Honored and Fair Burdened

                                  “And indeed We have conferred dignity

                                   on the children of Adam and borne them

                                   over land and sea, and provided them

                                   with good things and We have

                                   preferred them above many of those

                                  whom We created with marked           

                                  preferment” (17:70).

The Trust

The favor and the dignity conferred by God (the Creator) on human beings in this worldly life, are inseparable with the fact that they are being burdened with the great responsibility of managing all what is in the earth and in the heavens, and mastering them in order to develop human civilization, on the base of God’s guidance and ordinances given to them through His messengers (see: Qur’an, 2:29; 45:13 and 57:25).

This “burden” is what the Qur’an calls the “Trust”, over which human beings obtain power of disposition. They are expected to use this power as directed, but in the same time they have the power to use it otherwise. Other creatures refused to carry the Trust, they are afraid lest they should betray it, but human beings accepted it, as they are so ambitious to manage the Trust fairly (see Qur’an, 33:72). But the reality proves that most people behave with hypocrisy and many of them ascribe divinity to other than God by giving loyalty and obeisance to other than God’s ordinances. Indeed this type of man accumulates wickedness and foolishness.

Let us ponder on this verse of the Qur’an, which indicates that the task burdened on human beings is a trust on them: “Indeed We offered the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they refused to bear it, but man undertook it. Truly he has always been prone to be most wicked, most foolish ” (33:72).

This Trust has been undertaken in fact by human beings since the beginning of his creation, as God has instilled it into every born child. Abu Hurairah narrated the saying of the Prophet (God’s blessings be upon him): “Every child is born in the natural disposition; it is only his parents that later turn him into a Jew, or a Christian, or a Magian”  (Recorded by Al-Bukhari in his Collection of Hadith).

This information given by the messenger of God points out what the Qur’an already mentioned (30:30) that the Pure Faith in God (as the only Lord to be worshiped and obeyed) is already instilled into every human being. And in another verse, the Qur’an even says: “And when your Lord drew forth their offspring from the loins of the children of Adam, and He (thus) made them testify against themselves: Am I not your Lord? They said: Yes, indeed we testify; lest they should say on the Day of Resurrection: Truly, of this we were unaware. Or lest you should say: It is merely that our fathers were idolaters before and we were descendants of theirs. Will You then destroy us for that which those who follow falsehood did?” (7:172-173). So any swerve from this line is the influence of the wrong surroundings.

The Fair “Burden”

Can this Trust be considered as a heavy and unbearable burden for human beings? God (Who knows perfectly everything about His creation) said: “God does not burden any human being with more than he is well able to bear: in his favor shall be whatever good he does, and against him whatever evil he does” (2:286). God’s guidance (His ordinances) is perfectly adequate to eliminate those two bad traits: wickedness and foolishness.

Then for those who follow God’s guidance, the burden is fair, because they are well conscious of God, and apprehensive whether their performance of worshiping God is acceptable by their Lord (see: Qur’an, 23:60): “Those are the ones who hasten to perform good works, and they are the ones who shall outrun (all others) in attaining to them; and We do not task anyone beyond his/her capacity, and with Us is a Record that speaks the truth, and they will not be wronged” (23:61.62).

Those who attained faith in God exercise their required prayer properly, and perform their duty nicely towards all concerned in the society: they produce and give; they develop their creativity sincerely; and yet, while doing all that, they are apprehensive, fearing that they did not do enough. That is why they always pray to God saying: “O my God! Help me in remembering You, in thanking You, and help me in performing all my duties nicely towards You”  (this prayer is recommended by the Prophet, narrated by Mu’adh and recorded by Annasai and Abu Dawud).

How to avoid wickedness and foolishness

Now let us ponder upon how this active devotion to God can avoid the two bad characteristics (wickedness and foolishness) mentioned above. That is because the human self is imbued with moral failings as well as with consciousness of God; so those persons with their sincere devotion to God, they are in fact purifying their self from any moral failing which may push them towards wickedness or foolishness, while those who deny God’s guidance are in fact eclipsing their self from the light of God (see Qur’an, 91:7-10).

That is why if you read again verse (33:72), and the next, you will find the explanation: “The result (of all this) is that God will punish the hypocrites, men and women, and (will punish) men and women who ascribe divinity to other than Him; and that God will turn in His mercy to the believing men and believing women; and God is indeed Much-forgiving, a Dispenser of grace” (33:73).

Then it is clear to us that if God would punish someone, that is quite fair as a consequence of Man’s generic covenant which came from his exercising the option given to him/her. It is also true that if God should give good reward to a person, it is absolutely fair, as a consequence of fulfilling that covenant. And that is the distinction between the two parties: the one who believes in God’s guidance, and the other who disbelieves:

“Is he who knows that what is revealed to you from your Lord is the truth, like him who is blind? But only they who have insight keep this in mind: such as fulfill God’s covenant, and do not break the pact; and such as cement what God has commanded should be cemented, and fear their Lord, and dread an awful reckoning; such as are patient, desiring their Lord’s countenance; and maintain the prayer and expend of that which We have provided them, secretly and openly, and repel evil with good; those, theirs shall be the sequel of the (heavenly) Abode” (13:19-22).