GIVE NATURE A CHANCE
Spirit of Islam, September 2018, p. 11
By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan is named as the default author of the periodical; a piece that carries another writer’s byline is credited to that writer.
GIVE NATURE A CHANCE An Achievable Target A N educated person who used to consider himself a social activist worked in the field for decades. He suddenly stopped social work completely and when asked about the reason behind his decision, he replied that he used to think he was a social activist, but in reality all this while, he had only been a social critique. He realized that he had been wasting his time in negative speech and writing instead of giving anything positive to the world. This remark is not only applicable to the above social activist, but holds true for all those whose work is targeted at the system. The reason is that they set their goal as reformation of the system―for example, eradicating injustices and disparities. However, when they are not successful in achieving their goals, they lay the blame on the government or authorities. They begin to write and speak against the system, and at times even resort to violence. All these people have set themselves unachievable targets as their goals—for instance, the elimination of inequalities, which is not possible in this world. Since they cannot achieve their target, such people remain permanently negative. Deeper analysis shows that what these people regard as social justice or economic parity cannot be attained in its ideal sense. Trying to set this as one’s target is akin to making an unachievable objective as one’s aim. This causes people to become negative, intolerant and even violent. The root cause for this state of affairs is a lack of understanding of the law of nature. There are certain phenomena which arise due to the law of nature. If people consider these phenomena a result of the system, then they develop radical thinking leading to clashing with the system and causing the initiation of an unending conflict. But if these issues are attributed to nature, they would be managed normally. The truth is that the present world is based on challenge and competition. Success in life is associated with what British historian Arnold Toynbee has referred to as the ‘challenge-response mechanism’. Success in life is associated with what Arnold Toynbee has referred to as the ‘challenge-response mechanism’. In the face of challenges, a person’s mind automatically tries to find a solution.

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