Daily Times

Lieutenant General John Bagot Glubb of the British Army served with distinction in Jordan during and after the creation of the state of Israel. He was a soldier and a scholar with deep insights into the Arabs and Muslims. He wrote ten books, most of them on the history of Arabs and Islamic civilization. He also saw the decline of the British empire after the second world war.

He says of declining empires: “Frivolity, aestheticism, hedonism, cynicism, pessimism, narcissism, consumerism, materialism, nihilism, fatalism, fanatics and other negative behaviours and attitudes suffuse the population. Politics is increasingly corrupt, and life is increasingly unjust. A cabal of insiders accrues wealth and power at the expense of the citizens, fostering a fatal opposition of interests between haves and have-nots. The majority live for bread and circuses (panem et circusem). They worship celebrities and throw off social and moral restraints…..shirk duties but insist on entitlement.”

This is true for Pakistan, word for word. The tragedy is that we are not an empire in decline. We are a morally and financially bankrupt developing nation struggling to survive. Yet, we have all the traits, attitudes and behaviours of a mighty empire in decline.

The tragedy is that we are not an empire in decline. We are a morally and financially bankrupt developing nation struggling to survive.

I was watching a Youtube channel interview with Asim Ismail of Al-Wasila Trust of Karachi. One of their projects is microfinance, where they help unemployed and poor people set up a fruit or vegetable cart. According to them, they assist the needy by teaching them business skills and it takes about 15 months for the debtor to pay off the micro-credit. Asim Ismail said that the number of people benefitting from this venture is in the hundreds and not in the thousands, and this is not due to a lack of donor funds. People are simply not interested in working to become self-sufficient. When they approach the organization for assistance, there is a verification process required to dispense the loan. People are commitment-phobic, so they do not avail of microcredit. They just want easy money in the form of cash outlays from charity.

He then pointed out the greater issue of a lack of work ethic in Pakistanis. Be it a paint job, electrical repairs, carpentry or masonry work, it is virtually impossible to find diligent and industrious workers. The job is never done right even after multiple attempts by workmen who charge equal amounts for each attempt.

In general people in Pakistan want easy money and are not ashamed of begging, short changing or even stealing. These days due to the generosity that Muslims show during Ramadan, digital beggars are begging across Pakistani Facebook groups. Their stories are blatant lies because a person will sell off their smartphone to feed their starving children. No man or woman with starving kids would linger on social media.

Beggars from Pakistan are truly a shame for us internationally. A girl posted on social media about her Ramadan trip to Makkah where Pakistani beggars were found at the base of Mount Hira all the way to the top. Pestering people for money, our beggars even ruin a once-in-a-lifetime spiritual experience in the holy land.

Adam (a.s) was created as a social being. Our main purpose on earth is to worship Allah and live righteously. The social aspect of righteous living is paramount for salvation. When a Muslim passed away in Medina, the Prophet Muhammad (saw) would inquire about his debts. The repayment of debt is so important in Islam, that even a Shaheed or martyr for the cause of Islam will have all his sins forgiven except for debt.

The prophet (pbuh) declined to lead the funeral prayers of a man who died while he was indebted, but had not left anything behind to settle the debt. It was only when another man offered to pay the debt that the Prophet (pbuh) led the funeral prayer. (Sahih Bukhari 2289)

The prophet said: “Whoever dies free from three things – arrogance, cheating and debt – will enter Paradise.”

(Jamiyah-Tirmidhi 1572)

All three of these vices are commonly found in Pakistanis. Anyone with the slightest degree of power acts with hubris. Most people take loans with no intention of repaying them. Some people find creative ways of avoiding repayment. It is not uncommon to hear of people undertaking a loan from a family member’s savings in foreign currency. They convert the amount into Pakistani currency and then repay in the same currency. This causes a serious long-term loss to the family member due to the massive currency depreciation of the Pakistani Rupee.

This is a partial default on debt by cheating. Our nation is adept at finding new ways to cheat and short-change others. It feeds their ego. People in our nation are extremely unfair to others, but they forcefully demand extreme fairness in their own matters. They take pride in their double standards, thinking that in this way they emerge as winners everywhere.

The direct connection of these wicked worldly deeds to hellfire is never on their minds.

These crucial concepts of fairness stressed in Islam are never taught by our clergy. The Friday and Eid sermons are all about the need for Jihad in Palestine and Kashmir. This single-minded obsession with jihad diverts people from living in the moment and living righteously. No Muslim can live righteously until and unless he or she fulfils his or her financial, legal, social and moral obligations towards their fellow beings and towards society at large.

Turning a blind eye to our obligations makes us heavily laden with unforgivable sins as Allah does not forgive the sins done to other people.

Even in this world, unethical and self-serving behaviours cause collective suffering. When people become oblivious to the rights and feelings of others, they cause damage, loss and pain to each other. When people are collectively inconsiderate, self-serving and exploitative they cease to be a Muslim community.

In such a community people cannot be considerate neighbours, conscientious work colleagues, reliable friends, helpful relatives and responsible citizens. This kills the communal spirit stressed in Islam. Such people create a society where life becomes difficult due to the wicked behaviour of people.

We have become such a society but we fail to look inwards. We project our own failures onto our politicians. We blame all our ills on our rulers and love them or hate them to the extreme. This approach ensures the status quo and we remain mired in a cesspool.

The writer is an independent researcher, author and columnist. She can be reached at aliya1924@gmail.com