A simple thought from The Community on Friday: Marriages that were once made in heaven, are now seemingly headed in the opposite direction. And while both traditionalists and modernists may point a finger at each other for the harm that their positions bring to this sacred institution, statistics paint a grim picture of a sunnah geared towards extinction. But because curiosity ultimately kills the cat, there may be no valid reason to further delay the inquisition on what causes the ledger of divorces to tilt on the up scale. There being no one solution that fits all, it does seem rather plausible to pick the nearest reason among many to start off from. It is argued commonly now that the level of preparedness going into a marriage has drastically declined to the level of a fantasy like walking into Alice’s wonderland, whereas the old adage ‘marriage is not a bed of roses’ defiantly stands every test of time, but apparently hidden from the sparkling eyes of a couple-to-be. In the past, experience used to shape attitudes, and hence the consequences of action or inaction, were conveniently improprietered to the environment around the couple. However, in this age of virtual reality, young people face a different challenge – their environment comprises more of externally well-accentuated influences that refract local cultural values into a helix of oblivion.
When the media shapes the lives and expectations of young people, it ruthlessly disposes them to the portrayals of short music videos and star studded movies, that stand agile in the way of logic and reason, while maintaining the core values of short term relationships as the norm, rather than the exception.
A muslim family that spends years in speculating about the kind of suitor that their beloved child will have, must spend exponentially, their time and effort in bringing up a young individual exuding class and cultural finesse, unshaken by the tidal waves of the merciless environment or seldom reliant on laurels of the clan. Tragically, our deafening verbal paramour for the Holy House, does not quite translate into applicable actions in our lives. As long as we practice part time religion, another famous quote ‘religion is like opium’ will inevitably wreak havoc in our lives. To the parents who are too occupied in their social activities, who applaud at the craftiness and violence of their child as a mark of their fitness to survival, the qualities you are passing on, will just be enough to mar their future life of comfort. The parent was never supposed to be a passive shepherd, wake up now.
This initiative is made possible by the kind courtesy of Abu Baseer Eye Clinic, Bande Khuda Sponsors, G1 Security, Highways Car Hire Ltd, Max Fries, Meadows Academy, SD Dental Clinic & Ceramic Lab, SokoniAdvertiser and Xpress Rent a Car, and for the ISAALE THAWAAB of Marhumeen of Bhimji and Nayani Family, Marhuma Sarubai Abdullah, Marhum Hussein Nazarali and Marhuma Nargisbai Nazarali
