Page 242 - Quranic Wisdom - New.indd

Difference: A Part of Creation

have to express your differences peacefully, and at the same time
be open-minded enough to allow others to freely express their
views. Like other phenomena, difference has two aspects—it has
its plus points and its minus points. If difference is confined
within peaceful limits, it is good, but if difference goes beyond
the limit and becomes a source of conflict and violence, it turns
into an evil. Difference with peace is a blessing, but difference
with violence is a problem.
Difference, important in every field, both secular and
religious, is a form of dissent rather than a matter of controversy.
It provides us with a kind of ladder by which to attain the higher
reaches of our lives. Without difference, no development is
possible in any branch of intellectual learning.
It opens up factual areas that were formerly hidden and
opens doors that were hitherto closed. Difference gives us
an opportunity for collective thinking. It is a part of human
beings—a sign of intellectual life; only statues cannot differ from
each other.

Difference, important in every field, both secular and
religious, is a form of dissent rather than a matter
of controversy. It provides us with a kind of ladder
by which to attain the higher reaches of our lives.

When difference is a part of creation, we have no other option
but to accept it as it is. Trying to eliminate differences is certainly
doomed to failure. One who is not ready to live with differences
must create another world according to his personal desires. But
who can create a new world?

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