Piousness & Prosperity

Piousness is God-consciousness, being a believer of God and the Hereafter and one who is constantly mindful in putting into practice all rituals that God has ordained and in behaving with people kindly. He should be steadfast in upholding equity among people and not wronging them. Furthermore he should only act in accordance with God’s ordinances and should not go against them. And in case he does a wrongdoing than he becomes immediately regretful and repents to God, asking his forgiveness, and makes an effort not to repeat that action again. But piousness is not in contradiction with seeking prosperity, which all human beings seek.

Prosperity is the condition of being successful in thriving for the economic well-being. This is a natural aspiration for any human being, God says in the Qur’an: “Say: Who is there to forbid the adornment of God which He has brought forth for his creatures, and the good things of God’s sustenance? Say: These, on the Day of Resurrection shall be exclusively for those who believed during the life of this world. Thus We detail the signs for a people who know” (7:32).

In the life of this world God gives whatever He likes to whomever He wants, whether those who get more wealth or those who get less are believers in God or non-believers, there is no restriction and no biasing in this regard. God says: “Whoever desires the hasty world, We hasten for him therein whatever We will, for whom We please. Then We appoint for him Hell, to which he will be exposed, condemned, and rejected. And whoever desires the Hereafter and strives for it with the necessary effort being a believer – for such their effort will find favour. Each We supply (to) these and (to) those from your Lord’s bounty. And your Lord’s bounty is not confined” (17:18-20).

And in fact, God with His Wisdom has made all human beings different from each other, in their physical, mental or emotional characteristics, and consequently they differ in their skills and knowledge for earning their livelihood. These differences are for the well-being of the society and in their interaction with one another. God says in the Qur’an: “And He it is Who has made you successors in the earth and has raised some of you above others in degrees, so that He may try you in what He has given you. Surely your Lord is swift in punishment; and surely He is Forgiving, Merciful”  (6:165).

In the life of this world there are two areas for which one competes: one of them is the material prosperity and the other is the moral improvement. Both require effort. One strives to achieve what he wants for his livelihood, for which he is recompensed more or less from His abundance. Here we say: God apportions to him, but if he does not strive for it, then He is to be blamed.

As for the moral side of his life, one needs to strive to be good with one's self, with his parents and kinfolk, and with the society at large. It is God and only God who can show him the good and the bad, the right and the wrong, so he should follow the Right Path. As Muslims say in their prayers: “ihdina as-sirat-al-mustaqeem” (O God, guide us to the Right Path), then they should strive to stay on it.

The Qur’an related the position of people of Makkah and Ta’if who did not accept the prophethood of Muhammad (God’s blessings upon him), they said: "Why would God send His message to this person (whose greatness and ethics they recognized, but he was not wealthy), and why not to one of the famous wealthy personalities of Makkah or Ta’if". Then God revealed the following revelation:  “Is it they who apportion the mercy of your Lord?  We have apportioned among them their livelihood in the life of this world, and raised some of them above others by degrees, so that some of them may take others in service, and the mercy of your Lord is better than what they amass” (43:32)

In the last verse God made a comparison of two things: that He apportions to people their necessary livelihood (to some of them more abundantly than others) for a purpose (i.e. to test them). And He appointed the personality which He preferred so as to convey His Grace and Mercy to all of mankind, and this is the Prophet (peace be upon him): “And We did not send you (o Muhammad) except as a mercy to all the worlds” (21:107). “And it was by the mercy of God that you were lenient with them; had you been harsh and fierce of heart, they would have dispersed from around you …” (3:159).

But we have to be clear that although this Guidance is a mercy from God for all the worlds, yet only those who strive for God's sake, following the guidance of the Qur’an and the Prophet towards the Right Path – only these will find ways to please Him: “As for those who strive for Our sake, We shall assuredly guide them in Our ways, and truly God is with the virtuous” (29:69).

Although we have to be pleased with God’s diverse bounties (worldly prosperity and God’s guidance for a pleasant hereafter), yet the Qur’an often reminds its readers that worldly prosperity is short-lived, while moral rectitude will last forever. God says: “O mankind! There has come to you an admonition from your Lord, and a healing for (all the ill) that may be in the breasts, and a guidance, and a mercy for those who believe. Say: so then, with this bounty and His Mercy, let them then rejoice: it is better than (the worldly wealth) that they may amass” (10:57-58).

