One will be held responsible according to his or her intention. However, it is beneficial to know that on the subject of service to the society, we cannot claim that, in the absolute sense, our path is faultless. Moreover, misfortune can come to all, good or bad.

Yes, sometimes the path a believer follows can be flawed, but they may not run into difficulties. Sometimes, although a person walks on a faultless path, they may encounter many difficulties. In fact, many calamities can come to a person who is on a perfectly straight path; this is in order to purify and test them. If one considers that the greatest calamities came to the prophets, then the saints (or religious scholars, according to another report) and then to others according to their spiritual degree, it can be seen that trouble can come to everyone. Consequently, a person’s being subjected to difficulty does not have a great deal to do with the straightness or crookedness of the path they follow.

By means of such difficulties and calamities God encourages a person who is on a straight path to advance farther on an even better path. He can also admonish a person who has flaws to advance onto a straighter path. In other words, it is difficult to understand God’s ways. Everyone should accept calamity as a sign according to their level and be prepared for duty. Of course, this idea is very important for everyone from the aspect of self-examination.

In its simplest meaning, examining difficulties and calamities that come to others as being due to their not following one’s own path is not fair. Such a thought cannot be reconciled with a believer’s consideration of others. God help us not to say: “He deserved that!” as this in no way can be reconciled with being a believer. God forbid – He may turn such a calamity onto the person who utters these words.

In fact, even thinking that people who are on a completely flawed path have attracted calamity on their heads for this reason is nothing but an unjust and unjustified assumption.

A person should always be sincerely considerate of other believers. When we examine the matter from this perspective, even if a person should burgle our house, beat us or transgress our rights, then encountering some calamity, one should not say, “Oh, they deserved it!” If we, as victims, are defeated by our feelings at a particular moment and make a temporary lapse, later we should be remorseful and say, “Oh my Lord! I am sorry! I seek refuge in You!”

The attitude of one believer towards another should always be just and this is our responsibility. For – God willing – one day we will pass over the Sirat (bridge) together, enter Heaven together and come face to face. There it is always possible for what is hidden to surface. The things we thought and designed can fall in front of us, one by one – this is possible – and we will be greatly shamed. For God says this is “The day that all things secret will be tested” (Tariq 86:9). May God, the Coverer of All Shameful Things, cover our faults and the faults of others!

A believer should be very kind and very generous so that the Most Generous God will bestow different blessings upon them. In fact, a good believer should always think and say: “My God! These people did some bad and base things to me, but I have forgiven them. I was not able to be a fully noble servant to You, oh my Lord, who is Clement and Free of Defects! Please forgive me, too!”

Indeed, it is necessary to have the means on our journey to God. Thus, a believer should consider this matter he or she happens to be with other fellow travelers doing good work a means for reaching God, seeking refuge in Him with it and seeking relief in His shade.

Yes, just as differences in path and method should not cause believers to turn against one another, this kind of reproach should not be imposed on other believing brothers or sisters.

Furthermore, seeing calamities falling on our brothers or sisters as a result of the path they are taking is no different than criticizing destiny. These kinds of thoughts are contrary to the tenets of Islam. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said, “Do not say ‘I wish it had been’ (regretting what happened and condemning his fate) for it is destruction; it opens the door to the Devil’s work.” Consequently, getting hung up on thoughts like, “If they had done this, such and such a calamity would not have occurred to them” is a sign that we are setting out on the Devil’s path.

As believers, we should know that we cannot take the past to account. The past can be examined only for learning lessons and illuminating the future. In particular, if we are happy about a calamity that has befallen a believer is absolutely not acceptable, more so especially if this implies a criticism of destiny.

An individual’s conduct becomes straightforward by performing religious duties; one’s ego (inner self) becomes straightforward by following the Shari’a’s truth; one’s spirit becomes straightforward by acting in accordance with knowing God; and one’s innermost senses or faculties becomes straightforward by complying with the Shari’a’s spirit. The difficulty of being straightforward in all of these levels caused the Prophet, the most straightforward of people, upon him be peace and blessings, to say: Sura Hud and others similar to it have made me old, thereby referring to the Divine command: Be straightforward as you are commanded, which is in sura Hud (11:112).

The Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, never deviated from the Straight Path, and was always straightforward in his deeds, words, and feelings. He guided Companions who sought salvation and eternal happiness to straightforwardness by saying: Declare: “I have believed in God,” and then be straightforward, a saying that concisely sums up all essential elements of belief and conduct.

