The Times of India
Everything has a price. You can acquire a particular thing only when you are ready to pay for it. In this world, you simply cannot get what you want without paying the appropriate price for it. This is true of peace as well. Peace, too, has its price. An individual or group can obtain peace only after paying the price. What is the price of peace? It is to tolerate loss.
This fundamental truth is narrated in the Quran in the following words:
We shall certainly test you with fear and hunger, and loss of property, lives and crops. Give good news to those who endure with fortitude. Those who say, when afflicted with a calamity, ‘We belong to God and to Him we shall return,’ are the ones who will have blessings and mercy from their Lord: it is they who are on the right path! (2:155-57)
This Quranic verse tells us about a basic fact of life. And that is that according to the law on the basis of which this world has been created, it is necessary that people will face different kinds of loss. Sometimes, they will face challenges from others. At other times, they may face economic problems or loss of power. Sometimes, they may face some accident or the other. At other times, they may be denied certain benefits that they consider to be their due. And so on.
Every person undergoes such unpleasant experiences at some time or the other in her or his life. This is entirely in accordance with the law of nature. In such a situation, if people do not tolerate their losses, it will easily result in violence. But if they accept and tolerate their losses, it will enable them to live in peace.
To patiently face and tolerate loss is not tantamount to being defeated. Rather, this stance requires great courage and boldness. It is to voluntarily accept reality. It is to remain aware that even though one may have suffered some loss, one still has many resources left, on the basis of which one can rebuild one’s life.
By abiding by patience and tolerance in the face of loss one saves oneself from losing one’s balance. Despite being temporarily unsuccessful, one is able to preserve the ability to see things in a balanced way. One is able to survey matters realistically and make new life plans. Forgetting what one has lost, one is able to carry on with one’s purpose in life on the basis of what one still has. One acts with wisdom, not hopelessness, and once again picks up one’s life and journeys ahead.
In life, a new day dawns after every night. This world is full of potentials and possibilities. Here, if you lose one opportunity, you can find another one. If you miss one step, another step leads to a new door which opens up to you. In this way, it always remains possible that if a certain plan fails, you can always make a new plan to carry on with building your life.
The fact of the matter is that in this world, bad news always comes along with good news. Every accident silently gives us the good news that we must not be frustrated and bitter, and that, instead, mustering our courage, we should search for new opportunities. If we respond in this positive way, nature itself gives us the good news that our loss is not permanent. It tells us that we can very soon rebuild our lives—and in a better way than before. It conveys to us that very soon we will discover that what seems to be our defeat is actually a source of guidance for us.
People who refuse to tolerate loss fall prey to negative thinking and so make their lives into an enormous burden. In doing so, they themselves become a burden on others. On the other hand, people who respond to loss with patience and courage can construct a new mansion on the ruins of the past. They can search for and discover a new dawn after a dark night, in the light of which they can carry on with their life’s journey unimpeded.
Source: Islam and World Peace
