I wrote earlier about a question I had been asked so often. “Do we as a people have a civic sense?” My answer is, yes we have. Unfortunately, this civic sense and civility seems to be limited to a minority and that a large majority of people are still shamefully indifferent to our values and teachings.
Take, for example, a trend I have noted over the past couple of years. You are at a traffic light and a driver opens his car door and spits onto the ground. There can be no uglier sight. To say nothing of how unhygienic it is. What would a visitor to the Kingdom think of such a thing? What indeed would a good Muslim think of such a thoughtless and inconsiderate act?
Here is one we have all experienced. You are at a counter in a supermarket and someone comes barging up and pokes a cigarette packet at the clerk who is ringing up your purchases. You may ask the person to stand in line. His answer is, “I am only buying a packet of cigarettes.” And it is pronounced with an arrogance that makes your blood boil. Never mind if he has a packet of cigarettes and six shopping carts full of groceries: why can’t he wait for his turn? What makes him think he is more important than those who were waiting before he arrived? What would a visitor to the Kingdom make of such inconsiderate behavior? What would a good Muslim think of it?
You are at an airline counter, patiently waiting for the agent to confirm your ticket or issue your boarding pass. Suddenly from behind you, somebody butts in, expecting the agent to take care of him. What’s the matter with him? Doesn’t he see you are standing there? Doesn’t he see that the agent was busy? Why would a person behave so thoughtlessly?
What about this? You are ready to leave your house but a car is blocking the driveway. You have no choice but to wait until the driver arrives. You point at a vacant spot, hardly 10 meters away. His reply: “I was praying.” And he drives away, without a word of regret. One wonders what his prayers availed him.
Even in the mosques, people come in late and just push past others so they can go into the front row. Any disapproving look by you will be met with a how-dare-you glare! And this in a mosque! I will not even bother to ask my usual questions.
Driving? This is a horror story which we are all too familiar with. People swerve from left to right, cross lanes without any thought of what they are doing or of what the consequences might be, do not use signals and act in general like trapeze artists in a circus. One cannot tell them anything for fear of being assaulted with a barrage of words that one does not need and can well do without. The only certainty is that the offender will offer an absolutely unassailable excuse — he always has one ready — for his mistakes but never an apology.
Another annoyance is encountered in restaurants when a waiter is taking your order and somebody from another table begins asking him questions or making requests. Once again, the utter selfishness and thoughtlessness amazes me. Does he not see the waiter is busy? Does he not see that he is not the only customer in the restaurant? Is he devoid of any consideration for other people?
I am not in the habit of pointing out our social deficiencies but I strongly believe that if we don’t agree that there are problems, we will never solve them — and it is important that they be solved.
All the situations which I have mentioned are infuriating — and too common — and they tend to raise our blood pressure. And just think that only a couple of hours flight and a landing abroad will relieve you of the stress of going through much of this. No, the decent and compassionate behavior that we experience elsewhere is not usually ours.
It should, however, be ours because as Muslims we are instructed to be kind and caring. No religion has focused as much on personal behavior as Islam. And no person’s life has been a greater light of inspiration and model as is the life of our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, who was born in this month of Rabi Al-Awal. We should take our examples from his life so that we can help to create lives as free as possible from stress and worry.