THE CULTURE OF PEACE — Part VI Teachings of Islam

lose the available opportunities. These opportunities and possibilities still remain open to him. Availing these, he can start new efforts and journey towards success. Stop Complaining At Once A complaining mentality makes people think negatively. A person who always complains is rendered incapable of thinking positively. And this sort of mentality is, without a shred of doubt, the root of all ills. In most cases of violence, it is this mentality of constant complaint that is seen to be at work. If you have found God, nothing else remains for you to find. This world has been created in such a way that it is inevitable that people will keep having complaints about each other. In this regard, what we need to do is to dispel the thought of a complaint about others as soon as it enters our minds. However, what generally happens is that a complaint is formed, first in our conscious minds, and then, if we constantly obsess about it, gradually it seeps into our unconsciousness. Then it becomes so deeply entrenched that after this it cannot be extricated. In this situation, the wise approach is to nip all complaints in the bud. You should remove them as soon as they appear in your mind. If you fail to do this, they will gradually become an integral part of your psyche and your thinking will become negative. You will start thinking of others as your enemies. You might even—given the opportunity—resort to practical confrontation and physical violence towards those you have complaints against, even if this is entirely counter-productive for you. The method for nipping complaints in the bud is suggested in the following Quranic verse: Whatever misfortune befalls you is of your own doing […] THE QURAN 42: 30 This means that whenever you have a complaint against somebody,