THE IMPORTANCE OF AWARENESS & HAVING AN INDEPENDENT OPINION

Course Teacher: Zaki ha!i" Awareness basically means, the state or ability to perceive, to feel, or to be conscious of events, objects or sensory patterns. When you are aware of something, your consciousness understands and interprets events as they happen. This is contrary to dreams in general wherein we are not aware of what truly happens and how, because dreams are created in the subconscious (excepting the rare case of lucid dreaming, of course). Many people tend to forget their dreams. n rare cases however, people sometimes become aware that they are dreaming because they associate certain indicative motions and ob!ects in dreams with consciousness when they are awa"e. f you have seen the movie nception, you will understand what am referring to. Anyhow, while confining our sub!ect to the field of information warfare in light of slamic principles, let us ta"e guidance from Allah#s $inal %oo", The &ur#an. Ayah '( of )urah *+d mentions, [This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], that they might reflect upo its verses a d that those of u dersta di g would be remi ded!. Allah wishes -is wise servants to reflect upon the verses ( yaddabbaroo), to get into the depth of the wisdom that has been concealed inside the words which many of us !ust recite as a routine. t is li"e an oyster, apparently something rough outside but inside is hidden the beautiful priceless pearl. Those of .nderstanding ( oolul albaab) will be reminded (of why they are created, their purpose in life, responsibilities and obligations, etc., they will remain mindful of that information) THE S#IGHT DIFFERENCE $ETWEEN $EING "#$O%M&' AND $EING (W(%& /ou can be well informed of something. -owever, nformation does not necessarily contain something to ta"e benefit from. n the case of Awareness, there is always an element of benefit and utility that can be extracted. $or 0xample, )omeone tells me, 1XYZ dress is for Rs. !!2. This does not necessarily hold useful information for me since might not be interested in finding out rates of clothes. t serves no general purpose for my need. -owever, if someone tells me that the petrol prices are rising for so and so reason "corruption, etc.# , that will be something that has put me to awareness of what is going on without common "nowledge. The purpose of Awareness is to inculcate a feeling of responsibility, reaction and change in someone. f the government hides some information from you, it means they do not want you to be aware but instead "ept in the dar". t is Awareness that leads to

true change. nformation can be non3beneficial or based on manufactured content (disinformation). Awareness is always built upon absolute Truth. nfact, telling someone that so and so person lied is also awareness because you are letting someone benefit from "nowing what the fraud person is doing. f someone gives you information in bits and pieces (disconnected), you might not be able to !oin the dots and ma"e the complete picture of what the news is. %ut if you are aware of what the bac"drop of each bit of information is, you will not find it difficult to gather all the pieces together to complete the pu44le. $or 0xample, Mil" is white is information but not everything white is mil$, that is awareness. Why5 %ecause you might have tasted yoghurt (dahee) which is also white, but it tasted different. -ence you concluded that even though mil" is also white and so is yoghurt, there is a difference between the two which you noticed using your sense of taste. That, is called being aware of something. When information is stored permanently in your mind, that is awareness. nformation which "eeps coming and going and you have to be reminded of it again and again is not awareness. Awareness of something means you learn of it once and "eep it stored in your mind for good. 6i"e computers have 78M and 7AM. 78M is volatile memory which is temporarily stored whereas 7AM (Random %ccess &emory) is permanently stored. nformation is new whereas you can be aware of something since ages. HAVING AN OPINION t is an opinion which compels you ta"e a decision. 0ven don"eys have an opinion, if they are told to carry lots of load, they might not move an inch forward because they consider the burden too much and hence they go stubborn. They form their opinion based on the prevailing situation and available options. )imilarly, us humans who have been created for a purpose by Allah, have the authority and permission to have our own opinion as to what we thin" and feel of various things, events and incidents. -aving an independent opinion ma"es you different from the rest. t enables you to stand out as someone distinct and original. -owever, we should not impose our views and opinion on others. We are made of clay and mud as mentioned in The &ur#an. %ut we are not made of glass. -ence, we should not try to see our reflection in others. Allah has created each and every one of us with

separate identities and destinies. 7enowned historian and analyst 9oam :homs"y is ;uoted as saying, )"f we do *t believe i freedom of e+pressio for people we despise, we do !t believe i it at all,. The world is diverse, and so are the billions of people inhabiting it. f everyone was to thin" the same as you and hold the same opinion, what would life be5 -aving an opinion is what empowers you to re!ect falsehood and embrace the truth. 8r in some unfortunate cases, you choose to side with falsehood and re!ect the truth. 8pinions matter, and they are best expressed through logical, rational and disciplined arguments rather than abusive, sarcastic and point3scoring fights. As our deen emphasi4es modesty and maturity, let us learn some pearls of wisdom from a hadith, Abu .mamah Al3%ahili (7.A.) reported, The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, '" guara tee a house i -a ah for o e who gives up argui g, eve if he is i the right( and ) guarantee a home in the middle of *annah for one who abandons lying even for the sa$e of fun( and " guara tee a house i the highest part of -a ah for o e who has good ma ers.++ <7eference, )unan Abu =awud hadith > ?@AAB A related saying by renowned slamic !urist mam al3Cha4ali, +)f a man gives up contention when he is in the wrong, a house will be built for him within the ,arden of -aradise( but if a ma gives up co te tio eve whe he is i the right, a house will be built for him i the loftiest part of the .arde + #ESSONS TO #EARN D Awareness comes from personal yearning and desire, not by being carefree D Awareness is always beneficial. 8ther things of no worth might seem as awareness to you but are in fact mere wastage of time D -aving an independent opinion is alright, as long as it does not involve placing of the ego above relations D There is no harm in having some views influenced by others as long as your heart and mind testify they are right and if you have verified what is being said or shown D 8pinions are meant to be shared and expressed, not meant to instigate war of words of hurls of abuseEfighting with others. A believer in Allah will not resort to childish behavior and savage method of tal" li"e in the .ays of *ahiliyyah D f no one accepts your opinion or considers it worthy, ignore. There is no use persuading constantly, neither should you do that D An educated opinion3holder is one whose views will be appreciated by people with time and not readily accepted as temporary appeasements

D /ow you express your opinion is even more important than what you share in it, always rememberF D As The Grophet (pbuh) advised, arguing constantly is worthless and is !ust being stubborn for point3scoring. The other who has closed his heart and mind#s door to you will not accept what you say from the ears D Turn yourself into such a good person with good character that people themselves will start to value your opinion when they will notice the good morals and eti;uettes in you D -ypocrites are short3lived inspirations. )omeday or the other, their reality exposes itself. -owever, a believer continues to influence and positively affect the minds and hearts of millions 6astly, would li"e to share a hadith for those who have a habit of continuously arguing with their friends, colleagues or strangers when they confront a difference of opinion, Abdullah (7.A.) reported, The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, )%ui ed are those who i dulge i hair/splitti g 0petty argume tatio 12, -e said it three times. <7eference, )ahih Muslim hadith > H?IAB )o the next time you confront anyone with any opinion, debate your views with them in good manners as outlined in The &uran, )" vite to the way of your 3ord with wisdom a d good i structio , a d argue with them i a way that is best2 " deed, your 3ord is most k owi g of who has strayed from 4is way, a d 4e is most k owi g of who is [rightly] guided, . <)urah an39ahl ayah J'IB nviting people to believe a factual news is also calling to the way of Allah since the source of all ha; is Al -a; (Allah -imself). All truth finds its origin from Allah and all falsehood from blees. Adopt good, spea" good, act good, get good. =o bad, have worse in return. And if you do all good and still get worse reaction, change your path. /ou did what you should, leave the rest to Allah.