Just Do As You're Told!

The Nazi war criminals criedin defense at the Nuremburg Trials after the Second World War that they were simply following orders. The horrible crimes they committed, they said, were done because they were just doing as they were told. Even in the trial of Saddam Hussein, taking place in Baghdad, part of the defense case for some of those on trial is that they, too, were following orders, doing as they were told. So where do we draw the line? Why should we obey some people and not others? Should we even do as we are told at all?

If a little boy of one year old goes to put his hand in the fire because the flames seem colorful and exciting, no one would dent the parents' right to stop the little boy's hand from getting burned. Say, for example, a little girl of eight is shopping with her mother n the supermarket and her hands stray to the most delightful packet of sweets and puts it in her pocket. Once again, no one would den the mother's right to tell the girl, without explanation, to put the sweets back. A discussion about right and wrong might follow later, but at that time the most important thing is to get the sweets back on the shelf before anyone is accused of stealing.

Both of these examples are simple. Somehow, the older we get, the reasoning gets a little less clear. A fourteen year old wanting a new pair of trainers might just be able to grasp the reason for his father's refusal as the family cannot afford them. It gets a little more difficult when the sixteen year old is told not to hang around with a certain group, or to be back home by a certain time which always seems to be ridiculously early! This is when the arguments begin and, sometimes, the only explanation on offer is "Do as you are told." Before we explore that further, let's think about the Qur'an.

Muslims believe that the noble Qur'an is the directly revealed word of Allah. In it, Allah speaks to mankind and he tells us how to behave. We are told to pray five times a day, to give zakah and to fast during Ramadan. In the case of fasting in Ramadan, we do it purely for Allah's sake. Books have been written, listing the merits and benefits of fasting, but all of these explanations come later. We fast, first of all, because Allah tells us to. Don't eat pork, don't drink alcohol. We trust Almighty Allah when he tells us that these are harmful.

Since the beginning of time, Allah sent prophets and messengers to teach mankind about how they should live. His final message is delivered by the final messenger, Muhammad (peace be upon him). As Muslims, we know that Allah has an infinite care for us and wants only what is best for us. He guides us to what is right and He leads us away from what is wrong. As humans, we often rebel against Him, refusing to follow what is best for us, but even in our act of disobedience, we know that what the Qur'an says is right. Allah cannot be wrong. Like the one-year-old toddler being warned about the fire, we, too, are warned of a fire that will never go out.

The problem with rowing up, though, is that we like to rebel just that little bit more. In trying to establish who they are, and in allowing their personalities to develop, young people sometimes reject authority just for the sake of it. Every teacher knows well the boy in his class who will say "no" just to provoke a confrontation, knowing all the other students are looking on. Teenagers and young adults get into so many arguments with parents and elders, partly because it is quite natural for them to do so. University students famously rebel against the system, which five or six years later they will be quite happily a part of!

There are many examples where the freshness and the ideals of youth confronted the tied, old ideas of an unjust system and brought about great change. The protest by South African schoolchildren in Soweto against being taught in Afrikaans, ultimately led to an end to apartheid, even though 700 youth lives were lost in that protest. The world held its breath too when students in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China lost their lives protesting against human rights abuses in China. So, yes, there is a time when young people are called upon to say "no" to injustice and to make a difference.

There is also a time, though, when we need to know when it is best to do as we are told. On the whole, parents love their children. They make great sacrifices for them and do everything they can to provide for them. Parents don't want their children to come to any harm. This applies as much to when your son is 2 as to when he is 22. Fathers love their children. "Do as you are told" might be a clumsy way of putting it, but can often be translated as "do this because I love you and I don't want you to get hurt."

There is a very fine line, in the eyes of parents, between being a child and being an adult. Knowing when to let go is one of the most difficult things a father or a mother needs to learn. Recognizing this in one's parents is difficult, too, for a son or a daughter to see. As Muslims, we love our parents. We recoil from the homes for the elderly so prevalent in the West, preferring to keep elderly parents and grandparents close to us for as long as we can. It is very touching and makes one so proud to be Muslim when you see that in Muslim societies a son or daughter meeting an elderly parent with a kiss on the hand or on the forehead, acknowledging the debt they owe to their parents.

We read these lovely words in the Qur'an

How beautiful Islam is! Its not the easiest thing growing up and becoming fully the person Allah wants us to be. It isn't easy either being a parent and making yourself understood all the time by your children.

We have a duty to speak out strongly against injustice and oppression and against anything which opposes our religion. In such cases, doing as you are told is clearly not the right thing to do. However, faced with the experience and the wisdom of old age, or the righteousness which comes from prayer and knowledge of the Qur'an, or the love which parents have for their children, we are called upon to listen attentively and to act accordingly with love and respect. Islam has so much to teach the world, lost as it is in the pursuit of material things. By listening to Allah, who loves us, we find the happiness which the world cannot give. Doing as weare told, in that case, can only, in sha' Allah, be to our good.

Idris Tawfiq is a British Muslim writer who lives and works in Egypt. He has spent many years working with young people. He was head of religious education in different schools in the United Kingdom and, perhaps more remarkably, before embracing Islam he was a Roman Catholic priest. You can visit website at www.idristawfiq.com.