A man stopped a taxi and told him about the place he intended to go. Taxi driver asked him to sit in the taxi. As in our country, there is no concept of taxi meter or any other well-defined rates by the government so the man asked about the charges. Taxi driver told him to take him there for 300 Afghanis. It came a bit unfair to him as he usually travelled there for 150-160 Afghanis.
He refused to sit in and told the driver that it was too much. Driver inquired how much he would pay. He told him that he would pay only 150 Afghanis. The driver gave him an unpleasant look with a blend of smile and insult in it and said this with a sneer in his voice, "Then you should wait for your uncle to take you for 150" and moved his taxi.
A world famous writer shares his story of similar feelings in one of his books. He went to Italy along with his friend to visit and see the ruins of the famous city of Pompeii. This is the city that was situated beside a huge and vibrant volcanic mountain from which the lava erupted after regular intervals.
Once this city was bustling with people who had gathered from different parts of the country to enjoy the prosperity the city offered. Although people were well-aware of the danger of any such volcanic eruption but usually they used to escape it before it could do much harm to them. But once, it happened so suddenly and so violently that lava started raining from the mountain and buried the city in no time.
After almost 17 centuries, the buried city was dug up and then remains of people and animals and even fruits and edibles were found that had got no chance to run away or even change their place. A skeleton was found that shows that the man was asleep when the lava had grabbed him on his bed. Anyhow, the remains of the city is now a famous tourist spot where more than two million visitors visit and see the destruction that shows the violent and commanding forces of nature.
The author had heard a lot about the original leather shoes of Italy and thus decided to buy a pair of these before visiting Pompeii. They went to a famous shoe store in the city and bought a pair of shoes that was a bit expensive for them but they tried to justify it for its high quality and original leather.
Next day, they went to see the ruins of Pompeii that was full of stones and hard stone-paved streets. After two hours, one of the shoes broke down and he had to take it in his hand. After an hour, the next pair also broke down and they had to find a cheaper shoe from there and the author carried the shoes in his hands for the rest of the day. He was much unhappy from the shoes as he had a lot of expectations from them.
Next day, they went to the store and told the same salesman that they went to visit Pompeii and just in three hours, the shoes broke off. "Sir, our shoes are made to be used gently in offices, not for walking on stones" the salesman sneered. Every eye in the store was riveted towards the author and his friend who were standing there with shame and disappointment. He had not expected such harsh treatment and such insulting words had made him blush with humiliation.
Such words can be termed as poison arrows that we face in our daily routine. It has been said that wound of arrows might heal but wound of harsh and unkind words might never heal completely and would get fresh whenever it was teased. It is the reason why it has been said that one needs to weigh his words before uttering them out.
We often witness a victimized person to be talking against the oppressor and making vows to avenge him. In a gathering of friends or companions, it seems to be much easy to say whatever you think but to them, you appear like a beaten and wounded dog that has nothing to do except to bark and raise the hell.
The credibility of such a person and the weight of his words are greatly reduced as people are absolutely sure that this thundering cloud doesn't have enough water in it to rain. In fact, this is such a stupid and useless act that it appears to be meaningless from all the different angles.
First, if you intend to take your revenge, it is always stupid to warn your enemy because he would get enough time and opportunity to escape or to prepare to resist you. Second, wise men always do the work first and narrate the story of this achievement later on. As such narration is meaningful and justified, beating the drums without victory is equally stupid and nonsense, especially when one is not sure if the war would start or not or if the victory is certain or not.
Then, a person who keeps tormenting himself by repeated exhibition of his inner wounds will not come to consolation until and unless he settles down with a decision. This decision can be either to attack the enemy and knock him down but as it appears, it is always the hardest of decisions and in most cases, the circumstances don't favor you to act upon your desired plans. If one is not in position to take the revenge, then the best possible option to comfort his mind is to settle down with peace and show patience.
Wisest is the one who forgets or at least tries to forget the wounds of his enemy and enters a realm of peaceful settlement. The superiority of his action and nobility of thoughts make his heart full of contentment and then he rises to the peace that is blessed to the gifted ones.
In this regard, clever but wicked are those who keep the fire of revenge burning in their hearts and never let a single flame of it being viewed by others. Externally, they appear to be very cool and calm and in some cases, they extend a hand of friendship towards their enemy and thus get closer to their targets. Beneath this hand of friendship lies a hidden knife that is thirsty of the blood of the enemy.
When they see that proper time has fallen, the knife comes out and up and enemy goes down. No doubt, they appear to be very clever but they forget that they tried to do the duty of nature that could have taken the revenge itself on its time and prevented his hand from dipping into the blood of another person. Usually we fail to understand the mechanism of revenge of nature.
It may or may not destroy your enemy but if you show patience, it may bestow more blessings to you in the form of your business, your health, your happy and obedient children, your good and loyal friends and many more that you may never come to realize. In the same way, it might not kill the cruel person directly but would bring such problems to him that he might never come to solve them and would cry and beg for a solution when alone. No doubt, we are absolutely unable to comprehend the powers and reach of Allah!