Tariq Ramadan – Ramadan Chronicles #09 Emotions

There are things that can define

humanity and human beings

such as emotions. And emotions are good per

se.

No one can deny the fact that our

emotions

are part of our being, and we have

to nurture our emotions.

The problem with emotions is that when the

emotions are

very, very dense and very, very strong, that

sometimes they are to the point that there

are excess in the way we are dealing

with emotion. We cannot control our emotion.

But we have to start with celebrating emotions.

And when it comes, for example,

to look at the the the the

the the the the world, the the beauty

of the world, everything around us, this way

of being

to see the beauty around us and to

have this emotion nurtures,

with the aesthetic when it comes to our

relationship to ourselves, our relationship to the world,

and our

relationship with the environment,

that is an emotion or emotions that we

have to celebrate as positive.

The same when it comes to tenderness, when

it comes to,

brotherhood,

all this feeling of love, of friendship

are emotions that we have to celebrate and

and that we have to nurture. This is

also part of our spiritual path.

But sometimes what we have when it comes

to negative emotions and and emotions that can

sometimes,

take over,

our brain, on our mind, on our reason,

and this is where

we should be clear that we need to

control our emotions and to resist the excess

of emotion. When it comes, for example, with

saying,

so control your anger.

Do don't be, angry. Meaning what?

You have to master your anger. You have

to master your emotion. If not, you are

going to lose your mind. Exactly the the

same way.

You have to master your tone because under

excessive

emotion, you can speak or anchor, for example.

You can say,

things that are,

first, useless and nonsense, so you have to

master yourself.

This is the way it has to be.

So there are emotions that are natural. For

example, to be scared, it happened to Musa,

alaihis salam. He was in front of the

magicians, and he was

scared. God, Allah, is telling him, come and

don't be scared. You are protected, and you

have to think. You have to use your

reason. You have to to use your brain

in order to master your emotions and to

remain,

able

to distinguish between what is happening and what

the emotions and the way emotions are transforming

the real.

These are essential

way or spiritual

ways of dealing with your own self,

to look at who you are, what constitutes

your being, and to be quite clear on

the fact that as a Muslim,

as a believer, as somebody who is coming

close to god, controlling the emotions,

resisting emotions or excess of emotions or negative

emotions, it's part of the spiritual journey. And

especially during Ramadan,

master your tone,

master your angerness,

be careful with your emotions.

Even though you are spreading the positive,

you have to resist the negative. And remember,

never forget to tell the people you love

that you love them. Life is fragile.