If people claim progress on the path to the Truth but are not straightforward in their state and conduct, all efforts will be in vain, and they will have to account in the Hereafter for the time spent without straightforwardness. To reach the intended destination, an initiate must be straightforward at the beginning, maintain it throughout the journey, and be straightforward at the end of the path, as gratitude for being rewarded with knowledge of God. Being alert to possible deviation at the beginning, engaging in self-supervision during the journey, being closed to wrong thoughts and actions, and considering only God’s pleasure and approval at the end are significant signs of this state:

I know one among the people of straightforwardness:
He was the most distinct in the realm of guidance.
He sold his soul to the lights of (Divine) Identity,
And died purified of all the dirt of human nature.

A servant should seek straightforwardness, not wonderworking or the power of spiritual unveiling or discovery. God demands straightforwardness; however, a servant desires extraordinary spiritual abilities. When they told Bayazid al-Bistami about a man who walked on water and flew in the air, he said:

Fish and frogs also float on water, and insects and birds fly in the air. If you see a man float on his rug on water without sinking and sit cross-legged in the air, do not show any interest in him. Rather, consider whether he is straightforward in his state and conduct, and whether they are in accordance with the Sunna (the way of the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings).

What Bayazid advises is that a believer be straightforward and completely humble as a servant, not one flying in the atmosphere of wonders.

Straightforwardness is the last step on a three step stairway leading to nearness of God. The first step is consistency, where a traveler strives to embody Islam’s theoretical and practical dimensions. Success in this continuous effort brings one’s carnal self under control. The second step is settlement or tranquility, where an initiate purifies his or her inner self of the vices contaminating the spirit and heart (e.g., show, fame, and vanity, all of which cannot be reconciled with servanthood), thereby purging the heart of all that is not God. The third step is straightforwardness, where the doors of Divinity and creation are slightly opened to the traveler, and the Divine gifts are bestowed in the form of wonderworking and blessings, although he or she neither desires nor seeks them.

Straightforwardness, the last station of the way, means living without deviation from loyalty to God and under His direct protection; it is an environment in which Divine gifts and favors are bestowed. Flowers never fade away and hills and slopes do not experience winter, for it is an environment of eternal “spring.” This is what is pointed out in: If only they were straightforward on the path, then, assuredly We would give them to drink of “water” in abundance (72:16). So long as people pursue straightforwardness on the path of belief in Divine Unity and fulfill their covenants with God and His Messenger by fulfilling the Divine ordinances, Divine gifts and bounties will flow abundantly.

Our master, upon him be peace and blessings, declares: So long as the heart of a servant is not sound and straight, his belief cannot be true and upright; so long as his tongue is not true, his heart cannot be sound and straight. He also declares: Every morning, the parts of a man’s body warn his tongue, saying: “Fear God concerning us. For if you are true, we will be true and straight; if you are crooked, we will also deviate.”

Finally, let us hear from As’ad Mukhlis Pasha a very significant warning:

Straightforwardness requires always being true and steadfast;
Fix one of your legs in the center, and let “the free arm of the compass” [your other leg] travel around.

Notes

1. Al-Tirmidhi, “Tafsir al-Qur’an,” 57.
2. Muslim, “Iman,” 62; Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 3:413.
3. In other words, he submitted himself wholly and without reserve to God.
4. Al-Qushayri, Al-Risala, 397; Ahmad ibn ‘Abd Allah Abu Nu’aym, Hilyat al-Awliya’ wa Tabaqat al-Asfiya’, 10 vols. (Beirut, 1967), 10:40.
5. Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 3:198.
6. Al-Tirmidhi, “Zuhd,” 61; Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 3:96.
7. In other words, one is to be well-grounded in Islam and to keep the company of those who can provide proper guidance.

In my view, with its wonderful people, welcoming nature, and geographical features, this realm is no different than a hallway to the heavens. Once upon a time in its golden age this realm used to be perceived as a trajectory to the highest gardens of Paradise, and its value was worth the entire world. In those days, travelers from faraway lands would visit this realm, and once they sipped its dazzling flavor and felt inside the heavenliness in its aura their spirits were raised, and on departure they comforted their hearts with a promise of a revisit.

