Does this ring a bell?

The mother asks her son: “Mama, can you stay with your little brother while I take your grandma to the doctor?” And the son replies: NOOO! You stay with them! Why ME, why not Leila! They are YOUR kids not MINE, I Don’t Care.”

Does this ring a bell?

The wife asks her husband: “Can’t you find a job? Don’t you see we need money to pay our bills? All you can do is hang out with your friends until morning playing cards and smoking shisha and God knows what else! Is it me who is supposed to support this family or you?” And the husband replies: “Look at you, just whining and complaining day and night! You think you’re so smart, you figure it out. Get a better job yourself. Apply for public aid, or ask your dad to help us, I Don’t Care.”

Does this ring a bell?

The husband asks his wife: “Can you stop going from one place to another every single day wasting time and money? Don’t you care about your home? Don’t you care about your kids? Everything and everyone is neglected so you can just shop and visit your friends all the time!” And the wife replies: “Why are you so controlling? Look at your sister how she spends her husband’s money! If you are so worried about YOUR kids then YOU take care of them. I Don’t Care.”

The disease of “I don’t care” is truly a devastation for the family. It represents a self-centeredness of someone who doesn’t take responsibility for their own actions or of the issues around them that affect their life and the lives of others in one way or another. It stresses the other family members, plants a seed of disparity, and makes people distant from each other.

Our Deen teaches us that life is all about responsibility. Believing in the truth, acting on faith by practicing the five pillars of Islam, giving people their rights, and working hard in life to attain an honorable lifestyle are all examples of one of the best human qualities:  Caring.

Looking at people around us with all the troubles they face daily should prompt us to be grateful for all the blessings God has given us, and we should translate that gratefulness by giving our part back in life. Caring is an obligation not a choice! For survival matters in this life, no human can afford to lose the sense of caring and say I don’t care!

Allah (SW) called Caring {The Trust} or Al-Amanah. In chapter Al-Ahzab, Allah (SW) set the guidelines for all issues of life, minor or major, that they stand on the concept of this Trust. Allah (SW) called those who fail to act on the trust ignorant and unjust.

Caring starts with parents working hard and setting an example in their roles toward God, each other, and kids. Children at a young age should learn to contribute back to their parents and family in any capacity they can because this is the proper thing, the honorable thing, and the most rewarding thing to do.

The only time Islam teaches us permissibility in saying I don’t care is when one is attacked or persecuted for taking a stand for the values and ethics of faith. Only at such a moment can you say I don’t care, because this is a moment of putting something more valuable above yourself. Bilal (RAA) said it in a different term when the pagans tried to force him to renounce Islam by torturing him. He said “Ahad Ahad, God is One, God is One.” When the magicians embraced the faith of Moses they told Pharaoh: {Decree whatever you will decree} 20:72, in other words, we don’t care what happens because we stand with the truth that came with Moses.

Caring is not just toward family members, the Prophet (SAAW) said: “One who wakes up and does not care for the matters of the Ummah does not belong to them.”[1]

The time to care is NOW, it always has been.

 

By Sh. Kifah Mustapha

[1] Narrated by Baihaqi

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