The Constant and the Changing
“The only constant in life is change.” – The philosopher Heraclitus
The fixed and the changing is a fundamental principle of philosophy and life, explaining how we perceive things. If we apply this pattern to personality, which of the two camps do you lean toward? Which political party do you belong to? Among personality types, there are those who believe in change and development, and those who are attached to the old and resist renewal, echoing within themselves: “Your old self is your companion.” In political parties, there are the right and the left; the conservative right and the progressive left. In the workplace, some advocate for development, transforming the work environment, introducing innovations, and changing established rules, while others belong to the “God will not change for us” faction, claiming that change might disrupt what we are accustomed to.
Even in literature, there is a famous book titled “The Fixed and the Changing” by the poet Adonis, in which he explores “creativity and imitation among Arab poets,” contrasting those who cling to tradition with those who hasten to innovate. In religion, there are the strict and the lenient; in economics, in shopping, and in every aspect of life, there is the fixed and the changing, and so on.
If the penetrating insight of philosophers is that they have plumbed the depths of things, recognizing that the law of nature operates according to two principles—“change and adaptation”—is every change and substitution correct? Is every fixed element a sign of backwardness and deviation from the right path?
What I see is that the truth lies in the middle. We are a moderate nation: “And thus we have made you a just community that you will be witnesses over the people and the Messenger will be a witness over you.” Evidence of this is that even Aristotle defined ethics as a mean between two vices: “Courage is a mean between recklessness and cowardice, and generosity is a mean between extravagance and stinginess.” The Quran also states: “And do not make your hand chained to your neck, nor extend it completely, so you would sit blamed and impoverished.” This represents a balance between the fixed and the changing. The truth belongs neither to one extreme nor the other; it is perpetually situated between two poles. Some things require development, while others remain fixed and unchanging.
Our Master Ali (peace be upon him) said: “The right and the left are misleading paths, and the middle path is the straight way. Upon it remain the Book and the traces of prophethood, and from it emerges the path of the Sunnah, and to it is the final destination.” The poet also said: “Do not exaggerate in any matter, but practice moderation. Both extremes of the path are detestable.”
Thus, Ibn al-Qayyim expressed this principle with eloquence, saying: “For every command Allah has issued, Satan has two temptations: either to neglect and waste, or to exaggerate and transgress. The religion of Allah is a middle ground between the one who is distant from it and the one who exaggerates in it, like a valley between two mountains, guidance between two misguidances, and a mean between two detestable extremes.”
This is why the opening chapter of the Quran (Al-Fatiha), recited and repeated daily, draws attention to the Straight Path, and to steadfastness between the two changing extremes—the fixed and the changing, the right and the left—in all aspects of our lives and conditions: “Guide us to the straight path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have earned [Your] anger or of those who are astray.”
In the field of self-development, there is a wonderful book titled “The Third Alternative” by Stephen Covey. Life is not black and white; rather, there are middle-ground solutions, alternatives, and proper methods. Life does not offer only two choices, but multiple options. This represents balance between the soul and the body, between this world and the hereafter, between religion and the state, between the self and the object, between thought and reality, between materialism and idealism, between ends and means, and between reason and revelation, according to the golden rule: “Neither excess nor neglect.” Neither steadfastness is a sign of correctness, nor is change a sign of creativity. There is steadfastness in some things and change in others, and in all of this lies goodness. How much we need to adopt the middle path as a guiding light and a straight way in all aspects of our lives.
