Page 286 - Quranic Wisdom - New.indd

Troubles Help Self-Development

troubles awaken our mind, troubles activate our nature, and
troubles serve as an incentive to turn our potential into actuality.
Glaciers melt, but they melt according to the laws of nature;
rivers flow, but they flow according to the shape of the earth;
stars and planets move, but their orbits are pre-determined by the
law of nature; trees grow, but their growth is also pre-determined.
However, the case of human beings is quite different. Every man
and woman is a self-made person. Certainly, they were born
under the laws of nature, but after birth the development of their
personality lies in their own hands.
Man has the capacity to be able to think for himself. He has
the ability for self-planning and self-development. He has the
power to create his destiny by his own endeavours.
This freedom sometimes creates problems for man, but these
problems are the price of his freedom. And then, as a condition
of this freedom, man is expected to be responsible for his actions.
Accountability is a strict requirement for both men and women.

Man can exercise his freedom but he cannot change the course
of nature. Those who follow the course of nature meet with
success, while those who deviate from it will suffer. This suffering
is nothing but a consequence of one’s own wrong choice.
Now the question is how should one face a problem? The
answer is that one should follow divine guidance. Man is free,
but he is free only as regards his own actions. He has no power
to create a new world according to his own desires. So man must
exercise his freedom within the framework of nature. He must
understand divine guidance and must apply it to his own life.
The rest of the world is also following this course, but is doing
so under compulsion. It is only man who has been given the
privilege of following divine guidance by his own choice.

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