Maulana Wahiduddin Khan | Islam and Muslims
In the modern, industrial world, the term ‘Turnkey Project’ has come to be widely used. Ready-made houses and factories are made today in which everything is provided by the seller. The buyer has only to turn the key in order to use it. The behaviour of certain Muslims of the present day suggests that they think the world is theirs for taking, that God has handed it over to them ready-made and that all they have to do is ‘turn the key’ and everything and everyone will be ready to do their bidding.
Little do they realize how far this is from being the true state of affairs. This world, in reality, is one of vigorous action and keen competition, and no worthwhile position can be attained without working hard on every aspect of the project in hand, and no job is done well unless carried out with scrupulous care from the beginning to the end. Our very right to live has to be proved by competing with others. Only when we plunge wholeheartedly into the fray, can we hope to attain the place we desire in this world of cause and effect. There is no question of just ‘turning the key’.
Muslims of the present day must learn before all else that they are at the beginning of history, and not the end. Muslims tend to overlook obvious facts when it comes to the building of their nation. They make no effort to lay the foundations of the homes they keep imagining, but they want to stand on their rooftops. The very phrasing of their speeches and writings gives the impression that they have actually attained their objectives.
We should remember, first and foremost, that we can create a nation only if its inhabitants are imbued with a sense of purpose and, to that end, we must educate our people: they must have full knowledge of both the past and the present if they are to progress towards an ideal future. We have to inculcate in them the will to work unitedly in spite of their disagreements. We have to instill in them the courage to sacrifice their personal feelings and their short-term interests for long-term ones. Only then will it be possible to fashion history anew.