Passing Thoughts #5
Moral and Spiritual Decay, Human Agency & Responsibility, Complementary Personality Traits
Moral and Spiritual Decay
In Surah al-Baqarah, the second chapter of the Quran, Allah provides instructive lessons about our identity and path. The alert mind will notice the topic of moral and spiritual decay is given considerable focus in the surah before details of Islamic Law are mentioned in the second half. Throughout the Quran, Allah frequently exposes the mindset of duplicitous pretenders as both a warning and a protection for the believers.
This surah specifically functions like a sieve and assists the reader to delineate truth from false tales and plays. It helps a person understand the various ailments that exist amongst a people when submission to God has been cast aside.
Muslims are informed on how the previous nation given the message of truth did not live up to what was expected from believers. The deen was tampered with and distorted; their rabbis and elders being complicit in their communal corruption. Greed and a materialistic outlook on life drove them to all types of grave transgressions.
We ask Allah to help us learn and apply the lessons from this surah such that it becomes a functioning manual for us that helps us make proper sense of all the nouns and events in our lives.
Many a Muslim remains unaware of the level of intensity the devil has in his commitment to either keep a person distanced from the Quran, confused in understanding it or weak in applying it. This is because the Quran being divine in origin frees the mind and strengthens the heart of a frail and flawed creature in a way that nothing else can.
Human Agency and Responsibility
Bani Adam has been given agency and responsibility which they will be answerable for. One must own that heavy responsibility with full commitment. It is up to each person individually to ascertain what the truth is in various matters, through dua, study and seeking counsel, and live according to that.
Now, take note of the attitude of Bani Israel, who had lived under subjugation and oppression which had significantly damaged their mindset.
After they had crossed the sea under the leadership of Musa, they fell into the worship of the calf in the absence of Musa(as) who had travelled to receive further guidance from Allah.
Allah informed Musa of what his people had fallen into in his absence. When Musa(as) returned to his people and saw the pathetic state of affairs, he felt angry and upset—the natural emotions a believer experiences when faced with injustice: The most advanced state of injustice in the Islamic worldview is directing one’s worship to other than the One True God.
His anger was a catalyst for restoring balance as he first conducted an investigation and then proceeded to make executive decisions that would restore balance and justice.
Musa(as) began with questioning the people. The people were responsible for their choices. The people had made a choice to follow a charlatan who had sold them a lie and they had shown up to buy it.
His people had seen enough proof that they should not have been so easily fooled in his absence. Allah had just parted the sea for them. Allah had promised them victory. So Musa(as) said to them:
“O my people, did your Lord not promise you a good promise? Did then the time become too long for you, or did you wish that wrath from your Lord befalls you, and hence you broke your promise to me?” (Quran 20:86)
They were deceived by an illusion which they should have been able to see through. Besides not using their minds, they had also refused to listen to advice of Harun(as), the designated leader in Musa’s absence, who had reminded them that they were being deceived. Notice their weak response:
They said, “We did not break our promise to you of our own accord, but we were burdened with loads from the ornaments of the people . . .” (Quran 20:87)
Samiri, the charlatan who had shown up in Musa’s absence, had marketed to them a shiny golden calf, a weak spot for them, and they were unable to resist the branding or hold fast to the truth. These subjugated Muslims(Bani Israel were the Muslims of their time) had lived amongst the Egyptians for whom the golden calf held a special status, and this common mindset had affected these Muslims too.
Complementary Personality Traits
Bani Israel had fallen into an immense blunder. In this tense situation, when Musa(as) questioned Harun(as), the leader he had designated to be in charge while he was away, he ended up grabbing him by his beard.
“He said, O Harun, what prevented you from following me when you saw them going astray? Did you then disobey my command?” (Quran 20:92-93)
Musa’s personality was well suited for the task Allah assigned to him. Standing up to entitled criminals and freeing an entire population from internal fragmentation(shirk) and subjugation was not a simple mission and demanded a personality with immense mental fortitude, steadfastness and someone entirely devoted to Allah.
Allah had specifically nurtured and trained Musa(as) for his task. He was courageous, committed and quick to self-correct when he erred. Allah did not choose a stoic personality devoid of the ability to feel to lead a disordered nation. Musa was entirely human and Allah shows us glimpses of moments of anger and fear that he experiences during his mission as well as how he would overcome these moments.
His personality and the complementary personality of Harun(as) worked well together in order for them to function effectively as a team. This is a common pairing in life where people’s unique traits prove to be useful in different circumstances and balance each other out. Harun’s (as) response was very wise when Musa(as) questioned him in that intense moment.
He said, “O Son of my mother, do not hold me by the beard, nor by my head. I feared that you would say, ‘You have caused discord amongst the children of Israi’l and did not observe my advice.” Quran 20:94)
Lastly, Musa(as) questioned Samiri the charlatan, who had fooled Bani Israel. As expected, the loser had a flimsy excuse of his own to offer when questioned. Musa(as) then made several executive decisions that would promptly restore order and balance.