Question: Are you lost, ya Khalid?

Khalid: No, but rather I have submitted.
Abu Sufyan: You are the least likely of the Quraish to say this.
Khalid: Why do you say that?
Abu Sufyan: Didn’t Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) dishonor your father?
Khalid: That is the matter of Ignorance; I became Muslim when I saw the truth.
Abu Sufyan: I swear by al-Laat and Al-Uzza, if I think what you’re saying is the truth, I would be the first to accept.
Khalid: It is the truth, even if you don’t like it.

Lesson 1: People often tend to have a constricted view on things. They limit their options by only thinking in pairs; win or lose, yes or no, pass of fail, honor or dishonor. The world, however, isn’t binary. Minimum that you can do is to triangularize: come up with a third option. Come up with a third option; fight them and win, or don’t fight them and be defeated, or join them in their success to spreading the truth.

Lesson 2: Don’t become adamant on your arrogance, but learn from you mistakes and shortcomings. Khalid b. Waleed could have agreed with Ikrimah and Abu Sufyan; his father was alluded to in Surah Mudatthir for his crimes against Islam. Khalid, however, chose to leave his ignorance behind. And imagine if he didn’t … he wouldn’t have become the person that drove our Byzantium and is now known as the greatest general of history.

Application 2: Imagine seeing through someone else’s eyes, and how would they look at the problem. It’s like WWJD. Example: Want to make an awesome presentation to people (or any other problem)? Choose some random letters from the alphabet and list roles with those letters. A: A for Astronaut; Astronaut sees the big picture, so give a holistic view to the audience. B: B for Baker; Baker would serve fresh, so present something fresh and new and hot, instead of old and stale. C: C for (ummmm) someone in construction; they would lay down the foundation first, so lay down the foundation. D … you get the point.