What is effort, action, and striving? What matters is human luck! Effort, skill, craftsmanship, strength, and … all of these are nothing. It is all about luck, not intellect. If you have good luck, what does it matter how much talent, competence, or skill you have? Any bad incident that happens is the result of a cursed fate. Curse this fate…
Now, if we were to ask these esteemed speakers: “What is luck?” Define it. You who mention luck so often, surely you know it, have encountered its effects or signs—tell us what it is. They would have no answer to give.
“Hassan ibn Mas’ud says: I came to the presence of my master, Imam Ali al-Hadi (peace be upon him). On that day, I had faced several unfortunate and bitter incidents: my finger was injured, my shoulder was hurt in a collision with a horse, and in an unexpected quarrel, my clothes were torn. Because of this, I said, in utter frustration: ‘What an unlucky day for me! May God remove the evil of this day from me!’ Imam Hadi (peace be upon him) said: ‘O Hassan! What is this that you are saying? When you are with us, you blame your mistakes on the innocent!'”
Hassan ibn Mas’ud continues: “Upon hearing the Imam’s words, I came to my senses and realized my mistake. I said: ‘My master, I was wrong, and I seek forgiveness from God.’ Imam Hadi (peace be upon him) said: ‘O Hassan! What wrong have the days done to you? Every time you are punished for your faults and wrongdoings, you blame the days and curse them!’ Hassan ibn Mas’ud then said: ‘O son of the Messenger of God! I will forever repent and will no longer blame the days for my actions.'”[1]
As we can see, one of the reasons for misfortunes in our lives, according to Imam Hadi (peace be upon him), is human wrongdoing. In the continuation of the above hadith, the Imam emphasizes that believing in the misfortune of certain days not only benefits no one, but also incurs God’s rebuke for blaming an innocent entity.
There is a real difference between someone who believes in the effect of effort and hard work, and holds the belief that “for a person, there is nothing except what they have worked for” [2], and someone who says that no matter how much effort you put in, nothing is guaranteed, nothing means anything, and all depends on luck. There is a great difference between believing that “God does not change the condition of a people until they change what is within themselves” [3] and believing in luck.
(Taken from the collected works of martyr Morteza Motahhari, volumes 23 and 25, with slight edits and additions)
Footnotes:
[1] Taf al-Uqool, page 482
[2] (Quran, Surah An-Najm, verse 39)
[3] (Quran, Surah Ar-Ra’d, verse 11)