It is Quality that Matters

Tawbah is an instrument of self-correction, initiating a process of self re-assessment. This process is vital, as it enhances your intellectual calibre and increases your capacity for analysis.

Problems in social life invariably arise from some kind of wrong behaviour. In reality, men are by nature egoists and women are emotional. The simple solution to having a tranquil social life is not to ruffle the ego of a man and not to neglect a woman’s emotions. There is no social ill that cannot be set right by this two-point formula. But it must also be accepted that to err is human, so whenever you err and some man or woman becomes negative towards you, do not hesitate but at once admit your mistake and say: “Sorry, I was wrong.” This short sentence will prove to be magical in its effect and the whole situation will instantly be normalized. This is the miracle of tawbah.

Tawbah is an instrument of self-correction, initiating a process of self re-assessment. This process is vital, as it enhances your intellectual calibre and increases your capacity for analysis. This, in turn, leads to spiritual development.

People have no difficulty in saying: “O God, forgive me.” But when it comes to a human problem, they are reluctant to say: “O brother, please forgive me.” This kind of hesitation is against the spirit of faith. A true man of faith will say to another: “Forgive me,” just as easily as he says to God: “O Lord, forgive me.” Tawbah is an inner spirit, a readiness to atone for every kind of mistake.

According to this Quranic verse, in the quantification of virtues, there are two factors in life which are of prime importance—belief and patience. These two factors are more telling than any number of other virtues. So we have to pay more attention to inculcating these two qualities, belief and patience, rather than simply trying to increase the number of other virtues that we possess.

What is a majority or a large group? It is a composite of individuals. If the individual is strong, the group will be strong, and if the individual is weak, then the group will also be weak. The individual is like a brick. And it takes many bricks to put up a building. If each single brick is strong, the building will in consequence be strong, but if even a single brick is weak, the whole building will also prove to be weak and could come tumbling down.

It is a fact that strength lies in individuals and not in the group. A group itself is nothing. It is individuals or members of groups, who determine the strength of the group and not the group itself.