By Babatunde Jose
“And whomever We give a long life, We cause him to regress in creation. Then, will they not exercise their reason?” (Quran 36:68)
Humans begin as a single cell formed by the fusion of sperm and egg, undergo prenatal development, and are born as infants. They progress through childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and finally, old age, experiencing various physical, cognitive, and emotional changes along the way.
The journey of man from the cradle to old age is a spectacular train of events that involves transformations, metamorphosis and change which is both physical and spiritual.
An old friend, Muyiwa (75) was at a function recently and this was what he wrote: . . . it was difficult to put names to some faces. Some came in doubled over walking sticks. Some came in with impaired sights and had to ‘feel’ their way around. Some relied on solicitous spouses to chaperon them. One or two came in with a caregiver or a wet nurse. These illustrate the baggage and the manner the lines of life have fallen over some over the years. People in the evening and twilight of their lives described.
Many who, like Muyiwa, were very active in their 30s and 40s are today feeling the ping of reduced locomotion, cognitive dissonance. Some cannot even perform as a result of ED and cannot partake of the fun-life of old, just as another friend laments.
This is particularly seen in the Quran’s highlight of various stages of life, uniquely describing the nature of human creation in terms of strength while referring to old age as a stage of weakness and infirmity and the greying of hair as that which subsequently follows that of strength (Quran, 30:54, 36:68).
The Quran in one instance, describes this stage of life as “infirm old age” (Quran 19:8) while establishing the relative quality of old age with respect to divine decree as found in the reality that some die young while others grow older to learn wisdom; determined by Divine will (Quran 40:67).
The Quran reinforces some of the social dynamics pertaining to the elderly as in the narrative of the daughters of Prophet Shu‘ayb (Jethro) who took on their father’s role due to his physical weakness (Quran 28:23); or the empathetic portrayal of the emotional state of the elderly, as in the case of Jacob, an aged and venerable man who grieved for the loss of his beloved son Joseph (Quran 12:78). The Quran also highlights the perspective of an old man’s reaction to his children while exhibiting concern at their decrepit perception (Quran 12:94); or associates old age with men’s impotency in producing offspring and womens’ inability to conceive children (Quran 3:40).
Others however, speak rather of the “functional age,” as is the case with Izzat Ismail who maintains that old age is associated with a generally observable and measurable decline in physical and rational capabilities (‘Izzat, 1983: 17). For Sadhan, the musinn refers to every old person unable to care for themselves due to age, yet not necessarily as a result of disability or other reasons”. Shaykhukhah (old age) denotes noticeable patterns of physical decline in the physique and function of the individual due to the onset of advanced age in such a manner that it affects both physiological and rational processes (Qanari, 1987: 17).
The majority of Islamic sources allude in general form to certain subjective characteristics such as physical weakness, greying hair, forgetfulness, and feebleness. On a different tangent, and rather precisely however, Islam describes the age of forty as a time of maturity and wisdom and according to the Quran call for acts of thankfulness to God, piety and kindness towards parents (Quran, 46: 15). It was at this age that Prophet Muhammad(SAW) is reported to have received the revelation of the Quran.
The Qur’an also makes special mention of an age termed ardhal al-‘umur, as in the following: “And Allah creates you, then causes you to die, and among you is he who is brought back to the most abject stage of life, so that he knows nothing after (having had) knowledge”. (Quran 16: 70)
English translators of the Quran have rendered the phrase ardhal al-‘umur as “the most abject stage of life” (Pickthall), the “feeble age” (Yusuf Ali), “senility” (muhsin), ‘the worst part of the age’ (Mufti Ta. Usmani), or “the meanest of age” (Daryabadi). For al-Suddi (d. 745), ardhal al-‘umur refers to centenarians who have reached or exceeded one hundred years of age; or seventy five years of age as reported on the authority of Ali; ninety according to Qatadah; and ninety-five according to some others. Ibn ‘Abbas perceives ardhal al-‘umur as one’s lowest point of inability, whereby one becomes similar to an immature child (la ‘aqla lahu) (Qurtubi, 2005, 10:103).
