The Moral Vision
Having the Courage to Err
~ 25 ~
HAVING THE COURAGE TO ERR
Two friends, Ahmed and Iqbal, both lived in the
same city. Ahmed was a graduate, while Iqbal’s
education had not gone beyond the eighth
standard. It happened once that Iqbal had to go to
an office on business and was accompanied by his
friend, Ahmed. When the business had been
transacted, and they were both coming out of the
office, Ahmed said to Iqbal, “You were speaking
such horrible English! With such bad English, I
would never have dared to open my mouth!” Iqbal
was not the slightest bit disconcerted at being so
roundly criticized. Exuding confidence, he said,
“Speak wrong so that you can speak right!” Then he
added, “Although you are a graduate and I have
not got any degrees, you will soon find that I will
start speaking in English and you will never be able
to do so.”
That was twenty years ago. Now Iqbal’s words
have come true. Ahmed is still at the stage he was at
twenty years ago, but Iqbal, astonishingly, has
made great progress. He now speaks English quite
