Group Loyalty

Group Loyalty

1987 1 January 22 Group Loyalty (305) “A fisherman once told me that one doesn’t need a cover for a crab basket. If one of the crabs starts climbing up the side of the basket, the others will reach up and pull it back down” (Charles Allen, The Miracle of Love).

The nature of the crab has been bestowed upon it by God and the ways of the crab are indeed divine ways. It is through such examples as this that God conveys to mankind how social life should be organised, for unity is one of its most important elements. The best way to establish this unity is that which God has ordained in the world of crabs. This is to say that the moment an individual shows signs of deviating from the norm, it is the duty of the rest of society to bring him back to what is normal, human and decent. The individuals in the “basket” should not let even one of their number slip out of it.

Islamic history presents a splendid example of how just such a problem, which arose after the death of the Prophet, was satisfactorily solved. It seems that Sad ibn Ubada Ansari of Medina held divergent opinions on the issue of the Caliphate. Most of the Prophet’s companions were of the view that the Caliph should be of the Quraysh tribe, which was the most influential of all. Sad ibn Ubada, for his part, felt that either the Caliph should be one of the Ansars (Medinans) or there should be two Caliphs, one from the Ansar and the other from the emigrants (Meccans). But history shows that the entire tribe, by presenting a united front, managed to prevent their leader’s wishes from materializing. At the crucial moment, they pulled him back into the “basket” again and saw to it that he stayed there.

How to tell between good and bad

1987 1 January 22 How to tell between good and bad (46) “When should I think of myself as pious?” someone asked Aishah. “When you start thinking of yourself as impious,” she replied. “And when should I think of myself as impious?” the person asked once again. “When you start thinking of yourself as pious,” came Aishah’s reply.