Zig Ziglar, American author and motivational speaker, has said: “Building a better you is the first step to building a better America.” The same is true for any country, including ours. We are used to pointing our fingers at others for not doing something when what we must do is take responsibility for our lives and do whatever we can, big or small, to improve our lot. Sometimes, we do not take the initiative because we lack the sense of responsibility but most of the time we simply feel irrelevant and insignificant. We should not feel this way because everything we do, or do not do, has an impact on us and our society. A fable tells about a small pebble on a dam which used to feel sorry for itself, thinking that whatever it did was insignificant. Eventually, the pebble threw itself into the water. This created a tiny hole in the dam from which water escaped. The tiny hole grew larger overtime and other stones were shaken by the water flow until one day a large portion of the dam fell and later the dam itself collapsed. This fable tells us that we — big and small, rich and poor, educated and uneducated — are responsible for our fate and the conditions of our community and that we must take charge of our lives. In short, we are all significant and we must contribute and do well whatever we have to do. This is not a norm of civilized behavior which builds civilized nations but it is an irreducible part of the Muslim moral code if Islam is coherently understood and applied. Islam entwines worship and behavior, both personal and social, whereby behavior is a form of worship. The Muslim code of behavior incorporates social responsibility as well as drive. Therefore, in order to build strong, confident people, we should teach our kids not only Islamic rituals, as important as they are, but also instill in them Islamic values that would teach them to respect themselves, be honest, be fair and so on and so forth. We should also not give whimsical orders but explain the why and how as much as possible. It is not enough to say, “do not throw garbage in the street” or” “do not speed up”. We need to tell kids how throwing garbage, wasting too much water or over-speeding, for example, have social impacts that shape every one's lives, including theirs. Just like a circle, what goes around comes around. In other words, we get the fruits of what we do, albeit not in a linear way. So, it is important to see the connection between our behavioral patterns and the conditions of life around us. We cannot pray and give Zakat and then give or take bribe; we cannot pray and fast and then lie and backbite. When we learn this, we will stop pointing fingers at others and instead learn to take action. (The author can be reached at khadijah_ [email protected]) __
