The path of the black Tiger

Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem.

The Path of the Tiger?


Earlier today, I received an email which read:

Inside each and every human being, a constant battle rages.  It is like a battle between two tigers. One tiger is a manifestation of evil.  It is full of hate, lust, and greed.  It’s fangs drip with bitterness and strife. The other tiger is an embodiment of good.  It is full of love, compassion, and honesty.  He never betrays his brother.
These two tigers are constantly at war. Which tiger is going to win the battle?
The answer is quite obvious…. Whichever one you feed

It got me thinking..

Tigers are awesome, powerful creatures. They can be absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful. But they can also be terrifying, and that will depend on where you're sitting. The Tiger is a wonderful symbol for human character.



It is powerful: the human tongue and human hands have the power to change the world, one person at a time.
It is beautiful: Few things are more beautiful that someone with true compassion and kindness. Human beings are capable of truly beautiful actions towards one another.
It is terrifying: As far as humans can show compassion, they can also show abuse, violence, from crimes against the very nature that is their womb to the very essence of existance through things like war and torture. I'm sure there are those who have been victims of abuse that would, if they could, rather have taken their chances with

a real life, breathing Tiger.

There is, indeed an inner struggle at all times. In Islam, it is called fighting with your "nafs", your carnal flesh, in other words, or your "bad tiger condition". THIS  is the definition of Jihad - to battle within yourself so that your flesh ("dying to the flesh" the christians call it) is subservient. But in Islam, your war or you  jihad means that you give up your own joy for the greater good.



It's important at this juncture to note however that just because you are trying to make your carnal self bend to the greater good and embarking on this jihad, does not mean that you have to stand by and allow yourself to be abused or trod upon because your DO have the right to walk away or to take reasonable action as any sane human being would do; to just accept abuse or continuous harm is not submission or jihad - it's just outright stupid; Allah did not give you
another god to bow to except himself, and he has not given you anyone to fear except himself should you opt for the path of the black tiger. 



How is that your inner tiger fed (the good or the bad??) and how do you ensure that you are feeding the right animal, the one that will lay beneath the shades of green in Jannat some day? It is fed through your relationships, the company you keep, the books you read, the activities you involve yourself in. The Quran, Sunnat and the Hadith are, therefore a menu which you can feed your soul from, and since faith is seen by actions, you can follow the menu, stick to the road that bears the islamic roadsigns to spiritual peace, and insh'Allah (god willing) meet your Creator as a loving, powerful, beautiful, calm, kind being to which he says "well done, true and faithful servant". It's what we all want, isn't it?

The thing about sinfulness or carnal'ness (or the thing about a bad tiger) is you do not start out as a BAD tiger; you fall by degrees, reading or participating in haraam, perhaps, maybe not quite "doing the right thing" or perhaps telling those little white lies that grow and eventually take on claws of their own.

The answer -you can't starve a bad character tiger to death because its probably always going to be there; its the nature of the world to tempt you and the nature of Allah to guide and love you. You simply have to focus on feeding the good tiger within with good books, good company, and simply refuse to have anything to do with those things or individuals that make you someone angry, vindictive, sinful, unhappy, and compassionless.

And hey presto - good kitty!