caviller" (18:54), "a tyrant and ignorant" (33:72). The truth is that
there is no such thing as "man's nature" in the sense in which the
word is usually used. For, by nature we understand the properties
which constitute the very being of a thing and hence characterise its
existence in a way peculiar to itself. It is its nature which determines
its behaviour. There can be no question, therefore, of its going
against its nature. It is like a rigid law which no object can violate.
Under given circumstances, water must flow, fire must burn and the
animal must follow the course prescribed by its nature. Man,
however, stands on a different level. Inasmuch as he is a part of the
physical world, it may be said that it is his "nature" to behave in
accordance with its laws in the interest of his physical self, although,
as already stated, he often goes against those laws as well. As for his
real self, he is free to choose any of the possibilities open to him.
This is why the rigidity of behaviour in the lower animals is in sharp
contrast to the changeability and variability of human behaviour.
“Human nature” is eminently malleable, and assumes so many
different forms that no adequate definition of it has yet been
formulated. There are numerous theories of “human nature” but
none of them commands universal acceptance. From Plato and
Aristotle to Freud and Gardiner there has been a wide range of
theories about man; but man somehow escapes from every
theoretical framework.
According to the view set forth in the Qur'an, man is born
neither good nor bad, but with the power and freedom to become
either. He is endowed with immense potentialities. If he develops
them and employs them for the moral and material advancement of
mankind, his conduct is good; if he fails to utilise his immense
resources or puts them to uses which are harmful to mankind, his
conduct is bad. Wahi or Divine Guidance points out the way to self-
realisation and to the promotion of human knowledge and
happiness. By following the path which is pointed out by Wahi, man
can finally achieve the status of a "mo'min". A "mo'min" is at peace
with himself and with the world because he has successfully
resolved his inner and outer conflicts. Wahi shows the way to
harmony in the individual mind as well as in human society. The
verses cited above to the effect that man is bad, simply mean that if
he ignores Divine Guidance and follows his baser desires he is liable
Divine Guidance^96