Al-Risala (English), January 1988
Al-Risala (English), January 1988, p. 2
By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan is named as the default author of the periodical; a piece that carries another writer’s byline is credited to that writer.
Care in what one says
1988 1 January 2 Care in what one says (48) Umer Ibn Abdul Aziz was asked what he thought about the Muslims who had been slain in the Battle of Siffeen. “Thank God that He kept my hand from spilling any blood on that day,” he replied. “I do not want to pollute my tongue with it either.”
THE GREATER FEAR
1988 1 January 2 THE GREATER FEAR (299) The cause of man’s failure often lies in his failure to recognize major threats and his determination to concentrate all his efforts on minor dangers.
Dr. Dennis Breo has published a book entitled, Extraordinary Care, based on interviews with medical specialists who attended on various famous personalities. Many and strange are the revelations he has to make.
He writes that celebrities often prove to be ‘impossible patients’. Hitler, for instance, suffered from a skin disease, but considered it beneath his dignity to undress before a doctor. As a result, he could never be given the correct treatment.
The famous American millionaire, Howard Hughes, had a dental ailment, but rather than open his mouth to a doctor, he killed his pain with alcohol.
The most extreme example is that of the Shah of Iran who suffered from leukemia, but refused to have it treated because he felt that it would weaken him politically. (The Times of India, March 19, 1987, p.7)
What ultimately brought his power to an end was not this disease of the blood, but the chronic political malaise of his regime. Ignoring the greater danger, he gave all his attention to saving himself from the smaller problems. In consequence, his empire came to an end at the very time when he had done everything in his power to save it.
The cause of man’s failure often lies in his failure to recognize major threats and his determination to concentrate all his efforts on minor dangers. This is as true of the great as it is of obscure and ordinary individuals.
Death is not the end of our existence. It is merely the doorway leading from one life to the next. It ushers us into a period in which we reap the results of our trial on earth.
