In answer to the video "The Sick Reason Why Allah Created Humans According to Islam"
Innumerable benefits are given to humans by the One and Only Owner of all that is in this life and the next 53:24-25. All matters of sustenance are stored up with Him alone 15:21, He therefore does not need rendering an account to anyone in His enlarging or witholding 3:26-7. He alone decrees what to release, in a measured manner, according to an all encompassing divine knowledge and wisdom 42:12,27. None other than Him can do so while taking into consideration all unfathomable interconnections and intricacies, including man's internal disposition like his unavoidable propensity for greed 102:1, neglect and exceeding of limits 42:27, accumulation of intrinsically bad assets 5:100 and tendency to think of himself as self-sufficient 96:6. These verses explained to the believers that it is wrong to think that following the true path would absolve them from the divinely established system of cause and effect, tests and trials, and that good fortune would always be on their side.
To this effect, we might see sinful or morally deprived people in the highest social spheres enjoying a peaceful existence but history has shown that countless people, each mightier than the other, were overturned and brought low in this life. Material successes can thus never constitute proof for being on a secure path
30:7-10"They know the outward of this world's life, but of the hereafter they are absolutely heedless. Do they not reflect within themselves: Allah did not create the heavens and the earth and what is between them two but with truth, and (for) an appointed term..Have they not travelled in the earth and seen how was the end of those before them? They were stronger than these in prowess, and dug up the earth, and built on it in greater abundance than these have built on it..Then evil was the end of those who did evil..".On the other hand hardships and afflictions are not necessarily the result of God's wrath or disapproval of a person, as the weak in faith and those devoid of wisdom might think 29:10. Many people whose uprightness and piety are unquestionable, experience all kind of material or physical sufferings
39:52"Do they not know that Allah makes ample the means of subsistence to whom He pleases, and He straitens; most surely there are signs in this for a people who believe".An upright individual knows that this type of worldly "suffering", often resulting from adopting the ways of rectitude, is part of a higher scheme that will inevitably result in spiritual success. The prophet encapsulated that notion well when he said
“The world is a prison for the believer and a paradise for the unbeliever”.His heart is therefore content, appeased and is granted a good life despite all appearances 16:97. The prophet further said
“The people most tested are the prophets, and then the righteous, and there were those from the people before you who would rejoice more in tribulations than you rejoice in blessings".The spiritually aware know that these are stepping stones for further inner enlightenment. Such insight requires great spiritual awareness or it might delude the individual, which is why the only few times where God connects worldly favors with good deeds is when speaking of some eminent prophets whose actions caused them to be raised above the rest of humanity in merit, and be rewarded 6:83-8. And to further stress the sensitivity of the issue, the verse makes it clear that such a direct relation between the worldly cause and the divine effect, is allowed with perfect wisdom and knowledge.
When Abraham prayed to Allah to provide his descendants with the necessities of life in the newly built settlement of Mecca, he excluded from his prayer the would-be transgressors. Abraham thought it was appropriate to do so, given that Allah had excluded the unrighteous from His promise of leadership. But God answers him that while the righteous legitimate leadership in God's eyes will be bestowed upon the true believers only, the necessities of life will be given to both the believers and the unbelievers. Again this means that the possession of wealth is not the standard to judge whether Allah is pleased with one or not. If one is given abundance of wealth, it does not necessarily mean that Allah is pleased with him and considers him to be worthy 2:125-6. Even when the righteous is rewarded with wealth and power in this life as was the prophet Yusuf's case, God reminds what constitutes the real ultimate rewards for virtue and righteousness
12:57"the reward of the hereafter is much better for those who believe and guard".
