False Greatness

False Greatness

1992 3-4 March-April 12 False Greatness (413) Once when Umar Faruq was making a speech in his capacity as Caliph, a member of the audience stood up and said, “By God, if we find any crookedness in you, we shall straighten it with our swords.” On the face of it, such severe criticism amounts to insolence. But neither did Umar Faruq take offence, nor did any other member of the gathering get up to ask why this man had made such an offensive comment. This can be explained by the fact that criticism of this kind was a commonplace among the Companions of the Prophet, and continued to be so in succeeding generations. No one ever took such criticism amiss. The only reservations made were that no accusations should be leveled without there being solid proof to support them, and that no one should be maligned by baseless allegations.

The reason for this behavior is very simple. The people of that time lived not in the greatness of man, but in the greatness of God. If their feelings were never hurt when one of their numbers was criticized, it was because they had surrendered all rights of greatness to God and God alone. By criticizing man, God’s greatness was not, therefore, going to be affected.

On the contrary, if in modern times a known personality becomes the subject of critical attack, no matter how academic and well-supported the criticism may be, his followers will become enraged. What is the reason for such a reaction? The reason is that they have accepted these mortal men as their greats, and cannot bear that they should be toppled from the pedestals on which they have placed them. The people are now of such a temper that they utter the words, Allahu Akbar (God is great) with their lips, but not with their hearts. Their words bear no relation to reality because there is no corresponding subservience in their minds. The greatness in which they live is of the people, not of God.

The fact should be grasped that the opportunity to live in the greatness of a non-God will exist only while man’s time of trial persists on earth. When this period is over, that state of affairs will come to an end. Then those who have fed on false greatness will find themselves starving, for there will be no such nourishment in the life after death. If they wish to survive, it shall be by the greatness of God Almighty, their Creator.