Paralysis by Analysis: A Rant on Beating Down Inaction

Death by Diagnosis

For years, I've participated in discussions and read countless articles on the state of the Muslim Ummah.  I've sat through khutbah after khutbah on how we as Muslims just plain suck, the state of the Ummah sucks, and that we ought to be aware of it.  Sure, no one said, “You suck!” on the minbar because that sort of word choice wouldn't mesh well with the tone of the topic, but no matter how you cut it, that was the takeaway message.

This is followed by immense suckiness root-cause analysis.  Cultural baggage?  Check.  Corrupt Western-puppet supported regimes?  Check.  Racism / Islamophobia?  Check.  Neo-Zionism?  Check.  Irreligiousity?  Check.  Internal disunity?  Check.  Extremism (liberal/progressive or conservative)?  Check.  Poverty?  Check.  Humanitarian Crises?  Check.  Western Imperialism.  Check.  Genocide?  Check.  Deviant groups off the manhaj?  Check?  Masjid board politics?  Check.  Poor manners and character?  Check.  Secularism?  Check.  All problems listed above tightly coupled with one another for further frustration and complexity?  Check.

The grocery list above is like the Wheel of Fortune's R S T L N E – if you enter into one of these discussions, be prepared to hear something along these lines every single time.  Might I offer just a bit of naseeha to our brothers and sisters who have continued to diagnose our collective maladies ad infinitum ad nauseum?

WE GET IT ALREADY!  NOW WHERE'S THE DAMN PILL /  SURGERY / REGIMEN / ACTION PLAN / SPECIFIC STEPS I MUST TAKE TO FIX IT ALL?  GIMME, GIMME, GIMME!

What's that?  You don't know?  But you were so awesomely awesome at diagnosing the problem doc!  What's next?

“……..”

So, umm, anything else I should know?

“R…S…T…L…N…E…R…S…T…”

Nooooooooooooooooooooooo………!!!!!1

Paralysis By Analysis – A Primer

With so many issues to address, it's easy to fall into paralysis by analysis.  This simply means you've got way too many options on the table, so many that you can't decide which to choose, so you do nothing.  Or, you have so many problems to face and you don't know where to start so you do what?  Nothing.  Or, you know how to solve a lot of problems, you try to solve them all at once, reality kicks in, you realize you're only human and can't solve everything, and end up doing nothing, and what little you do is weak in quality and quantity, if it's even ever finished.

There are other variations on this, but bottom line, too much in front of you, and either zero or negligible action behind you, or an attempt to solve everything, and still ending up with zero or negligible action behind you.  Starting to sound familiar?

It's true that the world is a complex place with complex issues and not enough people working on solving them.  Trying to simplify them by stating, “If only we returned to Islam,” or “If only ve had khilafah,” while definitely major problems, is not properly representing the difficulties which exist in our communities.

But just because the world is complex doesn't mean we need an arcane equation to solve our own place in it.  By we, I mean you, the individual.  You don't need to wrap your head around every problem, nor do you need our resident problem diagnosers to tell you what to do – you already have the keys within yourself – all you need is a step-by-step guide to get you there.  As it so happens, I have a guide worth $997 which I'm selling for $0 if you act now, and all it'll take is 4 easy installments of $0 per month (just trust me and read through it, it'll be worth your time, insha'Allah).

Getting Simplicated to Save the World

1.  Forget Everyone Else – What Do You Really Care About?

It's sounds selfish, but at the end of the day, ya gotta be you.  There are so many causes out there, and there's no way you'll get involved in all of them.  You might not even get involved in any of them – a stay-at-homeschooling mom's cause might just be raising her kids to be the best, well-balanced Muslims on the block.  Forget all the guilt-tripping, the khateeb fingerpointing, and the moaning and groaning.  Tune it all out and ask yourself, what matters the most to me?  Where can I contribute and make the biggest impact?