The inhabitants of this realm were more intimately connected with physical phenomena than we are today; they were in close embrace with all existence, and were like brothers and sisters to nature. Their homes, villages, and towns were in harmony with nature from all aspects; they were spacious and heart-expanding, and their surroundings were like a botanic garden. With their celestial horizons, crystal-clear sentiments, and otherworldly spirits these homes, villages, and towns made people living there feel as if Paradise was only one step away. This was why people considered their graves an important station on this journey of a single step. They decorated their cemeteries with the colors and patterns of their angelic horizons, for they believed the cemetery was the first point of arrival in the Afterlife. They transformed this splendid area, which appears horrific to the materialistic mind’s eye, into a pleasant resort.

When we were ourselves, our homes, streets, and walkways exchanged warm glances with their inhabitants; their demeanor was so meaningful that those who could observe them from the angle of their spirit could feel as if these places were intoning things that were unique to our realm. Almost everyone in this realm was intoxicated with a kind of music originating in their heart and refined in their beliefs, dreams, and subconscious. Every moment thrilled them with a different breeze of meanings and they were overjoyed.

There were occasional occurrences of frustration and sorrow, but they did not last for long. Such moments were immediately followed by the victory of this realm’s unique character, texture, and ever-enchanting nature that would overcome all the tumult in people’s conscience and convert the darkest autumns into the brightest springs. Our days and nights were always cordial, our months and years were all resplendent.

Every day started with a new beauty as the cries of spring were heard everywhere; the morning breeze brought the scent of Prophet Joseph’s shirt and rivers overflowed from the life-giving spring of Prophet Job . . . a kind of joy from the afterlife was being tasted in this realm. As the days were illumined with the rays from the sun, so were our hearts lit with the light from beyond the heavens. Like sunflowers, the eyes of the heart were vigilant for this light, our souls lived on a schedule adjusted according to the prayer times-the propitious times of the day-and hearts would beat with its excitement. Each portion of the day would then become like a new festival; each week, month, and year would come and pass in unique colors, caressing the heads of these fortunate people and reminding them every season that they were strolling on the walkways of Paradise. Every morning in the lands of this privileged community was like a kind of Resurrection; every noon rose with a new touch of heat; a cool breeze was felt everywhere in the afternoon; the music of silence was heard in the depths of the heart every evening . . . the entire day offered a feast of scenery through its windows opened to the beyond. Enchanted by this profundity and color, even the ones with hearts harder than rocks would soften like silk.

The generations of those days were blessed with glowing hearts and an affectionate setting. Unyielding security and peace ruled everywhere. Mobs, anarchy, tyranny, deep state, unsolved murders . . . these crimes that we experience so much today were unknown to those generations. They were foreign words, for order, harmony, justice, and mercy prevailed in their realm.

Ambition, jealousy, ill-gotten gains, illegal hoards, bribery, nepotism, swindling, cheating, embezzlement . . . these crimes were out of the question. Indeed, some of them only existed in the dictionary, for the auspicious people of those days were exceptionally contented with what they possessed, stayed away from what was forbidden, and fixed on what was lawful, and they pursued a life in justice.

Occurrences of enmity, feelings of murder and revenge, mischief and corrupt plots, passion for authority were the rarest things, for the people’s mindset was directed towards a serious dialogue effort, a philosophy of tolerance, an ethics based on love and compassion.

Autocratic rule was regarded as tyranny from ancient times; for them, despots were no different than pharaohs and were mentioned with imprecations; defaming and classifying others were works of despicable ones. People maintained a life in humility, munificence, and generosity-they acted on forgiveness and courage, breathed with sacrifice and sincerity.

In that bright era, alcoholism, drug abuse, smuggling were never as frequently committed as today. You would not see modern problems like “homeless children” or “addictions to various substances” even as entries in dictionaries. For people then behaved with their hearts, spirits, and minds in control; there were people who made intellectual efforts, sincere hearts that beat for their country and humankind.

They were the prototype people of virtue, and in their abode neither filthy affairs such as those listed above nor corruptions like sinfulness, prostitution, impertinence, and bohemian lifestyles that bring disgrace on being human, could exist. Above all, avoiding sin, and maintaining chastity, virtue, divine ethics, and accountability were their most distinct attributes and natural state of being. They were on a straight track with a clear road map in their hands; they were blessed with a humane profundity that prepared them to walk on such a broad road. They lived straight, walked straight, and became a blissful memory for the generations to come. I wonder where we are on this road.

