ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Principles of Upbringing Children Chapter 43: Self Confidence The life of a human being is full of struggle, challenges and competition. Every human comes across thousands of challenges and difficulties in the lifetime. To live he will have to fight with the powers of the elements unwillingly and has to overpower them. He has to contend with different ailments and their causes.

In practical life he is successful who has a big heart, tall courage and strong will. The good or ill luck of a person depends rather on his own self. The success of all the great persons in the world is because of their own confidence, will power and tireless efforts. The great and weighty persons are never cowed down by hardships. They have self-confidence and Faith in Allah that takes them through all the vicissitudes of life. They are able to accomplish tasks which seem impossible to others.

They are not like a straw in the vast ocean which keeps floating on the surface of the water with the wind. But they are like the powerful swimmer who has strong arms and a will and faith in the Almighty Allah that give them the ability to swim against the direction of the wind. These are the persons who are capable of determining the shape of things to come in the world. Islam too says that the temporal and spiritual success of a person depends on his own actions and determination.

The Holy Qur’an says: “Whatever man has is the result of his own efforts and he will soon see his endeavor (in full form)" (Qur’an, 53:39-40) The Commander of the Faithful, ‘Ali, says: “The price of every individual is equal to his courage."[^1] A person who has patience and self-confidence will not look to others for the solution of his problems. He in fact jumps into the arena with complete faith in himself and never gives up till he achieves his goal.

Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq says: “The secret of the respect and greatness of a Mu’min ( a pious person ) is that he does not crave for things in others’ hands."[^2] Imam Sajjad says: “All the virtues are there in the fact that a person does not sit waiting for assistance from others."[^3] But people who lack self-confidence don’t trust on their own capabilities. They consider themselves weak and lowly. They are scared of facing the hardships of life. They will shirk from responsibilities.

They make easy tasks difficult by negative thoughts and hopelessness. They spend their lives in despondency and dejection.