**The Problem of Conditioning**
____________________________
The problem of conditioning is a very serious one. People either do not know about this or take it in a limited sense of meaning. But in actual fact, it is a profound problem, which can even ruin the entire life. According to a Hadith
*Har paida hone wala sahi fitrat pe peda hota hai. Lekin uske ma baap usko Yahudi, Nasrani ya Majusi bana dete hain. (Al Bukhari)
[A child is born on nature. It is the parents who mould him as a Jew, a Christian or a Zoroastrian.]
Because this Hadith mentions about Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians, it is considered that this Hadith is attributable to these three communities only; but this is not correct. This Hadith is actually applicable to all of us and will have to be understood in greater sense otherwise its meaning would not be clear.
*Environmental Conditioning*
------------------------------
The Hadith cited above actually refers to environmental conditioning. God created man on right nature and by way of creation there was no differentiation or discrimination between any two men. God is fair to all.
It is upon his birth that man, without exception, undergoes environmental conditioning which is responsible for building his personality. Since the beginning, environment has been a source of violence and negative thinking. This is because human environment was not composed of angels; instead Satan always played a dominant in shaping human thought and consequently his environment. Therefore man‘s conditioning was negative instead of being positive. Man did not get conditioned in piety, love of God, God-realisation because his environment did not nurture these qualities within him. This was the case of all – those who had a secular mindset and even those who followed all rituals but their actions spoke differently.
A new beginning of man is marked by de-conditioning. Companions are recorded to have said that first they de-conditioned themselves and then they could understand the Quran.
*Evils of conditioning*
---------------------------
Today morning, I received a phone call and the caller said that he wanted my guidance as per Islam, on an issue. He said that he was being wrongly implicated for a murder and wanted to know an amal so that he could save himself. His mindset was a result of some books that refer to the Quran as a book of amal. Thinking on these lines, he thought that Quran will provide a solution to his problem.
As I thought about it, I realized that the Muslims have a very limited understanding of the Quran. Either they think that by reading it, they will be mysteriously rewarded or they think that it is a book of amal, which can provide mysterious solutions to their problems.
It is most unfortunate that thinking and introspecting in the context of our daily issues is not synonymous with reading and reflecting upon the teachings of the Quran to find guidance. I read a news item which said that Quran provides the solution for all ills in the world! Ironically, the same newspaper carried a news item which lamented about how Muslims have become the victims of conspiracy! Muslims were depicting that the Book, which as per their claim provides the solution to all problems of mankind has in fact not provided a solution to its distressed proponents!
I got my answer in the following verse of the Quran,
*Say, Shall I tell you of those who will lose the most through their actions? They are those whose efforts have been wasted in the life of the world while they thought they were doing good*. (18:103-104)
According to this verse, man performs an action and thinks that he performed a very good act, but in reality, his action becomes unfruitful (in the eyes of God!) In other words, man thinks that he has sacrificed a lot but the truth is that his action bears no result near God. This is a matter of profound significance and demands deep reflection.
*When man’s actions are rendered futile ? *
------------------------------
Let me explain this with an example, which explains how man‘s actions, which will lead to a result in the hereafter also present before him an immediate result of his doings, in this world itself. Muslims for instance made countless sacrifices in the last two hundred years. But their efforts did not yield any result. Following a trail of failures, Muslims devised a new way of glorifying the result-less sacrifices, by eulogizing how so many men sacrificed their lives for the .cause.
Thinking about this, I reached the following verse of the Quran, which was revealed in the initial phase of Prophet‘s mission in Mecca,
*Shun uncleanness.* (74:5)
In the above verse, Prophet is being ordained to shun uncleanness or rujz. People think that ―rujz‖ refers to ―shirk‖ but Prophet Muhammad never performed shirk, then what does the above verse mean? In order to understand the meaning of this verse, we will have to reflect upon what the Prophet did in Mecca, after this verse was revealed.
In the early days of Prophet Muhammad‘s mission, Mecca had become the centre of polytheism. Several hundred idols were placed inside the Kaaba and as a result, several pilgrims used to visit Mecca to pay veneration to their respective idols.
Despite the fact that Mecca was the centre of polytheists, Prophet Muhammad never protested or created unrest or violence. Instead, he began utilizing the gathering of pilgrims as the audience for disseminating the message of God. This incident clarified to me the meaning of the verse cited above. In this case, Prophet Muhammad did not consider the polytheists as mushrik; instead he considered them as his madu! Prophet Muhammad had two options - he could either create chaos and launch protests or he could consider them as madu and do peaceful dawah work. Prophet Muhammad opted for the latter and instead of protesting, he started presenting the message of the Quran to them.
I was struck by the revolutionary idea which is being presented in this verse! It encourages believers to see positivity in negative situations and to see advantages in disadvantages! This meaning was well-understood by a British Orientalist, who remarked about the Prophet of Islam,
*He faced adversity with the determination to wring success out of failure!*
The result of this positivity was that first Medina then Mecca and subsequently the entire Arabia came within the fold of Islam.
