[28] _Quran_ XCV. 4-6. Whether man is by nature good or bad is a question which has vexed great thinkers from ancient times. Various answers have been suggested, which are summed up in three distinct theories: 1. Evil is innate. Education simply muzzles the brute in man. Civilisation is mere veneering process. This cynical view of human nature is the religion of despair. 2. Man is neither good nor bad. Mind is a _tabula rasa_. Good or bad actions leave their impression. Thorns and roses are alike gathered by it. 3. Good and evil are mixed up in man. He has an angelic as well as a satanic nature. The development of this double nature depends on the force of external circumstances and surrounding influences. Good and evil are like two seeds: whichever is sown and taken care of will grow into a tree. The Quranic expression: “we created man in the best make” emphasises the purity of his nature. He is born with good and for good, but has to preserve and to develop his goodness to his full capacity in the struggle of life. He has but one seed which is good if it grows and bears fruit it is called goodness; if it be crushed or nipped in the bud it is called evil. Evil, therefore has no separate entity in him, it is simply a negative which will lose his soul and reduce him to the lower depths. [29] It is interesting to note a parallel passage from the _Masnavi_ of Jal al uddin Rumi, who was born in 1207 A.D. ninety-seven years after the death of Al Ghazzali: When a master places a spade in the hand of a slave, The slave knows his meaning without being told Like this spade, our hands are our Master’s hints to us; Yea, if ye consider, they are his directions to us When ye have taken to heart His hints, Ye will shape your life in reliance on their direction; Wherefore these hints disclose His intent, Take the burden from you, and appoint your work, He that hears it make it hearable by you. He too is able to make it within your ability. Accept his command and you will be able to execute it Seek union with Him, and you will find yourselves united. Exertion is giving thanks for God’s blessings; Think ye that your fatalism gives such thanks; Giving thanks for blessings increases blessings But fatalism snatches those blessings from your hands Your fatalism is to sleep on the road; sleep not Till ye behold the gates of the King’s palace. Ah! sleep not, unreflecting fatalists, Till ye have reached that fruit-laden Tree of Life. E. Whinfield, trs, _Masnavi_.