In Pursuit of a Purpose

In Pursuit of a Purpose

1985 3 March 8-9 In Pursuit of a Purpose (470) James Hatfield, an Englishman from the town of Bury St Edmunds, was in his youth dogged by heart disease. His experience imbued him with sympathy for those suffering in a similar way, and he was moved to do something to relieve their plight. The idea that came to him was a round the world yacht trip, single-handed, with the aim of raising £100,000 in aid of heart and cancer patients.

In the summer of 1984 he commenced his journey, heading first for Capetown in South Africa, then Australia, and finally across the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans back to the port of Ipswich, from which he had set sail. In the South Atlantic, however, his boat met with an accident: it struck what he thought was a “ship container” and the rudder was badly damaged. Besides this, James Hatfield was himself seriously injured: he had been cooking coffee in the cabin at the time of collision and the freshly brewed beverage spilt on his leg, causing severe burns.

He set about steering his damaged ship into the nearest harbour, which happened to be Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. There he gave an interview to the BBC Radio programme “Outlook” When asked about the injury to himself, which sounded very severe, he said: “It was very painful, but I was so preoccupied with steering my boat into port that I forgot all about it.”

James Hatfield forgot about the injury to himself because he had before him a purpose which superceded it. The pain that he was suffering was of no consequence to him, because he was on a journey to relieve the pain of others. If he did not successfully steer his damaged boat into port, so that it could undergo repairs, then his whole purpose would be thwarted; his journey would come to a premature end and the benefits that he had hoped would accrue from it would fail to materialize.

So it is with anyone who has before him a supreme purpose in life: he overlooks harm that has been done to himself and relentlessly continues in pursuance of his goal. He knows that involvement in relatively petty side issues will only serve to detract from his main purpose, and hinder his advance towards its achievement.

The purpose that spurred James Hatfield on was a desire to relieve the temporary suffering of others in this world. The Muslims, as a community, should b moved by an even greater purpose – the urge to save mankind from abiding suffering in the next world. If, on their journey through life, they suffer injury or harm at the hands of others, then they should overlook it and continue to seek their goal. Not only will their injuries fade into insignificance: the great task with which they have been entrusted will also be achieved.