Discover Opportunities
in Challenging Situations
Iran was conquered in 636 C.E., during the Caliphate of Umar (d. 644), the second Muslim Caliph. At that time, the commander of the Muslim army was Sa‘ad ibn Abi Waqqas. When the war between the Muslims and Persians broke out, the Persians initially suffered considerable damage. They thought that further fighting was not in their interests, and so they offered to dialogue with the Muslims. Accordingly, Sa‘ad sent some selected men to the court of Yazdgird, the Persian Emperor.
When this group of Muslims entered Yazdgird’s court, they were not affected by the glitter and glamour all around them. They boldly addressed the king and his courtiers, speaking without any fear. This greatly angered Yazdgird. He was furious they should talk to him like that. Were it not for the custom that ambassadors were not to be killed, he would definitely have killed them. He told the Muslims to go back and tell their commander that he would be sending an army that would completely crush them.
Saying this, Yazdgird ordered his servants to bring a basket filled with mud. When the basket was brought before him, he asked the Muslim delegation, “Who is the most noble person among you?” The members of the delegation kept silent. After a while, one among them, Asim ibn Amr, stepped forward and said that he was the most noble of the group. When Yazdgird asked the other members of the delegation, they testified to Asim’s statement. Yazdgird then ordered that the basket be put on Asim’s head and that he be led out of the court and chased away, out of the limits of Yazdgird’s capital.
And so, the basket of mud was placed on Asim’s head and he was taken out of the king’s palace. He then rushed to Qadisiyya, where Sa‘ad ibn Abi Waqqas was waiting. When he got there, he related what had happened to him.
Sa‘ad did not get agitated in the least when he learned what had happened. He took it in a positive sense. “Be happy”, he said, because, he explained, “God had given us the keys to their sovereignty.”
This was the sort of lofty thinking that made the Arabs, despite having been considered a people of no consequence, victorious over an immensely powerful empire. These people, who were thought to be of no worth at all in history, charted a new history through their character and behaviour.
The system according to which this world functions has been made in such a way that here, every day is followed by night. Here, flowers come along with thorns. There is not a single person in this world who does not face some or other unfavourable condition or situation at some time in her or his life. That is why the only way to be successful in this world is to discover the favourable aspects that exist even amidst unfavourable conditions and to develop faith and determination in the face of such conditions. Somebody may place a basket of mud on your head, intending thereby to demean you, but you must perceive that this basket is actually a crown. The ‘demeaning’ basket must seem to you to be a crown of respect.
The famous psychologist Alfred Adler (1870-1937) spent much of his whole life studying the human psyche. On the basis of his extensive studies he declared that one of the most amazing features of human beings is their power to turn a minus into a plus.
This unique characteristic of human beings is present inside every person right from birth itself. Only someone who taps this innate feature or capacity can achieve great success in this world. And if an entire group emerges that makes good use of this innate capacity, it charts a new chapter in human history. It closes one chapter of history and opens the doors of a new one. One such group was the Prophet’s Companions. They employed this innate human capacity to the fullest, and that is why, as the example cited above illustrates, they were able to inaugurate a glorious chapter in the history of humankind.
Muslims today present an entirely different picture, however. Faced with what they perceive as unfavourable conditions, they see everything in a negative light, drawing only negative lessons from the happenings around them. And so, they have developed an extreme persecution complex. If, however, they were to reflect deeply and see things in a proper perspective, they could make the difficult conditions they are faced with into a positive resource. Using the capabilities that God has given to all human beings, they can turn their ‘no’ into a ‘yes’, the unfavourable conditions that they presently face into favourable conditions.
This is entirely possible, but only on the condition that Muslims think in a lofty manner. And for this to happen, they must learn to view a basket of mud placed on their heads as a crown of respectability. Instead of ranting and raving against others, they must focus on discovering their hidden potentials and possibilities. They must shun the habit they have developed of blaming others for the unfavourable conditions they face. Instead, they must accept their own responsibility for these conditions. The day this happens will inaugurate a new and glorious chapter in their history.
