Look Within for the Cause

Look Within for the Cause

1990 5 May 17 Look Within for the Cause (281) Martin Luther King Jr., once said, “A man can’t ride your back unless it is bent.” Here, in symbolic language, is one of life’s great truths. For it is a fact that so long as you stand upright, no one can jump up and sit on your back. This is possible only on a bent back – never on a straight one.

Experience has shown that the same is true of life in general. You will be ruled over only if you allow your weakness to be exploited. Wisdom and realism demand that whenever you find yourself being placed at a disadvantage, the first thing you must do is face up, fairly and squarely, to whatever weakness it is that has encouraged another to take advantage of you.

This point is aptly illustrated by an important event in Islamic history – the battle of Uhud, which took place in the Prophet’s lifetime. This battle had initially gone in favour of the Muslims, but in the later stages, what had seemed a sure victory turned into defeat. The reason for this was a mistake made by the Muslims, and promptly turned to good account by the enemy. It is significant that when the Qur’an commented on this incident, it had nothing to say about the oppression or rebellion of the rival group. Instead, it admonished the Muslims (3: 152) so that they should realize their error to the fullest extent: only then would they appreciate how to prevent anyone triumphing over them on subsequent occasions.

Whenever one suffers a defeat, it is invariably due to one’s own shortcomings. Remove any such shortcomings and there will be no need to lament the aggressiveness of others.