Asliyyat

I was driving to tampa to visit my mother my nani ammi was in the passenger seat to my side, she turned to me and said: "eik qissa sunati hun," in udru, the only language she will speak in. Though my brother in law always replies to her in english, adding that he knows she is only pretending not to know english.
Anyways, she wanted to relate a story to me.

There was a man who had a considerable amount of fame during her childhood. He was reknown journalist and author and also devotee of the famous sufi nizamuddin awliyah in delhi, thus he was called so and so nizami from delhi. He came to visit her father the grand mufti of hyderabad.

During the visit, nizami made a comment about how a man these days isn't considered much until he has property. To which my great grandfather responded, "well, I own this house. So I will be fine."

Nizami was surprised to hear the reply, so he added, "oh yes, cars, you are not anything unless you have a car." My great grandfather understood where this conversation was headed and replied "Yes, cars, I have one of those too... Oh yes, and I even have a radio."

A radio was a very rare thing to have in those days. Nizami had nowhere else to go with this conversation, "a radio?", he said in a surprised tone, " that is indeed a wonderous thing. You have one?" He asked, having to acknowledge that according to his materialistic standards, this simple looking religious man, was deserving of some respect.

My grand mother did not relate this story to tell me how privileged a childhood she had. she was not finished. She went on to say that regardless of the luxuries her father had in Hyderabad, serving as the chief religious advisor to the Nizam, he always felt at home and had no complaints when going back to their modest home in the mauvi muhalla neighborhood of Badaun. He remained connected to his roots, "his asliyath."

"Your father was like that too" she added.

This conversation had started much earlier in the drive when she remembered some sort of early mobile phone that my father had, and how these devices have changed so much. I noted how in her lifetime, communication had evolved so much, and she has been a witness to it all. She started with letters and telegrams, the rise of the telephone, then mobile phones; and she was there when a radio came into her house, then a television, then a computer, and now a portable laptop computer with the internet. All she needs now is  someone in the family to get an iphone that brings all these things together. Transportation was the thing that evolved in the lifetime of her parents. Getting physically from one place to another, from animals to carriages to trains to cars to planes. While she had been a witness to how we get information from one place to another without physically going or sending a messenger. She had been a witness to so much. This had reminded her about the incident with nizami. And that incident reminded her of a piece of wisdom to share with me.

It is interesting how each of these useful tools
can become a symbol of status
for the small minded people
who choose to think that way.

And that despite how things change
or get easier with time and money,
I should, like my father before me,
be able to get by on the basics,
without feeling like we can't live without these luxuries.

Because the truth of it is that
we came from humble origins
and should not only be able to return to them,
and survive in them,
but be completely comfortable and happy when there.
Because it is who we truly are.
It is "our asliyath"

have and have not

The conversation i had with my grandmother got me thinking about things that determine ones status in society. society is divided between those who have and those who have not. having means being in possession of something. that something does not have to be material.

I figure 5 things one can possess that determine his or her status in society:
Power - which determines political status
Wealth - which determines economic status
Knowledge - which determines intellectual status
Respect - which determines social status
Fame - which determines cultural status

One can possess one with out the others.
Each thing has its haves and haves nots.

being in possession of any one of these things can lead to pride.
pride is not bad. it is as awareness of ones own quality of being.
but it is when one who has looks down upon those who do not,
that the term elitist or snob can be applied to them.
their pride has turned into arrogance.

not being in possession can lead to wanting.
wanting is not bad. it is an awareness of ones need to grow.
but if not having leads to a feeling of inferiority,
that wanting can turn into envy.

there is the possession of a thing,
and there is the desire to possess,
... the wanting of it.

wanting can lead to satisfaction or wanting more.
wanting more is not bad. it is a continuation of the struggle to grow.
but when wanting more leads to taking from others,
wanting more can turn into greed.

and when one keeps what they have from others,
whether its the political power used to do good,
or economic wealth used to help the poor,
or intellectual knowledge used to teach,
or cultural fame used to bring happiness,
or social respect used to provide justice,
it is nothing but miserliness.

