Complaint or protest against problems is of no value. Problems are not created by some person: they are a part of the creation plan of God. No one has the power to change the course of nature. We have no option but to accept this natural course. The above Quranic formula is the only formula that is feasible to follow in our world.

So when you face a problem, don’t be negative. Be normal. Don’t be disturbed. Don’t allow tension to develop in your mind. Simply assess the situation and, by avoiding the problem, try to discover the opportunities. Believe with complete conviction that there are enormous opportunities waiting for you—either hidden or open. So, set about discovering them, using all your mental powers and energy.

In such a situation, lodging complaints and making protests are nothing but a waste of time. Developing anxiety is only the result of your own failure to understand the law of nature. So, be a realist and ensure your success.

All difficult situations have their problems, but at the same time, there are always certain opportunities in-built in these situations. If you start your task by harping on your problems or obstacles, then it is like putting the cart before the horse. In this world there is only one starting point, and that is based on opportunities and certainly not on problems. Leaving the problem pending is not inaction. It is, in fact, based on deep wisdom. By adopting this method you can save yourself from futile confrontation and can devote all your energy to achieving your goals.

In every situation there are problems, but at the same time, there are opportunities. This is a law of nature. But it is also a law of nature that the quantum of opportunities will be more than the quantum of problems.

Choosing to start with a problem is an act of emotional reaction while launching out from the basis of opportunities shows great wisdom. It means: Start from what is possible today and you will attain, by tomorrow, what is apparently impossible. This principle is based on practical wisdom, and practical wisdom is the only workable principle in this world.

Source: Spirit of Islam October 2018

Many people today complain that they are deprived of the opportunity to live and work in an atmosphere of freedom and peace. Such people are simply unaware of the secret of life. If you want to enjoy the blessings of freedom and peace that we have been bestowed with in this age, you must know that you should set such a goal for yourself that can be achieved without having to resort to violent confrontation with anyone. If you devise a goal for yourself that will disturb someone else’s life, you will be left to complaining and protesting against others. But if you devise a purpose for yourself that will not, in any way, become a problem for others, you can carry on with your work for the rest of your life, and you will have no complaints against others.

This secret is referred to in the Quran (4: 128) thus: “Reconciliation is best”. This indicates that the aim that you set for yourself should not lead to you entering into confrontation or conflict with others. In this way, you will find that everything in this world is favourable for you. It will become possible, then, for you to achieve your purpose, while being safe from developing the psyche of complaints against others. On the other hand, if you speak the language of complaint, it only means that you have chosen a wrong aim for yourself. It is a problem of a wrong aim, not one of other people’s oppression or enmity.

Source: Spirit of Islam July 2018

No! It is never okay to complain. We must abstain from complaining completely. The British MP Enoch Powell (1912 – 1998) once made an interesting comment about political leaders who complain about the media. He felt that such complaints were unnecessary or unjustified. ‘A politician who complains about the media,’ he said, ‘is like a ship’s captain complaining about the sea.’

This comment applies actually to every person. Whenever someone complains about someone else, his or her complaint is actually a needless complaint. He or she turns an issue into a cause for complaint, although the issue is actually not something to complain about at all.

This world is established on the principles of nature. Life in this world is like a vast ocean, always full of waves. Living in society, we will always have to face one wave after another. The only sensible way to deal with the waves that appear in our lives is to consider them as challenges. Instead of complaining about the waves that come our way, we should learn the art of successfully going over or bypassing them.

The fact that we have to face many waves or challenges in life is not something bad or wrong. In fact, challenges are for our own good. They come into our lives in order to train us, to increase us in wisdom and to strengthen us. The difficulties that we face in life are experiences, and without going through such experiences one cannot become a more complete person. Abstaining completely from complaining, we should learn lessons from our experiences.

Source: Leading a Spiritual Life