PITY THE NATION Whose Statesman Is A Fox; Whose Philosopher Is A Juggler!

 

'Pity The Nation

Whose Statesman Is A Fox,

Whose Philosopher Is A Juggler!’

(M. Javed Naseem)

“Corruption does appear on land

and sea because of (the evil)

which men’s hands have done,

that He may make them taste a

part of that which they have done,

in order that they may return.”

(al-Quran 30:41)

The Earth belongs to God Almighty. Whatever we do here, we’ll definitely bear the consequences of that. When we were sent down to earth, we were given a set of rules and regulations to follow. And as in any society, if you break the rules you are liable to punishment or reprisal. For a layman, things are in black and white. A line has been drawn between right and wrong – nothing in between. But the modern man has blurred the line and added colors to the scene. He has no courage to stand up against the evil and has no guts to face the reality either. Therefore, he walks the blurred line, fooling himself and deceiving others, but at the same time claiming to be fair. He tries to please both sides of the conflict, and sometimes even favoring one over the other. His sweet lies earn him the title of a modern ‘diplomat’ which practically means a ‘Munafiq’ (hypocrite).. The Almighty says:

“Confound not truth with falsehood,

nor knowingly conceal the truth.”

(al-Quran 2:42)

As a matter of fact, a tactful liar is considered a successful diplomat. The modern smart diplomat is a hypocrite – that is ‘Munafiq’ in Islamic terminology. He is a person who fools both parties with his lies, unfair tactics, deception and sweet-talk. You can even challenge his honesty. Unfortunately, he is considered a very successful man today. That means either we have gone blind or have turned into crooks who change the values, laws, rules & regulations to serve their own interest, with no respect for humanity.

“Lo, Allah commands you that you

restore deposits to their owners,

and if you judge between mankind,

then you judge justly.”

(al-Quran 4:58)

A nation should demand justice, equality and respect as its birth-right. There are moral values and civic laws that govern a society. In the absence of those values and laws, there would be chaos. It would be like living in a jungle. When people stop thinking and asking ‘how’ and ‘why’, they become a dead society. Such people are considered as a herd of sheep that will follow even a dummy. Have you seen the modern hobby of the rich, the dog race? The dogs chase a dummy rabbit. They don’t even feel that the rabbit is a toy. People of the developing nations are being programmed like that these days. The leaders in those countries are installed by the foreign ‘special interest’ group. The ‘dummy’ runs the affairs, as he is told to, and the nation follows. The nations which don’t demand justice, don’t stand up against evil, and don’t fight for their own rights, they are as good as dead. Miracles don’t happen unless you try to make them happen. You have to make an effort.

“Lo! Allah changes not the condition

of a folk until they (first) change

that which is in their hearts …..”

(al-Quran 13:11)

In a society where ‘anything goes’ you cannot expect justice, respect or honesty. Nations like that are doomed. They don’t make any effort to change their lives for the better. They just sit back and wait for something to happen. These days the countries have the foreign armies on their soil to defend them. Vow! We did not learn any lesson from the history of nations. The people that cannot defend themselves have no right to freedom. The Jews used to have the same character during the time of Prophet Moses. They were so shameless that they won’t do anything but demand Moses to ask his God to get them this and that. They would even send Moses to ask God for meat, garlic, onions and cucumbers when God was providing them with Manna and Salwa. Allah says in the Holy Quran:

“We destroyed the generations

before you when they did wrong;

and their messengers (from Allah)

came unto them with clear proofs

(of His sovereignty), but they would

not believe. Thus do We reward

the guilty folk.”

(al-Quran 10:13)

What logic do we see in doing wrong and still expecting the blessings from Allah? It does not work that way. The saying goes: First deserve then desire. We can ask Allah for His help only when we are trying our best for a good cause. Khalil Jibran said:

“Pity the nation that raises not its voice,

Save when it walks in a funeral;

Boasts not except among its ruins, and will

Rebel not save when its neck is laid

between the sword and the block.”

