FROM THE EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

yielding its fruit every season by God’s leave? God gives parable to men so that they become mindful. (14: 24-25) In this verse, God has compared a believer with a fruit tree. A tree grows from a small seed, receiving food from the earth, water, air and sun. Sprouting from a seed, it becomes a plant and then continues growing until it becomes a full-grown tree; developing into a profitable existence in the full sense of the word. Its branches, its leaves, its flowers, its fruits, its shadow, in short, each part of it becomes beneficial to all around. The same is true of a believer. When he sows the seed of belief that there is a Creator of this world to whom he is answerable, it starts growing step by step in a moral, spiritual and intellectual course, making progress in its development until it is able, like the tree, to become profitable for the whole of humanity. This capacity of a believer is so great that he receives positive sustenance even from negative happenings. He becomes beneficial for everything inhabiting this earth. A tree is a physical illustration of the spiritual life. Just like the tree, man must take spiritual food from everything. When he is angry and controls his anger, he is training himself in the art of anger management. When he faces a crisis and manages to keep his patience, he is building his capacity for positive planning. If he faces a violent situation and refrains from reacting, he is shaping his personality so that he can maintain his peace of mind, no matter in what condition he finds himself. This gives a person the ability to conserve his energies, so that he may devote himself to constructive work. It is as if he has enrolled himself in a course of intellectual improvement. All situations, both pleasant and untoward, are like intellectual food. If you face these situations with a positive attitude, you will help yourself grow. You will enhance your creativity. You will develop your personality along positive lines. One who adopts this course will surely emerge, sooner or later, as a well-developed personality, standing tall, like a full-grown tree. Need for Purification Rain is a unique and natural phenomenon which is referred to several times in the Quran. One such reference is: And We have sent down from the sky blessed water with which We have brought forth gardens and grain to be harvested. (50: 9)