Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

History is the Best Teacher

We are fortunate because we are not the first ones to arrive in this world. The sky above us has seen the lives of millions of human beings on this planet through the ever-observing eyes of the star. Those people saw happiness and sorrow, brightness and darkness, love and hatred. They indulged in war and peace. In short, they saw thousands of aspects of human life.

Though, prior to us, many people went to their graves taking the secrets of their success with them without revealing them to others and they have been forgotten, yet different parts of the earth and apparently the silent deserted lands and the ruined structures have preserved noteworthy aspects of their lives for us and writers have noted them down for our benefit. Thus this world has become a great training school for us.

We obtain several lessons by studying the pages of history, by researching the lives of men in various parts of the world and by pondering over ancient remnants and can thus become wiser like our elders.

Is it not so that the product of a whole life is only a little ‘experience’?

Does history not make us conversant with the best of experiences? Is not human history a mirror showing the past people in their entirety? The misfortunes and mistake as well as the victories and reasons thereof are clearly seen in this mirror.

In the Holy Quran, the last edition of Divine Guidance for mankind, we find this ordinance of studying the life of past communities. We have been asked to take lessons from the special aspects of their lives.

The commander of the believers, Ali (a.s .) says, “O My son! Though I did not myself live with the people of the past yet I have studied their history thoroughly and attentively. Thus I have been aware of the ups and downs of their time and I know the relevant laws. I have comprehended their history so perfectly that, it seems Iwere living among them.”

History is the best guide for the present generation. Teaching history is much more difficult then teaching physics and chemistry. There are some formulas by which the teacher can teach these subjects nicely. But in case of history it is necessary to think deeply, make research and strive hard to reach the conclusion. Until history teachers do not get themselves satisfied regarding these requirements they cannot fulfill their obligation and cannot get the desired results. On this basis everyone who knows history cannot be called a historian.

A point, which ismore minute than a hair, is that everyone who does not shave off his hair cannot be considered a sage.

We must make efforts to understand the secrets and truths of history. Otherwise it is no use just reading it or only memorizing it. Secrets and truths of history are those bitter medicines which man can obtain with much difficulty. Man can cure both individual and collective ailments by using those medicines.

It is incumbent upon everyone, especially upon the administrators and other managers, to make deep study and research in the history of England, history of the great revolution of France, and, especially the history of Islam and of the last part of the rule ofBanu Umayyah and the revolution of the Abbasids and ascertain the causes of the failures of those who had ruled over the masses for centuries.

As a principle we should cultivate within us a zeal for reading books because it raises the level of thinking, strengthens the mind and offers the treasures of great people free to those who can obtain it. Today the standard of a nation’s progress is measured and its culture weighed by the use of paper by that community. It is said that in Switzerland, which is understood to be the cradle of civilization, taking into consideration its population, the quantity of paper used is much more than any other country. Experts have confirmed that paper used in Tehran is more than the paper utilized by all other provinces of Iran collectively.

Today it can be ascertained how many books are published in a year in a country and how many copies are printed in each edition. It is also calculated how many people benefit from the public libraries in a particular country.

In this way it is determined how much the level of public thinking has risen during the past year and how did it fare compared to other nations.

Secrets of authors are always hidden somewhere in their books. Once when Aristotle intended to publish his book Alexander put a hindrance so as to prevent others from reaching the level of his teacher’s accomplishments.

During the medieval centuries the Popes and Clergy had established an ‘educational society’ and had prevented the general public from reading books so that they (the clergy) might make maximum earnings from the ignorance of the masses and may continue to have total control on them.

A good book adorns morality, builds up the personality and teaches the secrets of life. However useless books should be discarded as harmful books impair ones intelligence.

A wise man has said, “Let me know what you are reading, so that I may tell you what you are.”

Shouphenhauer has said, “Life is more precious than the time spent in reading useless books.”

