2023 And the mad men in our cities (III)

But the voluntarily mad man would be happy counting his wealth as they accumulate. He would not take heed of all admonitions. O mankind, thus goes the admonition. You have been distracted by the rivalry of piling up worldly gains against one another. You will never be satisfied until you get into the grave. Nevertheless, soon you shall come to know. Again, nevertheless, soon you shall come to know. Nay! Would that you knew through the real knowledge provided to you in this Qur’an and care about your life in the Hereafter. Because on the Day of Judgment when you shall see the hell, and see it with the certainty of your own eyes; – you shall believe it, but that belief is going to do you no good because – on that Day, you shall be questioned about the blessings (faculties and resources that you were given in the worldly life – as to how you used them? (Q 102:1-8) In a more direct revelation, the Almighty says: And those who hoard ﴿Kanz﴾ gold and silver and spend them not in the way of Allah, announce unto them a painful torment (Q 9: 34)

Heedless of these divine advise, the madman in the village continues to live life as if the curtain would not fall. He buys estates all around the world. He derives pleasure in the ephemeral, in the transient. He builds his hopes on the sand. His ‘madness’ would manifest once you attempt to take away one of the needless from him. He would charge violently at you once you tell him that what he gathers from the world is like collecting water from the ocean with the bare palm.

But aside from the wealthy guy in the neighbourhood, there are other madmen all around the city. They now have a club. They now have a Forum: Nigeria’ Madmen’s Forum. It is a forum for the powerful men of today who nonetheless desire more power. It is a forum for the Mr “Nobodies” of yesterday who, by virtue of your votes, have become “Mr Somebodies” of today. What else other than fit of madness could explain the inability of thirty-five “men of wisdom” to conduct an election that would be free of rancor. What else other than the ascension of anomie could validate the impunity of those men who throw away decorum and dignity based on political expediency and convenience. Suddenly, all that mattered was who became the chairman of the Madmen forum not the dilapidated primary and post-primary institutions in their respective states. Suddenly all that mattered was who became the Chair of the Forum not the recent increases in the prices of food materials in the market. To these group of individuals, the pursuit of the comfort of ordinary Nigerians can wait and indeed suffer until their political fancies and that of their principals are satisfied. I contemplated the posture of that village-head who stood in front of the camera to protest the ‘rigging’ that took place during the election. Then I remembered the following verse of the Quran: “Do not look at what these people of luxury and their likes and peers have of nice comforts. For verily, it is only short-lived splendor and a feeble bounty, which we are using to test them with. And very few of My servants are truly thankful”.

Thus, dear brethren, if you were to ask one of the powerful ‘madmen’ of today: why this excessive pursuit of power? He would probably tell you it is all based on the desire to gain the best of this world, to enjoy life. But the above verse of the Quran speaks to the reality of this life: that human life is short and trifle. All human enjoyments be it food, drinks, sleeping and sexual intercourse for which these mad men are threatening to burn this village are ephemeral. In fact, the pleasure we derive in these activities inheres in their ephemerality, in the necessity to return to them again and again. Brethren can you imagine the possibility of a sexual intercourse that would last eternity!

I once contemplated the balloon which was used in beautifying a hall for a particular public function. From a distance, the beauty conferred on the hall by the balloons was simply infectious. But after a while, the balloon began to explode one by one. It felt as if they were programmed to implode, to self-destruct. The beauty and ambience they wrought in the hall consequently disappeared. Then I began to wonder: could this not be the similitude for the enjoyments and the earthly pursuits for which these mad men desire to kill and maim? Are these balloons not ideal metaphors for the world, for dunya?  The Almighty has revealed the secret of the world to humanity in many verses of the Qur’an. On the day of resurrection, a man would be asked: How many years did you spend in life? He would respond: “We tarried there only for a day or part of a day. Ask those able to count!”.

Face to face with the reality that only very few among men can make sense of these facts, the words of the mad man in the psychiatry hospital came to my mind once again: I wonder how many sane men remain out there? (Concluded)