RIGHT AND WRONG THINKING
Differentiate
SURAH AHZAB, a chapter in the Quran, tells us that man has been given something that has not been given to anybody else in the heavens and the earth—and that is, amanat or trust. It is this trust that makes man the most noble of all creatures. Amanat here actually means freedom of thought—the capacity to freely think and to freely plan one’s actions. The proper use of this trust makes a person eligible for Paradise, while failure to use it properly makes him fit for Hell.
According to the Quran, misuse of freedom leads to two kinds of results:
injustice, and ignorance. On account of misusing his freedom, man quickly deviates from justice. In the same way, misusing his freedom leads him to deviate from the path of wisdom. It is this deviation that makes one deserving of punishment in the Hereafter.
If you reflect on the matter, you will realize that for a person’s reform it is enough if he does not deviate from his nature. If you exercise control over yourself and do not stray from the path of nature, nature itself will become your guide. Deviating from nature leads one to destruction. In contrast, remaining established in nature makes one successful.
Further reflection tells us that our test lies in always making the right choice and saving ourselves from the wrong choice. This issue of right choice and wrong choice relates to both thought and action. In terms of thought, the model for making the right choice is provided by what the angels did at the dawn of creation. In contrast, making the wrong choice is epitomized by what Satan did. When the angels were told to bow down before man, they did so. Satan did not agree to this. He objected to man being given charge of the earth.
Misusing freedom leads man to deviate from the path of wisdom.
This objection by Satan is an example of ‘selective thinking’.
Satan was the chief of the Jinn (a living creation of God made from fire; they have free will just like mankind). God had assigned to him an important position. Yet Satan ignored this aspect and showed his resentment by refusing to bow down to man and disobeyed God's commandment.
This same disease has characterized the whole of human history. More than 99% of people are victims of negative thinking—that is to say, selective thinking. They ignore the good things that they do have and make a big issue out of the things that they do not have and turn the latter into the vortex around which their thinking constantly revolves.
In this regard, Muslims are no exception. Today, all kinds of excellent opportunities are available for Muslims to make use of, just as is the case with other people. But in line with the law of nature, there are also some things that Muslims have not been given. What Muslims have done is that they have made what they do not have the centre-point of their thinking, while ignoring all the things that they have been given. As a result of this, throughout the world Muslims have got stuck in the quagmire of negative thinking. And because of this, they are bereft of gratitude, which is the highest form of worship.
Reflection tells us that our test lies in always making the right choice and saving ourselves from the wrong choice.
Ignoring the 99% of the bounties of God that they have been blessed with and obsessing about the 1% they have not received shapes their thoughts and actions. It is against what God desires of us. The greatest price that people who are engrossed in this will have to pay in terms of their failure to develop a positive character. And lacking a positive character means being deprived of God’s blessings.
The conviction that one's goals
are worthwhile, the observation of
discipline with no contradiction between
words and thoughts, cool thinking even
in times of crisis—all these are qualities
of mind which determine success.