BOOK AND COVER
04 January 2010 11:46
By Mohammed Abbas Jaffer
You won’t notice the worm in the reddest of apples until you take a bite from it and, conversely, you won’t experience the beautiful wildlife under the swamp until you dive in.
What I’m trying to say is that judging someone simply on their appearance or on one conversation is dangerous and must be avoided. In Ramadhan, for example, late nights and empty stomachs affect even the strongest and most resilient amongst us, and so it isn’t surprising to see people losing their temper easily, shouting: “Kem ayya cachumber nathi?” (Translation: Why is there no cachumber here?). Cachumber is carrots in chilli, but I digress.
When seeing bad in someone, it is your duty to find seventy excuses for their behaviour (hunger and lack of sleep being prime examples) or, even better, educating them of their ways. By reserving judgement and practicing patience in this manner, we will soon realise not to ‘judge a book by its cover’. The man shouting at you to move out the way may have just lost his mother, whilst the non-responsive girl or boy in the class may fear going home to an angry step-father. As a result, it’s always best to find the best in everyone you meet, for, as Plato once said: “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”
Yet, when you see these bad characteristics in others or, more concerning, in yourself, remember that they can be easily replaced by good ones. Our desires, for instance, often control us, but they are also a necessity. Anger, which Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (as) says is “the key to all kinds of vices”, can be channelled as passion, without which no-one would stand up and fight the tyranny in this world. Similarly, lust channelled properly leads to reproduction and our existence, whilst pride for the Ahlulbayt or for our children’s achievements is also fine.
Finally, when meeting new people, be it in the workplace or on the street, remember that they are “either your brother in faith or your equal in humanity” (Imam Ali [as]), and so we must not judge them by their race, skin colour, appearance, weight or even religion, for, as Imam Ali ar-Ridha (as) has stated, “The creator of everyone is the same ... and reward is according to deeds.”