the issue of status seems to be interwoven into what the sufis called the diseases of the heart. we should think beyond having and not having. we should think about growth and development and being good. we should all realize that we come from a station that was below the station we are currently at. and we can always fall back down the ladder at anytime. and in the process of gaining these five types of things we should always remain humble and charitable.

to be humble means to be aware that you are not the most important. that ultimately there is a higher power than you. and to be charitable means that your time, energy and possessions are not the most important. that ultimately you will die and not be able to take anything with you, so use what you have to do good deeds.
The Quran is loaded with these two commands.
Success is through belief in god and doing good deeds.

My father was both humble and charitable, more important then any level of social status he achieved. that humbleness and charitableness allowed him to be connected to not only his former stations in life but the people who are at those stations, his "asliyat."

materialism

Let me me now focus on one specific status symbol: Material Wealth.
There are the haves and have nots, but it is probably more complicated then just this simple division...

those who have are divided between:

  1- those who are born having, among this group are:

    A- those who inherited their wealth
         and control their means of survival

      1- those who work, among this group are:

        a- those who are work harder to gain more, and

        b- those who work hard using a talent
            or to contribute to society, and

        c- those who work for fun,

      2- those who do not work.

    B- those to whom sustenance is provided,

         who break down the same as the above group

  2- those who used to have not

those who have not are also divided between:

  1- those who work harder in order to become among
       those who have, among this group are:

    a- those who want to retain a connection to their life
        of not having and its values, and

    b- those who want to leave behind
        the life of not having and its values.

  2- those who work hard enough to sustain themselves,
       among this group are:

    a- those who wanted to work harder but are trapped
        and unable to gain more then sustanence

    b- those who are content to just survive and
        do not want to seek more.

  3- those who do not work hard, among this group are:

    a- those who have lost hope and gave up on work

    b- those who are unable to work

    c- those who are kept from working

the differentiation between people seems to be by how they gain what they need to survive. and what they do with what is extra. the extra can be accumilated to raise through the ranks, or can be spent on things that can be consumed.

purification vs. activism

a few days ago i had the joy of talking about my old days of being active in a youth group. first it was with a new friend here in kansas city who i may have crossed paths with back in the mid 90s. he is just like me now and no longer really active. and then it was with an old friend who is still active. these conversations i had got me thinking about a recurrent theme in my thoughts about activism.

selfish motiviations vs. utopian agendas

My concept of Ummah...
Community...
Brotherhood...

I've read the biography of the prophet Muhammad. and I've read the biographies of some of his closest companions. My take on what they were trying to do is this. they viewed Islam as NOT about creating some sort of ideal social order but more about fullfilling Personal Responsibilities so you could get rewarded by Allah in this world and the Afterlife. a reward in this world was tranquillity, peace of mind, happiness. a reward in the afterlife was a pleasure from being in permanent proximity to the Beloved. Thus, i must do my duty...

I have a duty, an obligation, to my lord, to myself, my parent, my spouse, my child, my sibling, my neighbor, my friend, "widows and orphans", other believers.
in that order!

as for my lord, he tells me i must believe in his oneness and do good deeds.
he also tells me i must worship him and fast and give 2.5%of my wealth away in charity

aside from the pillers of worship, the duties and obligations are all good deeds.

towards myself, I have a duty to keep myself healthy and sane.

...my parent, I must show them respect for all they did for me and care for them when they are not able to care for themselves.

...my spouse, I must be a pillar of support, an honest partner, and a loving companion.

...my child, I must feed, clothe, shelter, nurture, protect, and teach about Allah.

...my sibling, I must encourage, support, warn, advise, and be there when I am needed.

...my neighbor, I must greet, smile, get to know, and care

...my friend, know if there is a problem and offer to help before i am even asked.

...towards "widows and orphans" i must give money to clothes, feed, and shelter as I would my own family.

...towards other believers i must be there when they're own family, friends, neighbors fail them.