Balance of probability

A couple of weeks ago my parents told me about my cousin who was diagnosed with a stage four cancer, this week they told me how my uncle having a heart attack. He was performing his umrah with his wife, accompanied by their son and wife. They’ve only just got to Madinah for a couple of days when the incident happened.

And again, such a story humbles me. It makes you think, how is it can people get on with their lives worrying about getting a PS4 or whether Arsenal is able to regain their place at the top of the chart in the Premier League when there are people out there, real people who spend their nights with swollen eyes, worrying about their loved ones who are in great pain.

Okay maybe the way I’ve just put it made it sound worse than it really is. The way I’ve just expressed it above may have been a little excessive, nevertheless it does not make it any less true.

Try this; what is the first thing that comes to mind when you woke up every morning?

1. Is there still time for me to perform Subuh yet? 
2. What should I have for breakfast today? 
3. Do I have any deadlines coming up soon? 
4. What is new happening in the world today?

And the list goes on and on….

You see, we worry about a lot of things, even as when your day has only just begun. As our mind began to process all of this information while the sun is slowly shining out of our bedroom window, we are able to worry about all of these things because at the back of our heads, we assumed that we are able to stay alive throughout the entire day. If we know that we might not be able to survive that day alive, then surely there is not much sense in us even thinking about all of things mentioned above. I mean, why would anybody worry about whether sushi is a good idea for lunch when he himself is unsure of his mortality that afternoon?

A balance of probability

Balance of probability means that in our expectation of an event occurring, we take into account the fact that such event may or not happen. For example, say that we expecting it to rain this evening. Since the weather forecasting requires much information of which we are unable to get, or unable to make much sense of, it is likely that our expectation of rain is built with an equal chance of it not happening.

Hence, the next time you’re making plans for yourself, perhaps it would be wise for us to balance our expectation of being alive. Death looms above us all, and it strikes whenever and wherever we may be. May God bless us all.

I leave the rest to you…….