With the advent of the industrial age, environmental pollution began to emerge. On the one hand, water, air, and soil were polluted by industrial waste; on the other, natural resources were treated carelessly and squandered without responsibility. Although technological developments have brought many benefits to humanity, they have also given rise to serious harms, including environmental degradation. Through their own actions, human beings have disrupted the balance on land and at sea. As the Qur’an states, “Corruption has appeared on land and sea because of what people’s hands have earned” (Surah ar-Rum, 30:41).

As the damage inflicted upon nature began to affect human beings themselves, people gradually came to realize the gravity of their mistakes. In this context, movements aimed at protecting the environment emerged, particularly through the efforts of those who were sensitive to environmental issues. Scientific research revealed that all beings in nature are closely interconnected, and the vital importance of ecosystems for life became more clearly understood. This growing awareness made a significant contribution to the development of environmental consciousness.

Activities carried out under the banner of environmentalism generally aim to restore the disrupted natural balance, prevent pollution, and remedy the corruption and destruction caused thus far. For this reason, such efforts deserve appreciation and support. At the same time, it cannot be overlooked that environmentalism has, in some instances, taken on an ideological or political character. In certain cases, environmental concerns may be exploited as a means of confronting those in power or advancing particular political objectives.

Human beings as God’s vicegerents

The issue of the environment is directly connected to humanity’s position in this world. God created human beings as His vicegerents and granted them the authority to intervene in and benefit from created things. However, by virtue of this role, human beings are obliged to act within the framework of God’s commands. Accordingly, they may intervene in existence only in God’s name; they possess no right to arbitrary or self-centered intervention. Just as a person’s own existence does not belong to them, the beings with which they interact are not their property either.

From this perspective, human beings cannot dispose of existence as they wish. They cannot disrupt the order and balance that God has established on earth, nor can they corrupt the harmony of the universe, which has been created in perfect measure. Their duty is to use things in accordance with the purpose for which they were created. Just as they must properly understand and follow divine legislative commands, they must also read correctly the laws in nature commanded by creation and act in line with the purposes for which God has instituted them. Moreover, they bear the responsibility of restoring damaged aspects of nature in a manner faithful to their original state.

God has created everything within a perfectly functioning order and balance, placing each thing in its proper position. With its inherent beauty, the world is almost like a corridor leading to Paradise. Indeed, in various verses, the Qur’an draws attention to these beauties and invites reflection upon them. However, to fully grasp the magnificence present in existence, one must view it through a comprehensive and holistic lens. Those who are able to do so experience profound wonder when observing nature and are overwhelmed by its unique beauty. In his “Discourse of the Stars” (Seventeenth Word), Bediuzzaman masterfully depicts the beauty of the “lights” and “lamps” that God has kindled in the heavens.

A person who can perceive this order, harmony, and balance will act with far greater care when intervening in existence and will refrain from all forms of destruction and corruption. Such a person reflects on how disturbing the ecosystem or interfering with the natural order can cause grave harm to humanity and may even darken the future of the world. With this awareness, they strive to preserve everything in its proper place. Knowing that everything God has created and set in order is ideal, they will also design the world they build according to these divine measures.

Instilling such awareness—so that people do not pollute their environment or damage nature—is of vital importance. Achieving this from the outset is the easiest and most effective approach. Once the atmosphere, water, soil, and the resources derived from them have been polluted, restoring them to their original state becomes far more difficult. Today, we witness how enormous efforts and vast financial resources are required to rehabilitate polluted rivers and return them to their former condition. Similarly, reclaiming destroyed forests is by no means easy. Cleaning polluted seas, oceans, air, and soil is even more challenging and, in some cases, may not be fully possible.

The world as a reflection of divine beauty

From a believer’s perspective, all of existence consists of manifestations of God’s names and attributes. Preserving the balance inherent in creation is therefore an expression of reverence for God and respect for the divine attributes. A believer who views existence through this lens approaches every being—animate or inanimate—with deep respect and affection. Seeing each entity as a book written by the pen of divine power, such a person feels a sincere and enduring concern for everything. Far from harming nature, this outlook leads one to refrain even from injuring an ant. Unless compelled by necessity, a believer does not deprive any living being of its right to life.