That is because this world is a place of test and trial and not a place of reward and retribution. Even though sometimes there is some punishment or reward, it is on a limited scale compared to the retribution of the Hereafter, and even in this worldly retribution, there is an aspect of the test. As stated earlier, it becomes a means by which one is awakened to mend his ways. It is therefore wrong to consider material "success" to be a proof that the recipient is in the right, and vice versa. The Quran solves the apparent paradox of life-long suffering often being the lot of the righteous, while many wrongdoers apparently remain unbothered in life. It reminds, time and again that both benefits and hardships are trials 89:15-16, that this world's life is in fact but a brief moment in relation to the hereafter where man's destiny reveals itself in all its true aspects
40:77,10:45-6,3:185-6"Every soul shall taste of death, and you shall only be paid fully your reward on the resurrection day; then whoever is removed far away from the fire and is made to enter the garden he indeed has attained the object; and the life of this world is nothing but a provision of vanities. You shall certainly be tried respecting your wealth and your souls..."Only the God-conscious, believer in ultimate and perfect justice, a concept ingrained within every human's deepest self, can be aware of this reality. Such people may be inflicted with hardship after another, encounter many obstacles but will either remain steadfast and constant in their spirituality, knowing the higher realities behind them and the correct manner to go through them 2:155-7, or quickly rise back to uprightness despite a brief stumble. On the other hand there are those that trip upon an obstacle and remain down for most if not all of their lives, as stated in the HB in
Prov24:16"For a righteous man can fall seven times and rise, but the wicked shall stumble upon evil".This is why Allah states only the people who believe know that it is Allah, the Great Giver 38:9, Lord of Grace to men 27:73, the possessors of the Keys of Heavens and Earth 42:12 Who gives/witholds subsistence to whom he pleases according to a higher truth
39:52,42:36"So whatever thing you are given, that is only a provision of this world's life, and what is with Allah is better and more lasting for those who believe and rely on their Lord".
In 34:37 Allah says that it is not man's wealth and worldly honor that bring him merit, since ultimately all material things are perishing and are of no value in the Hereafter as similarly reflected in the HB when speaking of the one enjoying the ephemeral delights of the world
Ps49:17-18"his glory will not ascend after him".God alone, in His all encompassing knowledge and wisdom provides His bounties and favors to all indiscriminately 34:36, to test their gratitude and God-consciousness. What raises one in merit and earns him glory in the Hereafter is correct faith accompanied by good deeds 35:10"To Him do ascend the good words; and the good deeds, lift them up".
As repeatedly said by now, God, the "Forgiving, the Lord of Mercy" has granted humanity respite until an appointed time to give it the chance to mend its ways and return to a station of spiritual happiness 18:58,32:21,42:21. All, whether believers or disbelievers will benefit from Allah's bounties which are, from a higher perspective, nothing but trials 5:48,17:18-21,18:7,34:36,39,64:15,39:49. None has the prerogative of such benefits, the power to withold or deliver is strictly in Allah's hands 35:2 therefore
4:32"do not covet that by which Allah has made some of you excel others; men shall have the benefit of what they earn and women shall have the benefit of what they earn; and ask Allah of His grace; surely Allah knows all things".Each aspect of God's countless bounties, that decline themselves in so many aspects none can fathom, has been bestowed in varying degrees to every human in this world. The prophet would stress that reality to the people whenever they showed traits of covetousness
"If anyone of you looked at a person who was made superior to him in property and (in good) appearance, then he should also look at the one who is inferior to him".
This matter pertaining to distribution of worldly favors, is solely in God's hands and a person's efforts do not necessarily lead to their attainment. As reflected in the HB in
Prov10:22"The blessing of the Lord will bring riches, and toil will add nothing to it".So instead of exerting oneself in coveting for what "the other" has, one should invoke Allah for moral perfection and spiritual development 3:133"And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord; and a Garden, the extensiveness of which is (as) the heavens and the earth, it is prepared for those who guard (against evil)".
This is the real sphere in which all humans have an equal chance at success, the only field in which one can truly get what he desires and strives for, and where the effort will unavoidably bear the appropriate results. There is a reason why the Quran states that no human trait is of any value to God other than God consciousness and good deeds. So as often reiterated, if people want to outdo one another, then it should be in the sphere of piety and righteousness.
