Reflections on the book "Elements of the Islamic Psyche"
Episode 2
Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds, and prayers and peace be upon the Imam of the pious, and the master of the messengers, who was sent as a mercy to the worlds, our master Muhammad, and upon all his family and companions, and make us with them, and gather us in their group by Your mercy, O Most Merciful of the merciful.
O Muslims:
Dear listeners, listeners of the Media Office radio of Hizb ut-Tahrir:
Peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you. In this episode, we continue our reflections on the book "Elements of the Islamic Psyche." In order to clarify the meaning of the term "Islamic mentality" and the term "Islamic psyche," and to clarify the purpose of these episodes, we say, with God's help:
The personality of every human being consists of his mentality and his psyche. The mentality is the way in which the mind processes things, that is, issuing judgments on them according to the rule that one believes in and is comfortable with. If his mind judges things based on the Islamic creed, then his mentality is Islamic, and if his judgments are based on the capitalist creed, then his mentality is capitalist.
The psyche is the way in which a person satisfies his instincts and organic needs, that is, carrying out the process of satisfaction according to the rule that he believes in and is comfortable with. If the satisfaction of his instincts and organic needs is based on the Islamic creed, then his psyche is Islamic, and if the satisfaction is based on the capitalist creed, then his psyche is capitalist.
If the rule for the mentality and the psyche is the same, then the person's personality is distinct and disciplined. If the Islamic creed is the basis for his mentality and psyche, then his personality is an Islamic personality. And if the capitalist creed is the basis for his mentality and psyche, then his personality is a capitalist personality.
Therefore, it is not enough for the mentality to be Islamic, but rather the psyche must also be Islamic. It is not enough for the mentality to be Islamic, and its owner issues judgments on things and actions correctly according to the rulings of Sharia, so he derives rulings, knows the lawful and the unlawful, and is mature in his awareness and thought. That is not enough unless the psyche is an Islamic psyche, so its owner satisfies his instincts and organic needs in a manner based on Islam, prays, fasts, gives zakat, and performs Hajj, and does what is lawful, and avoids what is unlawful, and is where God loves him to be, and draws closer to Him, may He be glorified, by what He has prescribed for him, and is keen to perform voluntary acts, so he increases his closeness to God, may He be glorified, and takes sincere and honest stances towards events, enjoins what is right, and forbids what is wrong, loves for the sake of God, and hates for the sake of God, and treats people with good character.
O Muslims:
Likewise, it is not enough for a person's psyche to be Islamic, and his mentality is not, for worshiping God in ignorance may lead its owner astray from the straight path. He may fast on a forbidden day, and pray where prayer is disliked, and say "La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah" in front of someone committing an evil he sees, instead of denouncing him and forbidding him. That is, he may do wrong while thinking he is doing good, so his satisfaction of his instincts and organic needs is not in accordance with what God and His Messenger commanded. This applies to the saying of God Almighty: {Say, "Shall we [believers] inform you of the greatest losers as to [their] deeds? Those whose effort is lost in worldly life, while they think that they are doing well in work."}.
The matter is only right if a person's mentality is Islamic, knowing what is required of him from the rulings, and at the same time his psyche is Islamic, so he is upholding the rulings of Sharia, not just knowing them, but applying them in all his affairs, with his Creator, with himself, and with others, in the manner that God loves and is pleased with.
If his mentality and psyche are disciplined by Islam, he will be an Islamic personality who makes his way to goodness amidst the crowd, not fearing the blame of a critic in the cause of God.
This does not mean that there are no gaps in behavior, because a person is not an angel, but rather he errs, so he asks for forgiveness and repents, and he is right, so he thanks God for His grace and guidance. And whenever the Muslim increases in Islamic culture, his mentality grows, and whenever he increases in acts of obedience, his psyche strengthens, and he walks towards the sublime ascent, and remains steadfast on this ascent, but rather rises from high to higher.
In this case, he seizes life with its right, and attains the Hereafter by striving for it while he is a believer, and he is an ally of the sanctuary and at the same time a hero of jihad, the highest attribute of his attributes is that he is a servant of God Almighty, his Creator and Maker.
O Muslims:
We here in these episodes present to Muslims in general, and to the carriers of the Da’wah in particular, the elements of the Islamic psyche so that the tongue of the carrier of the Da’wah, as he works to establish the Caliphate, will be moist with the remembrance of God, his heart will be filled with piety towards God, and his limbs will hasten to do good deeds, reciting the Qur’an and acting upon it, loving God and His Messenger, loving for the sake of God and hating for the sake of God, hoping for God’s mercy and fearing His punishment, patient, reckoning on his reward, sincere to God, relying on Him, steadfast on the truth like the lofty mountain, gentle, mild, merciful to the believers, firm and mighty against the disbelievers, not being taken by the blame of a critic in the cause of God, of good character, with sweet words, strong in argument, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, walking in the world and working in it, and his eyes are looking there, to a paradise as wide as the heavens and the earth, prepared for the righteous.
We must remind the carriers of the Da’wah, those working to resume the Islamic way of life on earth by establishing the Rightly Guided Caliphate, we remind them of the reality in which they are working, for raging waves of the enemies of God and His Messenger surround them, and if they are not with God all night and day, how will they make their way through the crowd? How will they reach what they hope for? How will they rise from one peak to another? How? And how? This is what we will know in the upcoming episodes, so be with us.
Dear listeners: Listeners of the Media Office radio of Hizb ut-Tahrir:
We will suffice with this amount in this episode, with the intention of completing our reflections in the upcoming episodes, God willing. Until that time and until we meet you, we leave you in God's care, protection, and security. We thank you for your kind listening, and peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you.