The depictions of Paradise presented in the Qur’an offer important clues about how an ideal world should be established, implicitly reminding humanity to design the world accordingly. From a believer’s perspective, Paradise represents an ideal realm that surpasses all utopias. The Qur’an and the Sunnah describe its waters, rivers, flowing streams, palaces, trees, shaded areas, and fruits as possessing breathtaking beauty. Accordingly, the responsibility that falls upon us is to take Paradise as a model, beautify our world in its light, and entrust future generations with a world that is pure and unspoiled.

The Qur’an draws attention to the resemblance between the blessings of Paradise and those of this world with the verse, “They will be given things resembling one another” (2:25). In other words, the blessings of this world are samples of those in Paradise. If the face of the world is darkened, polluted, and rendered uninhabitable, this resemblance disappears. To the extent that this beautiful exhibition of divine gifts is transformed into a place of filth and pollution, it moves further away from resembling Paradise.

Moderation, cleanliness, and prophetic guidance

Islam’s emphasis on moderation and the avoidance of waste is a foundational principle that shapes humanity’s relationship with existence. The Qur’an states that God does not love those who are wasteful (6:141). Likewise, the Messenger of God instructed believers to avoid wasting water even while performing ablution beside a flowing river. This teaching highlights the need to transform moderation into a moral disposition. A person who internalizes this ethic reflects it in every aspect of life, from eating and drinking to the use of natural resources and personal abilities.

From the practices of the Prophet, significant principles for environmental protection can be derived. The designation of the sacred precincts of Mecca and Medina as protected zones—where cutting trees or harming animals is forbidden—represents an early model of conservation. Likewise, the Prophet’s sensitivity toward animals, his insistence on cleanliness, and his prohibition of actions that inconvenience others underscore the ethical dimension of environmental responsibility. He taught that removing harmful objects from the road is a branch of faith.

Just as God continuously brings about purity in the universe, human beings are likewise required to maintain cleanliness and harmony in their surroundings. Despite constant change and transformation in nature, order and purity prevail. In the same way, it is inconceivable for a believer to act in a manner that is disorderly, imbalanced, or devoid of harmony.

The careful manager in the cell

Hidden inside almost every cell is a small sensor called mTORC1. It acts like a careful manager, always checking if food is available. When we eat—especially meals rich in proteins and sugars—this sensor knows. It sends a clear message: “It’s time to build.” Our bodies start making new proteins, storing energy, and growing stronger. Without this, we couldn’t heal from daily wear or keep ourselves sturdy over time.

Research has shown that mTORC1 is a key piece in how our bodies decide when to grow and how to balance resources, connecting what we eat directly to how we age and how diseases develop (Liu and Sabatini, 2020) (Valvezan and Manning, 2019).

The routine cleaning in the cell

But there’s also another critical part of this system. When mTORC1 is active, it slows down the cell’s built-in cleaning process, called autophagy. During autophagy, cells remove and recycle damaged or old parts, making room for fresh, healthy components. It’s like doing routine cleaning and repairs in a home so problems don’t build up. Without it, small issues add up, and things start breaking down.

Recent reviews have shown how essential this process is, with disruptions in autophagy linked to conditions such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and problems with brain health (Klionsky et al., 2021).

The natural order was created in such a way that these two states—building up and clearing out—alternate, each serving a purpose in sustaining life and health. When food is plentiful, our bodies focus on growth. When food becomes scarce, even for short periods, mTORC1 quiets, and cells switch from building to essential repair. This built-in cycle helps maintain health over the long term.

In modern life, however, this balance is easily lost. Food is not only always available, but also often designed to be extremely appealing. Many meals are made with combinations of salt, sugar, and fats that encourage us to keep eating long after hunger is gone. This means mTORC1 stays switched on far more often than intended. Our bodies remain in growth mode every day, with little opportunity to slow down and do the necessary cleaning inside.

