Make Yourself Eligible, Don’t Make Demands

or his life. That is why the only way to be successful in this world is to discover the favourable aspects that exist even amidst unfavourable conditions and to develop faith and determination in the face of such conditions. Somebody may place a basket of mud on your head, intending thereby to demean you, but you must perceive that this basket is actually a crown. The ‘demeaning’ basket must seem to you to be a crown of respect. The famous psychologist Alfred Adler (1870-1937) spent much of his whole life studying the human psyche. On the basis of his extensive studies he declared that one of the most amazing features of human beings is their power to turn a minus into a plus. This unique characteristic of human beings is present inside every person right from birth itself. Only someone who taps this innate feature or capacity can achieve great success in this world. And if an entire group emerges that makes good use of this innate capacity, it charts a new chapter in human history. It closes one chapter of history and opens the doors of a new one. One such group was the Prophet’s Companions. They employed this innate human capacity to the fullest, and that is why, as the example cited above illustrates, they were able to inaugurate a glorious chapter in the history of humankind. Muslims today present an entirely different picture, however. Faced with what they perceive as unfavourable conditions, they see everything in a negative light, drawing only negative lessons from the happenings around them. And so, they have developed an extreme persecution complex. If, however, they were to reflect deeply and see things in a proper perspective, they could make the difficult conditions they are faced with into a positive resource. Using the capabilities that God has given to all human beings, they can turn their ‘no’ into a ‘yes’, the unfavourable conditions that they presently face into favourable conditions.