Art of Acceptance The Sunday Guardian | November 14, 2010 | Page 14

There are a number of verses in the Quran that emphasis the importance of patience (sabr) and tolerance (eraz). One verse says that those who are patient will be granted the greatest reward. If you read the Quran, you will find that almost all its commandments are based, directly or indirectly, on this spirit. Why has such great importance been attached to patience? It is certainly not a virtue which stems from passivity. And there is great wisdom behind this teaching for it shows a realistic approach. It is, in essence, the art of acceptance. It means that you should accept others so that they will accept you too. When we travel on the road, we always follow a well- known traffic principle: stick to your lane. This traffic rule is based on mutual acceptance. It means that you should follow your own lane and I my own lane and this will allow room for both. The same is required in our entire social life, for social life is like living in a crowd. If you want to go ahead, you have to make room for others; this is the most importance principles for successful social life. If you want to give a new name to his culture, you could call it the culture of acceptance. The art of acceptance means the art of difference management. All these expressions are synonymous with each other. By adopting the art of acceptance, you give respect to others. It is like proceeding to your destination without hindering anyone else. God created man and he granted freedom to him. In terms of freedom there is no difference between people. This may create conflict between different groups.

This teaching gives us a practical formula by which to run our society smoothly: the art of acceptance.