At first, this might not seem like a big problem. But over months and years, it quietly adds up. Waste builds up in our cells. Tissues lose some of their strength. The natural systems that once kept everything balanced start to slow down, weighed down by what should have been cleared away long ago. As a result, even though people today often live longer than past generations, illnesses tied to this imbalance—like obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and liver issues—have become extremely common.

This is only made worse by the kinds of foods many people now eat. Large studies confirm that diets high in ultra-processed, heavily flavored foods are directly linked to more obesity, metabolic problems, and heart disease (Lane et al., 2024). It’s one of the most surprising problems of our time: we suffer not because we lack food, but because we have too much, too often, with too few breaks.

Ancient wisdom prescribes fasting

Remarkably, ancient wisdom long urged moderation and fasting, echoing what science now confirms.

“Eat and drink, but do not be excessive. Surely, He does not love those who waste.” (Qur’an 7:31)

This advice is not just about polite behavior or humility. It protects the very patterns our bodies rely on for health. By holding back from always eating, we give our bodies the chance to slow down and do the internal work that keeps us strong.

The Qur’an also links fasting to building awareness and self-restraint:

“O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may become mindful.” (Qur’an 2:183)

Fasting is a tradition shared by many faiths, from Islam to Christianity and Judaism. It is more than simply going without food. It opens up space—both physically inside the body, and mentally inside the heart.

Today, researchers are learning exactly why this matters. Periods of fasting, or even simply having time between meals, allow mTORC1 to quiet down. This lets autophagy rise, so cells can clear out waste and fix what is worn. Major reviews in respected journals show that fasting helps switch the body from growth into repair, improving metabolism, reducing inflammation, and even extending healthy years of life (de Cabo and Mattson, 2019).

A clearer mind

People who fast often notice more than just physical changes. Many describe a clearer mind, a deeper gratitude for simple foods, and a sense of being lighter—not only in their bodies, but also in their outlook. In this way, fasting becomes like pressing a reset button, not only for the body, but for the heart and mind too.

What’s even more striking is how these practices help the brain. New studies show that fasting and careful eating patterns support memory, focus, and emotional resilience (Kapogiannis et al., 2024, Longo and Mattson, 2014). It seems the same systems that clean and repair our cells also clear away some of the mental clutter that weighs on our thoughts.

Eat thoughtfully

This does not mean we need harsh or extreme fasting to find balance. Even small habits can help. Waiting until we feel genuine hunger. Choosing simpler foods that truly nourish instead of just excite. Eating slowly enough to notice when we feel satisfied rather than full. Allowing some time between meals so the body can quietly repair itself. These small steps help keep the natural cycles of building and cleaning moving, supporting health that many today have quietly lost.

Beyond biology, moderation shapes our character. It builds contentment—the ability to enjoy what we already have instead of always chasing more. It teaches patience, showing us how to sit with small discomforts calmly. It grows compassion. By sometimes feeling hunger ourselves, we better understand those who face it daily. Our hearts soften, and we become more grateful for the blessings we have.

This way, eating thoughtfully becomes more than just a health choice. It becomes a way to remember God and show thanks for what He provides. With each meal approached with care, we give thanks not only in our words, but also through how we live.

Many of the health struggles common today can be traced back to ignoring these built-in patterns. When we eat constantly, our bodies stay in growth mode, never taking the needed time to clean and restore. When we always want more, we lose the simple joy that comes from recognizing what is already enough.

It is quietly powerful that as science learns more about metabolism and how cells work, it keeps returning to truths faith traditions have long taught. Careful studies repeatedly show that cycles of eating balanced with gentle hunger protect us, keeping our bodies strong, our minds clearer, and our lives more stable. These modern findings do not replace old truths—they help us see them more clearly and value them even more.

“Eat and drink, but do not be excessive.”
“Fast, so that you may become mindful.”

These verses bring together both our physical needs and our spiritual growth. They invite us to live according to the way God created us, thriving through a pattern that balances growth with careful renewal.

