Al-Musta’sim to the singer: ‘You said gleeful words and we elated you with words’
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THE last Abbasid Caliph Al-Musta’sim Billah was known for his love of money and maid servants, as well as his stinginess in matters over the state, the military, and the people.
When a singer saw the caliph in a gleeful mood, he took advantage of the situation to ask him for land, cattle, and horses.
Al-Musta’sim said, “Instead of land, we will give you two, in addition to cattle and a herd of horses.”
The next morning, the singer came to meet the caliph and reminded him of his promise of gifts. The caliph replied, “The words of the night are erased by the day, for you have entertained us with singing, and we have entertained you with words.” The singer returned empty-handed.
Al-Musta’sim’s phrase, “You said gleeful words, and we elated you with words,” represents an example that is applicable even to this day.
It applies to our governments from 1963 until today, and the way Kuwaitis rejoice with every announcement the governments make, and hope that it will be better than the previous one. They also praise the ministers and their boss. However, it returns the salutation by showering them with empty promises; in fact, it remains like a “kinglets egg” that we hear about but have never seen.
There are several crises that have been ongoing since the 1960s, such as the Bedoun crisis for which no solution has been found. Rather, it is getting worse day by day. Even though most governments announced solutions to this issue, they were never implemented.
In addition to this file, there is a deeper issue, which is housing, for which many plans were announced. In the past, the number of beneficiaries of housing welfare did not exceed 20 thousand, but today it exceeds one hundred and ten thousand, and the waiting period has increased to 25 years.
We will not repeat what we have been saying previously about the successful solutions adopted by other Gulf states while we continue to write on water.
The “kinglets egg” governments present their programs in a way that makes Kuwaitis feel like they are in the Garden of Eden, when in reality, they have been living in hell for nearly 30 years in terms of the services related to health, public services, roads, and education. All they hear from ministers and prime ministers are words.
The most urgent issue currently is the problem of loans and the consequent social and security crises, which was one of the reasons behind the government’s resignation.
This is due to the fact that the lawmakers are among the beneficiaries of acquiring people’s money through debts that hike the interest. It is somewhat similar to the custom that prevailed during the days of pearl diving when the creditor used to enslave one of the debtor’s children if he was unable to pay.
Today, physical coercion is practiced, something that we talked about for a long time, and we explained its disadvantages. When the state apparatus works as a debt collector for the creditors, the situation will be as it is now.
In addition to all this, Kuwait boasts that it is a country of freedom and openness, but it is closed to itself. On the other hand, all other countries of the world, even the most closed ones, have opened their borders to investors and others.
In fact, some Gulf countries have been transformed into global tourist destinations, acting upon the noble verse of the Quran, “It is He who made the earth subservient to you, so walk in its hills and eat from His provision, and to Him is the resurrection.”
It seems that our governments have forgotten the verse in the midst of selling promises to the people. It adopted the example of the last of the Abbasid caliphs Al-Musta’sim Billah, but it did not realize that all the treasures he collected were taken by the Mongols, and due to his stinginess, the Abbasid Dynasty fell.
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times
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