SYED KAZIM presents in the light of the Qur’ān and the Sunnah the importance of right perception towards fellow beings as well as the various things to make life smooth and successful both here and in the hereafter.
Perception is the process through which information from the environment is selected, received, organised and interpreted. Perception may be defined as a process by which individuals organise and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment. Perception includes all those processes by which an individual receives information about his environment such as seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting and smelling. It also refers to the interpretation of sensory data. In simple words, perception refers to the way we deal with things.
One of the tricks Satan plays is that he strives to change our perception towards things. He will take something which is forbidden and present it in a way to make it look like a permissible act. We must not allow Satan to influence us and change our perception into thinking that something which is forbidden may not be all that bad after all and that it is permissible to do it. Thus, one should be careful not to be deceived by Satan in this matter.
Islam always strives to solve an issue from its grassroots. Rather than correcting one’s perception, Islam strives to mould the factors which influence one’s perception. The factors which majorly influence one’s perception are his beliefs, needs and motives, current psychological state, expectations, cultural upbringing and situation. In order to ensure a positive and right perception, Islam takes the following steps. First, Islam always emphasises an individual to have correct and strong belief in Allah, His characteristics, in the hereafter, in Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him), etc. Secondly, Islam teaches people not to be greedy and to be contented and thankful for what Allah the Almighty has blessed them with. Thirdly, Islam enjoins parents to bring up their children on strong Islamic footings so that the latter might view everything from an Islamic perspective in their lives.
The Qur’ān facilitates us to build our perception of various aspects which will have a deep impact on our lives. For example, the Qur’ān’s perception of the world is, “And the life of this world is nothing by play and amusement…” (Qur’ān 6:32) The Qur’ān’s perception of spouse is, “… They are clothing for you and you are clothing for them….” (Qur’ān 2:187) The Qur’ān’s perception of objective of creation of human being is, “Indeed, We created man from a drop of sperm mixture that We may test him; and We made him hearing and seeing.” (Qur’ān 76:2) The Qur’ān’s perception of Satan is, “…Indeed Satan is an open enemy to mankind.” (Qur’ān 17:53) The Qur’ān’s perception of the benefits of Salah is, “…Indeed, Salah prohibits immorality and wrongdoing…” (Qur’ān 29:45). The Qur’ān’s perception of interest (usury) and charity is, “Allah will remove all blessing from usury but will give increase for deeds in charity…” (Qur’ān 2:276). If we have the same perception towards the various things as the Qur’ān has, it will make our life purposeful, happier and successful.
The life and sayings of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) also helps us build our perception of certain aspects. For example, he said, “There are two blessings which many people lose: (They are) health and free time for doing good.” (Bukhari) This helps us build our perception towards the loss of important resources. He said, “Whoever guarantees me (the chastity of) what is between his legs (i.e. his private parts), and what is between his jaws (i.e., his tongue), I guarantee him Paradise.” (Bukhari) This helps us build our perception towards the importance of protecting our tongue and private parts. He said, “He, whose neighbour is not secure from his wrongful conduct, will not enter Paradise” (Muslim). This helps us build our perception towards the importance of neighbours. He said, “The strong man is not the one who can overpower others, rather, the strong man is the one who controls himself when he gets angry.” (Bukhari) This helps us build our perception towards anger.
A believer must always entertain a good perception towards another believer. Allah says in the Qur’ān, “When you heard it, why did, the believing men and women, not think well of their own people, and say, ‘This is an obvious falsehood?” (Qur’ān 24:12). Although what is said here is concerning a particular event, but a general principle which can be derived from it is that we should never have a negative perception towards someone just on the basis of hearing as it will lead to falsehood.
Assumption has a huge impact on how an individual perceives things, thus Islam strongly condemns negative assumptions as people take things for granted or accept things as true without any proof. Allah says in the Qur’ān, “O you who have believed, avoid much (negative) assumption. Indeed, some assumption is sin…” (Qur’ān 49:12). In the verse the Qur’ān strongly condemns negative assumption and also regards this as a sin. Islam takes into cognisance the assumptions which are baseless and which cause rift in mutual relations. Complementing on this ayah, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) said, “Refrain from assumption as suspicion is the worst falsehood.” (Bukhari) Carefulness calls upon us to refrain from suspicion as far as possible. Hence the ayah enjoins us to refrain from much assumption. This automatically makes it clear that every assumption is not a sin. But since some assumptions are clear sins, man must be careful about developing a wrong perception towards someone.
Allah says in the Qur’ān, “And they have thereof no knowledge. They follow not except assumption, and indeed, assumption avails not against the truth at all.” (Qur’ān 53:28) In this ayah Allah the Almighty relates assumption to the people who do not have knowledge. Other ayahs which have related assumption and knowledge are 2:78, 4:157, 6:148 and 45:24. From these ayahs we can understand that the person who does not have knowledge is the one who indulges in assumptions. And gaining knowledge will stop a person from wrong assumption. Thus, Islam promotes people to gain knowledge, as it will help them avoid any kind of negative assumption.
Perception is very important as it decides one’s action. Perception is so important in one’s life that it leads a person to happiness or sadness. Islam strongly condemns assumption, as it will lead to a wrong perception of people and objects. Islam always encourages people to have a positive perception and avoid all sorts of negative perceptions. A good perception will also help a person to develop a good relationship with others. Islam does not encourage everyone to have their own perception according to their whims and fancies but it emphasises the need to base their perception from the perspective of the Qur’ān and Sunnah.