For each of us, this is a calm invitation. It does not call for harsh denial, but for wise care. It might mean waiting for true hunger before eating, savoring each bite, or stopping once we are satisfied. It might mean picking foods that leave us feeling healthy rather than heavy. Or simply leaving a little space between meals so our bodies can quietly do the work they were designed to do.

Most of all, it invites us to reflect. To recognize that tiny switches like mTORC1 respond constantly to how we eat, shaping our health, thoughts, and even moods. And to remember that long before we discovered these details, we were given guidance that leads us kindly toward this balance.

In the end, lasting health and deeper gratitude may not come from every new diet or headline. They may be found instead by returning to timeless guidance — eating with care, respecting gentle hunger, and remembering with each meal the One who created us so perfectly to thrive in this balance.

References

• De Cabo, R. & Mattson, M. P. 2019. Effects of Intermittent Fasting on Health, Aging, and Disease. N Engl J Med, 381, 2541-2551.
• Kapogiannis, D., Manolopoulos, A., Mullins, R., Avgerinos, K., Delgado-Peraza, F., Mustapic, M., Nogueras-Ortiz, C., Yao, P. J., Pucha, K. A., Brooks, J., Chen, Q., Haas, S. S., Ge, R., Hartnell, L. M., Cookson, M. R., Egan, J. M., Frangou, S. & Mattson, M. P. 2024. Brain responses to intermittent fasting and the healthy living diet in older adults. Cell Metab, 36, 1668-1678 e5.
• Klionsky, D. J., Petroni, G., Amaravadi, R. K., Baehrecke, E. H., Ballabio, A., Boya, P., Bravo-San Pedro, J. M., Cadwell, K., Cecconi, F., Choi, A. M. K., Choi, M. E., Chu, C. T., Codogno, P., Colombo, M. I., Cuervo, A. M., Deretic, V., Dikic, I., Elazar, Z., Eskelinen, E. L., Fimia, G. M., Gewirtz, D. A., Green, D. R., Hansen, M., Jaattela, M., Johansen, T., Juhasz, G., Karantza, V., Kraft, C., Kroemer, G., Ktistakis, N. T., Kumar, S., Lopez-Otin, C., Macleod, K. F., Madeo, F., Martinez, J., Melendez, A., Mizushima, N., Munz, C., Penninger, J. M., Perera, R. M., Piacentini, M., Reggiori, F., Rubinsztein, D. C., Ryan, K. M., Sadoshima, J., Santambrogio, L., Scorrano, L., Simon, H. U., Simon, A. K., Simonsen, A., Stolz, A., Tavernarakis, N., Tooze, S. A., Yoshimori, T., Yuan, J., Yue, Z., Zhong, Q., Galluzzi, L. & Pietrocola, F. 2021. Autophagy in major human diseases. Embo J, 40,
• Lane, M. M., Gamage, E., Du, S., Ashtree, D. N., Mcguinness, A. J., Gauci, S., Baker, P., Lawrence, M., Rebholz, C. M., Srour, B., Touvier, M., Jacka, F. N., O’neil, A., Segasby, T. & Marx, W. 2024. Ultra-processed food exposure and adverse health outcomes: umbrella review of epidemiological meta-analyses. BMJ, 384,
• Liu, G. Y. & Sabatini, D. M. 2020. mTOR at the nexus of nutrition, growth, ageing and disease. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol, 21, 183-203.
• Longo, V. D. & Mattson, M. P. 2014. Fasting: molecular mechanisms and clinical applications. Cell Metab, 19, 181-92.
• Valvezan, A. J. & Manning, B. D. 2019. Molecular logic of mTORC1 signalling as a metabolic rheostat. Nat Metab, 1, 321-333.

Of all the faculties and senses that man is endowed with, moderation is one of the most essential virtues. Moderation concerns all people within society, and can become an unattainable virtue unless all members of society have gained a sufficient level of straightforwardness in their thoughts and actions. That straightness of conduct can only be sustained if a sufficient number of people in that society understand, desire and practice the virtue of moderation.