==============================
Excerpt: Lecture of Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
Sunday, April 22, 2012
____________________________
The problem of conditioning is a very serious one. People either do not know about this or take it in a limited sense of meaning. But in actual fact, it is a profound problem, which can even ruin the entire life. According to a Hadith
*Har paida hone wala sahi fitrat pe peda hota hai. Lekin uske ma baap usko Yahudi, Nasrani ya Majusi bana dete hain. (Al Bukhari)
[A child is born on nature. It is the parents who mould him as a Jew, a Christian or a Zoroastrian.]
Because this Hadith mentions about Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians, it is considered that this Hadith is attributable to these three communities only; but this is not correct. This Hadith is actually applicable to all of us and will have to be understood in greater sense otherwise its meaning would not be clear.
*Environmental Conditioning*
------------------------------
The Hadith cited above actually refers to environmental conditioning. God created man on right nature and by way of creation there was no differentiation or discrimination between any two men. God is fair to all.
It is upon his birth that man, without exception, undergoes environmental conditioning which is responsible for building his personality. Since the beginning, environment has been a source of violence and negative thinking. This is because human environment was not composed of angels; instead Satan always played a dominant in shaping human thought and consequently his environment. Therefore man‘s conditioning was negative instead of being positive. Man did not get conditioned in piety, love of God, God-realisation because his environment did not nurture these qualities within him. This was the case of all – those who had a secular mindset and even those who followed all rituals but their actions spoke differently.
A new beginning of man is marked by de-conditioning. Companions are recorded to have said that first they de-conditioned themselves and then they could understand the Quran.
*Evils of conditioning*
---------------------------
Today morning, I received a phone call and the caller said that he wanted my guidance as per Islam, on an issue. He said that he was being wrongly implicated for a murder and wanted to know an amal so that he could save himself. His mindset was a result of some books that refer to the Quran as a book of amal. Thinking on these lines, he thought that Quran will provide a solution to his problem.
As I thought about it, I realized that the Muslims have a very limited understanding of the Quran. Either they think that by reading it, they will be mysteriously rewarded or they think that it is a book of amal, which can provide mysterious solutions to their problems.
It is most unfortunate that thinking and introspecting in the context of our daily issues is not synonymous with reading and reflecting upon the teachings of the Quran to find guidance. I read a news item which said that Quran provides the solution for all ills in the world! Ironically, the same newspaper carried a news item which lamented about how Muslims have become the victims of conspiracy! Muslims were depicting that the Book, which as per their claim provides the solution to all problems of mankind has in fact not provided a solution to its distressed proponents!
I got my answer in the following verse of the Quran,
*Say, Shall I tell you of those who will lose the most through their actions? They are those whose efforts have been wasted in the life of the world while they thought they were doing good*. (18:103-104)
According to this verse, man performs an action and thinks that he performed a very good act, but in reality, his action becomes unfruitful (in the eyes of God!) In other words, man thinks that he has sacrificed a lot but the truth is that his action bears no result near God. This is a matter of profound significance and demands deep reflection.
*When man’s actions are rendered futile ? *
------------------------------
Let me explain this with an example, which explains how man‘s actions, which will lead to a result in the hereafter also present before him an immediate result of his doings, in this world itself. Muslims for instance made countless sacrifices in the last two hundred years. But their efforts did not yield any result. Following a trail of failures, Muslims devised a new way of glorifying the result-less sacrifices, by eulogizing how so many men sacrificed their lives for the .cause.
Thinking about this, I reached the following verse of the Quran, which was revealed in the initial phase of Prophet‘s mission in Mecca,
*Shun uncleanness.* (74:5)
In the above verse, Prophet is being ordained to shun uncleanness or rujz. People think that ―rujz‖ refers to ―shirk‖ but Prophet Muhammad never performed shirk, then what does the above verse mean? In order to understand the meaning of this verse, we will have to reflect upon what the Prophet did in Mecca, after this verse was revealed.
In the early days of Prophet Muhammad‘s mission, Mecca had become the centre of polytheism. Several hundred idols were placed inside the Kaaba and as a result, several pilgrims used to visit Mecca to pay veneration to their respective idols.
Despite the fact that Mecca was the centre of polytheists, Prophet Muhammad never protested or created unrest or violence. Instead, he began utilizing the gathering of pilgrims as the audience for disseminating the message of God. This incident clarified to me the meaning of the verse cited above. In this case, Prophet Muhammad did not consider the polytheists as mushrik; instead he considered them as his madu! Prophet Muhammad had two options - he could either create chaos and launch protests or he could consider them as madu and do peaceful dawah work. Prophet Muhammad opted for the latter and instead of protesting, he started presenting the message of the Quran to them.
I was struck by the revolutionary idea which is being presented in this verse! It encourages believers to see positivity in negative situations and to see advantages in disadvantages! This meaning was well-understood by a British Orientalist, who remarked about the Prophet of Islam,
*He faced adversity with the determination to wring success out of failure!*
The result of this positivity was that first Medina then Mecca and subsequently the entire Arabia came within the fold of Islam.
==============================
Excerpt: Lecture of Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
Sunday, April 22, 2012
কোন মন্তব্য নেই:
একটি মন্তব্য পোস্ট করুন