In the chapter Al-Fajr (The Dawn) the Quran states that the reality of human life is coloured by human responses to it. One who responds to situations negatively is a failure, whereas one who responds to situations positively is a success. After explaining this, the Quran says:
[But to the righteous, God will say], ‘O soul at peace, return to your Lord, well-pleased, well-pleasing. Join My servants. Enter My Paradise.’ (89:27-30)
According to this, the best course for man to take is to prove that he is a complex-free soul. A complex-free soul is one who accepts the creation plan of God, who can give a positive response in any situation, good or bad, who develops no negative feelings in any adverse situation and who never becomes proud or arrogant in a favourable situation. He is one who can face either situation with a balanced attitude. He is the one who stands up to the test.
Our world is a world of differences, unwanted situations and provocations, therefore, at all times we have to face predicaments that are not to our liking. This diversity of situation is a part of nature. Since no one can remedy this, one cannot a world free of all these aspects. We have no option but to accept the world as it is.
Man is required to face all these odds with a tranquil mind. He is required to take them as a challenge and to do so in a positive way. Man is required to give a positive response even in negative situations. Those who prove themselves capable of doing this are complex-free souls.
A complex-free soul is one who accepts God’s scheme: in return God will accept him and reward him with eternal Paradise. A complex-free soul does not mean a soul without complexes. A complex-free soul is one who is able to deal with all kind of adversity. A complex-free soul exhibits the capacity to manage things rather than the capacity to eliminate them.
The ‘management of odds’ is not simply the management of unwanted situations. It is more than that. There are always untoward factors in the external world but the art of their management is a function of the mind. It is the mind that, by its internal exercises, can manage all external factors.
This means that all those external problems have their plus points. That is, they can serve as food for the mind, but only if you prove to have that kind of mind which has developed the art of difference management.
A prejudiced mind is the opposite of the complex-free soul. Manage the intellectual problems, make yourself free of all kinds of prejudices and then you will become a complex-free soul. A complex-free soul is the highest state according to Quranic ethics and the way to achieve this elevated state is to keep your mind positive at all costs.