John B. Watson and his colleague conducted an experiment if an emotion could be generalized from one subject to another subject similar to the first. He targeted a baby, called Little Albert, who had no fear of small furry animals like white rats at that time. To carry out their hypothesis, Watson and colleague presented a white rat for Little Albert to play with. But after a while, the researchers made a very loud disturbing noise whenever Little Albert attempted at reaching for the white rat. After several times the researchers paired the loud noise with Little Albert’s attempts at reaching that white rat, a time came to the point where Little Albert was scared of the animal on its own—without the loud sound. From that on, Little Albert generalized his fear to anything furry, including non-white rabbits and dogs. (Watson & Rayner, 1920)

From early years of childhood, we have directly and indirectly learnt how an excess and shortage of anything could be undesirable. No matter who an individual is or where he or she comes from, that individual knows that eating too much can cause a bloated feeling, eating too less can harm health, talking too much could hurt others, and so does not talking at all. Moderation is such a universal virtue that every individual from every religion, ethnicity, and background knows that a life lived in moderation always reaps the most benefits.

Not just on trivial daily matters, moderation can address any issue that has significant relations to human life. Moderation is related to healthy lifestyles, satisfactory life outcomes, healthy relationships, and many more. But one aspect of humankind that is faced everyday—yet it seems to be ignored most of the time—is the mindset, way of thinking, or the cognition. We can have times when there is a “shortage” of the mindset, but more problematic is the instances when some individuals choose to adopt an extreme way of thinking.

Consider the case of Little Albert above, because of one tragedy Little Albert generalized his feelings and fear that anything furry was scary. Probably because that white furry rat seemed to produce such a loud scary noise, Little Albert thought, “so, anything furry MUST be scary too…” This is one example where way of thinking can be extreme. Moderation does not seek to moderate this extreme way of thinking, rather it seeks to moderate way of thinking generally so it is not as extreme.

How moderation is related to prejudice

As mentioned above, moderation can address many issues, and this includes prejudice. Prejudice is defined as the way we see others—the social orientation that is based on a membership of a particular group (Brown, 2010). To understand prejudice, one has to note that prejudice comes from a generalized attribution or characterization (or what is commonly known as a stereotype). Prejudice is the emotional aspect of stereotypical thinking. Like Little Albert, the infant generalized his prejudice to anything furry, and although Albert’s reaction to those furry objects was dramatic, our modern prejudicial reaction is usually more subtle and hidden.

In relation to the issue of prejudice, moderation is synonymized to being fair-minded—a way of thinking that employs the middle point between two extremes. Prejudice is, in its basic form, a way of thinking that is located in one extreme. The extremity comes from the aspect of generalization of prejudicial mindset in its beholder’s way of thinking. But where do these thoughts come from? People’s tendency to generalize their observation of a trait of a person to his or her group members always comes from the external sources.

One study supported the notion that people obtain prejudicial thinking from external sources (Aboud, 1976). The research method involved asking participants to seek information on three fictitious groups. Prior to seeking information, the participants were shown statistics of certain traits related to these groups. This was done to “set” the minds of the participants on the traits that were more likely to be shown by the members of these groups. Consequently, when seeking information on the groups after shown the statistics of the groups, the participants were more likely to “confirm” what they had been told from the statistics, allowing a generalization to occur in their mindset.

Availability heuristics and their role in prejudicial thinking

Why do humans generalize more than they should, or at all? Perhaps it is because of the information they can readily and superficially obtain from the target of their prejudicial thinking. Stereotypes are always something people can see directly, such as weight, skin color, and intelligence shown through behavior and many other characteristics. These sets of readily available information seem to be more important because there is one type of heuristics, availability heuristics that is present in the human mind to help them judge on frequency or probability (Tversky & Kahneman, 1973).

To understand heuristics, consider the two images below that we come across very often. How do you know which gender is which symbol? The existence of heuristics allows us to manage this world in a more simplified and helpful way. Society uses symbols that represent certain group of people to give certain information. No matter where we are, our brain is integrated with the understanding that “skirts” are something only women would wear—it is how, by using that heuristic, we know that the first symbol tells us that it is a women’s place, or belongs to women, or can only be used by women—depending on where we see the symbol.

