Men Below the Minimum Standard

Introduction

In one of his videos, David Goggins once said, "It's so easy to be great nowadays, my friend, cause most people are weak".

It started from the tweet above, when I learned that there was a head of a family who casually didn't fast during Ramadan. Even though he had no excuse to skip fasting.

From that topic, that night, our conversation continued to something more fundamental.

Discussion

I proposed a simple statement that nowadays, (—borrowing David Goggins' words), it is very easy to become a quality man. Why? Because most men cannot even reach the minimum standard to be called a good (ordinary) man.

Let us pause for a moment. Of all the friends we have, how many meet the following minimum standards of an "ordinary" man:

1. Praying five times a day (at home is enough; if at the mosque, that's extraordinary)
2. Fasting the entire month of Ramadan
3. Being able to read the Quran correctly (no need for a beautiful tone, just being able to read while distinguishing each letter)
4. Not smoking

Once again, how many people do you know who meet the minimum standards above? I bet it's not even ten percent of the hundreds of friends you've met in life.

All the criteria above are still minimum standards. Someone who meets these criteria doesn't need to be praised—it's normal.

Someone who maintains their five daily prayers—that's normal, the minimum standard, it's already an obligation. They don't need to be praised.

However, because of the low quality of men today, when not maintaining prayers is normal, then maintaining prayers appears extraordinary.

I remember a story from a friend who chose their partner simply because of something simple: they found a partner who maintained their five daily prayers.

With so many below standard, something that is the minimum standard feels amazing.

We haven't even talked about more advanced basic abilities that a man should at least possess, such as: 1) understanding basic religious knowledge, knowing the meaning of the shahada, and knowing the rulings of prayer; and 2) being able to lead prayers, at least for their small family.

So when is someone considered to have high standards and worthy of praise? For me, examples include: being able to read the Quran with correct pronunciation, having memorized several juz of the Quran or even the entire Quran, being able to lead prayers for many people, being able to speak Arabic, understanding religious rulings in detail, and more.

Conclusion

That night, at the end of our conversation, I said: it turns out that a man who only meets the minimum standards actually has a strong "bargaining position". A high selling position. Because you are actually rare human beings. Therefore, be grateful and don't be insecure. People like you just haven't been "discovered" by the right person yet.

---

Finished writing in Banjarmasin, April 3, 2024 at 23:59 (the 24th night of Ramadan 1445 H)