Prevailing anarchy in our society

      By Sadia Wali

‘Where there is no vision, the people perish’

(Reference ‘The King James Version translation of Proverbs 29:18’)

In developed societies, family and community with their collaborative efforts, motivation and commitment accomplish their higher goals. Dedicated individuals committed to bring social change in society create an invigorating and inspiring impact on young people to be responsible, develop a positive vision and sense of direction. These are the profound leadership qualities which actually pave the way towards a successful and meaningful existence. 

We as a society have become victim of anarchy and disorder. Civic sense as an ethic has less significance since our youth do not show any concern regarding fulfilling their civic responsibility. As I quote an example.  We are the first to complain about public facilities but at the same time, we neglect our responsibility to maintain it. Roads are not dirty because nobody cleaned it, but because we think that somebody dirtied it in the first place and it is his responsibility to clean .Thus, we continue to throw dirt on the road side. The most common violation which people do are spitting and smoking in public places. In spite of the red signal on the road mostly young people ignore the traffic rules and break the signals.

Ethics is a code of values which guide our choices and actions and determine the purpose and course of our lives. 
— Ayn Rand, Russian-American novelist and philosopher (1905-1982) 

 It is an irony that we do not have proactive individuals who realize the significance of collective and individual potential to bring change in society.  How many times we have heard any dedicated person speaking, ‘I can initiate a change! Even If we talk about change, it is merely the change we want for ourselves and not for the community or society.

It is a sad reality that today our youth is completely lost, their blurred vision, lack of sense of obligation, core values and moral principles is drifting them towards anarchism. To become sound practicing Muslims, our youth needs to realize the purpose and vision of life and this has been clearly defined in the holy Quran and Sunnah. The Islamic paradigm is Tazkiya - Nafs which means purification of our heart and minds.

 As stanch Muslims, it is our belief that we are accountable to Allah for every acts and deeds. As Quran says, “And as such on the final Day of Judgment each Nafs or human will have to reply for his conduct of this earthly sojourn. (al-Infitar: 05) and that will be a very tough day of this meeting (al-Inshiqaq: 6).”

Realizing our priorities and responsibilities, we need to develop inspirations of a Khalifa who served the people selflessly, honestly and sincerely. Our young fellows who are torch bearers of Islamic values and traditions need proper guidelines, role models   and leadership that broaden the vision of young fellows, make them positive thinkers, realize the importance of moral values and understand the purpose of shared vision. Motivated young individuals can utilize their potentials in the best way by positive involvement in fulfilling the tasks such as taking small initiatives, determining the objectives for the task and provoking civic sense and sense of responsibility in others.

To foster tolerance, moderation ethics, morality and self reliance is indeed a big challenge for us. It is the cultural norms and values which lead us to a well-balanced and successful society. Social bonding, goodwill and respect towards each other serve a lot of purpose, helps to manage our social life and develop good relationship with the people around us. The spirit of empowerment, self- awareness, individual competence, personal growth, collaboration and team work will help to transform our thinking and thus bring revolutionary changes in the society.