Following Blindly
Two stories:
1. The Czar in Russia came upon a sentry standing at attention in a remote area of the palace garden. When he asked the sentry what he was guarding, the soldier did not know. The Czar summoned the Captain of the Guard and asked him. He replied that there was a standing order for a sentry in that spot, but he didn’t know why. The Czar was now very curious and had the palace records searched. It turned out that Catherine the Great had received a rare and lovely rosebush. When she had it planted, she commanded that a sentry be posted around the clock to protect the bush. Catherine the Great and the rosebush had both died many many years ago, but the order had never been rescinded. Every day a soldier stood guard over a bare piece of ground with no idea why.
2. In preparing a leg of lamb dinner for her family, a young wife cut off the end of the lamb and threw it away before putting the lamb in the roasting pan. Her husband watched her and asked why she did that. It seemed a waste of good meat. “I don’t know,” she replied, “My mother always did.” He then visited his mother-in-law and asked her why she cut off part of the lamb before cooking. Perhaps there was some secret to proper cooking involved. But his mother-in-law only said that her mother had always done it, though she wasn’t sure why. Now very curious, he called up his grandmother-in-law and asked her why she cut off part of the lamb before roasting. Grandma laughed. “My roasting pan was too small to hold the whole leg,” she answered.
These stories simply illustrate what can happen when we accept information without verifying it, without seeking the truth behind it. When we blindly follow what we are told, we can end up guarding an empty space or throwing away good food.
God has given us the intelligence to live in this world, but we have to use that intelligence or go through life blindly. [Quran 17:36] You shall not accept any information, unless you verify it for yourself. I have given you the hearing, the eyesight, and the brain, and you are responsible for using them.
It’s a great blessing to have ears to hear with, eyes to see with, and a brain to process all the information. We need to be appreciative of that blessing. [23:78] He is the One who granted you the hearing, the eyesight, and the brains. Rarely are you appreciative.
I think the best way to show that appreciation is to use the gifts God gave us. We hear so much nonsense every single day — from co-workers, from television, even from friends. We see things all the time with our gift of sight — movies, books, even billboards. We have to use our brain to filter out the bad and discard it. Don’t hold onto it; certainly don’t pass it on. There is good and bad in these things and the job of our brain is to store the good for future use and get rid of the bad.
Our most important job in this world is to worship God alone. We are brought up in different religions and we tend to accept the information we’re given from our parents, teachers, and religious leaders as absolute truth. I certainly went along with all the trappings of my Christian upbringing. Baptism, confirmation, reciting the Apostle’s Creed, Christmas, Easter — it was all a part of my life, with no more thought than guarding a dead rose bush or throwing away good lamb.
But perhaps there’s a better way. God can guide us to that better path, to lead us out of darkness into the light, if we’re open to the signs He shows us. To question the fundamentals of our life is not an easy thing. But it’s critical to our salvation. We need to know and understand exactly what we’re doing, not do it blindly without thought or awareness.
The Quran is full of reminders that we need to question, consider, understand, and find our own path.
[2:170] When they are told, “Follow what GOD has revealed herein,” they say, “We follow only what we found our parents doing.” What if their parents did not understand, and were not guided?
[37:69–70] They found their parents astray. And they blindly followed in their footsteps.
[43:22] The fact is: they said, “We found our parents carrying on certain practices, and we are following in their footsteps.” [43:23] Invariably, when we sent a warner to any community, the leaders of that community would say, “We found our parents following certain practices, and we will continue in their footsteps.”
Going against our family and friends can be daunting. But the consequences of not following God’s guidance, due to peer pressure, is far more devastating.
Social Pressure: A Profound Disaster
[29:25] He said, “You worship beside GOD powerless idols due to peer pressure, just to preserve some friendship among you in this worldly life. But then, on the Day of Resurrection, you will disown one another, and curse one another. Your destiny is Hell, wherein you cannot help one another.”
The most difficult to contradict is our parents. They raised us and took care of us and as children we feel they can do no wrong. And God tells us to honor our parents in both the Old Testament (Exodus 20:12) and the Quran (6:151, 17:23, 46:15). But we can honor them and be kind to them and treat them well and still follow God’s true guidance.
[29:8] We enjoined the human being to honor his parents. But if they try to force you to set up idols beside Me, do not obey them. To Me is your ultimate return, then I will inform you of everything you had done.
[31:14–5] We enjoined the human being to honor his parents…. If they try to force you to set up any idols beside Me, do not obey them. But continue to treat them amicably in this world….
The most important thing is not to follow blindly. Not to follow anyone or anything blindly. We hear something and believe it to be true and, without verifying, we accept and perhaps pass it on to others as fact. This is dangerous in everything, but is especially devastating when it comes to our soul and our salvation.
[31:21] When they are told, “Follow these revelations of GOD,” they say, “No, we follow only what we found our parents doing.” What if the devil is leading them to the agony of Hell?
God has given us this amazing brain. We need to continuously implore Him to increase our knowledge and understanding and follow His guidance, and only His guidance, to the right path. As Abraham said: [43:27] “Only the One who initiated me can guide me.”
Editor’s note: This is reproduced with slight modification from the September 2020 issue of the Submitter’s Perspective.
