Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 151
! ! 151 now than they were recorded at the actual time of occurrence. For example, people today have a better u nderstanding of the events which took place in the seventh and the eighth century , compared to the people who lived during that age. The same can be said for geography. Those countries, whose names were previously unknown , ar e now known to the entire world , f or e xample, America. Due to Mufti ( Muhammad Sadiq’s ra ) residing in America, our children are well aware of the country by read ing and listening to his accounts. Decline of Succeeding Generations i n Religion Strangely, while the succeeding generations progress in worldly affairs, they decline in religious matters. Children advance beyond their parents and grandparents in mathematics, history , and geography. Similarly, the blacksmiths, carpenters and goldsmiths who have passed away are now replaced by workers with better skills. Yet , why do we not find th is example regarding religious matters ? Even though religion exceeds every other profession in importance and need. T here should have be en more advancement in religion. There is only one reason behind this. When a historian achieves benefit from history, he attempts to leave behind a successor so that the knowledge does not perish with him. Similarly , a mathematician and a geographer leave behind successors to continue with their works. However, in matters of religion , there is very little desire to leave behind successors who are more knowledgeable. Alt hough, those who have truly understood their faith and do not follow a religion as a ritual, do feel this desire. Only Wishing is n ot Enough The problem is that nothing can be accomplished merely by desire unless there is help available to achieve it. For example, desire alone is not enough for the mathematician who wishes to leave his legacy to another mathematician. His desire cannot be fulfilled unless there are parents who are willing to place their children under his training and education. The s ame applies to other areas, except for when it comes to religion.