A BELIEVER

Once a man came to the Prophet of Islam and said to him: “O Prophet of God, give me some advice which I may follow all my life. And let this advice be brief so that I do not forget it.” The Prophet replied, “Do not be angry.” Anger never surfaces without reason. It always bursts forth when provoked, when someone ill-treats you or says something which hurts your ego. Anger is a reaction. It generally manifests itself when you are faced with some unpleasant experience. One way to deal with this is to react, by returning tit for tat. But this is not the teaching of Islam. Islam teaches that when someone or something angers or provokes you, you remain undisturbed. A believer’s conviction is that if he remains patient in the face of trouble stirred by others, he will be amply rewarded by God. This conviction generates unfathomable peace of mind within, so that he is no longer disturbed by any antagonism. This spirit of faith converts his anger into forgiveness. Provocation is disregarded. He even derives food for modesty and humility from the very things which are designed to destroy his peace of mind. A Believer has the Desire for Peace A believer is necessarily a lover of peace. In his mind, faith and a desire for peace are closely interlinked and regardless of the circumstances, he will strive utmost to maintain peace. He will bear the loss of anything else, but never the loss of peace. The life that the true believer desires is possible only in the propitious atmosphere which flowers in conditions of peace. Conditions of unrest breed a negative atmosphere which to him is abhorrent. But if peace is to be maintained, it calls for a certain kind of sacrifice. In disturbed conditions, the believer must overlook both the misdeeds leading up to this situation and the identity of the wrongdoers. He might suffer at their hands but will make no attempt to retaliate, so that peace may prevail. The believer should be willing to pay this price, so that his pursuance of constructive ends can proceed unhampered. The believer is like a flower in the garden of nature. Just as a hot wind will shrivel up a bloom and cause it to die, so will constant friction A believer’s conviction is that if he remains patient in the face of trouble stirred by others, he will be amply rewarded by God.