Page 309 - Quranic Wisdom - New.indd

Quranic Wisdom

Al-A‘raf (The Heights). Using this phenomenon as a parable the
Quran mentions a human character in these words:
He was like a dog that pants whether you load it up or
leave it alone. (7:176)
Panting is a unique habit in dogs. Dogs pant because this
is their way of cooling down. The phenomenon of panting is
a part of dog’s natural body system. The Quran uses it in the
ethical sense for those people who know nothing except the
following of their desires. These people are a case of continuous
dissatisfaction, which is mentioned in the Quran thus:
Greed for more and more distracted you till you
reached the grave. (102:1-2)
It is a law of nature that if ninety-nine percent of your need
is fulfilled, there will always be one-percent of your need which
will remain unfulfilled. Those who have not developed the right
way thinking, focus on the 1% they do not have and forget the
99% they still have. Such people are always ungrateful. But, those
who have developed right thinking are grateful to the Creator
for the 99% they have, and ignore the 1% that they do not have.
This habit of theirs helps them live in gratefulness all the time in
every situation. The people of the second category have positive
thinking, while those of the first category always live in negative
thinking. It is people of the first category who are referred to in
the above parable of the panting of dogs.

This habit is not just a habit, it has very serious implications,
mentioned in this Quranic verse:

Such are those who reject Our signs. Tell them this
story so that they may reflect. (7:176)

People of the first category take the serious risk of halting
the thinking process of their mind. While people of the second
category save themselves from taking this risk, because the
thinking process continues unhindered in their mind. The
greatest faculty of man is his mind. The mind is like a thinking

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