A lonely voice of conscience

by Dr. Javeed Akhter

36.20 Then there came running, from the farthest part of the City, a man, saying,

36.21 “Obey those who ask no reward of you (for themselves), and who have themselves received Guidance.”

The Qur’an’s narrative has many mentions of prophets and messengers, but in Sura Yasin there is a unique reference to of an ordinary nameless man.  He may be the only one in that town to recognize the truth of the message brought to the citizens by not one but three messengers. 

36.13 When We sent unto them twain, and they denied them both, so We reinforced them with a third, and they said: Lo! We have been sent unto you.

He feels the urgent need to plead with his city mates to pay heed to the message of these apostles. 

There is no consensus among exegetes about the identity of the city or those of the apostles mentioned in these verses.  Some believe the city was Antioch and the messengers were sent there by Prophet Isa.  Ibn Kathir rejects that theory but does not have an alternate explanation.  Islahi’s guess is that the two Prophets are Musa and Haroon and the third someone from their tribe to reinforce the message.  Md Asad feels it is a parable (Verse 12 starts with the words “Set forth for them a parable—-“), and writes that the first two messengers may be taken as Musa and Isa and third may be Prophet Muhammad.  The nameless man, he feels, is the voice of the minority.  What is clear is that the incident must have been widely known in contemporary society as there are no Ahadith explaining the verses or giving the occasion of revelation (Shane Nuzul). 

In a sense the details of the event are not important.  When a historical incident is related in the Qur’an, it is not uncommon that the moral of the story is emphasized rather than the empirical facts, which are of little long term relevance.

The lone voice of the man in the Sura indeed symbolizes the few and the thoughtful that are blessed with the intuition to see the truth.  Some choose not to pay attention as they may be blinded by adherence to tradition.  Others ignore the message because it threatens the entrenched power and economic structures.  This Qur’an points it was true for every messenger.

36.29 Ah! alas for (My) servants! There comes not an messenger to them but they mock Him!

We learn from the Seera of the Prophet about other lonely voices.  There was a group of people in Makkah who were already searching for the truth before the advent of Islam.  They had reached the point of rejecting polytheism and the tribal traditions and customs.  These ordinary people are known as the Hanifs (not to be confused with Hanafis).  Many of them later accepted Islam.

Prophet Muhammad’s initial followers were, with few exceptions, the dispossessed from the oppressed strata of society and the people of Makkah looked down upon them.  But they recognized the truth of the message instantly.

Prophet Muhammad himself was ridiculed because of his ordinary social status in the society; he was an orphan who was known for his truth and reliability but had neither wealth, nor power.

43.31 “And they say: If only this Qur’an had been revealed to some great man of the two towns?”

So here is this ordinary anonymous person, who is anguished by what he sees as a major folly by his own people.  “He came running from the farthest part of the city.” He pleads with them with passion and tries to persuade them. “They seek no reward for themselves” he points out but to no avail

This brings us to current times, to this decade and this country, to here and now.  Are there any such voices of conscience?  Are there individuals or groups or organizations that see the folly of not only rejecting but maligning Islam?

Times are different.  I am not drawing any direct comparisons to the Prophet’s time.  We do not practice Islam with the same conviction as the Sahaba and the Taibin did.  We are internally divided, and somewhat ethnocentric.  We love wealth and creature comforts as much as any one else.  We have many faults and need much reform.

Nevertheless the power and beauty of the message of Islam shines through for those who care to reflect upon it.  Flawed as we might be, we still stand out in our adherence to old value systems, in the modesty of clothing and behavior, in humility of our scholars in the simplicity and discipline of our prayers, our fasting and charity and the inspiringly egalitarian spiritual ritual of the Hajj.

This threatens other established religions in the West and intimidates groups who see the rise of Muslim influence as a threat to their own clout.  The result is a concerted unrelenting smear of Muslims and Islam.  This is not Islamophobia; it is Islam/Muslim bashing.

Nevertheless like the man in Sura Yasin there are voices of reason like the politician Senator Robert Byrd, and the religious scholar Scott Alexander.  There are organizations like Human Rights Watch, ACLU, and The Chicago Council on Global Affairs who have tried to correct the unfair treatment of Islam and Muslims.  Supporting an unpopular group like ours requires moral certitude.

We need to recognize these voices of conscience and honor them.  I mentioned a few but I am sure you know of some others.  We know from the Qur’an that the voices of conscience are always in a minority but not necessarily forever.  If we set our own house in order, look honestly at our own faults and reform ourselves, uphold the truth and remain steadfast in adversity then these solitary voices will not remain lonely.  Their numbers will grow exponentially. It is our duty to support them.

Javeed Akhter is a physician and a founding member of the International Strategy and Policy Institute, a Chicago-based Muslim-American think tank.

We would like you to nominate individuals or groups who you think have been a voice of conscience.  Please attach a brief note explaining why you think they qualify.  We will try and honor three individuals or organizations every year.  Our e-mail is .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).