AFTER DEPRIVATION
Samuel Butler, a well-known English writer of the 1800s, once said: “Life is the art of drawing sufficient conclusions from insufficient premises.”
Butler based this on natural reasoning. However, the concept presented by the Shariah regarding life is exactly the same. The Quran tells us that in this world, God has established a system where ease is paired with hardship:
“Indeed, with hardship there is ease” (Quran 94:6).
Once, the Prophet Muhammad saw a mountain path called al-Dayyiqah (the difficult one). He said, “No, in fact, it is al-Yusra (the easy one).” (Seerah Ibn Hisham, Vol. 2, p. 482) Islam teaches that a person should find ease within hardship and see a tough path as an easy one.
The life of the Prophet of Islam is the highest example of this teaching. He faced the harshest difficulties, but through wise planning he turned them to his advantage. He transformed disadvantage into advantage. The orientalist E.E. Kellet, referring to this quality of the Prophet, wrote: “He faced adversity with the determination to wring success out of failure.” (A Short History of Religions, p. 334)
In this world, on one side is man, who creates difficulties for other men. On the other side is God’s system, which has placed within every difficulty its own solution. To complain of human-created difficulties is, in reality, to see only man’s actions and not God’s. For if one were to see God’s work, instead of complaining, he would set himself to use it.
In this world, after every failure, the possibility of new success remains. All that is required is that one should seize that possibility and make himself successful once again.
In Al-Risala (December 1988), the story of Canadian athlete Ben Johnson (b. 1961) was published. In the world championship race, he won first place with great success. However, the very next day, his gold medal was taken away, and a harsh decision was announced: he would be barred from all competitions for the next two years. For Ben Johnson, this was the greatest setback of his life. But he did not waste time protesting against the “unjust judges.” Instead, he immediately began to plan anew for his training.
In November 1988, Italy’s television network filmed an interview at his residence in Toronto, which was later reported in newspapers. According to The Times of India (29 November 1988), the world champion sprinter wept as he told the television camera that he had never knowingly broken any sporting rule. Yet he continued his training and dreamed of returning at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. He said that his athletic record on the track was the result of thirteen years of continuous hard work.
He appeared visibly distressed. Remembering the painful moments after the Seoul Olympics, he broke down in tears. Interviewer Gianni Minoli said that filming had to be stopped for five minutes because Ben Johnson could not control his sobbing.
Johnson explained that to get back on track, he trains six days a week, four hours a day. He said: “My work is only to run. Sitting idle is something I cannot even think of. My wish is to compete again. They have taken away my gold medal, not my speed.”
The person who takes something from you always seizes what you own, but not your very self. Your being, along with all its abilities, still stays with you. Use what still belongs to you, and after every loss, you can create a new story of your own.
