INTERVIEW WITH MAULANA WAHIDUDDIN KHAN

Maulana Saheb, you talked about negativity. Please say a few things on this topic. If we look at our daily life, we find that people of any position, of any age, negativity enters in our lives. How do we face it? I read the Quran many times to understand this phenomenon. The Quran informs us that human beings have been created by God. God has granted freedom, total freedom, to human beings. This freedom has been granted to me, to you and to everyone. When a person uses his freedom, he will sometimes misuse it as well. The negativity that we see is due to the misuse of freedom. This misuse causes shocks to us, and we turn negative. The Quran says that when a person turns negative, he turns negative against God. A person is misusing freedom because God has given him the freedom to choose between what is right and what is wrong. God has created the world based on the principle of challenge and competition. Without freedom, the principle of challenge and competition cannot be there. People need to be free to vie with one another, this will create challenge for others. This challenge has to be faced peacefully. Don’t give in to negative thoughts. Turning negative means, you are turning negative against God. It is because the creation plan of God is based on challenge and competition. What should be your response then? You cannot change this system. That’s why Quran has made a very profound comment on this situation. According to the Quran, don’t try to eliminate negativity, but face it with positive thinking. This is the teaching of the Quran. I am following this principle. Whenever we talk about religion, the concept that is most common in religion is the fear of God, we have been hearing the same concept about God even from childhood to adulthood that fear God, be scared of God. Why do we never think about love for God? Why don’t we love God? I have studied a lot about this. I have found from the Quran that fear is a secondary thing in Islam. The primary focus is indeed love. The first verse of the first chapter of the Quran is: All praise is due to God, the Lord of the universe. This praise arises out of the feelings of gratefulness. Why would one be grateful? One would feel gratefulness because one has received something. The very first sentence of the Quran exhorts a person to thank and acknowledge God. Quran mentions many times that God has given the human beings innumerable bounties, life-support system, the planetary system, the Sun, and the Moon. These are all bounties of God. Therefore, be thankful. Fearing God is secondary. It is not the primary aspect in Islam. Loving God and loving human beings, form the primary teaching of Islam.