Solar radiation is unpolarized before entering the earth’s atmosphere. Unpolarized light is a mixture of photons having randomly oriented electric fields. According to the simplest theory (Rayleigh), when unpolarized sunlight scatters from atmospheric constituents (gases, aerosol particles, water droplets, ice crystals), it becomes partially polarized, depending on the scattering angle – the angle between the incoming (direct solar) and outgoing (skylight) rays. Unpolarized light can also undergo polarization by reflection off of nonmetallic surfaces such as asphalt roadways, soils, racks, snow fields and water. Therefore, there is an abundance of polarized light in natural environments in various forms. Recently, it has become apparent that animals can take advantage of these rich sources of information in the underwater world, on the water surface, and in the terrestrial habitat that are of celestial polarization patterns. They utilize this polarized light prevailing in their visual worlds in various ways associated with their behavioral tasks like navigation, communication, mate recognition, eggs laying, detection of water surfaces, enhancement of visual power (similar to colors), or perhaps even camouflage.

The skylight compass

The best understood use of polarization is the skylight compass of insects. The orientation of the electric field changes with the position of the sun. This can make the sun as a compass usable even when the sun is obscured. In 1949, Nobel laureate Karl von Frisch discovered that when the sun is not visible, honey bees can orient their flights and communication dances by means of the extensive patterns of polarized ultraviolet (UV) skylight¹. For clear sky, these patterns are quite regular and depend so strongly on the position of the sun. It is amazing to see how these little hard-working creatures come programmed to use them to calculate the sun’s location.

Since von Frisch’s pioneering work, several other researchers investigated polarization vision and found that the polarization pattern of the sky offers many other insect species (desert ants, dung beetles, field crickets, and house flies) a reference for visual compass orientation². For example, desert ants were shown to make long and tortuous foraging walks, but use the sky polarization pattern to return to their nest on a straight line³. They are able to continuously compute their present location from their past trajectory and, as a consequence, to return to the starting point by choosing the direct route rather than retracing its outbound trajectory.Moreover, interestingly enough, researchers discovered that one species of dung beetles navigate by using million-time dimmer polarization patterns of moonlight. Dung beetles use it as an orientation guide to leave their food source in a straight line to avoid aggressive fights⁴. To find out how the beetles are able to use the polarized light of the moon to navigate, researchers observed the beetles under the night sky. On nights when the moon was visually clear, the beetles continued to forage and roll their dung balls in a straight line. On moonless or cloudy nights the beetles could not maintain a straight path.

Reflections from water

In nature, important reflections come from water where the polarization distinguishes between water and other reflective surfaces. Horizontally polarized UV light reflected from the surface of water is the main optical cue for habitat finding by insects living in, on, or near water. Weak UV light emitted by a horizontal surface below flying backswimmers can cause the animals to turn their flight paths vertically downward, bringing them to the horizontal surface⁶. Polarization sensitivity has, likewise, been demonstrated in crustaceans, like in the shore-living water flea Daphnia pulex. These animals were shown to swim toward polarized light, which in nature would lead them away from the shore towards deeper water⁷.

Human activity can have overwhelming effects on the natural environment and man-made objects, such as crude or waste oil surfaces, asphalt roads, glass surfaces, or plastic sheets used in agriculture are unfortunately more attractive to water-seeking polarotactic insects than the water surface itself. This effect can be very dangerous for polarotactic insects as these objects function as insect traps. Researchers have observed that every year, in May and June, swarms of mayflies mate, not above lakes and rivers, but above dry asphalt roads and lay their eggs in vain on dry asphalt roads or car-bodies. The horizontally polarized light from these surfaces mimics a highly polarized water surface.⁸ .

Ocean animals

For many ocean animals, sensing polarization may be even more important than sensing color. One possible use for polarization in the ocean (and elsewhere) is signaling: communicating with neighbors, rivals, and potential partners. Recent discoveries have shown that stomatopods (Mantis shrimps), a sort of shrimp found on reefs around the world, use special body areas to communicate with polarized light (Fig.6)⁹. Polarized light can also be used to ‘break the camouflage’ of aquatic organisms because, although from most viewing angles they match the color of the water behind them, the nature of the polarization is quite different. Researchers have found that transparency of aquatic organism to avoid detection can be broken with the help of polarization sensitivity¹⁰. In their experiment, they observed that squid detect zooplankton prey under partially linearly polarized lighting 70% greater than those achieved under non-polarized illumination.