Among the believers those most hardly tested were the prophets including the likes of Ibrahim, Ismail, Jacob/Yakub, Joseph/Yusuf, Musa, David, Solomon or Ayyub 20:40,37:106,38:17-49 and of course not forgetting Muhammad and the torments he patiently endured for 13 years in Mecca, before his migration. These tests, sometimes taking the form of a favor to train gratitude and God-consciousness, sometimes as hardships to train perseverance and patience, were meant at preparing them for the responsibilities and tasks they were burdened with. God in fact clearly demonstrated that higher reality to Moses when He reminded him of the favors, obstacles and hardships, sometimes life-threatening, from his infancy until adulthood, that he went through up to a point where he became ready to face his most important challenge, facing pharaoh himself 20:36-43.
Those who chose to believe in and follow these prophets were not spared emotional, physical and material hardship, but in the end they were raised far above their oppressors in every aspect
7:137"And We made the people who were oppressed to inherit the easts of the land and its wests, which We had blessed. And the good words of your Lord were fulfilled for the sons of Israel because of how they were patient; and We destroyed what Firon and his people were fabricating and what they were building".It is therefore wrong to generalize and consider hardships as an impediments along the path. They might prevent one from satisfying a personal desire considered beneficial from a limited scope, but might as well be necessary steps for a better position as seen from an intricate perspective. The prophet Moses explained this principle to his narrow minded nation telling them that not only they would be tried with difficulties, but also in times of ease
7:129"They said: We have been harmed before you came to us and since you have come to us. He (Musa) said: Perhaps your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors in the land, and He will see how you will do".The prophets, because of their upright spirituality and clear perception of the higher realities were aware of that notion to such an extent that, in the words of David as reported in the HB, they would eagerly request God to try them and purge their hearts, elevate them higher
Ps26:2"Test me, O Lord, and try me; refine my reins and my heart" Ps94:12"Fortunate is the man whom You, Yah, chastise, and from Your Torah You teach him".In the words of the prophet Jeremiah as he was enduring all kind of physical and moral persecution while waiting for God's help to come to him and the punishment befall the rejecters
Jer20:11-12"But the Lord is with me as a mighty warrior. Therefore, my pursuers shall stumble and did not prevail. They were very much ashamed for they did not succeed, a perpetual shame that will not be forgotten. And the Lord of Hosts tests the righteous, He sees the kidneys and the heart. Let me see Your vengeance from them for to You I have revealed my cause".
Back to the issue of striving in God's way through trials of ease and hardships, where one will have to assert his will freely and choose to act within the limits of Allah. This hard struggle will go on, uninterrupted until the day where all will return to Him 84:6 and the road to the highest places is sometimes compared to an uphill climb 90:4-18, or as Jesus says to a tight path leading to a narrow door Matt7:13-14. Elsewhere the Quran eloquently uses the image of life being a vast ocean upon which man is constantly trying to remain afloat, and the manner to do so is given as spiritual strengthening through righteous deeds
73:1-10,29:2-3"Do men think that they will be left alone on saying, We believe, and not be tried? And certainly We tried those before them, so Allah will certainly know those who are true and He will certainly know the liars".
This purification process is necessary for a soul's success in the Hereafter 87:14. The success will only be possible when one, out of conviction stands before God in an attitude called ihsan 4:125"And who has a better religion than he who submits himself entirely(in ihsan) to Allah? And he is the doer of good (to others) and follows the faith of Ibrahim, the upright one". This is the purest definition of Islam -willful servitude to God- and no other way is acceptable to Him. Mere declaration isnt enough, one must be able to withstand the requirements of that obedience despite the moments of hardships and ampleness, until his last breath 3:102. The key to that successful end is to have the quality of sabr/steadfastness and constancy, epitomized by the greatest prophets and the manner in which they endured the trials of life while maintaining spiritual uprightness in words, intentions and deeds not once, but throughout their lives, striving to maintain it as a prominent spiritual trait 16:127,13:28.
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