Why are we so self-centered…

Yesterday I went on a day trip from Karachi to Islamabad. As usual, I ran into many business colleagues / acquaintances at the airport – taking the red-eye flight to Isloo. I don’t know what it is these days, just ask someone “How’s business doing?” and you get their profit (no loss) statement read-out-loud to you and everyone in a 20 feet radius. I happened to ask three friends separately and the answers were:

1. (The person decided to laugh and shrug shoulders) “Well now we are a billion rupee company and we employ now 5,000 people and I’m still under 30″ – did I fucking ask how old you were? No!
2. “Oh we are now 600 people and will be a 1,000 people company before this year’s end and we’ve just completed $10 million …..” I lost interest and moved on, and decided to let him yak away like a coin-operated clown in a circus!
3. The third one happened on my way back from Isloo – I asked someone (I never did learn from the morning’s experience) and it was like “We are now the number 1 company in Pakistan for this-and-that and this year we tripled our revenues”.

All this makes me wonder – can’t people possible say “Alhamdollilah – business is good MashaAllah”, or “Allah ka bara karam hai, business is well!” Why must we go on this obtuse deduction that the other person is interested in your financial and HR health? Like I’m going to give them some form of instant credit (no pun intended).

Why can’t people reply back in simplicity, why can’t we be humble? Why must we make the other person feel small? (Yes, I admit I did feel small, but I have no hang-ups on that).

Can you imagine what the average person standing next to you, who doesn’t know you, might be thinking when one is doing this Me-Myself-I-My talk? So many superficial people in this world. Everyday I thank I have genuine/warm friends. That is such a blessing from Allah.

On this note, I want you readers to know, I saw once at the airport, a billionaire many times over in his own right (someone I do not wish to name) coming to the airport – driving the car himself, carried his own bag. Was travelling Economy, smiled at everyone, said Salaam. Was patient in the long queues, was very humble – did not walk proud, but with Allah’s thankfulness in every step that he took. He was simple and ordinary in a crowd, but here is the difference. He saw a elderly woman at the PIA counter, crying (sobbing more or less) who was (later we found out) wanted a ticket, to go to Lahore (due to a death in the family). Our man decided to make a beeline to her and asked of her as to what was ailing her, upon hearing it – he simply gave his ticket to her and told her to continue on, as his meeting can wait, etc. but her attending the funeral could not. It was as simple as that.

The woman, cried and thanked him, and showered Allah’s best blessings on him for his kind gesture. As for me, I felt like shit (even though I was NOT going to Lahore, but the gentlemen was). The reason I felt like crap was, i don’t know if I had the ticket myself, if I would have done this? Probably not? and then for the rest of my life, would have been regretting it.

Here is a man, to whom Allah’s given so much and yet will continue to get more, because his “neeyat” is clear and the “dua” from an elderly lady is worth more to God than all the money in one’s bank.

I pray and wish, God gives us such clarity, confidence and above all a chance to prove our worth for humanity.