"It's all Good!"

The prophet said:

عجبا لأمر المؤمن إن أمره كله خير

"How wonderful is the condition of a believer for everything that befalls him is good."

He then explained

إن أصابته سرّاء شكر ؛ فكان خيراً له ، وإن أصابته ضرّاء صبر ؛ فكان خيراً له

"If he is touched by fortune he is grateful and it is good for him. If he is touched by evil, he is patient and it is good for him!"

This hadith highlights the sense of calm & peace that faith can create within a person. Demonstrating the importance of one's attitude to events rather than the events themselves. As Rudyard Kipling said in his famous poem "If":

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same

There is a well known Taoist tale about an old farmer that illustrates this perfectly.

The story goes that one day the only horse that the farmer owned ran away. His neighbour heard of this and came over to commiserate saying:. "Oh dear! What bad luck!"

The old farmer just smiled and said: "Good luck, bad luck… who knows?

The next day the farmer's horse returned and it brought with it a wild horse. The neighbour came to congratulate him, saying "Oh my, what good luck!"

Again the old farmer just smiled and said: "Good luck, bad luck… who knows?

The next day the farmer's son decided to ride the wild horses but was thrown from it and he broke his leg. Of course, upon hearing this sad news, their neighbour (who seems to have nothing better to do than watch everything the old man is up to,) came over to offer condolences.  "Oh dear! What bad luck!"

The old farmer just smiled and said: "Good luck, bad luck… who knows?

The following day soldiers came forcing the young men into the army, but because the farmer's son had a broken leg he was spared. The neighbour came running over: "Oh my! What good luck!"

The old farmer just smiled and said: "Good luck, bad luck… who knows?

***

Nothing is 'good luck' or 'bad luck' per se, but rather life is a journey with more plot twists than you could imagine. It is our attitude to events that is important and makes the difference to the quality of our life.

We should seek a balance between being both detached and engaged in life's ups and downs. Something dark and painful can turn out to be a wonderful blessing, while something happy and fortunate can turn out to be a curse, but even then the journey never stops and ramifications we never imagined or bargained for continue to come about. Thus we should endeavour to treat triumph and disaster with the same spirit of calmness and positive attitude.

This idea that Taoist tale, the hadith of Muhammad and the poem of Kipling reflect is found also in the ancient Greek philosophy of Stoicism which argued that "virtue is sufficient for happiness" and that an enlightened person should strive to be immune to misfortune by maintaining a calm and balanced approach to life in tune with nature and the universe we belong to.

Of course that doesn't mean we should sit and do nothing and just watch events pass us by. The point is to have the right attitude to create inner peace which will help us face events actively, positively and thoughtfully rather than rashly, emotionally or in a panic. The Quran says:

“Truly, God does not change the condition of a people until they change what is within themselves.” (8:53)

If we make the effort to bring about change, things can change. But even more important is our attitude, our effort and our behaviour along the way. We should always try to think outside the box and find new solutions. We have to get up and have a go, while at the same time having that inner peace & positive attitude that does not fret nor stress, for we know that ultimately all is in God's hands. Our task is simply to do our best.

One of the most common mistakes people make is to think that if they pray and perform all the religious acts carefully and in great detail, God will do things for us. He will make our business a success, or he will make our plans work out and all we have to do is just pray and fast and make lots of tasbeeh.

Nothing could be further from the truth. It is your efforts and your attitude that can make things happen. At the same time the final result is in God's hands. You are not held responsible for how things turn out, as the hadith says:

"Actions are judged by intentions."

It is your attitude and efforts that matter. The end result is not in your control. Mahatma Gandhi put it perfectly when he said:

"Nothing you do matters - but it matters that you do it."

God created a world where we must toil and struggle if we want to get things done. A world where prayer may be an invaluable coping tool, but it is not request line to a heavenly Maintenance Department. It is not God who will get things done - it's you. As in the famous hadith where a bedouin was going to leave his camel untied saying he trusts in Allah to look after it for him. The prophet replied:

"Tie her first, then trust in God."

While being self-reliant we must also never become arrogant or think that we better than others. The Qur'an warns us:

"Do not not treat the people with arrogance, and walk not on earth haughtily; for God does not love those who acts proudly and boastfully." (31:18)

It is our attitude and approach to life that is vital. To face the good and the bad with the same calm and positive attitude. To be humble and grateful while striving to be self-reliant and pro-active.

God is with us when we struggle. He is with us when we succeed and he is with us when we fail. As the Qur'an says:

"God is closer to you than your jugular vein"