Maulana Wahiduddin Khan I The Sunday Guardian I February 15, 2015

According to a report published in the Times of India (18 August 2013, p. 12), a survey of the world's 100 richest people revealed that the majority of them did not inherit their economic fortunes. 73% of them were "self-made". Of these, 18% had no college education, and 36% were the children of poor parents.

How is it that people who were born into poor families, many of whom did not receive any higher formal education, were able to amass such wealth, and that, too, with no help from the government or any organisation?

The answer is that it was because of their own efforts.

The Quran advises: "Speak to them in such terms as will address their minds" (4:63). People who speak in this way help others to re-think things and change their attitudes and opinions.

This illustrates a basic principle of nature. And that is that deprivation is not just a lack of something. Rather, it is, at the same time, also possession of something else- a strength and an incentive to overcome the sense of lack. Impelled by the law of nature itself, a person who considers himself to be deprived of or lacking something develops a strength or urge to make efforts to acquire that which he thinks he is deprived of or lacks.

This inner urge keeps him active until he reaches his goal. A feeling of being deprived creates within him a strong motivation for making efforts. There are ample examples in history which testify to this law of nature.

To succeed in anything, it is not favourable external conditions that are crucial as is this inner motivation. In fact, it is often the case that favourable external conditions make people complacent and inactive. On the other hand, someone who faces unfavourable external conditions develops a certain discontentment, which, in turn, can provide him with the incentive to make active efforts to change things for himself for the better.