THE human mind is one of the greatest signs of Allah. Islam places immense importance on the human mind. It requires believers to focus their minds especially in prayer to attain the goal of spirituality.

However, the human mind, by nature, remains engaged in the material world.

During prayer it wanders hither and thither and does not stick to a point. Moreover, it often turns turbulent due to materialistic thoughts. Therefore, the human mind needs training and continuous practice to develop concentration — an ability to focus on one single thought or subject to the exclusion of everything else.

The mind also needs to be humble, seeking divine blessings to be successful spiritually. The Quran says those who offer their prayers with full submissiveness are indeed successful (23:1-2). This requires the believers to perform prayers in a state of complete concentration and surrender.

The human mind is not a machine running as per a set pattern. It is an intricate system that needs to be understood. One has to make a lot of effort to tame the mind in order to focus. It requires will, determination, an enabling environment, temperament and nourishment in the shape of educative training coupled with observational techniques and analytical thinking. An untrained mind becomes a ground for negativity.

The Holy Quran has guided the believers about how to direct the mind in order to focus. At many places, Allah asks, through the Arabic phrase ‘Wa maa adraaka?’ ie ‘and what will make you know [what it is]?’ This invites believers to ponder and to think and reflect on the questions of importance.

Allah has promised in the Quran that “We will show them Our signs in the universe and in their own selves until it becomes manifest to them that this is the truth. …” (41:53). This rings very true as humans can identify galaxies, calculate light years, study particles smaller than an atom and also try to unlock the mysteries of the mind. Though our understanding of the mind and its workings has increased to some extent, still it is one of the most unexplored, inscrutable and uncharted areas of human endeavour.

The mind makes a person benevolent or malevolent in society. A positive mind yields good ideas and emotions for the improvement of society. On the contrary a negative mind, under the influence of an undesirable train of thought, can go astray. It can damage the individual and society at large. So it is necessary to cultivate positivity throughout life otherwise the mind will become the devil’s workshop.

Usually, it is said that the mind deals with routine matters such as intention/opinion formation, calculation, organisation, memorisation, expression and analysis of day-to-day matters. But in fact it also has a wide and overwhelming role in all matters of life.

For example, a cursory look shows that it is the pen’s nib that writes on paper, but later we discover that it is the human hand holding the pen that writes on paper. With deeper insight, one finds that it is the mind that directs the hand to put the thoughts in writing. In other words, it is the mind which itself writes the words.

According to the famous German philosopher Immanuel Kant, there are two outstanding wonders of God’s creation, the starry heavens above and the human mind within. Great as the exploits of science are in the external world, greater discoveries yet await in the domain of the mind-related world. Man will draw back startled when he understands the mysterious processes which occur within those inverted bowls of bone called the skull.

It is also believed that the mind is an inexhaustible source of energy, a potential link to unfolding the secrets of nature. Its capacity needs to be used competently in the service of faith. It is the powerhouse which lights our path towards spiritual life and opens up unknown areas of the external world. Through the mind, humanity has discovered hundreds of thousands of secrets during the last many centuries. It has performed numerous miracles and continues to perform them by using its power.

In order to make students masters of their destiny, our education system needs to incorporate certain appropriate skills to help them develop their power of concentration. For example, in Pakistan, students resort to rote learning for passing examinations. This may not help them in developing concentration or their mental faculties, but still it is a helpful tool that can benefit them at later stages of life.

For example a piece of writing, a poem, a Quranic verse or a chapter of a book and multiplication tables learnt by heart remain in the memory for ready reflection at later stages of life.

During the Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) era, many of his companions memorised the whole Quran and even 50 years ago, when calculators were not in vogue, students were required to learn certain tables by heart.

In short, the mind has enormous energy and can be used in a variety of ways. But its prime use is to help man achieve self-discovery.

The writer is an educationist.

amin.valiani@itrebp.org