Key to Harmony

Man is mixture of change and permanence. Only an unalterable code can guarantee positive change, progress and peace with no rigid authoritarianism that bars amendment in subsequent laws to be made flexible in accordance with the demand of time. Whitehead, the author of “Adventures of Ideas”, points out that the ‘Truth’ proportionate to ‘Reality’ lies in the Revelation from God, if it is available in its original form. Bergson in “The Two Sources of Religion and Morality”, Spingler in “The Decline of the West” and Rashdall in “The Theory of Good and Evil” indicate that the holy book of Islam seems to qualifying the criteria of being original. But the problem is that we the followers called Ummah have subjected it to eclipses of religious rigidity and political bigotry. Man-made interpretations to the God-given code of life have only hindered our growth and marred the world peace. Allama Iqbal’s advice “If you want to become a true Muslim, you can’t become without Quran” is not paid heed to. Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s Pakistan “not to become a theocratic state” is bleeding today under sectarian extremisms of heterogeneous streamers. Years and months, weeks and days since the start of Afghan war have inflicted us wounds after wounds, deaths of thousands, loss of billions, and the agony goes on. Social fabric of society and psyche of citizens have changed to distress and despondency, helplessness and inaction. The vacuum and gap has offered space to the collaborators to turn our territory into turf of war of their interest. Someone has to fill the gap or Nature will. Or the reason and sanity have to replace it. Sooner the better.

Way forward lies in bringing the ‘Truth’ at par with ‘Reality’. Sense of loss – what else is left to lose – is the key to regain our strength, reunite our ranks, rejuvenate our spirits and infuse a new life in the nation, across the board, without discrimination and prejudice. Tolerance maybe a means to harmony and tranquility, religious concord or societal accordance, but why need a tolerance, why preach co-existence within our own self if there is a consensus Code of Procedure available to extirpate all kinds of differences and turn the society into oneness? Let’s behold it tight. Enough is enough. Blood in Quetta and Karachi, elsewhere in the country, has the message to stop. Inimical forces have to be overpowered. State has the responsibility to devise a long-term strategy and provide adequate legal and prosecution framework, keeping in view the ultimate goal of building a society free of falsehood and deceit. Our politicians, civil society representatives and members from the intelligentsia or academia have to play the lead role of iconoclast. Now. It is never too late. In words of Allama Muhammad Iqbal: “The dimness of the stars is evidence of the bright morning. The sun has risen over the horizon; the time of deep slumber has passed.”

(Farooq-uz-Zaman)