We must spare some time every day for reading useful books that increase our knowledge and we must consider the book as our best friend. There is no friend in the world better than a book. No one is more sympathetic than a good book in this house of sorrow. In moments of solitude there are thousands of bounties in the company of a book and not a single hardship.

Making Use of Opportunities

People do get enough opportunities and time but they do not take the advantage of this golden key to success and miss the chance due to procrastination. One should not only complete today’s work today but if possible also do the next day’s work today.

Once Abu MuslimKhurasani was asked, “What is the secret of your success?”

His response was, “I have never postponed today’s work for tomorrow.”

Sometimes it also so happens that energy spent in postponing a job proves enough for finishing the same work.

Some students who are not allowed to appear in the March-April examinations and who have to appear in October-November take the maximum advantage of this time and opportunity whereas some waste their time in repenting and in meaningless thoughts until the time of examination arrives. Such pupils not only face failure they also retreat a few steps backward. Some people only shed tears on the past and say:

“Had we purchased that garden we would havea earned much benefit. Had we enrolled in this university we would have become among the VIPs of the country today...”

Such people waste all their time in repenting and shedding tears on ‘yesterday’s grave’, though, if even now, they become wise and restart their jobs they can fulfill all, or at least, some of their aspirations. But they continue to cry on spilt milk.

You cannot repurchase time that is spent. Hence it is better not to sell it in the first place as time is a precious pearl.

Some people have the opposite nature. They think of the future but their worry is so much that in that anxiety, they are unable to do anything during the time that is at their disposal. We have seen students who are always afraid of being debarred from appearing in the examination and who keep on saying, “We are afraid our year will be wasted, we may not be allowed to sit in the examination.”

Such restlessness does not allow them to work and study and they lose the opportunity. How meaningful is this Arabic couplet:

Whatever time is gone is gone and what will come has not yet come so get up and take the maximum benefit of what is in between the two nonexistent moments.

OSaadi ! Yesterday has passed away and the forthcoming tomorrow does not now exist. Hence appreciate the time between the two.

Youth is the most opportune time

Youth is the best time for working, learning and earning. The greatest opportunity inones life is the youth. A young man is like the mountaineer who has reached the top of Himalayas and is full of joy. He has passion, aspiration, hope, zeal and ardor for work. He has numerous capabilities for inventing things. After some years these physical and spiritual powers begin to decrease. Nerves become weak, eyesight becomes feeble, and capacities lessen.

The Master of the Pious, Ali (a.s .) says, “Man understands the importance of his youth and health after losing them.”

The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a .) had given many admonitions to his great companion, AbuZar . One of them was, “Realize the importance of your youth before the advent of your old age.”

A young branch is the adornment of a garden. When it becomes old the gardener pulls it out and throws it away. A young branch produces a new fruit for every flower and the old branch is destined to wither away.

The great and successful people never repent over the past. At the same time no anxiety regarding the future prevents them from performing their jobs at the appropriate time.

Almighty God has given a natural wisdom to every man, which, increases with the passing of age. But, in addition to this natural wisdom, in the light of knowledge and experiments, we also get a sort of acquired wisdom. This acquired wisdom, in fact fosters the natural wisdom and raises it to perfection.

Suppose we have two trees of pistachio. Both are capable of giving nine kilo pistachio. But if we provide fertilizer to one of them, the treated plant would produce twice the pistachios.

Only those people are successful who always and in all available opportunities, be it childhood, youth or old age, polish their natural brainpower or intelligence with the acquired knowledge. And the best time for doing so is youth.

The Holy Prophet of Islam (s.a.w.a .) has said, “Opportunities pass away like the clouds of spring. Success is the right of a farmer who takes advantage of it.”

Those who have valued their time and age never waste their life in futile works. Some scholars have written their books during hours, which are not appreciated by the common people.

For example, Dr.Mardun Cud wrote one of his famous books during the time he got while traveling from one patient’s house to theother’s .

Dr.Borni learned French and Italian languages during the time he got while commuting to his office and back.

