The Not-It Syndrome!

Some people are grateful for being blessed with fingers.  Consequently, they rush in pointing them at others!

It's a process that we started early in our lives.  When we were asked, in a silly voice, "where's mommy?", we just pointed at her.  Then few years later, when we broke something or caused a mess, then were asked in an angry voice "who did this?", we nervously pointed fingers to the nearest sibling, or whomever our eyes laid on.

By time, we grow and we change, and the finger-pointing habit changes as well.  Instead of blaming someone else for something we did, we simply stop noticing our mistakes, and all the blame magically shifts to the second or third person.  When it comes to deen, it's no different!

The concept is still there and the underlying essence is the same.  It's easier to notice what others do, but really hard- almost impossible- to see what we ourselves are doing. 

Take for instance a girl with high fashion desires; she wears designers purses and sunglasses.  It's true that her latest pair of glasses was worth what could have fed 10 families in Malawi for 6 months.  But she's got pretty good excuse for herself.  She's convinced that the design is comfortable, that the top notch technology used in the lens protects her eyes from dangerous UV rays which other generic brands can't beat, that she can afford it and the list goes on and on. She's being judged by her brother, who accuses her of spending foolishly and always reminds her that lousy spenders are compared to shaytan. 

Little does he realize that he's not the one to talk.  Maybe he doesn't have the taste for designer's brands, but he sure does have an addiction for new gadgets.  He's pretty diplomatic in justifying the $500 worth MP3 player along with the wide array of different laptop platforms he owns.

Or the husband who's so uptight about his wife showing an inch of skin to non-mahrams, yet he has been in the habit of missing fajr prayer for a little over a year now! 

And the crème de la crème; the guy who's looking to get married but actively excludes all girls who might have had any encounter with guys, even if it was a potential for marriage and simply didn't work out.  Not realizing that he's got plenty of those himself.

Some people are just way too hard on others, and when they fail to always be good, understanding, compromising, forgiving, accommodating and caring, they simply put the blame on an nonnegotiable fact: "Sorry, I'm not perfect!"

Our Ummah could use a little bit of rationality.  Yes, it's great to have compassionate individuals who care about each other and give advices for the sake of Allah... but let's just not point out the speck in others' eyes despite the blinding log in ours.