Heuristics are tools to help people make a cognitive decision on something such as deciding who someone is, if he or she is a righteous person, or what leads to a particular event, or how a certain event happens. Availability heuristics is the tool used to make a judgment when it comes to the frequency of probability that something occurs to that particular target. For example, one may judge the traits of people in community A, after seeing the behavior of a few members of community A. Availability heuristics help people simplify judgment to the most simplified information they can get in mind, and that information can come from various sources, such as a personal experience like the one in the Little Albert case, and others like the statistics given in the study described above.

Availability heuristics can be useful in some situations, such as estimating voting behavior in an election period, or predicting divorce cases for a particular year, but sometimes it has a negative consequence. Prejudice partly comes from the use of availability heuristics and blind “compliance” to such judgment. In this case, availability heuristics are a form of excess of the use of limited information offered to the human mind prior to judgment because blind belief to such heuristics can lead them to generalize. This is an extreme way of thinking that would go against the very nature of moderation itself.

Labeling and availability heuristics

Availability heuristics can be so powerful that sometimes people do not even realize that it is affecting their way of thinking. This is due to the excess use of labeling to simplify and categorize objects. Labeling affects human judgment and interpretation toward something or someone (Jussim, Nelson, Manis, & Soffin, 1995). Labeling is one of the sources of availability heuristics because labeling comes from the traits of physical attributes that people see from the individuals that they label. For example, individuals are labeled as doctors after they are seen wearing a white coat with a stethoscope around their neck, or a man is labeled as dangerous when walking in the dark with a hooded jumper on. Once labeling happens, individuals who conform to the traits and physical attributes that resemble the labels are stereotyped and these stereotypes become the readily available information to serve as a tool to form availability heuristics.

Labeling is not all inaccurate, but the negative consequence of labeling happens because people are too focused on the external traits of a target of the label. People seem to readily judge that a person in a white coat is a doctor, or that a man who has a hood on while walking in the dark is dangerous. These are all the external qualities of the person in a white coat and the man with a hood that people focus on to make a judgment, and eventually they have prejudicial thinking against these targets.

When discussing the topic of faith, Benjamin Franklin said, “Faith is confirmed by the heart, confessed by the tongue, and acted upon by the body.” This definition of faith is in parallel with the definition given by various religions. It emphasizes the importance of both external (confessing and acting upon) and internal aspects (believing) of spirituality. One cannot have one aspect without the other. Moderation involves professing your faith internally, such as believing and keeping your motivation, and externally, such as taking care of your appearance in line with your faith, and being concerned about what you say and do. This means that you do not just focus on either one aspect alone, but prove your stand by maintaining your faith, internally and externally.

In relation to prejudice, labeling happens due to focusing more on the external aspects of traits, like the group members’ appearance, behavior, and even intelligence (as it can be seen from their way of thinking and speaking). But we often neglect to remember that there are interior aspects of those individuals—the aspects that are dismissed from the factors of being labeled. These interior aspects can be different across individuals, thus labels alone could not make an entirely accurate judgment on an individual.

Conceptual frameworks of the relationship between moderation and prejudice

As discussed, prejudice comes from many factors that are not in line with the concept of moderation and this can be prevented by allowing the right way of thinking to be our habit. Moderation is a middle pathway to prevent prejudice. One way to do so is by understanding that while the outside of a person can tell something about him or her, the inside parts can be important too. Figure 1 illustrates the conceptual framework on how moderation can address prejudicial thinking.

Figure 1 shows a continuum of the way of thinking with moderation in the middle and “indifference” and “prejudicial thinking” on each extreme end. Prejudicial thinking, in one extreme, focuses only on the external aspects of a group of people, by which the aspects are used to make a judgment if the group is “good” or “bad.” These judgments are then used to make a generalization. On the other hand, indifference is shown when people have a neutral attitude; too much of it that they do not care about what is happening around them.

