Be On Track

—And the Right Track

A Reminder from Islam
 
by Richard Bayer, Ph.D.

A Forty-Year Vision
The Five O’Clock Club recommends that you do your Forty-Year Vision so you can get your whole life operating in the same direction. We recommend that you select the right track for you – and stay on that track. Our mantra is, “Does this thing that you are considering fit in with your Forty-year Vision? If not, DON’T DO IT!”

In the 14 years of the Club’s existence nationally, we have heard a variety of stories from our clients about their Forty-Year Visions:

*     A young man dropped the woman he was dating because, as glamorous as she was, he saw in his Forty-Year Vision that he wanted someone who would be more supportive and down-to-earth, and hold more compatible religious beliefs.
*     Another Five O’Clock Clubber decided NOT to search internationally – even though most of his career had been abroad – because His Forty-Year Vision told him that he actually desired more stability (not money) and did not want to move his family around.
*      A woman who had never been married or had children, and was not even dating someone, could not expect to find someone who was right for her if she also took a new job that required 70-hour weeks. She had to act with courage for her true vision.

 Hence, the Forty-Year Vision is NOT and cannot be just about your career. It is impossible to just say, “Here is where I want my career to go” without also considering other aspects of your life. The beauty of the Forty-Year Vision is that it takes everything into consideration, as well as the fact that goals do in fact sometimes clash, and require hard choices.

 Islam–Keeping Lives on Track
 I think that Islam sheds light on this kind of problem. Why not call upon the wisdom of Islam, since in earlier editions of The Five O’Clock News we have already looked to Buddhism and the Judeo-Christian traditions, with respect to other questions.

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are inextricably connected. Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Moses, David, Solomon, John the Baptist, and Jesus are all revered by the Islamic sacred scriptures, the Koran! According to Islam, God’s (Allah’s) final message to man was revealed to the prophet Mohammad and was consistent with all that had been said before.

Worthy Tracks For Ali and Sadat: Peace Making
 To my mind, the main lesson for us all from Islam flows from its strict monotheism: we must keep our lives in line with a larger over-arching track. There are two components to this. One is simply to have a track, and the other is to be sure it is a worthy track. We would all do well to keep what is truly important before our eyes. This is actually in keeping with Five O’Clock Club philosophy. The Five O’Clock Club recommends taking only that job that advances you toward your ultimate long-run goal.

 It was heartening to see boxing great Muhammad Ali with New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani pressing the button on New Year’s Eve, sending the crystal-covered ball on its ritual descent to signal the beginning of 2001. One cannot help reflecting on the greatness of the man, and the overriding role of Islam in his life. Muhammad Ali has made it his track to teach people to treat each other with dignity and respect.

Anwar Sadat, another devout Muslim man of peace also comes to mind. Sadat was president of Egypt in the 1970’s; he was Time magazine man of the year in 1977; and winner of the Nobel peace prize in 1978 (he gave the money  to the poor over the objections of his wife!) Sadat, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and President Carter signed the Camp David peace agreement, on March 26, 1979. What a breathtaking sight that was: the most prominent (political) representatives of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity together signing a peace agreement!

In 1996  Madame Jehan Sadat, Sadat’s widow, described her husband and Islam this way:

 "Islam has been judged by images ever since some (radical) Iranian students held American diplomats hostage. 

Yet Islam is a religion based upon peace, love and compassion. A religion that abhors violence and killing; upholding the sanctity of life is an obligation of all Muslims. Forgiveness for personal injuries is enjoined. Therefore, revenge and blood feuding are serious sins. And killing is one of the greatest sins. My husband was a devout Muslim who followed the teaching of Islam and lived by the words of the prophet Mohammed. 

One point I wish to stress is that Islam is not just a religion as religion is commonly understood in the West. It is a total way of life encompassing the entirety of man’s existence; not separating the spiritual from the material, the religious from the secular. It is a divine system governing man’s life by setting the rules and the standards for living." -Presentation on “Religion and World Peace: A Muslim’s View,” Madame Jehan Sadat, April 18, 1996, the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding, New York.

Misconceptions About Islam
 I am often taken aback by the profoundly negative view of Islam (means “submission to God”) in the popular American press. The national press especially scorns Islam not only for highly publicized acts of violence perpetrated by a few but because Islam refuses to separate religion and practical life. A practicing Muslim actually believes in something! Gasp!

But this call not to separate religion from practical life is actually common to Islam’s sibling religions, Judaism and Christianity. Madame Jehan Sadat perhaps did not realize this, since the separation of faith and practice is too often the case in actual daily life of Jews and christians as opposed to doctrine (teaching). 

Mohammad and Islam: A Strong Ethical Agenda   
 Mohammad was born in Mecca in 570 ad, orphaned in childhood and brought up by his uncle. He married a rich widow (Khadija) and became a merchant. He was disturbed about the sad condition of his people, many of whom were ignorant, superstitious, drunken, dishonest, etc. His ethical concerns eventually brought him to teach a new religion in secret at Mecca. This new religion was based on his spiritual experiences alone in the mountains. He became convinced that there was only one God, whom he called Allah, and that idolatry was the chief problem.

Mohammed’s concern about the condition of his people gave Islam the strong ethical agenda that has endured to this day. Ignorance, superstition, drunkenness and dishonesty really stem from idolatry – putting something else higher in one’s priorities than God – and can be avoided if the faithful Muslim follows the one God. There will be a Day of Judgment, which makes our daily conduct all the more important. We will be held accountable for keeping our lives “on the right track.”

Conclusions
 Properly harnessed, one can certainly see how the Islamic perspective can govern worklife in a favorable way, from which we might all learn. Islam reminds us of the importance of the following:

*    Ethical action is important in any job: honesty, sobriety, hard work, and certainly discipline!  
*    Ultimately, we cannot control all aspects of our lives; we experience both autonomy and dependence. To deny this leads to frustration and burnout. This is a warning to workaholics to give up some of their controlling nature.  
*    Most importantly, work and act in a manner consistent with your core beliefs and desires throughout life. Follow your vision of ‘the good,’ and accept the consequences.

We may all have differences in the way we articulate the Forty-Year Vision for our lives. However, we can take example and learn from Islam that any long-term vision should be a worthy one, and that it should be followed faithfully and with seriousness. 

Dr. Bayer is a social ethicist and economist, co-chair of the Employment Roundtable, and Chief Operating Officer of The Five O’Clock Club.

God will not show mercy to him who does not show mercy to others.

The believer is not the one who eats his fill
when the neighbor beside him is hungry.

-The Prophet Mohammed