WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE

When Maulana Muhammad Ilyas (1885–1944), the founder of the Tablighi Jamaat—a Muslim religious reformist movement established in 1926—sent a group out on a journey of faith, he would offer them this simple piece of advice before their departure:

“Lower your gaze, keep concern in your heart, remembrance on your tongue. If you walk in unison, the journey will become easier.”

In essence, this means: seriousness, a sense of responsibility, awareness of God’s greatness, and unity. Wherever these qualities are nurtured in people, they are bound to succeed.

This is a profoundly important point. In truth, awakening this consciousness in every member of a society and instilling this spirit in each individual is the real task. It is this that guarantees success in the Hereafter—and well-being in this world as well.

A nation or system has no independent existence of its own. What truly exists is the individual. A nation is simply a collection of individuals, and what we call a “system” is nothing more than the combined actions of those individuals. To reform individuals is to reform society. To build individuals is to build a nation.

With this understanding, the only real and meaningful work is that which targets the individual. Any effort that targets systems or governments alone is mere noise—not true reform. Whatever you hope to see on a societal scale must first be achieved at the level of the individual. To raise slogans of social reform or political revolution without individual reform is either opportunistic leadership or pure fantasy. There is no third possibility.

Instill such deep faith in individuals that humility lowers their gaze, that a sense of accountability in the Hereafter stirs in their hearts, that God’s greatness envelopes them so completely that they live in constant remembrance of Him. Let their selflessness bind them together in unity. Once these qualities take root in individuals, everything else will follow—just as a fruit grows naturally on a living tree.