Fading Values of Humanity
2. Fading Values of Humanity
In this age of sci e nce and technology, a remarkable progress and development in all spheres of human life are occuring. Sophisticated, even super-sophisticated, products of technology have comforted human beings in meeting all they want and need. People even indulge in it. Jobs run by muscles in the pas t centuries disappeared as they have been replaced by machinery and othe r human-made technologies. The result is that social relations, which are built on community togetherness and solidarity, slowly but surely erode. H umans gradually feel alienated from themselves and society. This human individualistic attitude gives birth to the social problems that stem from the distrust of our fellow human beings. It adds to suspicion and competition over interests, and furthermore intensifies social inequality, economic, and political prejudices among humans.
In Indonesia, the inequality is evident, especially in social, economic, and political areas. This imbalance has created social barriers and raises the split which already potentially existed in ethnicity, race, class, creed and religion. Potential friction was compounded by the emergence of class fanaticism, as well as in race, creed and religious views, coupled with religious truth claims that adorn the media, television screen, speech forums and pulpits. Human values are fading along with the birth of social and economic inequality. It is characterized by the emergence of a spirit to power, to amass unlimited wealth as if one may live forever.
In Sufism, the above phenomenon is a social disease; it originates from illness resting in one’s heart. A person may seem physically healthy, but God knows he or she may suffers from pains in soul; he or she may suffer inside.
Sufism mentioned several diseases pertaining heart which affect one to be socially ill, al-Hirsh (greed), at-takabbur (vanity), al-hasad (envy), al-hiqd (resentment), ar-riya’ (showing off), as-sum’ah (pretentious), and others. In addition, there are also diseases of heart, trivial ones, often not considered diseases, b ut t hey are, such as willingness to be respected but disrespect others, willingnessto receive gifts from others but reluctant to give back in return, willingnessto lead others all the time but never prepared to be led, a love to criticize others but never ready to be criticized, feeling proud when people thank them but never be happy to thank others, love to be praised but never praise others, and so on. All of these attitudes are symptoms that one’s heart is ill. When someone’s heart is ill, he or she could be dangerous to others, because he or she would provoke an adverse social misfortune to humanity.
Today’s world is filled with many people with those heart’s diseases. Hospitals aimed in the first place to make people healthier, but it turned out to be taken care of by people who are ill themselves. Education aims to create
a brighter generation, who are healthy, intelligent, dignified, good mannered and competent, but it turns out to be led by people who are themselves not healthy and dignified. Law Institutions that are used to become the place where people can find justice, goodness and truth, are also led by people who often sell out error, injustice, while denying people’s conscience. These are social diseases every committed Muslim need to heal.