Can you give up your victory for your honor?
Kenyan runner Abel Mutai was just a few meters from the finish line, but confused the signs and stopped, thinking he had finished the race. The Spanish racer Ivan Fernandez was right behind him and, realizing what was happening, started yelling at the Kenyan to keep running.
Mutai did not speak Spanish and did not understand. Realizing what was happening, Fernandez pushed Mutai to victory and the Kenyan Mutai finished first in the competition. They could not hold back their tears.
“Why did you do that?” a reporter asked Ivan. Ivan replied, “My dream is that one day we can have a kind of community living where we push ourselves and others to win.”
“But why did you let the Kenyan win?” the reporter insisted. Ivan gave this historic answer:
➤ “I didn’t let him win, he was going to win anyway. The race was his.” Ivan Fernandez – Athlete
The reporter persisted and asked again, “But you could have won!” Ivan looked at him and replied like a gentleman:
➤ “But what would my victory be worth? What would be the honor of this medal? What would my mother think about it?” Ivan Fernandez
Hz. Allah says in Surah Al-Anfal
The reason for this punishment is this: This is because Allah would never discontinue His favour to a people until they discontinue their faith. Surely Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. — ذٰلِكَ بِاَنَّ اللّٰهَ لَمْ يَكُ مُغَيِّرًا نِعْمَةً اَنْعَمَهَا عَلٰى قَوْمٍ حَتّٰى يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِاَنْفُسِهِمْۙ وَاَنَّ اللّٰهَ سَم۪يعٌ عَل۪يمٌۙ —Enfâl / 53. Ayet
The Holy Prophet (Mohammad Sav) said
On the Day of Resurrection, in the scales of the believer’s (deeds) nothing is heavier than good morals. Hadith al-Sharif Tirmidhi
Values are passed down from generation to generation. What values we teach our children, how we educate them, how we raise them, we will see similar things in society tomorrow. If we teach love, we will receive love, respect. If we teach moral and human values, we will have a tolerant and peaceful society. As the saying goes, we reap what we sow.
