Spirit of Islam, July 2016

O NE community develops negativity against another when it holds the other community responsible for one or more of its troubles. But there is absolutely no license for such negative thinking in Islam. This is because God has categorically declared in the Quran that, Whatever misfortune befalls you is due to your own doing. (42: 30) Therefore, according to Islam whenever any trouble comes upon you, the only thing you must do is introspect to discover the fault within yourself which is the real cause of your troubles. Only then can you take corrective action. On the other hand, holding others responsible for your troubles and engaging in hostility and enmity against them is clearly forbidden in Islam. This reality is also evident in many of the Hadith sayings of the Prophet of Islam. According to one Hadith, ‘You will never overcome your opponents unless and until you follow my practice. And if you leave my practice, God will let such people overpower you who will neither fear you nor have any sympathy for you, until and unless you return again to my practice.’ (Sahih Muslim) Another fact we learn from the Quran is that enmity with others is created as a result of the faults of the believers themselves. External matters have no part to play in the existence of an enemy. One verse of the Quran says, ‘..If you persevere with patience and fear God, their plots (conspiracies) will never harm you in the least..’ (3: 120). From this verse we learn that the real issue for the believers is not the presence of plots and conspiracies, but the absence of patience and piety. Were the believers to adhere to the path of patience and piety, they would be entirely safeguarded from the conspiracies of their enemies. No harm would ever transpire on them due to the actions of others. There are clear practical examples of this principle in the Quran. One example is that of the Battle of Uhud which took place in the third year NEGATIVE THINKING IS UN-ISLAMIC Look Within Holding others responsible for your troubles and engaging in hostility and enmity against them is clearly forbidden in Islam.