POSITIVE ASPECT OF ILLNESS

If we want to understand today’s age as per the message of the Hadith, we need to keep in mind the basic feature of this age—freedom. And what is freedom? Basically, it is the power to choose—to avail and make use of opportunities. This is an age of opportunities. Wise planning involves recognising these myriad opportunities in various fields—business, social work, education and inviting people to God—and using the freedom we have been blessed with, to avail of these opportunities. There is but one restriction—one may not harm or trouble anyone else. As long as one does not harm others, there will be no obstacle to avail the many opportunities that abound today. Let me cite a story to illustrate this point. When America won independence from Britain, an American man, overjoyed at the news, stepped out into the streets to celebrate. In his joy, he waved his hands about, and by mistake, struck a passer-by on the nose. The angry passer-by asked him why he had hit him. The man said “We’ve won freedom, and I’m now free! I was exercising my freedom!” The second man replied, “Yes, you are free, but your freedom ends where my nose begins!” In my address, I related this story and talked of 9/11, the destruction of the twin towers in New York. This crime was like hitting the ‘industrial nose’ of America, and totally unacceptable. You cannot avail of existing opportunities by abusing freedom—hurt, damage and kill others. You will have to ensure you don’t hit other people’s ‘noses’ if you are to enjoy the freedom to avail the many opportunities that have opened up. If you want progress, you will have to stop violence, suicide-bombing, gun-culture and the bomb-culture. The peaceful functioning of the ISNA validates this point. They are doing work in the field of social service. They have established a ‘social empire’, as it were, in America. And why and how has it been able to do so? Surely not by hitting anyone else’s ‘nose’. Without resorting to violence it has achieved so much in the field of social service. This reflects the wisdom referred to in the Hadith—the need to understand the age in which one lives and the demands of that age. The 10,000 odd audience was quick to appreciate this point. We distributed peace-related literature among them, including my latest books, The Age of Peace and Quranic Wisdom. A solid understanding and appreciation of the conditions of the times can aid in wise planning.