Moderation is located in the middle. It is neither prejudicial nor indifferent. People with a moderate way of thinking consider both the external and internal qualities of individuals to make a fair judgment. Each judgment is different across individuals because he or she knows that even if an individual belongs to a certain group, that individual does not have to be the same as the other members of that group. People with a moderate way of thinking know that tolerance needs to be exercised whenever needed, without any unfairness to any individuals who belong to a certain group of people.

Conclusion and a suggestion

When making a judgment or decision on a target’s attribution, it is important to examine the extent to which heuristics or the person’s dependence on readily available information—also known as availability heuristics—affects their judgment. Heuristics can be useful to help people organize, manage, and simplify their thoughts, but it should be supervised so that it is only used in moderate levels. Whenever one feels the need to make a quick judgment, he or she should break it by “educating” the self. Educating the self in its simplest form can be to ask, “What if I am judged that way? Would I like it?” By educating yourself, you make a psychological and mental reminder that to quickly judge means to unfairly treat that individual, which is something you would not want happen to you.

Another way to hinder the potential formation of prejudice is to empathize. By putting yourself in the target’s own shoes, you will be able to see how unfair stereotypes can be to a particular individual. Self-serving bias is a social cognitive error in which you are more likely to view positive events as a result of your own doing and negative events as the consequence of an external factor (Miller & Ross, 1975). This is viewed by psychologists as an error in thinking about other people, but interestingly, this can actually help in reducing prejudice. Prejudice can occur because you fail to attribute a person’s behavior or trait fairly, because he or she is simply another person you cannot relate to. Therefore, by empathizing with a person, you would more likely start to view that behavior through your own lens. By doing that, “self-serving bias” can begin and that is equipped with the ability to also consider your own internal attributes. Therefore, there will be a balance between focusing on internal aspects because it is you, and focusing on external aspects, because it is others.

Moderation is indeed a virtue that can help us develop and grow as a well-adjusting human being. By employing moderation in every aspect of our lives, we can see that moderation can address almost any issue, including prejudice. Moderation is the middle and the most proper pathway of thinking.

Taufik Mohammad, PhD, is a senior lecturer in Universiti Sains Malaysia.

References

• Aboud, F. E. 1976. The effect of stereotype generalization on information seeking. Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science , 8, 178-188.
• Brown, R. 2010. Prejudice: Its social psychology. Oxford: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
• Jussim, L., Nelson, T. E., Manis, M., & Soffin, S. 1995. Prejudice, stereotypes, and labeling effects: Sources of bias in person perception. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 228-246.
• Miller, D. T., & Ross, M. 1975. Self-serving biases in the attribution of causality: Fact or fiction? Psychological Bulletin, 82, 213-225.
• Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. 1973. Availability: A heuristic for judging frequency and probability. Cognitive Psychology, 4, 207-232.
• Watson, J. B., & Rayner, R. 1920. Conditioned emotional reactions. Journal

In a harsh, corrupt and unforgiving land,
came a mercy and salvation.
Warring tribes and fierce factions,
he united into one nation.
And to the women at the bottom of the tribal castes,
he brought liberation.
He was. The best of creation.
A people so lost in ignorance,
they required a complete transformation.
When they prayed to many gods,
he insisted on unification.
With divine unity at its core,
he built a solid foundation.
He was. The best of creation.
When forced from his home land,
he made patient migration.
But his was a mission of mercy,
there would be no retribution.
What less would you expect? From the best of creation.
While Kings lived vain glory,
he was humility and moderation.
He had no need for worldly goods,
his purpose was to save his nation
Whatever he had he would give away,
yet he was richest in God’s estimation
He was. The best of creation
Now 14 centuries later,
he remains an inspiration.
In a world of darkness and delusion,
his way is illumination.
O God! If you grant me just one wish,
let him know of my adoration.
Your beloved one, the best of creation. 

This is the winning poem in a recent competition organized by ISRA, Islamic Sciences and Research Academy in Sydney, Australia, dedicated to the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.