The Pakistani Spectator

A famous proverb states that: “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit; neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.” Similarly, where we sacrifice the purity, value, morality and basic goodness of our soul, the end result will also be dissatisfaction of the soul, which never finds peace. The soul will remain restless and haunted, with no destination of its own. However, nowadays, no one has any issues in sacrificing their soul for materialistic pleasures and to get ahead or to fit in a certain so called elitist class.

The real motive is to get the vti car, the flat screen TV, the perfect home, the perfect PDA cell phone , the lap top, the designer clothes and jewelery as quickly as possible and most importantly to boast and show off the same to other people. In order to achieve the same, most people have no qualms in sacrificing their soul to the devil, compromising on the morals and ethics inherent to it.

You don’t believe me? You think that I am being too pessimistic? But why? The devil has eaten half the souls around us and people have happily made the transaction for the materialistic personal gains that they will reap out of it. Open your eyes. I give you a few examples:

- Take bribery for example. Why do you think people make the under the table deals? To get money. Money which they will not have gotten if they had followed the rules and procedures set down by law. Without the considerable cut for getting a job done, would the amount in their personal bank accounts be as substantial as after taking the bribe? Where have ethics gone for that person?

- What about the women and men, who sell their souls and their bodies in the corporate world, to get a higher designation, be promoted and get a pay raise? Where is self respect in this matter?

- Have you not heard of circumstances where a certain person works really hard and puts forth all dedication to achieve a certain goal, and his/her friend very cleverly steals the same under his/her nose. Where is friendship in this scenario?

- And what about men and women being in a sincere relationship and eventually cheating on each other. Sometimes, even when people may be married to each other, but the sincerity, dedication and unconditional love is taken for granted? Where has love gone?

- Furthermore, pray tell me if you have not heard of ghastly tales, where even blood relationships become empty, shallow and selfish. Where are family values and blood ties, where siblings fight over property, and sometimes even kill each other for the same? Where is respect when children argue with parents over materialistic gains like a new car or a new cell phone? Is their soul alive or has it been compromised?

- If you thought that this was bad, it gets much worse. We have even sold our souls for personal gain to the extent that we do not carry our religious duties. It may be time for salah (namaz), but a friend or guests come over, and just because we want to impress them by fully catering to them, we ignore our prayers and make them stale.

-There are times when some people are extremely mean to folks who are not as well off as them and mistreat them, inorder to feed their own egos and to impress similar and selfish people. The devil has bought souls to such a large extent, that some people feel ashamed in uttering the basic Islamic greeting, “Asalam o Alaikum” and feel ashamed to offer their prayers in public.

So why do you still argue that our souls are unblemished and we have not sold it for personal gain, when the reality around us states exactly the opposite. Yes, there may be some good people left on this inconsequential planet, but these very few are not valued by the selfish society. These people are the ones who have to face the most hardship, poverty, ridicule and adversity. The good thing however is that their soul remains secure and pure, and although these people may not have the materialistic pleasures of the world, they have the inner happiness, spirituality and contentment that others lack. They need not worry as a person does not profit if they gain the whole world and lose their soul instead.

But for those people who do sell their souls for personal gain, and indeed there are so many hundreds and thousands of them including me – God Help Them! God help me.