Then it is more worthy to rejoice in the rewards of the hereafter. Yet we need also to be aware that we cannot find this best bounty without passing through the difficult test of the material life. God says: “And whatever you are given (now) is but for the (passing) enjoyment of life in this world – whereas that which is with God is far better and more enduring. (It shall be given) to all who attain to faith and put their trust in their Lord” (42:36).

And how to put one’s trust in God? Maybe some people will say: if you have trust in God, then He will do all what you want, and all what you need, because He is capable of doing all things by His order “Be!” and it will be. To those I say: We should be mindful of our capabilities and make proper use of them, as it is a mandate from Him for us, so that we do what needs to be done, in order to attain the prosperity that we seek, and all good deeds and behaviour we need to achieve. And if we are sure about it and do our best, then we have the right to ask Him for support and help and success. But if we do not strive ourselves, then we cannot call claim to put our trust in God.

To Be Genuine

The believers who have attained to faith believe that God has created human beings in the best form, as God says: “Verily We have created human being in the best stature” (95:4), that is in the best physical and moral stature.  The human being is also given special faculties and capabilities to live in this world above and in power over all other creation. This predilection toward human over others among God’s creation, is given in compensation for a difficult trial that he is subjected to. And God will take all individuals' deeds to be held in pledge, and reckoning them for judgment in the Hereafter. God will reward those who succeed with a best reward, and punish the unjust with an adequate punishment.

To live in empowerment over other creation is a great responsibility and requires hard labor. Therefore, we see this life full of toil, misery, sorrow, pain and worry, and mixed with some rare moments of true happiness and satisfaction. God describes all that as follows: “O men! Verily, you are laboring toward Your Lord laboriously, and you will encounter him” (84:6). In Arabic: “Innaka kadihun ila Rabbika kadehan “.  “kadeh” (= to labor) means: to deal certain work, or to treat it persistently. All believers are commanded to worship God: “I have not created the jinn and mankind except that they may worship Me” (51:56). And to worship God is not only to do prayers, fasting, giving zakat (alms) and performing hajj, it is more than that: “’ibadah” (= worshiping God) means obeying God’s ordinances while practicing all that  “hard labor” in all domains of life. The good worshiper of God should become genuine in his position for which God created him; as God is watching him and will confront him, question him and judge him. God says: “And do not follow that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed the hearing and the sight and the heart – all of them – will be called to account for it (on Judgment Day)” (17:36).

A genuine believer does not follow his whim or Satan who is always trying to deceive human beings. To follow one’s whim is very dangerous, because it always grows his desires that may cause his ruin. God says: “O you who have attained to faith, be upright in justice, witnesses for God, even though it be against yourselves or parents and kinsmen, whether the person is rich or poor, God is better caretaker of both. So do not follow any whim, lest you swerve, for if you twist, or refrain, surely God is ever aware of what you do”  (4:135). And if one is following his whim, then naturally, God makes his heart oblivious to the remembrance of God: “… and do not obey him whose heart We have made oblivious to Our remembrance, and who follows his own whim, and whose conduct is (mere) prodigality” (18:28).

And to follow Satan is not a path for a believing Muslim, as God says: “O you who have attained to faith, do not follow in the steps of Satan; for whoever follows in the steps of Satan, assuredly he enjoins indecency and what is reprehensible. And were it not for God’s bounty to you and His mercy, not one of you would ever have grown pure, but God purifies whom He will, and God is Hearer, Knower”  (24:21).   

And because God has no favorable bias in dealing with His servants, then surely He will purify only those who deserve such grant from Him. God answered Iblis: “He (God) said: get out from it, degraded and banished: as for those of them, who follow you I shall assuredly fill Hell with all of you”  (7:18). And God also has told us that Satan is the evident enemy of human beings. In the Qur’an Iblis (the leader of devils/satans) said to God; “…and now that You have led me astray, I will certainly sit for them (in ambush) on Your Straight Path, then I will come upon them from before them and from behind them, and from their right and from their left, and You will not find most of them thankful” (7:16-17).

A genuine believer is strong enough to face Satan’s influence, so that Satan cannot thwart him, nor deceive him. He is always mindful of God’s advice: “And if any insinuation from Satan should provoke you, seek refuge in God, surely He is all-Hearing, all-Knowing” (7:200).

