A Philosophy of Life

After Dhikr (remembrance of Allah), start your day by telling yourself: Today I might meet inconveniences and conflicts, I might receive ingratitude, lies, deception or treason… All that springs from one source; my brother in humanity’s unawareness of what is good and bad for himself before it could be good or bad for others.

Personally, I have known the sources of good and evil and their nature… I even knew the nature of the doer – who is also my brother in humanity – and nobody can hurt me as I will not allow myself to go astray from the good path, or drink from a spring other than the one I know is the right one. I will not bear grudges; the doer does not know that the evil he does will come back around and harm him before it harms others, making him in dire need of sympathy rather than exasperation.

If you start your day with that saying, and if you believed in it and applied it to your life, you will see that you will not be shocked by others very often… You will not be angry or enraged very often… You will be aware of the sources of good and evil and life will not even be a big burden after all.

Force yourself every day and every hour and minute to look at the task at hand fairly, and do what you know deep down is the right thing. Do all that with trust springing from modesty, do it with strength coming from mercy, and with honor that has no humility except for God… Allow yourself and your brain to break free from all restrictions and considerations that might silence the voice of reason and justice in your heart and might put a cover on your eyes.

You can achieve this if you looked at every task in your hands as the last task you have to do in your life, so you will do it with devotion and purity of all vices of the mind, such as showing off, seeking attention and hypocrisy.

It is God’s grace upon people that he did not ask for much, he only demands devotion… And with devotion, a person wins and prevails.

“Devote your heart to God and a little work will be sufficient.”

Okaz Newspaper – Thursday 17 Jumada Al-Thani 1417 AH falling on 29 October 1996 AD