The great scholar, the lateMudarris Khayabani had written one of his famous books regarding Persian synonyms during refreshment breaks.

Napoleon had defeated the enemy in the event of ‘Arikula ’ with the help of only 25 companions because the opponent was tired and Napoleon took the advantage of this opportunity and was victorious despite having lesser men.

Some people waste their life and time as if they are the enemies of their own lives and times. Today there are many pastimes that provide less recreation and waste more time.

Of course, tired nerves do require rest and recreation. One should never think that recreation is a waste of time. Because, lacking a stroll, breathing fresh air, viewing beautiful scenes, participating in joyful meetings and all such things give respite to our nerves from tension and add vigor to life.

But at the same time we should not squander our precious life by imagining that every vain and futile pastime is recreation.

Today’s youth mostly turns to television, cinema and magazines for recreation. They should realize that every film is not worth viewing. Nor is every book pleasing, educational, instructive and advantageous.

Crime, horror and sex films are not worthy of appreciation. Rather they turn youth into untimely old age.

Firm Determination

Man, like other animals, also has the power of ‘determination’. In other animals it is controlled by their beastly nature, whereas man’s determination or will must be in control of his brain or wisdom.

In this chapter on determination we do not intend to say that we must hand over the reins of our will or wish in the hands of passionate desires and perform every deed according to beastly nature. In that case we will not rank above an animal and thus will lose our status.

Here our aim is that after giving proper thought if we come to a conclusion that such and such work is beneficial or desirable and that it should be done then we should make a decision to do it and should remain firm on that decision to the best of our ability. We must realize that the more the hardship or difficulty in any work the more is the demand to be firm and unflinching for its performance. Here the secret of success is firm decision or strong will. It removes difficulties and obstacles from the path.

The demeanor and the facial appearance of great people give an idea of their unyielding and firm determination, which pours success on them.

Men with firm decision are always respected in every strata of the society. Others cannot harm them. But people having a weak will power wander like stray dogs and are so frail and shaky that the enemy overcomes them easily.

Reluctance and hesitation is disastrous for success and it is a clear sign of moral debility. Indecision inflicts a fatal blow to carefulness and higher intelligence.

Alexander the Great had said, “One of the secrets of my victories is my strong will. After making a decision I do not like to hesitate in carrying it out.”

Timurlane , Napoleon and Nadir Shah were among the recognized military commanders. They used to delay their decisions but after making a decision they never changed it.

A man with a firm decision is like a soldier on duty who has already received alert orders. Such a man bears all circumstances and no hindrance can block his path. The difficulties in the path leading to his goal are unable to make anything appear impossible in his eyes.

Goethe says, “A man with firm decision and strong will can change the world to his liking.”

In the war ofQudisiyah , the commander-in-chief of the Persian army,Farrukhzaad called a delegate from the commander of the Muslim army. The Muslim commander,Saad binWaqqas , sentRabe bin Amir as his representative. The strong will of this Bedouin Arab madeRustom spellbound.

When he arrived in the court ofRustom , he saw thatRustom was sitting on a golden throne and rich carpets were spread on the floor with gold-threaded pillows on them.

Such deceptive things never awe a man with firm decision and strong will. His determination did not flinch at all that pomp.

When he arrived nearRustom he did not alight from his horse, rather he pushed his animal forward and enteredRustom’s stable in a mounted position. When the servants ofRustom tried to stop him he retorted, “You had invited a delegate from us. I am the representative of the Muslims. If you do not want to see me I will go back.”

Then slowly and silently, with complete ease and seriousness, he approached the throne ofRustom . Walking over the pompous carpets he went forward and sat down on the floor.Then said, “We are not accustomed to such luxury.”

When the interpreter ofRustom asked him why the Muslim army had attacked he replied, “Allah Almighty has put a responsibility on us that we should release God’s slaves from all sorts of oppressions and from the evils of other religions and invite them to abide by and accept the just law of Islam. If they accept our invitation we have no enmity toward them. Otherwise we will fight with them and will either kill or be killed. Either way we reach paradise.”

