Mirza Ghalib (1797-1869) is considered the greatest poet of the Urdu language. His greatness lies not only in the beauty of his poetry and the excellence of his expression but also in his profound understanding of life’s realities and human psychology, which he conveys to common people with great simplicity. Ghalib was born in a turbulent era where he witnessed the downfall of a great Muslim empire and the rise of the British to power. This backdrop likely deepened his perspective and broadened his thinking.
However, very few people are aware that Ghalib provided guidance to Muslims in a way that, had they adopted it, they would be among the world’s greatest powers today. Unfortunately, people appreciated his poetic prowess and his contributions to prose, but they ignored his guidance on national matters. The greatest tragedy is that this was done by a person who later became a significant leader of the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent, namely Sir Syed Ahmed Khan.
In 1855, Sir Syed corrected and republished the famous manuscript from Akbar the Great’s era, “Ain-e-Akbari.” Ghalib wrote a poetic introduction (taqriz) in Persian for it, advising Sir Syed that “murdah parwaran mubarak kar nist,” meaning that idolizing the past is not beneficial. Instead, he suggested learning from the British how they harnessed the forces of nature and advanced far beyond their ancestors. Throughout this introduction, Ghalib did not praise British culture but pointed out their scientific discoveries as the secret to their progress.
Unfortunately, Sir Syed did not grasp this advice. Although he was influenced by the British, their progress in science and technology did not become his ideal. Instead, he considered the British language, their social practices, and their social sciences as perfect models for Muslims. He encouraged Muslims to pursue these and initiated a significant educational movement for this purpose. This had the benefit of enabling Muslims to understand the British political system and ultimately gain independence. However, culturally and socially, this had detrimental effects. The Muslim elite developed a psychology of being impressed by the British language, attire, culture, lifestyle, and values. Unfortunately, this mentality persists among our educated and wealthy classes to this day. Consequently, positive aspects of Western civilization, such as the rule of law, social justice, and freedom of expression, have not taken root in our society, while the English language and lifestyle are seen as marks of prestige.
Our religious leadership has further exacerbated this situation. From the beginning, they adopted a mindset contrary to Sir Syed’s, exhibiting intense aversion to every aspect of the British and their culture. During the Cold War, this attitude improved somewhat due to political circumstances, but following the events of 9/11, this mentality has resurfaced vigorously.
The correct path for Muslims at this time is to avoid extremes and adopt a middle course. They should neither be enamored with the West nor harbor hatred towards it. Currently, the West rules the world, and their civilization is dominant. They are leaders in science and technology. Due to their significance, it is essential to deal with them with great wisdom. We believe this approach has three aspects:
Embracing Scientific Progress: We should fully embrace their advancements in scientific knowledge and civilizational development as our goal.
Protecting Our Core Values: We must prevent aspects of their culture that contradict our fundamental values from infiltrating our society. For instance, our civilization is built on the three pillars of belief in the afterlife, modesty, and respect for hierarchy. We cannot compromise on these.
Making Practical Compromises: We have to make compromises on cultural elements, such as language, out of necessity.
Without adopting this strategy, we cannot effectively face the challenges we encounter today.
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