Fortune in Every Misfortune!

In Islamic teachings Muslims are taught to thank God for every situation, be it good or bad. They are taught that in every misfortune there is a fortune within it. Strange teachings indeed until you start to reflect on real events you have witnessed or read about. Sometimes ago I read somewhere that during the second World War one third of all the food consumed by Americans came out of home gardens, affectionately called victory gardens! No! No! No! Go back and read again. What I am saying is that Americans in the midst of war cultivated their own food right down at the family level! Of course, with little consideration you will agree that this was indeed a fortune within a misfortune!

Imagine the benefits that could be reaped if post war Americans, actually not only Americans, but all world citizens could adopt the concept of victory gardens and decide to grow their own food! Imagine each and every family in the globe saving one third of their food cost.

Can you imagine how those savings could be deployed to improve other aspects of life? Can you imagine the health benefits that could be reaped if each and every family in the globe, could get rid of one third of the toxic food they consume now, which is grown on industrial farms heavily dependent on artificial fertilizers, industrial pesticides and genetically modified seeds?! People would become much healthier. This means people will save a lot in medical fees as well as on lost productivity when one is ill.

Just by growing our own food we can do poverty a great blow. Let me give an example. When I can afford it, I use something like one US dollar per day to buy fresh vegetables. That is 30 dollars per month! A lot of money in most poor countries like mine, Tanzania. I am not sure where these vegetables are grown therefore, I cannot vouch for their safety.

In spite of that I still spend this much because science says vegetables are the most nutrient dense foods compared to others. If I grow my own vegetables, I could get a double-edged benefit. That is I could save the money and at the same time eat vegetables grown using safe practices. And it is not that difficult. A few years ago, one pumpkin seed germinated accidently in my back yard and grew into a robust plant. That single plant gave us enough leaves which we turned into a variety of vegetable dishes for a whole year! In the yard we also grew a few papaya plants. At harvest time we had so many papaya fruits we had to give some away to our neighbors.

You can probably think of other ways in which a fortune emerges out of a misfortune. Let me finish my article by illustrating this fortune- misfortune relationship with the following story. A few centuries ago, there was this king and his servant. The king and the servant became staunch friends to the extent that the king could not go anywhere unless he was accompanied by this particular servant.

One day the king went hunting. As usual he was closely accompanied by the servant. Unfortunately, during the hunt, the king had an accident and one of his fingers was cut off. Seeing this the servant said.

‘‘You never know. Probably a fortune will emerge out of your misfortune your majesty!’’

The king was very angry upon hearing that. Immediately he ordered his soldiers to arrest the servant and throw him in prison. Time went by. A few years later the king again went hunting. In the hunt he encountered a very beautiful and he started chasing it. After sometime he found out that he had left other members of the hunting party far away and got lost. He wandered for several days but he could not find his way back. He was on the verge of despairing when he found a strange tribe holding a ceremony which required offering a human sacrifice to their gods.

The tribe had been there for several days. The head of the tribe had repeatedly asked for someone to come out and volunteer for the sacrifice but none had come forth. As frustration was setting in some tribe man shouted, while pointing to someone emerging from a cluster of trees.

‘‘Him! Let us use him!’’

He was referring to the king who had accidentally stumbled upon them in his quest to find his way back to his kingdom. The tribe people didn’t know that he was a king where he came from. They immediately seized him and started preparing him for sacrifice. However, before they could toss him into the sacrificial fire someone pointed to his missing finger and shouted

‘‘He won’t do! He had a body part missing. The sacrifice will not be accepted’’

Following that they released him and told him to explain himself. After the king narrated his story, they told him that he had accidentally crossed the border to their country. A few young men were selected to escort him back. When the king returned to his palace he was overwhelmed by grief and ordered his servant friend to be released and brought to him.

When the servant friend was brought before him the king said

‘‘Now I understand what you meant when you said probably a fortune will emerge after I lost my finger.’’ He then proceeded to narrate his encounter with the tribe that wanted to sacrifice him.

‘‘However, I am still in the dark concerning the fortune that emerged or could emerge on your part when I sent you to prison!’’

The servant friend smiled and spoke

‘‘Indeed, I was fortunate when you sent me to prison! If I were not in prison, I would have accompanied you during the second hunting trip. That tribe would have sacrificed me for sure when they found out that you were not suitable for offering’’