Observing such a strong determination of this Bedouin,Rustom who was struck with awe, said, “Give us some time for corresponding and consulting our elders.”

“We can give you three days. More delay is not advisable,” said the Muslim representative.

Rustom said, “It seems you are the commander and thus you intend to sign a treaty with us.”

He replied, “No. I am merely a member of the Muslim society. Of course all the Muslims are limbs of a single body. If any one of them gives shelter to others, all the Muslims are bound to concur with it.

The Commander of the faithful, Ali (a.s .) orders his son to have firm determination

The Battle of Camel was fought betweenHazrat Ali (a.s .) and the breakers of the treaty. For making an attack in this warAmirul Mo-mineen (a.s .) had given the flag to his dear son, MuhammadHanafiyah and to fortify his determination he advised, “Even if the mountains around Basra give way, you should not budge from your place, to retreat. Lighten your teeth. Offer your head on loan to Allah. Keep your eye on the last rows of the army. Close your eyes for seeing any adversity and remove difficulties with the special strength of your firm will. Understand that the final victory is in the hands of Allah. Our responsibility is only to fight in the way as shown by Him.”

TheAmirul Mo-mineen sent one of his commanders (Malik Ashtar ) as the governor of Egypt. In his letter addressed to the people of Egypt, Ali (a.s ) had praised his emissary thus:

“O people of Egypt! I have sent to you a slave from among the slaves of Allah towards you. He does not sleep during the hours of danger. He does not fear the enemy in time of peril. For evildoers he is more devastating than fire…Heis one of the swords of Allah, which does not blunt nor it misses its hit.

We can benefit from the precious pearls hidden beneath the ground of our intelligence, wisdom and alertness only if we have an unbreakable determination. Man can advance only in the light of his steel-like will.

What is self-confidence? Only that man may take a decision in the light of his brainpower and then act accordingly. He may regard himself able to perform that task and refrain from those matters, which can weaken his will.

People, who have toured the entire world, possessed positive thinking and who had founded educational institutions and industries had removed the words like ‘impossible’ from the vocabulary of their lives. They viewed everything from the angle of ‘feasible’ and ‘I can’. A man having negative thoughts and weak will not onlyloses the benefit from advantageous opportunities but he also becomes a hindrance in the way of others. He wastes his life in disallowing his inner potentiality and in creating roadblocks for himself.

One of the motives of strengthening the will is love for our aim and zeal in work. First of all man must try to cultivate interest and zeal for his work. Awake or asleep, he must always dream of his work. This should continue until his mind is occupied with that issue every moment.

The gigantic pyramids of Egypt, the lofty palaces of the czars, sky-high mansions, and multi-volume books are the results of unbreakable intention.

The expertise of Russians and Americans in astronomy is skyrocketing only due to their strong will.

Weak willed people are like papers flowing on the surface of the sea. They have no strength of their own. But men with firm determination are like expert swimmers who, with the power of their will and determination, rip the water currents and proceed in the direction of their choice.

Napoleon used to say, “The word, ‘impossible’ should be removed from the dictionary of life.” He used to become very unhappy on hearing words and like ‘cannot be done’, ‘I cannot do’ and ‘I do not know’. He used to say, “Just desire and it will be done.”

Nowadays many ailments are treated by strengthening ones will power. Many difficulties become easy before a firm determination.

In the words of HafizShirazi : There are many dangers in the way toLaila’s house. For taking the first step it is necessary that you should beMajnoon .

Awareness of Circumstances

Before starting any work it is necessary to understand the conditions and demands of the atmosphere and then to draw a program accordingly. Jobs done without first studying the relevant trends often end up in failure.

ImamJa’far Sadiq (a.s .) said, “One who becomes aware of the conditions of his times is saved from a sudden attack.”

This is a very valuable principle. Had the Muslims and other backward communities of the world, paid attention to this rule in the matter of politics they would never have been subdued by the invaders. Many misfortunes are the result of ignorance of and carelessness toward prevailing conditions.

