Life Supreme — Page 20
LIFE SUPREME "Burdens are not always burdens. " 23. A well known American writer has said that in every adversity there lies the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit. That is to say, one can find and gain some advantage from every adversity. This truth has also been confirmed in the Holy Quran. The American writer was not a Muslim but the following words he has written may well be appreciated by all. He wrote: "I am thankful for the adversities which have crossed my pathway, for they have taught me tolerance, sympathy, self-control, perseverance and some other virtues I might never have known. وو. Charles Darwin-the famous natural scientist of the last century who wrote the 'Origin of the Species' in which he endeavoured to prove that man evolved from the monkey family, was a man who suffered from ill health but made use of it to his advantage. He said: "If I had not been so great an invalid I would not have done so much work as I have accomplished. ". The Holy Quran teaches that one should be patient in times of adversity when things seem to go wrong and against one's personal interests. One should not despair or become unduly frustrated. Only then can one enjoy the sweetness of paradise in the midst of the storms of life. Misfortunes are inevitable. One must learn to bear and cope with them patiently and successfully. This is one of the important battles of life in which one must emerge victorious. One should not weaken under adversity but resolve to remain poised and strong in behaviour during the darkest night, just as one would during the sunniest day. . Normally one worries an unnecessary amount over adversities, set backs, failures, disappointments, etc. By doing so one cannot enjoy peace of mind which is one of the blessings of paradise. Worry is generally caused not so much by the problem itself but by the wrong attitude one adopts towards it. Take two people with identical problems. One frets and fumes and becomes highly distracted. The other remains cool and calm. The problem was one and the same but the opposite reactions of the two persons were caused by their different attitudes. Islam teaches that one should approach every adversity or problem with a patient attitude and if one does this then