Pakistan, these days, has turned to a point that a few people, when asked if they wanted an Islamic form of government like there was at the time of Prophet Muhammad P.B.U.H. (Peace Be Upon Him), state their answer in the negative without giving any specific reason as to why they do not want this. So, I gather, maybe it is prejudice? Odd, isn’t it? Muslims being prejudiced against Islam? Odd and extremely sad at the same time.
We have seen with our own eyes how the Islamic rule flourished when the Muslims were sincere to Islam. How we ruled the world and achieved success after success. How we excelled in the field of education as well. How the teachings of our prophet Muhammad P.B.U.H. helped us in every walk of life. We were the “rage” back then- as youngsters like to put it.
If you take a look at Pakistan today and the same Pakistan a decade or two ago, you will deduct that our condition was much better back then. We have reduced ourselves to begging, heavily under the burden of loans taken from the I.M.F. (International Monetary Fund). At present, we owe the I.M.f. just over $6.2 billion! To top it all up, the value of our currency is sliding down swiftly. In 1999, the value of a Pakistani Rupee was approximately 52 U.S. dollars and now, in 2013, it is approximately 105 U.S. Dollars! These are just small facts enough to prove and depict the steady decline of our economy.
From the very beginning, right after Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan, I would say, corrupt people started entering our government beginning a never ending cycle of robbing our country of its wealth and then shamelessly moving away, giving their seats to even more disreputable ones.
There are two reasons why we have moulded our fate to be this dark.
1. Abandoning the true practices of our religion, Islam.
2. Insincerity towards our homeland.
Let us discuss number one first. We all know and all of us have this carved in our minds that Pakistan was created in the name of Islam. What does “in the name of Islam” really mean? It means that the Muslims, who were going through hell in the subcontinent due to the brutal treatment of the Hindus and British alike, needed a separate land to live according to their religion. Religion constitutes us- it is one of the basic pillars in life. These days, we find a pretentious bunch of Muslims who act as carbon copies of the West, insulting Burqa- clad, making fun of Niqabis (women who cover their faces in public) and taunting men who keep beards. These people make fun of the appearances of how a true Muslim should look on the outside. And then, such Pakistanis feel proud if there isn’t much of a prevalence in their families of leading life according to the Islamic way. Apart from that, stealing, lying, backbiting, interest, nudity, corruption, all of which is prohibited in Islam, is largely prevalent among the masses.
We prudently preach that a person should not forget his/her roots. Why have we, then, abandoned the very reason of our existence- the teachings of the last Prophet P.B.U.H.? Why do scorn the practices of Islam and the people who practice them? Isn’t this a slap in the face for all of us? If this is the attitude of the general population, then how dare we blame the government, which is selected by the same people, for all the mishaps our country is facing?
Moving on to point number two, i.e., insincerity towards our homeland. At the time of Independence, 1947, 23% of Pakistan’s population comprised of non- Muslims. Now, a minority of 3% remain. They are a part of Pakistan. Practicing the religion Islam does not apply to them. But since they are Pakistanis, being sincere to their country does apply to them. What most of us are indulged in is self- contentment. We are involved in going to any length for the purpose of personal prosperity. We will tread on the rights of a deserving candidate in order to fulfill our own needs. Most of our office employments depend on high contacts rather than the required skills.
If this is what the Pakistani nation has reduced to, being one of the most corrupt, insincere and character-lacking nations in the world, then do we even deserve prosperity? Don’t we rightfully deserve what’s being done to us?
As a person, our duty from now on should be to LOOK at ourselves and GROOM ourselves according to Islam. As a nation, our duty is to preach what’s good, refrain and put a stop to what’s bad, control our desires for wealth or fame and start working as individuals first and then as groups for the betterment of our country. Only then will the dark clouds be lifted and only then will we be able to gain what’s rightfully ours- an independent Muslim country, free from the bounds of the U.S.A. and I.M.F.
Long Live Pakistan!
