Esprit de Corps
SOMETIME back a news from Delhi went the round of the press that one fine morning some of the most prominent Hindu leaders, who were there to attend the session of the Legislative Assembly, were seen running about like so many naughty urchins and throwing coloured water on whomever they met. The various distinguished luminaries of that August House seemed to vie with one another in playing these childish pranks on their friends and colleagues. Even some Muslims M. L. A.’s were not spared and were made the target of that bombardment. How silly on the part of those all-India leaders of repute, pretending to shape and guide the destinies of millions of their countrymen to indulge in such undignified sport! This must have been the impression of a passer-by not in the know of things. But no! It was no idle sport that they were after. It was a demonstration of something far more momentous, the new national life with which that community pulsates. However ridiculous the thing in itself, it carried underneath it an import of national consequence. It was a national festival and a symbol for the current of corporate life. To Dr. Moonje and Pandit Malviya it was therefore a national duty to contribute to that current, even though in a manner so silly and senseless. They must play holi.
What a contrast when from this inspiring spectacle one turns to the Muslim side of the picture! And what meets the eye there? To say nothing of ”leaders” and men of position even a lad who acquires just a little bit of Western veneer, say the common ” First Year Fool ” as the phrase goes in university circles, considers himself above observances imposed by Islam. As a matter of fact, such observances are associated with a backward mentality, a relic of semi-civilized times and to have credit for ”advanced” and ” enlightened” mentality, it is deemed fashionable to shrug Shoulders at everything smacking of religion. We are reminded of what a Bengali friend – of course coming of the ”backward school ” – once told us in this connection about a few Muslim “leaders” of the ” advanced” school from Behar who visited Calcutta. At a garden party which they attended, some Bengali Muslims drew aside and began to say their evening prayers. This was enough to bring a smile of sneer to the lips of these ”enlightened” followers of the Prophet ﷺ from Behar. ”Bengal is still so backward,” they were overheard to remark.
Why must we observe the various postures in prayer? Why must we attend the mosque? Why must we stand in strictly straight lines? Why must we face the same way? Why must we stand, bend and prostrate one and the same way? Where is the good in all this drill? Perhaps it was necessary for uncouth Arabs of the Prophet’s day, who were incapable of any abstract thought. If prayer is mental devotion to God, this could be done without subjecting oneself to any of the numerous details prescribed for prayers. Just recline in your cosy-cushioned armchair and while thus snugly settled, give your thoughts and feelings a lift Godward and that is prayer, in fact, the essence of prayer. Why bother about ablutions and so many other things? These are the questions that agitate the hearts of the so called ”enlightened” section of Muslims.
Woe unto such ”enlightenment”, however! Little knowledge is a dangerous thing and so this thin veneer of Westernization has dimmed the vision of many an educated people. While pretending to be swayed by a spirit of freedom of thought, they have, in fact, fallen victims to the worst of mental slavery. They must ape everything Western. That is a sign of advancement. They must give up everything Eastern. It is a sign of backwardness. Even the Pathan King insists that the shilwar must be substituted by a well-cut pantaloon. It is all the same mental frame, whether in Kabul or in Cairo, in Angora or in Aligarh.
As a matter of fact, forms and institutions rise in public esteem or fall in accordance with the intrinsic worth of the people to whom they belong. Take the case of the common Khaddar which no respectable man in India would, a decade ago, deign to wear. To-day it commands a special respect. Why? Because it is worn by those who live for higher ideals. It covers the body of Mahatma Gandhi, the great man of the day. It adorns the head of Mr. Patel, the President of the Assembly. Dhoti may be the most contemptible form of dress in the eye of a Pathan, but when he sees some Bannerjee or Chatterjee walking along a Calcutta street in a common Dhoti, to preside over the High Court, he must change his estimate of this costume. How wisely has the Quran put this psychological verity in a nutshell –
“Character is the goodliest of dress” – وَلِبَاسُ التَّقْوَىَ ذَلِكَ خَيْرٌ
It is character that lends a glamour to whatever you may wear and whatever forms you may observe. A silly thing like Holi played by people instinct with life may become quite a serious affair whereas observances pregnant with the deepest of wisdom as prescribed by Islam are falling out of fashion for the simple reason that there is no national vigour to back them up.The fact, however, remains that Islamic institutions, whatever their present condition in unworthy hands, are the best of nation-building institutions conceivable. Take, for instance, one small detail, connected with namaz, i.e. prayer.The congregation is required to fall in perfectly straight lines. It is recorded that the Prophet ﷺ was particularly keen on this point. Before the prayer started, he would look about to see that the rows were in order, that they were close and straight. “Let there be no confusion in your rows,” he would say. ”This would cause confusion in your hearts.” What a great truth of psychology to find expression through the lips of one who never studied the science in any university. In fact, it is the modern-most discovery made by psychologists that physical acts have corresponding impress on one’s mentality. The common notion previously used to be that one feels grieved and this mental phenomenon brings about a change in one’s bodily condition. There is an appropriate long drawn face. Perhaps there are tears too. This was only half-truth. The modern psychologist says there may not be a grain of grief in your mind, but just put on the physical appearance of a man in grief and the mental feeling would follow.
How wonderful of that Desert Philosopher to teach mankind this great truth centuries since. Who has not been impressed with the regular precise march of long ranks of soldiers in uniforms?
Let not, therefore, the man of ”enlightenment” laugh at these Islamic formalities. They are of tremendous value in any scheme of nation-building. Imagine scores of people standing shoulder to shoulder five times a day, moving up and down in obedience to the same call! Then again on a Friday when the smaller congregations merge into a bigger one and hundreds are moved by the same sentiment. Yet again on an Id day when the whole town assembles in one place, standing side by side, bending together, prostrating together, facing the same way, following the same man, saying the same things! What is the good of drill, do you still say in derision? Let us tell you in English what it means, all this drill, and we are sure you will be able to appreciate it, for it bears the hallmark of the West. It creates what the Western people call esprit-de-corps, that indispensable cement of all corporate life, without which there could be no nation-building. It is on these airy things that big nations are reared. It was in the Mosque that the foundation of the Mighty Muslim Nation was laid. But Islam stands for a commonwealth of nations. Its ultimate goal is a universal brotherhood of man and hence the consummation of that esprit-de-corps started on a small scale in a parish Mosque is reached at the annual Pilgrimage when people from every corner of the globe are supposed to be there, when all distinctions of caste, class, clime and colour are submerged under the consciousness of a common humanity.
M.Y.Khan Editor: The Light Dec 20, 1928
