SOCIAL LIVING

Healthy Principles

SOCIETY is a collection of individuals. Every individual constantly gives something to society and also receives back from society. By adopting this principle an individual can live with peace of mind and bring harmony in society.

There are certain healthy principles for social living. One is to have trust in oneself and not ask for anything from anyone. An equally healthy principle is that if a person gives one something without it being asked for, it should be accepted gracefully and not turned down. This develops a healthy psychology in the members of society.

Demanding or desiring something from others means that the person expects from someone other than God, when the right thing is to adopt the principle of ‘In God we trust’. And gracefully accepting something from another person without demanding or asking for it also develops good will in society. Refusal can lead to arrogance, a great evil.

Opportunity always comes unheralded. A person has to recognize
it, not doing so will be regarded as being blind, by God.

Quite often a person gets something as a result of circumstances, but ignores it as being unwanted and keeps praying to God for help. This is wrong; the right way is to accept the opportunity as gift from God. This will develop the psychology of gratitude in the person. As God says:

If you are grateful, I will surely bestow more favours on you. (THE QURAN 14: 7)

If the sun is shining and a person prays, ‘O God, give me sunshine’, it is against the law of nature. If the wind is blowing and giving you fresh air and oxygen, and you pray, ‘O God, give me oxygen’, it is an unnatural demand. These are occasions for thankfulness, rather than occasions of prayer requests.

Similarly, opportunities of life that come your way are from God. A person should be prepared to recognize the opportunity when it appears. When a person gets an opportunity and instead of recognizing it and utilizing it, he prays for an opportunity from God, he is going Opportunity always comes unheralded. A person has to recognize it, not doing so will be regarded as being blind, by God. Spirit of Islam Issue 33 September 2015 39 against the law of nature. Such a moment is a moment of being thankful to God. Opportunity always comes unheralded. A person has to recognize it, not doing so and praying for something else instead will be regarded as being blind, by God. Angels will note that when he had to offer thanks to God for what He gave him, he kept praying to God for something else.