THE TIGER’S WAY
A report in The Times of India (18 March 1991) stated, “tigers do not like to walk on the jungle grass. They fear that a thorn might pierce their soft feet. Therefore, they always walk on open paths or roads.”
Tigers, like all animals, are shaped by nature’s lessons. They always follow methods directly ingrained in them by their Creator. Therefore, it is accurate to say that the tiger’s cautious approach is nature’s preferred way. For humans, this idea is reflected in Divine guidance: take your precautions (Quran, 4:71).
The world was created by God with a specific wisdom, which is why it contains both clear, straightforward paths and thorny bushes. These thorny bushes will inevitably remain in this world; removing them is not possible. Therefore, what needs to be done is similar to what a tiger in the jungle does, as taught by God: protect yourself from the thorny bushes and continue the journey by seeking and following the clear and open paths.
Just as a tiger avoids walking on jungle grass, we should navigate our lives by steering clear of conflicts with others. We should aim not to provoke anger through our actions. If others do become angry with us, we should soothe their anger with patience and use wise strategies to protect ourselves from their wrath.
The actions of the “king of the jungle” are not acts of cowardice but showcase true bravery. Similarly, when a person adopts this approach in society, it is not cowardice but genuine courage. The strategy of avoidance is that of the lion, not the jackal.
The Lord of the Worlds has one universal rule that applies to humans and all other beings alike. It is to shape one’s life by ignoring unpleasant matters.
Imagine a garden of roses. You enter it, and the beautiful petals and fragrant flowers captivate you. At the same time, however, the thorns might prick you, causing your hand to be injured or your clothes to get caught.
In a rose garden, there are two ways to interpret the presence of thorns. One is to see them as caused by the gardener’s actions. The other is to view them as a result of the natural law.
If you blame the gardener for the thorns, you’ll foster resentment and complaints. But if you see them as a part of the natural law, you’ll accept the presence of thorns and focus on avoiding them to reach your goal. One view encourages protesting, while the other motivates finding a solution.
The issues raised by the majority community in India are often seen by Muslims as problems caused by all their writers and speakers. As a result, they choose to protest. However, this approach is completely ineffective. It’s like obsessing over the thorns on a rose. Thorns will always be on the rose bush, just as harsh words and challenges will inevitably exist in human society.
There is only one way to deal with these difficult and divisive issues: ignore them and keep moving forward in life while overlooking them. Such social issues are part of God’s creative plan and, therefore, can never be fully eliminated. However, by accepting their presence, we can certainly continue our journey through life.
The ignorant person gets caught up in unwelcome matters, while the wise person moves past them without getting entangled. Basically, this is the key to success and failure in this world: getting tangled up in problems causes failure, while ignoring problems leads to success.
WATER INSTEAD OF BLOOD
Mr Muhammad Afzal Ladiwala, 35, who lives in Bombay, recounted this incident at a meeting on February 24, 1991. On January 22, 1991, there was a cultural program at Rang Bhon (Dhobi Talao), which Afzal attended. The program ended around 11:30 p.m. After it finished, he went to Bombay VT station and took a train to Kurla; by then, it was roughly 12:30 a.m. The distance from the station to his lodging (Hillow Pul) is about two kilometers. He decided to take a three-wheeler and waited on the road. Just then, a three-wheeler appeared, and he had paan in his mouth. To call the three-wheeler, he quickly spat out the paan, and by chance, a passenger who was standing nearby ended up having the entire mouthful land on his foot.
The passenger immediately flew into a rage and said angrily, “You eat paan and you don’t even know how to behave when you eat it.” Afzal, who is a regular reader of Al-Risala, answered not with hot words but with cool ones. He said, “I admit my mistake. Eating paan was wrong, and what I did afterward was wrong too.” The man grew angrier, but instead of replying to his provoking words with more provocation, Afzal said, “Please forgive me.” The man retorted that it was easy to do something wrong to someone and then say, “forgive me.”
Mr Afzal replied, “Brother, I am not asking for a formal forgiveness; I ask for it from my heart. Now please allow me to wash your foot.” When Afzal offered to wash his foot, the man softened a little, and after some more words, he finally agreed to let Afzal wash his foot. There was a tea shop nearby; Afzal went straight there and said, “Uncle, give me a glass of water.” When he brought the glass, the man had cooled down completely and said, “Give it to me; I will wash it myself.”
The man took the glass in his hand and washed it. One glass wasn’t enough to make him completely clean, so Afzal ran and brought another, continuing this process until the man’s foot was thoroughly clean. This incident happened outside the railway station. During the conversation, Afzal told the man, “Brother, if you were a M (Muslim), or even if you were a NM (Non-Muslim), I would have to do the same because Islam commands us to do so.” Hearing this, the man embraced Afzal and said, “Brother, I am a non-Muslim, and this is the first time in my life I have met a Muslim like you. If other Muslims were like you, all quarrels would end.”
Now the man was completely changed. Earlier, he had been burning with anger and a thirst for revenge, but now, feeling ashamed, he said to Afzal, “Brother, please forgive me. I caused you great trouble. Because of me, you had to bring water, and you even missed your three-wheeler.” Afzal replied, “Please don’t embarrass me. The real fault in this matter was mine, and bringing the water was my duty, which I have fulfilled.” The man who, at the beginning of the incident, had been blaming the other, in the end admitted his own fault, felt ashamed, and began asking for forgiveness.
At the time this occurred, there was severe communal tension in the Jogeshwari area of Bombay, about fifteen kilometers from Kurla. Under those circumstances, if Afzal had responded to provocation with more provocation, the outcome could have been what has happened in many similar situations elsewhere: communal unrest, with loss of life and property. It could have been that instead of reaching home, Afzal, God forbid, would have been taken to the hospital, and Hindu-Muslim rioting in the area could have destroyed hundreds of families.
After telling the story, Afzal said: at that moment, I remembered the teachings of Al-Risala. It was the mindset Al-Risala had given me that kept me from becoming inflamed at the moment of provocation and, as a result, saved me from a terrible outcome. The glass of water I brought prevented hundreds of people from reaching that ghastly end where blood would be spilled on the streets. Words can act like fire or like ice: some words can stoke a man’s anger into a furnace, while others can cool his blazing temper. It is up to the speaker which of the two he chooses.
