NOVEMBER 11

Two Models

The Prophet of Islam once observed that whenever he presented Islam to anyone, he was always conscious of some hesitation or the other on the part of his hearer. But the case of Abu Bakr was an exception to this rule.  When the message of Islam was conveyed to him, he accepted it without expressing any doubt or hesitation. (Hayat As Sahaba, 1/68). It was because of this attribute of Abu Bakr that he came to be called As Siddique, the true friend. The example he set during the early phase of Islam was a very fine one.

Another such example is found in the life of Umar Farooq, the second Caliph. It is generally known, that, in the beginning, Umar Farooq was an inveterate opponent of Islam. But then, purely as a matter of chance, he perused a part of the Quran. He thereupon took the firm decision to change his attitude and wholeheartedly accepted Islam.

These are two types of models which give us clear guidelines as to what our behaviour should be. In any such instance, an individual should be either of the first or of the second type. No third type is desirable when it comes to acceptance of the truth.

On the pattern of the first type,  sober contemplation and profound thinking  should make a man’s mind so mature that he is able, quite independently, to grasp realities. Intellectually, he should be able to develop the capacity to penetrate any veil of doubts or misgivings and—without entangling himself in irrelevant controversies—see things in their real shape, just as they are. This would demonstrate the highest degree of intellectual maturity, the ultimate example of this being Abu Bakr.

Inspired by the second example, the individual should be entirely free of prejudice. He should be free, too, of any complex which would prevent him from realizing his shortcomings when they are pointed out to him, or which would make him hesitate to admit his mistakes. In this, he should follow another example set by Umar Farooq. During his reign as Caliph, it happened several times that he made ill-considered decisions, but when his errors were pointed out to him, he admitted his mistakes without the slightest reluctance.  So profound were his feelings about having made wrong judgements and so deep was his appreciation of having been corrected, that such words would come to his lips: “Had such and such a person not been here, Umar would have been destroyed.”