Understanding The Prophet's Life
From Issue: 1025 [Read full issue]
Stay Calm
A young companion of the Prophet from the Baliy tribe reports: 'I visited God's Messenger (peace be upon him) with my father, and he spoke to my father alone, without me hearing. I [later] asked my father: "What did he say to you?" He answered: "If you are set on doing something, you proceed with a measured pace until God shows you the way out of it, or until God has provided you with a way out".' [Bukhari]
Staying calm and keeping one's cool is the only way to guarantee proper thinking and well-considered action. In every situation, we need to look at the positive and the negative aspects of the measures we want to take. If we happen to be upset, angry, worried, complacent, careless, hasty, etc. we may overlook factors that are too important to lose sight of. Similarly, if we are keen to have or to avoid something, we may be blinded to the effect of having or avoiding it. Staying cool and maintaining a measured pace is the only course of action that reduces to a minimum the chances of taking wrong measures or steering the wrong way. Hence the Prophet's advice.
But we also detect a subtle element in the Prophet's advice. This is implied in the last part of the had?th: 'until God shows you the way out of it, or until God has provided you with a way out it'. This refers to the need to rely on God in all our affairs. With such reliance, we are able to handle matters in a better and well-considered way, trusting that God's help will not fail to come. Thus, if we are in a tight situation or a difficulty, He will provide a way out for us.
Compiled From:
"Al-Adab al-Mufrad with Full Commentary: A Perfect Code of Manners and Morality" - Adil Salahi