Dr Sibtain Panjwani – United Kingdom
The measure of success, as a community, will depend on the depth of our commitment to Islams’s internal moral spirit; the very thing that attracted people to Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w).
We need to introduce a ‘value based’ approach that re emphasises basic moral codes such as respect, patience, struggle, simplicity, reflection and social ties. Arguably, we live in a society where everything is accessible and quickly obtainable and when we do not get what we want, we easily complain. We therefore lose our patience, the ability to struggle through issues and maintain a simple orientated (not undignified) life. Commodities, values, relationships, and trust are easily replaceable or rejected depending on our preference and what we want.
Yet these are the very things that we need to keep and struggle for. Relationships may not be easy but build over time, commodities may be obtainable but are ultimately transitory and trust may be hard to find but once found give security and happiness. However, these values can only come about when we focus less on the external aspects of Islam and more on its internal moral spirit; the very thing that attracted people to Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) and the Imams. In fact, we rarely view the Ahlulbayt (a.s) as living, human personalities capable of being analysed and learnt from. We always seem to hold them at a distance, only praising them. Yet they are our role models and by focusing more on how they lived their normal lives getting through daily struggles will show us how they brought piety to society. This value based approach can only occur if we focus on issues in our community which are directly affecting the family unit and scholars take a more practical attitude towards the lives of the Ahlulbayt (a.s)
