Islamabad (Digital Post) — Political Performers or Court Jesters?

Islamabad (Digital Post): A strange creature exists in our society. It is neither a full-fledged political worker nor a formal adviser, intellectual, or public servant. Yet it circles around an influential person as if it has no identity of its own without the royal court. You may call such people special political advisers, close confidants, courtiers, loyal companions, or members of the inner circle. Their role is almost always the same: applauding every statement made by their leader and presenting every mistake as a masterstroke of strategy.

Their greatest talent is that if their leader says the sun rises in the west, they will immediately respond:

“Sir, you have completely changed the direction of science today!”

If the leader makes a mistake, they will say:

“Sir, this is not a mistake; it is foresight.”

If the leader rewards an incompetent person, they will exclaim:

“Sir, what remarkable judgment of character! Wonderful!”

Flattery becomes dangerous when a few people surround someone holding a high office, position, spiritual standing, or political authority with such a protective wall that the person can no longer hear the voice of truth. Eventually, they lead that person to a point where even the mirror fears them and shows only the face they wish to see. This is the stage at which a person’s ability to distinguish between truth and falsehood, right and wrong, and good and evil begins to fade. Rulers who stop listening to the truth often drift away from reality because of those who surround them with flattery.

The person who was supposed to look after the people’s problems begins reading the faces of those in their inner circle instead. The flattery of one individual then becomes the misfortune of the entire system.

The flatterer’s success does not lie merely in benefiting from the person in power. Their real achievement is convincing that person that they are nothing without the flatterer.

“Nothing can function in this region without you. Politics cannot survive without you. Perhaps the world itself cannot go on without you.”

The leader smiles, the political performer bows, the court singer repeats the same tune in a special style, and everyone else applauds. The world was running even before you existed.

If only you knew that!

The saddest situation arises when Allah Almighty grants someone responsibility, a position, or authority, but instead of fulfilling their actual duty, they become preoccupied with the gatherings of their courtiers. When everyone around them keeps saying, “Yes, sir,” the time eventually comes when the person who says, “Sir, this is wrong,” begins to seem like the most dangerous person of all.

A similar generation of court singers can also be found around religious scholars and spiritual leaders. They turn flattery into devotion, sycophancy into respect, and every round of applause into spirituality. If their leader coughs, it becomes a miracle; if he remains silent, it is declared wisdom. In this way, these courtiers lift their spiritual guide away from humility and service to humanity and place him on a pedestal of self-worship.

Power, wealth, position, fame, and spiritual standing are all tests for human beings. The most dangerous question is this: How can you protect yourself from enemies who pretend to be your friends?

May Allah Almighty protect everyone entrusted with a position or authority, especially in times of adversity, from the poison of self-interest and flattery and from the curse of court singers. May He protect them from people who, for personal gain, distance those in power from reality, draw them closer to delusion, and lead them down a path where they cease to be masters of their own authority and instead become prisoners of the very court they have created.

When flattery, self-interest, sycophancy, and court singers begin to receive preference over those who speak the truth in politics, positions of power, and government systems, the damage is not limited to one individual. Institutions become weaker, decisions drift away from reality, and the country becomes entangled in problems, many of which our nation is facing today.

Preventing this damage is not someone else’s responsibility. Those who hold power must take responsibility themselves.

Throughout history, great thrones have often been weakened less by swords than by the applause of court singers. Kings have suffered less at the hands of swords than at the hands of flatterers