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Getting Lessons

Las’ [in this hadith] means the sting of a bee, a scorpion, a snake and the like. The word ladgh [in Arabic] means the same. This is a well-known statement that ‘a beliver is not stung from the same hole twice.’ Juḥr means the hole wherein some insects or animals live. In other words, once a believer puts his hand in a hole and is stung, he will not put his hand there again. He will get lesson and the event will not be repeated for him. This is a characteristic of a believer. This is true for both personal affairs and public affairs, such as political, social and international affairs. And this hadith is true for all various affairs in our country. And it is true for personal affairs as well. Suppose you trusted someone, improperly, in a financial affair, and he betrayed you. You must be careful for the next time. You must not trust unreasonably. You must not trust the unknown persons in important affairs. Rather, you must assess and evaluate the situation. This is for personal affairs. As for the issues pertaining to one’s country, once a bad event occurrs for you, you must be careful for the next time so that a similar event will not occur for you. It is the same for national affairs. This is one point: getting lessons and being immune from similar events. One must get lessons and apply them in his life. A poet has said: “one must live twice so that he may experience once and use his experience in the next.” True, it is not possible for us to live twice. However, we must use our experiences by looking at what has happened with scrutiny and see the issues with care and contemplation so as not to be deceived. In Islamic knowledge and teachings, a believer is defined from various viewpoints of morality, wisdom, expediency and his control in various spheres of life.