"میں نے ساری دنیا چھان ماری، مگر ایک بھی ایسا شخص نہ ملا جو حقیقی معنوں میں مسلمان ہو۔ انسانیت بذاتِ خود سب سے بڑا دین ہے، اور تمام مذاہب کی بنیاد انسانوں کے ساتھ ہمدردی اور رحم دلی سے پھوٹی ہے۔ جو خود کو مسلمان کہتے ہیں وہ بازار اور عمارتیں تو کھڑی کر لیتے ہیں، مگر بھوکے انسان کو کھانا نہیں کھلاتے۔ وہ حج کے لیے تو چلے جاتے ہیں، لیکن کسی غریب باپ کی بیٹی کی شادی میں مدد کرنے کو تیار نہیں ہوتے۔"
Late Abdus Sattar Edhi, the angelic humanist par excellence, devoted his entire life to the service of humanity until his final breath. Words fall short—indeed, they are ineffable—when one attempts to encompass the magnitude of his virtuous deeds. Yet, even in his plain and austere speech, Edhi conveyed truths so piercing that they continue to unsettle consciences long after his passing.
Today, on December 16, 2025, while browsing Facebook, I came across an invaluable video originally posted by Karamat Hussain Raja on December 16, 2020. The video, which continues to circulate widely on social media, features Abdus Sattar Edhi delivering a message that startled many and unsettled even more:
“I have searched the world and failed to find even one person who truly embodies what it means to be a Muslim. Humanity itself is the highest religion, and every faith originates from compassion for human beings. Those who call themselves Muslims erect markets and monuments but refuse to feed a starving person. They undertake pilgrimages to Mecca, yet they will not help a poor father marry off his daughter.”
At first glance, these words appear severe, even provocative. However, to read them as a rejection of Islam or religion would be a profound misunderstanding of both Edhi and the ethical tradition he embodied.
What Edhi Was Really Saying
Edhi was not dismissing Islam; rather, he was issuing a moral indictment of hypocrisy—a critique deeply embedded within Islamic teachings themselves. His language was intentionally stark, meant not to offend but to awaken.
When Edhi lamented that he could not find “one true Muslim,” he was not making a literal or statistical claim. Instead, he was expressing a moral anguish. By “true Muslim,” he referred to one who lives Islam as an ethic of service, not merely as an inherited identity or public label. In Islamic tradition, iman (faith) is inseparable from amal (action). Faith that does not translate into compassion, responsibility, and justice remains incomplete.
In essence, Edhi was reminding society that:
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Faith without compassion is hollow
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Ritual without responsibility is empty
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Identity without service is meaningless
Humanity as Religion
Edhi’s assertion that “humanity itself is a religion” encapsulates the core of his humanism. He believed that compassion precedes creed, ethics come before labels, and serving a human being is the purest form of worship. This view resonates powerfully with the Qur’anic declaration:
“Whoever saves a life, it is as though he has saved all of humanity.” (Qur’an 5:32)
By universalizing this principle, Edhi insisted that human dignity is the common source of all religions. Religion, in his understanding, was never meant to divide humanity but to safeguard it.
Ritual Without Empathy: A Moral Inversion
Edhi’s contrast between building markets and feeding the hungry, or performing Hajj and helping the poor marry off their daughters, exposes a troubling moral inversion. He was critiquing a society that prioritizes:
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visible religiosity over invisible suffering
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prestige over pain
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ceremony over conscience
In Islam, Hajj is not merely a physical journey but a journey of moral transformation. If pilgrimage does not soften the heart toward the hungry, the orphaned, and the humiliated, its spirit has been lost. Edhi’s message was not anti-ritual; it was anti-emptiness.
A Life That Was the Argument
What gave Edhi’s words their unmatched moral authority was that his life embodied them. He fed the hungry without asking their faith, buried the abandoned dead without discrimination, and sheltered the rejected without judgment. He did not preach from pulpits or issue sermons from lofty platforms. His theology was written in ambulances, orphanages, shelters, and graveyards.
Thus, Edhi did not merely speak about humanity—he lived it.
A Mirror for Society—and Beyond
Edhi’s statement functions as a mirror held up to society, forcing uncomfortable but necessary questions: Have we reduced religion to ritual? Do we love God more in words than in deeds? Have we forgotten that poverty, hunger, and dignity are religious concerns?
Although framed within a Muslim context, Edhi’s critique applies universally. Every religious community risks replacing ethics with symbols, substituting charity with slogans, and confusing devotion with display. His humanism, therefore, transcends sect, nation, and creed.
Concluding Reflection
Abdus Sattar Edhi was not declaring humanity against religion; he was declaring humanity as the soul of religion. His words echo the prophetic spirit that condemns piety without compassion and worship without justice.
In essence, Edhi was saying:
If your faith does not make you more humane, then it is not faith—it is habit.
That is why his voice still unsettles—and why his silence after death feels so loud.
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