Satan is the insinuating force against human beings; most of them are from the jinn (invisible being), but even some human beings too. For that we are advised by God to be steadfast in our worshiping of God and to be mindful not to follow in the steps of Satan or his insinuation. God says: “Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind, the King of mankind, the God of mankind, from the evil of the slinking whisperer, who whisper in the breast of mankind, of the jinn and mankind” (Surah 114, An-Nass).

A genuine believer’s position should always be as God wants him to say: “Say: My prayer and my rituals, and my living, and my dying, are all for God, the Lord of the Worlds. No associate has He. And to this, I have been commanded, and I shall (always) be the foremost of those who submit (to Him)” (6:161-163). Foremost, in accomplishing his duty as the vicegerent on Earth, being assigned by the Lord of the Worlds to live above other beings, in submitting to God completely.

Imam Tirmidzi reported in his Collection of Hadith what was related by the companion of the Prophet, Hudhaifah bin Al-Yaman, the saying of the Prophet (God’s blessings upon him): “Do not be among those who follow a position without awareness. Do not say if people do good, I do good, and if they treat unjustly I treat unjustly. But you have to take an accurate position, so that if people do good, you do good, and if they treat badly you should not treat unjustly”. 

So, the Prophet (god’s blessings upon him), as the leader of Muslims, and their Guide, was very keen that his followers be genuine themselves, not following others blindly. They have to learn and to take lessons from whoever is superior to them in certain special skills, in technical knowhow, but not in their divergent moral or religious thoughts. Because God says in the Qur’an: “Say: This is my way: I call (people) to God with full perception, I and my followers. So Glory be to God, and I am not of those who associate partners with God!” (12:108).

The Permissible & The Prohibited - By God’s Ordinances

God’s Bounty 
All bounties endowed by God to mankind are to enable them to exercise their role in this life as the vicegerent on earth. Exercising this role means they are put to the test. God says: “He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth” (2:29). And says: “And He has disposed for you whatever is in the heavens, and whatever is in the earth, all being from Him. Surely in that there are signs for a people who reflect” (45:13). And then He explains: “Truly, We have made all that exists on earth as an adornment for it that We may try them which of them is best in conduct” (18:7).

When we talk about permissible and prohibited things, it is not only about food and drink, but also includes belief, intention, behavior and action. Then this test covers all human conducts. And such a job could only be given to beings, which are given superior dignity (with the faculty of knowing, the capability of inventing and having a certain free will), and who are prepared to take the responsibility of undergoing it; they would then face the accountability in the Day of Resurrection.

Some people fulfill their role nicely, are thankful to God by action and behavior, whereas others are wrongdoers and unthankful. God says: “And He gives you of all that you ask of Him. And if you were to enumerate God’s grace, you could never number it. Lo! Man is verily a wrong-doer and unthankful!” (14:34).  

But God is Merciful and Forgiving; He reminds all human beings to reflect upon themselves, so that they may repent, so He also said: “And if you were to count God’s grace, you could never reckon it. Indeed God is Forgiving, Merciful!”  (16:18). In another Surah God says: “Say (that God declares): O My servants who have been prodigal against their own selves, do not despair of God’s mercy. Truly He is the Forgiving, the Merciful. And turn (penitently) to your Lord and submit to Him, before the chastisement comes on you, whereupon you will not be helped- And follow the best of that has been revealed to you from your Lord before the chastisement comes on you suddenly while you are unaware, before any self should say: Alas for me for what I have neglected of my duty to God. Indeed I was among those who ridiculed, or (before) that it should say, if only God had guided me, I would have been among those who were God-conscious persons” (39:53-57).

Islam condemns all forms of life-denying asceticism, world-renunciation, and self-mortification. The Qur’an declares that all good and beautiful things in life – which are not prohibited – are lawful to the believers. All those good things are shared by believers and unbelievers alike, but will be denied to the unbelievers in the Hereafter. God says: “O children of Adam! Take on your adornment at every mosque. Eat and drink but do not be excessive; He truly does not love those who are excessive. Say: Who has forbidden the adornment of God, which He has brought forth for His servants, and the good things of (God’s) sustenance? Say: They are for the believers during this worldly life (though shared by others), while they are purely for them on the Day of Resurrection. This how We elaborate the verses for people who understand” (7:31-32).