Suyuti (d. 1505), a Shafi‘ite scholar, argues that the age of haram is in effect synonymous with ardhal al-‘umur due to the imbalance in mental abilities, senses, deteriorated comprehension and failure of memory, and also in view of the change in one’s physical outlook, and the growing inability to carry out many religious obligations and duties, as well as the tolerant leniency they are granted in performing others (Suyuti, 1996, 6:62).
The Quranic clause (‘so that he knows nothing after (having had) knowledge’) (Quran 16:70, 22:5) goes on in the same verse to highlight a decrease in learning abilities, and perhaps even a retrograde reversal of the condition of learning and interaction; effectively implying a return to the state of fundamental childhood and of physical weakness, basic thinking and meager comprehension exhibited through forgetfulness or even denial and rejection of learned information, alongside an increasingly pervasive inability to manage ordinary matters of life.
Razi interprets this clause as indicative of the symptoms of the stage following adulthood, consisting of extreme weakness and deficiency (nuqsan). The stage of “feebleness of age” however, does not necessarily result in the total dismissal of learning capabilities or a state of complete mental imbalance, but rather highlights a decline in cognitive capabilities due to forgetfulness and the likely inability to acquire or process new knowledge. It denotes a state of physical and mental weakness and perhaps futile effort to reform the past.
Some view this as a stage of disgrace, likely because of its characteristically regressive nature, therefore perceiving it to reflect a rather undesirable episode in human life. It is perhaps for this reason that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is reported to have sought refuge in God from old age (‘Asqalani, 2001, 2: 470).
The condition of muddled confusion is known to experts in the discipline of Hadith as kharaf or ikhtilat and expresses a discordant mental imbalance and untenable speech and actions by the speaker as a result of sickness or old age.
On the basis of certain hadith reports, a number of Muslim scholars –most prominent amongst them being Shanqiti (d.1971) – suggest that reading the Qur’an protects and wards one against the state of elderly feebleness and furthermore that Muslim scholars are immune to forgetfulness, loss of knowledge, deterioration of cognitive faculty, memory or insanity (Shanqiti, 1995, 2:410). His prime contention is that true belief in God, obedience and constant remembrance preserves believing persons from the frailty of old age.
In his Ruh al Ma‘ani, Alusi disagrees with this assumption and argues on the contrary, that real life experiences contradict the said immunity and in fact appear otherwise, as shown with the many Quran memorizers who were afflicted by the plight of feebleness.
Along a similar parallel, some Muslim scholars have explored the possible connection between the condition of age’s feebleness and the theological beliefs one holds. Alusi disapproves of this thesis while some others argue that disbelief results in the eventual state of infirmity of body and mind as understood from the Quran (Quran 95:4−6).
While these various opinions speak of significant differences and indicate a rather subjective assessment of old age, particularly in regards to the onset of old age, they nonetheless collectively underline salient features prominent throughout the condition of elderly such as physical changes, growing needs and increasing dependence.
Which stage of life is the most important? Some might claim that infancy is the key stage, when a baby’s brain is wide open to new experiences that will influence all the rest of its later life. Others might argue that it’s adolescence or young adulthood, when physical health is at its peak. Many cultures around the world value late adulthood more than any other, arguing that it is at this stage that the human being has finally acquired the wisdom necessary to guide others. Who is right?
The truth of the matter is that every stage of life is equally significant and necessary for the welfare of humanity. We need to value each one of these gifts if we are to truly support the deepest needs of human life.
Since each stage of life has its own unique gift to give to humanity, we need to do whatever we can to support each stage, and to protect each stage from attempts to suppress its individual contribution to the human life cycle.
As I start another journey in life at 76, I give all the glory to Allah who has seen me this far. I ask for good health to traverse the terrain of the twilight of life when we cannot see clearly even in the flood lights of the stadium, nor hear the rumbling of the ocean even on the sea shore. To those who have walked with me this far, I say a big thank you. And to Almighty Allah, Alhamdulillahn Robil Alahmin.
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