Realism

REALISM The second Caliph, Hazrat Umar Farooq, said: “A wise person is not the one who knows good from evil, but the one who knows the better of the two evils.” (Dham al-Hawa by Ibn al-Jawzi, p. 8). In social life, conflicts often arise between individuals or groups. When such conflicts occur, the question always arises about how to resolve them. What guiding principle should be used to settle these disputes? Often, people see these issues as a battle between good and evil or justice and injustice. They want to avoid evil and bring about good, protect themselves from injustice, and promote justice. However, such individuals often do not reach their goals, ending up with complaints and setbacks despite their efforts. Why is this? The reason is that in social life, no one can decide things solely based on their own will. In such matters, every conflict has two sides. For any resolution to be reached, both parties must agree. If one party considers something to be good or just but the other party does not accept it, the result will be a confrontation. And confrontation always worsens the problem rather than solving it. So, what does wisdom require in such situations? It calls for viewing the issue not as good versus evil or justice versus injustice, but as what is possible and what is not. Then, one should pursue what is practically achievable and let go of what is not. A historical example of this principle is the Arab-Israeli conflict over Palestine in the mid-20th century, which