Discipline means enthusiastic, obedience to instructions, training to follow certain rules of conduct, till it becomes a habit. Discipline is quite necessary to the formation of character. Wise men preach discipline; great men practice it, while fools defy it. The minister’s car obey the signals of traffic, a soldier obeys the commands to go straight into the mouth of a canon; that is discipline.
وَاسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِ وَإِنَّهَا لَكَبِيرَةٌ إِلَّا عَلَى الْخَاشِعِينَ
“And seek help through patience and the prayer; and indeed, it (is) surely difficult except on the humble ones,” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:45)
The glory of homes, schools and colleges lies in discipline. At home, parents should essentially acquire discipline for their children, then, there should be discipline in schools and colleges. The young boys of our countries are naturally averse to discipline. They love unchartered freedom, but the college without discipline will be a rowdy playground where one group disturbs the other by making noises. In my opinion the principal’s word must be the “law”. If students learn discipline at school or college they will win the battles of life in the world.
Discipline is the life of the army. Well discipline small armies have scored smashing victories against undisciplined superior big forces.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ
“O you who believe[d]! Consciously revere Allah (as is His) right (that) He (should) be revered and (do) not die except [while you] (as) those-who-submit/Muslims.” (Surah Al-Imran 3:102)
Casabianca, the little courageous boy, is still remembered just because he showed the sense of responsibility and respected the order of his father. He sacrificed his life for the sake of discipline, and died in the stormy flames.
Even birds and animals are subject to discipline. Animals move in a herd and obey their leader. Birds fly in an orderly formation. Honey bees follow the queen bee and live and die for the queen.
The Holy Quran portrays a vivid picture of the Day of Judgment characterized by an extreme sense of discipline. It says “On the day when it comes no person shall speak except by His (Allah’s) leave. …” (11:105).
So obviously we have to obey all rules that are made for us in order to maintain discipline and healthy atmosphere in life.
The progress of a nation lies in discipline. We have certain examples of many countries who have progressed very rapidly and have become the most advanced and successful nations in the world, for instance, Russia, America, Japan and china. All these countries are counted as very civilized countries of the world because their people follow in a disciplined way the instructions that are given to them.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اصْبِرُوا وَصَابِرُوا وَرَابِطُوا وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
“O you who believe[d]! Be steadfast and [be] patient and [be] constant and consciously revere Allah so that you may (be) successful.” (Surah Al-Imran 3:200)
In this way, they prove very successful and helpful for their countries. In short, discipline is the most valuable thing in the world. In must be maintained everywhere to bring happiness, progress and development.
