will be enabled to think realistically about their affairs and plan their
actions in a far better and result-oriented way.
Chapter 2 of the Quran tells us of the way of God for man. It
reads: “ We shall certainly test you with fear and hunger, and loss
of property, lives and crops. Give good news to those who endure
with fortitude, who say, when afflicted with a calamity, ‘We belong
to God and to Him we shall return,’ They are the ones who will have
blessings and mercy from their Lord: it is they who are on the right
path!” (2:155-57)
The system of the present world is designed in such a way that
here man suffers all kinds of losses. These losses are apparently
occasioned by the wrongdoings of others. That is why it generally
happens that those afflicted by loss hold some person or group
responsible and then make them the objects of their hatred. This
hatred sometimes escalates into violence. But such thinking is
against the way of God, that is why violence born of hatred does not
yield any positive result to the perpetrator.
The right way to deal with this situation is not to lay the
blame for loss at the door of others. Instead, one should engage in
introspection. When reflecting upon the losses of this world, the
Hereafter must also be remembered. Indeed, these losses should be
taken as a divine warning and an attempt should be made to reform
oneself. If such losses are seen and accepted as parts of the system
of nature established by God Himself, then positive thinking will
ensue. Man will be saved from falling a prey to frustration because
of any adversity he suffers, and he will plan his future anew, learning
lessons from past events instead of becoming embittered by them.
Everyone may be born to die, but it is a must for the living to
keep thoughts of death in abeyance. Every gain at some time or the
other turns into loss. In suchmatters it is necessary for man to forget
whatever has been lost, just as he keeps thoughts of the dead out of
his mind.
This is no simple matter. It is a fact that when one thing is lost,
hundreds and thousands of things are still available to man. In such a
situation, man pays a very heavy price for not forgetting what is lost:
that is, he is deprived of the true feeling of gratitude. He tends to
forget that sorrowing for what is lost is responsible for depriving him
of true gratitude for the things he already has. By giving importance
to the small loss of this world we run the risk of incurring a very
great loss in the Hereafter. By allowing temporary loss to suppress
The Second Forbidden Tree
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