JANUARY 25 Success Out of Failure

JANUARY 25 Success Out of Failure The Prophet Joseph was thrown into a deserted, dried-up well by his enemies. This, apparently, was a disaster. But the Qur’an says that no sooner had he been cast down into this dark pit than God revealed to him that he would emerge from it to a new life, and that he would soon reach such heights that even his own brothers would fail to recognize him. It was as if, instead of judging Joseph’s predicament from the outside, God saw its inner reality. Viewed from such a standpoint its whole complexion changed. That is why God revealed to Joseph at that crucial point in time the fact that his worst moments were about to become his best moments. Where antagonists had intended to put a sudden end to his life’s history, a whole fresh chapter was about to unfold. There is a hadith which says, “Beware of the believer’s wisdom, for he sees things by the light of God.” Seeing things “by the light of God” is tellingly illustrated by God’s prediction about the future course of Joseph’s life. It means looking not at things, but into things in order to find their hidden potential. Looked at from this angle, what at first appears to be the worst of fates soon takes on the aspect of a stepping stone to better things. One who sees things by the light of God can see advantage in disadvantage, bright prospects in murky situations. He can then plan for the future, with a greater guarantee that he will be able to surmount all obstacles in his path. The strength of this planning is such that it cannot be thwarted by those who, failing to see the reality, judge only by appearances. In present times, Muslims have suffered, and are still suffering on many counts at the hands of other nations. This is undoubtedly a deplorable state of affairs. But if we look at this issue only on the surface, we shall have no option but to regard certain nations as oppressors and then waste a great deal of precious time in repeatedly registering protest against them. Sadly, most Muslims today are perpetually engaged in such activities; they have yet to see their own situation by the light of God. Had they ever perceived it in this way, they would have known that every cloud has a silver lining. They would have known that what appears to be the worst dilemma can bear the best of fruits. Here, I should like to refer to an aspect of human history which has been particularly emphasized by Arnold Toynbee in his well-known book, The Study of