The Sunday Guardian | June 14, 2026

A hadith report likens a true worshipper of God, to a soft plant, which, whenever it is faced with a gust of wind, bends accordingly. And when the gust dies down, the plant once again stands up. (Al Bukhari, Hadith No. 5644; Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 2810; Musnad Ahmad, Hadith No. 15769) In this way, it saves itself from troubles and difficulties.

According to this hadith, there are two ways to face a storm. One way is to be rigid when faced with it. The other way is to be flexible. Another way of putting this is to say that one way of reacting is the violent way, while the other is the peaceful way. God wants us to abstain from the former and to choose the latter.

Those who try to react to a storm by adopting the method of rigidity only show by this that they are victims of extreme egotism. In contrast, the path of peace is based on modesty. In this world, those who let their egotism dictate their behaviour are bound to face destruction, while success is for those who adopt the path of modesty. This is expressed in the form of a hadith, according to which the Prophet said that God will raise high those who behave modestly. (Musnad Al-Shihab, Hadith No 335)

Source: Islam and World Peace