Principles of Life

Soon after the completion of a multi-storeyed building called Akashdeep in Bombay, the whole construction collapsed. The engineers said that the reason for its collapse was that less cement had been used than specified by safety regulations. In another statement the director of a technical institute said, “RCC construction is a scientific process which is excellent in the hands of qualified and experienced people, but dangerous if managed by incompetent engineers and contractors.” The Times of India, 4 September 1983)

If an engine driver is to set his locomotive in motion, he has to stand before the fire and endure its fierce heat. This huge and complex machine, built up of so many parts, will remain immobile unless he is prepared to do so. The same goes for society. It will not function unless the individuals who have to make all its parts work are prepared to sacrifice something of their own and are ready to endure difficulties, if not actual hardship.

“When one’s ego is touched,” an eminent psychologist once observed, “it turns into super-ego, and the result is breakdown.” Much the same thing was said some thirteen hundred years back by ‘Umair ibn Habib ibn Hamashah. During his last days this Companion of the Prophet Muhammad gave some advice to his grandson, Abu Ja‘afar al-Khatmi, part of which was about patience. “One who does not bear with a small hurt from a foolish person will have to bear with great harm,” was what he said.

Maulana Wahiduddin Khan I Principles of Life