How Is Your Islamic Personality Defined?

Look at 'Insan', you are a changeable personality. Why? Because your life evolves around three things. 'Aql, body and the heart, soul. 'Aql changes, body changes, soul changes. When we look at body, Qur'an says: "Wa qad khalaqakum atwara" (71:14). We created you of different stages.

At one stage, small body. Second stage, so the body changes. If the body changed, then 'Insan' has to go with the changes of the body. 'Aql, the same, at one stage, your 'Aql is like this, but then 'Aql keeps growing.

Likewise your soul, your Nafs. It can either be Nafs ul-Lawammah, it can either be Nafs al-Ammarah, it can either be Nafs ul-Mutma'innah. It also changes. So, the reality of 'Insan' is change!

But not every change, positive change, positive progress. Now, one scholar, maybe you know him through your readings, scholar Roger Sperry. He won Noble Peace Prize. Some scholars say 1983, some say 1981. Al-muhim. He was specialist in brain.

He conducted research about brain and he concluded with three conclusions. He said the brain of 'Insan' is divided into two halves: left hemisphere and right hemisphere. He said, the left hemisphere of a brain performs certain actions, and the right perform certain actions. You know what are the actions? He said the left wants nothing but routine. It wants one thing, one program, no change.

Hence, scholars say the left one is 'tintaj'. You just want to focus on what has been doing and achieve whatever one wants to achieve through what he has been doing. That's left. But the right, no, It wants changes. Your left doesn't want change, right wants change.

And then his second conclusion is that there are those who are lefties and those who are righties. When I talk of lefty, I'm not talking of those who eat with left hand and right hand, those who want change now and then. And those who don't want change at all.

And one scholar was given example. One of our great scholars said, Munir Al-Khabbaz, may Allah prolong this life. He said, May Allah make it easy for you if you have a wife who is lefty, and husband is righty. I am sure some of us experience this, isn't it? Because if a wife is leftie, she doesn't want change. Everything from A to Z. And as the man comes in, he takes the clothes, he throws the cloth apart. He eats food he leaves this to somewhere, so, you get a fight. Lefty and righty.

And then he [Roger Sperry] said conclusion, this doctor, is that sometimes you may find a person who is 'Muztawij', both left and right. He wants routine, and at the same time he wants change. From Islamic perspective, both are required in every human being, routine is crucial. You can't destruct routine, if it is delivering. But if it is not delivering, there must be a change.

But the change that Islam requires from us is positive change. Not change for the sake of change. We need change to bring about positivity in our lives. And so scholars come forward based on the traditions of Ahl ul-Bayt alayhum as-salam. They said there are two major requirements of positive change and after this requirement we will look at how do we go about it.

First requirement is what? Willing to change. One has to have the willingness, to take your Salah to the next level. You have to have the willingness to take your recitation of Qur'an to the next level. You have to have the willingness to take your study to the next level. You have to have the willingness to ensure that your marriage work for better.

You have to have the willingness to have a strong connection with your community. If there is no willingness, you know very well naturally there is nothing that you can achieve. You need to have passion for positive change, otherwise, you remain stagnant.

And the second requirement of that, is what? The change must be properly scrutinized and studied. One cannot just say I am willing to change, so the change must happen. It must be carefully studied, carefully analyzed. Look at the advantages and disadvantages before you get into change.