Hazarat Umar said: لَيْسَ الْعَاقِلُ مَنْ يَعْرِفُ الْخَيْرَ مِنَ الشَّرِّ وَلَكِنَّهُ الَّذِي يَعْرِفُ خَيْرَ الشَّرَّيْنِ (Zamm al-Hawa, Ibn al-Jawzi, Vol. 1, p. 8) "Wise is not one who knows the difference between right and wrong; wise is one who knows the difference between lesser evil and greater evil." This is a great truth.

There is such great wisdom in the sayings of the Prophet and caliphs, but Muslims today go against them and then begin complaining. Muslims tend to thoughtlessly jump into the situation, then complain about the consequences. Umar's saying has Himalayan wisdom. The choice we have in life is not between right and wrong. Umar meant that life is a test. Here you don’t have the choice between right and wrong. Here the choice is between greater evil and lesser evil

Who knows this? Muslims plunge into a situation, begin fighting and make a mess. We have to discover wisdom, and understand that in this world the difference is not between right and wrong. Even a prophet does not have a choice in this regard. In the Prophet's time, the Kabah built by Hazarat Ibrahim was changed by the polytheists. They had not built a part of the original Kabah, called the Hatim. The Prophet realized that if he changed the Kabah, there would be great uproar: لَوْلاَ حِدْثَانُ قَوْمِكِ بِالكُفْرِ لَفَعَلْتُ (Sahih al-Bukhari 1583) Even a prophet does not have a choice in this matter. The choice is only between lesser evil and greater evil. When you take a thoughtless action, remember that it would worsen the situation and not improve it. The Islamic way is to engage in result-oriented action.