Muslims and Positive Thinking (1/4)

Pardon as an Educational System for Self-Control (A Vision)

A Muslim should always be a full-capacity producer who knows how to utilize and treat himself, thus empowering him lo spread good further. Islam is all about spreading good at all limes and in all places. Organizing (he mind and thought is a source of power in a Muslim's thinking energy. An organized mind, hastening towards the aspired aim, which is "Winning Paradise and pleasing Almighty Allah", is granted success from Allah in all his steps in this world and the Hereafter.

One of the positive consequences of specifying the aim is reducing the impact of problems that face every Muslim on the path, and avoiding any exaggeration of these problems. Because a Muslim is certain that every instant of time is his most precious capital after worshipping Allah alone, he sees that any obstacle no matter how great its size, is trivial and small as opposed to his extensive assigned task of developing the world and spreading good everywhere. As such, fall away melt when we first reduce them inside ourselves, and then determine suitable solutions for them in our practical lives. The greatest catastrophe that can happen is one of two cases:

1. When the person who has chosen a specific pain replaces his true aim with means, hence proceeding aimlessly.

2. When the person exaggerates the means or the problem at the expense of the goal. An example of the means is "knowledge" which is a way to develop oneself and to develop the universe. However, if the person on this path takes it as an objective for pride and boasting, his means would overshadow his developmental activities for this world and the Hereafter. As for the "problem" it consumes hours of a person's lifetime, which is the most important component of his capital. Time is abstract, its beginning and end known only by Almighty Allah, and the test rules do not allow for retakes to improve one's score. The two angels are with him all the lime, preparing his sheets for the time of publication, when it is time to receive the test results.

As such, organizing a Muslim's thought energy through self-control, identifying priorities, distinguishing between the end and means, and self-direction (by determining the method to achieve the end), is the fastest way to achieve the end.

One of the righteous predecessors said, "A sensible person should not expect obedience from others if his own self is disobedient to him."

One of the qualities of a Muslim is self-harmony and accord. The mind issues a wise decision based on the Qur'an and the Sunnah, the heart accepts the decision issued by the mind, and the body parts execute the accepted decision. If the mind and heart operate in the same direction, applying the system set forth by Almighty Allah, the logical outcome is that the body parts become regulated as if they arc soldiers.

The sound heart of a believer stimulates the mind to issue wise decisions that are compliant with the Qur'an and the Sunnah, and the organs execute the desires of the sound heart, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "None of you is a true believer unless his desires match that with which I was sent." [1]Conversely, if someone turns his desires into a deity, those desires will take control of the decision-making center, which is the mind, thus leading to unwise decisions.

Sheikh "Abd Ar-Rahman Hasan Habnakah Al-Maydani suggests in his book. The Islamic Manners, that (here are two logical parts of the mind: a mind of knowledge, and a mind of will. The knowledge mind's task is to make wise decisions and the will mind's task is to execute sound decisions.

Thus, the successful model is that which agrees with the traditional supplication, "O Allah, make us see the truth to be the truth and provide us with adherence to it, and make us see falsehood to be falsehood and provide us with avoidance of it. Do not let us become confused us lest we go astray, and make us leaders for the pious." This means that both minds [that of will and that of knowledge] should work together. The other model represents people who have knowledge of the prohibited, yet continue to transgress.

The internal enemies of a person that affect the mind, heart, and organs are: the evil inspiring self, desire, and the devil. To resist one's internal enemies, one should adhere to the group, for the righteous group is a fortress of protection from the devil, The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "The Hand of Allah is with the group."[2] He also said, "Adhere to the group for the wolf only eats a lone sheep."[3]

On the other hand, the external enemies of a person are;

1. The unpraiseworthy world. To cure oneself of it, one should only take off il what is praiseworthy and keep it in the hand, not in the heart.

2. Bad company. The cure of which is avoiding it, as Almighty Allah says, “… and turn away from the foolish.”[4]

One of the beautiful aspects of this religion is that it urges and teaches Muslims to use themselves to develop the universe with high quality, and how to develop themselves for the better using the law of spontaneous self-correction, the instruments of which are: self-reckoning, correction of one's intention, rejecting desire, seeking refuge with Allah from the devil, suppressing the wildness of oneself, assuming the good will of others, pardoning, pleading forgiveness, etc.

(Continued)