By Farhan Noor (Editor, Critic Magazine)
How shamelessly thankless we are to Allah! What if He were to treble the size of our tongues and let it hang out like that of a dog’s, shorten it by half, make it fatter and heavier, or tinier and lighter, roll it up like a carpet, or nail it on its head dead as a doormat? What if He were to take away those taste buds and that sense of smell that gives our food the purpose and the meaning and the flavors, the textures, the temperatures, and the sensations for which we crave for and willingly pay money to buy it? Imagine eating peanuts without its saltiness, honey without its sweetness, lemons without its sourness, radish without its bitterness, and meat without its savories—when where daal and murghi, palak and ghosht, halwa and machli, all begin to taste like the tasteless water and the odorless air!
What would drive our appetite and invite our hunger? Carbohydrates and protein, or calcium and vitamins deficiency—think about it! What if He were to take back our tongue altogether and instead leave an empty nest in our mouths? How would we speak? Or swallow our food? Or clean our teeth (for some)? How ridiculously ugly and freakish and frightening would we look in appearance? Imagine knowing for even one minute that you could never talk again! Can Science replace our natural tongue? Say it can—but what cost, time, and effort will it demand from us as compared to that which we applied in getting one from Allah? And how much better will it be for the one that Allah gave us for free as our Caring and Loving, most Cherishing Creator? We resort more faith in Science than in Allah! “Have we not made for him a pair of eyes, and a tongue, and a pair of lips, and shown him the two highways?” [Surat Al-Balad 90:8-10] How do we thank Allah for this priceless and irreplaceable Naimat? We use this same tongue to lie instead of telling the Truth, sing songs instead of reciting the Glorious Quran, slander and backbite, argue and gossip, falsely accuse and allege, insult and abuse, yell profanity, spread rumors, and spend our lifetimes chattering and babbling about empty and godless talks in vanity: is this how it should be?
Imagine there are people in this world who say things which our beloved Creator dislikes the most: associating partners with Him and praising and glorifying them instead of Him, and yet we sit and watch in silence leashing the very tongue which we would not hesitate to use if they were to abuse and insult and say wrong about our loved ones! Such hypocrisy! Such thanklessness! Such wretchedness! Such impiety! Allah tells us in Surah Al-Fussilat 41:33 how to properly thank Him for this particular Naimat: “Who is better in speech than one who calls (men) to Allah, works righteousness, and says: ‘I am a Muslim’?” Perhaps its about time we put our tongues to its proper use.
How shamelessly thankless we are to Allah! What if He were to treble the size of our tongues and let it hang out like that of a dog’s, shorten it by half, make it fatter and heavier, or tinier and lighter, roll it up like a carpet, or nail it on its head dead as a doormat? What if He were to take away those taste buds and that sense of smell that gives our food the purpose and the meaning and the flavors, the textures, the temperatures, and the sensations for which we crave for and willingly pay money to buy it? Imagine eating peanuts without its saltiness, honey without its sweetness, lemons without its sourness, radish without its bitterness, and meat without its savories—when where daal and murghi, palak and ghosht, halwa and machli, all begin to taste like the tasteless water and the odorless air!
What would drive our appetite and invite our hunger? Carbohydrates and protein, or calcium and vitamins deficiency—think about it! What if He were to take back our tongue altogether and instead leave an empty nest in our mouths? How would we speak? Or swallow our food? Or clean our teeth (for some)? How ridiculously ugly and freakish and frightening would we look in appearance? Imagine knowing for even one minute that you could never talk again! Can Science replace our natural tongue? Say it can—but what cost, time, and effort will it demand from us as compared to that which we applied in getting one from Allah? And how much better will it be for the one that Allah gave us for free as our Caring and Loving, most Cherishing Creator? We resort more faith in Science than in Allah! “Have we not made for him a pair of eyes, and a tongue, and a pair of lips, and shown him the two highways?” [Surat Al-Balad 90:8-10] How do we thank Allah for this priceless and irreplaceable Naimat? We use this same tongue to lie instead of telling the Truth, sing songs instead of reciting the Glorious Quran, slander and backbite, argue and gossip, falsely accuse and allege, insult and abuse, yell profanity, spread rumors, and spend our lifetimes chattering and babbling about empty and godless talks in vanity: is this how it should be?
Imagine there are people in this world who say things which our beloved Creator dislikes the most: associating partners with Him and praising and glorifying them instead of Him, and yet we sit and watch in silence leashing the very tongue which we would not hesitate to use if they were to abuse and insult and say wrong about our loved ones! Such hypocrisy! Such thanklessness! Such wretchedness! Such impiety! Allah tells us in Surah Al-Fussilat 41:33 how to properly thank Him for this particular Naimat: “Who is better in speech than one who calls (men) to Allah, works righteousness, and says: ‘I am a Muslim’?” Perhaps its about time we put our tongues to its proper use.
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