif, a city close to Mecca. Rejected and ridiculed by the Meccans, the Prophet went to Taif with his young servant Zayd. He went there with great hope and expectation that perhaps the people of Taif would prove to be different from the Meccans and would heed to the message of One God. Upon reaching the city, he invited them to forsake their idols and believe in One God. They not only rejected him outright, but also sent slaves and children after him. They chased him and hurled stones and abuses at him. Injured and stumbling, the prophet retreated and took refuge in a private orchard. He sat down under a tree while blood trickled down his body and accumulated in his sandals. With great hope he came, but humiliated he became. He was a man vanquished, rejected, and defeated. What would a person do in such a state of dejection? He made a prayer to God that is one of the most beautiful and one of the most exemplary for people in despair. No, he did not invite the wrath of God upon the people of Taif. And no, he did not express his anger and frustration at God for allowing him to suffer such a humiliation although it was His message that he went out to preach. Instead, he asked for God’s forgiveness and God’s good pleasure saying that His pleasure is all that he seeks. Raising his hands up to heavens, he murmured -"O God, please consider my weakness, my shortage of means, and the little esteem that people have of me. Oh Most Merciful God, You are the Lord of the oppressed, and You are my Lord. To whom would you leave me my fate? To a stranger who insults me? Or to an enemy who dominates me? Would I that You have no wrath against me! Your pleasure alone is my objective. Under the light of your faith which illuminates all darkness and on which this world and the other depend, I take my refuge. I pray that I may not become the object of Your wrath and anger. To You alone belongs the right to blame and to chastise until Your pleasure is met. There is neither power nor strength except in You."
How unexpectedly does the reality transform into another dimension (6)! In a moment, the known world of safety transformed into a dark world filled with cold rising water. The routine expectation of leaving work and uniting with family members in a world of comfort known as “home” turned, suddenly, into the horrible realization of sure death. Nine adult men, whose well-built structures defied the harsh atmospheres of coal mine, whose muscle wrapped arms tore apart rugged walls of mine, and whose powerful equipments were like Alexander’s horses making inroads to whichever direction they wanted to go, were now nine most helpless creatures on earth desperately looking for a way out to save their souls. And there was none. When the artificial veil of arrogance, power, might, technology, and intelligence is lifted in a moment of truth, we come to the conscious realization that we are really not in control of the affairs of this world (7). Whether it is a massive earthquake that turns an entire city upside down, or a car that hits us from nowhere, or a lightning bolt that lands on our head unprovoked, the reality is that human beings are not in control of the threads of their destiny. It is Someone else. So let all arrogance of power and might shed from our hearts like a snake sheds its worn out skin. And let Him be remembered and obeyed as He should be in our day to day existence, not just when we find ourselves trapped in a hole beyond all help with no one to turn to except to Him. When brushed with imminent death, it is said that past memories and faces of loved ones flush through the mind. The nine miners probably had been thinking about their spouses, children, and other dear ones. I looked up in the rear-view mirror. My two and half year old son appeared to be caught in the rhythm of the road and was about to fall asleep in his car seat at any moment. The five year old, also exhausted from the summer heat and the noise of the car, was looking out through the window. As for me, I still had another fifteen miles of asphalt to negotiate … We take it for granted that our children are ours (8). They belong to us and we to them. They are inseparable from us. But in truth, being parents does not mean that our children really belong to us. Like everything else in the universe, they belong to God Who is their real Owner. They are just given to parents as trust (like parents are to them) to see if they discharge their proper responsibilities towards these trusts. God has negotiated no time-table with the parents for the period in which they can keep these trusts. He reserves full right to terminate that trust at any moment either by taking the parents away from the child or the child from them, as it happens everyday. Do we ever consciously acknowledge that reality in our hearts until it happens? Or do we take it for granted that we will always be with our children and loved ones and they will be with us? Has love of our children, family, and material goods overwhelmed us and obscured our sense of reality? Are we ready for a sudden separation for good from our loved ones should God decides to take us away from them or them from us? Instinctively, we try to escape from these blunt realities. Or more accurately, we like to be in a state of denial for things that are uncomfortable to think about. One of these is the denial of death. Death is the destination of a journey called life (9). For each individual, life is like a train moving from one station to another. At each station, it meets new people, makes new friends and acquaintances. Bonds are made and hearts share love and affection. Then the whistle is blown and the train moves on as the people standing on the platform wave good byes. The train reaches the next station, and there it all begins again. After moving from station to station making new acquaintances on the way and leaving trails of memories behind, it eventually reaches the destination. That destination is death, an inescapable reality. Released at birth, the arrow of life will reach its destination at death. No doctor or scientist on earth can stop the arrow from moving forward, second by second. Then at one point, possibly with little or no warning, it will reach the destination. Every soul will then be asked how it spent the gift of life that God has given him or her. Was it spent consistent with a purpose, objective and meaning? Or was it spent running after material goods and playful amusements?
You are obsessed by greed for more and more
Until you go down to your graves.
Nay, but you will come to know!
Nay, but you will come to know!
Nay, if you but knew it with the knowledge of certainty,
You would indeed see the hell you are in.
In time, indeed, you shall see it with the eye of certainty:
And on that Day you will be asked
What you have done with the boon of life.
[Qur'an 102: 1-8]
Life is a wonderful gift from God, the most precious of all that we have. Let it be valued as such. Let it be spent in the service of the One Who has given it as a trust and gift. Let the heart remain alive and fresh with remembrance of God throughout the drama of life and death, of trails and tribulations, of joy and happiness. Let life be sound and wholesome, and let it emanate good towards all that are around. Nine miners trapped in a dark, crammed, watery hole 240 feet under the surface, and one man driving fast with two kids above the surface on a super highway under the canopy of the blue sky. Two worlds that are worlds apart. Yet variation in elevation or in the color of the canopy affects not realities. Realities, as always, remain inescapable.
When the sun
(With its spacious light)
Is folded up;
When the stars
Fall losing their luster;
When the mountains vanish
(Like a mirage);
When the she-camels,
Ten months with young,
Are left untended;
When the wild beasts
Are herded together
(In human habitations);
When the oceans
Boil over with a swell;
When the souls
Are sorted out
(Being joined like with like);When the female (infant),
Buried alive, is questioned –
For what crime
She was killed;
When the Scrolls
Are laid open;
When the World on High
Is unveiled:
When the Blazing Fire
Is kindled to fierce heat;
And when the Garden (of Paradise)
Is brought near
(Then) shall each soul know
What it has put forward.
[Qur’an 81: 1-14]