Idealism with Self, Pragmatism with Others
In personal matters the believer must try to behave in a way which is ideal. But in social matters one should be practical and adjust to others’ needs.
During his last days, the Prophet of Islam performed Hajj, going from Madinah to Makkah. On this occasion, he delivered the famous sermon known as Hajjatul Wida (The Final Sermon). In this sermon the Prophet declared that no Arab is superior to a non-Arab, no white is superior to a black, except for his piousness and divine spirit. (Musnad Ahmad 23489) In this way the Prophet put an end to the old tradition of differentiating between one man and another.
But on another occasion, the Prophet also observed: The leader will be from the Quraysh. (Musnad Ahmad 12307) That is, the political leader of the Muslims will be from the Quraysh. The second statement is not apparently in accordance with the first statement. It is because a concession had to be made to practical exigencies.
The Prophet of Islam, on the one hand, would stand in prayer when he was alone for such a long time that his feet would become swollen. But while leading the prayer along with other worshippers, when he heard any child crying he would shorten the prayer. (Sahih al-Bukhari 709) This shows that when the matter pertains to the believer’s own person, the believer must try to behave in a way which is ideal. But when it pertains to social matters, he should be practical and adjust to others’ needs. In this second type of situation, the practical requirement will be given preference according to the circumstances, because that alone is what is practicable. In such matters, trying to adhere to the ideal is just not feasible.
From this we learn that one Sunnah, or practice, of the Prophet was that while dealing with others it should not be the ideal viewpoint or ideal justice which should be adhered to. Rather what should be appreciated is the real requirement or real situation of the people with whom there was going to be some interaction. In this way, by assessing the real state of affairs that policy should be adopted which is possible in practice rather than what is right from the ideological standpoint.