In summary, polarization is central to most of the animals’ lives. It is abundant in the nature in various forms. Here, we have given only couple of examples of ways of various animals’ exploitation of polarized-light information. It seems, as researches continue, that the already long list of animals utilizing polarized light will get even longer as we learn more about it. Yet, even these mentioned examples above are enough to help us realize how perfectly these small animals have been created, and how well they are taken care of in their daily lives when they navigate, communicate, recognize a mate, lay eggs, detect water surfaces, or perhaps even break camouflage. Here, it seems necessary to observe that “The tiny body of a fly is connected with most of the elements and causes in the universe; indeed, it is a summary of them. If it is not attributed to the Pre-Eternal and All-Powerful One, it is necessary for those material causes to be themselves present in the immediate vicinity of the fly; rather, for them all to enter into its tiny body; and even for them to enter each of the cells of its eyes, which are minute samples of its body.” We refer the interested reader to Said Nursi’s reputable article of “A Treatise on Nature”¹³ and conclude with his aphorism: “He who created the eye of the mosquito is the one who created the sun.”

A: Guidance is a light that God kindles in those people who use their free will in the way of belief. Only God can guide. Many Qur’anic verses state this fact clearly. For example: If God willed, He could have brought them all to the guidance (6:35); If it had been your Lord’s will, all who are on earth would have believed, altogether (10:99); You do not guide whom you like, but God guides whom He wills (28:56); and For verily You cannot make the dead to hear, nor can you make the deaf to hear the call when they have turned to flee. Nor can you guide the blind out of their deviation. You can make none to hear save those who believe in Our Revelation so that they surrender and become Muslims (30:52-3).

Since it is God Who guides, we implore Him in every rak’a of our daily prescribed prayers, saying: “Guide us to the Straight Path.” God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, says: “I have been sent to call people to belief. Only God guides them and places belief in their hearts.”

Besides the verses above and many other similar ones, we also see in the Qur’an other verses which state that God’s Messenger calls and guides people to the Straight Path, such as follows:

Surely you call them to the Straight Path. (23:73)

Thus We have revealed a Spirit to you from Our Command. You did not know what was the Scripture, nor what the Faith was, but We have made it a light whereby We guide whom We will of Our servants. You are indeed guiding to a Straight Path. (42:52)

The verses do not contradict each other. God creates everyone with the potential to accept belief. However, one’s family, education, and environment play a certain role in one’s guidance or misguidance. To call people to belief, throughout history God sent Messengers and gave some of them Books whereby people could reform themselves. Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, is the last Messenger, and the Qur’an, which God revealed to him, is the last Divine Book. The Qur’an, which has remained uncorrupted, contains the principles of guidance; the Messenger, whether through the Book or his personality, conduct, and good example, functions as a means to guidance. He recites Divine Revelations to the people, shows them the signs of God, and shows them the errors behind their misconceptions, superstitions, and sins.

Everything that exists in the universe is a sign pointing to God’s Existence and Unity. Therefore, if one sincerely desires belief, struggles against carnal desire and temptation, and uses his or her free will to find the truth, surely God will guide such a person to Himself. He declares in the Qur’an: Fear God and seek the means [of approach to and knowledge of] Him, and strive in His way in order that you may succeed and be prosperous [in both worlds] (5:35); As for those who strive in Us [in Our way and for Our sake and to reach Us], We surely guide them to Our paths; and verily God is with the good (29:69); and Whoever fears God [and keeps his duty to Him], He will appoint a way out for him (62:2).

In order to find or deserve guidance, one must sincerely strive for it and search for the ways leading to it. Those whom God has blessed with guidance should first of all represent guidance personally and set good examples for others, and then call others to it through all lawful (Islamic) means. In many verses, God commands His Messenger to do just that: Warn your tribe of near kindred [of their end and the consequences of their deeds and of the punishment of Hell] (26:214); Remind and give advice, for you are one to remind (88:21); Proclaim openly and insistently what you are commanded (15:94); Call to the path of your Lord with wisdom and fair exhortation, and reason with them in the most courteous manner (16:125); and Surely in the Messenger of God you have a good example for him who hopes for God and the Last Day, and remembers God oft (33:21).

