As we brace ourselves for a second wave of the Corona Virus and more restrictions to help prevent its spread, the main prevention should be, turning to Allah, the One God, seeking Allah’s help and protection. Therefore, I thought I would talk about need for religion in these times, in today’s newsletter.
The Holy Qur’an, Chapter 59, verse 19-20, states:
“O ye who believe! Fear Allah; and let every soul look to what it sends forth for the morrow. And fear Allah; verily Allah is Well-Aware of what you do. And be not like those who forgot Allah, so He made them forget themselves. It is they that are the rebellious”
I hope more people are turning to Allah, but still people seem to be rejecting religion as an answer. Religion is not only about teaching you good morals, but more importantly, how to develop your relationship with God. This is why the verse advises ‘every soul should look to what it sends forth for the morrow’.
That we should not just be concerned with this material life, but also the next life. If Allah, the One God, exists, then so too does the next life, the heaven and hell. Therefore, we should be concerned with what we do and the effects it could have. If we just look towards this world, then people want to attain the worldly things and do not care about the consequences of their actions. The ‘gain’ is the main focus.
Therefore, some people do bad things to get what they want, and hope to get away with it. That is a chance that some people believe could be worth taking, in the desire for worldly gain. But if there really is a God and therefore the next life, then that chance is taken away. We will not get away with it. Yes, we could get away with it in this life, but not the next.
Allah has given us this physical life, to help us learn and progress, to give us an opportunity to develop ourselves into a higher being, to make choices, to learn and grow and get nearer to Him. To appreciate Allah and His blessings. This is why the verse states ‘fear Allah’, Taqwa - Righteousness. To strive to win the Pleasure of Allah and fearing His displeasure, just as we fear causing the displeasure of our parents. But to really ‘fear Allah’ we need to understand that we will be answerable for everything.
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the Fifth Khalifa (successor) of the Promised Messiah, may Allah always be His helper, once said:
The root cause of every evil and sin is to consider them small and thus avoid making efforts to protect oneself against them. This attitude of carelessness, however, leads a person to committing bigger sins. As a result, one becomes heedless of righteous conduct, distances oneself from Taqwa (righteousness), loses faith in the Hereafter and is no longer seen as a believer in God. God has therefore, urged the believers in these verses not to devote themselves to the worldly pursuits alone, but rather to take into account the future as well, which is more important. This is why faith in the life after death and the Day of Reckoning should be the focus of all our attention.
As the verse continues ‘and fear Allah; verily Allah is Well-Aware of what you do’. For a true believer, he is fully aware of the presence of Allah everywhere. That Allah is fully aware of what he is doing. A true believer understands this and that we will be answerable for everything we do; therefore, it is much more than just deciding what is good for you. A true believer takes it further and thinks ‘what does Allah want from me?’ will it be good for everyone? and that is the difference between a believer and non-believer. It is not a matter of what we think is good, it is what Allah has informed us of what is good. We are limited in knowledge and tend to do what is good for ourselves and do not concern ourselves with the effects of that action, that how it will affect others. Hence the need of religion to guide us to what is best for ourselves and the society.
But for a disbeliever, as the verse continues:
‘And be not like those who forgot Allah, so He made them forget themselves. It is they that are the rebellious’
They do not believe in Allah; therefore, they do not believe they will be answerable for their actions as they do not believe in Heaven and Hell. It becomes little concern for them, they would rather wait until they die and then find out if it is true or not. Instead they prefer to live for today, run after the pleasures of the world, not the pleasure of Allah and so dismiss religion as it is too restrictive for them.
Hazrat Hakeem Maulvi Nooruddin, the 1st Khalifa (successor) of the Promised Messiah, said:
“The rule laid down by God for success in this world and in the hereafter is that one should prepare for the future today. This will help one succeed not only in the life of this world but also in the hereafter. By acting upon the Qur’anic teachings of ‘let every soul look to what it sends forth for the morrow’, one not only achieves success in this world, but also in the hereafter by the grace of Allah. We can never equip ourselves with the means of everlasting life in the Hereafter unless we prepare ourselves today for that eternal abode.”
The fact is that the Holy Qur’an teaches us how to behave and live a good life and also how to build a good, strong relationship with Allah. By striving to follow the Holy Qur’an we are not only benefitting ourselves in this life, but also sending on good for tomorrow.
The Holy Qur’an not only teaches us to ‘do good’, but to ‘believe and do good’. When we bring Allah into the equation, then every good work we do, will become a form of worship, even if, as the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) has said:
‘putting a morsel of food in the mouth of your wife’,
When done for Allah’s sake, becomes a means of reward from Allah.
This is what religion provides for us - not only the benefit of the present, doing good, but also striving for a future – to attain Paradise and win the pleasure of Allah.
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, may Allah always be His helper, has also said:
“Each one of us needs to make sure that all his actions are in accordance with the commandments of the Almighty God. We ought to forget about temporary benefits and focus our attention on the future. May Allah enable us to do so, Amen.”
The future may look bleak, but whatever is happening around us, keep turning to Allah, remain steadfast and strive to develop your relationship with Him. Be thankful that you have a religion which can help you achieve this.