The Sunday Guardian

The Quran tells us, ‘If you persevere and fear God, their designs will never harm you in the least’ (3:120). This Quranic verse indicates a very important fact of life. And that is, that the real issue for individuals or groups is not of whether they might have enemies who are conspiring against them. Rather, it is whether or not they have sufficient sabr or patience and have adopted the necessary precautionary measures to cause any conspiracies against them to fail.

If conspiracies can be likened to the rain, patience and God-consciousness are like a strong roof. Rain is a problem only for those who have not bothered to make a firm roof over their house. For those who have made such a roof, this is not the case.

This world runs on the principle of competition. That is why it is but natural that sometimes rivalries develop between individuals and groups, which may later assume the form of conspiracies against each other. Whenever something like this happens, one should consider it not as an enemy’s conspiracy but, rather, an expression of the law of nature. Thinking of the act as an enemy’s conspiracy inculcates a violent approach. In contrast, if one takes it to be a result of the laws of nature, one will nurture a way of thinking that can lead one to take wise measures to avoid falling prey to such conspiracies—just as a wise man does not demonstrate against the rain, but, rather, builds a roof over his house to save himself from getting wet.

Source: Islam and World Peace