Emotion Management - 2

Feeling valued and having self-confidence are two great dynamics of the human soul, we said at the end of the last episode. And we also said, who, other than the infinitely powerful, infinitely generous and infinitely loving one, can satisfy the appetites and passions of the human soul? Nevertheless, these two dynamics are also at the heart of arrogance and rebellion against the Creator. So, the same emotions that surround our ego are both clouds of rain, bringing water of life, and are a veil depriving us of the Light of God.

Those who boast unjustly in the world, I keep them away from understanding my verses (signs) (7/146)

“Indeed, Allah is not timid to present an example - that of a mosquito or what is smaller than it. And those who have believed know that it is the truth from their Lord. But as for those who disbelieve, they say, "What did Allah intend by this as an example?" He misleads many thereby and guides many thereby. And He misleads not except the defiantly disobedient.” (2/26).

“So whoever Allah wants to guide - He expands his breast to [contain] Islam;” (6/125)

How come the same event or observation become a means of going astray for some and a means of guidance for others? The answer partly lies in the emotions that shape our vision, understanding and expectations into the future. A person without any ties to God and without any expectations of an afterlife is bound to formulate a world in their minds, where their judgment criteria are the standard of everything. And, that can lead to making God speak/act the way you desire (of course in your imagined reality).

And he entered his garden while he was unjust to himself. He said, "I do not think that this will perish - ever. And I do not think the Hour will occur. And even if I should be brought back to my Lord, I will surely find better than this as a return." (18/35-36)

The same emotions that seek self-subsistence and boundless independence go on to silence the other emotions that voice the signs of God. In simpler words, for example today, rational explanation and scientific basis are at the heart of atheist claims, because using these tools deliberately, one can silence their certain emotions (or choke, should I say!), such as awe, that evoke the innate need to feel recognized and valued by your Creator. Famously known as "the need for love and belonging" that helps us find our Ever Close Lord is silenced by the scientific explanations that are formulated and worded in godless ways. This is not to say that science is essentially against faith, but the current dominant drive is accordingly.

And We sent to no city a prophet [who was denied] except that We seized its people with poverty and hardship that they might humble themselves [to Allah]. Then We exchanged in place of the bad [condition], good, until they increased [and prospered] and said, "Our fathers [also] were touched with hardship and ease." So We seized them suddenly while they did not perceive. And if only the people of the cities had believed and feared Allah , We would have opened upon them blessings from the heaven and the earth; but they denied [the messengers], so We seized them for what they were earning." Then, did the people of the cities feel secure from Our punishment coming to them at night while they were asleep? Or did the people of the cities feel secure from Our punishment coming to them in the morning while they were at play? Then did they feel secure from the plan of Allah ? But no one feels secure from the plan of Allah except the losing people. Has it not become clear to those who inherited the earth after its [previous] people that if We willed, We could afflict them for their sins? But We seal over their hearts so they do not hear. (7/94-100)

In the above verses, the people think that the events of life have nothing to do with being a message of God, and they happen on their own according to some dynamics that need to be determined through intellectual inquiry. That is, even if they initially had a suspicion that the life events could be signs of God, they insist on not heeding those emotions and silence them. Later on with the change of conditions, they go on with their evil actions saying "I told you. It is life with ups and downs. Just bear with it and make the most of it." But they turn out to be wrong, and they are not even able to understand this, because their emotions have created blockage between them and the larger reality. So, in their small-sized and short-lived realities, they feel independent of God in any way and experience emotions due to being the masters of their world until the predetermined end comes to them.

“We will show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth” (41/53). 

And how many a sign within the heavens and earth do they pass over while they, therefrom, are turning away. (12/105)

As some emotions are fighting against others, where is "I"? What is "I" doing? Is my free will non-existent in the face of my emotions? Some people today claim that free will, just like conscience, is an illusion, and that it is an emotional entity that lives in our minds, but otherwise, it has no reality. Can this be true?

Well, I should say that the above claim can be shown to be true, but with a logical flaw in the process. First, you must understand that seeing things free of your emotions is very difficult, if not impossible. Accordingly, we don't normally stay above our emotions and choose from them. They are like the lenses of our eyes; we see through them. We don't see without them. This is similar to analyzing the body and heart separate from each other. Both a heartless-body and a bodyless-heart are dead. Furthermore, they both need each other to manifest their abilities. Free will and emotions are alike. One can not deny the existence of one in the face of the other.

Second, if you assume that free will is non-existent at the outset, and use people who are solely at the mercy of their animal desires and drives, then you can show that by conditioning the minds, i.e. the emotions, you can manipulate the actions of those people as you wish. The logical flaw in this process is that silencing of the free will does not mean its non-existence. So, for the same processes, people who are trained to exercise their free will would respond differently, and perhaps unpredictably, and this would clearly punch a hole in the presumption of the experiment. What is more, you can use this mechanism to motivate people to do good and to do evil.

Is this mind experiment merely mental, or have there been cases throughout the history that prove the analysis we made here? The answer is yes to both. There have been numerous cases where people have been manipulated based on their animal drives, and were manipulated to commit evil actions (murder, theft, rape, etc.) against their conscience, hence a case lost for the free will. There have also been many cases where people acted opposite to the expectations, and exhibited altruistic, heroic or creative actions due to their belief in God and the afterlife.

Do the Unbelievers think that My servants can take protectors besides Me?... (18/102)

are men whom neither commerce nor trafficking diverts from the remembrance of God and to perform the prayer, and to pay the alms, fearing a day when hearts and eyes shall be turned about,(24/37)

Among the Believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah: of them some have completed their vow (to the extreme), and some (still) wait: but they have never changed (their determination) in the least: (33/23)