God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, communicated God’s Revelations to people and called them to belief in the best and most effective way, and bore all of the resulting difficulties and persecutions. He rejected without a second thought the most alluring bribes offered to him to abandon his call to belief in One God, and continued his mission without expecting any worldly reward. He sought only God’s pleasure and the prosperity of people in this life and the next. When he conquered Makka, an event marking his triumph in making God’s Word prevail, he forgave those Makkans who had subjected him and his followers to every form of persecution for the past 21 years: “No reproach, this day, shall be on you! God will forgive you. He is the Most Merciful of the Merciful. Go! You are freed.”

God’s Messenger once said to ‘Ali: If someone finds guidance at your hand, this is better for you than having red camels.

According to the rule that one who causes is like the doer, those who lead others to guidance receive the same reward as the others earn thereafter. Their own rewards do not decrease. Similarly, God’s Messenger says: Whoever establishes a good path receives the same reward as those who follow that path thereafter until the Last Day. There will be no decrease in their reward. Whoever establishes an evil path is burdened with the same sins as those who follow it thereafter until the Last Day. There will be no decrease in their burden.

Those who lead others to guidance should not keep bringing it up by saying, for example: “If I hadn’t brought you to this guidance, you never would have found it.” Doing so is a grave sin and shows ingratitude to God, as only God guides and causes one to lead another to guidance. Similarly, those who found guidance through someone else should never attribute their guidance to that person and say, for example: “If I hadn’t met you, I never would have found this guidance.” Instead, those who lead others to guidance should think: “Praise be to God, for He has allowed me to perform such a meritorious a deed as leading someone else to guidance. God is so powerful, so merciful, and so munificent that He creates clusters of grapes on wood. As wood has no right to ascribe to itself the grapes growing on it, I am no more than that wood to attribute another’s guidance to myself.” Those who find the guidance should think: “Go, seeing my need and helplessness, has used one of His servants to guide me. All praise be to Him.”

Nevertheless, those led to guidance should be thankful to those whom God used to lead them to guidance. After all, God created us and whatever we do, and also creates the means that enable guidance and misguidance. However, this does not negate or diminish the part that our free will plays in our guidance or misguidance.

If we evaluate knowledge as ‘an accumulation of information obtained as a result of a person’s effort, merits, and capabilities’, then man will come to this world without knowing anything and will encounter an endless universe where innumerable creatures come together and countless events unfold. Everything in the .universe outside of man’s influence is in its proper place and complete order, harmony and balance reign. We can say that all the spiritual and scientific principles underlying the unshakable order, harmony and indestructible balance of this vast and complex universe, of which the human body comprises a miniature, are the sum of truth or truths.

On the other hand, sciences like physics, chemistry and biology-regardless of whether or not they are accurate-examine the universe and universal relationships with their own peculiar principles. The data from these sciences are taken up by philosophers and thinkers and data from human relations is used by sociologists and psychologists. In contrast, through their basic tenets of faith, monotheistic religions like Islam see the universe and man as an expression of the same truth in all relationships, principles of life and particulars of existence. In this situation Divine books like the Qur’an are an expression of, in fact, comprise, themselves, the truth that provides universal harmony, balance and order or the totality of truth. Throughout history philosophers, sociologists and psychologists who have determined or discovered truths have differed among themselves, which has lead to the emergence of different schools of thought. In contrast, all Prophets and the Divine books they brought have espoused the same thing. Consequently, we can say that all the principles that bring about the universe in all kinds of events and relationships and provide universal harmony, order and balance and Divine Scripture, which contains the sum of those principles, are the ‘truth itself’. Thinking and drawing conclusions according to these in view of all things and events can be called ‘thinking straight’. 

MAIN FACTORS OF THINKING STRAIGHT

Character and Intention

Man is equipped with many capabilities, while being at the same time caught in a web of very mixed emotions and endless needs. He has faculties like intelligence that surround and burden him with sorrows from the past and fear and anxiety for the future, a conscience that reminds him of his human responsibility and the essential purpose of his creation, and a will that continuously brings him to choose between alternatives. Just as man can put his intelligence, conscience and will under the command of truth, he can also surrender them to the power of his desires, needs, interests and ambitions. The characteristics inherited at birth also play an important role in his thought. The sum of these characteristics is called man’s nature or character.

A person under the influence of self-interest, desire, and moral weaknesses, and who has not yet found the right direction, especially one motivated by lower emotions such as jealousy, revenge, hatred and hostility, cannot easily think straight. Thus, one of the most important conditions for thinking straight is spiritual and moral training, of which the most reliable for all times and peoples, is by the guidance of the Qur’an.

