LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
Publius Syrus was a Latin writer from the first century BC. Born in the region of Syria during the Roman period, he died in Rome. One of his sayings is translated into English as follows:
“A wise man guards the future as if it were the present.”
The foolish person focuses on the present, while the wise person looks ahead to the future. The foolish person sees an unfavourable situation now and reacts to it. The wise person uses foresight, thinking about how today’s challenges will develop tomorrow. The foolish act based on what is immediate, while the wise plan their actions with the future in mind.
Every action, when judged by its outcome, is a future event. Actions are taken now, but their results always appear later. Therefore, it is correct to evaluate an action based on future outcomes. The rightness of today’s action should be judged by how it will turn out when it concludes.
For example, if someone gets stung by a wasp and, in anger, decides to punish the wasps by putting their hand into their nest, the claim that they were only stung once initially by a single wasp becomes pointless. After they insert their hand into the nest, they will be swarmed and stung by hundreds of wasps, causing serious injury.
This world is for the wise; for the foolish, there is no outcome other than acting impulsively and then protesting when the negative results emerge.
The proper use of “today” is not to waste it, but to use it wisely. Those who understand this principle are the ones who achieve great success in the world.
A Western thinker once said, “A good soldier does not die on the first day of battle; instead, he survives so he can fight the enemy the next day.”
This saying applies not only to famous, large-scale wars but also to everyday conflicts. If you find yourself in a disagreement and immediately prepare for the final battle, you are a “poor soldier.” You won’t achieve much success in life by approaching every challenge with that mindset.
The reason is that, in many situations, a person is not able to fight effectively on the “first day.” Therefore, the wise person avoids confrontation initially. Instead, they focus on strengthening and stabilizing themselves away from the battlefield. This way, either their opponent becomes so weak that they surrender without a fight, or they themselves become so powerful that they can win every battle successfully.
The best example of this principle can be seen in the history of Islam. Prophet Muhammad (e) spent more than half of his prophetic mission in Makkah. During this period, his opponents subjected him to every kind of oppression. Still, he did not fight back. He stayed patient and endured quietly. After migrating to Madinah, when opponents waged war on them, he organized his army and fought them in defence when all peaceful options failed. Later, at Hudaybiyyah, he again chose to avoid war. Soon after, the enemy, without a battle, conceded defeat and laid down their arms.
On the “first day,” the Prophet demonstrated patience in the face of his enemies. On the “second day,” he met them in battle and achieved victory. However, the case of Hudaybiyyah was different: there, the “first day” was marked by patience, and on the “second day,” there was no need for battle at all—the enemy surrendered without resistance and laid down their arms.
