Al-Akhlâq wa’l-Siyar (Morals and Behaviour)
In the Name of Allâh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
X) Curious Particularities of the Characteristics of the Soul 318. A wise man should not judge by appearances when a sniveller
cries for mercy, pretends that he is oppressed, complains, twists and turns and laments.
With a man who behaves like this I have become certain that he was the oppressor who went
over the limit and committed excessive abuses. And likewise I have seen a man bearing an
injustice speak calmly without complaining and only displaying a little anxiety. At first
glance, without further examination, you would have taken him for the oppressor. In cases
such as this it is important to establish the facts, fight resolutely against our
inclination to take sides, not incline towards or against such attitudes as we have
described, and seek to be impartial to all, as we are obliged to by justice. 319. A curious thing about human nature is that carelessness is bad when it is good
to know how to make use of it sometimes. This can only be explained by the fact that a man
who is naturally inclined to carelessness, makes use of it when he should be vigilant. It
is absentmindedness with no sense of reality. His carelessness belongs under the heading
of ignorance and that is why it is bad. On the other hand, a spirit which is vigilant by
nature only makes use of carelessness for a good purpose when he should not study or
research deeply into the subject. To pretend to ignore something in this case means to
understand reality, to refuse to act precipitously, to use moderation and to prevent the
worst happening. Thus it is praiseworthy to know how to pretend not to be listening, and
bad to be naturally inattentive. 320. The same could be said about admitting one is afraid or concealing the fact.
To make it obvious that one is troubled as soon as one begins to have difficulties is bad,
because it means that you cannot control yourself and your display of emotion serves no
useful purpose. Indeed, divine law counsels against it; it stops you doing what has to be
done and to make the necessary arrangements in view of the events which one foresees and
which may be more terrible than the present situation which has given risen to this fear. 321. Now, given that it is wrong to let your fear be seen, the opposite is good,
that is, to display patience, because that means you are in control of yourself, you have
turned away from useless actions and towards actions which are profitable and useful both
immediately and in the future. 322. As for hiding your patience, that is wrong too, since it would look as if you
were unfeeling, hardhearted and lacking in mercy. These faults are found only among wicked
people, vicious natures, cruel and vile souls. 323. All this being very ugly, the opposite, which consists of concealing the fact
that you are troubled, is praiseworthy because it is a mark of pity, gentleness, charity
and compassion. 324. Thus one can say that the happy medium, for a man, is to have a sensitive soul
but an impassive body, that is to say that neither on his face or in his comportment
should there be any sign that he is troubled. If a man whose own judgement is poor only knew what harm his false calculations had
brought upon him so far, he would find success in the future if he stopped relying on his
own judgement, Allâh guide us.