FROM MAULANA’S DESK

‘give and take’ principle. But the human rights concept has gone in a contrary direction—‘taking without giving’—if not consciously, then unconsciously. Now, under the influence of these movements, everyone talks of ideal justice. But our world is a world of competition where ideal justice cannot be achieved. According to the law of nature, only working justice is achievable in this world, not ideal justice. The only workable formula is that everyone should accept working justice. This will give one enough time to direct one’s energies towards more important issues. This law of nature is based on high wisdom, that is, everyone should be content with their needs and divert their ambitions to spiritual and ideological development. So, the best formula for a successful life is: as regards material things, remain contented, and in spiritual matters, be idealistic. This is the only formula that gives one peace of mind and prevents a person from indulging in negative thinking. It frees one from the desire to complain and helps in developing positive thinking. The two-point formula to live a successful life is material ‘status quoism’ and spiritual idealism. According to a Hadith of the Prophet, “A believer should be duty-conscious, and as far as his rights are concerned, he should ask of them from God.” It is a believer’s duty to give to others what is due from him, and regarding his rights, he should ask for them only from God. Instead of being only rights-conscious, he should also be duty-conscious. So, if we all follow the principle of being duty-conscious, automatically our rights will be taken care of. Nevertheless, complete justice and total fairness are not possible in this imperfect world. God has promised these only in the Hereafter, where He will give to every person every atom’s worth of what is due to him. Thus we must continue to do our duty faithfully. Islam wants us to build a duty-conscious, rather than a rights-conscious society. o Maulana Wahiduddin Khan editor@thespiritofislam.org Follow Maulana at speakingtree.in “A believer should be duty-conscious, and as far as his rights are concerned, he should ask of them from God.” — Prophet of Islam