What is belief and what effect does it have in our lives?
Belief
In this article, we will answer these questions
What are beliefs? How do they arise? Why are beliefs important, and how do they affect our lives? How can we know our beliefs? What is the best belief?
What are beliefs?
Beliefs have been interpreted and expressed in each of the different sciences. Beliefs can be defined as an inner feeling of certainty about the truth or the existence of something. Anyone can believe in the existence of anything. Beliefs are considered psychologically held understandings, premises, or propositions about the world that are felt to be true.
It is the belief of every human being towards different subjects that determines the form of his relationship with the world around him. In a way, beliefs define the limits of human thought. because man looks at himself and the world around him through the filter of beliefs and gives meaning to different events.
How do beliefs arise?
The beliefs of every person are formed in their mind since childhood. All the people accompanying a child in his growth process are somehow influential in creating that child’s beliefs in his life. Parents, friends, teachers, and social environment play a significant role in the emergence of different beliefs in a person. Somehow, in every human until a certain age, the beliefs of his living environment lead him to live.
By mentioning an example, I will show you how belief is formed in a person. Consider Steven as a gifted child. He loves football and entertains himself with football every chance he gets. Steven’s father, who also loves football, knows this issue. But Steven’s father believes that it is only possible to become a great football player with bribery in the country where they live, and he intends to make him interested in medical science for Steven’s success. Steven’s father tries his best to convince him and make his belief believable, and in the end, Steven most likely gives up on his dream. Because he believes that he cannot become a great football player without bribery, and his dream will be destroyed so easily. It is a simple example of how a simple belief can easily change a person’s life.
Why is belief important, and how do it affect our lives?
Our beliefs can determine the direction of our efforts. Suppose we do not believe that we can succeed in a path. In that case, there is a strong possibility that we will not continue on that path, or if we continue, we will give up on the slightest obstacle. It means that all the decisions and paths we make depend on how we look at ourselves and the world around us. And this view of ours depends on the beliefs formed inside us by ourselves and those around us. Most people have always familiarly believed in the world, and this issue continues. There are a few people in every era who revise their existential beliefs. And they realize that the words they believe show them a completely wrong image of themselves and the world.
The Holy Quran says this.
بَلْ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّا وَجَدْنَآ ءَابَآءَنَا عَلَىٰٓ أُمَّةٍۢ وَإِنَّا عَلَىٰٓ ءَاثَـٰرِهِم مُّهْتَدُونَ
In fact, they say, “We found our forefathers following a ˹particular˺ way, and we are following in their footsteps.” 43:22
وَكَذَٰلِكَ مَآ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ فِى قَرْيَةٍۢ مِّن نَّذِيرٍ إِلَّا قَالَ مُتْرَفُوهَآ إِنَّا وَجَدْنَآ ءَابَآءَنَا عَلَىٰٓ أُمَّةٍۢ وَإِنَّا عَلَىٰٓ ءَاثَـٰرِهِم مُّقْتَدُونَ
Similarly, whenever We sent a warner to a society before you ˹O Prophet˺, its ˹spoiled˺ elite would say, “We found our forefathers following a ˹particular˺ way, and we are walking in their footsteps.” 43:23
قَـٰلَ أَوَلَوْ جِئْتُكُم بِأَهْدَىٰ مِمَّا وَجَدتُّمْ عَلَيْهِ ءَابَآءَكُمْ ۖ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّا بِمَآ أُرْسِلْتُم بِهِۦ كَـٰفِرُونَ
Each ˹warner˺ asked, “Even if what I brought you is better guidance than what you found your forefathers practicing?” They replied, “We totally reject whatever you have been sent with.” 43:24
فَٱنتَقَمْنَا مِنْهُمْ ۖ فَٱنظُرْ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَـٰقِبَةُ ٱلْمُكَذِّبِينَ
So We inflicted punishment upon them. See then what was the fate of the deniers! 43:25
How can we know our beliefs?
To know our current beliefs, it is enough to do one thing.
just look
All the words you say during the day, all the people you have a relationship with, all the movies you watch. All the songs you listen to. First, it is enough to look at all aspects of your behavior every night for half an hour before sleeping. Ask yourself the reason for your words and actions. All the answers that are given to you show your belief in relation to life and its various issues. Remember them and think about them without judgment. On the other hand, remember your dreams and desires and look at the distance between your beliefs, your views, and the desires of your heart. In this case, you will understand what kind of belief you will need to achieve your heart’s desires.
What is the best belief?
at first the question here is, what has been the best common desire of all humans since the beginning of history? Think about this question.
Since the desires of humans have been achieved in almost certain ways throughout history, each of the desires includes its own beliefs. From the point of view of the Holy Quran, people are divided into different groups such as infidels and polytheists to Muslims and believers; each of these people has believed in other things in their lives and has achieved different results.
From a general view, the best desire that a human being can have is how and with what belief he can become his best self in all cases. This improvement is an improvement in human inner feeling. In a more detailed explanation, it means with what belief can you achieve the best possible feeling at the moment? This is a question that you can ask yourself many times. Are only self-definition and fake and superficial beliefs about ourselves enough, or do we need an unchangeable truth that we can believe with our whole being? To get the answer to this question, read the article The Only True Belief of Man from the Qur’an’s Point of View.
