The Oak Tree and the Reeds
The challenges you face in life are opportunities. Those who try to thwart you and block your path are merely the means by which Allah channels you to better places, with more conducive circumstances and more satisfying work.
We do not always get to the best situations in life by choice. So often, Allah places people in our lives through whom he steers us on the right course. I have arrived at this understanding from a number of experiences which brought me to accomplish some of my most valuable and important work.
Of course, you need to be able to adapt to whatever your environment presents you with in order to make the best out of what comes your way.
There is an old folk story which teaches this valuable lesson:
Once there was a great oak tree on a river bank. The tree was surrounded by reeds. Every day, the wind would blow and tree would stand firm and resolute, while the reeds would always bend. The oak tree would boast to the reeds: “Look at me. I do not bend to anything, because I am strong.”
The reeds said nothing. They did not see the tree’s boasting as worthy of a response. One night, a great storm tore through the land with a gale force wind far worse than anything that came before.
The next morning, the great oak was broken in two, most of its length lying on the ground. The weak reeds were still standing, enjoying the ample sunlight, and speaking to each other about what had happened.
The story of the oak tree and the reeds is a lesson for individuals and civilizations alike. A culture should not be so conservative so that it breaks under the
pressure of change, nor should it be so permissive that it is completely obliterated by outside influences. A civilization needs to be strong and flexible, able to develop without precipitating anxiety or conflict.
Allah says: “Have you not considered how Allah presents an example, [making] a good word like a good tree, whose roots are firmly fixed and its branches [high] in the sky? It produces its fruit all the time, by permission of its Lord. And Allah presents examples for the people that perhaps they will be reminded.” [Sūrah Ibrāhīm: 24-25]
Here, Allah presents a tree as a parable. Its root which is firmly fixed represents faith. Its branches that stretch high in the sky are always anchored to that faith, but they are flexible, always moving in the appropriate way, and therefore always bringing forth beneficial fruit in every circumstance. This is why Allah says: “It produces its fruit all the time”.
This describes most eloquently how to strike the proper balance between stability and flexibility. We can apply it in our words and our deeds, making it our approach to our personal lives, our society, and our religious practice.
In doing so, we follow the advice of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) when he said: “This religion is easy. No one becomes harsh and strict in the religion without it overwhelming him. So fulfill your duties as best you can and rejoice. Rely upon the efforts of the morning and the evening and a little at night and you will reach your goal.” [Sahīh al-Bukhārī].
Sheikh Salman al-Oadah
Source: en.islamtoday.net (Dec. 20, 2013)