Let those who doesn’t know and ethically depict what’s behind their tears laugh as they do. But the few who can understand this are among the blessed creation of Allah who created everything; the heavens and the earth and all that which is between the two.
It started with Ibrahim Matola and today it is been anchored with another flowing tears by another son of Malawi by the name of Daud Al-Deen Chikwanje. I know readers will wonder as to why the writer has stripped off the political Title of the two? The simple answer is that both have an original identity that connect them directly to their crying in public which appeared to some people as a weakness.
Ibrahim Matola and Daudi Al-Deen Chikwanje are ‘Muslim first and Member of Parliament and Cabinet second’. It is this original identity that pushed tears from their beautiful eyes in public. Their hearts are so connected to the concept of Al-Amanah and Mas’uliyyah (Trustworthy, and responsibility).Al-Amanah (trusts) and Al-Mas’uliyyah (responsibilities) refers to the ethical character of the human character that must be practiced in daily life, especially by every Muslim.
Both of these noble qualities helps someone to avoid something that can cause him to be regarded as a care-free individual even during sad moments. Since the two belong to political cycles of Malawi, we can connect their given positions to the concept of trust. According to Islam, for instance, voting someone into any political leadership position is part of Amanah. Thus, the vote is not only a game of winning and losing but it is a matter of accountability and consciousness with the position one holds.
If the elected person carries out good works in his/her position then whatever rewards he/she will get, a share will also be due to the voter. This signifies the strong bond between the voter and the elected person. So too, when a voter faces trouble it affects the caring leader.
Perhaps, this is where Ibrahim Matola and Daud Al-Deen Chikwanje stand. Being men of the True faith they pretty well understand that positions they hold today are not just fashionable endeavour, but rather it is a great trust conferred upon them by their creator Allah. At this point, I can vividly recall what Ibrahim Matola, now I can refer to him as honourable, when he said in tears, though not exact verbatim“ pamene tikunena pano kuti magetsi anathima kodi tikudziwa kuti kuchipatala ndi anthu angati amene amwalira kamba kakuthima kwamagetsi ndipo kwamulungu tikayankha chani” a point of reflection in his words is “tikayankha chani kwamulungu” this is where his trust is bounded and that’s exactly what made him to shade tears while sitting on his Ministerial pew.
Similarly, honourable Daud Al-Deen Chikwanje, he couldn’t manage to hold both crying voice and tears in public because his connection and conviction to the creator who entrusted him to take care of his constituents is so strong! Abu Hurairah (RAA) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:“There are three signs of a hypocrite: when he speaks, he tells lies; when he makes a promise, he breaks it; and when he is entrusted, he betrays his trust.”Honourable Ibrahim, and honourable Daud are surely not among the aforementioned people in the Hadeeth. They at least shown their consciousness to the Trust they hold in their hands.
A good servant leader should shade tears when things go to the wrong direction. Yes, perhaps it is even much better reaching the point of wanting to leave the position in fear of what he/she will tell his/her creator on lives lost. It is true that catastrophe such as Cyclone is beyond human capacity to prevent it, but still for those who understand that holding a leadership position is a trust, they would still cry because they don’t know if they are not going to be accountable for every soul lost.
If you think what honourable Ibrahim Matola and honourable Daud Al-Deen Chikwanje did was funny, think twice by using the Islamic framework of who a leader is? In fact, if all leaders could have such easy crying hearts because of the poor social status of their followers they could strive to find means to transform lives of the people they claim to serve.Don’t cry today, instead you will do soon before the creator and your tears then will not have any single meaning!
