Proving One’s Worth

PARENTING: AN ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE room immediately. On seeing the student’s insistence, the principal finally asked him rather dryly what his marks had been in the previous examinations because he felt certain he must have failed to get admission elsewhere due to his low marks. If this were the case, the Principal would have had reasonable grounds for rejecting his application. But the student’s reply was just the opposite of what he expected. He said, “Eightyfive per cent, sir.” These words worked like a miracle. The Principal’s mood suddenly changed, and he asked the student to sit down and show him his certificates. When he saw them and was satisfied that the student’s claim was valid, he told him to write an antedated application. Not only was the student then given admission despite such a long delay in applying, but he was also granted a scholarship by this very same Principal who had been so reluctant even to give him a hearing. Had the same student approached the Principal with a third-class degree and had been refused admission. As a result, he would indeed have gone away full of hatred for the Principal concerned and would have remarked to his friends that prejudice had come his way. He would not have admitted that he had been refused admission because of his poor results. He would have publicly laid the blame on the Principal.