The Prophet Joseph was thrown into a deserted, dried-up well by his brothers. This was apparently a disaster. But the Quran says that as soon as he was cast into the pit God's revelation came to him that he would emerge from it to a new life. And would soon reach such heights that even his own brothers would fail to recognise him. God knew the reality. God revealed to Joseph that his worst moments were about to become his best. Where antagonists intended to end his life, a whole fresh chapter unfolded.

There is a Hadith which says, “Beware of the believer’s wisdom, for he sees things by the light of God.” This is clearly illustrated by God’s divine inspiration about Joseph’s future life. It means looking into and not at things to find their hidden potential. What initially appears to be the worst fate soon changes for the better. Seeing things through the light of God will give us the vision to see the advantage in an apparently disadvantageous situation. Future plans based on this inner vision, will have a greater guarantee to surmount all obstacles. The strength of this planning cannot be thwarted by those who fail to see the reality and judge only by appearance.

Many Muslims live under the wrong impression that they have been oppressed. Taking this at face value, Muslims hold certain nations as oppressors and waste precious time and resources in protests and retaliation. Sadly, they are perpetually engaged in such activities; they have yet to see their own situation by the light of God. Had they ever perceived it this way, they would have known that the worst dilemma can bear the best of fruits.

Seeing things through the light of God will give us the vision to see the advantage in an apparently disadvantageous situation.

Arnold Toynbee in his well-known book, A Study of History has examined in depth twenty one civilisations of the old and new worlds. What struck him as truly remarkable is that creators of great civilisations were mostly nations which had suffered major defeat, or faced conditions of great adversity—proof that favorable developments are born from the wounds inflicted by unpropitious circumstances. Modern civilisation produced by the western countries provides a clear example in support of Toynbee’s theory.

Muslims ruled over a large part of the globe before the rise of the western nations. They had conquered Syria and Palestine, holy to the Christians. To recover them, the Christian nations launched a united assault on the Muslim world. Known as the Crusades, these wars were waged intermittently for almost two hundred years from 1095 to 1271. Finally after a crushing defeat from the Muslims, the western nations lost their military aspirations. Instead of challenging the Muslims on the battlefield, they aspired to improve things in other spheres. This situation was marked by a new way of thinking called the Spiritual Crusades. They challenged their opponents in non-military fields.

Creators of great civilisations were mostly nations which had suffered major defeat, or faced conditions of great adversity.

They set about learning Muslim sciences; academic books were translated from Arabic to English. After the first stages of imbibing Muslim learning, they began adding to this body of knowledge. Persistent efforts over several hundred years saw human history enter a new era: the Scientific Age. From the wounds of a crushing defeat, modern civilisation began its ever-accelerating evolution, leading its creators to eventual world dominance. The tremendous success of the western nations emerged from an abysmal failure. The defeats in the crusades led them to a victorious modern age.