“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to
test a man's character, give him power.” ― Abraham Lincoln
Whenever I feel stress or angry or sad, I would
sometimes pick up something to sew. Sewing helps me channel my anger and
frustration or sadness. As horrific as it sounds, somehow, mentally imagining I’m
stabbing the source of my antagonism with a needle, does bring some sort of
relief and comfort. Sigh! It does sound pretty sadistic, doesn’t it but hey! I am only
human. After I complete my little project, normally I would feel better plus, it
gives me time to rationalize things and decide what to do next.
Yesterday, as I was stabbing my little needle
away, the television was on and ironically, it was showing ‘The Avengers’. For
those of you who have not seen 'The Avengers' movie, the story is typically about good
versus evil but with a twist. The good team, consist of individual persons with
super powers, united with a common purpose i.e. to fight a common enemy that
threatened earth and the entire human kind. My favorite character is actually 'The Hulk'. He reminds of my own temper and how I look like when I'm breathing fire. The story line is pretty far-fetch but
the moral behind it, is worth paying attention to.
What I learnt from that movie is that ‘power’, is a very dangerous thing. If we human were given ‘super powers’ by God then,
the whole world will be destroyed within seconds. As human, we tend to be ruled
by our emotions and when we have power or super power, the temptation to use it against our
so-called enemies, would be overwhelming indeed. We will be on a killing spree and we will keep justifying every kill.
The whole world will be chaotic and no longer safe to live in. hhhmmm…wait a minute! That
sounds like the world we live in now!
Anyway, I am a calm and collected person
(well…most of the time!) but tempting as it is, I do not want this super
powers. Why? Because in my spur moment of extreme anger, I might abuse it and
later, live to regret it. I mean, you have no idea, the countless times when I
wish I have the power, to zap an abusive
husband into smithereens, every time the victim wife comes to me and seek for my
help or permanently stun a child abuser/molester every time I read about it in
the papers, but alas I don’t . Killing is a very serious matter indeed.
“Because of that
We ordained for the Children of Israel that if anyone killed a person not in
retaliation of murder, or (and) to spread mischief in the land - it would be as
if he killed all mankind, and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he
saved the life of all mankind. And indeed, there came to them Our
Messengers with clear proofs, evidences, and signs, even then after that many
of them continued to exceed the limits (e.g. by doing oppression unjustly
and exceeding beyond the limits set by Allah by committing the major sins) in
the land!.
Surah Al-Maidah 5:32
I suppose that it is a good thing that I don’t have such powers because the possibility of me abusing it, is much greater than putting it to
proper use. The only people whom I know, that were given such extraordinary
powers, were the Prophets. The story about Prophet Moses a.s. splitting the sea
and running through it is clearly stated in the Quran.
“Then We inspired Musa
(Moses) (saying): "Strike the sea with your stick." And it parted,
and each separate part (of that sea water) became like the huge, firm mass of a
mountain. Then We brought near the
others [Fir'aun's (Pharaoh) party] to that place. And
We saved Musa (Moses) and all those with him. Then
We drowned the others. Verily! In this is indeed
a sign (or a proof), yet most of them are not believers. And
verily, your Lord! He is truly the All-Mighty, the Most Merciful”
Surah Ash-Shura 26:63-68
Prophet Solomon a.s was given the gift of the
ability to communicate with the animals, control the wind and also to control
the jinns.
“And to Sulaiman (Solomon)
(We subjected) the wind strongly raging, running by his command towards the
land which We had blessed. And of everything We are the All-Knower. And
of the Shayatin (devils)
(from the jinns) were some who dived for him, and did other work besides that;
and it was We Who guarded them.”
Surah Al-Anbiya 21:81-82
Other than Prophets, I have never heard of anyone whom has been
granted such divine powers by God Al Mighty.
When we talk about powers now, we refer to authority or wealth. A person
in a position of authority does posses certain ‘powers’ so to speak. He or she
may not be able to fly or speak to the cats but she or he, has the ability to influence
and affect changes in a community or country. Many whom such 'power' were granted to, may not realized that, the power of
authority is actually given by God to men, for the purpose of good. It is
acquired not because he earned it or that the person is popular amongst his
peers but it is because God AlMighty has Will it to be so, but, every power
comes with a price. To quote Spidey, ‘with great powers comes great responsibility’.
It does matter if you are a CEO of a company
or a minister or even the President of the Bird Watching Club, if you are a
leader, then you have responsibilities towards the people under your wings. Use your powers wisely as
you can be assured that you will be interrogated later and I have been informed by very reliable sources, that the interrogators are non too merciful.
“Sahih Muslim - Volume 9,
Book 89, Number 264, Narrated Ma'qil
I heard the Prophet (SAW)
saying, "Any
man whom Allah has given the authority of ruling some people and he does not
look after them in an honest manner, will never feel even the smell of
Paradise."
Back to the moral of the story; to me, the
message of ‘The Avengers’ , other than
men should not wear spandex!, is simply, regardless of who we are or where we
come from or what religion we profess, when it comes to justice, we must unite under
one banner. This is always a situation where the good versus the evil and the
evil does not distinguish between race or color or gender or religion. A wrong is still a wrong and two wrongs can
never make a right.
Do not be discourage as we, the normal humans,
also have powers that no one can take away . We have the power to hope,
we have the power pray, we have the power to be happy, we have the power to
dream, we have the power to ensure the safety our family and neighbours and most of all, we have
the power to make a difference, however small…………think about it, we have the power to be......
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