NEGATIVE THINKING

NEGATIVE THINKING Practice of Satan T HE Quran tells us that God gave human beings something that He did not give any other creature—and that is ‘trust’. It is this ‘trust’ that has made man the most honourable of all creatures. By ‘trust’ is meant what is called ‘free-thinking’, or the capacity to think freely and to freely plan one’s actions. The proper fulfilment of this trust placed on man makes him deserving of Paradise, while failure to do so makes him deserving of Hell. (33: 72-73) In reference to this trust, the above verse of the Quran makes mention of two phenomena—injustice and ignorance. Misuse of our God-given free-will quickly causes us to swerve from the path of justice. It also leads us to stray from the path of wisdom. It is this deviation that makes one deserving of Hell. If you reflect on the matter seriously, you will realize that for our reform, it is enough if we do not stray from our inherent nature. If you exercise self-control and do not deviate from the path of nature, nature will itself become your guide. Deviation from nature leads one to doom and destruction, while remaining firm on one’s nature makes one successful. We are in this world as a test—and the test is to see if we opt for the right choice in every situation and save ourselves from a wrong choice. This question of right and wrong choice relates both to our thoughts and to our actions. An example of opting for the right choice in terms of thought is that of the angels at the beginning of creation. Whereas an example of making a wrong choice is seen in the conduct of Satan at at that time. When the angels were told to prostrate before man, they did so. In contrast, Satan did not agree to this. He expressed his opposition to man being given the charge of earth. This objection was an example of ‘selective thinking’. Iblis or Satan was the leader of the jinns. God had given the charge of the entire universe to the jinns. This was much more than what He had bestowed to man. However, Iblis overlooked this aspect and protested against man being given control of the earth. If you exercise selfcontrol and do not deviate from the path of nature, nature will itself become your guide.