I just read a gripping story that has a powerful message for all Muslims. The message is so powerful that it should have meaning for Christians, Jews, Hindus and people of all faiths, even people of no faith.
It is a story that takes two to three minutes, unless you read it more than once. And it bears reading more than once.
In “Ramazan musings: The Silent Lament of the Quran,” Dr. Munavvar Izhar paints a picture of an old tradition, repeated year after year, in which the participants do their duty, but learn nothing. They hear the words but don’t listen, look at examples but don’t see, feel the magic but fail to absorb it.
At the end of the ritual, the participants are exhilarated and also exhausted.
Our brief month long love affair with the Quran is strangely exhaustive yet exhilarating. It leaves us physically run down but spiritually elevated. It brings us shoulder to shoulder with strangers and neighbours. It bonds us with friends. It binds us with foes. It charms us as no symphony can ever do. For such is its magic and such is its power.
After reading Dr. Izhar’s penultimate paragraph, try reading it again and substitute a different book and buildings.
As another Ramadan draws to a close, the silent lament of the Quran bemoans not the fact that it is being burnt by some disbelieving bigots in a churchyard, but that it fails to fire up a generation of mosque goers whose lives are not enlightened by its guidance.
After reading that story, a reader, “Sadaf” said, “How much can a single Dr. Izhar do? Muslims need a Dr. Izhar in every home and in every neighbourhood.”
The answer is that while there is only one Dr. Izhar, Sadaf could be a messenger who spreads Dr. Izhar’s words to a friend, or 10 friends, or 100 friends. If each friend did the same, the link to the story and a request to send it to friends could be in millions of mailboxes by this time tomorrow.
The Quran, Bible, Talmud, Veda are all lamenting … silently.
Can you hear the lament? If so, you can help spread the story Dr. Izhar so elegantly told.
So this is my part in being the messenger, a story in NewsBlaze, a link to NewAgeIslam, promoted in social media, an email to 1,000 NewsBlaze subscribers and another to 10 close friends.
If you think this is a powerful message, you could send it to your friends. Waiting for the government or for someone else to fix the problem, means it will probably never happen, at least not until it is too late. Even if you don’t send it on, feel it, live it.