In western Rome Before the advent of Islam, there was no progress at all in arts and science, trade and industry and military affairs, because the people there were so unmindful of the world that when the Muslim army besieged Constantinople their wise men were discussing vain issues as: Can some angel accommodate them on the point of a needle?

History repeats itself. Muslims also fell to such idleness at a time when they were at the peak of their progress and advancement. The eastern states, particularly the heads of Islamic countries were pitiably unaware of the conditions of their masses. They woke up only after the west took control of all sciences and industries.

Even the recurring defeat of the Ottoman Empire did not awaken its rulers. The rulers remained in sleep even after being defeated by the Europeans. Suddenly when they saw enemy planes roaring over their heads they began to open their eyes wide with astonishment.

They could not imagine that it was the work of human beings. Perhaps they were thinking that the flying machines were the handiworks of angels!

The nineteenth century was very important from the viewpoint of discoveries and inventions. But in those days Iran was engaged in internal struggles. Those responsible for such state of affairs were in deep sleep. They were unaware of the conditions of the world.

For example it would not be out of place to mention here that during the reign ofFatehali Shah, Napoleon wanted to conquer India. He intended to snatch away that fertile land from the hands of the British East India Company. In this connection, in order to obtain the support of Iranian public and government, he wrote a letter to the Shah of Iran.

Strangely enough they could not find anyone in the court of the Shah of Iran who could translate the letter of Napoleon for the king.

It was considered inadvisable to get it translated from the embassies of other countries. They were thus compelled to send that letter to the Iranian embassy in Baghdad where there was a French-knowing person who translated it.

Such a dosing nation cannot preserve its political, economical and cultural independence and it has to live under the obligation of others.

A great Iranian poet has given vent to his burning feelings in this connection thus:

We are the ones who had collected tax from kings,then we took away their belt and crown.

We took their royal cap and their throne, which was decorated with pearls and ivory.

We emptied their treasures.

We did not fear storms and high-speed winds.

We were a dreaded topic in China and other countries.

Egypt and Oman were awed by our glory.

Our power was obvious in Spain and Rome.

Granada andAshbila used to obey us.

Saqliya was under our flag.

Royal decree was our sign, which used to cover everything under the sun.

These couplets pertain to the era when Muslims and Iranians were awake. It can be said that the East was proud of the glorious past of the Islamic world. But what is our condition today? The same poet describes:

Alas! This field has been destroyed by flood.

The afflicted farmer went into deep sleep.

The blood of our heart took the color of wine.

The heat of fever burnt down our body.

The cool face turned into a burning one.

The eyes of intelligence too got covered with blood.

The wealth went away and health turned to illness.

Institution of the Pope

The Pope’s grand institution, after a long duration of oppressive rule, got disintegrated, because it had tried to remain in power by creating a cruel court called Inquisition. But it had erred seriously and was unaware of the changes, which had already taken place in the masses. Those changes in the thoughts of the people tended to destroy the wrong thoughts of the clergy and the priests. The church took no notice of those changing trends at all. It was of the opinion that it would be able to stem the flood with the help of oppression, use of force and torture. But this thinking was merely the result of their ignorance of the change in winds. If it had not, at the last moments of its life, prepared a new plan and had it not adapted itself to the new age, no sign of Christianity would have remained in the world today. It cleared its sleepy eyes, changed its course, started schools, colleges and universities and regained its past position through educational service to the society.

The Most Intelligent Man of the East

In the nineteenth century, an ordinary but a very intelligent person (AmirKabir ) rose up. He felt that the misfortune of the easterners was due to the changes, which had taken place in the west. Those changes had created a vast gulf between the people of the east and the west. So long as that gap was not filled the western communities would continue to monopolize Iran.

So he studied the circumstances carefully and realized that it was not the time to fight with swords and arrows. Modern technology has changed the method of production. Gas and steam have subdued all material treasures.

