Connection between A'maal (actions) and Akhlaaq (character)

A person’s a’maal (actions), his behaviour in Deen and his way of interacting with people are interlinked and connected with his akhlaaq (character). A person’s character is based on 3 potentials or faculties:

1. Quwwat علمية (Ilmiyyah): The faculty that enables a person to reason.
2. Quwwat شهوية (Shahwiyyah): The faculty that enables a person to desire and wish for things around him.
3. Quwwat غضبية (Ghadabiyyah): The faculty that enables a person to react to different situations or to the way he is treated by others.

It is necessary to undergo training in order to be able to balance these 3 faculties so that a person does not misuse them. This is because any imbalance in these faculties can lead to an imbalance in one’s behaviour.

There is a category of people, on one extreme, that do not even have the ability to learn; they are unable to differentiate between colours. The other extreme, on the other hand, is where people are known for their intelligence, but they are unaware of what they should know. They refuse to accept the existence of a Creator merely because their reasoning fails to reach that stage of understanding. Balance in the faculty of knowledge is called 'Hikma' (wisdom). It facilitates a person to understand that reasoning has a limit whereby it ends. As for things that are beyond this limit, there are other ways (other than logic) to understand and accept them.

Similarly, imbalance in Quwwat غضبية causes a person to become insensible in situations where he should react or not react; that is, he reacts when he should not or he reacts excessively when required. Imbalance in this faculty causes the person to become a coward or arrogant. People who do not know have difficulties in differentiating between what is right and what is not. Some people may translate cowardice or baseness to mean calmness or humility. But people who know can easily detect the difference immediately. A person who remains silent and unaffected when Deen is being mocked at but explodes with anger when it comes to his personal problems, is not humble. What he is displaying is not humility. For if truly he was humble, he should have reacted in the opposite manner. A person is not considered good or bad simply by expressing his anger or calmness. Rather, this behaviour is defined by the circumstance. Anger can turn into a merit depending on the circumstance and the context. Whereas remaining calm and being insensitive could be considered as an unworthy attitude. Balance in this faculty is called شجاعة (Shaja'ah -bravery).

A courageous or a brave person uses his strength and his courage to make the truth triumph. Putting one’s hand in a beehive, exposing one's life vainly, or committing suicide due to not getting the love of one’s life - - are all termed as madness, arrogance or absurdity rather.

In the same manner, the Quwwat Shahwiyah or the faculty that facilitates a person to desire for something should also be treated. Imbalance in this faculty renders a person insensitive to permissible desires or causes him to exceed limits to such an extent that he can no longer differentiate between his mother, his daughter, his sister and his wife. Balance in this faculty is called عفة (Iffah -chastity). Chastity allows a person to enjoy what is Halaal and prevents him from falling into Haraam, even though he may have a burning desire for that Haraam act.

Therefore, a person is regarded as well-balanced when he is able to balance out these 3faculties, that is, he manages to develop and inculcate Hikmah (wisdom), Shaja'ah (bravery) and 'Iffah (chastity) in himself. To develop this, it is necessary to be trained under the supervision of someone who had undergone this training too.

It comes with no surprise that before undergoing the training, everyone thinks that he has no shortcomings. But when he starts to follow the training, he then becomes aware of his weaknesses. They could have remained well unnoticed for years due to his ignorance.

If the development of these qualities is essential, then this training also should not be neglected.

[English version of " Connection amal avec caractère" – Al Jamiat Vol.8 No.3]