Friday Nasiha

Living The Quran

Action and Reward
Al-Nahl (The Bees) - Chapter 16: Verse 97

"Whoever does righteous deeds, whether man or woman, and is a believer, We shall most certainly give a good life. And We shall indeed reward these according to the best of that they ever did."

This verse sets down a general rule about action and reward. The first item in this rule is that the two sexes, male and female, are equal with regard to their actions and the reward that they receive for them. They enjoy the same relationship with God and the same standing in His regard. Hence, He rewards them equally, applying one measure to both of them. Although, the term, 'whoever', with which the verse opens, includes both men and women, the Quranic statement emphasizes this by stating it clearly.

Another aspect of this general rule is that good action must have a strong foundation, which must be faith. Faith provides the axis around which all bonds run. It gives good action a motive and an aim. Thus it gives goodness a strong foundation so that fleeting desires does not sway it.

The rule also establishes that when good action is coupled with faith, it is rewarded by a goodly life in this world. It need not be a life of affluence and riches. It may be a goodly life with or without plenty of money. There are many things in life, other than money, which provide a goodly feeling and happiness. A strong bond with God and a feeling of trust in Him and His abounding grace make life happy indeed. Life may also be blessed with good health, a peaceful and blessed living, love and compassion.

This general rule also makes clear that a goodly life in this world will not reduce in any way one's good reward in the life to come. Indeed the reward is based on the best actions believers do in this world. This implies that God will forgive them their sins. This is indeed the best reward to which human beings may aspire.

Compiled From:
"In The Shade of The Quran" - Sayyid Qutb, Vol. 11, pp. 93, 94

Understanding The Prophet's Life

Angels

Imam Ahmad relates from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "No one leaves his home but finds two banners waiting at his door: one of them in the hand of an angel and the other in the hand of a devil. If he intends to do what pleases Allah the angel will follow him with his standard, and he remains under the banner of the angel until he returns to his house, but if he sets out for what displeases Allah the devil with his banner follows him about, and he remains under the devil's banner until he returns to his house."

Muslim and Ahmad relate on the authority of Abdullah ibn Masud that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "There is none among you but has been assigned two companions: a jinn and an angel." Somebody asked: "Even you O' Messenger of Allah!" "Yes, even me," answered the Prophet, "but Allah helped me, therefore it can direct me only to good."

Both the angels and the devil play only a persuasive role, which on the whole has no practical effect on the human will as such, with the result that man remains free to choose whichever way he may want to move without any outside intervention or interference. In other words, he and he alone is responsible for all his actions. Nevertheless in some ahadith great emphasis is laid on good relations between believers and angels and the need to make these bonds still closer and stronger for noble and good ends. Concern about improving one's relations with angels leaves no room for the devil's machinations. The emphasis and the oft-repeated advice about fostering good relations with angels shows that it cannot be accomplished but through a voluntary effort by man: hence the need to warn him against the hazards of neglecting them in the course of his life.

Compiled From:
"Freedom and Responsibility in Quranic Perspective" - Hasan Al-Anani, pp. 83-86

Blindspot!

You Are Wanted

Almost every organization can use some free volunteer help. People have found satisfying activities by volunteering at places such as museums, schools, hospitals, social service organizations, political organizations and hobby clubs. You may want to apply a skill you learned in the past, or you could learn a brand new skill.

You are wanted by more people than you can imagine - especially if you are willing to help them free of charge. You can take the initiative yourself if you know of people or organizations that could use your help. If you run short of ideas about local organizations, handy sources of information include the yellow pages in your telephone book and the classifieds in you local newspaper.

Would you enjoy the work? You'll never know until you try it. The advantage of volunteering is that if you don't like it, you can quit immediately and try something else.

Compiled From:
"Luck is No Accident" - John D. Krumboltz & Al S. Levin, pp. 130, 131