LABOUR CONQUERS EVERYTHING IN LIFE
FROM STRUGGLE
TO SUCCESS
THE POWER OF
PERSISTENCE
CONQUERING
LIFE'S OBSTACLES
I.
Introduction:
Overcoming any
challenge is possible through persistent hard work.
II.
Man confronts a
challenging environment.
III.
Life's survival and
enhancement hinge on confronting nature's challenges.
IV.
Through both mental
and physical labor, man has triumphed over obstacles.
V.
Labor triumphs over
every difficulty:
a)
Clearing land for
cultivation by felling trees and removing unwanted vegetation.
b)
Conquering vast oceans that
once restricted movement.
c)
Diminishing distances
through mastery of land and air transportation.
d)
Mastering hydropower and
electricity generation, freeing from reliance on nature's unpredictable power
sources.
VI.
Examples from
socio-political and religious realms affirm this principle:
a)
The Prophet (PBUH)
transformed Arabia through persistent struggle.
b)
The American War of
Independence exemplifies continuous resistance against British oppression.
c)
Martin Luther King's fight
against racism in the United States required mental and physical endurance.
d)
The creation of Pakistan
owes to the relentless efforts of Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
e)
Mao Zedong elevated China
from indolence to a great power through hard work.
VII.
These examples resoundingly endorse the
principle of "Labor Omnia Vincet."
VIII.
Conclusion:
The heights
reached by great individuals were not achieved suddenly; they toiled upward
while others slept.
Individuals and nations in that
habit of doing labor can fetch success in every sphere of life. No difficulty
or task is insurmountable, provided man works hard persistently. Those who work
hard with diligence touch new heights of success. Greatest revolutions,
inventions, and struggles on the socio-political front are the result of
consistent labor and perseverance. There is no shortcut to achieve success. One
has to go through many difficulties to accomplish what one desires, it is the
trait of successful people that they are willing to face any obstacle and
hurdle which is obstructing them from achieving their goals. From prophets to
ordinary men, from Aristotle to Martin Luther King, everyone has to face
difficulties in life. But those who passionately work stand out and conquer the
hardships of life.
Every religion preaches the
importance of labor. The prophets of every religion had to face many
difficulties during their prophethood. But it was their laborious work through
which the message of Allah was communicated to the people, there are many places
in both the Holy Quran and the Bible where Allah Almighty has laid stress on
the importance of labor. In the Bible, God says. "The soul of the sluggard
craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.”
Similarly, in the Holy Quran, Allah again defined the principle of success,
i.e. labor, in chapter 13, Allah says, “Man will not get anything unless he
works hard" So, the religions, that are followed all over the globe also
urges the people to “work” to achieve something.
Since the inception of life, mankind
has been exposed to numerous problems. The acrimony environment, fear of wild
animals, scarcity of food, and limited resources were some of the many problems
man had to face at the start of life. Despite not being particularly huge or
hairy, humans braved it through the chilly tundras of ice ages for countless
millennia. Life was cold and difficult and mankind was on the brink of
extinction. But they fought bravely, and their persistent labor enabled them to
conquer the animosity of the environment. They lived in hunter-gatherer tribes,
built innovative shelters from mammoth bones, and sewed warm clothes from
animal furs. If they had given up hope and stopped doing labor, undoubtedly
human survival would have been impossible. But through hard work and labor,
they conquered the hardships of the environment. The survival of life and
improvement, therefore, is dependent on meeting the challenges posed by nature.
Similarly, man also faces animosities from his society. The example of Socrates is well-known. He had
to drink a deadly cup of toxic wine as a punishment presenting his
philosophical ideas of life and nature which were unacceptable to his fellow
compatriots. He had two choices i.e. either give up his ideas or die. He accepted
the latter and today, the world is flourishing by following his philosophy. He
was sentenced to death as he was accused of refusing to recognize the gods and
of corrupting the youth; Today, the very basics of science one built on the
philosophy of Socrates. He had to go through both physical and mental labor to
conquer the world of philosophy. Thus, labor, both mental and physical, has
enabled man to successfully combat and conquer the impediments of nature and
his respective society.
