The scourge of pinning hopes on people

Dialogues

“Is He not the One who responds to the distressed when he calls upon Him, who removes evil, and makes you successors on the earth? Is there a deity with Allah? Little do you remember.” (Surah An-Naml, 62)

A thing becomes a plague when it corrupts and causes corruption. Illness is a plague that corrupts the body, and in my view, the plague of all plagues is the excessive placing of hopes on human beings. In particular, relying excessively on them to realize hopes, aspirations, and goals is a plague that weakens a person’s character and may corrupt their life inwardly and outwardly, ultimately turning it into a vicious cycle of repeated failure, for several reasons:

- Self-priority first: The people on whom you now place some of your hopes and personal aspirations may not frankly tell you that, perhaps initially and certainly ultimately, the primary priority for a rational person in these turbulent times is themselves. They are concerned with their own affairs and will not be expected to postpone their main tasks, priorities, or personal goals for the sake of another person. It is illogical to demand that someone do something that is not fundamentally their personal responsibility. Blessed is the one who reduces their attachment to others and their placing of hopes on them.

- Placing hopes on human beings reflects weakness of character: I am almost certain that every rational and psychologically sound person in today’s turbulent world undoubtedly realizes that whoever continues to place their personal hopes on another person is someone with a weak character, who does not wish to rely on themselves and does not want to acquire the skills of complete self-reliance. Whoever respects and values themselves and desires to strengthen their character will strive to achieve independence—intellectual, psychological, and physical—to the best of their ability.

- The plague of emotional dependency: The worst form of placing hopes on human beings is immersing oneself in emotional dependency on them, especially when it is one-sided. Anyone who excessively invests their emotional attachment in another person will corrupt their own capacity for independence. Whoever loses emotional independence by choice is intellectually absent-minded, psychologically naive, and will inevitably develop psychological complexes sooner or later.

- Place your hopes in the Creator of all beings: A rational Muslim, especially at a time when the minds and hearts are beset by numerous trials, places their hopes, aspirations, and expectations in their Creator and in the Creator of humanity. In my opinion, this is most beneficial for a person in their present and future. And Allah Almighty knows best.

A Kuwaiti writer