A Wise Saying

nation dominates another when one group advances ahead of another, and when new challenges emerge in collective life, a person with limited understanding may look only at the surface and begin to express frustration and protest. They may focus on injustice and create a sense of deprivation and victimhood among people. But a person with deeper knowledge will assess the situation more thoroughly. They will be able to see further and understand the realities at a deeper level. Such a person will find possibilities even in the midst of darkness. They will speak of ease within difficulty. They will point to opportunities hidden within problems. They will nurture hope and confidence in people by showing them how their disadvantages can be turned into strengths. SECTARIANISM According to a well-known narration, the Prophet of Islam said that the people of Israel were divided into seventytwo sects, and his own community would be divided into seventy-three sects. All of them will end up in the Fire except one. When asked who that one group would be, he replied, “The way that I and my companions are upon” (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith No. 2641). Islamic scholars have tried to identify the “72” misguided sects. For example, in Ghuniyat al-Talibin, Abdul Qadir al-Jilani discussed this issue in detail and listed them