Friday Nasiha

Living The Quran

Affliction
Al-Balad (The City) Sura 90: Verse 4

"Indeed, We have created man in affliction."

No sooner does the first living cell settle in the mother's womb than it starts to encounter affliction and has to work hard in order to prepare for itself the right conditions for its survival, with the permission of its Lord. It continues to do so until it is ready for the process of birth, which is a great ordeal for both the mother and the baby. Before the baby finally sees the light it undergoes a great deal of pushing and squeezing to the point of near suffocation in its passage out of the womb.

A stage of harder endurance and greater suffering follows. The newborn baby begins to breathe the air, which is a new experience. It opens its mouth and inflates its lungs for the first time with a cry which tells of the hard start. The digestive system and the blood circulation then start to function in a manner which is totally unfamiliar. Then it starts to empty its bowels, encountering great difficulty in adapting its system to this new function. Indeed, every new step or movement is attended by suffering. If one watches this baby when it begins to crawl and walk, one sees the kind of effort required to execute such minor and elementary movements. Such affliction continues with teething, and learning to stand, walk, learn and think. Indeed, in every new experience much affliction is involved.

Then the roads diverge and the struggle takes different forms. One person struggles with his muscles, another with his mind and a third with his soul. One toils for a mouthful of food or a rag to dress himself with, another to double or treble his wealth. One person strives to achieve a position of power or influence and another for the sake of God. One struggles for the sake of satisfying lusts and desires, and the other for the sake of his faith or ideology. One strives but achieves no more than Hell and another strives for Paradise. Everyone is carrying his own burden and climbing his own hills to arrive finally at the meeting place appointed by God, where the wretched shall endure their worst suffering while the blessed enjoy their endless happiness.

Affliction, life's foremost characteristic, takes various forms and shapes but it is always judged by its eventual results. The loser is the one who ends up suffering more afflictions in the hereafter, and the prosperous is the one whose striving qualifies him to be released from his affliction and ensures him the ultimate repose under his Lord's shelter. Yet there is some reward for the different kinds of struggle which people endure. The one who labours for a great cause differs from the one who labours for a trivial one, in the amount and the quality of gratification each of them gains from his labour and sacrifice.

Compiled From:
"In The Shade of The Quran" - Sayyid Qutb, Vol 18, pp. 213-214

Understanding The Prophet's Life

Fairness

Once Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, borrowed dates from a Sahabi (a companion). The Sahabi returned when he needed dates for himself, but the Prophet did not have any dates to return to him.

So he asked an Ansari (a companion from Madinah) to help him. The Ansari went home and returned the dates to the Sahabi. But the Ansari's dates were not of the same quality as the dates originally given by the Sahabi, and the Sahabi refused to accept them.

The Ansari was very annoyed and they went to the Prophet together. The Ansari said to the Sahabi, "Aren't you embarrassed to reject something given by the Prophet of Allah?"

The Sahabi immediately retorted, "If the Prophet of Allah does not bring justice to us, where shall we go for justice?"

When the Prophet heard this, tears came to his eyes, and he said, "The Sahabi is right." So the Prophet struggled until he could repay the loan to the Sahabi's satisfaction.

[Targhib wa at-Tarhib, Vol. II]

Compiled From:
"Stories of the Sirah: Part V" - Abidullah Ghazi and Tasneema Ghazi, p. 9

Cool Tips!

Avoid Conflict

Even petty disputes between individuals can be costly. The time, money, and effort spent in the conflict itself, not to mention the mental and emotional cost that's involved mobilizing for the conflict and getting over it, can be heavy indeed.

The least costly way to deal with conflict is to avoid it. Many conflicts are simply not worth having, and with a bit of forethought and prevention, they can be stopped before major damage is done. Abraham Lincoln wrote, "Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbours to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loser in fees, expenses, and waste of time."

Take the following steps in order to prevent conflict before it starts:

Know who you're dealing with: One of the characteristics of Japanese businesspeople is to spend a great deal of time checking out people or firms before embarking on business ventures with them. They intend to do business for a long time and want to make sure mistakes are avoided at the outset. Westerners often find the practice tedious and unnecessarily time-consuming. But it does have its merits.

Get it in writing: Spell out as many eventual sources of contention as you can anticipate. An old proverb advises: "Good fences make good neighbours."

Avoid impossible situations: Don't think you are Superman or Wonder Woman. Unless you are expert at turnaround situations, if really good people have failed, you probably will, too.

Check out great deals going in: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true. Investigate. Ask for references. Ask hard questions. It's better to risk offending someone than having an economic loss or embarrassment later on.

These tactics can save you a great deal of time and effort in conflict resolutions involving any relationship.

Compiled From:
"Time Tactics of Very Successful People" - B. Eugene Griessman, p. 145-146.