What is Introspection?

According to a tradition, the second Caliph Umar Faruq observed: “Reckon yourself before being reckoned, measure yourself before being measured.” (Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, Athar No. 34459) This adage enshrines a very important principle for self-reform. If a person adheres to this principle, it will ensure his reformation and his purification.

What does introspection mean? Introspection in fact is a way of discovering one’s mistakes.  An individual repeatedly makes mistakes and deviates from the straight path of truth. It is discovering this point of deviation from the truth which is called introspection.

When a person discovers the starting point of this deviation, he can easily reform himself but remaining in error for a long period of time makes it almost impossible to rectify one’s mistakes. That is why a person must be very careful to mend his ways sooner than later.

The reason is that, in the beginning, being in error is a matter of deviation. Later on it becomes a matter of conditioning. At the time of the first deviation, a person’s conscience alerts him to his wrongdoing. But if he fails to reform himself with this initial warning, this deviation from the truth gradually ceases to be alien to his thinking and ultimately takes a permanent place in his unconscious mind. When this happens, rectifying of one’s mistakes becomes almost impossible.