Whisper 26

God would like to see you as perfect a man as possible. He would like you to be smart in your mind:

"He giveth wisdom unto whom He will, and he unto whom wisdom is given, he truly hath received abundant good, But none remember except men of understanding." (Al-Baqara : 269)

"Say (unto them, O Muhammad): Are those who know equal with those who know not? But only men of understanding will pay heed." (Az-Zumar : 9)

God wants you to care even about your appearance.

"Is he who goeth groping on his face more rightly guided, or he who walketh upright on a beaten road?" (Al-Mulk : 22)

God does not want to see you shabby, certainly not while praying Him. Nor does He want you to starve for the sake of Him.

"O Children of Adam! Look to your adornment at every place of worship, and eat and drink, but be not prodigal. Lo! He loveth not the prodigals. Say: Who hath forbidden the adornment of Allah which He hath brought forth for His bondmen, and the good things of His providing? Say: Such, on the Day of Resurrection, will be only for those who believed during the life of the world. Thus do We detail Our revelations for people who have knowledge. Say: My Lord forbiddeth only indecencies, such of them as are apparent and such as are within, and sin and wrongful oppression, and that ye associate with Allah that for which no warrant hath been revealed, and that ye tell concerning Allah that which ye know not." (Al-A'raf : 31-33)

God wants you to be honest, free from contradictions, fair in your judgement.

"As for man, whenever his Lord trieth him by honoring him, and is gracious unto him, he saith: My Lord honoureth me. But whenever He trieth him by straitening his means of life, he saith: My Lord despiseth me. Nay, but ye (for your part) honor not the orphan, And urge not on the feeding of the poor, And ye devour heritages with devouring greed, And love wealth with abounding love." (Al-Fajr : 15-20)

See? You can't have everything you want without anything in return. Look around you: if you are well off, others are poor and in need of your help, and so on and so forth. If you are poor yourself and need others to help you, ask yourself why but don't be quick to take offence. You may have one or two things that many others don't have. "And if ye would count the favor of Allah ye cannot reckon it. Lo! Allah is indeed Forgiving, Merciful." (An-Nahl : 18)

If you have the means, God would want you to be kind to mankind as He has been kind to you:

"But seek the abode of the Hereafter in that which Allah hath given thee and neglect not thy portion of the world, and be thou kind even as Allah hath been kind to thee, and seek not corruption in the earth; lo! Allah loveth not corrupters" (Al-Qasas : 77)

Your belief in God entails a responsibility on your part, otherwise you'll be of those of whom God said: "And when it is said unto them: Spend of that wherewith Allah hath provided you, those who disbelieve say unto those who believe: Shall we feed those whom Allah, if He willed, would feed? Ye are in naught else than error manifest." (Ya-Sin : 47)

You may ask that very question yourself. And the answer you get -if you truly are a believer- is this: "Every soul must taste of death, and We try you with evil and with good, for ordeal. And unto Us ye will be returned." (Al-Anbiyaa : 35) This means that God may try you with evil just as He may try you with good. So no wonder some men will be poor all their lives, and some men will be disabled all their lives. Being poor or disabled may mean a lower social status, but in God's sight there's no difference between poor and rich, abled and disabled. They are all God's bondmen, but they are tried with different things. A good deed from a rich, healthy man is the same as a good deed from a poor, disabled man. Idem for ill deeds. It is, therefore, only God Who decides who should be poor and who should be rich.

"Is it they who apportion their Lord's mercy? We have apportioned among them their livelihood in the life of the world, and raised some of them above others in rank that some of them may take labor from others; and the mercy of thy Lord is better than (the wealth) that they amass. And were it not that mankind would have become one community, We might well have appointed, for those who disbelieve in the Beneficent, roofs of silver for their houses and stairs (of silver) whereby to mount, And for their houses doors (of silver) and couches of silver whereon to recline, And ornaments of gold. Yet all that would have been but a provision of the life of the world. And the Hereafter with your Lord would have been for those who keep from evil." (Az-Zukhruf : 32-35)

"And they say: We are more (than you) in wealth and children. We are not the punished!
Say (O Muhammad): Lo! my Lord enlargeth the provision for whom He will and narroweth it (for whom He will). But most of mankind know not. And it is not your wealth nor your children that will bring you near unto Us, but he who believeth and doeth good (he draweth near). As for such, theirs will be twofold reward for what they did, and they will dwell secure in lofty halls." (Saba : 35-37)

"He frowned and turned away Because the blind man came unto him. What could inform thee but that he might grow (in grace) Or take heed and so the reminder might avail him? As for him who thinketh himself independent, Unto him thou payest regard. Yet it is not thy concern if he grow not (in grace). But as for him who cometh unto thee with earnest purpose And hath fear, From him thou art distracted. Nay, but verily it is an Admonishment, So let whosoever will pay heed to it" (Abasa : 1-12)  

Does this mean, though, that a poor man should accept his state of poverty as something fated for him and not try to improve his living conditions? No! On the contrary, a poor man should try again and again and never despair of God's mercy, and never consider himself as doomed to remain poor all his life. Being rich is not a sin, just as being poor is not a curse per se. 

