The Allegory of the Pen
A certain devotee who was on the way to illumination saw a piece of paper with lines written on it. "Why", said the devotee, hast thou blackened thy bright face?"
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.
It is interesting to note a parallel passage from the Masnavi of Jal al uddin Rumi, who was born in 1207 A.D. ninetyseven years after the death of Al Ghazzali:
