2023-03-22

Happy New Year! (Or: Intentions Against Cynicism)


 

Actions are (judged) by motives (niyyah), so each man will have what he intended. Thus, he whose migration (hijrah) was to Allah and His Messenger, his migration is to Allah and His Messenger; but he whose migration was for some worldly thing he might gain, or for a wife he might marry, his migration is to that for which he migrated.

It may be the case that irony was once a powerful tool in the hands of the oppressed, exposing the hypocrisy of those in (political or religious) power. Sadly, this does not hold anymore - not in rich capitalist parliamentary democracies, in any case. Pop culture has internalized the 60s ethos of corrosive irony. It shows in second-tier comedians reproducing hierarchy - in the name of anarchy - by mocking progressive restrictions of discriminatory expression.

Of course, the left is not free of this type of irony, either. Much of what’s been written on this blog over the past few years has commented on this convergence of the worst parts of online culture and progressive social movements.

For the coming New Year, I wish every reader of this blog and of these words the clarity to see their motivations, the guilelessness to strive for pure intentions, and the grace to receive these.

P.S.

Here's another Hadith for you:

"God is beautiful and loves beauty"

I still remember the day, about three years ago, when I witnessed the beauty of souls trained in Sincerity and Love. I said to myself: "I don't know what it is these people have, but I want it, too." I cannot claim to have been more than moderately loyal to this commitment. But I do sincerely believe that it matters to have a commitment to strive after the Good, the True, and the Beautiful.