24 January, 2026
Allah (SWT) has given us two gifts, amongst many, for our success in both worlds. First, all humans are bestowed with an innate ability to discern between good and evil. We all consider courage, loyalty, integrity, modesty, trustworthiness, etc., as virtues. We all appreciate honesty and are repulsed by deceit.
Allah (SWT) says: فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا – وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا
And by the soul and [the One] Who fashioned it, then with ˹the knowledge of˺ right and wrong inspired it! 91:7 & 8
Secondly, discrepancy between our beliefs and values or our actions and beliefs creates unease in our conscious and subconscious mind. This can escalate to discomfort to frustration and to stress and anxiety.
This discrepancy, called cognitive dissonance, is defined by the American Psychological Association: ―An unpleasant psychological state resulting from inconsistency between two or more elements in a cognitive system.‖
A cognitive system is the source of all mental processes and products arising from complex neural activity in the brain. This encompasses beliefs, attitudes, values, and value judgments, the combination of which results in our behaviors. The inconsistency between belief and behavior motivates people to minimize discomfort differently, such as by rejecting, explaining away, or avoiding new information: our subconscious mind and the innate sense of right and wrong challenge these coping mechanisms.
As we attempt to shut off our conscious mind, our subconscious mind – uncontrolled and independent of our conscious mind – keeps the issue alive. The subconscious mind communicates through emotions (as opposed to the conscious mind, which speaks through words). Through disturbing feelings, it keeps you aware that something is not correct.
These unchecked stresses and anxieties can lead to anger and aggression, damaging our relationships. They lower our immunity. They can lead to psychological and physical ailments like depression, phobias, cardiovascular disease, muscular atrophy, and osteoarthritis (where the quality of our bone joints deteriorates).
I dream of holistic medicine one day where along with cholesterol levels, a cardiologist will check for cognitive dissonances, which lead to stress and, ultimately, heart disease! Please align your behaviors with your beliefs; and your beliefs to the fundamental universal values that Allah (SWT) has given us all and be stress-free, happier, content, and healthy!