Every difficulty reduces and bows
before labor. Ever since man descended to earth, he has been haunted for food.
His physical body needs continuous nourishment. Initially, man used stone tools
to hunt animals for eating purposes. But with the advent of time, he was able
to clear wild trees and useless plantations to make land cultivatable. The invention
of the “scythe" revolutionized agriculture. It was not a one-day process
from the Stone Age to the Ice Age and from the Ice Age to the wanner Age, man
worked laboriously to find a way to fulfill his food requirements. They
diligently worked hard and were finally able to devise a system to use land for
food production. Thus, the labor of almost three ages enabled man to conquer
the sector of agriculture.
Man conquered the vastness of oceans which restricted his movements. In the early ages, the Greeks were of the view that nature had created rivers and oceans to separate nations from each other so that they could live peacefully in isolation But they overlooked the idea of trade. As soon as the realization of the benefits of trade occurred to the human mind, they started to devise a way to cross the rivers and oceans. Today, after thousands of years of hard work, man has conquered the oceans. The modem ships are crafted with the design to tolerate the fur of the sea. These ships carry cargo and the people from one place to the other. The invention of submarines has enabled humans to stay underwater for months. The laborious work of humans which started in 3000 BC has allowed the twentieth-century man to explore and use oceans and reverse for his benefit. Hence, the vastness of oceans reduced and surrendered itself to the diligence and hard work of man.
Another feat is witnessed in the
field of means of transport. The labor of Karl Benz and the Wright brothers has
empowered man to enjoy mastery over land and air transport. Man has reduced
distances by inventing cars and airplanes Vehicles laced with ACs, run on
roads, providing a comfortable journey to the people one can easily travel from
one place to the other irrespective of the weather conditions. Similarly, airplanes
fly across the world, which carry people from one place of the globe to
another. The high speed of cars and airplanes has shrunk the distance factor.
Every comer of the world is approachable now. Therefore, by following the
principle of “Labor Omnia vincent”, man conquered the field of transportation.
Furthermore, man ended his
dependence on nature’s whimsical sources of power by mastering hydropower and
electricity generation. It is the determination of man by which the direction
of the rivers can be changed. The labor of mankind enabled them to build large
dams for storage and electricity generation purposes. Edison, the inventor of the
light bulb, did more than six thousand experiments before finally, succeeding
in creating a reliable energy source for the people. The same electricity
illuminates the houses today. So, the conveniences of the modern age are a
direct consequence of the sheer handwork and perseverance of mankind.
The socio-political and religious
spheres are also replete with examples supporting the proposition.
The Holy Prophet (PBUH) was able
to transform Arabia only after a continuous struggle. At the age of forty t
when he started to preach the message of Allah Almighty, his clan turned
against him. He had to leave his hometown because of the barbarities of the
people of his clan. The people of Taif threw stones at him and the prophet and
his family were isolated for three years, with no food supplies. It was his
sheer determination due to which Islam emerged as a complete conduct of life.
He worked hard along with his other companies. He helped in building mosques,
fought alongside his companions, and never left the flank of determination and
patience. It was all due to his continuous struggle that the Arabian Peninsula
emerged as the most advanced civilization of its time which flourished in every
sphere of life. Thus, by adopting the message of Islam in letter and spirit,
the Holy Prophet conquered the world.
Similarly, in the second half of the
eighteenth century, the American people fought against the unjust rule of Great
Britain. It is commonly known as the “War of American Independence" which
lasted for three decades. Thirty years of continuous struggle and labor against
the oppression and exploitation of British colonial rule resulted in the
freedom of the American people and they got independence from the “Royal
Croom", of Great Britain. In the contemporary world, the Americans are now
ruling the world, they are one of the $ power powers of the world, and Great
Britain which once ruled them, now follows the policies of; the United States
of America. Thus, by continuous struggle and perseverance, the people of
America were able to achieve such tremendous growth and glory.
