FROM THE CHIEF EDITOR’S DESK
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, born in 1925, in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, is an Islamic spiritual scholar who is well-versed in both classical Islamic learning and modern disciplines. The mission of his life has been the establishment of worldwide peace. He has received the Padma Bhushan, the Demiurgus Peace International Award and Sayyidina Imam Al Hassan Peace award for promoting peace in Muslim societies. He has been called ’Islam’s spiritual ambassador to the world’ and is recognized as one of its most influential Muslims. His books have been translated into sixteen languages and are part of university curricula in six countries. He is the founder of the Centre for Peace and Spirituality based in New Delhi.
LIVING WITH A POSITIVE MIND
PRAYER is only another name for spirituality: spirituality and peace are two sides of a single coin. Spirituality is the inner content of peace and peace is the external expression of spirituality. Where there is peace, there is spirituality, and where there is spirituality there is peace. Both are interconnected.
In June 2011, while on a visit to the USA, I was invited to a Christian Church in Philadelphia, to deliver a lecture on ‘Islam and Peace’. The gist of my lecture was that according to Islam, peace is the summum bonum; without peace, there can be no progress, neither in the secular nor in the religious field.
At the end of my lecture, a Christian scholar observed: “Jesus Christ once said: ‘Love your enemy.’ This, no doubt, is the highest ethical value.” Then he asked whether I could mention any Islamic teaching of this kind from the Islamic scriptures.
To the pleasant surprise of that gentleman, I said, “Yes.” And then I referred to Chapter 41 of the Quran, in which it is laid down what one should do when facing the problem of enmity. The Quran tells us that in such a situation, we have to give a positive rather than a negative response.
According to the Quranic verse:
“Good deeds and evil deeds are not equal. Do good deeds in return for bad deeds; then you will see that the one who was once your enemy has become your dearest friend.”(41: 34).
Going by this Quranic verse, an enemy is not an eternal enemy. And in keeping with the law of nature, your enemy is your potential friend. So, try to turn this potential into actuality. According to Quranic teaching, the concept of ‘we and they’ is wrong. The right concept is that which is based on a ‘we-we’ relationship. Friendship is a natural phenomenon, while enmity is unnatural. Enmity is always the outcome of misunderstandings. By unilaterally adhering to a high standard of ethics, you can remove the misunderstanding and then you will find that there is no enmity at all. The other aspect of prayer is positivity. Positive thinking is the basis of all kinds of high virtues. Moreover, it requires a positive mind to build a healthy and creative personality. Without positive thinking, intellectual development is impossible.
But there is the point in question of there being different kinds of unpleasant experiences in our practical lives. And these can occur at any time, often involving scenes of a provocative nature. All such happenings are bound to start a negative train of thinking in every man and woman. In such a situation, how can we maintain positivity? Man has no option but to live in a negative atmosphere, but he is nevertheless required to build a positive personality. What is the solution?
The solution is to learn the art of conversion. You have to convert negativity into positivity. You have to try to live with a positive mind even in negative situations. This seems to be a very difficult task. But this is not so. God Almighty has given us a mind and the mind has an unlimited capacity.
One philosopher has rightly said: ‘I am large enough to contain all these contradictions.’ So, use your mind, try to manage the differences. If a cow can convert the grass that it eats into milk, why cannot man, with a mind a billion times more developed than that of a cow, convert negativity into positivity? It must be conceded that it is quite possible for a man to convert negativity into positivity, i.e. to live with a positive mind in a negative situation.
This is the gist of prayer. This is the essence of spirituality; this is the secret of a peaceful life, both individual and social.
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
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