We have exactly the same situation today. We are almost dead as a nation. We have no character, no dignity and no identity. We are like that cricket team who sells the honor of their motherland for a few thousand dollars and feels no shame. Or like a politician who sells his motherland to his foreign masters only to get immigration status for his family.

Sheikh Saadi of Iran said that you cannot produce a good sword from a bad metal; meaning that you cannot produce quality product from the low-grade raw material. Nations of the world are laughing at our leaders and politicians. They are ridiculing the Muslim nation. And we can see it why! We have become a nation of mediocres, inefficient, incompetent and dishonest workers. No wonder we are producing the same kind of leaders and politicians. Ah! My heart goes to Khalil Jibran who says:

“Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox,

Whose philosopher is a juggler;

And whose art is the art of patching and

mimicking.”

There is something called ‘self-respect’. We have lost it. It’s a hard-earned commodity. If we don’t respect ourselves, who is going to respect us? Nobody. Yes, nobody. And that’s what is happening today. It is out of fashion to talk about Allah, His Messengers, Islam and Muslims. People would leave your company if you start talking about national integrity, honesty, justice, fairplay and equality. They take pride in being associated with Devil or America or Britain; even India, Israel or the wretched of the earth Afghanistan. They are not proud citizens of Pakistan. They would rather call themselves Muhajirs, Sindhis, Pashtuns, Baluchis, Punjabis and Kashmiris. Ah! Khalil Jibran! You knew my country very well when you said:

“Pity the nation divided into fragments,

Each fragment deeming itself a nation.

Each fragment has its own short-sighted,

narrow-minded and evil-oriented leader.

There is no leader of the Muslim ‘Ummah’. No wonder it has become a herd of sheep. They are doing nothing to change their destiny. They are engaged in evil practices and are hoping for the blessings of Almighty Allah. They are all waiting for a miracle, for a Messiah. And the only Messiahs they are getting are the ones who are installed by their foreign masters. They come with great pump and show, only to leave with their tails between their legs. Ah! Khalil Jibran! I love you when you said:

“Pity the nation that welcomes

its new ruler with trumpeting,

And farewells him with hooting;

Only to welcome another

with trumpeting again.”

Khalil Jibran wrote this poem in 1934. What a far-sightedness, what a vision! It seems that the situation in the1930s was not much different from the current one in the year 2024. That means the humans don’t change much for the better. It is sad. If you try to apply the above thoughts on today’s Muslim world, they fit perfectly. Khalil Jibran could see the future of the Ummah. Things have deteriorated in the Muslim countries over the years. The only change we see there is in the material things – even those things have been copied from the West. Most of the Muslim countries – especially the French speaking, have lost their identity. Their people try to mimick their Masters, but their masters don’t accept them as equal. And they themselves consider superior to their fellow countrymen. So, they are hanging in the middle, belonging to neither group. 

In fact they have lost their culture, their values and ultimately their identity. It is happening in Pakistan too. There are radio & tv channels, newspapers and magazines that are working day and night to destroy the ideology of this nation. They are even ridiculing the founding fathers of Pakistan. At the same time Europe and America are appreciating Iqbal and Jinnah for their role in re-writing the history of the Sub-continent. Funny?

Here is the complete translation of Khalil Jibran’s poem.

Pity The Nation

(Written in 1934)

Pity the nation that raises not its voice

Save when it walks in a funeral;

Boasts not except among its ruins, and will

Rebel not save when its neck is laid

between the sword and the block.

Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox,

Whose philosopher is a juggler,

And whose art is the art of patching

and mimicking.

Pity the nation that welcomes its new ruler

with trumpeting,

And farewells him with hooting;

Only to welcome another

with trumpeting again.

Pity the nation whose sages are dumb with years,

And whose strong men are yet in the cradle.

Pity the nation divided into fragments,

Each fragment deeming itself a nation.

(Khalil Jibran)

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