Al-Risala (English), Sep-Oct 2000

to receive the benefit of the doubt. Only if one consistently shows oneself worthy of trust over a long period, as the cloth vendor showed himself in his dealings with the wholesale merchant, will one be accorded trust in this world. □ Source: Al-Risala Urdu, August 1986, p. 7. The Secret of Success Eighty per cent of the information received by a human being from the outside world comes to him through his eyes—provided he keeps his eyes open. There is an abundance of oxygen in the air, but if it is to do him any good, he must assiduously breathe it in. If, however, we are to benefit from our environment, it means rather more than just depending upon our own spontaneous biological functioning. It means that we must have the will and ability to seize the opportunities given to us by God and to learn to grapple with whatever their built-in conditions may be. We cannot expect the world—of its own—to lay its gifts at our feet. This concept is of the greatest importance in the sphere of Dawah work. The spreading of the Islamic message is not something which is going to happen automatically, and, if it is to come about, it will depend upon our grasping whatever opportunities come our way. In modern times the greatest opportunity that has presented itself is the widespread freedom of belief enjoyed all over the world. (Only in a few communist countries are curbs placed upon religious activities). This freedom, however, carries with it a tacit proviso, i.e. that propagation of the faith must not take place by coercion, but by gentle persuasion. One reason for this is that so long as