Although the orders and the interdictions in the Qur’an are made for the believers, yet there are certain verses which are directed to all mankind, as the following: ”O mankind, eat of what is in the earth, lawful and wholesome; and follow not the steps of Satan; he is a manifest foe to you” (2:168).

Most edible things are lawful for the believers to take as their food, as God says: “So eat of the lawful and good food which God has provided you, and be thankful for God’s grace, if it is Him that you worship. He has forbidden you only carrion, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been hallowed to other than God. Yet whoever is compelled, neither craving nor transgressing, then truly God is Forgiving, Merciful” (16:114-115). 

Bounds to be watched 
For God’s servants to stay steadfast following the Right Path, God has revealed ordinances to be followed, guidance and bounds not to be transgressed. Since individuals are obliged to deal with each other in the society where they live, then justice is very important. For this reason God gives the guidance as follows: “O you who have attained to faith! Be ever steadfast in upholding equity, bearing witness to the truth for the sake of God, even though it be against your own selves or your parents and kinsfolk. Whether the person concerned be rich or poor, God’s claim takes precedence over (the claims of) either of them. So do not follow any whim, lest you swerve, for if you twist or refrain, surely God is ever aware of what you do” (4:135). And in another verse in the Qur’an: “O you who have attained to faith! Be ever steadfast in your devotion to God, bearing witness to the truth in all equity; and never let hatred of anyone leads you into the sin of deviating from justice. Be just: this is closest to being God-conscious. And remain conscious of God: verily, God is aware of all that you do” (5:8). 

The Limits 
Because God has made all what is in the heavens and in the earth to be used, and societies to be organized by human beings, these bounds are necessary and fundamental.
The main principal of these bounds is that all what is good is permissible and all what is evil is prohibited.

There is one ayat (verse) in the Qur’an, which sums up orders three at a time and interdictions three at a time: “Indeed God enjoins justice and the excellence (in behavior and deeds) and to be generous to kinsfolk; and He forbids lewdness, and abomination, and oppressive attitudes; He exhorts you may be mindful” (16:90).

Another Islamic principle is that if something is prohibited, then all what leads to it is likewise prohibited. It means that Islamic Law intends to block all avenues leading to what is prohibited. For example with prohibiting sexual intercourse outside lawful marriage, it has also prohibited anything which leads to it or makes it attractive, like seductive clothing, private meetings and casual mixing between man and woman, the deception of nudity, pornographic literature, obscene songs, and so on.

At the same time, Islam has encouraged lawful marriage; God says: “Arrange the marriage of the spouseless among you, and the capable from among your bondmen and bondwomen. If they are poor, God will enrich them out of His bounty. God is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing” (24: 32).

And it prohibits intoxicating drinks, in order that people may enjoy other delicious drinks that are wholesome for the body and mind. It prohibits unclean food, but provides alternative wholesome food. 

The Halal is clear and the Haram is clear 
Nou’man Bin Basheer (one of the companions of the Prophet) related that he heard the Prophet (God’s blessings upon him) saying: “The Halal (the allowed) is clear and the Haram (the unlawful) is clear, and between both there are matters doubtful, unknown to most people. Whoever is wary of these doubtful matters, has absolved himself in regard to his religion and his honor. And whoever indulges in them has indulged in the unlawful. It is like a shepherd who pastures around his sheep too close to a preserved pasture, and they will (eventually) graze in it. Truly, every king has a sanctuary, and the sanctuary of God is what He has made Haram. Truly, in the (human) body there is a morsel of flash, which if it be whole all the body is whole, and which if it is deceased, all (of the body) is deceased. And it is the heart” (Bukhari and Muslim).

We can understand from this hadith, that there are things or matters, which are halal (lawful), and others haram (unlawful). But others again are doubtful, not known to most people. Only knowledge can ensure a person whether this matter is halal or haram. Yet beyond knowledge there is another factor, which can ensure a person to remain in the area of halal, and that is the state of his heart. If his heart is good, then he will decide to take the safe-side and avoid what is haram (prohibited). And if his heart is bad, then even the knowledge is of no benefit to him and he will indulge in what is illegal.