Similarly, by following the principle of “Labor
Omnia Vineet", Martin
Luther King Tr. Was able to win equal rights for blacks in the USA. The
famous “African-American Civil Rights Movement’ Lasted for almost two years,
(1955-1988), and during this time Martin Luther and his companions faced the
brutality and barbarity of the American state. Civil rights protestors were
frequently arrested and jailed, King was arrested thirty times for his civil
rights activities. The police and white supremacist groups like to Ku Klux Klan
bombed the houses of civil rights fighters. Vicious mob attacks on Freedom
Riders were carried out under the supervision of the state. However, the
patience and struggle of Martin Luther against these brutal actions galvanized
support for the civil rights movement. It is to the merit of his struggle that
today the president of the most powerful nation belongs to the African-American
creed. The importance of struggle and labor can be understood from one of his
quotes which says: “Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but
comes through continuous struggle. And so, we must straighten our backs and
work for our freedom. A man can’t ride unless your back is bent." Thus,
the struggle and determination of Martin resulted in securing equal rights.
Similarly, the making of Pakistan
is a direct consequence of the sheer hard work and laborious struggle of
Muhammad Ali Jinnah. In the sub-continent, when the Muslims were facing the
oppression of British rule and the hostility of the Hindus, Quaid-e-Azam
Muhammad Ali Jinnah stood against both the Hindus and the British rule. Through
peaceful and non-violent struggle, Jinnah United the Muslims of the subcontinent
under a single platform, it was not an easy task to lead an economically, and
socially exploited class of the society against the dominated Hindus and
against the superpower of that time. His demand for a separate homeland for the
Muslims was harshly criticized. Quaid and his companions had to face brutal
repression during Congress rule in 1935. But all these difficulties could not
move, Quaid and his companions, even an inch away from their rightful demands.
To achieve his objective, he did not even take care of his deteriorating
health. After a long struggle, he was able to win a separate homeland for the
Muslims. The importance of work is reflected in the life and messages of Quaid—e—Azam.
While addressing the young of the nation he said.
“I insist you to strive. Work,
Work, and only work for satisfaction with patience and humbleness and serve the
nation.”
Nelson Mandela was an icon of the
struggle against apartheid and was the first president of democratic South
Africa. The struggle of his life was unparalleled for its bravery, conviction,
and devotion to a just cause, and to the liberation of his fellow men and women.
A life in which he struggled against the might of the apartheid state and
sacrificed his liberty. Mandela spent almost his entire adult life living the
struggle for freedom and racial equality in South Africa He spent thirty
precious years of his life in prison, but he emerged from the prison as devoted
to the principles of equality and democracy as he had been thirty years
earlier. After decades of struggle, he was able to achieve his goals. He
strongly believed in the power of labor and hard work and he applied this
belief to his own life in three spirits.
“It always seems impossible until
it's done. The key to success is to stick to your ideology and work so hard
that you conquer the impossible."
China is another great example of
hard work and continuous labor. Before the emergence of Mao Zedong, Chinese
people were living in miserable conditions. They were considered to be lazy and
drug addicts. But through hard work and struggle Mao Laid the foundation of the
People’s Republic of China in 1949 and advised his nation to work hard. He
grabbed a shovel and started digging the soil to show his nation that without
labor success and glory can’t be achieved. Today, China is the economic hub of
the world. It is a rising superpower. The hard work and struggle of Chinese
people is an example for the whole of the world, there is not a single aspect
of life where the Chinese nation is lagging behind the rest of the world.
The message and essence of all
those examples support the proposition. Great nations achieved their success by
hard work, labor has a primary hold in the life of man. There is no shortcut to
success. Struggle, labor, and diligence are the key components to conquering
the difficulties and challenges of the world, labor undoubtedly is an important
factor and it should be upheld in life at every movement. As “James Russell
Loweir says.
“No man
is born into
the world whose
work is not
born with him;
there is always work and tools to work without, for those who will................
