ASK MAULANA

justice, opportunities to engage in dawah work and so on. These things can’t be had directly. They can be had only when there is peace and one makes proper use of available opportunities that peace opens up. Peace opens the doors of such opportunities, and by availing these opportunities, you can secure what you want. A fourth principle is that you must remember that as an individual you can be idealistic, but when it comes to society, it is impossible to establish idealism. So, in your own life, you can try to adopt idealism, but in terms of society, you have to be pragmatic. You have to adopt pragmatism when it comes to society. A fifth principle is to be aware that in this world it is impossible to achieve or get all that you want. You simply cannot fulfill all your dreams. It is very important to know that in this world, only less than ideal is possible. Achieving the ideal is impossible. So, you have to be ready to accept what is less than ideal, otherwise there is no peace. The greatest mistake that almost all social reformers have made is that they adopted ideal justice, instead of peace, as their goal. But ideal justice isn’t the right goal really. Why? Because, according to the Creation Plan of God, ideal justice can’t be achieved in this world. It’s simply impossible. Everyone has been given freedom or free-will by God, and you are free to use or misuse this freedom as you like. And since people misuse this freedom, you can’t expect ideal justice in this world. If you try to achieve ideal justice here, you’ll achieve nothing but frustration and tension. What plans do you have for the future? My plan is based on the saying of the Prophet “a day will come when the word of God will enter into every home, big and small.” So, this is my goal. I find my goal in the above Hadith—that I have to spread the word of God, calling people towards the home of peace. This is the goal, the Centre for Peace and Spirituality is working for. We’ve translated the Quran into many languages, and with God’s grace, we have many helpers in this mission of conveying God’s message of peace and salvation in different parts of the world. o