Learning Lessons from Loss

When I performed my Hajj in 1982, I was accompanied on the journey by an Arab professor. Our plane landed at Jeddah airport and then both of us left for Makkah. On reaching Makkah, my Arab companion realized all of a sudden that he had forgotten his handbag which contained 20,000 Saudi Riyals at the Jeddah airport. Leaving me at Makkah, he immediately went back to look for his handbag. After he had left, I said two units of prayer. When I raised my hands in prayer, these words came to my lips: “O God, turn this incident into a lesson for us. Do not make it a loss for us.”

Man ought, of course, to make every effort to avoid making mistakes or incurring losses. But, when he has already suffered a loss, the most important thing for him to do is to refrain from grieving over it. Once an error has been made, it is like an arrow shot from a bow, never to return. Instead of weeping and wailing over the loss, one should pray to God to save one from its evil consequences.

Not making any mistakes is good. But making a mistake can also be good when the consciousness of having made a mistake causes one to turn towards God. Such a mistake becomes a cause for worship and the one in error begins praying to God. According to a tradition of the Prophet, “Prayer is worship.” (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith No. 2969)

Grieving over a loss is like living in the loss. But turning to God after a loss is like seeking compensation for it. And undoubtedly God has the power to turn losses into greater gains.

There are two aspects of every loss. One is the loss itself and the other is the learning of a lesson from it. In the case of any loss, one should do just that—learn a lesson from it. In this way, loss will turn into gain.