The secret of reform lies in patience. I was told of a school teacher who had a very short temper due to which he would become impatient and start fighting with people at home and in school. He once came across a copy of Al-Risala and since then became a regular reader. This changed him completely. Once he came to know that a student in his class drinks beer. After class he told the student to come to his office. When the student came, he gave him some money and told him in a very normal tone to buy some meat and a bottle of beer from the market. When the student bought what he was told, the teacher took him to the lab. There he asked the boy to pour beer in a glass and put the meat in the glass. He asked the boy to meet him the next day. The boy developed curiosity and straight after his class got over the next day, he went to meet the teacher to remind him that he had called him. The teacher took the boy back to the lab and there he asked him to take out the piece of meat he had placed in the glass of beer. When the boy held out the piece of meat, it crumbled away. The teacher then explained to the student that animal meat is stronger than human meat. If beer can cause the animal meat to crumble away, it would surely have a more harmful effect on humans. The boy immediately understood the point and told the teacher that he had opened his eyes to the truth and that he would not drink again. This story is an example of how patient dealing with a person is very effective in reforming him.