Therefore, AmirKabir , in 1849 AD (1266 HE) established an institution named ‘Daral Funoon ’ (House of Arts & Science). The eastern wing of this institute was completed by the end of the year 1267.

They deputed a reliable person to Vienna who requested the Emperor of Austria to send a commander of infantry, a tutor of artillery, a teacher of mounted police, an expert of mining, two miners, a professor of medicine and surgery and a pharmacist for five or six years and paid each of them a monthly salary of 4000Tomans .

But alas! Traitors of the nation came forward to put off this shining lamp and AmirKabir was killed at the hands of the butchers ofQachar a few years after the establishment ofDaral Funoon in the year 1268.

Observing closely the trends of the world, AmirKabir had realized that a major cause of the backwardness of Iran and other counties was that their economy depended on the west. Iran had become a market of the west-manufactured materials and was only their consumer.

This reliance on the west, rather helplessness and beggary, had destroyed the capabilities of Iranians. TheIranis had become only the suppliers of raw material to the industries of the west. They were pulling on their days like a daily-waged laborer. Amir put at the disposal of the artist enough capital for the expansion of manufacturing industries.

He established sugar factories inSaari , rope and cloth in Tehran, silk inKashan and Horse-carriages in Isfahan etc. He gave much assistance to cloth manufacturers in Isfahan andKashan , encouraged many experts for preparing new things and making inventions and had also arranged an exhibition of Iranian products in Iran.

All these services rendered by AmirKabir were the result of his awareness about the existing trends and circumstances.

When roads were built in Iran and automobiles started rolling thereon, the joyful journeys on horseback and in horse and donkey carts came to an end. The carriers of mule-litters began to complain so much that, strangelyenough, they even asked the government to cancel the licenses of pannier-owners! All this was the consequence of remaining unaware of the happenings in the world.

Sometimes our businessmen do things, which are disliked by people in today’s world. In fact such deeds of theirs are like waging war against progress. As a result they meet with sure defeat.

Here we become convinced of the importance of a great religious leader’s words who said: Do not fight with time otherwise time will fight with you.

Enemy: A Step-stone to Success

Only he is victorious who has recognized the world fully and who considers his enemy as the first step toward victory.

Intelligent people think that the enemy teaches him how to march towards success, because, the adversary is the best type of mirror with reflects our defects through pen or tongue. It decreases our pride and arrogance and, sometimes, helps in uplifting our hidden abilities.

The advances of the east and the west are the consequence of competition. If competitions come to end, capabilities would not flower. Thus, if there were no struggle between individuals or masses the progress in new inventions too would become stagnant.

Failure is a ladder to success

One of the secrets of success is that we should not fear failures. Rather, we must pick up the sweet fruits hidden in defeat. Failure is like a mirror, which shows us our weaknesses and defects accurately.

Great and wise people consider failure as a bridge to victory. They endeavor to see that the causes of failure are not repeated. In fact they do not consider failure as defeat. What they really fear is that they should never be disheartened or demoralized.

History shows that many victories came after defeats. It is so because the failed person enters the field again with a new determination and spirit and achieves success as he is convinced that the distance between success and failure is very less.

Those who fail but do not get disappointed are the ones to give up so easily. They continue to march forward gradually with a strong will and rest only after reaching their goal.

In the battle ofUhad , Muslims had to taste defeat due to an act of disobedience. But that defeat was so educative that it cleared the road to future success.

Napoleon says, “I have seen so many defeats that I have now learnt how to defeat the enemy.”

And what an apt statement is made by someone else: For those with weak spirit defeat is a fatal poison but for powerful souls it is a ladder to success.

In the Islamic Law, despair is considered a great sin. An apparent effect of defeat is disappointment but since the days of old people have said: The brightness of dawn comes after the end of a dark night.

It is also said that sometimes hope remains hidden behind hopelessness and disappointment. Hope follows hopelessness.