Some of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to the Prophet (peace be upon him): "O Messenger of Allah, the affluent have made off with the rewards: they pray as we pray, they fast as we fast, and they give away in charity the superfluity of their wealth." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Has not Allah made things for you to give away in charity? Truly every tasbiha is a charity, every takbira is a charity, every tahmida is a charity and every tahlila is a charity; to enjoin a good action is a charity, to forbid an evil action is a charity and in a sexual act each of you there are a charity." They said: "O Messenger of Allah, when one of us fulfils his sexual desire will he have some reward for that?" The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Do you [not] think that were he to act upon it unlawfully he would be sinning? Likewise, if he has acted upon it lawfully he will have a reward."
    
Abu Hurairah narrated that Abu Dharr said to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh): "The wealthy people have all the rewards; they pray as we pray; they fast as we fast; and they have surplus wealth which they give in charity; but we have no wealth which we may give in charity." Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said: "Abu Dharr, should I not teach you phrases by which you acquire the rank of those who excel you? No one can acquire your rank except one who acts like you. [...] Say Allahu Akbar thirty-three times; and say Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah) thirty-three times; and say SubhanAllah (Glory be to Allah) thirty-three times; and end it by saying, Laa ilaaha illallahu wahdahu la shareeka lahu, lahul mulku wa lahul hamdu yuhyi wa yomeetu wa Huwa ‘ala kulli shayin Qadeer. (There is no god but Allah alone, He has no partner, to Him belongs the Kingdom, to Him praise is due and He has power over everything.) Your sins will be forgiven, even if they are like the foam of the sea."

Sometimes we know all this and yet we make as if we have never heard of it. We behave as if we were the masters of our lives. Instead of seeking God's pleasure, we want God to please us with good things. And if God does "please" us with good things, do we give thanks to Him?


"Man tireth not of praying for good, and if ill toucheth him, then he is disheartened, desperate. And verily, if We cause him to taste mercy after some hurt that hath touched him, he will say: This is my own; and I deem not that the Hour will ever rise, and if I am brought back to my Lord, I surely shall be better off with Him, But We verily shall tell those who disbelieve (all) that they did, and We verily shall make them taste hard punishment; When We show favor unto man, he withdraweth and turneth aside, but when ill toucheth him then he aboundeth in prayer." (Fussilat : 49-51)

But not all men do this. Men are not all ungrateful.

"And if We cause man to taste some mercy from Us and afterward withdraw it from him, lo! he is despairing, thankless. And if We cause him to taste grace after some misfortune that had befallen him, he saith: The ills have gone from me. Lo! he is exultant, boastful; Save those who persevere and do good works. Theirs will be forgiveness and a great reward." (Hud : 9-11)

"Lo! man was created anxious, Fretful when evil befalleth him, And, when good befalleth him, grudging; Save worshippers Who are constant at their worship  And in whose wealth there is a right acknowledged For the beggar and the destitute; And those who believe in the Day of Judgment, And those who are fearful of their Lord's doom. Lo! the doom of their Lord is that before which none can feel secure, And those who preserve their chastity Save with their wives and those whom their right hands possess, for thus they are not blameworthy; But whoso seeketh more than that, those are they who are transgressors;  And those who keep their pledges and their covenant.  And those who stand by their testimony And those who are attentive at their worship, These will dwell in Gardens, honored." (Al-Ma'arij : 19-35)

These are the men God likes. These are the true gentlemen who acknowledge and assume their responsibility. They give as much -if not more- than they receive. And yet they fear that God -for all His mercy and compassion- may not be pleased with them. They strive and keep striving to please God in whatever way possible. ("And of mankind is he who would sell himself, seeking the pleasure of Allah; and Allah hath compassion on (His) bondmen." (Al-Baqara : 207)) These men don't sit back with crossed arms and wait for God to do everything in their place. They look for creative ways to circumvent adversity, bearing in mind that they won't achieve except that which God has ordained. It's these people who know the meaning of God's words: "And say not of anything: Lo! I shall do that tomorrow, Except if Allah will. And remember thy Lord when thou forgettest, and say: It may be that my Lord guideth me unto a nearer way of truth than this." (Al-Kahf : 23-24) It's these men who understand that patience means "if you fail for the tenth time, try again". They understand what Jacob (pbuh) meant when he said : "O my sons, and ascertain concerning Joseph and his brother, and despair not of the Spirit of Allah. Lo! none despaireth of the Spirit of Allah save disbelieving folk." (Yusuf : 87) They're not of those of whom God said: "And among mankind is he who worshippeth Allah upon a narrow marge so that if good befalleth him he is content therewith, but if a trial befalleth him, he falleth away utterly. He loseth both the world and the Hereafter. That is the sheer loss." (Al-Hajj : 11)

But these men remain men, after all. They are human beings. So there's a limit to what they can stand, whatever the (high) level of their faith and (exceptional) degree of their sincerity. Even prophets experienced moments of weekness vis-à-vis society, because every man likes to be liked in society. No man would like others to speak ill of him.

Innocent Whispers