Boundless Possibilities

ARTICLES OF WISDOM To counter this, the Russians developed flare fishing. This was a special chemical substance that, when released from the plane, burst into flames and produced a bright flare. The flare burned hotter than the engine. So instead of hitting the plane, the Stinger was diverted and collided with the flare. In this way, the plane was saved. There is an important lesson in this event: success comes from discovering and exploiting the opponent’s weakness. In a world of competition, those who succeed are the ones who can identify the weaknesses of the other side and make use of them. The Russians showed this ability. They took advantage of the fact that the Stinger had no human intelligence. Its strike was not conscious but mechanical. Being a device, it could not recognize a plane—it could only detect “heat.” As soon as the Russians discovered this secret, they had already won half the battle. The use of flare fishing against the Stinger was a successful example of this strategy. The truth is that everything in this world has a countermeasure. Against every danger, the possibilities are always greater—provided a person does not lose courage when facing problems. By using the intelligence God has given, one can always discover a way out. This is exactly what a Hadith says: “One hardship can never overcome two reliefs” (Shu‘ab al-Iman by al-Bayhaqi, Hadith No. 9541). In other words, if difficulty is one, ease is double. If one path is blocked, another remains open.