The great Iranian military commander Nadir Shah was determined to conquer Baghdad after capturingKirmanshah from the Turks. He also conqueredSamarrah ,Kerbala , Najaf and some other towns of Iraq and then besieged Baghdad. But very soon,Topal Shah reached there with eighty thousand selected warriors to break the siege.

That army of the Ottoman Turks was armed with heavy artillery and numerically too they were more than the Iranians. During the fighting the horse of Nadir Shah was hit by an arrow, which drowned that animal in blood. The Iranian soldiers imagined that Nadir Shah was killed so they disintegrated and anarchy spread. When Nadir Shah saw this he ordered retreat. Nearly 30,000 Iranians and 20,000 Turks fell in this battle. The Turks took control of the entire artillery and arms of the Iranians. Nadir Shah reachedMandali with surviving soldiers most of whom did not even have shoes on.

In the eyes of the ordinary people this defeat has finished the Iranian army. But what gave salvation to Nadir shah was that he did not accept defeat, as his spirit wastill alive. After returning to Hamadan, he collected fighters from all over Iran and prepared a fresh army within two months. There were at least 2,00,000 men it. Then he went toKirmanshah . From there he went toKarkook and gave a severe defeat to the Turkish army. Then he surrounded Baghdad once more and compelled the Turkish warriors to surrender. As a consequence the Turkish government had to promise that all the Persian lands would be returned to Iran within ten years.

The Persian King plucks Sweet Fruit from a Sour Tree

Behram Shah was very fond of hunting. But he was totally unaware of the conditions of his people. He used to become pleased merely by seeing his well-managed military and the flattering talks of his courtiers. He knew nothing about innocent prisoners languishing in his jails.

In such circumstances a war broke out on the borders of Iran. The king was compelled to ask help from the people. But they did not pay any attention to his call and did not cooperate with him, as he had not cared for them. The king was shocked to see this. He began to think about the reasons of his helplessness before his masses. He realized that there was some irregularity in the government administration, which he did not know, and that irregularity had turned the people against the regime.

One day, he went out of the city in disguise. There he suddenly saw that a man had hung the skin of a dog in front of his tent. The King of Iran went forward, said Salam to that person, introduced himself as a traveler and asked the reason for hanging the dog skin. After much persuasion the man replied, “I was maintaining myself with the help of some sheep that used to graze in this greenery. This skin is of a dog, which used to guard them. My shepherd and I were hopefully thinking of expanding our work. But after a few days the shepherd came and informed me that wolves had taken away a sheep. He brought similar sad news for two or three days continuously. So I became suspicious about the dog. Then the shepherd and I kept a vigil on the dog for a whole night. We observed that the dog had cultivated sexual relations with a female and his passion had allowed the wolves to attack our herd. So we have hung its skin here that people may understand that such is the end of those who accept a responsibility and then show dishonesty in their duty.

This story shocked the king who told himself, “Perhaps, the reason of my failure is that I had over confidence in my courtiers.” Thereafter he personally contacted different sections of the public without informing the yes-men of the court. He found that the unhappy people were not allowed even to complain and that a number of innocent people were imprisoned for not paying ‘illegal’ taxes.

He instantly brought about a kind of basic revolution. He transferred his courtiers, ministers and officers, punished the oppressors and thus regained the confidence of his masses. Soon thereafter he began to get support from all the sections of the society.

The Defeat of Hitler

Hitler had met defeat in the way Napoleon had suffered defeat. Napoleon had marched to conquer Moscow in a severe winter. So he could not succeed and this thoughtless gesture proved to be the cause of his downfall. Had Hitler learnt a lesson from Napoleon’s defeat he would not have repeated his mistake. Hitler invaded Russia in the scorching heat of summer on the 2nd June of 1941. He also saw almost what Napoleon had seen. Initially the German forces got some success and the allies had to retreat. Germans pursued them but thereafter the Germans had to suffer many difficulties in surrounding cities like Leningrad in a very hot season. Russians attacked them severely and the Germans were defeated.