From Quantity to Quality
A memory from childhood, still preserved with freshness and sweetness in the depths of my heart, is that moment when I visited Bhiwandi. At that time, rows of our power loom workshops lined the area, with new faces, unfamiliar eyes, and craftsmen arriving with the passion to learn, each trying their luck in the craft of operating the looms. I too, as a young student with wonder in my eyes and eagerness in my heart, watched these scenes attentively. Soon, the desire to learn this craft began to stir within me. The chains of childhood did not hinder my steps; with focus and steadfastness, I began practising. There was neither hesitation in my heart nor a slip of fear on my tongue, nor the worry of making mistakes or halting the machine. I threw myself fully into the ocean of practice, and Providence filled my hands with the light of skill.
In contrast, those craftsmen who were perpetually gripped by the fear of making a mistake or causing a fault in the machine fell victim to slowness in their learning. This is the very distinction that stands between the bold, fearless, and steadfast person and the fearful, hesitant individual. Experience, which is the first rung on the ladder of quality, is in fact a gift of abundant action and continuous practice.
I tested this very principle in the scholarly environment of Nadwat al-ʿUlamāʾ, an atmosphere in which the lamps of knowledge burned brightly and the people of learning kept them illuminated with their passion and zeal. There, I set for myself the rule that I would read one book in Urdu and one in Arabic every day. My objective was not to delve into the depths of every word and phrase to extract its meaning, but rather to read as much as possible so that the pleasure and speed of reading would increase. When I adhered to this routine, divine assistance accompanied me. Through the blessing of extensive reading, not only did I gain breadth in study, but light of understanding and awareness descended naturally upon my heart and mind. Words came to rest in my grasp, the subtleties of language began to unfold before my comprehension, and thus there came a time when my reading reached the high standard I had aspired to at the beginning. I often reflect that if I had fallen into the trap of trying to plumb the depth of every word, fearing mistakes, it is possible that I would not have been able to complete even a single book in a week—or even a month—and the pace of my intellectual progress would have come to a halt.
The same principle shines forth in the field of writing. At Nadwa, I made a habit of practising writing in both Urdu and Arabic. I kept writing continuously—pouring out emotions of the heart, scholarly reflections, points of benefit, translations, and articles. In the beginning, there were slips, disorder in sentence construction, and weaknesses in word choice, but I did not lose courage nor abandon practice. The result of this daily exercise was that fluency entered my pen, words became refined, and a natural flow emerged in my writing. Indeed, this abundance of practice is the strongest foundation for achieving quality.
Certainly, whoever yearns for excellence in life, wishing to attain such heights in his skill, craft, or knowledge that eyes stop in wonder, hearts are won, and the world cites his example—he must first and foremost adopt the unwavering principle of increasing quantity: quantity in the sense of abundant practice. For it is this abundance that ultimately breathes fragrance into the garden of quality. I have time and again seen the truth of this principle unfold before my eyes in my life, and I have engraved it in the depths of my mind and heart that the more a person repeats an act, the more his mind, hands, tongue, and skill become polished and refined, and he ascends the pinnacle of quality to which every discerning eye looks with admiration.
In every field of life—whether language or oratory, teaching or any other craft—the most direct and tested path to achieving quality is to increase quantity. Whoever obsesses over quality alone but fails to cling to abundant practice can neither attain quality nor acquire the experience upon which the entire edifice of quality rests.
Observation shows that many students or young people remain stuck in the fear that their writing might contain mistakes. Under this apprehension, they can spend weeks or even months on a single piece of writing. The result is that fluency never enters their pen, their writing lacks life, and their style remains dull and heavy. In contrast, those youths who cast aside this hesitation and fear to adopt the habit of continuous writing are the ones who eventually become outstanding writers. Their writing gains vitality, their style becomes refined, and their expression develops a distinctive impact.
This principle is not limited to reading and writing alone but applies to every field of life. A teacher who does not practise teaching daily will always find the classroom an alien place. A speaker who does not stand repeatedly before an audience cannot rid his heart of trembling or his lips of hesitation. Yet whoever overlooks these difficulties and remains steadfast in practice becomes, one day, the eloquent speaker who penetrates the hearts of listeners. The same is true of every craftsman, every driver, every engineer, and every artist. The key to achieving the heights of every art and the perfection of every skill is abundant practice and increased quantity.
Remember that human nature learns through experience, and experience is only acquired when one increases quantity. The person who practises and does not fear mistakes is the one who gains experience, and from that experience his quality improves. But whoever becomes trapped in worrying solely about quality without increasing quantity will acquire neither quantity nor quality.
Every student, artist, and skilled individual should adopt continuous practice as their habit. Although there will be weaknesses and faults in the beginning, over time these very faults will transform into strengths, these weaknesses into mastery, and ultimately they will reach that level of quality where the world acknowledges their expertise. The journey from quantity to quality is not an easy one, but the one who, with patience, steadfastness, and the lamp of practice, sets out on this path is the one who knocks on the doors of success. This perseverance, this continuous effort, and this resolve are what take a person to that station where his hard work itself becomes his introduction.
Disclaimer: This article was translated by AI. Original post: https://t.me/DrAkramNadwi/6322