The elements making up a person’s character such as desire, inclination, sensibility and need, always influence his intentions. When the intention is not to reach the truth but to realize a personal goal the individual has set for himself, then that individual may not hesitate to distort data or even twist the truth. In order to strive after the truth and think straight, a person must have a sound intention which depends upon a trained and disciplined character.

Sent to this world with a nature that is ready to be trained, in fact, must be trained, man encounters two main resources for filling the transparent and empty mental cup that he is born with. The first is an environment composed of the immediate family circle, the cultural and social milieu (this includes the modern media) and schooling. The second is Divine inspiration. From the moment of birth man naturally falls under the influence of his immediate family and surroundings. In time this influence leads to the development in the individual mind of many notions, modes of thinking, patterns of value and understanding. At school these are changed, reinforced or renewed by what is learned there.

During this process many divinely inspired thoughts come depending on the individual’s effort and mental concentration. These thoughts can come, like many scientific discoveries, in the form of dreams or as inspiration to the heart. Divinely inspired thoughts, even if they are always essentially true, take on colour and form (like water taking the colour and shape of the bowl) according to the person’s mental make-up, spiritual degree, and emotional sensitivity. Thus, the mental framework that has been shaped by the family, the environment, by formal or informal training, and by received modes of perception and patterns of value, can be regarded as the individual’s measures.

At every stage in the process of developing the mental make-up, that is, at the different stages of the life-long educational process, man thinks and evaluates differently. This is normal. We can see changing thoughts and values as the normal consequence of a constantly developing mental make-up. What is abnormal is if a person falls into the trap of thinking that every stage is the final one, then promotes his thoughts at that stage as absolutely true. This is one of the gravest mistakes that people make. The presentation of his thoughts as the absolute truth by one who is constantly in a learning phase, and in whose mind many false thought patterns and measurements have accumulated, is harmful. It can prevent him from learning new ideas, from avoiding repeating his mistakes, from reaching the truth, and from questioning and investigation at a later stage. God forbid, it can even lead him to stray or become a despot ‘for the sake of knowledge’.

In view of this, the path to thinking straight passes through sound criteria and, as a result, a healthy perspective. This can be achieved first by doubt, that is, by doubting every- thing except absolute truths taken from their source. Then, by mental and spiritual purification. The mind must be cleared of mistakes and biases and the heart of sin and lower emotions. Beyond that, signs of enlightenment that will take one to the truth and to thinking straight should be followed. Unless these stages are accomplished, unless sound criteria and consequently a healthy point of view are obtained, it doesn’t matter how much a person knows or works; he can’t reach the truth.

Accurate Knowledge

After a sound character, sincere intention and correct point of view, the most important factor for thinking straight is accurate knowledge. For a person with a healthy intention and perspective, accurate knowledge is the essential sound material with which to think straight, just as, for making bread the right flour in the right amount is essential material. Without this, it’s not possible to think straight. Unless, there is revelation as for the Prophets-but that is no longer possible. Otherwise Divine inspiration can only manifest in a very pure heart. Even with inspiration, the range is very limited; in most aspects of life there is a need for accurate knowledge.

Escaping From the Restrictions of Time and Conditions Or Perceiving Time and Conditions Accurately

Another factor for thinking straight is being able to escape the restrictions brought about by epoch and circumstances. While doing this, current time and conditions must be taken into consideration so that one is not crushed by them.

Another important factor in thinking straight is thinking about subject-matter or seeking truths that are not tied to time and conditions. This will save a person from thinking in fragments and allow for holistic thinking, which is very important.

However important it is to be free from the restrictions of time and conditions in order to reach truths not limited by them, it is also vitally important to take advantage of time and conditions. Just as the number of truths in our lives that are absolute (i.e. true for everyone all the time and under all conditions) is small, the number of relative truths (those that change according to people, time and conditions) is great. Thus, especially in finding truths in this second group, knowing and diagnosing accurately the times, conditions, and people involved, is one of the most important paths to thinking straight. Regarding the subject of Islam, which is a religion that addresses every century, every level, every character and temperament, and every condition, it is vitally important to know well all the different epochs, social levels, characters and temperaments in order not to fall into error. Otherwise, in the name of Islam the door to catastrophe can open and-God forbid-the danger of man falling within the bounds of reference of the following verses can arise:

Say: ‘Shall we tell you of those who lose most in respect of their deeds? Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life, while they think that they are doing well (what they are doing.’ (Kahf: 103-104)