The Real Achiver

                       THE REAL ACHIEVER
In the chapter  Al-Qasas  (The Story), the  Quran records a story which has a  great  lesson  for every man  and  woman.  Qarun, or Korah, was a wealthy member  of  the  Israeli community of ancient Egypt.  When Qarun became arrogant because  of his wealth, some of  his  community members told  him  that  arrogance would  not serve  him  well. According  to  the Quranic  version  the story is as follows: Korah was one of  Moses’  people,  but he behaved arrogantly  towards  them.  We  had  given  him  such treasures  that their  very keys would  have  weighed down a band  of  strong  men. His  people  said to  him, ‘Do not  exult in  your riches, for God does  not  love the  exultant. But  seek  the  Home of the  Hereafter by means  of  that  which God  has bestowed  on  you;  do not  forget  to take your portion [of  the  Hereafter] in this  world.’  Be  good  to others  as God has  been  good to  you  and  do  not strive  for evil in the land,  for God does  not  love the  evil-doers.’  But  he said, ‘I  have been given it only because of the art I possess.’ (28:76-78) According to the Quranic account,  Qarun was punished by God  on  account of  his  arrogance.  This  story enshrines one  of  the divine laws:  if someone  receives wealth, he should be grateful  to God, otherwise he will be disgraced by God Almighty. Any achievement in this  world is  due  to two factors:  (1) one’s own efforts, and  (2)  the support of  the infrastructure  established by God in  this  world. The  ratio is  very unequal. One’s own share is  less than  one  per  cent, while  the  share of the  divine infrastructure is  more than ninety-nine  percent. This  being so,it is quite  unrealistic for a  man or a  woman  to  become  arrogant. The  only  realistic  behaviour  for an achiever is  for him  or her  to show complete modesty. Arrogance  means  denying the bounty  of  God  and  modesty means acknowledgement of God’s contribution. According to the Quran,  the arrogant  should  be punished for their  ungratefulness and the modest should be blessed with greater bounty. This,  moreover,  is directly  related  to  personality  development. Arrogance vitiates one’s personality with negativity, while modesty creates positive thinking.  There is  a great difference  between  the two: negative  thinking is the source  of  all kinds  of  evils, while positive  thinking is the source  of  all kinds  of  goodness.  Wise men are always modest in their behaviour.