INTROSPECTION IN ISLAM

this world as a testing ground and every human being in this world has been put to the test. When you read the Quran, the Book of God, you learn that two angels as Divine watchers are busy maintaining a record of our actions and intentions. This record will be presented to God, and we will be rewarded or punished according to it. The philosophy of Divine reward and punishment is based on this angelic recording. When you learn this, you become deeply concerned about your every intention and action. This acts as a major inspiration for you to engage in constant introspection, do good and not deviate from the Divine path. It serves as an incentive to make you stay away from evil, both ‘justified’ and ‘unjustified’. The understanding of life being a test and the realisation that our eternal life after death depends on our conduct in this world are incentives for constant introspection. This helps sustain one’s commitment to introspection. As the well-known saying goes, ‘To err is human’. According to a Hadith report, the Prophet said, “All of the children of Adam make mistakes, and the best of those who make mistakes are the ones who repent.” (Tirmidhi) It is in human nature to commit mistakes. But with the spirit of introspection, you will readily admit your mistakes. You will not hesitate to say that you were wrong. You will not try to cover up your mistakes, as many do. Those who introspect need never engage in this ‘Operation Cover-Up’. Everyone, from ‘ordinary’ individuals to senior government officials, is engaged in some sort of cover-up, but one who introspects will not need this. He will readily admit that he was wrong and when he does this, his correction process begins. The process of self-correction begins from admitting your mistake. Without such confession, there is no self-correction. This is what introspection is about. It is in human nature to commit mistakes, but the real evil is not to admit your mistake. A true believer is not one who makes no mistakes. Rather, when he realises committing a mistake, he immediately says, ‘I was wrong.’ Confessing one’s mistake is like taking a spiritual bath that purifies you. This can come about only through constant and sincere introspection. The understanding of life being a test and the realisation that our eternal life after death depends on our conduct in this world are incentives for constant introspection.