YOUR LIFE IS A REFLEXION OF YOUR THOUGHT
The happiness of man and his tranquility, as well as his misfortune and disarray, flow solely from himself. It is him who imprints his life with a euphoric or sinister color, like that of the receptacle, which in its own color takes the liquid which it holds. Thus, "he who accepts will have satisfaction, and the discontented will only have disappointment."
The Prophet (saws), having visited a Bedouin who was writhing with fever, told him that it was certainly a purge, to console and encourage him. And the other answer:
"No, it is an unbridled fever that assails this old man to lead him to the grave."
"So be it," retorted the Prophet (saws), meaning that there was talk of subjective judgment: if you want, you will see a purge and you will admit it, otherwise, Thou shalt see thy ruin, and thou shalt be thwarted. [...]
No one can deny the considerable effect of morale on humans, individuals and groups.
When an army demonstrates valor and prowess, its fighters show energy and endurance, it is because, far beyond efficient logistics, they are armed with an unshakeable faith and a capacity for sacrifice Foolproof ... With noble behavior and eminent moral qualities, one ensures in fact results much more advantageous than with any other means. [...]
The soul remains, according to the thoughts and feelings that agitate it, the driving element that guides behavior.
In the affairs of life as well as in matters of faith, "the soul" alone, and no other than "the soul," constitutes the substance and substance of the act, the major field of experience.
The Man Who Leaves His Country
Dale Carnegie tells the story of a young man who, overwhelmed by suffering, decides to leave his country to regain health through tourism and escape to distant lands. The father, a connoisseur of the nature of the evil which undermined his son, namely a sick temperament, a state of mind prey to fantasy and delirium, wrote him the following letter:
"O my son, you are now about 1500 miles from the family home; Yet you can not feel any difference, any change in your state, is it? It is because you have taken with you, through this long distance, the sole motive of your suffering: your soul. No failure affects your body or your brain: none of the experiences you have experienced can lead you to this unfathomable misfortune. The real cause is to be found in the mental aberration that has governed your behavior. For the way of being of each one is in the image of his way of thinking. Once you have assimilated this idea, do not delay, my son, to return to the fold, for then you will be completely restored. "
And the young man reacted:
"This sermon revolted me to such a degree that I resolved not to put my feet in my father's hearth again. That night, as I strolled through the streets, I passed a church and entered it. The office was established. The preaching, which had brought me to this place, was entitled: "He who is able to subdue his soul is greater than the conqueror of a city."
"By this ephemeral visit of a sanctuary of God, and by the hearing of this discourse bearing the same ideas, though formulated differently, which my father's letter advocated, one would say that a sponge came to efface, One blow, all the confusion that dominated my mind. It was only then that I succeeded in reflecting on my life in a serene and calm manner. I was astonished to discover my true nature. I finally realized that I wanted to change the face of the world, whereas the thing that needed to be reconsidered with the utmost urgency was my way of thinking, my mental attitude .... In short, my soul."
The Moral of the Muslim
These remarks of Dale Carnegie find their echo in the morality of the Muslim, in which this great truth is emphasized:
"Islam, like other religions, articulates its general reform on the perfection of the human soul above all else. In this respect, all efforts are directed towards it; It is a question of exploring the substance of it, of inculcating in it the precepts of faith until they become an integral part of it."
Subject to evil and imbalance, the soul would be able to sow the mess in the most seated regimes, to insinuate themselves perfidiously for dishonest purposes.
On the other hand, a noble soul is employed, faced with the most critical situations, with the most impetuous storms, to redress wrongs, to work for the good, thus bringing forth its greatness and magnanimity from the depths of its being.
As a result, a judge of integrity uses his probity and his sense of fairness to fill the gaps in the law.
On the contrary, a dishonest judge risks making frank and fair texts tendentious.
It is the same with the human soul when it confronts the variables of life: tendencies, current ideas, desires, interests.
That is why moral perfection is the major pillar that allows good to prevail in this life. Souls being carried to depravity, every horizon would be desperately gloomy, and anarchy would prevail in the present and future existence of humans.
It is in this sense that God affirms:
"In truth, God does not change anything in a people, so long as it has not changed in itself. And when God wants evil to a people, then, no possible misappropriation: he has no boss outside Him."
(Surate 13, verse 11)
He says elsewhere, justifying the degradation and decline of perverse peoples:
"Likewise, the people of pharaoh and those who before them disbelieved in the signs of God. Then God seized them for sins. Yes, He is strong, strong in pursuit. It is because God really is not to change a benefit to a people, so long as they do not change what they have in themselves. "
(Surate 8, verse 52/53). [...]
In this sense, the Muslim education of beginnings endeavored to study in depth the souls and their states, the heart movements. In so doing, it was a matter of bringing forth the supreme happiness of the inside, not of the outside, of the human being, of bringing it to expect happiness, well-being and pleasure from its own Personal resources and its individual merits. [...]
Nevertheless, these spiritual exercises - as well as the ends aimed at by their observance - were tainted with immoderation and anarchy, which resulted in very harmful consequences. [...]
The difference between Muslim mysticism and that of Americans is manifested in this story by Dale Carnegie, which depicts Marie Becker Aydie, a craftsman of what he calls "Christian science." [...] Constantly bedridden, this woman was attracted by the idea of "therapy by the force of the spirit". Now the turning point which was to mark her life forever was the day when, as she roamed the streets of the town of Lyn, she slipped and fell on the edge of the pavement covered with ice. For a long time she remained unconscious. This fall caused a serious spinal injury, so severe that the doctors predicted an imminent death or paralysis for life.
Alita, she had the idea of leafing through the Bible; Providence inspired her, according to her own words, to read this passage from the Book of Matthew:
"And behold, a paralytic him (to Jesus Christ) was shown, lying on a bed. Jesus said to him, "Arise, take your bed and go home. Something said, done. "
Marie Becker says: "These words breathed in me an energy, an inner faith and an impulse such as I immediately left the bed and walked into the room! Through this experience, this invalid woman managed to heal and even provide healing for others. [...]
For our part, this singular story seems to us credible; Better, equally credible, seem to us the prodigies which the press attributes to the Hindu dervishes. It is because moved by the fervor of ambition, the impulses of the soul can work miracles.
Those who shrug their shoulders with an air of mockery, however, must know that believing in such stories does not in any way belief or disbelief. At the most, it is for us to emphasize that these events must be circumscribed to the purely individual framework, that no one should make it a general rule.
Khedive Ishmael, having suffered many disappointments during his military campaign in Abyssinia, ordered the scholars of the Azhar to meet regularly in his palace for the reading of the Authentic Treaty of Al-Bukhari! It is as if reading the whole of the Sunnah or the Quran alone could prevent the rout of vulnerable troops because of poor tactics or poor logistics !
The strengths of each are likely to increase or decrease according to whether his moral dispositions are favorable or unfavorable. As to the implacable laws of matter, they can not manifest themselves at the whim of tendencies and fantasies.
It is at this level that the words of James Allen become intelligible:
"Let a man change the direction of his ideas. He will be struck by the extent and speed of transformation in various aspects of his existence. It is in ourselves that Providence determines our destinies; Moreover, it is none other than ourselves."
Any act done by the human being is the immediate consequence of what is going on in his mind.
If on the impulse of his thought, he sets himself up becomes active and productive, the same happens when he gives in to the disease and regains his health.
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- Jazak Allah khyran -
Extract from the book « Renews Your Life » by Cheikh Mohamed al-Ghazali