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By Mihar Dias April 2025
Early in the morning, my family and I visited my mother-in-law’s grave. As we walked through the cemetery, we passed by a plot belonging to a billionaire, resting in the same earth as the ordinary man. The cemetery catered to all—irrespective of colour, origins, or worldly means. In death, there was no segregation.
Yet, in life, we continue to build barriers between ourselves. In our neighbourhoods, the common man is sometimes set apart from the privileged, as though wealth and status conferred greater worth. Even in some mosques in our country—houses of God meant to embody unity and humility—fellow Muslims from neighbouring countries are subtly discouraged from standing shoulder to shoulder with their brethren in prayer.
This stark contradiction between the ideals of faith and the realities of human prejudice is troubling.
It reminds me of Thomas Gray’s poignant lines from Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard:
"The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow'r,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave,
Awaits alike th' inevitable hour.
The paths of glory lead but to the grave." (1750)
How easily we forget that in the end, all our titles, power, and wealth dissolve into the same soil. No king nor commoner carries his worldly possessions beyond the grave. What remains is the legacy of our deeds, our kindness, and the justice we upheld—or failed to uphold—in our lifetime.
This is the season of forgiveness, of understanding, of loving our fellow human beings. Yet, many of us cling to our worldly titles, seeking recognition from rulers while disregarding the dignity of the common man.
We enter mosques, reciting supplications for mercy upon all, yet our actions betray our words. What does it say about us when we refuse a fellow Muslim the right to pray beside us because of his origins? Is this the faith we profess?
The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was the ultimate champion of equality. In his Farewell Sermon, he declared: "No Arab has superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have superiority over an Arab; a white person is not superior to a black person, nor is a black person superior to a white person, except by piety and good action."
His life was a testament to this principle—he prayed with the poor, dined with the oppressed, and treated all as equal before Allah.
If we truly wish to honour our faith, we must look beyond our own entitlements and see the humanity in every individual.
We must act with the same mercy we so often invoke in our prayers. For in the end, the graveyard knows no titles, no privilege, no rank—only the weight of our deeds.
Perhaps it is time we start living as we ought, not just speaking as we wish to be perceived.
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