COMPARISON BETWEEN PREVIOUS AND MODERN AGE GENERATIONS

It is important to note that the generations previous to us were more pristine, and had much stronger characters and elevated morals. However, more important is to analyze what kinds of individuals are being produced by our society. The existence of righteous people who invite towards leading a purposeful life is Allah Ta’aala’s greatest reward He bestows upon His servants. When such righteous people are continuously neglected and disregarded and nations stop gaining benefits from their being, the great reward of their presence may not be granted anymore.

The new leadership arising from the present day society demonstrates a real lack of discipline. They are not prepared to tolerate trivial matters against their desires and temperament. Additionally, they have been inflamed by our means of communication in such a way that they can be quickly trapped in any affair of violence and commotion.
Contrary to setting their purpose of life to please and gratify Allah Ta’aala, they do not even hesitate to cross any moral limits set by human civilization. They do not have control over their own desires. Instead of recognizing wealth and belongings as Allah Ta’aala’s reward, they demonstrate unthankfulness by spending their wealth extravagantly and by casting their wealth in the hell of embellishment and voluptuousness. These internal diseases prove destructive to a society just as a weevil is destructive to wood and meals. What kind of rightness and rectitude could be expected from majority of the young generation who do not even hesitate to spare national interests on their own ones. They have gone far away from a purposeful life. Bearers of qualities of sincerity and bravery are not there anymore, qualities that are essential for striving in the path of Allah which is a key to survival of the nations. Were our ancestors like that? Do we possess any single quality in which we have gone beyond them? Dr Iqbal at his time had compared two generations in his poetry. This comparison exactly fits to the present day situation and he depicts situation of his time so clearly as if he had been viewing his own palm. The dust of age could not pollute this comparison even after an interval of half a century.
Translation:
Each and every person (among the believers) is presently lost in an easygoing life. If you are Muslims, is that the right way of leading a Muslim’s life? There is neither an example of Faqr e Haidari19 nor any model of Dolat e Usmani20 among you believers. So what kind of spiritual relationship do you have with your ancestors? In fact your ancestors got honor in the society by virtue of their firm belief in Islam while you received disgrace by neglecting the teachings of the Holy Qur’an.
You are mutually acrimonious while they (your ancestors) were mutually kindhearted. You are sinful and search other’s sins while they used to conceal other’s sins and were clement towards each other. Each and every person (among you) aspires for the highest (that was achieved by your ancestors). (But in order to have this achievement) you should first develop a similarly good-natured heart. (As a result) your ancestors occupied throne of the emperor of China and many others. Are you just capable to talk or you still have a similar sense of honor (for Islam) that your ancestors had?
Self-destruction is your characteristic while your ancestors were sensitive in point of honor and were self-restraining. You shun and avert from brotherhood while they sacrificed for the sake of brotherhood. You just talk while they performed the actions. You long for an unblown flower while they disregarded the whole garden (full of flowers). Nations still remember their stories, and, their truthfulness is still written in the annals of humanity