An awesome brother I know in Chicago has poured hours of his time into giving a number of daw'ah projects out-of-this-world support by revamping the underlying structure of their websites, the value of which in the IT consulting world would run into tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, and he's done it pretty much all for free, and the amount of money and time those orgs have saved as a result of his work can't even begin to be enumerated.  That's his cause – looking at promising daw'ah projects and making their IT state-of-the-art for free.  He's not the imam, or the charismatic student of knowledge, and few know him or what he does, or the impact of his work, but Allah knows, and insha'Allah for everyone impacted, he's got a huge windfall coming his way.

2.  Pick One Cause and One Cause Only

I've worked with people who are involved in multiple projects, and I've noticed that their personal life (health, family, etc) is suffering to some extent, and that their work performance is characterized by missed deadlines, shoddy quality, stupid excuses, and inevitable burnout.  Yes, I understand you want the reward, and I understand you intend well, but you're screwing up my project because you're involved with one hundred others.

If you want to save the world, stop trying to save the world – work one project and make it rock.  Focus on it with a passion AND give the rest of your life (mind, body, family, career / education, etc) its rights.

3.  Be Consistent and Reliable If You Want to be Taken Seriously

Wanna know one complaint I'm tired of hearing?  The one about how, “the masjid board sucks, they don't come to the masjid, they don't do this, they don't do that, they're hoarding all the power, etc.”

Kids, sit down, and let's learn a little something about reputation.

Before the Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam began calling to Islam, he resided 40 years among the Quraysh as an upstanding member of his community.  During that timeframe, he was known for his kindness to orphans, his honesty in business and trade, his involvement in community affairs (fudool alliance, look it up), and much more before calling people to Islam.  He was known as al-Ameen among his people, and his private life was so amazing, even his adopted son (who was first his slave) refused to return back with his biological father because of how great it was to be with the Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam – and that was before prophethood had even descended upon him.

You would think with the miracle of the Qur'aan and other miracles seen during the Makkan era, the Quraysh would already have no excuse to reject the Prophet, but with his well-renowned impeccable character, even the worst of the worst had no excuse to reject him.

With all due respect to our younger da'ees, you're nowhere near a prophet, nor have most of you spent enough time establishing a rep of any sort.  You're also not addressing Abu Jahl or Abu Lahab, you're addressing other Muslims whose work has enriched your lives, whether you agree with all their decisions or not.  Earn their trust.  Volunteer to do something non-threatening, like cleaning the masjid.  Serve the community, perhaps in relative obscurity, and then take advantage of whatever opportunity presents itself to participate meaningfully.  Don't expect to simply get the keys to masjid because you have a great idea.  Give of yourself relentlessly, and the rest will follow, insha'Allah.  And if it doesn't, who really cares – you were doing it for the sake of Allah anyway, right?  Right?

The same goes for any other cause – you can talk a great game, have the most baller critiques, but when it comes time to roll up your sleeves and bring your A game to the table, if your contribution is consistent excuses for absence, then sayonara succotash, your pie-in-the-sky ivory tower ideas are not needed.

Final Thoughts

Allah never demands from us more than we are capable of – His expectation is that we do what is within our power, and leave what is outside it to Him.  I don't believe we've yet tapped into our true potential because we've been under the delusion that we can do nothing, or that we try to do everything, and end up doing nothing anyway.  Strive to do and be the best you can, and the world will have already begun changing for the better where it always must – with you.

What Are Those Steps Again?

1. Brainstorm the causes and / or roles that interest you the most.  Ignore what everyone says you should be into.
2. Pick one cause, focus on it with a passion, and make it rock.  Don't be guilt-tripped (by yourself or others) into joining one hundred other causes – rest assured, the victory of Islam will come whether you're there or not.
3. If you don't have the reputation or credibility to get the job you want, then work for it and earn the credibility in order that you'll be trusted, even if it takes years.  If you never get the job, say alhamdulillaah, take the reward you received from Allah, and move on peacefully.