Article appeared Friday, July 10th, 2015 in The News Today, Bangladesh

The Revelation (385)

yousuf mahbubul Islam, PhD

It is often said that human beings are creatures of emotion. Is this true? Certainly, scientists
seem to think so. Our brains have a part where emotions are generated. Neuroscientist
Damasio {1} discovered that people with some sort of damage in this part find it difficult to take
decisions apparently even the simplest of decisions. In a similar vein, the American author
Carnegie (1888 1955) said,
When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but
creatures of emotion. {2}
While it seems that emotions play a key role in decision-making, it is essential {3} to include
some kind of logic in the decision-making process as otherwise, once the emotions have faded
away, one would be left with nothing concrete to fall back on {3} one may be left wondering
why the decision was taken in the first place and without a logical base, the emotional stand
may also change. Having discussed this character trait of people, it is important to realize that
decisions in a court of law, for example, cannot be based on emotional thinking. Decisions must
be based on reason. Reasoning is the process of drawing a conclusion based on evidence. So,
in a court of law, once a case has been reasoned out based on facts and the evidence
presented, pronouncement of the verdict may however involve emotions.
So, sound decision making must involve reasoning which can then be followed by emotional
thinking to implement the decision. Armed with the knowledge of how people think, let us
examine a part of the story of Prophet Joseph (pbuh) given in the Holy Scriptures. We pick up
the story at the point where Josephs plan for his full brother Benjamin, as inspired by the
Creator, is coming to a climax. In the story, the kings measure was found in Benjamins saddle
bag. Let us examine the story for the type of thinking, i.e., emotional or logical demonstrated by
the step brothers and by Joseph himself. When asked for a fitting punishment the brothers
respond, full of pride, emotionally wanting to show that all of them are honest and just, little
realizing that, in doing so, they put their brother Benjamin in trouble.
They (the brothers) said, "The penalty should be that, he in whose saddle bag it is
found, should be held (back) to atone for the crime. Thus it is we punish the
wrongdoers!" [12.75]
Joseph searches the bags of all the 10 half-brothers before finally looking into the saddle bags
of Benjamin.

12.76 So he (Joseph), began with the other brothers baggage before (he came
to) the baggage of his full brother (Benjamin): then he brought it out from his
brother's baggage. Thus did We plan for Joseph. He could not have taken his
brother by the law of the king except that which Allah willed. We raise in degrees
(of wisdom) whom We please, but over all those with knowledge is One more
Knowing.
Allah inspired Joseph to plant the measure in Benjamins bag so that he subsequently would
have an excuse to detain his full brother. This was done as a mercy for the younger Benjamin.
The thought processes here are logical how to save Benjamin from his brothers a plan put
forward by the Creator.

12.77 They said, "If he steals a brother of his has stolen before." But these
things did Joseph keep locked in his heart revealing not his secret to them. He

(simply) said (to himself), "You are worse in position, and Allah is most knowing
of what you describe!"
Notice the immediate emotional turnaround of the brothers. Upon witnessing the measuring cup
being drawn out from Benjamins bag, the brothers emotionally blame the mother his full
brother has stolen before! In contrast, Joseph does not emotionally react to this unkind remark
by the brother. He logically thinks that Allah knows all the secrets so there is no need to
emotionally talk back to the brothers in his own defense.

12.78 They said, "O, Azeez (addressing Joseph who now held this title)! Indeed!
He has a father who is an old man (who will grieve for him), so take one of us in
his place: for we see that you are a doer of good."
Having emotionally accused the brother, the half-brothers then remembered the promise they
had made to their father a logical fact. They now pleaded to the emotional side of Joseph for
we see that you are a doer of good.

12.79 He said, "Allah forbids that we take other than him, with whom we found
our property, indeed (if we did so), we should be acting unjustly."
Joseph responds with a logical argument how can a person be punished for someone elses
crime? The 10 brothers could not counter the reason given by Joseph.

12.80 Now when they saw no hope of his (yielding to their request) they (the
brothers) held a conference in private. The leader (or eldest) among them said,
"Do you not that your father has taken a solemn oath from you in Allah's name
and similarly before this you failed in your duty to Joseph? So, I will never leave
this land until my father permits me or Allah decides for me and He is the best
of judges.
The eldest of the brothers, who very likely still felt bad about what they had done to Joseph, all
those years back, could not bear to repeat a similar crime again. Here, the argument presented
is logical that they had taken an oath not to let anything happen to Benjamin.

12.81 "Return to your father and say, O our father! Indeed your son has stolen:
we bear witness only to what we know and we could not well guard against the
unseen!
As they could not work out how the measure appeared in Benjamins saddle bag, they had to
accept the fact that Benjamin had stolen the measure.

12.82 "Ask at the city in which we have been and the caravan in which we
returned and (you will find) that we are indeed telling the truth."
Now in order to convince the father, the brother wanted the others to present a logical argument
to the father and present evidence in support of their claim that Benjamin had indeed stolen.
Throughout the story we see how the brothers get into trouble given their random emotional
thinking. Josephs thinking however turns out to be most logical as his trust in Allah was the
utmost.
-------{Notes}:
{1} http://bigthink.com/experts-corner/decisions-are-emotional-not-logical-the-neurosciencebehind-decision-making
{2} http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/d/dalecarneg130727.html?src=t_logic
{3} http://westsidetoastmasters.com/resources/laws_persuasion/chap14.html