Human Lifespan

An Honored Term

Human lifespan is a gift from God, and every human life is sacred from conception to death. God says: “It is He who created you out of dust, and then out of a drop of sperm, and then out of a germ cell; and then He brings you forth as children; and then (He ordains) that you reach maturity, and then, that you grow old – though some of you (He causes to) die earlier – and  (all this He ordains) so that you might reach a term set (by Him), and that you might (learn to) use your reason” (40:67).

Starting the maturity, each person is responsible for keeping his life in a good condition, physically and morally, as much as he can: exploiting all possibilities he is given, using the faculties endowed by God and guided by the ordinances revealed by God to His Messenger. God says: “Follow what has been sent down to you by your Lord, and follow no masters other than Him. How seldom do you keep this in mind!” (7:3).

Since the life term set by God for each person is unrevealed, one tends not to keep this in mind. And that is why the Qur’an often reminds the readers by saying “afala ta’qiloon?” (= do you not then keep this in mind?), or “afala tatafakkaroon?”  (= do you not, then, take thought?), or “afala tatadzakkaroon” (= do you not, then, think about it?). This human lifespan is an honored term, worthy of respect and has an utmost dignity among other beings on earth. That is because human being was given certain faculties of developing knowledge and certain free will to exercise his role as the master of other beings.

The Test

As man’s life is so honored, God made it for him a test, as to how far each person will follow God’s guidance. God says: “Truly We have made all that exists on earth be a means by which We put them (= human beings) to a test, (showing) which of them are best in conduct” (18:7).

It is a risky test, as by nature, man tends to love a lot of desired things and it is not easy to challenge, except with a strong faith. God says: “It has been made attractive for people to love the desired things; that is, women, children, hoarded heaps of gold and silver, branded horses, cattle and tillage. That is an enjoyment of the worldly life; but with God lies the beauty of the final resort” (3:14).

The problem does not lie in using all beautiful things created by God. The problem is in their misuse! God says: “O children of Adam! Beautify yourselves for every act of worship, and eat and drink, but do not be excessive: Verily, He does not love those who are excessive! Say: Who is there to forbid the beauty which God has brought forth for His servants, and the good things of (God’s) sustenance? Say: These, on the Day of Resurrection, shall be exclusively for those who believed during the life of this world. Thus We detail the signs for people who know”  (7:31-32).

And we can learn from the ordinances of God, that generally all good things are lawful, whereas only little things are exceptionally unlawful. The unlawful things are the harmful, vicious, or malicious things. God says: “O you who have attained to faith! Do not forbid the good things that God has made lawful for you, and do not transgress (the bounds of what is right); verily God does not love transgressors” (5:87).

Very often people underestimate the value of human lifespan, but it is considered by the Creator as very precious, and any misuse by the person concerned is very risky, it may cause him big harm during the life of this world, and certainly in the Hereafter. God says: “By time! Verily human being is in a state of loss, except those who attain to faith, and do good works, and enjoin upon one another the keeping to truth, and enjoin upon one another patience in adversity”  (Surah Al’asr).

Lifespan to be imputed

“Al-‘asr” means the measurable time. So each person will be interrogated about every moment in his lifespan: how did he use it, in which way did he spend it.

In the Qur’an God says: “O man! Verily you are laboring toward your Lord laboriously, and then you shall meet Him”  (84:6).

Mu’adz bin Jabal quotes the Prophet (God’s blessings upon Him) as saying: “A servant of God will remain standing on the Day of Resurrection until he is asked about four things: about how he spent his life, how he used up his youth, how he acquired and managed his property and how he utilized his knowledge”.

What is important for a person is not how long his life will be, but how much he participated in enriching his society and how big his share in improving human culture was and how much he helped the needy, etc. And that confirms the purpose of God’s aim in creating humans, as He said in the Qur’an: “And I have not created the jinn and mankind except that they may worship Me” (51:56). And this “worship” includes all kinds of lawful human activities in all domains of developing life as God’s vicegerents on earth.

Mus’ab bin Omair, who was sent by the Prophet (God’s blessings upon him) to Madinah before Hijrah to teach and expand Islam there, died as a martyr in defending Islam in Uhud in his early thirties. Imam Shafi’iy, whose great works in Shari’ah Studies are used until today in almost all colleges and universities all over the world specialized in the subject, passed away more than one thousand years ago at the age of 53 years. Imam An-Nawawy, whose popular works in Islamic studies are found not only in schools but also even in most Muslim houses, died at the age of only 43 years.